It was back in August that I bought tickets for Jake and I to go see Thriller at Tuacahn in St. George! I get so excited for it every single year! We had to drive down the morning of and then back home early the next morning, but I think it was worth it! 

(If you ask Jake, you might not get the same answer, haha. poor guy!) 

PUMPKING CARVING + HAUNTED FOREST

With only a few days left in October, I've been wanting to fit in as many of the Halloween activities as possible! We were finally able to carve pumpkins, right before the season ends! Nathan, Lance, and I went to the pumpkin patch to pick out a few good pumpkins before Jake came over. Once he met up with us, we turned on some Halloween music and got to carving! I did Frankenstein, Nathan did a ghost face, and Jake did Heisenberg, haha. It was so good to finally spend some time with Nathan. It had been TOO long, and I've really been missing him lately! 

A few days later, Jake and I went to the Haunted Forest, and DANG, was it scary! I may or may not have peed my pants a little....

PUMPKING PATCH-ING + HAY-RIDING

Disclaimer: THIS IS NOT AN ANNOUNCEMENT. Not pregnant. Not married. Not even engaged, haha. Jake just wanted to do this pose for some reason. Must be a little baby hungry or something. Poor guy.

 Last night we were able to get together with our friends Berkley and Corey for dinner! Jake cooked up some of my favorite chicken and zucchini, they brought the most delicious salad and some chips and salsa. We were all fed real good last night! We wanted to finish the night off with a haunted hayride, but you would be surprised at how difficult those are to find on a week night! After searching through out options, we ended up heading down to Provo to McCoard's Corn Maze for a little hayride through the pumpkin patch and snagging some free pumpkins. We had a blast! Getting to hang out with these two is always a special treat for us. :) 

I feel so lucky to have such great friends!

Only two weeks left to fit in all the Halloween activities! 

FALL DATE NIGHT + ANOTHER BABY BLESSING

I think I’ve been talking about how excited I am for Autumn since July. October is my favorite month, (I mean, my birthday is this month! It’s gotta be my favorite by default, ammiright?) and I look forward to it all year, every year. I love to fill it with as many Fall activities as I can! And Saturday, Jake was the one to make sure that happened. 

We started off our evening by taking a drive through the Alpine Loop. It is stunning this time of year! Also—you really can’t beat a drive with Jake. One of my favorite hidden talents of his is his rapping. I don’t know what it is, but I really love it when he starts rapping to some normal music, haha!  Once we made it to the end of the Loop, we went to Jake’s parents’ house where his dad had made H A N D S D O W N the BEST homemade chili that I’ve ever tasted. I’ve been talking to Jake about Chili for weeks I think, and this chili did not disappoint. I’m not kidding. I could go on and on. S O G O O D!!!  From there we headed up to Sundance again, but this time to do the zipline! If you haven’t done this, well…you really should. You get to go on a nice ride on the lift in the Full Moon light, and then you get to zipline back down! In the pitch black night. It was exhilarating and oh, so thrilling.  Afterwards we went home and turned on the Haunted Mansion, and I fell asleep in Halloween Heaven. 

On Sunday morning, we were able to go to my nephew’s baby blessing! Kailor is the cutest baby. I could hold him forever! He’s got the most darling dark hair, and it’s safe to say I’m obsessed. I mean, just look at him!! 

DEMOLITION DERBY

I remember my first Demolition Derby like it was yesterday. I was 12 years old, and I had been invited to go with a friend's family. I had no idea what a Demolition Derby even was, but I was hooked as soon as the car-smashing began! But it's not every day that you find other people that also love Demolitions Derbies; they're a tad bit red-neck, haha. So when Berkley texted me and asked if Jake and I wanted to go with her and Corey, I was SO STOKED! The derby definitely did not disappoint, and neither did our company. Berk and Corey are some of our favorite people, and we can't wait for more nights out with them. :) 

FULL MOON AT SUNDANCE

It's been almost two years since my first date with Jake; during which he took me on the Full Moon Lift Ride at Sundance. So when I found out he was planning to take me there again last night, I immediately became ecstatic! I've been itching for Fall to arrive, and it was the perfect way to indulge in a little bit of an early Fall! Up the canyon, the air was crisp and there was a definite chill in the air. Jake wrapped me up in his plaid blanket while we waited for our turn to hop on the lift. On the lift, we got to cuddle and laugh about our first date and wonder how we got to where we are. We're still not that sure, haha, but we couldn't be happier.

We tried so hard to take a good picture, but it was so dark outside that every time the flash went off, I couldn't keep my eyes open! We have so many pictures of Jake lookin' fresh, and me lookin' like a dead person. Although, that's pretty typical no matter the circumstances haha. 

If anyone has any good Fall Bucket List items, send 'em my way! 

RESTAURANT HOPPIN' + WHEELIE POPPIN'

For date night on Thursday, Jake and I went up to SLC and did one of those progressive dinner things! We started out at a little bar called Bayou where we got our appetizer. (sorry, mom. I didn't know it was a bar when I looked it up online! haha) We had fun trying something new there; an alligator sausage pie thing. Sounds a little weird, but it was delicious! Then we asked for our check, and left, haha. It felt funny only ordering an appetizer and leaving, but it really got our appetites up, so we booked it out of there to go grab some real food. 

Red Iguana was our next stop! I was a first timer there, but it's one of Jake's favorites, so he was really excited about the food. We were STUFFED by the time we finished dinner, but we weren't about to miss out on the dessert we had planned--CHEESECAKE FACTORY! We needed a little time for our dinner to settle though, so we stopped by one of the Green Bike Stations and rented bikes! 

We had so much fun riding our bikes around downtown and to the restaurant. 

Even if it was a little difficult going up one of the hills because we were so full, haha..

Between driving up to Salt Lake, making our way to each restaurant and including wait times, and the bike ride, it ended up taking us 6 hours overall, so I'm just glad Jake isn't sick of me. ;)

BOOKSHOPS + BEES GAMES

It was MONTHS ago when Jake and I had been talking about how much I love bookshops. It was January, and we had just gone ice fishing when we came back home to change before we wanted to go grab some dinner.  While trying to warm up, we spent a solid amount of time sitting on the floor of my bedroom looking through my book collection, and Jake would pick up random books and ask me about them. Fast forward to last Thursday when Jake picked me up after work and told me he wanted to take me somewhere as a surprise. We were driving up to Salt Lake and he kept giving me little hints towards where we were going, but I just had no clue! When he pulled up to Trolley Square, I was even more stumped! But as we walked through the square, and eventually came to Weller's Books, a rare and used books bookstore, I became overjoyed.

It is one of the most thoughtful dates ever planned for me! I will never get over how sweet and thoughtful Jake is. And as we walked in, Jake told me about how he'd randomly stumbled across this bookstore one day and thought about how he wanted to take me there. He also gave me a "coupon" good for one book + one kiss, haha. You bet I cashed in on both! ;) 
We spent about an hour there, just casually perusing the selections. 
Afterwards, we grabbed some dinner and hit up the last inning of a Bees game. 

And then my heart exploded. 

BOOM.

Okay. Not literally ;), haha (duh), but, I mean, could I even ask for anything more?  

Also, for anyone needing some good reads:

My favorite book(s): The Catcher in the Rye 

and The Language of Flowers 

Jake's favorite book: When Breath becomes Air

What I'm currently reading: Ready Player One

All of which I'd highly recommend. :) 

Also Harry Potter. 

If you haven't read Harry Potter, 

you should really get on that.

Jazz v. Kings!

Saturday Matthew and I went to the Jazz game! He got  a 2-games-for-1 deal, so we'll be going to the Spurs v. Jazz game next month too. We probably had the best seats available in the upper bowl, with a perfect view of the court. I bet you guys were watching on TV since Jimmer  was playing, right? Who didn't love at the end of the game, when the Kings just needed a 2-pointer to win, and Jimmer gets the ball, takes a step behind the line for a 3, AND...misses! haha...we laughed so hard. Poor Jimmer..all the University of Utah fans, who hated him while he played for BYU, still hated him and pretty much were booing him the entire game. We had a good time eating Dippin' Dots and Red Vines, and watching one of our favorite teams. After the game we got free pizza from Papa Johns! Is that anyone else's least favorite pizza place? 

Who else watched the Jazz game? Were you cheering for the Jazz, or just for Jimmer?