Scottsdale and Spring Training

The past two weeks have been a blur with work keeping us incredibly busy and on opposite schedules. When things finally slowed down, we took the chance to get out of town for the weekend. One of our favorite places to visit is Scottsdale, AZ and the 3 Palms hotel. Since opening day is right around the corner, this was also our last chance to see my favorite team the Cleveland Indians play out west for a while. They hold spring training at Goodyear Ballpark just a few miles away from Scottsdale. Despite only being there for about 36 hours, we had a lovely time!

Jack and Loretta

I adore this song and video.

Leap Year

Well, February proved to be a very busy month as imagined it would. I'm so glad we get an extra day because the last few weeks have flown by. Since updating our Photo A Day Blog occupied any free time I had, I thought I would update here by sharing a little recap of my favorite moments from the last month. The first week was spent preparing Kyle for our first horse show of the season. I like to compare it to cramming for a final. We had so much fun and we even brought home a few ribbons.

We definitely got our fill of delicious this month. Not only did we prepare plenty of homemade meals, we dined out in Las Vegas at The Cracked Egg, Krazy Sushi, Battists's Hole In The Wall, and Le Thai.

 For Valentines Day Joe took me on a date to see the show Absinthe at Ceaser's Palace. It was lovely!

We attended a birthday party for a 31 year old horse which included hors d'oeuvres and a live musician.

Our new kitten Oliver has been home with us for a month now. I has been so fun watching him grow and win the hearts of Mr. Webster and Wilhelmina, who were a little skeptical of the tiny feline upon his arrival. 

Last weekend I enjoyed a weekend in Scottsdale, AZ for the 57th annual Arabian Horse Show. I hope someday to call Scottsdale home, but until then I like to go any chance I get. Unfortunately, I was sans husband this trip due to work, but I was joined by two good friends from Las Vegas, and met up with even more friends at the show. It was wonderful, the shopping, the food, and of course over 2500 pure bred and half Arabian horses. It is an incredible feeling being surrounded by the best trainers, breeders, and horses in the industry. Not to mention inspiring. 

My absolute favorite thing from February was watching Joe in his first lesson working cows.

Most of us have a bag of tricks...

I highly recommend that everyone watch this wonderful documentary about horseman Buck Brannaman. Buck was the inspiration behind the story of The Horse Whisperer which was later made into a movie starring Robert Redford and Scarlett Johansson. Buck also worked on set and is credited as the movies equine technical advisor. His story is inspiring to non-horse folks as well . It is currently available on Netflix instant queue for your viewing pleasure.

Arizona Hot Springs

Today Joe and I were invited by our friends Matt and Carla to join them on mid-winter hike in Arizona along the Colorado River. It was a pretty tough hike, but the pay off included incredible views of the river and relaxing in a 100 degree, crystal clear mineral pool. The White Rock Canyon trail head begins four miles down river from the Hoover Dam and is about 6 miles round trip. To reach the hot springs you must climb a 20 foot ladder up a waterfall. Good thing we brought our bikinis!

 I would love to take the dogs and camp on the shore soon!

Keep Calm, and Canter On

A couple of days ago while the husband took his first riding lesson, I befriended some of the animals around the ranch.

Later on at Vegas Sands I rode Kyle and Joe took this little video of us.

(song by The Black Keys)

California Adventure.

As a Christmas gift my parents purchased Disneyland tickets for my husband and I. We did not hesitate to use them.Wednesday we after a long day of work we drove directly to their house in Los Angeles and crashed for the night. 

The next morning we headed to Anaheim extra early. It was 80 degrees and gorgeous outside. We had a ridiculously good time riding everything we could and eating as much food as possible. 

It was exhausting.

 

We ate strawberries, giant turkey legs, chocolate covered bananas, macaroni and cheese, popcorn, and giant pickles. I may or may not have indulged in a churro while Joe was riding splash mountain. The park was still decorated for the holidays, including the Nightmare Before Christmas Haunted Mansion. It even snowed during the fireworks finale. Friday morning after coffee with my parents we made a quick detour in search of lunch and the seaside. With little time to spare we decided on Venice Beach since neither one of us had been for several years and my parents live around the corner. It was just as I remembered it. We walked along the boardwalk stopping for a bite at Poke-Poke. 

 We had the Wasabi and the Spicy Tuna poke. They were both amazing. Portable, inexpensive and delicious. We wandered around the beach for a while watching the waves and picking up shells.

I could have stayed all day and watched the sun set, but traffic from Los Angeles to Las Vegas on a Friday evening is not something I like to participate in. To make the drive home a little less brutal, we made one more stop on the boardwalk for a snow cone and a slice on the walk back to the car.