ZIPLINING!!!

Over the weekend, Patrick and I took advantage of a Groupon I had purchased a few months ago and traveled to Red River Gorge to zipline!  Neither of us had ever been before, but both thought it would be alot of fun--and it was.  The drive down was great--very scenic and pretty with all of the leaves changing colors and it was so nice to get out of the city for a while and enjoy the outdoors and fall weather. 

 Here are some pictures from our day!

Our group shot after the zipping was done.  :)

Getting suited up...way wacky hats!!

Our first zipline of the day...

at this point, we were both wondering what made us think this would be fun...

Getting ready to zip across...

The ziplines all connected to one another through the forest.  There were a total of 5, with the highest over 200 feet and reaching speeds of over 50 mph.  We would zipline from one platform to another platform attached to trees and then walk across bridges like the one below to get to the next zipline.

Me and Patrick on the lines...

 

Ziplines #4 and #5 were double ziplines that ran across this huge ravine.  It really was a beautiful ride across and the longest of our day at just over a minute.  Patrick beat me on this one...but I won the next!  :)

Zipline #5 crossed back over the ravine.  A little shorter ride, but definitely higher up!  If you look down at the bottom left, there are people standing to give you a point of reference.

It was such a super, enjoyable day for us that we'll always remember! 

If you're thinking about trying it, we say GO FOR IT!  :)

Indianapolis Colts!

Ok, for most of you it is NO surprise that I have married an avid football watcher...and his team of choice is the Indianapolis Colts.  His parents have graciously given us tickets to a game each year and we have ended up with the October game both years.  A road trip to Indy in the fall is a pretty sight to see and the weather is just right--not too hot and not too cool.  Here are a few pictures from the game on the 9th.  I'll spare you the details of the game...let's just say I didn't leave with a happy hubby!

 Our pretty scenic view!

DATE NIGHT! 

Patrick had made reservations for us at Harry and Izzy's in Circle Center Mall on Saturday night before the game Sunday.  DELICIOUS pasta, but I'm warning you, stay away from the shrimp cocktail!!

 A great view of the stadium while walking through downtown.  The streets were quite a mess because of renovations being made...we're thinking that was prompted due to the traffic Indianapolis is expecting for the Superbowl in February.  They've got alot to finish up in a short amount of time!  The 40 West Coffee Cafe was a stumbled-upon surprise for us.  They had super sandwiches for a perfect before game lunch.

Getting ready for the game!

This little guy cracked me up...to encourage spectators to remember that streaking was prohibited, they had the Colts mascot de-robe and run across the field.  Absolutely hilarious.

We had planned to take a taxi back to our hotel (which was probably 3 or more miles away) but figured that it was too pretty of a day to sit riding in traffic and that we could probably walk it in the time that it took to find a cab and make it back to the hotel.  Very relaxing, pleasant walk for us!

Busy, busy weekends...

We have really enjoyed the change in the weather over the past week!  The crisp mornings have been a bit chilly for what October should be (already in the upper 30s one night this past weekend!!), but the days have been so pleasant.  Some leaves are changing color and fall is definitely in the air.  We've been up to our ears in projects--house cleaning, painting, decorating (finally getting some pictures hung!), and baking...all great fall activities!

Here's one of our most recent.  Patrick had an old bookcase that his mom and dad gave him when he moved out of the house.  Since we are so short on kitchen cabinet space and storage, we decided to turn this into a pantry.  After a little sanding, priming, painting, and adding a little molding, we ended up with quite a pretty pantry!!    I got a little nervous over our color choice when we started painting...it was so red and I was concerned it was going to be too much for our little dining room.  Turned out to be quite cheery!  We do plan to add a curtain to hide the bottom three shelves...just hasn't happened yet!

BEFORE

 

AFTER

The Fust kitchen has been quite a bit busy the last few weeks.  Our garden finally quit producing (much to Patrick's dismay...he's already asking about what is to be in our fall garden!!) and we finished canning our pickles about 2 weeks ago.  We have really enjoyed passing them around to family and friends!  I have watched my mom and grandmothers can preserves for years and our last trip down inspired me to try it out myself.  We really wanted to make peach preserves but found the season too late to really get good peaches, so we opted for strawberries.  These were so quick and easy to make and turned out delicious.  We'll be sharing these with family soon!

And just this past weekend, in celebration of October's beginning, we made pumpkin bread and pumpkin muffins.  I used a recipe from a friend at work (with a few changes) and these turned out wonderfully!  This recipe makes a very moist bread full of fall flavor.  For those curious, the recipe is below.

Pumpkin Bread

3 cups sugar

4 beaten eggs

1 cup oil

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. nutmeg

2 tsp. cinnamon

2 tsp. baking soda

3 1/2 cups flour

2 cans pumpkin (or 2 cups)

2/3 cups hot water

1/2 nuts (optional)

Mix sugar, oil, and eggs.  Add dry ingredients and mix.  Add pumpkin and water.  Mix well.  Pour into 2 loaf pans and bake at 350 for 1 hour.

And this is our latest home addition...Of all of the wants I have wanted for our home, this has been the greatest!  We both entered marriage with tables built for two and have been looking for a table for a family.  A few weekends ago, we found a great deal on a 6' cherry table (with leaf to extend to 7 1/2') and all 6 chairs for $400!  Now that's a deal we just couldn't pass up!  I know I've said to Patrick at least a hundred times, 'We've got a dining room table!!,' but I really am so excited to finally have a place to eat and entertain guests.  I can't wait until these chairs are one day filled with our children (no time soon, eager grands) and eagerly anticipate all of the fun games and conversations that will take place here!