Fall Goals 2015

You guys...Fall is officially here!  It certainly doesn't feel like Fall in my neck of the woods yet, but I'm very much looking forward to sweater weather and all things pumpkin.  Here are a few things I hope to accomplish within the next few months: Work my bum off (literally) for Roller Derby.  For the next 12 weeks, I'll be going to weekly practices and I want to not only be able to keep up....I reeeeally want to become an athlete.  Fitness has taken a backseat for most of my adult life-getting fit for Derby is the perfect motivation for me right now.

At The Park // Squirrell

I don't know about you, but I can never get over how cute squirrels are.  After snapping shots of the butterflies at the park last week, we headed back to the truck to leave...until I saw this pretty girl!  She was so cute!  She had made a little groove in the dirt at the base of a tree and was rolling around in it after burying a nut for later.  Look at all the dirt on her snout!

At The Park // Winged Creatures

While at the park recently, I stumbled upon the local butterfly meeting grounds, and have been meaning to make a trip back so that I can try and get a few butterfly shots.  I was crossing my fingers that there would be just as many there as there had been when I didn't have my camera with me....because let's face it-that's usually how it goes right?  As soon as we parked, I could see that my luck was with me...they were everywhere!  I snapped away while Matthew did a few laps around the park track, and am really happy with the shots I got.  I'm definitely going to have to go back and try for some more this weekend!

At The Park // Armadillo

It's no secret around these parts that Armadillos are EVERYWHERE.  The weather has cooled down just a bit in the past few days and let me tell ya...80 degrees feels incredible after weeks of stepping outside has felt like stepping into an oven and having your clothes immediately stick to your body.  To be honest, the heat has played a major roll in keeping me away from visits to the park.  So when I stepped outside this past Saturday, I decided that it was the perfect day to visit the park.  I packed up my camera bag, threw on some flip flops, and headed to one of my favorites around the corner. As soon as I got there, I noticed a group of deer at the far end of the trail...they noticed me too and headed straight for the treeline.  I knew they wouldn't be anywhere near that spot when I got there, but the little opening in the treeline was calling for me-so I headed that way :)  I was about to continue into the woods when I heard a light rustling sound in the leaf litter nearby...I knew it was an armadillo before I even spotted it.  They've been a constant in my little explorer life, and they've become so easy for me to identify by sound.

On The Trail // Dinosaur Valley State Park: Part 1

 As I mentioned in my previous post, Matthew and I spent Labor Day visiting Dinosaur Valley State Park for the first time, and I'm pretty excited about the photos I left with...so much so that I'm splitting them into two posts!  I wish the place wasn't nearly 2 hours away-because it's seriously one of the best hiking areas I've been to.

State Park Visit // Dinosaur Valley

 Matthew and I spent Labor Day visiting Dinosaur Valley State Park for the first time.  I've been wanting to check it out for a really long time, and was super excited to finally get to go :)  The visitor center had a really neat dinosaur exhibit, and the diagrams and illustrations were my favorite part.

Buzzcuts Forever

Friday night, I sat on the edge of the tub while Matthew buzzed my hair.  I had done it once before, but ti's been years and although I've been wanting to do it again for a long time-I just kept putting it off.  I'm so happy I decided to order a clipper set and just do it.  I'm definitely keeping it for a long time, and I'll most likely go shorter when it's time to cut it again.

NARBC // August 2015

I recently made a day of visiting the NARBC show with my Mom, Colt, and Matthew.  I try to make a point of attending reptile expos when I get a chance, and the NARBC show is my favorite.  It's massive and there's always so much to see.  I saw Axolotl's for the first time, so that was pretty awesome!  If my mom didn't have such a long drive home-I'm almost positive that she would have taken one of those little guys home.  She's never been much of a herptile fan, and with this being the first show she's ever been too-I was really surprised to see her so interested.  She even pet a few lizards!  Trust me...it was a big deal :)