I need a drink!

I try to take off a few days in a row each month to clear my head and think about things other than work. This few days was full of activities, so full that I forgot I needed some rest and relaxation.

To begin, I took a drive down to my daddy's house in New River to meet up with my step-niece that was visiting from North Carolina that I have not seen since last summer. I must say that she is one beautiful 14 year old girl with such a good head on her shoulders. I can't remember if I was so aware of the world when I was her age. It was really neat to talk to her about her beliefs and ideas about life. Every time we plan our summer events, her and I are treated like princesses by my step-mom and dad. Needless to say we had activities planned each day.

The first day we went to the Kartchner Caverns located in Tucson, AZ. It was Such an amazing sight. The tour guide begins by telling you not to touch anything in the underground cave, you then walk through huge metal doors (look like a restaurant freezer door) that close in front and behind you. This didn't do well with my claustrophobia but I managed to keep telling myself it was almost over. You then walk through a misting system which helps keep all the small particles, lint and dirt we have on our bodies from falling on or in the deep dark depths of the cave. When these things, along with the oils on our hands, touch the stalagmites and stalactites it begins to wear away the crystals and natural beauty. Inside these caverns it was pitch dark and so quiet that when we all stopped talking you could hear one small drip of water fall from the ceiling and from the so called "soda straws" that can be up to 20 feet long but only the width of a McDonalds straw. It was amazing to see what two young men had found and kept secret for 14 years. They made a deal with the State of Arizona to keep these enormous underground caves preserved. I was really bummed out when we found out we were not allowed to take pictures inside these caves. Thank you to all the careless tourists who would fall over or drop something in to the cave while clicking and capturing the beauty. So... the pictures on here are google images!

We could really tell a difference between the preserved caves and the caves that we were able to touch or photograph. The second cave we entered was also in Tuscon and was called Colossal Cave. It not only was full of dust but smelled horribly of GUANO!! That's bat poop if you didn't know. EEWWW! But we did hear a colony of 130 bats in this cave and saw a million legged centipede!! So cool but it almost fell on my head. My dad, Karyn, Chandler and I trampled through the cave taking pictures of everything, hanging from the sides pretending to be falling or crawling up it. There are many pictures taken by Karyn, bless her heart, that are of half my face, our knees, my dad's neck and best of all, nothing. She had a real hard time figuring out her camera but we had a good laugh....at her! I couldn't help but be the annoying photographer and take pictures of nature. I have realized this is my favorite thing to do. My dad made fun of me by saying "Hey Alanna, want a picture of this?" while pointing at a rock. I don't care, everyone has their own definition of beauty! SO THERE!

So we headed back up the hill to head for Salt River Tubing the next day! This is a family summer tradition of ours. We all get our wal-mart water shoes on, find the oldest hat dad owns, and cake on the sunscreen. We learned last year that 4 hours floating on a black tube will make for RED legs and bellies. Well I guess I really didn't learn, I really wanted a tan this time. Yea...it didn't work out so well. My legs are still fried and my belly itches every time I move. ooooo cha cha!






I then went home to prepare myself for one of the most nerve wrecking, exciting, anxious, suspenseful night ever!! You see, my boyfriend/love of my life/best friend, is not only a firefighter but a "cage fighter!" I am so proud of my man! ANYWAY, he decided to fight this Saturday and he won!!! I was a wreck the entire night and entire fight until the referee took him by the hand and said "the winner by ref stopagge in the third round is.... MIIIICHAAEELLLL GREEEEEENWAAAALT! I proceeded to jump up and down screaming and cheering while everyone gave me dirty looks because I was too loud, standing in the aisle, barefoot, and in a mini skirt. It was great! He recieved his metal and walked over to find me, while still in the cage, and blew me a kiss. I about cried my face off right then and there but I got myself together and let out a " I need a drink."





Last year Michael fought his first fight and lost it, so this year he was determined to win the cheesy gold metal Rage in the Cage gives out. This man is so determined. He set a goal( to be 205lbs), stopped eating his favorite foods (pizza, beer, and carbs), trained in MMA just about every day( with his team of guys known as Peak Team) and changed his mind set to the thought process of "I'm going to get in to a cage, with a 230lb guy, in front of 3000 people and use the skills I have learned and trained for the past 6 months and hope to either knock the guy out or submit him." I think he is amazing and so proud of his hard work. Many of our friends and family showed up to the fight. Some were more intoxicated than others and some were more nervous than others. We all had a great time!

I will figure this blog thing out...