"It's a-me, Mario" & Other October Happenings

The month of October was pure chaos.

Lovely.

But.. Yeah Chaotic.

I worked way more than usual. My dad, brother and one of my best friend's from high school came to visit. Midterms and basically just school in general. Parties (in all forms and varieties). Halloween. Anniversary. Oh! And just for good measure, let's throw two weddings in there!

Needless to say, I am exhausted. Instead of finding any solace in the month of November, I just have to repeat it as the holidays are coming up and that is the BUSIEST time of the year for my work. Oh boy! I will not get any rest until the 1st of January.

Oh well.

Here are some pictures, enjoy!

 

On October 14th, Brian took me to work. He was a little late picking me up from work so I was a little ticked. However, when I got in the car, I realized why he was late. On the passenger's seat were balloons in our wedding color, a chocolate bar, flowers and a note. The note said, "Coupon for a night out at the Cheesecake Factory. Only Valid Tonight! Happy 6 month Anniversary!" He is so sweet to me. Oh, and yes the Cheesecake Factory was delicious.

 

 

The Sunday my dad drove into town, we knew he would be coming a little bit later in the evening so we decided to go up to Sundance and take some pictures. We are so glad we did the colors of the leaves were absolutely beautiful!

 

Brian is a little bit more beautiful than the leaves. Obviously.

 

Just as we predicted my dad called us as we were driving to my aunt's house from Sundance to ask us where we were. I was so happy to see him! I gave him a big hug and we hung out for pretty much two days straight. I am so grateful that I have an awesome dad that would drive across the country to bring me a car. I am also grateful that I was allowed a surprise visit from my dad. I really was sad that I might not see him for a while.

 

 

Me and my dad doing what we do best: Being goof balls.

 

I think we all kind of rub off on each other in the goof ball sense...

 

I was so excited that I was able to go to one of my very best friend's bachelorette parties. Her family is so nice and welcoming and we had a great time teasing our little Megan and eating sushi at Happy Sumo.

 

 

One of the most anticipated times of the year for me is October and December.

 

October: Count Chocola Cereal

December: Cap'n Crunch Christmas Cereal

 

Brian and I (mostly Brian) made halloween cookies for the kids in our class. They loved them.

Halloween cookies include: little kids kicking pumpkins, ghost, zombie, vampire, alien and a really weird red haired boy that I named, Anthony.

We had a lot of fun participating in all of the Halloween festivities. We watched a lot of scary movies (new, old, and really old.) We went on a spooky ski lift ride at Sundance at night. It actually was scary for me, not because people jumped out at you, but because I am deathly afraid of heights so I held onto that bar for dear life the entire ride, haha! Since Sarah (Brian's sister) and her family are away, we are really grateful that we teach 4-5 year olds at church. Seriously. The holidays are just way more fun when little kids are there to find the magic in it.

 

Like our pumpkin? I found it on Pinterest. It's an original idea...

 

 

All month I have been telling Brian that for our Halloween dinner I was going to make "Mummy Dawwwgs." He liked them a lot. Probably because instead of hot dogs, we used Brats.

 

Cause we are classy like that.

 

Even classier than most classy people because we get our dessert from a plastic bag.

 

top that.

 

:o

 

 

After dinner we went to a dance. We had gone to a dance the previous weekend with my in-laws Emily and Chase. But we wanted to do something on actual Halloween night. The dance was fun. Everybody loved our costumes.

 

They are my favorite costumes by far.

 

Look at that sweet 'stache

 

This October, chaotic as it was, was very fun.

 

 

But, I think I speak for everyone when I say that I am way beyond ready for Thanksgiving and Turkey.

 

Hahahahaha!

 

Happy November Everyone!!!!!

 

 

 

Seattle Road Trip

Brian and I wanted to make sure that we went on a honeymoon because we have spoken to so many people who had been married for a year, 5 years, 10 years, even 20 years, who had not yet been on a theirs.

But where...?

We are really hoping to visit Brian's sister in Paris next spring, so we didn't want to spend a ton of money, but we knew we definitley wanted to get away. On our wedding night, we drove up to Salt Lake City for a long weekend. It was really nice, but I don't consider a 45 minute drive north a honeymoon.

Brian kept telling me he wanted to go to Seattle and show me all of the places he went on his mission. Honestly, I wasn't too thrilled about that idea. All I knew about Washington was that it rains there

A LOT.

and if you know me (even briefly) you will know that me and rain, do NOT get along.

Rain is just not nice to my hair.

and again if you know me (even briefly) you will know that my hair is my baby and I will do anything to protect it (and its reputation) at all costs.

However, Brian assured me that the week he had planned out for us to go would be one that was filled with sunshiney weather. (A promise he was not sure of completely, until 10 days before our trip. Luckily, he was right and I did not have to kill him.)

Brian: "Phew!"

We Got there on Wednesday night, after a 15 hour drive to Burlington. The drive was long and boring, but totally worth it.

The first day we went to a city called Linden. It was a cute little dutch town with breath taking landscapes. Brian took me to a place that he and his companions would go and get the most delicious, cheapest ice cream ever! It was a dairy called Edaleen dairy. We got an extra large vanilla icecream cone for $1.39! They had 2 gallon cartons of milk for $1.99! My dad (aka "the baby calf") would have loved it there, lol! I told him about it and I think he was a little bit jealous of us.

Afterwards, we stopped at a beach pretty close by. It was beautiful. I had never been to the Pacific Ocean, so I was really excited. I collected some seashells.. but don't tell anyone, because I'm pretty sure I wasn't supposed to take them out of the park... :x

 

 

 

 

 

Brian and I attempted to take some cool pictures. Some of them worked, and some of them... not so much.

 

 

First I bombed it..

 

Then, Brian bombed it...

 

Then we aced it!



Brian said that Washington has the best terriyaki places. For dinner we went to a cute little place called Apple Terriyaki. He was right! it was so yummy! The owner was super friendly and gave us tons of rice and free soup. We got Brian's favorite Chicken Terriyaki. I had a hard time getting Brian to leave!

The next day, We drove to Anacortes and hopped on a ferry to Friday Harbor. When I say "hopped" I really mean "ran for our lives."

We were running kind of late, and the ferry was leaving in like, three minutes. We ran faster than I have ever run, because if we missed that ferry, we would have to wait three hours for the next one.
Even the ticket guys were like, "Run!" We made it there just in the knick of time, right as they were untying the boat. Yup, I felt pretty super agent like. The boat ride was beautiful. I didn't even know that Washington had islands that people lived on so it was incredible to see all of those beautiful houses.

 

Oh my gosh, I want to go back so bad!!!

 

(Like always, I was being a baby) so I'm holding onto that railing for dear life!

 

Funny Story

 

While Brian and I were on the boat ride to Friday Harbor, there was this man who suddenly pulled out a wooden flute and started playing music to a baby. Brian and I thought it was hilarious because it reminded us of the YouTube video, "the sax man." We didn't catch him on film playing to the baby, but we did get a snippet of him playing the flute to some elderly people sitting and talking. I'll have to figure out how to post a video from my phone on here, but when I do, you will have to watch it!

 

 

Brian took me a place that sold hot sauce, he showed me the hottest hot sauce that they carry, supposedly, the hottest hot sauce in the whole world. If you are brave enough to even put one drop of it on your toungue, the store owner takes a picture of you and it goes on the wall. See if you can spot Brian from when he tried it 3 years ago!

 

 



 

 

Later that night, we left Burlington and headed to Kirkland, a little city outside of Seattle. Upon our arrival, we were very surprised to see that the hotel we were staying at had upgraded our room to a King Spa Suite because it was our honeymoon. We were so happy. It had a beautiful jacuzzi right in the room. I hate going to the jacuzzi's in hotels and having 10 strangers decide they want to go in at the same time as you. It was nice to have a private one. That night we went to down town Kirkland, which is seriously the prettiest and cleanest down town in the United States of America. We ate at this yummy place called the Cactus. I got tortilla soup and a mocktail. Brian got Tacos Al Pastor and Mexican Lemonade.

 

TRY THIS MEXICAN LEMONADE!

 

1 carton simply lemonade juice

2 tbs cilantro chopped

1/2 jalepeno sliced

ice

 

mix together and enjoy!

 

The next morning we went to Pike's Place. It was amazing. Totally not what I was expecting. My mom would love it. We got breakfast at a bakery, and Brian bought me some beautiful flowers for just $5. Seriously. Getting flowers anywhere else, seems like a rip off now!

 

 

I don't have too many pictures from Pike's Place that I am willing to post it was super humid that day.

Yes, Brian was right it did not rain, so therefore I cannot kill him. :)

 

For lunch, we later went to a little diner called Spuds. It is there that I had my very first, Fish & Chips. Yet another thing I would drive up to Washington to have.

 

 

Sadly the next day, we had to go home. I did not want to leave. Brian fulfilled his many duties by checking the tire pressure and filling up the gas and we started out our sad journey back to orem... Blah!

 

 

Last picture of Washington trees.

 

As you can see, I got pretty bored being in the car for so long...

 

Anyways, Our trip was so fun. It was one I'll never forget. I already want to back, and that's how you know it was a good vacation. :)

 

 



 

 

 

 

 





Catch 22

In my lifetime, I have been blessed in so many ways. 

I have a loving and supporting family.

I have always had food to eat, clothes to wear, and a roof overhead.

I have associated with many wonderful people and am honored to call these people dear friends.

I belong to a church that is based on charity, love and faith.

I live in a great country full of opportunity and freedom.

I am in good health.

My list is simple and modest, but I think it encompasses all that truly matters.

To my list, I add one more thing: A loving husband who enjoys making birthdays a big deal <3

I had a great 22nd birthday. My birthday fell on a Sunday this year. Since Happy Valley tends to shut down on Sundays, we celebrated my birthday on Saturday instead. I was able to take off work. Since I've been working retail, getting any Saturday off is treated as a treasure. Brian and I simply enjoyed each other's company while relaxing. I got my hair trimmed and styled. Brian made me a delicious pineapple, mango and strawberry smoothie for breakfast. 

I was truly impressed with Brian's present picking skills. I really didn't give him much help to his dismay. I told him to take advantage of technology and go through my pinterest account and look at my "my style" and "OMG!I WANT THIS" albums to get some ideas. He did super well. I am very spoiled.

There is an asian market in provo that Brian and I have been going to since we began dating by the bowling alley in Provo. We love going there because they always have super funny candy and treats. For my birthday Brian truly found the funniest and beautiful thing my eyes have ever beheld...

take a few moments to prepare for this...

your life will truly never be the same...

you will forever be in a constant hunt and search for this magnificent treat...


................




................


...................

Oh my goodness! I seriously almost peed from laughing so hard. I just love what it says in the upper right hand corner of the box and I love how "questionable" the actual candies look. I was so pleased.

Later on that night, Brian and I went to the Hale Center Theatre to see a play called, "Old Lace and Arsenic." Neither Brian or myself had ever heard of it or read anything about. (We like it better that way, add some spice to our newlywed life. haha!)

It was AMAZING! I seriously couldn't stop laughing the whole time!

Afterwards, it was quite late. But Brian knew I had my heart set on going to Tucanos for my birthday, so he made a reservation for 10:15. A bit late, no one was there besides us and a family of four. So again spoiled.. or in other words they were treating us like garbage disposals and were trying to get us to eat as much food as possible so they wouldn't have to throw much away. However, still delicious. We were so full afterwards, but Brian wanted to make sure I had some cake for my birthday so we got a huge chocolate cake slice to go. Seriously, that thing was bigger than two of my heads. We did NOT eat it that night! I would have died.

The next day we went to my in-laws. Kara (my mother in law) and Emily (my sister in law) were terribly sweet and prepared a super yummy meal for me. Emily made some delicious Brazilian lemonade. Seriously, it was way better than Tucanos! I have to get that recipe.

All in all, I had a great birthday weekend. 

School started the very next day *sigh*

It honestly won't be too bad. My classes seem chill and low stress. My teachers are cool and down to Earth. I only had to buy two textbooks. Brian is taking on a course load of 18 credits. Bless him.

My dad and possibly my mom may be coming to visit us in mid-October. I really hope so because I miss them so much. Sometimes, I'll talk to them on the phone and, afterwards, get really quiet. Brian is the best and always knows just what I'm thinking about and stops whatever he is doing to give me a hug. It would be nice to see them in October, considering the next scheduled time I'll see them isn't until next August. (Yeah, that would be a whole year away... not cool.) Anyways....

I hope life is treating you well. I hope you are all happy and healthy. In the meantime, I'll be enjoying the exquisite delicacies of a certain chef that you all may have heard of....

;p

The Nucleus & All Things Pink

I truly cannot believe how quickly the summer has just breezed by. It seems like only yesterday I was taking finals and getting married. (Yeah, most stressful thing ever.) Now, my birthday is coming up, which is awesome but with my birthday comes the heartbreaking news that school is upon me once again. I'm trying to look on the brightside.. unfortunately none can be found! So I guess I'll just have to have the best, most eventful, unimaginable, time of my life adventures within the next 13 days to get me through the fall semester blues.

We've been doing a bit of home design here and there since we've moved into our place. I wouldn't say that we are completely finished but, in the past week we've improved things tremendously. Within the first month of our marriage, we bought some shelves to put up in our living room and this last Thursday, we finally took them out of the box and onto the walls! It was a big accomplishment for our little house. We promptly filled it with knick knacks to match our red, white and black decor. We also got a black ottoman and a decent looking laundry basket. No more ugly plastic hamper for us!!

But our decorating skills didn't just end at the living room. Oh no! We continued it into other parts of our house as well! In our bedroom there was a big open space on the wall and we were determined to fill it. So on Thursday night, we headed to the craft store and purchased a canvas and some acrylic paint and went to town! What we created.. I don't have words to describe.

Literally

I have no idea what it is that we made.

But it doesn't matter. We made it. It was fun and, if I do say so myself, it isn't bad for our very first attempt at something artistic. I call it:

"The Nucleus"

(But it has also been referred to as "the fish" or "the abstract cookie monster.")

Our Mission: Fill the void on our bedroom wall

Mission: Accomplished!

You could say that our interior decorating juices were catapulted by a bachelorette party I threw for one of my very best friends this past weekend. It was a lot of fun to plan and prepare for this event for Karissa Lees! I had some food catered since homemaking isn't super my thing quite yet. But it worked out great because I got caught up at work and got out late the day of her party and would have been absolutely freaking if it hadn't been for my caterer Cecilia. Bless her!

I had Cecilia make her infamous tomato basil soup. I quickly threw together the punch of spiked pink lemonade and some air popped pop corn lightly drizzled with butter and sea salt. I had also gotten some pink and white M&M's to match the theme I had set for the party. I think it turned out really well, and I'd like to think that everyone had a good time catching up, and torturing our dear friend with scandalous gifts!

                                                                   The table of Pink

                                                           



                                                  Karissa's moo moo and her "lei of lays" lol!

We also played some games. One was a game I had played at a friend's bachelorette party called Pin the Smooch on the Stud. I drew a picture of kenny on a poster board and then made little smooches for all the girls. I'm sure you can figure out what happened next!

We also played a game to know how much she knew about her man. I asked her 26 ABC questions about Kenny. Everytime she guessed an answer incorrectly, she had to put a peice of gum in her mouth. Needless to say, by the end of the game she could have blown a pretty big bubble!

I'm so glad that everything went smoothly and that we had a good turn out. It was a lot of fun catching up with these girls who have become my friends throughout the time I have known Karissa.

I don't know whether to be embarrassed or proud of this last peice of news. You guys will have to tell me!

Since Brian and I moved into our home about 4 months ago, we started watching Lost, from the begginning. Both of us had watched it when it had first began but he stopped on his two year sebatacle to Washington state, and I had stopped watching it when I came out here for school. We knew that if we were going to watch it, we couldn't simply start where we left off because Lost is confusing enough as is.

Anyways, as for the news.

Yesterday, we finished the series. I don't quite know how I feel about the ending. I'm not sure if I like it or hate it. I'll have to marinate on it.

I hope life finds you happy and well. Until next time. :)





Joie de vivre

Getting ready in the morning is by far the worst part of my day.

It's an incredibley long and tedious procedure and the final result always seems to depend on variables and is therefore unpredictable.

Which is why on days off, such as today, I am avoiding it as long as possible. Which leads to this blog post.

On Sunday, my in laws and myself said farewell to Brian's sister and her family. They haved moved to

Paris, France

for a course of 10 months. We will miss them dearly. I am scared that the little ones will hardly remember me when they get back, and that they will have grown out of their precious little baby faces...

However, I know without a doubt, that they are going to have a remarkable time filled with incredible experiences. Brian and I are toying around with the idea of going to visit them sometime next spring. I would absolutely love to go, as neither Brian or myself have ever been to Europe. But, I suppose only time will tell. You can bet your bottom dollar that I am crossing my fingers, toes, legs, eyes, arms and everything else "crossable" that everything works out so we can go!!!

I'm sure in an earlier post, I have mentioned that Brian and I are teaching in Sunday School with children ages 4-5. Last Sunday, we did a lesson on service. In order to demonstrate the principle, we told them the story of the Good Samaritan. Afterwards, we had them put on costumes and act out the story we had just told them. Brian was the unfortunate fellow who was robbed by the robber (Matt). Katie and Emily and Aaron were the people who walked by without helping, and Taka was the good samaritan who gave Brian water, band aids and "lollipop medicine." I took a picture of them dressed in their costumes, and just had to post it because it's too funny.

I'm really glad we have this calling. It's a blast and it makes church just fly by.

:D

Yesterday, I got off work early and Brian and I were actually able to hang out at night. It has been a while since we have been able to do so with my late schedule. So, we drove up to Salt Lake and went to a few DownEast Home locations to find a small black end table or hutch for our living room. We weren't able to find what we were looking for, however Brian did make a friend.

The beautiful union between foul and man brings warmth and love to every inch of my heart and soul.

Jealousy begins to stir when Brian's heart is torn in two different directions...

nothing will ever tear them apart again.

Afterwards, we went to a delicious Greek place in Holladay called Yannis. If you are ever in the area I would highly recommend going there and getting a chicken gyro with white sauce. It will literally be the best decision you will ever make.

Oh! We also found an old man chair that we may just have to purchase when my parents and brother decide to visit us again. It literally has my dad's name written all over it. However, now that Brian has sat in it... Dad you better be ready to fight to the death!

Alright, I suppose I have procrastinated long enough..

Time to get back to cleaning our house and then getting ready for the day, which seems pointless now considering the day is more than halfway over. Oh well!

Au Revoir!