MY TRIP TO DISNEYLAND!

You guys! Disneyland is the BEST!! 

I always sightly roll my eyes at all the crazy Disney fanatic people out there, but I get it now. It's just such a happy place! It instantly makes you feel like a little kid again and it truly does feel so magical.

I've only been twice before. Once when I was 5, and then once when I was 18. We didn't go that often growing up, but this time makes experience number 3 and I loved every minute of our 16 hour Disneyland day! Yeah... we stayed in the park 16 hours, but it still felt like it flew by!

We got to Disneyland about 40 minutes before it opened so we were near the front of the lines at the gate to get in. When they opened the gates, we decided to head to Space Mountain first since we figured that would only get busier as the day went on. As we were walking there, all the characters were out waving to everyone as we walked by; it was the cutest thing! Eeyore actually really startled me because I was walking along some hedges looking past at fairy godmother waving to Jeremy + I when I realized Eeyore was standing just on the other side of the hedges looking right at us. He was literally like 3 feet from me and I didn't see him until he shifted a little! It made me super laugh at the idea of Eeyore just hiding behind some hedges watching everybody walk by. I said "Oh, hi!" to him in a way too high pitch of a voice because he really startled me!

We got super lucky with an overcast, pleasant day! All my memories of amusement parks usually involve being super hot all day, so it was nice to actually wear my sweater for a good part of the day! We planned to put them in the lockers when it got hot and get them for the fireworks, but we ended up needing them more than we thought we would.

 

I'm such a fan of these Dole Whip Floats! Oh man, that was the most refreshing, yummy, mid-day treat! I could seriously have one of those everyday and not get sick of them! Thanks to the suggestion of some of my friends, Jeremy and I bought Maxpass with our tickets and let me tell you, that was the best decision we made! It's only $10 extra and lets you cut in front of all the big lines! I don't know why everyone doesn't just buy them? They must not know about them. Every time we waltzed right by a huge line I kept telling Jeremy I would have totally paid $10 each ride to not have to wait! It really was so worth it.

Some of my FAVORITE moments of the day:

• Space Mountain! We rode it twice and it was so fun!

• Seeing all the characters wave to everyone as we all entered the gates in the morning.

• Indiana Jones- that ride is so fun and just designed so well!

• My Mickey Mouse pretzel and cheese. Yum!

• Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room. What a cute little bunch of birds!

• Jungle Cruise- our boat captain was so un-enthused by her job and did not deliver her lines with much pizazz and it made me laugh.

• Fantasmic! Thanks to a really sweet employee, he saw us leaning against the walkway rail trying to figure out where we could watch the show when he told us he could get us under the rope to the VIP viewing area if we wanted. He was such a kind older man and a real lifesaver in that moment. More on that later.*
• The fireworks! We ran over right before they started (because we watched Fantasmic) and another super nice employee helped us find a nice spot to watch.They really start to herd you around like cattle during those busy moments and that stresses me out.

• It's A Small World. I absolutely loved it when I was little and still love it now. I didn't realize how long it was though! It really makes me appreciate my family even more for going on it so many times when I was 5! Such a catchy little song. :)
• Storybook Land. What a cute little water ride! I love any type of boat ride really, but especially when there's cute Disney stories involved.
• Getting pizza at Pizza Planet from Toy Story! It's expensive and doesn't fill you up at all, but it was fun.
• Riding Matterhorn early when there was still a perfect crisp chill in the air and no line!
• Haunted Mansion, that ride is so fun!
• The train ride around the park. It was a perfect way to rest and see all the sights. I always love the train rides at amusement parks. That's one of my favorite things at Lagoon actually!
• Walking up to the gates in the morning with the different Disney songs playing over the speakers. That was the perfect way to set the mood for the day!

 *Back to that moment above, I don't consider myself an anxious person in the least bit but I do have weird moments that sneak up on me sometimes. I I was on the verge of a weird anxious moment when we were looking for somewhere to stand/sit for Fantasmic because the parade earlier consisted of a lot of rude Disney employees telling us we had to move, couldn't stand where we were standing, had to keep walking, couldn't stop, keep moving. Literally when we were so far out of the way from foot traffic and the parade an employee still came up to us to say we couldn't stand where we were standing. We seriously couldn't have been further out of the way of everybody, but she still told us to move. I just wanted to eat my pretzel in peace! I didn't want another experience like that for Fantasmic so that's why that older man was such a sweetheart to help us. Maybe he could sense the anxiety? haha

I just really love the overall feeling in the air at Disneyland! It's just an entire day of being truly present in each moment, and feeling like your 5 year old self again! I love the characters, I love the amount of detail that goes into each ride, I love seeing the happiness on everyone's face, I love all the cute little ducklings following their mamas around the park (are there always that many ducklings?). I just love how fun it is! From the moment you're walking up to the gates with all the Disney music playing over the speakers, to the moment you leave so sleepy, and full, and truly content, it's just a magical place. :)

It was such a fun day and I can't wait to go back! We got there at 7:20a.m. and didn't leave the park until about 10:50p.m. and I still feel like we didn't get to do everything! I tried to meet Mickey and Minnie Mouse twice back in their houses and each time they were gone! What the heck kind of errands do those two have to run? Next time, I'll figure out what times I should try to meet them. I also have never been to California Adventure and I want to go there soon! Pixar Pier is opening this June so maybe I'll go sometime this summer to explore that park!

 

I love Disneyland! I can't wait to go back!  

ST GEORGE + TUACAHN!

This past weekend, Jeremy's family was nice enough to invite me along to their girls trip to St. George! 

We watched Mamma Mia at the Tuacahn outdoor theatre which was such a cool amphitheater! It was pushed right against the red rock, and when the lights would dim between the scenes you could see all the stars. The musical itself was good too! I'm glad I got to experience it, but I don't think it's one I would watch again. Not like Chicago or Sweeney Todd, I could watch those over and over again! haha

(I guess I wasn't really in a photo mood because I only took this one photo of the theater to send to Jeremy.)

It was sooo warm in St George! It just felt like I stepped back into summer again for a couple of days. It was like 85-90 during the day and 70ish at night. It was so nice! If you enjoy theatre and are ever in the St George area, treat yourself to a little show by the red rocks! Currently they're also performing Shrek and Newsies, and then at the end of October they have a little Halloween dance thing which looks fun!

Thank you Fosters for letting me tag along with your family! It was fun. :)


Tuacahn Theatre:  www.tuacahn.org

25TH BIRTHDAY TRIP TO SAN DIEGO!

For my birthday weekend, I went to San Diego for the first time! It was so much more beautiful than I thought it would be! It honestly felt like a little Hawaii to me; it was so tropical and the perfect weather! I guess I just had really pictured it being more desert and not as nice as it was. I don't know what I was thinking! 

We actually went for a wedding, but I just pretended we were there for my birthday! haha. The wedding was beautiful and the reception was held at a venue on the Navy base right next to the bay. It was so nice to spend the night eating, and drinking, and dancing by the water! 

Saturday we had the day to just explore the city so we did! We first went to Liberty Station to a coffee shop that also had a little pop up shop of the cutest things. It was one of those shops where you want everything but even simple candles are like $45 bucks. Um, no thank you. They really did have such cute things though! And it inspired me to try to make a white flowy dress like one I saw there.

The interior of the shop! The coffee shop is behind the camera.

We then went to Balboa Park to walk around and I loved it! That whole park is so pretty and a relaxing escape from the city. We walked to the old Cactus Garden which is still there from the 1930s. A guy working at that little coffee shop actually suggested we go there. Honestly, it needed a little love. It felt a little neglected when it came to weeds and general upkeep, but I love the idea of a garden being created in the 30s still existing today.

We had lunch at Chipotle (as we do on vacations)! And then we went down to the Harbor area by the USS Midway! We saw the kissing statue, walked around all the huge ships, got ice cream from a little ice cream cart guy, sat by the water and admired the pirate looking ships, and just enjoyed the day!

25 years old in San Diego!

Can we just all appreciate how crazy my Bugs Bunny ice cream looks? He super made me crack up with those crazy eyes! I really wanted the Spongebob one but the guy was all out, but I loved my little lunatic Bugs Bunny!
 

I saw a cruise ship for the first time when we were near the harbor and I couldn't believe just how massive those ships are! Jeremy was actually driving when we turned at a light, and a Disney cruise ship came into view at the dock. I gasped because it was just so massive and that really freaked Jeremy out! He thought someone was about to hit us or something because of the way I gasped. hahah. It was just so massive, you guys! I know all of you know because I swear everyone has gone on a cruise besides me, but I had never experienced seeing a ship that ginormous so close to me! It was very breathtaking to say the least.

Yay for fun trips! And yay for finding another city to add to the love list! 


[San Diego Part 2 to follow shortly.]

LABOR DAY WEEKEND IN LA!

I went to my aunt and uncle's house in Southern California for Labor Day Weekend! It was a relaxing weekend to escape to. We went to the beach, collected sea glass in the sand, went to the Oxnard Farmer's Market by the harbor, went boogyboarding, viewed model homes in Ventura, ate the yummiest food, played games, and just relaxed together.

My mama + I spent some time looking for sea glass together on the beach and we found some really fun pieces! I found a yellow one which my aunt said is really rare! She said she's been looking for seaglass for years but she has never found a yellow one before. I guess the ocean just knew I love yellow!

Anti + Greg took us up to the Father Serra Cross in Ventura which was a really pretty lookout over the coastline in both directions! There were a few couples at the top sitting in camping chairs or on the grass just looking out over the views which seemed like such a perfect way to spend a morning. I'm just a little romantic at heart, I suppose.

My elote from the Oxnard Farmer's Market! How smart is this! All the delicious things about elote without the mess! Elote in a cup is my new favorite thing. They just take one of those electric carving knifes and cut all the corn off of one grilled cob and put all the ingredients on top. This photo was after I stirred it all around. :)

I really love Southern California and each time I come back to Salt Lake City, I get a little more serious about moving there. This time I've been looking into buying a home/condo near where my Aunt and Uncle live. I just love that area and I love the beach! And I was so pleasantly surprised to find that I can buy a nice condo really close to the ocean for less than 300k. Who knew I could have been living near the beach this whole time! haha

Here's to saving all my pennies for the next few months. :)

PIT STOP IN BEND, OREGON.

On our drive through Oregon, we took a little pit stop in Bend, Oregon to check out a coffee shop. Bend was such a cute city, and this coffee shop was the perfect little stop on our roadtrip! We got to stretch our legs, see part of the town, and enjoy one of the best mochas I've ever had! Oh my gosh, it was so good! And it was iced on a hot sunny day and that was so refreshing and just what I needed.

I don't know the next time I'll be back in Bend, but I can't wait to go back to Spoken Moto to get another iced mocha in the cutest little glass! It was such a cute coffee shop! If you're ever just passing through Bend and you have some free time, take a break, have a seat on the cute green couch, and enjoy a yummy mocha. 

It was just an all around peaceful, sunny, cool coffee shop/motorcycle shop.

MINI VACATION TO MIDWAY!

For some reason, Midway is one of those towns I can never for the life of me remember the name of! We went there for a wedding, and we stayed at the Homestead Resort which was pretty cute! The wedding was really nice, but I think I mainly just loved escaping normal life for a bit.

Why is it always so much more fun to lay in a hotel bed and watch TV than it is to lay in my own bed and watch TV? haha. 

As much as I love people, a big part of me really just loves being by myself! I love being able to just wander around alone, sprawl out on the bed alone to watch Fixer Upper, and just have alone time to not have to talk to anyone.

Jeremy was there to photograph his co-worker's wedding so I spent a good chunk of it just walking around exploring the resort. I attended most of the wedding but snuck away a few times to just wander, to check out the pools and hot tub, to check out a couple movies for the night from the front desk in the lobby, and to buy candy in the gift shop. And of course to eat up the yummy filet mignon and have a few glasses of wine. ;)

We didn't actually have time to go to the Crater which is what the Homestead Resort is known for, but we will still do that one day! After breakfast at the little patio cafe, we got to enjoy some time by the pool and in the hot tubs which was so lovely! The breakfast was really yummy also! Pancakes have always been my go to breakfast food and they made really delicious fluffy pancakes!

It was such a nice little getaway weekend and I loved spending some time in Midway because I really haven't been there much. It really is such a cute town!

ANDRES' WEDDING IN OREGON!

This past weekend, Andres and Phillip got married! I drove out to Corvallis for the wedding last Wednesday after work and came back Monday night. It was such a nice trip and so much fun! 
The wedding was beautiful! It was held in a vineyard in Corvallis and the actual ceremony was in the middle of an orchard with white paper lanterns and shear white cloth draped across the altar. It really was pretty enchanting. 

And just look how adorable we are! Andres and Phillip had all the groomsmaids wear long white dresses and it just looked so beautiful when we were all together!

11:00a.m.- All the groomsmaids met at Andres and Phillip's House to get ready, fully equipped with matching gold silk robes and all the mimosas in the world.

4:30p.m.- The most beautiful ceremony in the orchard. The orchard was beautiful, the grooms were so handsome, the music was lovely, and everyone involved was even more so.

6:00p.m.- Toasts from friends. The yummiest dinner. I tried salmon for the first time to see if I would like fish now. Still don't!

 

7:00p.m.- Cake cutting. Dancing. More dancing. More dancing.

 

We laughed. We danced. We cried. I cried less than I thought I would but more than I wanted to. We ate. We drank. We celebrated love in all it's forms. Husband and husband. Friends and family. The unity of loved ones coming together to celebrate a new beautiful marriage.

It was just such a fun, beautiful, happy day!