The Last Post of the Year!

It's New Years Eve, well the day of the Eve if you will. This year has been a great one. There were many ups and downs, mostly ups though :) Daniel and I have grown as a couple and I think we have figured out what buttons not to push and what things will make the other person smile.

Christmas was great this year. We were able to spend the day with my family. I helped make Christmas dinner. I even tried out a new pie recipe, compliments of Sister Marolyn Staffieri, and it was a hit! I got Daniel some new shirts since he has been wanting some and he got me a nano iPod since he said the one I had was outdated and pink. He bought me a blue one, that way he can borrow it if he needs to.

The most important thing that has happened to us this year I would have to say was that Daniel and I were able to get sealed! It was a great accomplishment for us and I feel our journey has allowed for us to have that much more of an appreciation for the Temple.

I'm glad to say that I have a wonderful family on both mine and Daniel's side. They are all so supportive of us and willing to help us out when we need it. Next year we plan a trip to Charlotte, NC with our tax returns and I look forward to visiting where Daniel grew up as well as visit his family. Currently we live with my family and once again I'm grateful for patient parents who are willing to let us stay with them while we save up money.

All in all 2010 was a great year, and I'm very excited for 2011 to begin. So Happy New Years everyone and we wish you all the best with the new year!!

It Never Rains in Southern California...

As you can see, this is not the case. It has been raining non stop for the last week, and it's not supposed to let up until Thursday. Hopefully our pool makes it until then without overflowing. It has been horrible to drive in. There is already weird traffic due to the holiday and the shopping, but adding rain onto it just increases the commute time. Daniel has been giving me a hard time about it since we're in San Diego and it's not supposed to rain this month. Must be El Nino or something.

The dogs don't like it either. They have been pent up in the garage, mostly because they don't like the rain. In order for me to get them to go outside for their restroom breaks I have to stand outside with them in the rain. I think they like the company. It's so funny to watch them out in the rain. Dolly hates it and tries to get inside every chance she gets. Keif I noticed was trying to go to places where he would not get as wet. Either way the second that I hint to go inside they are way ahead of me, waiting by the door.

The rain made it difficult for me to pick up Amber from the Long Beach Airport on Friday. I had met up with Allison in Huntington Beach for some lunch at a Thai place. It was called Phuket Thai, pronounced poo-ket :) It was really good and reasonably priced. I told Daniel we'll have to go the next time we are visiting. It was nice to visit with Allison who I had not seen in almost a year. It'll be good to be closer here so that I can try to meet up with her more often.

The Christmas festivities are coming together. I've decided to make an eggnog pumpkin pie, the recipe of which I had found in a family cookbook given to me from a dear friend of the family. I'm glad she gave it to me for mine and Daniel's wedding because the food in it is delicious! I work every night this week so I am looking forward to having this Christmas weekend off.

A California Style Holiday

On Sunday Daniel and I were able to take a little trip to San Diego. The weather was perfect and it was relaxing to not have to worry about work. We first went to Balboa Park to walk around and to visit our favorite spot, the dog park. We didn't bring Keif this time, but it was fun to watch all the dogs play and observe the different personalities they had. Daniel and I even had a lot of fun trying to guess the different breeds that we saw.

We wanted to watch the sunset at the beach so we headed for Coronado to do that. We made a little trip to the Hotel Del and sat out front while we watched the sun dip into the ocean. There were many people around to enjoy the sunset, we even saw an old man wearing a BYU hat. Daniel called out "go cougars" to him and he pumped his arm up saying"yeah!".

Today Daniel was lucky enough to have the day off since I have it off as well, however, since my parents are out of town I have been on phone duty. We haven't been able to leave the house, but we've been able to just hang out and play with Keif. We even discovered Keif has a favorite part of the yard...in the bushes. Hopefully my parents don't mind.

Our Temple Sealing

Although our Temple Sealing took place August 20, 2010 I'm just now posting pictures from it. Mostly because I had to wait to get access to my parent's camera since they were the ones who took the pictures.

Right after we were sealed.

Daniel is stuck with me forever now.

The beautiful Oquirrh Mountain Temple located in South Jordan, UT. We were able to go to the open house for it before it was dedicated last year.

Some of our family were able to attend. We missed the ones who couldn't make it, but they still shared their joy with us over the occasion.

We even had a few close friends who were able to attend. They are basically family.

It was an amazing experience and we are glad that we were able to have those who are close to us share that special day.

Holiday Season

A little bit of catching up to do on here. First Daniel and I have moved to San Diego and are with my parents which means no rent and no snow! I'm definitely grateful for the no snow part since I've been hearing a lot about the large amounts of snow that Utah has been getting. I don't miss driving in it, cleaning it off my car, or being cold in it. I'm definitely a California girl.

Keif has been doing well the adjustment of moving. He now has a couple of acres to run around on and a kennel buddy, my parent's dog Dolly. Although they don't really play together, they do have a mutual tolerance for each other. Since moving back to San Diego we have been able to to take Keif to the dog park at Balboa Park. He had a lot of fun running around the dogs there and was fairly friendly. We've also taken him to the dog park closer to my parent's in Escondido. That went well until he became territorial of the park and started to scare people from bringing their dogs in while he was there. He's just too Alpha for his own good. We've decided it's best we just take him to regular parks when no one is there for him to run around at.

Work has been going well. Daniel is able to clean carpets with my dad and I have the ol' fall back Chili's to work with. I was not able to work at the Chili's in Escondido like I had planned on since they already have too many employees, but I was lucky enough to get work at the chili's in Temecula. The commute is a little longer, but I'm grateful for the job.

Last week for Thanksgiving we were able to visit with my family. Anissa and Noah came

with their three daughthers, and Amber and Aaron carpooled down from school. We all went to the San Diego State football game against the University of Utah. Daniel was true to Utah and sported his Utah shirt. I on the other hand wanted San Diego to win, maybe it's the BYU roots that I have in me just wanting Utah to lose. It was a great game and for a while it looked like San Diego had the game, but at the end Utah pulled through and won the game 38 to 34. We all had a lot of fun.

For Thanksgiving, Daniel, Amber and I started the day playing some Turkey bowl. It was a flag football game with the singles ward here. It was pretty fun, but next year I'd rather watch him play then participate. After that all of the ladies of the house started putting together the Thanksgiving meal. I made some sweet potato casserole, the recipe being Daniel's mom's recipe, and I made a peanut butter chocolate pie. Both dishes were a hit. I even made a sugar free sweet potato casserole that everyone said was also delicious. Our friend from Utah Angie Wilson joined us for Thanksgiving since she wasn't able to to make it home. It was so nice to visit with a friend we hadn't seen for a bit. Afterwards we took her to old town in San Diego to see the Mormon Battalion. We had a lot of fun going through the tour and panning for gold.

This year I decided to try out Black Friday. I woke up at 4 to get ready and made my way to Target, Best Buy, and the mall. I actually got some great deals on gifts and got all my Christmas shopping done. Next year I want to go with someone so it won't be so boring.

Being able to spend Thanksgiving with my family was wonderful. The Holidays are wonderful because they tend to bring out the best in everyone. This time of year is a great time for me to reflect on the past year and to think of the many blessings I have. There are so many people who care for Daniel and me and we really appreciate the extra help others give to us. I'm thankful for a wonderful husband who is always trying to be better for me. He constantly asks me for my feedback on what he can improve on. I only hope that I am being a fulfilling wife for him. I love him so much and am grateful for the sacrifices he makes for our little family. I'm so grateful that we were able to go to the temple and that we were able to have family there to witness it. I'm grateful for the support that Daniel's family gives us in every decision that we make. And of course I'm grateful that my parents are kind enough to let us live with them while we save up our money.

I hope that we are all able to make the best out of this holiday season and that we remember that serving others is the most rewarding part of the Holiday Season. Happy Holiday Season to everyone!

Recapping the Summer

So I apologize for my leave of absence on this blog. It's been a busy summer and I mostly was waiting on taking some pictures to add to the blog. We've filled our summer with hiking, park time, work and even squeezed in a vacation to California for my brother's high school graduation. The summer hasn't ended yet so we still have a lot to do before snow season sets in here.
First things first, Aaron's graduation. He graduated June 16th from Valley Center High School. We are so proud of him and are excited for him to come to BYU Provo in the fall. It'll be nice to have more family around. While there we were able to go to the San Diego zoo, the beach, the San Diego County Fair, and to Venice Beach were the original Gold's Gym was started. Here are just a couple of photos to recap those stops.
While in Venice beach we stopped by Muscle Beach and Daniel decided to give the rope climbing a try. As you can see he was very successful in his endeavor. When we returned to Utah we ended up moving into a house that allowed for us to have a pet. So we decided to adopt a dog from the local Animal Shelter. There was where we met and fell in love with Keif, a Catahoula Cur. These dogs are a type of herding dog from Louisiana. They were bred for their problem solving and for their toughness. He's such a sweet dog though. We're still surprised that someone could bare to part with such a loving pet.
In two weeks Daniel and I are getting going through the temple and getting sealed. I love him so much and am looking forward to this event. I'll post some pictures, so be sure to check back here in a few weeks to check them out. We are going through the Mt. Timpanogos Temple and will be getting sealed in the Oquirrh Mountain Temple. Both temples are so beautiful so we couldn't be more pleased!

Some Sister Time and Flag Football

So even though it's May, the weather forecast says rain and snow for today, I remain optimistic that it will mostly be rain. But enough about the weather, this weekend I was able to spend time with both of my sisters. I haven't seen Anissa for a whole year so it was so nice to spend some time with her. She was here for Womens conference at BYU. She a had a great time at the conference and was able to go to a lot of valuable classes learning many new things to apply to her life. Amber is here more frequently, but it was still very nice to have her visit.
Saturday I started my day with watching Daniel play some flag football. He and some coworkers put together a team to compete with other flag football teams in a kind of club. They didn't do so well the first game, but the second game their talent really had shown through. Daniel caught 3 interceptions alone. He is so athletic and it's a good way to use all the energy that he has.

After football I met up with my sisters at Los Hermanos, a Mexican restaurant in Lindon and Provo. Anissa used to work there so she was so excited to be able to treat herself to the delicious food. After lunch we ran some errands mostly to church bookstores but we also hit up some scrapbooking stores. I was able to find some cool Washington DC scrapbooking stuff that Daniel and I can use for our pictures from our honeymoon to the nation's capital. We ended the day at chili's of course since I get a discount. We had a guy server who Amber thought was cute so when after we payed I left a note for him saying that she thought he was cute and I left her # for him. We'll see if anything becomes of it. I had so much fun with my sisters. It was a nice girl's day that I needed and I missed them so much.

April Showers means Snow in UT

It's finally April which means beautiful weather, pretty flowers, and blossoms everywhere right?? Wrong again. In Utah, the lovely Beehive State, it feels that nice weather during the springtime is way too predictable, snow however will get the residents off guard, because who would think that they would have to clean snow off their car in April before heading to work in the morning? I suppose I'm being a little over dramatic. Today is a nice day. Google weather promised that Provo should be seeing a high of 62 F sunny skies. Don't let that get your hopes up though, because tomorrow it is predicted to be partly cloudy followed with a mostly cloudy for Saturday's forecast. It's OK though Utah, I understand that snow is vital to making sure the state has enough "moisture" for the year. So if the snow is making it possible for me to be able to shoot off fireworks this 4th of July then by all means, snow away.

Well, now that I got my little rant over with I can proceed with updates on our whereabouts for the last few weeks. So for our Anniversary, Daniel surprised me with a trip to San Diego for some much need time off and to be able to visit with my family who I hadn't seen for almost a year (which is way too long for me). I was so excited about that trip that we pretty much left the night he told me and drove all night to get there at 8AM PST.

Daniel had everything planned. After stopping at my parent's house we set off for the beach. We walked around, looked at the ridiculously over priced homes right on the coast, met up with my parents at Balboa park to watch the dogs play at the dog park there and then we met up with my best friend Stephanie and her two little kids to eat out at a super good and cheap Sushi place. The next day we went to the beach again and then were able to visit my cousin Noah, his wife and their little baby who is so cute. It was such a nice and relaxing trip. It was good to be around family and great to escape the cold weather in UT. The trip definitely made it that much harder to return back to work. We are planning another trip down in June for my Brother's graduation and this time we are taking a whole week. I hope that this next trip has Disneyland in the agenda.

And now a little shout out for my mom. It's her Birthday today. She is 25 today ;) She never ages, I hope to inherit that agelessness from her so that I too may remain forever 25. Happy Birthday mom! We Love you!!

It's March now, so can it be spring yet?

I'm getting so tired of the cold weather. Daniel and I both agree that it is time for summer. We are ready to go hiking, to ride our bikes, go swimming and play at the park. Living in Utah made me realize how much I took living in San Diego for granted. We had wonderful weather year round, aside from the occasional rain storms. Plus seeing the trees with no leaves and brown everywhere just becomes a downer. We're aching for the season to change.

So in interesting news I had the opportunity of setting my younger sister up with a coworker of mine. I'd say they have hit it off rather nicely. All I ask is that I be the maid of honor at their wedding :) But you don't have to take my word, just look at their picture and tell me what you think.

Daniel and I had a blast doubling with them a couple of times, first at a random concert then at a pool place, billiards if you will. Amber was so kind as to document our time at both events.
As you can see we had tons of fun on our date. We all found out that Trevor was pretty good at pool. Basically the only way I can play is if Daniel shows me where to aim the ball at. We make a good team.

Well that's all for now. I hope this blog finds everyone well and will find time to update about our anniversary coming up here on the 14th. I plan on taking a few pictures to share.

The Coolest Wedding Ever!

This blog is a little out of order. Still I'd rather share this story none the less. Back in December a good friend of ours got married (shout out to Charley and Vito). Charley was the one who initially was involved in Daniel meeting me. I know Charley through an old roommate/ best friend since they are sisters and Daniel knows Charley from church. Charley is the sweetest, shyest person I know and it was cute to see her go from having a crush on this guy she knew from school to marrying him.

What made their wedding so cool was that it was done with a Polynesian flare complete with Lu'au style dining (and yes that did me a roasted pig) and a few performances ranging from dancing to singing. The bride and groom even participated in a few dances themselves. You see Vito (the groom) is from Fiji and who knew they could throw a good party. It was more like going to a show with good dinner than an actual wedding. If only more weddings could be this entertaining rather than the cookie cutter types of weddings most of us are used to attending. I'm definitely pushing for my sister to meet a Polynesian guy so that I'll be able to attend another one of these awesome weddings.

New Years!!

Ok, so it's past Christmas and New Years, sorry for the slacking on my part. But here I am now trying to redeem myself with some new photos. So for the newest news, I cut my hair :) It's definitely a new look, way different from the long tresses I'm used to sporting but I like the change and so does Daniel. He wants me to keep it for a while.

Things have been going well for us. We have been working hard, but have managed to hit up a couple of BYU hockey games, one of which was against UVU and BYU won. The weather is still cold, but it hasn't snowed too much. I'm sure we'll get some more snow in soon.

So here is the picture of the Christmas tree I promised, Daniel decorated it for the most part. He has a great talent with decorating things :) Which is good because sometimes I'm not so big on decorating my house. It'll be better when we get a bigger house so we have more room for things.

For New Years my sister did come to visit me for the weekend on her way up to Idaho. We were able to go out for sushi with a bunch of friends. Although the sushi was so good, the service that night was not so great. I'm a server and understand that when it's busy sometimes there's not much you can do to get everything out fast or be around much. However there is such a thing as apologizing for the situation. Not once did our server apologize for our food taking so long. Amber didn't get her sushi roll for a good hour after we had all gotten our food. One of our friends ordered more sushi and the ticket got lost. And all the server would say to us when we'd ask if our rolls were almost done was "everyone's food is taking a long time, it's New Year's Eve". Another girl who was with us used to be a server and we both agreed that our server was rude! We realized later that she was able to get away with it because since we were a party of 6 there was an automatic gratuity added to the check so we had to tip. I said something to her about Amber's sushi roll coming out so late and asked about her getting a discount so the manager at least discounted all our checks for 25%. I just wish it would have been a better experience and that our server wasn't so rude!