when the family gets together

So who do I thank for the heat wave over here in Virginia? When we came home last night from Phoenix at 9pm, our house was 71*. That's after 4 days of having the heat off. It's B-E-A-UTIFUL over here. But Phoenix was pretty lovely itself.

Evelyn was WONDERFUL on the flight over. We were super nervous because in addition to the 5 hour flight, we sat ON the plane for an hhoooouuurr before take off. Oh my, that was the longest hour ever. But Evelyn was such a trooper. We spent 4 days in Phoenix celebrating Jared's grandfather's birthday. It was good to be with family and to be able to pass Ev off every now and then. I think Uncle Travis was her favorite. Evelyn has two girl cousins that are all within 18 months of each other, so it was fun to see them interact. We even went out on a date for 90 minutes. Gasp! We've only gone out without her 3 times and she's always been left with family. But we made it through and I guess she cried a good majority of the time, so I don't see any more date nights in our near future. Oh well, I was happy to kiss that teary face when we came home and it was very nice of grandma to watch her!

We had two things on our agenda while we were out West: 1} In-n-out and 2} mexican food. We hit up our burger joint within 4 hours of landing. So delish! I used to mock those who raved about in-n-out but now that it's no where in sight - You don't know what you've got til it's gone, right? Ah, and mexican food! To taste the authentic tortilla smothered in enchilada sauce and cheese filled with high carb beans, rice, sour cream, and guac was priceless. I also got my first pedicure with all the Oakden ladies. I've had a manicure, like, maybe 4 times but never a pedicure. It was amazing! I never knew pretty feet could make me feel more confident, but it does?? 

Well, we said our goodbyes. It's always hard when you don't know when you will see each other again, especially with us being so far away, but the great thing is that when we came home to Va we felt AT HOME. That is significant, considering we've only been here for 4 months.

land that I love

We all three experienced Arlington National Cemetery for the first time together as a family. It really is as beautiful as the pictures make you believe. I am so anxious for my little family to grow so I can put my history degree and patriotic spirit to good use with all these national field trips we have been taking.

I'm too bored to update.

So all you're getting is pictures. I'm too tired to write.

Looks like we had fun, no? And this isn't even Christmas! This was the week before. Jared's parents are serving a mission on Temple Square for Church Security, so we got the "underground tunnels" tour. I will also mention that we partook of Kneaders French Toast, which may have been the highlight of the trip for me.

A Trip Down South

We spent Labor Day amongst the San Diegan's with my sister and her husband. We enjoyed the newly renovated Mormon Battalion as well as Old Town. We had our first try at cinnamon and strawberry tortillas and fulfilled our stomachs with rock candy prior to our big lunch at Phil's BBQ. Until next time, you stay classy San Diego!

No Title.

So this morning Jared asked me what i was going to have for breakfast. My first response: Scrambled eggs with a protein shake and banana. OOO... wait, that might be too much protein. So I changed my answer. I told him scrambled eggs with a 1/4 slice bagel and a banana. NNooppee. That sounded good, but not as good as a shake and banana. Hmm. So I asked Jared what I should have. I think he answered me by saying get down the toaster. So I did. I guess that meant that I was going to have the bagel with eggs and no protein shake. Part of me was sad that I wasn't going to have my shake. The other part of me was glad that I was going to eat a carb for breakfast. For a moment I battled it out in my head. Until I realized that it was just breakfast. What a dimwit. I can make HUGE decisions with the greatest ease and confidence, but the most minute things I struggle with. Like this past weekend, Jared asked if we should take the toll road. After thinking about it for a moment, I reasoned that no we shouldn't. That is, until we approached the toll, my mind blurted out for him to take the toll road and he jetted across 6 lanes to make the on-ramp. I think I make his life a headache sometimes.

Since the last post: Jared and I met with a recruiter from a possible grad school in London. It's just a POSSIBILITY and we're not putting all of our eggs in that basket, but... come on - 3 cheers for LONDON! Jared's finishing up his junior year here in the next 2 weeks, so we're preparing for the GRE and a slew of grad school apps to start in the fall. I'm excited, to say the least! 95% of the schools we're looking at are located on the east coast. I've been dreaming of weekend trips to NYC, fall trips to the Appalachian hillsides to go apple picking and spending the 4th of July in the heart of America. Nostalgic for Virginia, can you tell? So I guess what I'm trying to say is I'll be happy anywhere!... so long as its New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachussetts, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, Carolinas, Georgia OR London.

But in the mean time, we're living the life of a SoCalifornian. This past weekend my family came down for my cousin's farewell. I'm glad that both our families live relatively close. I think my favorite part of this weekend was my father's confession - the other day Jared posted on his facebook "I'm excited to get some pazookie tonight!" I don't know where my dad's mind was, but his first thought was, "oh, is that what kids call it these days?!" No dad, kids dont call "it" a pazookie, THIS is what we call a pazookie. Us and 2 other couples downed it in no time. It felt good.

Oh, and this weekend we were introduced to FRICKLES!! Frickles are probably our new favorite thing. They're fried dill pickle slices. MMMmmm it's the perfect combo of salty and deep fried!

Vaca? Check!

So we spent the past weekend in a spring of Palms, or more notably known as Palm Springs. Being only 2 hours from LA, we decided a quick get-away would do our bodies good! We left early Friday morning, spent the first part of the day in a massive palm oasis. Those trees were gargantuan! I guess my main quest for the vaca was to soak up some rays. I have never known my skin to formulate this pasty white color. It is quite revolting. I guess that's the life of a working woman! So we checked in to our Ramada Inn. It was quite evident our room had not been cleaned as the bed sheets were tousled, the trash had not been taken out, the bathroom floor was sopping wet, the towels were loosely hung, and a hairnet sat on the floor. We politely told the guy that the room had not been cleaned, and that we were going to lay out at the pool for the next 2 hours and they could clean it in the mean time. So we went to the pool. Remember the swimsuit I wanted here? Well, you better believe I got it! It's fab. After laying out, we went back up to the room, discovered it still had not been cleaned. Bummer.... We ventured out to the main strip where we sat and people watched for probably 20 min. Of course we hit up a local thrift store - no bueno. Nothing can beat Santa Monica's absurd selection.

Saturday morning we went to this zoo, The Living Desert. I have to give it credit - it was pretty well stocked with animals and things to do. Following the zoo, we were both just cravings some BBQ meat. We stumbled across this restaurant BABE'S, which was incredible! I hate to admit it, but I think I can out-eat my husband. Or atleast I have less self-control than he does. He ordered 2 sandwich sliders. What did I get? The combo - 1/4 rack of st. louis ribs and 2 large chicken thighs with baked beans and sweet potato fries! Yeah, that's right. But I couldn't finish it... We ended the weekend on Sunday by watching "Rebel without a cause"... Actually, I ended the weekend by forcing myself to step on the scale. Something I hadn't done for a couple of weeks but I felt the pressure to do so because the growing pressure of my tummy against my pants. The outcome was just as I had suspected - WEIGHT: GAINED. a lot of weight gained. I guess that 1/2 of a 1/4 slice of that Claim Jumper MOTHERLODE cake really did me in. Seriously, that thing is the sin of all sins! And I'd like to point out that I had 1 portion and Jared had 2... Anywho, I guess that means I need to step up the cardio this week. Plus, Jared's got me going on this weight lifting thing. I've never been much of an arm worker-outer. But it's rather nice.

A Roll of Film is Like A Box of Chocolates...

You NEVER know what you're gonna get!

Thank goodness for digital cameras!

Not A Typical Thanksgiving

We didn't eat turkey this year for Thanksgiving. We did not travel home nor were we surrounded by friends and family. We didn't spend Thanksgiving Day watching football or setting up Christmas decorations. Instead we spent it here:

And Here

And Here

We were Extremely grateful this past Thanksgiving.

Hope Everyone Had a Great Holiday.

Can't believe Christmas is right around the corner!

One Year Trip and the Quest for Granola

Jared and I have been up in arms about what to do for our one-year. You might think that we're jumping the gun since our anniversary is 4 months away but judging by how fast this year has gone by thus far, we felt it was quite pertinent to get a lock-down on our plans.

So in 4 months you will find us ...

...DOING...

Definitely this
Really liking this

And if we try really hard, maybe we'll look as good as this couple hiking the Pacaya volcano.

But that's 4 months away. Currently Jared and I are working on becoming acquainted with the idea of being a granola couple. The definition that best fits us, courtesy of urbandictionary.com, would be "A person who dresses like a hippy, eats natural foods (granola), and is usually a Liberal, but in all other ways is a typical middle class white person, and is likely to revert back to being straight when they finish college" minus the dressing like a hippy and liberal part. BUT we did make homemade granola bars this past week in our effort to 1) save money and 2) be earthy. Kudos to us.