October Trip Fest

We are finally settled into our new place after a month of non-stop travel. October was the craziest/busiest month for us. I am officially done with traveling for the rest of the year!

Brief updates on our trips:

We left Seattle on October 9 and made a little detour on our way down to OR to have lunch with one of my dearest friends Gabby. It is always so good to see her! I miss her!

We then drove down to Grants Pass, OR and stayed two days with my family. We had a nice time visiting with them. My mom and I got to make the cutest pj bottoms that I am going to love, love, love as my tummy gets bigger. We also went to Ashland and walked around beautiful Lithia Park, met up with another one of my good friends, Lisa, for lunch (always good to catch up with friends), and walked around all the shops. Every time I am in OR I have to stop in Ashland; one of my favorite towns in the USA.

On Tuesday morning we drove through beautiful Mt. Shasta down through Napa Valley. I have never been to Napa Valley; it was exactly as I had always envisioned—breathtaking! The weather was gorgeous! I loved touring through one of the wineries that was located in an old castle, driving through the town, and of course seeing the Tuscan looking homes situated on rolling hills of green vineyards.

We got into San Francisco, drove down to Fisherman's Warf where we had a yummy dinner of clam chowder in bread bowls, fried calamari, and a nice side salad. We walked around Pier 39, one of the largest piers at Fisherman's Warf, looked in all the shops, got some yummy San Francisco salt water taffy, and then we headed back to our motel in the city.

Wednesday we decided to skip breakfast in the city so we could get an early start to Carlsbad. We made really good timing, skipped the nasty LA traffic. It was CRAZY being "home" after 6 years. I didn't think I would miss it this much, but I can honestly say I was loving being back. Unfortunately the weather was overcast and really cold but we still got out to the beach to see the ocean. First stop we made after checking into our hotel in Carlsbad was Oceanside Harbor. We walked around the shops, and went down by the beach. It was crazy because come to find out Mike used to come here with his family so he was equally familiar with the area; it was fun having that commonality. We also stopped in at one of my favorite surf/skater shops that has the cutest clothes.

For dinner I took Mike to Ruby's at the end of Oceanside Pier. This was my first job, as a hostess, when I was 16. I remember walking down the long pier late at night after getting off work, having bonfires on the beach with my family and friends—what fun memories I have of this place!

The next morning we ate a yummy breakfast at the hotel (waffles, eggs, potatoes, oj) after we went for a 2.5 mile run down on Carlsbad Beach (a place I used to run weekly as a teenager). After we packed up we drove our last stretch to AZ. The drive to AZ was not the best drive of my life seeing that it was 100 degrees and I had no ac in my car! YUCK! Not something I want to re-live again.

We got into AZ and started immediately moving things out of our car into our new place. I didn't think I would like it here as we were driving in but when we pulled up to our area I knew this would be such a good place to call home. We live right next to Cardinal Stadium and Westgate mall which is similar to Gateway mall in Utah, although smaller. Situated in Westgate is a huge AMC theater, a lot of restaurants, a huge Cabela's, and a little "water park" as Dave calls it :). Everything is literally within walking distance from our home, it is awesome! Our apartments are so nice, only three years old. They have great customer service, and they keep the facilities and the landscape in great condition.

Although our apartment is smaller than what we have been used to living in, in Utah, it is perfect for us right now. It is actually nice to live more simply, without as many things. We have a one bedroom with a nice sized kitchen, built in computer desk and bookshelves, a huge whirlpool like tub, and we are located on the second level with access to garage parking.

Although it was super hot when we got in, when we got back from our trip to Utah it was perfect weather (I'd dare say we live in "paradise"). We walked around Westgate one night and were privy to the most gorgeous orange/purple sunset over the mountains; it was breathtaking. We are both so happy living here, who would have ever thought!!!

The next few days, before leaving to Utah, we camped at Dave and Kimber's. Kimber was sweet enough to make us a yummy dinner the night we got in. It was so much fun being around the kids as well. Like every other kid Mike encounters, they immediately clung to him (wouldn't leave his side). Ty and Madix were sweet enough to let us stay in their room while they camped in the office. We both loved being able to finally visit Dave and Kimber's place. They live in such a cute area and have such a cute home, we love the layout!

One night we went with Dave and the kids to Westgate while Kimber went to Time Out For Women. We ate dinner at Margaritaville, watched the kids play in the free "water park," and then headed to the "free zoo" (Cabela's) for the kids to see the stuffed animals and fish. Dave is so funny about all the free stuff AZ has to offer his kids, I love it! Later that night we rented Iron Man II and Dave made us popcorn with cheese.

Saturday morning we went to Ty's soccer game, which was so much fun to see these little tyc's running around after the ball. I don't know how they allow kids to play in that kind of heat, it is crazy!

That afternoon we hopped on a flight to Utah, which got a bit delayed, hurried back to Mikes parents, got dressed for the company banquet and off we went. It was a good banquet, same as last year—dinner, dessert, speeches, awards, slide show, etc. It was good to see Bethany, Jay, and Griffin (he's getting so big and more and more adorable). Mike won an award for working so hard and not giving up, and we also received our back end check and our new 27" Mac desktop computer. There are definitely perks to the job!

Sunday we went to church with Mikes parents and then enjoyed dinner and socializing with his family that evening. It was nice to see everyone and catch up. We definitely missed Jeff! But we were thinking about him as he is serving in Argentina.

Monday we were able to drive to Heber and see Jared who always helps us with our emotional issues and physical ailments. What a blessing he is in our lives! We love and appreciate him so much!! Come to find out I have to go completely gluten free, dairy free and soy free. All of these have been affecting my stomach tremendously. At first I was really worried about it and kinda bummed but now actually being on the diet I love it! There are so many products that taste amazing and better than that I feel amazing!

That night I was able to meet up with my sisters and mom and dad at Michelle and Jared's new condo in Midway. It is such an adorable place! The entire area is breathtaking. I was missing autumn and the ability to see the leaves change this season but we ended up coming to Utah at the perfect time, the leaves are absolutely gorgeous! It was nice to see Deirdre, Ashton, and Jaida for the first time, she is adorable! I felt bad for my dad, he broke his ankle playing soccer with Jaxen and has to be on crutches for 12 weeks. It was nice to have an autumn meal (scones, chili, cornbread, carmel apples, and Michelle's scrumptious gluten free pumpkin pie) and spend time with my family. I was able to play some soccer with Jaxen and play "mommy and daughter" with Maile :). After dinner Michelle, Dre, and I drove to SLC and met Mike who was at a training for work, and we went to Nightmare on 13th haunted house. It is always crazy with us three girls screaming our heads off and making ourselves more scared than is probably necessary. We have a love/hate relationship with scary things, it is funny. Mike probably thoroughly enjoyed himself as he remains so calm in those type of situations, and was able to watch us freak out and scare us himself along the way. It is always so much fun being reunited with my family!

Tuesday I spent the day in Utah County doing errands—getting my hair cut, picking up mail from our house (it was so strange to go back knowing we wouldn't be living there anymore), hitting up some boutiques, getting garments, etc. That evening I had the best time having dinner at JCW's with my best friend Les. I swear no matter where we are in our lives and no matter how long we go without seeing one another we always seem to be going through the same things! Before we knew it we'd spent three hours together talking about our lives, our experiences, Les sharing all the baby information she could with me, etc. I can never get enough time with her I swear! I miss her so much!!

Wednesday we hung around all day in Salt Lake, and then in the evening we went to Spencer's basketball game. It was fun to cheer him on and see how well he played. I swear if it wasn't for Spencer I don't know how his team would function, that is just my opinion though :). Unfortunately that night Mike's grandma fell and broke her arm, right after we left to the game. We felt so bad for her! But she kept a positive attitude and was back home doing well.

Thursday we loaded up our moving truck with the help of Mikes friends—Mike and Jay—and Mike's dad and brother. Thankfully everything went pretty smooth and we got done in two hours. Before heading back to Salt Lake we stopped at one of our favorite restaurants in AF—Rib City—and had dinner with one of my friends and her husbands. It is always so good to catch up with good friends, I miss them!! We also got to chat with the owner of the restaurant who is kind enough to always remember us and treat us so well. I love that kind of customer service.

Friday morning we left SLC early and drove half way to St. George and stayed the evening with Mikes other grandparents (on his dads side). I just love those two, such a funny, sweet couple! It was so nice to have a wonderful home cooked meal, visit with them, and watch some sports :). Mikes grandpa is such a character, he seriously makes me laugh!

Saturday we drove the rest of the way to AZ and made it home at a pretty decent hour. We unpacked through Sunday (Dave was so sweet to come and help us get everything in our storage unit—something we thought impossible).

Monday-Tuesday we got our stuff unpacked in our house and organized our things. We are loving our apartment, everything is fitting well!

Monday we also had our first Dr. appt with Kimber's doctor—Dr. Mckernan—who, like Dave warned me, is obsessed with Napoleon Dynamite (he is so funny). He is amazing—very down to earth, makes you feel so comfortable, and answers any and all questions you might have. We are very happy we got a referral from someone and can rest assured we are in good hands. The most adorable moment was when we had our ultrasound. This was Mikes first time seeing our baby and he just about lost it, he was mesmerized. Both of us just wanted to keep watching the monitor for hours. It was so crazy to see how much bigger he/she had grown and to hear the heart beating like crazy was incredible! We were able to see his/her profile (huge lips, we will see if those stay), little bum, opening and closing his/her hand, and moving around like crazy. Unfortunately we have to wait till November 22 to find out the sex. We have both felt that it is a girl, but funny enough, Mike is now wavering, like I was after seeing our baby for the first time; now we just don't know :). As long as he or she is healthy we don't mind what sex it is. We got our print outs of the ultrasound and we sat there, waiting to see the Dr., in awe, just gazing at the the photos. Creating a baby is seriously one of the most awe-inspiring thing! I can't believe there is a little person inside of me right now, it is incredible.

Wednesday evening we left for our cruise, which I will post in another entry.

Needless to say October has been crazy, eventful, fun, interesting month!