Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Family Vacation, Part 2: Santa Cruz

Day 3: We went to Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park in Felton. We hiked around on our own for a bit, then we went on the popular Redwood Loop Trail. The trees were so huge and it was fun learning about them. After that, we went to Natural Bridges State Beach and admired the view. Then, we headed over to the Santa Cruz Wharf for our Thanksgiving dinner.

This tree was growing when Jesus was on the earth!

It was crazy to look at the timeline and realize how old these trees really are!

I read about banana slugs on Yelp, but doubted we'd actually see any. I was wrong - they were all over the place!


"The Giant" - Over 270 feet tall and 17 feet wide, almost as tall as a 25 story building!!!

I look tiny!
Some of the trees got hollowed out when there were fires. The Fremont tree was especially neat to go into!


After the Redwoods, we went to Natural Bridges State Beach in Santa Cruz. I hadn't realized this, but Ricky and I have been there multiple times before, we just always called it cliff beach.

Natural Bridges

The sky was beautiful!




Then we went to the Santa Cruz wharf, where we ended up eating our Thanksgiving dinner. The place we went to dinner had a Thanksgiving special, and it was packed! I was thinking the locals go there for Thanksgiving dinner. It was delicious!

A view of the Boardwalk from the wharf

The sea lions were waking up from their naps and we were wondering how they got up there. We think they got up there when the tide was high, and then it got lower as they were napping.




We decided on Firefish Grill for our Thanksgiving dinner this year. They had their normal menu, as well as a Thanksgiving special. My dad and I got the Thanksgiving special - a turkey dinner with stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, yams, cranberry sauce, and a slice of pumpkin pie, which was amazing!
Day 4: My family's last day in San Jose. I had to go back to work and Ricky had to get back to studying for the CPA. My family went to the Tech Museum in downtown San Jose. Then, my mom cooked us spaghetti dinner in my apartment. I ran to Savers with Brian and Brittany to get more chairs, which we needed! We found a nice pair of wooden chairs for $5 each. Ricky still used his desk chair and I used the ottoman. Next time, we'll need to see about getting a bigger table!

Tuesday, November 28, 2017

Family Vacation, Part 1: San Francisco

My family came to San Jose to spend Thanksgiving week with us! It was so fun having them here!!! We played tourists and did some fun stuff while they were in town.

Day 1: My family flew in and we spent the day in San Jose. My family went to a movie while Ricky and I were still at work. Then, we went on a walk and had dinner at our apartment.

Brian was tuckered out from the flight

We were not prepared with seating for a family dinner of 6 people. My mom is on an upside down laundry basket with pillows. I'm on a nightstand with pillows. Brian's on an ottoman. My dad and Brittany used our actual two dining chairs, and Ricky used his desk chair.
Day 2: This was our San Francisco Day!

We went to Golden Gate Park and spent the majority of the day there. It was awesome!

The view was amazing!

We could see the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance

I loved seeing ducks and turtles swimming around in the water!

We went to the Japanese Tea Garden within Golden Gate Park



The strangest bridge - so steep!


We're so glad someone told us to go to the Harmon Tower! Take the elevator to the 9th floor and you get a great view of San Francisco

A small portion of the view

The sprinklers were so misty and made for a cool picture spot!
Family Selfie in the Harmon Tower
We went to the beach right outside the park
Lastly, we went to Fisherman's Wharf and ate dinner at Wipeout, The Christmas decorations were fun!

Sunday, November 12, 2017

A Sunday Walk

It was a beautiful evening for a walk





We found a bunch for trees growing sideways!


Sunday, November 5, 2017

Reflecting on the Past Year



A testimony in church today inspired me to reflect on the past year and how we’ve been blessed. I started outlining all that has happened this year and realized we have definitely been blessed! This has been such a great year!!! Here's the outline I came up with of this past year: 

January - April

-We lived in Wymount and were primary teachers in the ward
-I worked three jobs part time and LOVED it (preschool teacher, robotics teacher, and direct support staff)
-Ricky worked as a TA and as a freelancer while finishing school

April - June

-Ricky graduated and I finished up my jobs in Provo

June - September

-We moved in with Uncle Dean in Bountiful for the summer for a place to stay until moving to San Jose in the fall
-Ricky studied full time and completed three of the four CPA exams throughout the summer
-I continued to teach robotics by teaching at summer camps at the U of U
-I also got to know Uncle Dean really well, helping him with his life history, putting his socks on, and with many projects in the garage and throughout the house
-We had fun taking Uncle Dean to Antelope Island, Montpelier Idaho, the Gossner Cheese Factory, Pepperidge Farm, and to many local restaurants
-Ricky and I also went on one long vacation to Idaho, including Red Fish Lake and Sun Valley with my family, Meridian with Ricky’s family, and camping to see the solar eclipse in the zone of totality!

September - now

-We moved to San Jose, California for Ricky’s job
-Ricky works long hours at his various clients
-I’m working retail right across the street from where we live (until we get another car and I can get a job teaching)

We are looking forward to the rest of the year and our upcoming holiday plans!

We have had an amazing year! This has probably been one of my favorite years ever, and definitely Ricky’s and my best year together! We grew so much teaching primary together at the beginning of the year, getting to know Uncle Dean and do so many fun things throughout the summer, and now moving to a new place together.