Trip to DC

We had a wonderful time in DC this past weekend. We got to be with Papa, Munner, and my mom for the whole weekend, and we went to Katie Powers and Adam Wilson's wedding. What could be better?!

I kept begging my mom to come with us on this trip. She kept telling me, "mmm, maybe, I don't know yet." I knew something was up because she is a woman that plans down to the nitty gritty details. And she doesn't like loose ends undone. And sure enough, when we got to the airport my mom surprised us and arrived at the gate! It was so fun to see her, and it made our trip that much more fun to have her along.

Hi Mom!!

And we're off!

This cross stitch greets all visitors in Papa and Munner's home. 

Spending the morning with Papa and Munner. I got to meet my cousin's daughter Grace. Such a cute girl. Kara said she has a bucket of Easter decorations, and in it a headband with bunny ears.....which Grace hadn't taken off for the past few days. 

Papa and his 'award winning porridge' compliments of his 'award winning chef'....Mun!

One of Papa's greatest qualities is his 'food pushing'. And after much hard work pushing me to try porridge, this was actually the first time I'd ever tried his porridge. It was deeeeelicious!

The men taking a stroll down the driveway. 

                                                

                                                      

The lovely Kara and Grace....oh and their new 2013 Honda Accord!

I haven't seen Kara for about 4 years, it was fun to reunite.

Smiling and excited to go to Katie's wedding dinner.

Dinner at George Washington's house! I haven't been here since I was 8 years old. It's amazing to stand where we are standing and look at the great expanse of land Washington owned. And to think that when he lived there, the United states just west of his estate was largely open frontier. How far the US has come in a few hundred years. How blessed we are to be a part of this great nation. 

My lovely girlfriends....Lisa Hammon, Megan Zitting, and Aubri Root

And, of course, the handsome couple! Katie has been such a light in my life and an example of love, kindness, friendship, hope, faith, and courage. I love her dearly and it's wonderful to see her marry someone of her same caliber. Well, actually, I think Adam still married up:). And that's the way it should be. 

Mark's photography skills! 

Fun to be bridesmaids with these gals....Maury, Kim, Sara, and Amber. Katie outfitted us in cute navy lace dresses and pearls! She has such a cute style. 

 I'm so grateful for temple marriage. There is nothing better in this world than to be sealed to the most important person in your life. There is no greater joy....at least that I know of yet....than to share the bond of marriage and to be endowed with the Spirit and the knowledge of God's approval of that unification. 

Mark Madness

Mark served his mission in Santiago, Chile. He found a Chilean place in Orem called Pantrucas!

http://pantrucas.com

Talk about deeeeelish!

I got this amazing sandwich with juicy, tender steak and avocados. And a few cheesy empanadas on the side.

Mark tried to tell me that what he ordered was the face of Chilean food. Two hot dogs sharing a bun, topped with tomatoes, avocado....and the special ingredient....mayonnaise. Mmmmmm, no thanks:)

But he was happy! 

We shared a wonderful evening with lots of good mission stories I didn't know about. 

Mark has a slight love affair with shoes. He.loves.shoes. The brighter, the more eccentric, the louder, the better. 

I decided one day to give Mark the thrill of shopping for shoes in his very own home! He came home and loved it. Nothing like buying a pair of shoes for free. 

If you know me, you know I have two major hobby loves in my life. I love to play the piano. And, that's right, I love to ski. During my single days, I would dream about the day I could ski with my husband. And we would sit close to each other on the chair lift, share a few kisses, and of course good stories, and laughter. 

Some dreams do come true! 

And like the line goes from one of Mark's favorite movies, Rudy, "like my dad always says, dreams are what makes life tolerable" 

 Spending a day on the slopes with my man. He skis AND snowboards. I have to give him extra love on the days he spends on the dark side:). 

Oldies but Goodies

 Lets go back babe!
Our honeymoon to Kauai was the best trip ever. 
We stayed at this awesome condo in Princeville called Pali Ke Kua and we ate breakfast and sat on the patio to this every day....

A sweet turtle cave we found, thanks to a couple we met on a hike that gave us the tip off.

The Kalalau trail to a 300ft waterfall! The North Shore of Kauai is so rugged, it can't be accessed by road, but 11 miles of the shore can be hiked. We did 8 miles total and were pooped by the end!

This is the best sushi I've ever had! Jalapeños, cream cheese, and salmon....deep fried tempura style, just the way I like it. 

And this was our view while eating the most amazing sushi ever. After it rains, multiple waterfalls start rushing down those luscious green mountains. It's absolute paradise. 

A good friend told us to try this place...The Wishing Well....more like the Moldy Oldy Well. But the shaved ice was absolutely delicious. On the off chance that they were open (since they were open only a few hours a day), we got shaved ice at every opportunity. 

Loved this car! Mark hated it. My favorite memory in this car was trying to eat a pomegranate while driving through Waimea canyon at break neck speeds, throwing out chunks of pome along the way. It was a bit messy!

Oh hey babe!

 The beaches were deserted! It was bizarre, we hardly saw a soul and had most of the place to ourselves. Just the way you want it on a honeymoon!

 AWWWW! I love this picture of us. 

 Beautiful Hanalei Bay on the North side of the island.

 Love this picture too! 

There's nothing like being in the most beautiful place on earth, with the person you love most, and being away from everything that is your life. Moments on this trip were probably the happiest of our lives...so far. 

I found these...candid shots from our bridal shoot. Love these. 

The festivities officially ended when we cleaned the car! 

Home sweet home. 

Announcing our New Addition!

After waiting through long winter months for our babies to arrive, the ants have finally made it! That's right, we are proud owners of 30 ants who have made their home in green NASA gel right in our very own kitchen. (I know, kind of gross....but hey they're family now).

My brother Brad is AWESOME and gave Mark the ant farm for Christmas, with the ants being mailed directly to us. Well, days of waiting turned into weeks, turned into months....it was just too darn cold this winter!! But alas the weather has begun to turn to spring, and they came all bundled and packaged in a tiny tube in the mail. 

Most days they just busily dig away. I think they're happy little ants. 

Sometimes, though, if you get really close to their tank, they start frantically running to the top and jumping up and down like they're yelling at me "HELP, HELP ME!" And it makes my heart break a little. Maybe I'm just giving them way too much credit for having that kind of emotion. 

Either way, we LOVE our ants. According to 'Uncle Milton's Ant Farms' they can live for 1-3 months on the gel. Then what??! Can't just let the little guys die?! Guess we'll just have to set them free when it comes down to it. Kiss our little babies goodbye, and send them into the big bad world.