Boston, Massachusetts: A Babymoon

Day 1: May 22, 2013

Mike really wanted to go on a vacation before our lives change - never to be the same again. So... being the good wife that I am, I agreed to tag along. He really wanted to go to Boston because he loves history - and I would be able to see Kjersten - so we watched airfare for months and when it finally went down - we jumped on it.

We left on Tuesday night around midnight, so really Wednesday morning if you want to get technical. We had a short layover in Atlanta, just enough time to walk from one terminal to another and stop at the bathroom. We arrived in Boston around 10 am EST.

For some reason Blogspot didn't want me to place this picture the correct way - it kept smushing it.

We aren't fans of red eye flights because we can never get decent sleep. So, although I had a list of things happening that day - Mike needed a nap - he ended up sleeping pretty much all day. I didn't want to wake him because he had been going fully force getting ready for the vacation - getting all his homework done in advance so he didn't have to worry about it while we were gone and making sure things were set for his departure at work and here at home.

That night we tried to eat at the Shake Shack - way too busy so we went to an amazing place called Comella's. Mmmmmmm. It was soooo good! I recommend it to anyone! I would have gone back there a dozen times if time/convenience would have allowed.

After we ended up at the water front for a spectacular view of the Boston skyline. It had been raining and so there was a bit of fog or clouds covering the top of the buildings, but it was still very pretty!

Pretty great start to our vacation :)

What We Did That Day

On Valentine's Day I woke up to take a test - I thought Valentine's Day would be a fun day to tell Mike he is gonna be a dad. The test was the lame "non-digital" kind. So it has two lines. One if you are not pregnant, two if you are pregnant. It had one dark line, and one really faint other line, so I decided, it's a negative.

I went to work and that night we left for a 5 day trip to Zions National Park.

We hiked all weekend long. Monday we hiked as long as we could before heading back to the house and packing up for the long drive home.

One of Monday's hikes: Hidden Canyon

The canyon/drop off from where Mike is standing in the above pic:

Us looking out at Angel's Landing (we had done that hike Saturday...):

And when we got home late Monday night I decided to take another test. Mike was gone getting a pizza since we needed to head for bed but hadn't wanted to stop to eat on the way home. 

This time the two lines were both bright red.

So I wrapped up a belated Valentine's Day gift and gave it to him:

I custom ordered this bib (meaning I made up the saying that is on the front is all) because Mike & I love the show "How I Met Your Mother" and the whole "Legend...Wait for It..." quote is a huge thing on that show. They usually end it with "Dary" as in Legendary. But I took a little spin in hopes that Mike would like it - and not knowing when I would actually be giving it to him - but thankfully it came just in time!

Us after a full day of hiking and driving (and being extremely tired but extremely happy):

WAHOO! Baby Teagle coming ~October 23, 2013.

Zion National Park Vacation

Not long before Martin Luther King Day we decided to go to Zion National Park. Since it was short notice Alisha & Brian and the little ones couldn't come because Alisha was in charge of a baptism, and my mom and dad wanted to come but would have to leave early because my mom was throwing a shower for my cousins. Oh well - we still made the most of our time there and went on lots of hikes! It was awesome and the weather was *Perfect*. We went from Thursday to Monday night. So it was a nice 5 day/4 night semi close to home getaway.

This is the house that we stayed in:

The Dining Room

Kitchen

The house had 7 bedrooms. 4 on the top floor, 1 on the main floor, and 3 on the lower floor.

This was the bedroom that Mike & I stayed in:

Our view each morning from bed:

Theater Room

The view from a couple of the other balconies:

View from top floor to main floor and outside:

Outside:

It was a beautiful home and while we weren't there for very long (except to shower & sleep) we enjoyed it.

the Story of the Alero and the Altima

Mike and I did things a little bit backwards. We decided to purchase a new car - and then sell the old one.

In December I went to renew the registration for my Oldsmobile Alero and they told me that it needed new front tires and a new tie rod end. We have purchased new tires every year for the past four years and my dad replaced the tie rod end exactly a year ago. So I took the car to a different shop and asked them what was wrong. They said that the rack and pinion needed to be replaced - once that was replaced, the tires and the tie rod end wouldn't wear out so quickly and the car would run smooth.

After pricing out the cost for the parts and the labor Mike & my dad decided that it was more than the car would be worth. (But I love the Alero!) Besides replacing the tires every year the car ran great! I was hesitant. So I left the car at the train station for oh - two months. I stopped driving it in December when the registration expired and then we waited until March to decide what to do and to post it on the internet and sell it.

It sold pretty quickly. Mike posted it one day, I had lots and lots of phone calls and text messages and even people that said, "We will come tonight and pick it up." They all offered less than what we had it listed for of course - but that's expected. I was already in Orem so I had to settle for the next day. I decided to go in order of contact, not just because people would come pick it up right now. *Oh side note - Mike listed in the posting what was wrong with the car and what would need to be fixed and people still texted me saying, "Is there anything wrong with the car?" My response was, "Did you read the listing?" People - seriously.

I met with a guy the next day after work. The car was "as is." Not washed, not vacuumed, just as is. I hadn't driven it for two months - what can you expect?! ;) I talked to him about the tires, the tie rod end, and the rack and pinion - he wasn't worried at all. He grew up fixing cars and could take care of that all himself. Nice! He turned it on, it started great, it sounded great, it looked cleaner than any of the other cars he had looked at, it didn't take him too long to say, "I want it!"

Moment of question. Do I really want to sell it? It was a good car. Is it better to just fix it? I already know all about the car. I know it's reliable. Shoot. All the memories!

We had already purchased our Altima so of course - I couldn't question the decision for too long. While he was gone getting his wife (to drive their van home while he drove his new Alero) and the cash - I snapped some photos. Sad day/happy day.

The car sat there so long it was surrounded by snow while the snow in other spots had already melted.

Driver's Seat

Passenger's Seat

Back Seats

Now on to our Altima. Mike and I have been test driving Altima's for months now! Probably as long as we have been married. We liked them. They impressed us.

So we bought one.

It's a Silver 2012 Nissan Altima.

I love that it has keyless entry. It's my favorite feature so far (although I did read the instruction manual (of course) and there are tons of awesome features)!

I told him, "One day when we have kids it will be nice for me just to leave the keys in the diaper bag and just unlocked the door by standing close enough to it and touching the handle." SWEET!!!!!!!

I like that we don't have to take out the keys to start it either - just push the button. Lazy enough!? ;)

We purchased the car and then two days later we went to Zions. While packing Mike stuck my bag in the trunk - he then kept trying to shut the trunk and it wouldn't clasp. It kept popping back open. I said, "Mike! My keys are in that bag! Take it out because the car won't lock them in the trunk." He took the bag out and it shut perfectly. Another bonus for me since I am notorious for locking keys in the car and trunk.

We are liking it so far. It's our first major purchase as a married couple. As much as I enjoy the new car I love Mike a million times more. He is absolutely perfect for me and we are having so much fun being newlyweds. I love that there is someone so perfectly fit for everyone I couldn't imagine myself with anyone else. He gets me. I get him. We have fun. We learn. We encourage. Life is wonderful right now. I think it will be forever. <3

Ice Fishing at Strawberry

Mike and I got to wake up super early on Saturday morning and head to Strawberry Reservoir to go ice fishing with his dad. I don't know what was so special about this particular weekend but there were TONS of people out ice fishing. We drove up Provo Canyon and on our way to Strawberry we passed Deer Creek Reservoir - there were tons of ice fishers there too. My coworker had gone up to Bear Lake to participate in some Bear Lake Ice Fishing celebration thing... just lots of ice fishing going on this weekend.

 

It was my first time ice fishing and I was really excited about it. It was fun, but it got REALLY cold.

Mike and I didn't catch any fish and somehow Kelsey caught seven! LUCKY! It was probably his location. I am sure that ten feet makes all the difference in ice fishing.

 It was really pretty and I am looking forward to our next trip. I have a feeling I will be catching a lot.

Afterwards we introduced Kelsey & Sherry to the Pizza Factory (most importantly - breadtwists) and then ran errands the rest of the night at the University Mall. :)