The Redwoods

May 25

Nate and I wanted to do the all day trail at Yosemite National Park, but there's a lottery and you have to have your name drawn months in advance. We found that information out last night. So we decided to go to Muir Woods, which was closer and worth the trip. On the way there, we had to go through a tollway. We didn't have cash as we approached it, so what happens? Nate takes a dirt road (unofficial road) to get off, technically illegal and went the wrong way for a little bit so we can go get cash. Due to the time of day and full parking lots, we had to park alongside the road almost a mile away from the entrance. As I got out of the car, I tripped on this plant...

 ...which turned out to be this poisonous. I don't know what it, but it hurt and left quite a mark.

 Ironically enough, Nate then touched it with his finger on purpose where a similar reaction/mark took place. I tried to walk it off as we got to the entrance. It got worse, before it reduced in size. We entered the park and oh my goodness...It was GORGEOUS! It was almost as if you entered a forest of make believe. 

 Are you getting out big they?!

 We walked along the boardwalk for awhile before going on our own little adventure that was 7-8 miles long. The tree below is called the Kent tree. It's the biggest redwood tree in the park. It fell over in 2003.

 This is the bottom part of the tree. If you can't tell, it's ENORMOUS!!!

 He's not really a tree hugger, but...we wanted to see how far we could wrap our arms around the tree.

 I'm in the inside the tree!

 Do you see the eye?

 This tree is being held in place by it's roots. The thing about redwoods is they are the largest organism on earth! They grow really tall and one tree can create shoots out of their roots, creating more trees. They can also fuse together to create a massive tree. Their cousin is the sequoia, which is two to three times in thicker width, but also shorter. 

 Normal tree on left, redwood tree on right.

Get the picture?

These trees were beautiful! The hike was a lot of fun and a great workout. We finished up around 2:30/3 and headed back to our car. We came home, did some grocery shopping and then I made dinner, avocado chicken, one of Nate's favorites. We then settled in for a movie, 'How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days'. I love this movie and Nate had never seen it all the way through. But he liked it, despite the awkward/contentious parts at which he left the room as usual until it was over. Lol silly boy! 

Road Trip!

May 22

As part of my graduation gift, Nate and I went on vacation to San Francisco for a few days. We left Logan after Nate got off work on Tuesday. We filled our cooler with some food before getting on the road. It would be an 11 hour drive, of which, Nate insisted on driving the whole time. We headed west through the northern part of Utah, clearly in the middle of nowhere. Technically, we chased the sun. 

While driving, we saw some firefighters putting out a forest fire in Nevada. It was kinda cool to see. We drove through the dark for quite awhile. We watched Finding Nemo on my iPad, I read a good chunk of my newest book, and listened to Disney songs. I tried to sleep at one point while Nate consistently drank Mt. Dew to stay awake. Around 3 am (Cali time), we stopped at Denny's for an early morning breakfast. As we stepped out of the car, you could just smell the ocean breeze. It was awesome! We were the only ones there, it was kinda cool.  After being stuffed with warm goodness, we hit the road again.

 We got to Jake's apartment around 4 in the morning with access to both gates and Jake's car. But...we had no idea where the key to the apartment was. Jake and Kim are in Hong Kong, China, so there is definitely some kind of time difference for communication. Nate and I took a nap for a bit after an hour of searching with no luck. Nate found the key above the dryer finally around 7:20 am.

The main house to the left, the guest house to the right

We were in the guest house of the biggest house on the top of the hill in Hercules, CA

One of these cars doesn't belong, can you guess which one it is?

The view from the upstairs sliding doors

 Our room for the vacation. I suggest a feather goose down comforter and a memory foam pad to anyone. We slept SOO comfortably, we didn't want to get out of bed in the mornings. We looked forward to bed each night and naps if we needed them. 

The kitchen/living room as you come down the stairs.

Study/hallway/top of the stairs
After we brought in our bags, we decided to take a much needed morning nap. It was glorious! I woke up around noon, letting Nate sleep for a few more hours before getting him up. While I waited, I read City of Lost Souls (It's so good!). When Nate got up at 2, we decided we were hungry. So we went to Round Table Pizza for some super delicious pizza! YUM!!! We spent the rest of the night eating ice cream and watching their TV. Let the vacation BEGIN!!!!

Tyson's Wedding

May 19

On our 6 mo. anniversary, one of Nate's besties (yes, I'm using that phrase) from high school got married. Nate was one of the eight groomsmen. Tyson looked so happy and his bride, Alisha, was gorgeous! The sealing was at ten in the Manti Temple, so Nate and I left the night before and stayed in Lehi at his brother's house. It was good to see Seth and Brit. They were celebrating Shaely's birthday that night too, so it was fun to see how excited Shaely was to open her presents and eat cake. 

We got up early to finish our drive down to Manti and picked up Nate's best friend, Dallin, in Provo on the way. 

When we got there, we ran into some of Nate's other besties and roommates. Walking into the Manti temple, I was in awe at how pretty it was! It looked like a mansion inside with all the detail and everything. Tyson wanted an all white sealing, so everyone had to change before hand. The sealer was funny! He gave a lot of great spiritual insight between man and wife with the temple. He also handed out mints from his jacket if you were the most recent married, had the longest marriage, were injured, etc. It was great. Nate and I were reminded of our temple covenants that we'd made 6 months prior. 

After the sealing, the groomsmen were supposed to get into their pink tux and wait outside for pictures. Aaron forgot to pick his up before entering the temple, so we had to wait on him. I'm glad we did because I ran into my art teacher from Snow and we got to see the spiral staircases in the temple. Thanks Aaron! ;)

While the bridesmaids formed a semicircle around the temple doors, the groomsmen hung in the back corner. From the very beginning, Nate and the other guys reminisced about their mischievous acts from growing up and different events they were a part of. It was fun to hear all the stories and laugh with them. These boys grew up together and many were roommates in college. A lot of them are married and they are still super close. I love it!  They told stories well into the evening when the reception began. 

 Tyson and Alisha exited the temple, gave hugs and headed to the west side for pictures. 

Congratulation Tyson and Alisha!

Back: Nate, Nik, Aaron, Joe, and Darren

Front: Dallin, Tyson, Cody and Scott

 Groom Toss! As with anything they do together, there was the classic "Go Bears!" chant afterwards. LOL. Then they tossed the bride, though not as high. Pretty sure she didn't know what to expect. 

Nate, Dallin, Joe, Nik, and Aaron

After pictures at the temple, we headed to the luncheon in Fountain Green. There was so much food, we couldn't fit it all on our plates. We sat down at one table and gradually tried to fit all of the groomsmen and their significant others/wives at the one table. We fit all, but four people. I loved our table, we were laughing so hard. 

After we ate, we went to the bride's house to hangout while we waited to go to the reception. The guys played bocce ball for a time with Kenzie before tossing a football around. Brittney and I laid out on the grass and talked. Cody's friend and Jane (Darren's girlfriend and my exboyfriend's sister...crazy and a lil awkward) sat in the shade and watched. At one point, the guys got a little rough and got major grass stains on their pants. They tried to hide it from the photographer later to no success. 

Around 4 we headed to the reception, which was at Alisha's farm about 2 miles away. It was gorgeous! 

 Just waiting around...

We waited around for pictures of the bridesmaids and groomsmen to be done before heading north to spend some time with my family. We played Wits & Wagers: Family and then Scene It before we headed back north to go home.

 The remotes reminded us of microphones

I think Mike actually enjoyed the game. Which is rare. He usually doesn't like trivia games. Jess did pretty good at the game. It was also good to see my mom.

Mother's Day

Mother's day this year was quite different and memorable from previous years. After sacrament on Sunday, my family and I went over to Legacy House to visit my mom. I felt so bad as she walked into her room. She was crying, feeling like she made a mistake or messed-up. I tried to comfort her and let her know that everything was fine. Mike and Jess showed up shortly after. As soon as Chloe came into the room, my mom's face lit up extensively. She loves her grandchild with all of her heart and loves every minute that she gets to spend with her. I don't think anyone can make my mom happy in the way that Chloe does at this time. 

Earlier on in the week, I had made a shadowbox for mom to commemorate her life. 

She was really happy about it. 

 With all of those memories in front of her, she started telling stories from her past. Sometimes her sentences weren't really fluid, but that's okay.

The hardest part about putting the shadowbox together, was the sentimental aspect. There were moments where I couldn't help cry. I miss my mom's personality, the one I grew up with. Now, my mom is quite the mother. She would wake up at 6 am to get ready for work and get the kids going for school. She'd be at work by 7/7:30, get off at 5 or 6 and then take care of the kids, making sure we did our homework, pay the bills and whatever else needed to get done. She'd be the last one to go to bed, sometimes at midnight/1 am. She put all of her time into her family and helping to provide for them. She loves teasing those around her whether she knows them well or not, neighbors, friends, acquaintances, even my dates that would come to pick me up.  She was the kind of person who could talk to anyone, about anything, at any given time. It didn't matter who you were or where you came from, she could have you laughing within minutes. This challenging time began about 5 years ago, when my mom's mental health started to deteriorate with Alzheimer's Disease. She's only 57 years old! That's young! It's a scary time for my family, but I know that she'll be okay. Oddly enough, it's also drawing my family closer together. 

She grew up traveling around with her family with her dad in the Air Force. She then joined the Air Force, traveling to various states and countries such as: Greece, Germany, Japan, Korea and Canada. She became a captain as well. She loved to go horseback riding, bowling, photography, softball, volleyball, ride her motorcycle and go camping. She loves dark chocolate and coca-cola. She also got a graphic engineering Bachelor's degree from BYU. She was quite the woman.

 I love my mom and it's heartbreaking for me to watch her go through this. I feel like I'm going to lose her soon. And I still need her in my life. I want her to see my children before she returns home. And truthfully, she might not be able to. 

The fun part about Mother's Day, is we celebrated Chloe's 1st birthday. She got her very own cake. It was probably the messiest thing she's ever eaten.

 Her dad smashed her face into the cake. She screamed a little bit, but she was fine.

 I don't think she likes sugar. The frosting is the best part! She loves vegetables though. What a food palette baby! :)

It was a great day with Mom and Chloe.
Happy Mother's Day Mom! We LOVE YOU!