The MEGA post

I am the worst blogger! I have thought about doing blog posts....but then I never do! I really wanted to high light our trip to California.....but since that trip there have been three more trips to California!! So for the record keeping....I will now attempt to document what we have been doing for the past several months, starting with our trip to see Cameron! I feel a little sad that I am not a better blogger/journaler because I am worried I am going to forget funny things that happen to us. Like when we didn't get our bags tagged right in Fiji so then we missed our connecting flight from Hawaii to Seattle after our honeymoon and had to spend lots of $$ and time waiting in the airport trying to get home. We ended up flying to Portland and then took a tiny little plane to Seattle where my kind parents came to pick us us very late! These little stories make me laugh and I don't want to forget anything!

Northern California-Oct
Cameron has one of those fancy cool cameras and took lots of pictures. He even gave me a CD with pictures on it. But at the moment, I cannot find that "safe" place I put it. So the pictures will be minimal. First of all, Cameron was so generous to host us at his home in Cali! One suitcase has clothes in it, and the other had bedding-pillows, blankets, sheets, and an air mattress.

Our first day there was Thursday. Jeffrey dropped Cam off at work, so we could borrow the car for the day. We went to Standford campus and then sight seeing around Palo Alto. We loved the campus! It was so beautiful! Later that night we picked Cameron up from work and then went to have Korean BBQ. I have always wanted to try it and it was very good and very fun! Sadly that night my stomach started to hurt really bad and I couldn't eat my ice cream treat.

Friday we went into San Fran! It was an AMAZING day!! Cameron did such a good job navigating the streets, hills, and one ways! We hit some many spots!! We went to this amazing beach...only to find nudists there!! We hit all the hot spots! One memorable thing was this magic/human trick show. Jeffrey and Cameron were called up out of the audience to participate and this older women did the balance walk (see pic below).

Saturday we went to see the Wilson family and had so much fun with them at the Palo Alto farmers market! We each got a crepe and talked and really enjoyed each others company. I really admire my aunt, uncle, and cousins and I want to be more like them! Then we drove out to a goat farm and sampled difference cheeses. I really loved the cheese, but then I ate WAYYY too much and now when I think about goat cheese I feel a little sick. We found another amazing beach that afternoon. Then in the evening we went and saw a community theater play.

Sunday was church and then home! We can't wait to go back to visit Cameron! There were a few moments when i felt like the third wheel because Jeffrey and Cameron were having so much fun together! I am so lucky to have such a great husband and that my family welcomed him in 100%!





Now this is where things start to get a little fuzzy... I cannot remember the exact order that things happened in.

November brought Thanksgiving, which meant we went to visit Seattle! It was sooo nice to be there. I love Seattle! We flew in on Thanksgiving day and just felt so happy to be there. I sadly do not have any pictures on my camera from this! My mom did take some, so hopefully one day I can get them from her. My dad planned a really fun day in Seattle going to different restaurants trying yummy foods! We were stuffed by the end of it all! and next time I will know to bring water with me! We ended the day by going to see Hugo as a family.


December was extremely busy! To start December off, I was called to be the Young Women's president in my ward. Yes, I was a mere 24 years old. Yes, people mistake me for one of the Young Women ALL THE TIME. I get a lot of surprised looks and statements like "are you sure you are not a MIA MAID?" Do I look 14!? "Did your Mom or Dad sign your permission slip?" ...then shocked look when I say, no, I am married and I am the leader with these girls. Anyway, I love the young women! It is hard at times, but I try my best! I can't remember what month this was, but we had a YW movie night at our apartment. We watched A Walk to Remember.

***For those of your who are not familiar, "Young Women's" is part our church's youth program. We do not have any paid clergy, so members of the congregation are asked to lead. I am in charge of the girls ages 12-18. We have Sunday meetings, youth group on Tuesdays, summer camp, service projects, and lots more! Check it out here***



We went to California again to see Wicked with Jeffrey's family. The show was AMAZING!!! I loved every minute of it! We left Cali that night to get back so that Katilyn (soon to be sister in law) could work the next morning!! I also had to work, but was able to get it off last minute! I don't know how she went to work for 12 hours after only getting a few hours of sleep that night!

The next December activity was Christmas caroling. We went in a LIMO! We had a lot of fun singing and spending time together! It is fun that both our families have the tradition of going caroling!





Next came Katie and Adam's wedding! Jeffrey and I headed back up to Seattle for this exciting event! Katie is one of the classiest people I know and I am so happy for her and Adam! We had so much fun being at home and spending time with family and friends.

Their wedding dinner was held at a up scale bowling placed. We have fun eating treats, bowling, and watching a video of Katie and Adam.




Katie ended up getting her hair done at the same place I did for my wedding. She looked beautiful! Kali and I went to watch as she got her hair and makeup done and it was just so fun! We had a great time at the temple. It was such a beautiful day in Seattle! Their reception was a blast and we participated in a flash mob. Then we danced the night away!



Next came our first Christmas as a married couple and my first Christmas away from home. I worked Christmas Eve. Jeffrey brought me breakfast for lunch at my work and ate with me on my 30 minute break. Christmas morning was spent making breakfast, using our new video camera, and opening gifts. Our breakfast was kind of a bust...we'll try again next year. After the morning we went to church and then headed over to the Salls for stockings, presents, and Christmas dinner (french toast) Note to self: put makeup on for Christmas morning pics...





The day after Christmas we headed to California to go to Disneyland with the Salls family. Jonny slept over and we got up at 5 AM to start the drive. We had so much fun wearing matching shirts and sweatshirts with the whole Salls gang. We ended up getting season passes to Disneyland during that trip! We had to leave one day before the rest of the family because I had to work. We had the worst drive home! For some reason Jeffrey was really tired and couldn't make the 4 1/2 hour drive. So we had to keep pulling over on the side of the road and I couldn't sleep at all. We finally made it home and I crashed into bed. The morning came too soon as I had to head into work.



January brought my birthday and New Beginnings for Young Women's. I turned the big 2-5. Jeffrey surprised me with a new shirt and then an occasion to wear it- Tickets to see Ka. It was fun to get dressed up and the show was amazing. We had really good seats right on the aisle where the performers come past. After that we went to Buca-di-beppos. Sunday was my actual birthday. I brought cupcakes to celebrate with the Young Women. Then Jeffrey made dinner and we had cupcakes again.



New Beginnings turned out so amazing! The mutual theme this year is Arise and Shine Forth. We had lights everywhere. I wish I had taken more pictures of all the amazing decorations! We had a chocolate fountain after the program. The night before I got home from work and just did not feel good. I went to bed and tossed and turned all night feel liking I was going to throw up....and then I did. I kept throwing up. It just wouldn't stop. I tried to sleep it away since I was in charge of New Beginnings that night. It was one of the worst sicknesses I've had. I was so weak. I could hardly even stand. I couldn't think straight. I was supposed to be there at 4 to set up. Jeffrey saved the day and took care of most of my set up responsibilities. I was able to get through the night and my talk without vomiting. It was such a beautiful night and I am so glad to everyone who helped since I was so sick.



In February Jeffrey's brother Jared got married! We had a fun weekend celebration with the sealing and family dinner on Friday and the reception on Saturday. We are so happy for them and we are so glad to have Rachel in the family! She was beautiful!! He was handsome! A great weekend!



The end of February/beginning of March my parents came to visit. Saturday we hiked red rock and then went to watch BYU play in the basketball tournament. We had the cool box seats thanks to Jeffrey's work. It was a very fun and fancy way to watch basketball. Monday and Tuesday were spent at Disneyland and California Adventure! (Trip #4 to Cali) IT WAS A BLAST! The lines were so short and we got to go on all of our favorite rides! Tuesday was a little on the cold side so I am glad I brought a sweatshirt and a coat! We loved spending time together! Wednesday morning we drove my parents to the airport and then Jeffrey and I went back to Disneyland for a few more rides. By1pm we were back on the road headed for Vegas. Jeffrey had to tutor and I worked the next day. Jeffrey ended up not tutoring that night so we got to spend the evening together. The only bummer about this trip is that Cameron was supposed to meet up with us in California, but was unable to last minute because of work!




Finally, we saw the Hunger Games movie. We loved it. We loved the books, so really, it is no surprise we liked the movie too. Can't wait until its at the Redbox!!

I continue to work as a med/surg nurse at the hospital and Jeffrey in insurance. We are so busy but are loving life! We love our family and friends. Come visit us in Vegas!!

Extreme Couponing and other news

Life has been really busy! I am now working full time at a hospital! I am still in training, and it is hard, but hopefully it will get better.

We also took a last minute trip to see Cameron is California! I will do a separate post about that, but I am waiting to post when I have pictures.

For a few months now we have been couponing. Yes, think extreme couponing! We have become quite the professionals! I have found some amazing deals and phrases such as "money-maker" and "free" frequent our house!!



I can't remember exactly how much this one was...but less than 25 cents! All the pastas-TEN pasta packages...were free! The pastas were originally $2.50 each!!



This is six, YES SIX hallmark birthday cards and 7 packs of gum for 31 cents!!!

I don't want to brag...but I am an amazing couponer!! It is one of my favorite hobbies! :-) It is fun and I am saving our family tons of money!

Bellagio Fountains, Hoover Dam, Valley of Fire

VALLEY OF FIRE- Adam and Lise came to Vegas for an anniversary visit! It was so much fun having them here! We went to the cirque show Mystere and then out to dinner on tuesday night. It was also a celebration because I just got a job at a hospital here! We were having so much fun and decided we should go check out the bellagio fountains! Lise and I were to jump out of the car and the boys would go park...unfortunately Lise's hand got shut in the car door! It was very traumatic, but thanks to cabowabo we were able to clean up the mess and get some ice. The next day we went out to the Valley of Fire. It is a very amazing, beautiful place filled with red rock! We hiked around and enjoyed ourselves!





HOOVER DAM- Jeffrey and I went to check out the Hoover Dam a while ago. It is impressive and huge!! Next time we want to take the tour!



BELLAGIO FOUNTAINS- Mom came for a quick 24 hour visit! One of the places we stopped was the fountains! It is one of my favorite things here in Vegas. We were so excited for Mom to come. She was our first guest!

Las vegas open house!

We had a wonderful open house in Vegas. My blog posts are going to be short because im trying to document a lot of things in a short amount of time. we do not have the internet at our condo...hence the lack of blog posts!

Amazing pics by Brittany Meng!

wedding pictures!

The Honeymoon

Week 1: Hawaii
Saturday: Arrived in honolulu rented our car, and got a hotel upgrade!

Sunday: Went to church at the Honolulu Tabernacle! It was very cool and the people were very welcoming. They were very excited that we were on our honeymoon! Then we drove around the Island and enjoyed the beauty! We at our picnic dinner at the beach that overlooks china mans hat.

Monday: Polynesian Culture Center! It was awesome! We went around with a tour guide and saw all the cool shows! We had the best seats for everything! During the day we had 3 pineapple delight desserts! 1. They were really good. 2. It was reallllly hot and we needed to cool off! We took a canoe ride and saw the evening show Ha, Breath of life. it was so good! We really enjoyed our day there!

Tuesday: Went to costco to buy a few food supplies for the rest of the honeymoon. Went to the beach. Jeffrey snorkeled around and I read on the beach. That night we went to cheesecake factory for dinner.

Wednesday: We hiked Diamond head and went to the beach. We did a lot of playing at the beach! We got a salad to go from CPK and went to a super yummy ice cream place!

Thursday: We went to the Laie temple and visitors center. After that we went to sunset beach. Then we went to Haleiwa Eats for dinner on the north shore. On our way home we stopped at walmart to pick a few last minute things for our trip to Fiji.

Friday: We spent the entire day at hanamua bay. We snorkeled and played on the beach! It was beautiful. Before our flight left, we grabbed dinner at PF changs and icecream one more time.

Week 2: Fiji

We lost a day getting there...

Sunday: jet lagged, lost, and very confused in a foreign country. We are lucky we made it to our hotel and slept the entire day. It poured rain...drops the size of dimes, all day long!

Monday: We ventured out in the city and went to Port Denarau. It was cloudy and rainy that day too. We visited some resorts. We walked through some neighborhoods. And got our bearings driving on their roads.

Tuesday: We went to a time share presentation to get some free tickets to an island excursion. After that we went to Natadola Bay. It was a gorgeous beach! But getting there was crazy! We were driving on these dirt roads that were one way and were halfway flooded!! We were not sure if we were on the right road...but we were!

Wednesday: Natadola Bay again. It was that good.

Thursday: Sleeping Giant- This orchid farm that has over 2000 species of orchids! They had all these walkways and it was really beautiful! We checked out the village life too.

Friday: South Sea Island excursion. This is where the pictures come from! it was this tiny little island that we were dropped off at for the day. We went snorkeling, sea kayaking, and sailing! We loved it there.

Saturday: Bounty Island excursion. We felt like we were the only people on the island. we had a little bure and beach chairs to lounge in. We read books and just relaxed. Jeffrey went snorkeling.

Sunday: Church in Fiji was amazing! We had the best time there. Everyone was so happy we were there and so welcoming! We participated in everything and they kept calling Jeffrey Vegas boy. We flew out Sunday night. Because of the international date line...we hit sunday again when we arrived in Hawaii. We missed our flight and had to pay lots more money, but we were finally able to get a flight home! We had been traveling for 24+ hours!

The Wedding!!

There is so much to say, and I don't want to miss a thing. But to sum it up, it was the PERFECT day!!

Tuesday: Bachelorette Party. The party started by getting manis and pedis which is always enjoyable and i wish i got to do it more often! Lise, Katie and Kali were all there and it was really fun. While Lise was out at my party, Jeffrey took her boys to have a Bachelor party with them. Then we met up with Brandi and headed into Seattle for such a delicious dinner!! I was all dressed up in decorations made by Kali and Katie. It was pretty funny, and then everyone else wore these hilarious buttons like bad girl and bachelorette party. Then we hit up the yummiest yogurt place in Seattle! The party came to a close by watching the justin bieber movie at Katie's place. This really kicked off the wedding festivities!

Wednesday: Photo Shoot. Jeffrey and I decided to take most of our pictures around Seattle before the wedding for less stress on the day of. The day was spent getting hair done, last minute lip gloss colors, and makeup. I felt so beautiful when I put my dress on. I looked exactly how I wanted to look-a classic beauty. My hair was AMAZING! It could not have been better! The weather was perfect for us during out photo shoot, and our photography Maria Wood was able to get sooo many great shots! I love our pictures! We took pictures for 5 hours or something crazy like that, and then headed home to get some food. Cameron and my cousin Jane had arrived and it was so fun to see them. Kali came along on the photoshoot to help. My mom and Bryson came to part of the photo shoot as well to check things out! I was so glad we took pictures before!

Thursday: Thursday was the wedding dinner. It was supposed to be outside at this beautiful marina, but the weather was so finicky. We were not sure what to do, it was raining, then the sun would come out....you get the idea. We finally just decided to move the dinner to our house which turned out great! We were able to do appetizers and mingling outside, and then came inside for the dinner and speeches. Jeffrey and I gave a joint speech. I talked about how things had come full circle from the time that we had met at the Seattle temple a little over three years earlier. It was so amazing that so many people were able to be at the dinner and that I knew every single one of them and had spent time with each of them! The food was sooo amazing, I wanted to eat so much more, but could not for fear that my dress would not fit the next day! Everyone left and Jeffrey and I received blessings, said goodbye, and hit the sack. And by hit the sack I mean i could not sleep a wink the whole night!!

Friday: Wedding day! I got up at 6Am to jump in the shower. I did a little of my makeup and then headed to my hair appointment. Katie and Kali surprised me at the hair appointment which was really fun. The hair appointment ran late of course, so i raced home because it was time to leave for the temple! I did not have time to finish my makeup, and i wish i had because i looked a little white because i didn't have any bronzer on yet. Jeffrey and I drove to the temple together and we were excited and nervous. My mom helped me get ready and i was able to finish my makeup there at the temple. The sealing was really wonderful. I was really touched by everyone that could be there. Coming out of the temple was very fun and Jeffrey and I hammed it up! There were hugs and pictures galore! When pictures were wrapping up, box lunches were passed out for everyone to eat. It started to sprinkle and I started to panic a little! (my dress was silk) I was wrapped up in a sheet and the photographers jacket. Luckily Jeffrey pulled up and I jumped in the car. We just relaxed for a few hours before the reception. Before the reception we took more pictures. The reception was beautiful! We stood on a line greeting everyone, while the guests ate at had italian sodas. My family helped so much manning the music and doing the drinks! Not to mention all of the set up! Jeffrey and I cut the cake, which was just what I wanted- a cake covered in white chocolate curls! We served that cake and the carrot cake that Jeffrey and I had picked a few months prior. The carrot cake was the same cake/recipe that my mom and dad had at their wedding!! Then my dad and I had our dance. About half way through Jeffrey cut in and we danced our first dance. Then the dance party began! Thank you lady ga ga for getting the party started-The edge of glory. I had SO much fun dancing! It was one of my favorite parts! We made our exit with tons of family and friends to find a mercedes waiting for us!! We pulled away in a red sports car!! It was so great to celebrate with so many family and friends! I could not believe how many people were able to come!

The next day Jeffrey and I were dropped off at the airport for our honeymoon!

I have tried two time now to attach pictures, but its not working. I will try again later!