Hello, Blog. Part 4

Okay, this will be the last post of my travels (and everything else I've been behind with)...

We left off on Wednesday in Julian.......

Thursday: Disneyland! I was so excited to go. I seriously feel like a kid every time I go. Jon doesn't understand my love for it one bit because he has hated the other two times we've gone (the only two times he's ever been). There's just something about it though. My family had annual passes growing up, so we went often as kids. I was soooo scared of all the big rides (except Splash Mountain.... how the heck did I ever get on that one when I was scared of Thunder Mountain and the Matterhorn??? I can understand Space Mountain, except my sister described it much different/scarier from what it really is.). Anyways..... we got there about a half hour after it opened, and we didn't get into the parking garage, so I thought for sure it was super busy already. But NOPE! It was the PERFECT day! I was so happy. We were able to go on all the rides we wanted to WITHOUT fastpasses (although, we got some anyways). There was not a single wait longer than 20 minutes. We got on all the big rides (except Splash Mountain- my fave!!!!! It was closed... and I didn't get to go on it last time we went either!!! :( I was pretty sad about that.). The best part of the day for Jon was when we went to the Golden Horseshoe Saloon and watched Bill Hill and the Hillbillies. I had never watched any of the shows they've had in there before, so this was a first for me. I knew Jon would love it though because he is really into bluegrass music (WHYYYYYY?!?!). They were very funny and entertaining though, even if it wasn't my taste of music. Later, I ruined the whole day for Jon by going on It's A Small World (I hate that ride, but I figured he needed to experience it ONCE in his life. hahaha).

First ride of the day! Space Mountain. :)

Indiana Jones! Funny thing: every time we got off the ride, it broke down! We lucked out both times.

Waiting for Bill Hill and the Hillbillies show to start...

Not a very cute picture.........

Had to get a picture of Jon in front of the "Disneyland Fire Department." Maybe next time, I'll take one during the day when you can actually see everything.

Friday: We went to the World Famous San Diego Zoo with my Mom and Ry! It had been a while since I'd been there, so it was fun to see all the new stuff they built/are building. Ry was a real pill that day though, so we didn't stay long and get to see much.

We took the sky buckets across to the other side of the park (which we wanted to do the opposite way since the back of the park is downhill, and you have to walk uphill to the front of the park... but Ry was a pill that day, remember?).

This polar bear was showing off. I've never seen them come so close before, but you could tell he loved all the attention!

I've never seen the pandas so close before either. They are usually hiding because they like the quiet.

Baby gorilla.

Saturday: Jon got up early to go on a hike with my Dad. My Dad loves hiking, but he doesn't get to do it much anymore without any kids at home. So he was very excited to have Jon to go hiking with him. I took them up to Ramona and dropped them off.... and it was a very interesting day for Jon. Haha. He thought my Dad was going to die/have a heart attack/etc. They hadn't gotten very far into the hike, and I guess my Dad was struggling already. My Dad's legs got so weak during the last bit of the hike that he decided to go down the hill by sliding on his butt. Haha. He eventually sent Jon to go ahead to the Lake Poway food area to buy him a Diet Coke and try to call us to come pick them up. Jon took some pictures while they were up there....

You can see the ocean in this one.

We drove back on the next Monday. The weather was horrendous in Utah. I'm just glad we got through Cedar City and those passes before they closed the I-15. But we probably added at least an hour to our drive because of the weather. It got bad again near Nephi, which I hate because we were getting SO CLOSE to Provo, but we had to slow down again due to the snow.

What we've been up to since then: Jon has been finishing up his online classes this semester. He got accepted to the Fire Academy for the summer semester (starts May 7th!). He also got a job mowing lawns for rich people in Alpine, Cedar Hills, PG, AF, etc. We are lucky because his boss was okay with Jon getting off early MWF for the academy and finishing in August, when (hopefully) he'll be starting the Paramedic program. I really have not been doing much other than babysitting Ryleigh and Young Women's. My younger brother gets home from his mission next week!!! I'm headed to San Diego (without Jon this time) for his homecoming talk on Mother's Day. Jon and I are thinking of heading to St. George next weekend for some alone time/break from Utah County before he starts up his never-ending school, where we will never be able to go ANYWHERE (he has classes on Saturdays too).

Hello, Blog. Part 3

After spending a week in our own apartment, we packed up again and headed to my parent's house in San Diego for my 25th birthday! A few weeks earlier, my sister asked if it would be okay if we took Ryleigh with us since she was going to be off track then (she's in year-round school). So as soon as my sister dropped Ry off at our place, we took off. But first... this is what we woke up to the morning we left:

Lovely, right? NOT. I was so happy to going to warm, sunny San Diego!

This was Ry right before we got on the freeway—she was freezing.

Ry did pretty well on the ride, considering we didn't stop as much as I thought we would with her. She was so excited to see Las Vegas because she hears stories about how she was born there. The weather was also pretty good once we got away from Northern Utah.... all the way until sometime after Barstow/before the San Bernardino area. We stopped for dinner in Barstow, and, as we were driving further and further South, the grey clouds in the distance got closer and closer...

This photo doesn't even do the clouds justice. It was crazy as we got closer. It started to sprinkle, then rain, then downpour. Unfortunately, we were in the worst of the storm during the big downgrade from the desert into the San Bernardino valley. I was pretty freaked out because that hill is so scary at night without rain... The rain was so bad that our wipers were on the highest setting, and it was still hard to see. Plus, we were hitting traffic (although, most of the traffic was leaving San Bernardino/LA instead of going into it). Luckily, Ry slept through all of this, so she didn't stress me out even more (she can do that sometimes).

Once we got away from the LA traffic, we had a smooth ride the rest of the way. The next day, Jon and I just relaxed at my parent's place since I had the next week packed with fun things to do!

The following day was my 25th birthday! My Mom made my favorite, Chicken Cordon Bleu, for dinner and ordered a Baskin Robbins' ice cream cake. Yum!

Monday: We went to the Birch Aquarium in La Jolla. It was fun looking at all the sea creatures. There are definitely some weird things that live in the ocean! They also had a tide pool that overlooked La Jolla shores and where you can touch whatever you want inside! I touched a starfish, sea cucumber, and something like a soft sea urchin (I have no idea what it's called, but that's what it reminded me of). Ry was so scared to touch anything, until the worker asked if she wanted her to lift a starfish up higher for her to touch. So she finally touched it and was obsessed with touching it after that. But we couldn't get her to touch anything else.

Ry touching the starfish.

La Jolla Shores, where I have spent many summers in the past.

Jon looking at the beautiful ocean and beach. (He loves beaches too since he lived near many for two years on his mission.)

Seahorse

Tiny seahorses

Weird seahorses

Jellyfish

Jon and me in front of the big fish tank that had a shark (the shark is not pictured though)!

Afterwards, we went to La Jolla Shores to pick up some beach sand for my sister... Something for her house decorations (probably for Ry's bathroom since it's beach themed). Later, in the evening, Jon and I went to walk around Lake Poway. Unfortunately, we got there somewhat late (they close the parking lot at sunset), and we didn't want to get locked in, so we just walked a little ways around and then back.

Lake Poway


The beautiful Poway. I love this.

Tuesday: We went to Balboa Park because there are a few museums that are free on Tuesdays for San Diego residents. So we got to go to the San Diego Model Railroad Museum (totally weird- but gotta love those old men and their hobby). I can't even imagine ever putting together something so big and detailed. They had the deserts of Arizona and San Diego. The Pacific railroad with the ocean and surfers. There was even a McDonald's with a car going through the drive-thru. It was pretty crazy, and it's so cool that these guys just do it for fun (their volunteers). Then we went over to the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center. I used to love this place as a kid, so I knew Ry would love it. They have tons of hands-on science experiments. I think Jon even had fun doing the experiments!

Ry has light up shoes (they're called Twinkle Toes)... so when she touched this, the electricity must have went through her and lit up her shoes without moving her feet!

I wanted to take Jon to the USS Midway sometime this week as well (I was trying to think of things Jon would enjoy doing in San Diego since I knew he wouldn't enjoy Disneyland), so my Mom drove us over there. She and Ry were going to just walk around at Seaport Village, while Jon and I toured the aircraft carrier, but Ry said she wanted to see the "big boat" too. It was a bit pricier than I thought (I was planning on bringing my student ID because I knew I could get discounts at all these places, but I must have left it back in our apartment), but my Mom was nice enough to pay for all of us.

Ry and Jon in front of the aircraft carrier.

It's a self-guided tour, so you can go in any order that you want. They give you headphones and a device that you enter in whatever number the exhibit is, and it will tell you about each part of the ship.


Jon in front of one of the planes with his headphones. :)


Jon in the ship's prison.


On the flight deck... Can I just say that Ry loves her Uncle Jon? They're best friends... or so she thinks. Haha.


Downtown San Diego from the carrier.


Coronado Bridge (I wanted to take Jon across that too, but maybe another time)!

Wednesday: We were going to go to Disneyland, but I decided that my feet were so tired from all the walking around we did on Tuesday that we would go Thursday instead. So we headed up to Julian in the mountains of San Diego, where it gets snow. Remember that storm that we drove through on the way down to San Diego? Well, Julian got their own storm and got some snow. I didn't expect much at all because I figured it wasn't the time of year when they would still be getting a lot, but I was completely wrong. Oh, and the reason I wanted to take Jon to Julian was because I wanted him to see some towns in San Diego that aren't actually in the city (the only hopes I have for us ever moving to San Diego would be in Ramona, which you drive through on the way to Julian). Anyways, Julian is a cute little town that makes all their money off of their apples and the snow in the winter. People love to go up there to eat apple pie and play in the snow. There's also some good hikes, which Jon and I were hoping to do... but like, I said, too much snow.

My apple pie a la mode (actually I got an apple berry or something like that).


A crazy sign that tells you where all the shops are.


Pretty much the main street in town that has a bunch of these little shops.

To be continued.....

I Hate Snow!

I just thought I'd share this wonderful Christmas carol that I just found.

It sums up my feelings about snow perfectly:

1. Oh, the traffic outside is frightful,

Accidents aren't so delightful,

I'm stuck in this stop-and-go,

I hate snow, I hate snow, I hate snow.

2. Cars are having troubles stopping,

Each other they keep popping;

I am moving so really slow,

I hate snow, I hate snow, I hate snow.

When I make it back home tonight

How I'll hate going out in the storm;

Because cutting wood really bites,

But I need more to stay warm.

3. Traffic is slowly dying,

While I sit here I keep crying

Cause it just won't end, I know.

I hate snow, I hate snow, I hate snow.

When I make it back home tonight

How I'll hate going out to the store;

And the crowds that I'll have to fight,

I am sure that they won't have any more.

4. Oh, the blizzard outside is frightful,

Snowflakes aren't so delightful,

I'm trapped with no place to go,

I hate snow, I hate snow, I hate snow.

These are two places I'd much rather be:

A Little Behind, Sorry!

Okay, this may or may not be a long post depending on if I have enough time to type it all out. I'll try to add pictures (none taken by me because I'm still working on getting a new camera) so that this long post won't be too boring. Now...where to begin? Hmm...

Well, we'll just go with spring break last month! Jon and I drove down to Poway (in San Diego) on Tuesday, March 16th. We arrived in warm, beautiful Poway around 9-10 PMish (we left after Jon's classes).

Photo taken by my little brother on my wedding day at the Stone's residence (the reception site).

I was so happy to be back in San Diego. We were outside at night, and it was perfect weather. We didn't need jackets nor long sleeves. I love San Diego weather. The next day, Wednesday, Jon and I went for a walk around my parents' neighborhood because my Mother went into the dentist, and it was WARM... no, it was HOT. When my Mom got home, we headed over to visit my grandma.

My cute grandma. Photo taken by our wedding photographer. Don't mind the fact that my eyes are closed. It was bright!

We visited a bit with Gma, and then she took us all out to lunch at the best place EVER... Pat and Oscar's!!!!

Photo taken from P&O's website. Look at that yummy food!

The rest of the day was spent relaxing.... until the evening, when we went to pick up Jon's sister and nephew, Lacey and Kaden, at the SD airport.

Photo taken from Lacey's Facebook page.

I started getting a sore throat that evening, but I wasn't going to let that stop me from having fun at Disneyland the next day! Unfortunately, for whatever reason, my body would not go to sleep that night. I don't understand why because whenever that happens, I usually am stressed out or worried about something. This was neither. I just couldn't sleep, which made Disneyland not so fun the next day. I maybe got about two hours of sleep. It was miserable.

On Thursday morning, we headed up to Disneyland! We had a late start to the day because Kaden was VERY cranky (he did have a long day before and was now in an unfamiliar place). Well, I'll be honest, he was cranky most of the day. We got onto plenty of kiddie rides, but he would only go on with Mom. He would be upset if she wasn't near him, which made it difficult for her to ride some of the bigger rides that he was not allowed on. It wasn't until after dinner that he finally was happy. We took him into ToonTown to play. He had so much fun there! He opened up more to Jon and me and was okay without Mom. Success! Kaden did well on some of the scarier rides (Matterhorn, Pirates, Haunted Mansion). He only got scared when someone screamed in the Haunted Mansion's elevator/growing room. Unfortunately, I was having a hard day because I was SO TIRED and sick. I wanted to go on Splash Mountain, which we had fastpasses for, but around 8 or 9, I was ready to go home. Everyone was exhausted.

Friday was our rest day. We slept in and lounged around for a bit. Then we got ready to go to the beach! So off to La Jolla Shores we went. I was the only one willing to get pretty far into the water with Kaden. Yes, the water is always cold in San Diego, but you get used to it after a bit. Jon had fun with Kaden when the tide went in and out.


Photo also from Lacey. Cutest picture of my husband and nephew, right?

After we were done at the beach (when we were hungry for lunch), we headed back through Mira Mesa in hopes of finding real filipino mangoes for my husband, who served in the Philippines. We thought we found some because they were called "Manila Mangoes," and they were yellow. Unfortunately, after buying them and eating a few, I realized later that day that they said they were from Mexico. Ugh. That was misleading! Poor Jon.

On Saturday, we went to California Adventure. Kaden was much better this time. Lacey was able to go on all the big rides, while Kaden stayed behind with either Jon or me. It was a much better day for everyone.

Sunday was the day we left and drove back up to cold Utah. I was sad that our trip was so short. None of us wanted to leave, but Jon had to be at work on Monday. Anyways, Lacey and Kaden stayed with us the next week. We didn't do a whole lot here (she had already been to Temple Square). We did take them into the Provo Canyon and up near Sundance Resort because Lacey wanted to see what a ski resort looked like. She couldn't imagine people skiing down the mountains since she had only seen the west side of the mountains, which are pretty steep. We did go to the Hogle Zoo one day so that Derek's (Jon and Lacey's brother) girlfriend could meet Lacey. Awkward? Yes, because Derek is in Boston.

So that pretty much brings me to now. I've just been going to school and babysitting my niece. Nothing too exciting. Actually, Jon is done with his current job NEXT WEEK! So that is very exciting. He's going back to wildland firefighting this summer because he just couldn't handle his job, and because I told him he could do it, if he wanted. I felt bad for him, okay? I just want him to be happier. May 1st is when he'll be on call. And as much as I don't want to spend the summer alone, please pray that he'll get called to lots of fires because we're hoping he earns enough money for us to survive on for a year. He starts the fire academy in the fall (if he's accepted). Then he'll be doing the Paramedic program January through August, I think (spring and summer semesters). That's also if he gets accepted. Although, we kind of want to leave Provo for St. George, so he can do the Paramedic program down there. And because we don't want to go through another winter up here. Anyways, so that is why we are hoping for lots of fires- because he won't be able to work full time during his schooling.