December of 2007. At the time, our lives were so hectic we were not able to take an exotic or lengthy honeymoon. However, we were able to sneak off to Sedona for a quick get-a- way. It was perfect! We both fell in love with the beautiful Spa resort we stayed at, and could not seam to get enough of the beautiful scenery! Neither one of us were too bummed we couldn't take a long honeymoon, as we had purchased our very first home that was that was built just in the nick of time for us to return to!Having our own home has been very exciting and quite the luxury. Despite the fact that our home was brand new....and we went a little up-grade crazy, we have spent the last couple of years doing many home improvement projects. It has been so fun turning a " house" into our "home!" I have taken the reins when it comes to decorating. I dream up these wild ideas......and sweet Adam figures out ways to bring my ideas to life! Adam is quite the handy man to have around. He has painted areas that are hardly accessible, put up molding and wains coating, hung and re hung countless pictures and decorations (i kept changing my mind!) Poor man has spent hours and hours sitting in Pottery Barn waiting for me to decide what will look good in our house ( he did find sanity with the help of Auntie Ann's pretzel shop.....when ever i lost him in the mall.....I knew right where to find him!)
Adam and I had our first church calling together.......primary!! Wow, were we lucky to have so many sweet, sweet sunbeams. These sweet children truly are sunbeams, their light shines so bright! The excitement they had for learning about the gospel rekindled my love for the gospel and my desire to be a protector of our faith and of the family!
School and work has consumed a great portion of our lives these last few years. Adam had his first straight "A" semester. He even made Deans' list......all while working a more then full- time schedule. I am very proud of him!
We spent our first summer as husband and wife, living in Virgina....just outside of Washington DC. We were there for Adam's work. It was great living near DC. Adam and I discovered the Eastern Market, it instantly became a favorite week-end stop of ours. It is a flea market/ farmers market/ craft market... that pops up each week-end. We found many treasures there....most we brought home to decorate our house with....Adam loved the hand made crepes and lemonade! We had plenty of time to visit the Smithsonian museums. It is no surprise that the Holocaust museum left the deepest impression on us. We even met a Holocaust survivor while we were there! We felt honored to hear his story and heart broken to hear how much he lost. We rekindle our patriotism and got in touch with our country's history. We visited a number of battle fields, honored fallen heroes at Arlington cemetery, and watched the re-enactment of Gettysburg at Gettysburg! I was even able to go to the White house for a private tour, thanks to Nellie and her wonderful mother-in-law! We braved the summer storms and watched 4th of July fireworks in DC! The east coast is very beautiful, while we were there, we tried our best to take in our fair share of it's beauty. We hiked in the woods, visited waterfalls and caverns, and even kayaked down the Potomac river. ( for those of you who do not know, Adam loves extreme kayaking !! He loves going off waterfalls and in rapids......i j
ust like to float down the river!) We made many beautiful memories that summer...but none sweeter than the memories we made with Adam's brother, Mark, and his lovely, talented family! I would not trade the memories of catching fire flies in the yard of their beautiful country home or spending hours conversing in their living room, for any amount of money. We made many wonderful memories! What a wonderful summer!We spent our first married holidays with my family. Halloween was in California at my parent's house. It was a classic Halloween movie, handing out candy, and rummaging through our old costume box.......I must have been at least 20 different things that night. The sweetest part of Halloween.......all the laughter!
Thanksgiving was on a plane in route to our Hawaiian vacation! Thankfully, my little brother, Austin, decided to attend University of Hawaii, to play football. I say thankfully, because our newly adopted Thanksgiving tradition......is a 10 Hawaiian vacation! We go over Thanksgiving because Austin's football team always has two home games that week. It is fun to be able to spend time with Austin and see him out on the college football field! This was Adam's first time in Hawaii. As an unapologetic pineapple lover......Adam thought he landed in heaven! We visited the Dole pineapple plantation. The gift shop/ food court created sensory overload for Adam! It was all things pineapple!! Adam could not get his hands on enough things pineapple......we had to bring many items home. ( now that I think of it.....all his souvenirs came from the plantation!) I enjoyed our jungle hike to natural waterfalls and swimming holes. I faced my fear of heights and jumped off a large rock into the water hole. This did not hold a candle stick to the cliff Adam and my brothers jumped off of......it had to be at least 40 feet! Yikes! My parent's condo in Hawaii is on a private beach (princess beach....how perfect is that?!) the neat part is that the beac
h is a sea turtle feeding cove.... all day long sea turtles swim back and forth at a lazy pace feeding on the reef! i think it is the best snorkeling on the island....you could literally touch the turtles! This year the north shore was "going off".......we are talking HUGE waves. Adam thought he could handle the giant waves...and was ready to head out when a life guard caught him in the nick of time and encouraged him just to observe. ( i tell you, that man is fearless...I always worry what he's going to attempt next!) We spent an entire day going from one beach to the next to see the big waves and watch the big wave surfers......those guys are unreal! We could not leave the Island until we met up with my dear friend and old roomie....Steph. It was fun to catch up and meet her sweet husband! As I am sure you can gather.....our Hawaiian adventure was a real highlight of our first married year!
We spent Christmas in California with my family. My dad, always the good example to us, decided to get us in the true spirit of Christmas. My parents stuffed 10 backpacks with clothes, food,blankets, gift cards, and a number of other small personal luxuries. Early Christmas morning we drove out to LA to pick Austin up from the airport. On our way home we kept our eyes pealed for anyone who was living on the streets. We then pulled over, wished them a Merry Christmas and offered them a backpack! The neat part wast it was a rainy morning, not only were these people hungry and alone.....they were wet and cold. The backpacks had sweat shirts, pants, a beanie hat, and socks. I have never recognized what a blessing it is to be able to put a pair of socks on each day. Despite the food and McDonald's gift cards....the socks seamed to be the item that caused the most excitement. Most did not have shoes or socks. One man was walking in the rain with torn socks and visibly blistered feet....my little brother took the shoes off his feet ( brand new shoes) and handed them to the man. I have never been so proud of my brother. I can not put into words the look on their faces when we handed them a back pack! Though our intent was to give a gift, we were on the receiving end. The gift of giving, brings more joy then anything store bought. No store bought luxury could match the happiness I felt giving to others. I am so grateful to my dad for teaching us to serve, and for reminding us the blessing we take for granted everyday.......a pair of socks will never be the same!
We celebrated our first Anniversary by getting dressed up and going to Bennihannas for dinner. We had a wonderful time! Adam broke the no gift rule and gave me a beautiful diamond bracelet. While I love the bracelet, I treasure the milestone we made ....we made our first year of history together, as a married couple!
We ended 2008 by attending a "rock band" themed New Year's party! We bid goodbye to the year and welcomed in the new year by rocking out to classic "jams." I found myself on the drums while Adam did what he loves most......karaoke! We sure started the new year off just right.......we had laughter......lots of laughter! Oh ya, we burned a ceremonial Christmas tree. All the boys were excited to see the thing up in flames ( don't worry us women supervised for safety purposes)......I don't think it meant anything......but the boys called it ceremonial!
Adam and I must have been in the fast lane during spring. I can not remember anything except school and work. Oh, and the first house visit from my Dad! Adam and I enjoyed being able to return the favor and host him for a few days. We love having company ....you are all welcomed anytime!
I think this marathon down memory lane is just about over.... We are now in Orange County, CA for the summer. Adam is working out here, preparing to launch a business. Stay tuned, blog I will fill you in, and tell you how we transformed from desert rats into beach bums!
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