Early Valentines

Since I have work and JD has a hard class section coming up we did some early Valentine's celebrating tonight. We went to a delicious restaurant called La Fogata. We ordered a what we thought would be more of a sampler plate to try new things and were brought out huge platters of food that resulted in a lot of left overs. Afterwards we went home and watched an IMAX movie off of Amazon Prime. We both fell asleep around 9:30 PM. What a romantic night, right? I am grateful to be with my best friend and that any time spent together is special. He is pretty great.

School is Back in Session

It has been a long hard couple of weeks for JD. Pacific wasted no time getting back into things after a delightful break. To his credit he has been amazing helping me out despite having so much to study and do. The picture took place Sunday after church. He lasted maybe 3 minutes before zonking out. Three more didactic semesters to go....

The Gorge

 We went to 'The Gorge' today as locals like to call the Columbia River Gorge Area.  This is a stretch of beautiful mountains and trees that stretch along the Colombia River right outside Portland to the base of Mount Hood.  We took the Historic Columbia River Highway and got to see new waterfalls that I haven't ever been to or even knew were there.  Some of these were Shepherd's Dell, Wakeenah, Multnomah( I knew about this one, but now I know how to park right next to the lodge), Horsetail, and Bridal Veil area.  I am a fall leaves fanatic, so it was really fun to be in this area with pretty leaves and surprisingly no rain, though we got a thorough misting from the falls.  It has been raining a lot here recently and you could tell from the amount of water that was coming off the mountains.  We hiked a few of the trails, but with this new discovery there will be a lot more to come back and do when I have a map and know where everything is in the area.  We played the-drive on this surprise highway until there is a waterfall then pull over game-more time and planning should be fun in the future.

Pumpkin Carving

We had fun carving our pumpkins tonight.  Nothing quite like turning on Pandora Halloween Radio, listening to a variety of music including: Nightmare Before Christmas, Disney's Haunted Mansion ride soundtrack, Told the Witch Doctor, Devil Went Down to Georgia, Monster Mash, Thriller, among many other classic Halloween songs, and digging out pumpkin guts. I think they turned out pretty cute.  Happy week of Halloween!

The Barber

I cut JD's hair for the first time today.He had gone since the day before we moved here without getting it cut and he was getting a little shaggy.  I found a nice clipper set on Amazon and went at it.  Not going to lie, it was a little scary.  I think it was worse this time because his hair started out so long that it was a little crazy looking at the hair pile up in the garbage can and around his feet.  Good news: he isn't bald, it looks really good, and that hair cut technically paid for the clippers, so from here on out we are in the plus.

Oregon Coast

We settled on a place to live this morning!  We are happy and excited about our decision and hope that things will work out well.  After finishing our application and getting that whole process started, we headed for the coast.  We had a late lunch at the Tillamook Cheese Factory and then drove up Highway 101 to Cannon Beach.  I don't think of all 7 times I have been to Oregon I have ever been to this beach when it was sunny.  It was nice to be at the ocean, we saw a lot of hikes and beaches that we will want to explore again sometime too.  We head home tomorrow and have a couple of weeks to get ready for the move to our new home.

Home Hunting

IHouse hunting is not very much fun I've decided.  It is tiring going to place after place after place, seeing a similar layout at each one, asking the same questions, and pretty much always getting the same answers.  I was getting them all mixed up too. I was starting to ask which place had shower doors vs curtains, and which one did not have the washer and dryer, and so on.  On the plus side, I think we found the place!  Everywhere here is green and pretty with big trees.  We went to an awesome park today called Noble Woods and it was quite literally a big forest in the middle of the city with paths to follow so you don't get too lost.  I loved it.  We did drive times to and from JD's campus, walked around where he will be living (his building) for at least the next 2 years, and debated about where we were going to move.  I am so grateful that we made the trip up here, it has been good to learn the roads, actually look at homes, and have a better idea of what things will be like.  Oregon here we come! 

Columbia River Temple & The Portland Rollercoaster

We made it to Portland!  The day started at the Columbia River Temple-which I loved-it is a beautiful building, the waiting area for weddings looks like you are inside a castle with marble from floor to ceiling and stained glass windows.  We drove to Portland after our session, stopping to see Multnomah Falls, another of my favorite spots in Oregon.  I don't like being places where I don't know where I am going especially when all the roads are twisty and windy and with so many trees visibility is not good at all for signs, it was starting to give me some anxiety so JD was kind enough to drive me through Forest Grove, Cornelius, Hillsboro, & Beaverton, it made me feel SO much better as I poured over the map and oriented myself.  It also gave us the opportunity to make a pretty good game plan for our house hunt-which starts tomorrow!

Four States

So our house hunt has begun.  We drove through nothern Utah, Idaho, Oregon, and are just across the Columbia River in Washington for a quick detour to see the Columbia River Temple.  It is actually pretty exciting being in the Beaver State, hopefully all goes well and we know where we will be living for the next few years!

07-08-09

Today is our 3 year anniversary!  We have had so much fun together the past three years, it is kind of crazy to think about.  We have been to Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Nevada, Utah, California, and Idaho.  Disneyland 3 times.  We have gone to 10 National Parks.  We have attended 23 different temples, after this week it will be 24 or 25.  I have graduated three times and JD twice since getting married.  We have graduated from institute.  We have dealt with a pulmonary embolism, and that recovery.  Applications, interviews, and acceptances to pharmacy schools and now we are getting ready to move.

I am so grateful for my best friend that I can adventure with and experience all of these exciting things with. He encourages me in all I set my mind to and is always there to help me.  I like to think that we make each other better.  Happy anniversary!

Memorial Weekend

 

 
We escaped up to Bear Lake this weekend.  Crazy weather best describes our experience.  It was very rainy the drive up but sunshiney at Bear Lake.  The next day it seriously snowed all day long.  The only time it may have stopped was when we were in church because the rest of the day definately consisted of snow, and very muddy roads.  Then today was another beautiful day of sunshine and warm weather.  I even went out and read some Sherlock Holmes on the porch.  It was fun being up there with my cousins, JD, and relaxing.

City Creek

JD & I made it down to City Creek today and just had a nice time walking around looking at the fish in the pond, the creek, the fountains, and Temple Square. I had fun finding shapes that spelled out our name, but I will have to share that another time.

Last Day

Today was JD's birthday and we had a great time at church and at the ocean.  We also spent a last bit of quality time with Gordon, the Clarke family dog.  It is not going to be very much fun going back home tomorrow.

Happy Birthday JD!

A little bit of cheese

Ok, advanced notice, this is going to be cheesy, and I don't care. You can stop reading now and wait for the next post, or you can just deal with a little bit of cheese every once in a while. So you have been warned.
I miss JD, I know it is lame and everything, but I do miss him. This is the first time since we got married that we haven't been together and simply put, I do not like it, not one bit. Thankfully, we will hopefully be at the end of this craziness by the end of the month. The end.

Moab Part 1

Today was a long day of driving to say the least. We drove straight to Monticello from American Fork (thanks Grandpa) and made it in time for the 12:00 session. The temple is beautiful and the set up reminded us a lot of Redlands and Newport Beach. We drove back to Moab afterwards, dropped off our stuff at the hotel and headed straight for Arches. We did a few hikes before sundown, the lighting was fantastic, and in case you didn't notice, the leaves are changing in Moab too. It is fun to see bright yellows contrast the red rock. Another exciting day coming up tomorrow! :) I LOVE adventures with my very best friend.

Quarter of a Century

Today is my birthday. Some of the fun things that occurred included: finishing all of my presentations for the semester, got home from school and got into my pajamas to read a book by the window with one of my favorite blankets, my parents brought me delicious cookie dough instead of cake, JD gave me flowers, letter, Tangled, and the entire day homework and computer free (he also arranged for me to have work off), we went to Bombay House for chicken pakoras, drove up Big Cottonwood Canyon into the clouds and snow, ate dinner at Ganesh, went bowling, and watched Tangled. Fantastic way to celebrate turning 25!

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

Last night JD and I went to the Broadway Musical Mary Poppins. It was supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! It was seriously one of the best broadways I have seen. The sets, costumes, and music were all amazing. I loved the plot and message of the play, and it was just a really fun show to attend. We ate at the Garden before going to the show and I am pretty sure it was the first time that the roof has been open while I was there. A girl sitting next to us was celebrating her birthday and they gave her a balloon with a card to write a birthday wish on and let her release it in the restaurant, I thought that was pretty cool. All in all it was a great night spent with my favorite person.

Salt Lake Day 2

Day 2 began with the Hogle Zoo. I will admit I have always hated this place; I thought the animals were sad. Feeling this way, I don't think I have been there since I was in junior high. It was SO much better! The animals weren't pacing, the compounds were nice, and the 'lands' were fantastic. It was a much better than expected stop.Red Butte gardens were beautiful! We had fun walking around the different themed gardens and enjoying the water features. We spent a lot more time there than what we planned on, and I wouldn't be surprised if we go back, even without a Connect Pass.

We ate lunch at Crown Burger and then went back up to the Utah Museum of Fine Arts. This activity was 'ok'. I actually do like going to art museums, this one just felt like it was trying too hard. There were a few pieces that stuck out and their current display was from an artist that had a lot of work in the Layton, Ogden, Huntsville areas circa the Great Depression, so that was kind of fun to see buildings I recognized in the art work. On a whole, I probably could have done without this attraction, but it was new and now we know.

Our day ended at the Gateway with a dome film in the Clark Planetarium and a quick walk through of the Discovery Gateway. Just a warning, if you don't have kids, they think you are a threat and you have to hand in your ID before entering. That was kind of strange.

Another fun day, but I am tired, we were going to try to add in a couple more things, but there was no way, maybe if the sun and heat were a little less intense. We did a lot of fun things and saw some fun stuff. The best part was being with JD and not having to worry about O Chem. Day 3 happens today so more to come of our vacation in Utah.

Salt Lake City Vacation

JD and I had been hoping to go somewhere exotic for our vacation when we wrote off work back in April....somewhere like California or Colorado. Due to changes in events such as the new car and what not, we figured it may be a good idea to stick closer to home. We ended up doing some awesome things thanks to the Salt Lake Connect Pass. This gem is amazing. For a one day pass it is $24, for a two day pass it is $36. We got the 2 day pass and it more than paid for itself, we actually came out with a per person total of $75.50 so $39.50 in savings and times that by two. We have had many new adventures so far in our staycation with the bonus of sleeping in our own bed at night!

Goodbye O Chem

So JD is officially finished with organic chemistry and what a happy thing it is! He has been working so hard on these two-seven week courses and has done remarkably well. True, there are just a few weeks off at this point and true there will be more fun to come next semester, but this doesn't matter though because these classes are DONE, forever. We have a week planned for playing and spending time together; it has already been fun just going to bed at the same time, going on walks, and doing things other than study. HAPPY DAY!