Traveling to the Cruise!

Alrighty, I am finally getting to our CRUISE posts! We don't have internet at our apartment yet so I have been bumming it off of anyone I can! I brought my laptop to the salon with me today so I can update during down time. :)
 The first couple days of our trip were traveling days. We left Idaho Falls on Saturday, September 22nd and headed down to Salt Lake. Chris's cousin Bruce and his wife Lauren were kind enough to let us crash on their living room floor that night since we were flying out of Salt Lake on Sunday. When we got to their apartment, the 4 of us headed out to go to dinner at The Pie! Such a yummy place with a really fun environment. We filled up on cheesey bread and pizza. We could barely move when we were all done. We headed back and visited for a while before going to bed. The next morning, Bruce and Lauren wanted to go out for breakfast before we had to head to the airport. That day, church was cancelled for  all of Utah because of the Brigham City Temple dedication, so they were able to spend some more time with us before we had to leave! Yay! And they introduced us to the BEST breakfast place in Salt Lake City, "The Park Cafe". It's a cute little cafe across the street from a pretty park :) Good name for it right? We ate the BEST french toast, with lots of bacon and eggs and orange juice. The perfect meal to keep us full till we got to California that night. And it was super cheap! They were then nice enough to drive us to the airport, and let us keep our car at their apartment so we didn't have to pay for a week of parking. Thank you Bruce and Lauren! You were a lifesaver!

 

We got to the airport and checked in, and had a couple hours to waste till we departed at 2pm. We made sure we had lots of candy, magazines, and drinks for our traveling. :) Chris had forgotten his sunglasses at home so we ended up getting some cheap ones at the airport for him, which ended up being better so he didn't lose or break his $150 ones! That would have been a tragedy. Well, we boarded the plane, and headed to Phoenix! We had a 1 1/2 hour layover there, where my bestest friend Sarah came and saw us with her cute little baby during that time. It was so nice to be able to see her, even if it was only a short time. She made me some really cute gifts for my birthday, and we got to play with little Lyla who is hilarious! I love the little faces she makes, like this one:

 

We asked Chris to take a close up of us, and this is what we got :) haha

 

Haha. But the hour passed quickly and it was time to get back on the plane and head to Los Angeles! It was a short flight and we were there in no time at all. Our boat was leaving the next day out of Long Beach, so we booked a hotel in Long Beach for that night and a shuttle to pick us up from the airport and take us to the Holiday Inn. We found our bags and went outside to find our shuttle. If you ever need a shuttle service, Prime Time Shuttle is FAST!

Not just with their service.....also their DRIVING! Chris and I were riding in the van on our way to Long Beach, and we were literally scared for our lives! That driver weaved in and out of lanes so fast, and instead of getting in the right lane to turn right, he would wait till the very last second to weave over and turn the corner. We wanted to kiss the ground when we arrived at our hotel. :) But, he got us there quick!

It was a really nice hotel that my mom was kind enough to get for us for the night. Really nice service, comfy beds, and super close to the port. They even had a shuttle service that took us down the street to Jack in the Box after we set down our bags so we could get some dinner. We ate our food, and went to bed exhausted from the day. But we were excited to get on the boat the next day!!

We woke up and went down to the dining room where they made us breakfast. I got on the treadmill for an hour while Chris got ready and packed to leave. I knew I was going to be eating a lot of food that week so I wanted to feel like I was helping burn it off a little bit :) It was finally time to head down to the port! Our hotel shuttle took us down there with a couple other couples who had stayed there that night as well.

1 year Photos

We got our pictures done for our 1 year anniversary. Our good friend Kendra did them. She did all of our wedding pictures, and she did such a great job, I definitely wanted her to do our pictures again. I like the idea to get our pictures done every year to see how we grow old together :) We had such a fun time with Kendra and her husband David. They definitely made the shoot enjoyable. Here are some of my favorites.

 

 

 

 

And my MOST favorite: The "Stalker" picture

My favorite Month: September!

I have so much to catch up on! September was a super busy month. There is so much to be told about! First of all, Chris and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary!! Yay! I can't believe we have already been married a year. It has gone by so fast. Since our cruise was our celebration for our anniversary, our actual Anniversary day was very simple. We both went to work that day. Chris's mom made dinner for all of us (Chicken Carbanara). Chris and I ate our food in the basement as we watched TV like we do every night. :) We were snuggling on the couch after we ate, and within seconds, Chris was snoring away. Haha and it was 7pm! So, we brushed our teeth, got our pj's on, and hopped in bed with a movie. We were both out by 9 o' clock. :) Yeah we are big partiers! I had put together a little basket with a bunch of $1 treats in it for Chris. There was a bunch of candies and chips and sodas, and I also went to the gas station and got a couple of the $1 lottery tickets for it too (which the cashier at the gas station didn't think I was old enough to buy lottery tickets....don't you have to be 18 to buy lottery tickets?) Anyway, Chris loved his little basket, and he got me a really sweet card and a yummy Almond Joy. :)

The next day was my BIRTHDAY!! I had the day off, and it was such a fun day! I went into my salon and my good friend Jenn gave me a pedicure. She brought me a cake and some fun "gifts" for our cruise, like this awesome hat! :)

After that I went to lunch with my in laws, Chris's grandma and a few of his cousins to Sizzler! I sure do love their salad bar :) It was so nice of them to come celebrate with me and visit with them. Chris came when he got off work and caught the tail end of it, and then Esther took us shopping! I didn't really want any clothes, so I told her I would like some stuff for our new apartment that we were going to move into after our cruise. There was so many things I didn't realize we needed until then. I should have been collecting things this whole past year! But she was so sweet and helped us pick a few things out.  We went to Bed Bath and Beyond and we got some towels for our bathroom, a couple lamps for our bedroom, and a cute red pitcher cause we love to make kool aid! It all got me more and more excited to move into our place. After shopping, Chris and I went over to our new apartment complex and signed the lease so they could hold the apartment till we came back from our trip. Then we went to dinner at my favorite restaurant here in Idaho Falls, Snake Bite! It's a cute little restaurant where they make really good burgers and fries and salads. Chris got their Cowboy burger: 

 I ended up getting their fish tacos and fries. They tasted yummy, a little spicy than what I usually like, but loved the fries! We walked around downtown a bit before going back home where we ate cake and played cards with Esther. It was a nice, relaxing, and fun day. I love birthdays! The one bad thing was during the night I ended up getting really really sick, and was up all night in the bathroom. Guess I won't be getting the fish tacos again....:(

Cruise Time!

We are leaving for our cruise today! We are driving to Salt Lake when I get off work, and staying with Chris's cousin Bruce and his wife Lauren tonight. Then we will head to the airport tomorrow morning and fly to L.A.! :) A shuttle is picking us up at the airport and driving us to Long Beach where we are staying at the Holiday Inn, who will then drive us to our boat on Monday! Yay So excited!! I can't believe it's finally here! I just gotta get through the next 4 hours of work, and then we are FREE!! See you all in a week! I will try to take lots of pictures! :)

Don't Go Summer!

Well, one more week of August and then it will be my favorite month! September!! :) My birthday is in September, now my anniversary is in September (this is until we get sealed, then we will have a new anniversary), and now our first cruise is in September! I am so ready for it all.
A couple weeks ago was Esther and Jared's birthdays. Esther's birthday is on August 17th, then their anniversary is August 18th, and then Jared's birthday is August 19th! Phew! So, Chris and I decided to take them both to dinner and celebrate them all in one night. We invited some of their family and surprised them at Chuck a Rama! Yummy food and great company. It was a lot of fun, and I hope they enjoyed the surprise!
Here is all everyone at the table (excluding me since I took the picture :)

 Me and cousin Melissa with her adorable baby girl McKenna

This past weekend Chris and I went down to Lava Hot Springs! It was my first time go to their actual pool. I have gone to their hot pools a couple times during the winter, but never the summer pool. It's a really fun place with a huge pool, lots of fun slides, and high dives! Chris and I climbed to the top of the highest high dive to jump off, but when it was finally our turn, I looked over the edge and couldn't jump! I just couldn't do it. haha So Chris went without me and I climbed down to the middle one since it was a little lower. That one was still a little scary but I jumped anyway! I jumped off, my stomach jumped up to my heart, I screamed super loud, and then my feet hit the water. I was glad to make it down okay, but it was super scary and hurt my feet! Some people were NUTS jumping off those things! Doing crazy flips and other tricks. It scared me each time someone went off.

                            This is our view of the slides from our spot.

This is our view of the high dives and other slides

Our spot with our cooler :)

But we enjoyed all the slides and swam in the water. We brought a yummy picnic lunch, and napped in the sun to work on our tans :) Overall it was a fun day and I am so glad we got to go before they close next weekend! We will definitely have to go back next year, but I really want to take him down to Provo to go to Seven Peaks cause I think that place is a lot better.
This is us without our sunglasses on. It was so bright!

We were able to take a better one with our sunglasses on :)

We found an apartment that we want to move into! Yay! After months and months of paying off some debt and figuring out where we are supposed to be, we have found a place to live! It's over by the temple, an apartment complex called Park Place Apartments, and we love it. Lots of space (it's almost 1000 square feet), 2 bedrooms, big living room, washer and dryer hookups (now we need to buy a washer and dryer!), and right by the river.  Our plan is to move in October 1st, so we will see how that goes! :) I am super excited.

Chris is really enjoying his new job, so that makes me really happy. So we have like every afternoon/evening together now and that is awesome. He is enjoying the easy going feel and the positive environment there. I am so glad he was able to find this job, and now we are just waiting for the benefits to kick in! :)

I Can't Believe it's August!

This year seems like it has been FLYING by! It's already August and it seems like it was just Christmas! The sad thing about it is summer is going to be over soon, even though it pretty much just got here, and there will be snow falling down here. :( Pooey! I am trying to enjoy the warm sunshine here as much as I can. That's why Chris and I went and layed by the pool today and got a little bit more tan. Yay! Tomorrow is my sister Bethany's birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY BETH! She has the cutest little boys ever, I just want to squeeze them. I miss you guys so much!

My weight loss is going pretty well. I have lost 9 pounds so far in the past 6 weeks.  Counting calories really helps. Even though it can be a pain some days, it's totally worth it and helps you realize how much you really put in your mouth everyday, and most things you don't necessarily need (like that 1/2 package of Oreos. haha). I have been making these smoothies pretty often that taste yummy. I mix a cup of spinach, a banana, strawberry greek yogurt, can of pineapple, and ice. So good! and you don't even taste the spinach! I love it right after my workout. I am going to be trying this product soon. It's from Nodiet.com, and it's liquid protein, and take a tablespoon right before you go to bed each night. My friend Jenn recommended it to me. It's supposed to help with fat breakdown while you sleep. So I am going to try a month's worth and let you know how it helps!

Another exciting thing going on with us is Chris got a new job! We have been waiting for this for so long! Ever since we got married we have been sending resumes in up the ying yang to so many different companies, and nothing ever came from them. But after all that work, something finally happened! He got called in for an interview at Idaho State University here in town, and he got the job! It's a maintenance/custodian job, full time, with FULL BENEFITS! It's gonna be so awesome, and he is so excited. He starts August 20th!

Well, it's my bedtime, so I better go. But hope you all are doing great! I will see you soon. :)

Saturday is a Special Day

Well here I am, snuggled up in bed with my pj's on watching Mirror Mirror (Chris rented it for me before he left), while the hubby is out seeing the new Batman movie with his cousin Tyson. :) So I figured I had some time to blog! It's been a pretty good week. Busy at the salon with clients, trying new recipes from Pinterest, and working out! I made a corn casserole one day: http://pinterest.com/pin/106890191126585408/

 and this another: http://pinterest.com/pin/106890191126554550/

Both were very good, and I plan on trying THIS sometime very soon :) http://pinterest.com/pin/106890191126653279/

Which reminds me of my weight loss progress.....I weighed myself this week, and I only lost 1/2 a pound! I was so used to seeing 2 pounds off each week, that 1/2 a pound was a big disappointment. I thought for a second that I should just quit and just go back to how I would normally eat, but then I remembered how badly I want to lose it! So as difficult as it is, I need to keep moving on! It will be worth it in the long run, and I will be so happy when we get on our boat for our cruise and I have lost the weight I have wanted to for so long. So, I will keep on truckin! I weigh myself every Wednesday morning, so if you get curious on how I am doing, you could ask me on Wednesdays! :) Or you could become friends with me on myfitnesspal.com, and we could motivate each other and see each other's progress.

I don't really have much else to say.....my life isn't very exciting right now :) But it's still good! I have no problems with just going to work, and spending the evenings with the husband eating dinner, watching tv, and working out. But I will let you know if any of that changes! Have a happy Sabbath!