SAN DIEGO

WARNING: LONG POST AHEAD WITH LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS OF PICTURES. I'll try not to bore you and to make it as short as possible.
Last week (June 26th) Manny and I set out to California for his Grandma's 80th birthday party. We stayed in Vegas Friday night. The weather was a big change. We left UT while it was cold and rainy. Las Vegas was 106 degrees, so of course, as soon as we got there we went to the pool to cool off. Later that night, we went and saw Transformers. It was awesome. Our hotel was great because the movie theater and places to eat were located inside it. So I was glad that we didnt' have to drive anywhere.

I thought he was going to get me, but then I realized he's just going after the Sphynx.
Saturday, we made it to a tiny, tiny place called Aguanga, CA. Manny's grandparents were so happy to see us and it was nice to see them and everyone else as well. I love his grandparents!His mom and all her sisters and brother really put a lot into making the party special.

Just waiting for the party to start.

You can already see the tan we're starting to get.

Manny and his cousin Felesha.

Manny and his cousin Bernice. She was so happy to see him. Manny just loves her!

Bernice did a dance for Manny's grandparents. It was so cute to watch. She cracks me up.

Manny and his Grandma.

Manny's sister Felicia, his mom, and his grandparents.

Sunday, we headed to San Diego. I was expecting the weather to be as hot as in Aguanga since they're only about an hour and a half apart, but it wasn't. It was about 78-80 degrees the whole time we were there. Our hotel was right on the beach which made it nice and easy to get to. It still got hot enough to go swimming and play in the ocean.

Looking at the marina from our hotel.

Beautiful sunset.

Monday, we went to the San Diego Zoo. The only times I've ever really been to San Diego has been for funerals, and they were quick trips. I told Manny that I wanted to see everything. We spent over 6 hours at the zoo making sure that we saw every little square inch of it.

Me and my new friend.

This bear gets allergies during the summer which causes her to lose her hair. Weird.

The new elephant habitat had just opened up. It was huge.

I liked this animal the best. They didn't cage him, they just let him walk around.

A mama koala bear holding her baby. Shhh, they're asleep.

Stopped on the escalator to take a photo.

I loved all the animals we saw, so there are a lot of pictures of them.

My feet were starting to get tired so I stopped and got a foot massage for 25 cents.

Manny getting scared riding the tram.

So I went and sat next to him to make him feel better.

More animals.

Tuesday we went to Catalina Island. We had a nice boat ride that took about an hour and a half. The island was crowded with tons of people. It was small enough that we could just about walk everywhere. We wanted to take a tour of the whole island and see some of it's more scenic parts, so we rented a golf cart and I drove us around.

Here's our boat.

Manny and I sat outside on the top so we could enjoy the scenery (which was the vast wide ocean, lots of blue.)

View from the top of Catalina


Leaving Catalina

By Wednesday, we were both pretty tired. We felt like we had been going, going, going our whole trip so far, so Wednesday was our relaxation day. We first went to the tide pools in La Jolla and watched the seals. If you haven't been there, you should go because it's so beautiful. After we were done there, we went back to Mission Beach where we were staying and layed out in the sun and played in the ocean for hours. Since it wasn't super hot like I was expecting, it took a little while to get used to the cold ocean, but once I did, Manny couldn't get me out of it. The waves were so big and kept knocking me down, but I didn't care. Manny talked me into trying to body surf, so I tried it over and over again, but I really didn't do so well.

Manny standing in part of the tide pools.

Manny Buried me in the sand. It was so heavy I had a hard time breathing. I couldn't move at all so I had to have Manny help me out of it.

Thursday, we went to the San Diego temple and performed some ordinances. It's such a beautiful temple. Last time we went, we weren't able to go inside so I was excited that we were able to go in this time. Of course it's beautiful inside. After the temple we went to the Del Mar fair. It is one of the biggest fairs in all of the US. We were there for hours and hours and still didn't even see half of it. We ate some yummy funnel cake and had the biggest corn dogs I have ever seen. They were probably about 15 inches long, no joke! I wish I had taken a picture, but I didn't have my camera with me. Manny bought me some beautiful jade jewelry and a pretty wall hanging.

We headed home on Friday and hit the 4th of July traffic as we were leaving CA. We inched a long for about 3 1/2 hours. I couldn't believe how bad the traffic was. At first I thought it was everyone leaving for the 4th of July weekend, but then we found out that it also had to do with a couple of different cars that were on fire, and a couch laying in the middle of the freeway. We finally made it Las Vegas, and by then we were starving so we stopped to eat. The traffic in Las Vegas wasn't any better. It took us another 45 minutes just to get back on the freeway. Once we did and got outside of Vegas, it was smooth sailing the rest of the way home. We ended up getting home WAY later than expected. We were so tired, and if we could have, we would have slept straight through the 4th of July.

This is how Manny felt about being stuck in traffic for a very long time.

We had such a fantastic trip. There is so much more that we did that I could go on about, but I won't, not to mention, all the yummy food we ate. Manny was so wonderful and tried his best to make sure that I was having a good time. He succeeded and I had more fun than ever thought possible. Hopefully, I was able to do the same for him. We came home with some really nice tans, not that we needed it.

OQUIRRH MOUNTAIN TEMPLE

Manny and I were able to go to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple openhouse last week. It's such a beautiful temple. Although it hasn't yet been dedicated, I was still able to feel the Spirit. I'm glad we were able to go.

On our way home from the temple, we did see a funny sight at a gas station. Sorry the picture isn't the greatest. I was trying to take it while driving.

And, in other news. Manny finally shaved his goatee that he had been growing for over 2 months. He looks so much better without facial hair. And he's not going to appreciate me posting these pics.

Happy, Happy Birthday

Manny Dear!

Today is Manny's 31st birthday and I just wanted to let him know how much I love him. He is the most wonderful husband, and I couldn't imagine anyone better. I don't know where I'd be without him. I appreciate everything he does for me and for his wonderful example. Thank you for taking such good care of me and most of all, for always making me laugh. I love you!

March of Dimes

I did my walk for March of Dimes a little over a week ago. On behalf of all the little babies who need help when they're born, and myself, I'd like to say THANK YOU very much to all those who donated and supported me. I was able to meet my goal. I had a great time doing the walk with my friend Stephanie, through the rain and all. And even though I only raised a little bit of money, I really hope it helped.

Nothing Frilly, Just Outdoors

Elyssa had her march of dimes walk this Sat. so I decided to do my own walk for a healthy heart program. I decided to go on one of the hardest hikes I have been on in a long while. It started out with me taking 45 mins. trying do decide which one of my camo outfits was going to match best ( I must have tried on 4 different combinations). I finally made it out the door and to my destination.

I actually had my bare essentials socks, shoes, shirt, hoodie, rain jacket, beanie, backpack, water and powerbar ( oh ya and pants), and none of them matched. I hiked in about 2.5 miles and it took me 2.5 hrs. to get there, that's how steep it was ( has nothing to do with me being fat and out of shape). After feeling let down quite a bit, I finally found what I was looking for a fresh 5 point elk shed.

After another half hour I found the biggest shed I have found to date, a year old 6 point elk shed. I looked for the match to both but could not find them.

On the way back I found a 2 point mule deer shed. I also found out how good my rain jacket worked because with a 1.5 miles to go it started to rain and snow on me pretty hard.

I found out during my heart health program that when I hike that steep of mtns. my heart feels like it is going to beat right out of my chest, my lungs are going to pop and my legs are going to set on fire, and I would do it again tommorrow.

If you are wondering, Elk and Deer lose or shed their antlers every year and regrow new ones. I just help pick them up.

March Madness

Now that April is close to being over, it's about time I actually get another blog up about what happened in March! March was a little bit of a busy month. First off, the most important mention (to me) was the 9th. My birthday. I turned a whoppin' 25 years old. Manny took me out to a great lunch at Tucanos, and then to a movie. He also got me a super cute purse, and some very stylish boots. He's quite the gift giver. He's always so generous and makes it so I never have to ask for anything (not like i need to or would anyway). He also picks everything out himself. Spoiled? Maybe just a little bit. Thank you Manny for the wonderful day!

Our friends, Dan and Jedda came to visit from Indiana. I was super excited to see them since it had been so long. Their kids are getting so big. I'm glad that they were able to take time out of their busy schedule for us and visit our new home and have some yummy cookies and rootbeer floats. It was fun catching up. I can't wait to see them again. Please move back!

They loved petting Boon. I'm glad he was nice enough to let them touch him.

Later that month, Manny's uncle passed away. I had only met him once, so I hardly knew him. But, he sounded like a great man and a wonderful husband, brother, father, grandfather, and uncle. I'm glad that we were able to go to San Diego for his funeral. It was nice to see all of the Marzan side of the family again. The last (and only time) I've met the Marzan family was at another funeral, so hopefully, next time I see them, it'll be under better circumstances. We did have a nice time while we were in CA though. The weather was cold and chilly, but we still hit the beach, and some little shops.

We were also introduced to a very yummy place called Phil's BBQ. Manny's sister took us there to enjoy some delicious food. That place is so good, that there is a super long line wrapped all the way around the building at all times! We waited in line for almost an hour before we got seated. It was well worth the wait.

By the time we got to this sign, we had already been in line for about a half hour or so. There was a GIANT line behind us.

On our way to and from CA, we stopped in Las Vegas to stay overnight. On the first stop there, we saw some very interesting things, like a naked man standing in a window. I won't go into more detail than that of that first night's stay. I could have gone without seeing that. On the way home, Manny and I stayed at the Silverton. There's a Bass Pros Shop at the Silverton, so we met with Manny's parents and sister, and her little boy for lunch and to look around. Manny's nephew needed to get out and run around for a while before they strapped him back in the car and headed the rest of the way to UT. Bass Pros Shop was just the place he needed to run around. They have a big pond with fish in it, and a big aquarium with all sorts of sea life and even a mermaid. Of course, there were also animals everywhere to look at. After they left, we went to a bunch of shops, and walked a little bit of the strip. We were going to watch the Pirates show at Treasure Island, but it was cancelled because it was too windy. I was glad that we were able to go away for a few days, but I was disappointed with the weather in both San Diego and Las Vegas. Good thing I brought a sweatshirt.

Also, here is one more plug for MARCH OF DIMES. I'm doing the walk this Saturday, APRIL 25th. So far, no one has sponsored me at all except my father in-law. Thank you Jose! It's really easy, just click on the March of Dimes sidebar, and that'll take you right to where you need to go. You can use a debit card, and sponsor as little as $1, and it'll only take a minute to fill out the info. It's seriously so quick and easy. I'm only going for $20, I thought that would be easy to reach, but so far, it hasn't. Please help me out! This is for all the little babies who are born premature and need help to survive. Thank you!

31

That's how many fish Manny caught on Saturday. He was quite happy about it since so far this year, he hasn't had much luck. He went with his two fishing buddies, Kris and Coby, to Fishlake, and together they caught 81 fish in all. WOWZAA! Unfortunately, he didn't take any pictures to document the occasion, so I guess he could be telling me a whale of a tale. ;)