The Carolina's

Last weekend I made a trip out to North Carolina and South Carolina.  Veronica, my friend that I used to work with (I talked about that here), moved to North Carolina last fall with her husbands new job.  She also had a baby last June so she has been transitioning from working full time to being a stay-at-home mom in a new town.  For her birthday in March her husband arranged for her and I to go on a get-away trip.  I opted to go out to there so I could see Natalia, the baby, so we decided on Charleston for our get-away destination.

After picking me up from the airport Veronica and I headed to Charleston, encountering the strongest rain storm either of us had even driven in.  Luckily her driving was superb and we made it through the rain safely. In South Carolina we stayed in a hotel on King Street, which is right in the middle of the downtown/historic part of the city.  That evening we walked to some of the old houses which were close to our hotel.  The Joseph Manigualt House (I just googled it...finished in 1803 and known for it's architecture) is an example of the picture in my head of "old southern" houses.  I think it is so beautiful and magnificent and I love the 2 story porches with pillars.

There were also two story rounded porches on the side of the house.

This house does not show it but many of the houses in Charleston are perpendicular to the street.  They would just look like long, skinny houses if the front door faced the street but instead they look like houses that are turned the wrong way.  They built the houses that way for better air circulation, we called it "they were trying to entice a breeze".

On our walk we came across this sidewalk art piece.  I'm sure it has something to do with Charleston, but we thought it was fitting for our trip.  Veronica is one of my best friends and on this trip it was as if we haven't lived away from each other for 2 1/2 years.  We had so much fun.

On Saturday morning we ventured to a park across the street from our hotel to a farmers market.  They were selling a little of everything; all sorts of vegetables, tons of strawberries, olive oil, preserves, baskets, paintings/artwork, lotions, candles, honey.  We got crepes at one of the food booths for breakfast (my banana and peanut butter crepe was so delicious) and bought boiled peanuts for later.  When we ate the peanuts later we decided they taste a lot like beans...maybe navy beans.  They were good and I liked experiencing a "southern" food, but I prefer regular peanuts over boiled.  I also tried grits, another "southern" food.  They are good...kind of like couscous.

After the farmers market we drove to Middleton Place, an old plantation.  The plantation house was a bit of a let-down for me because I was expecting huge wrap-around porches and pillars and instead it looked more like an old English Manor (not to say it was ugly, just not the Hollywood picture I had in my head).  It was one of three main living houses that were on the plantation right next to each other.  They had the north house (for men), the main house (for the women and daily living) and the south house (for a library and art display).  At the end of the Civil War the North went through and burned a lot of the plantations and this was the only house that wasn't burned to the ground, although they did have to remodel before it was liveable.  I didn't take a picture of the house, but you can see it here. 

My favorite thing at Middleton Place were the gardens.  They have huge gardens that were carefully planned out in the 1700's and are still around today.

That is Spanish Moss hanging from the trees.  It is a epiphyte, meaning it gets it's nutrients from the air and rain so does not kill the tree.

There were tons of Camellia tree.  The flowers were all different colors and so pretty.

This alligator went crashing into the water about 40 feet in front of us, I think we scared him when we can around the corner.  Truth-be-told, he scared us as well.

Saturday evening and Sunday morning we took some walking tours around Charleston.

The Battery.

Dock Street Theatre.  The first building in America actually designed to be a theater.

A 18-wheeler unloading bay...???  I couldn't figure out why they had these huge double doors in the middle of this old building.

Interesting facts about Charleston:

• It was originally named Charles Town after King Charles.
• It is right on the Charleston Harbor and was often attacked by pirates back in the 16-1700's. 
• To protect the town they built a wall along the water with areass for cannons.
• The water/harbor is now about 200 yards back from where it used to be.
• One of the main crops grown there was rice, which has a 15 month growing season.

On Sunday afternoon we drove back to North Carolina.  It was great to see Veronica's new house, the area, and her family...especially little Natalia.  She is a cute and content little girl.  It was a great trip!

Fall Travels

This fall I have taken advantage of my vacation time. I love traveling and it was proven this fall with my many, many, many many trips. My excursions took me all over the country.

1. Texas
At the end of August I went to see David, Julie and Bailey. The end of August is not the ideal time to visit Houston, aka. hot and humid, and it did not leave me disappointed. One morning Julie and I took a long, fast walk with Bailey. I don't know about Julie, but I was soaking wet afterward! Despite the hotness/humidness, it was a great trip (and honestly, it was kind of cloudy the first too days so not too hot or humid). We went to the zoo, a Rice volleyball game, shopped at Hobby Lobby, played games and ate plenty of Blue Bell ice cream.

At the zoo we saw long horn cattle (a must see in Texas in my opinion)
and Bailey rode the carousel. She was quite a pro at naming all of the animals.

2. Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
This trip was for work. A week long, all expenses paid trip to Florida...I'm not complaining. I went with 4 other people from my company for a training. The training was pretty good and boring at times, as all trainings are. It took up the large majority of our days, but we did manage to get to the beach on Friday before flying back home. There was a storm out over the ocean which us land-locked people thought looked awesome.
The most memorable part of the trip was probably the flight to Florida, which warranted a blog story, but there were lots of other great times and many laughs. One night we went to dinner in downtown Ft. Lauderdale. After dinner we decided to walk to the beach, which was, in our opinion, at this sky rise that we could see in the distance. Once we had walked about 1 mile we realized the the sky rise was actually just a turn in the road and not the beach. It was getting dark and everyone was tired of walking so we gave up on the beach and walked back to the cars. Turns out the beach was about 6 or so miles away...ha ha ha. We would have been walking most of the night to get there and back.

3. New York City

In the summer of 2009 one of the ladies that I worked with moved to Amsterdam. It was decided that we would take annual girls' trip starting in 2010 so we could keep in contact better (there were five girls in the mix).

As we moved closer to September, 2010 it looked like myself, Veronica and Joni (the one in Amsterdam) would be the only ones making the trip to New York City. In the end, one of Joni's friends also joined us for a long weekend in the big apple.

On the first day we walked, and walked and walked. We went past the Manhattan Temple, which was only about 10 blocks from our hotel, very beautiful. Then we walked up and down Park Avenue and checked out every store. OK, not every store, but a ton of stores. Needless to say, Veronica and I were not really too enthused about shopping so much. I enjoyed the walking and the people seeing though.

For the next few days Joni and her friend shopped -seriously that's all they did, I can hardly fathom it - while Veronica and I were tourists. We saw Battery Park, ground zero, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Grand Central Station, and Central Park among other things. After being to New York several times and taking in the sites, I am of the opinion that Ellis Island is one of the best kept secrets. It was so interesting to see, learn the history, and ready people's stories. I highly recommend it.

We did hook up with the other two for meals...we ate at some awesome restaurants. To walk across the Brooklyn Bridge; another really fun thing that is not too common. And to see In the Heights on Friday, I mean Saturday night. We had planned to see it Friday night, but as we were about to go in Veronica looked at her ticket and realized it was for Saturday night; she had bought the tickets for the wrong night, ha ha. Luckily we were still there Saturday night so no harm done. The musical was great (on Saturday) and Times Square was crowded (on both nights).

Through the walking, waiting for the subway, eating, talking, etc. we did manage to snap a few photos. However, somehow I didn't get any of Joni or her friend. Oh well, next trip I guess I'll have to do better. These are from the Brooklyn Bridge, Battery Park and the Statue of Liberty.

4. Phoenix, Arizona
This wasn't really a huge trip since I do go to the valley several times every year, but in October my mom and I went specifically for Time Out for Women. We attended our second annual TOFW and were not disappointed. The speakers and musical numbers were amazing. We left with our spirits lifted.

5. Southern California
In June my mom and I got great plane tickets to fly to Southern California in October to visit Katie and Ryan (this was my only trip that was planned so far in advance). We flew out for a long weekend and managed to fit in tons of fun. We went to Disneyland using our "give a day, get a day" free tickets. It was fun to see Disneyland decorated to the nines for fall and Halloween.

We also went to Joann's, Gap Outlet (always great deals to be found here), I made a skirt with the help of Katie's friend, had a Pampered Chef party, ate yummy food, played Lego Harry Potter (on the play station I think...I am not too good at it) and played games. It was also fun to see Katie and Ryan's new house.

6. Wyoming
In November I flew up to spend a long weekend with Beth, Chris, Caitlin and Ashlee. When Beth was driving to pick me up, Caitlin was tired of the drive and wanted my plane to drop me off in Coalville. I guess the pilot didn't get her memo so they still had to come all the way to Salt Lake.

It was cold while I was there, although not nearly as bad as last year, and not too snowy. Still, I no longer have my Wyoming skin so I was freezing. Luckily I can borrow Beth's coats, slippers, sweaters, shoes...it's quite easy to pack when you are going to visit your twin :)

We had a lot of fun while I was visiting. Zumba, swimming (in an awesome pool), swimming lessons, a tea party, princess Yahtzee and hop scotch, workbooks, playing house, watching Oklahoma, a Thai restaurant, shopping at the mall (yea for Vanity) and local stores, babysitting, cooking, waking up early and making a Christmas decoration filled up much of our time.

At the tea party Caitlin loved to pour water for everyone in their enough-for-one-small-swallow-sized cups. Ashlee thoroughly enjoyed using her "cut" (knife) at the tea party and at any meal for that matter. She is really grateful if a "cut" is part of her place setting at meal time.

It is always fun to play with Caitlin and Ashlee with their huge imaginations and to have them sometimes confuse me for their mom. It is also fun to spend time with Beth and Chris; luckily Chris doesn't confuse me for Beth :)

No more vacations this year, I am saving my remaining days for Christmas time. The 2010 travel log was sure good though. I'm excited to see what kind of travel 2011 will bring.

What's best about a reunion in Park City?

Pretty much everything. All of the family was there, we had tons of fun, and the mountain weather was perfect. The condo (compliments of my mom's aunt and uncle) made for a very homey feel.

We made some crafts...cards and flowers and played tons of games and tons of bocce. David won the bocce tournament; maybe because he had the best focus (bottom left) or the best skill. We also had family pictures, visited Grandma and Grandpa G. and Aunt Shirley's family in Logan and read plenty of books. Caitlin and Bailey both love books so much, it's fitting that they are sitting on the stairs together and reading.

We had great food. Despite what a couple of the pictures portray, Katie and Ryan did not have to do all of the cooking. Our food included tons of sweets: roasted marshmallows, Katie's fabulous birthday cake, cookies, ice cream sandwich cake, homemade ice cream, candy, cookies and other things that I'm sure I'm missing. We did also eat a lot of great home cooked and nutritious meals.

We took some time to rest. Although the condo had plenty of rooms and beds for everyone, sometimes people needed extra naps. It was pretty funny when Ashlee fell asleep at the table...she was already so worn out and it was only the second day.

We played. The swing set and slide at Grandma and Grandpa's house in Logan were a big hit for the little girls. We also went to Jordanelle Reservoir one day for some fun in the sun, sand, and water. One night my parents had Grandparents Night so all of the "adults" could go out and do something. We called it date night...I even had a date :) I planned that we would go mini-golfing and found the 1 coarse in Park City. Upon arriving we discovered that maybe it would be fun for children under the age of 8, but not so much for us. We ended up playing volleyball at the park and then Battle of the Sexes. No pictures of this outing, but it was fun and worth mentioning.

We went to the Salt Lake Temple. On the way there Ashlee got car sick, which altered the master plan a bit but everything ended up working out fine. We also got to go to Music and the Spoken Word in the Conference Center on Temple Square on Sunday. It was very good and we got to see Gwen, one of our friends from our Laramie days. It looks a bit like we posed in front of a mural of the temple...no, it is the real thing.

That was our reunion in a nut shell. It is so great to get together with family.

Hiking the Y

About 1 week ago my family had a reunion in Park City. It was a great time with lots of fantastic pictures, however they are all on Beth's camera. Needless to say, I can talk about the reunion in more colorful and picturesque detail when I have the pictures so I'll wait until then.

I will tell about hiking the Y. After the reunion, Katie, Ryan and I went to Provo to spend some time with our friend Tisha. We decided the best use of the morning would be a nice, relaxing, perhaps slightly aerobic hike. Tish decided we would hike the Y (that's the "Y" on the mountain). We were excited; after all we hadn't done this before.

At the beginning of the hike there is a sign showing the trail and the different options...the top or the bottom of the Y. Tish said, "we better decide now which way we'll go because otherwise at the top we'll just go to the bottom". We decided on the top, but we didn't know yet how true her comment was.

We started walking/hiking...and it was very steep. I love hiking and am in good shape, but it was still very steep. When you factor in the altitude, it was a difficult, tiring and a very much aerobic hike. Katie and I were feelin' it, but nothing that a few stops to rest didn't fix. And, in the end, we made it to the top of the Y.

After lunch and some "take in the view" time, we walked back down (it was equally as steep going down) and headed back to Tish and Chris's (her husband) apartment for some quality Canasta and Rock Star time. It was a fun day and a great hike.

Arboretum and Wyoming...

...better late then never.

Over Easter weekend my sister Katie came to visit. After getting to the airport a little late to pick her up (oops, but by late I mean 35 minutes) we headed off to go hiking. We opted for a nice, pretty, relaxing hike rather then climbing a mountain...so we went to Boyce Thompson Arboretum. I see the entrance for this place every time I go to Phoenix, but have never stopped. Katie and my mom had been before, but they wanted to go again. I am glad we decided to go there because it was a fabulous time/day to go! The weather was beautiful and there were flowers everywhere. I took pictures of some of my favorite flowers and, while I'm not photographer, they turned out quite nice in my opinion.

It was nice to walk around enjoying nature and talking.

Now that I look at this picture I am thinking, those sunglasses are kind of atrocious and too big for my face. Hmm.

On to last weekend, April 16-18. I decided to take a trip to Wyoming to see the show that Chris directed, The Music Man. Although my rental car did not have cruise control, gasp, I made it to Beth and Chris's without mishap, only major cramps in my legs. It was a fast weekend, but fun filled. I had time to play with Caitlin and Ashlee, go on a walk, visit with Taffy (who was is RS for the day), go to the show, see Chris's parents, and eat yummy food. The show was very good, Chris did a great job of putting it together.

This week I have been back at home and the everydayness of my life. It's pretty exciting here in our little valley though with the open house of The Gila Valley Temple underway.

Trip to Florida

I spent all of last week in Florida for a work trip. I had a conference in Orlando, but still managed to fit in some time for play. This is the third conference I've attended for work and one of my favorite things about them is the awesome hotels/accommodations; I stayed in the Disney Contemporary Resort this time. I know that in "real life" I would never fork out the money to stay in a resort or 5 star hotel, which makes me really appreciate the great opportunities I get through work. On Tuesday the conference didn't start until evening so we (myself and 3 co-workers) headed to Universal Studios. After visiting that park I learned there is really something to be said for Disney Parks. All day long I felt like the employees at Universal were trying too hard to make sure we were having fun, which became obnoxious. I was able to push that aside and have fun anyway, especially on the climbing wall. This was the first time I have ever done a climbing wall and now I wonder what I was waiting for. It is so fun, but also so tiring! I got two climbs on the wall and made it to the top to ring the bell on the first climb. With that, however, came tired arms, legs and wrists and I was pretty much spent for my second climb. My arms and legs were shaking pretty bad, but no worries, I still made it half-way up. What a fun activity!

On the trip I also got to see Cirque de Soleil, go to Epcot, listen to some interesting talks and workshops as well as some boring ones, and hang out with my friend Brad who lives in Orlando now. Oh, and I almost forgot the small light/music water show that happened each night on the lake in front of my room. It was a fun trip. Thanks to my work for paying for the trip where I could make memories.

Winter trip to Wyoming

In November, my mom and I found a killer deal that Southwest Airlines was having, so we decided to take an early December trip up to Wyoming to visit Beth and fam. It was definately a winter trip, as the weather was bitter cold. However, since we left (last weekend) it has only gotten more cold in Wyoming. I guess they pulled out the warmer weather while we were there :) In explaining the fun trip, I will talk about each of the pictures above (in order as if you were reading a book).

1. I felt like I needed to show proof that it was so cold...on Sunday night (and Thursday night) it was below zero. All I can say is Brrrrrr.
2. Ashlee loves climbing on things, including my mom's, Grandma's, suitcase. She was also checking out what she can buy her mom for Christmas.
3. Caitlin and Ashlee like to dance so they were having a little dancing party with Beth.
4. We had a nice dinner on Sunday night. In case we can't tell in the picture, we were famished.
5. Chris and Caitlin pulling a cracker. They are doing '12 Days to Christmas' this year and making and pulling crackers was one of the activities. A cracker is a Scottish present that you pull and the winner gets the gift inside. We each had our own cracker, filled with candy and awesome Christmas rings.
6. Making Scottish shortbread was another of the 12 Days to Christmas activity; which Ashlee was helping to make.
7. Mom, Ashlee, Beth and Caitlin making gingerbread men ornaments (another 12 Day activity).
8. When Beth and Chris lived in Scotland they got some plaid fabric. My mom made jumpers out of the fabric for Caitlin and Ashlee and they were posing in them before we left for church. They are super cute jumpers.
9. Me and Ashlee. She liked me and mom being there because we would hold her a lot.
10. Caitlin concentrating on making her gingerbread man.
11. Caitlin taking her turn at helping with the shortbread.

It was a fun trip. I am thankful that there are such convient (and sometimes quite cheap) ways of traveling now so it is much easier to visit family and friends all over the country.

Houston and the Blue Bell Factory

Hurray for vacation so I can take annual trips to Houston (this was my 3rd year in a row visiting Houston in November). David, Julie and Bailey were kind enough to let me come for 5 days. There was plenty of fun with hiking - rather nature walking, shopping on Harwin Street, playing games, watching football and Dancing with the Stars, taking walks, and going to the Blue Bell Factory. Blue Bell ice cream originated in Brenham, TX, which is only about 30 minutes from Houston so one afternoon we headed there for a tour. It was really interesting to learn the history and see how they make the ice cream, however the best part was the free scoop at the end! Since only 19 states have Blue Bell ice cream, not everyone can enjoy it's goodness. So I'll tell you, it is really good ice cream (although not as good as Baskin Robbins). Although Bailey doesn't look to enthused in the pictures, she liked the tour as well and she loved her small vanilla scoop.

Last weekend

my mom and I took a trip to Phoenix for Time Out for Women. This is a 2 day conference put on by Desert Book to help lift and rejuvenate women. It was really good, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. I especially enjoyed Jenny Oaks Baker who plays the violin, she is superb. Also the talks by Emily Freeman and Kris Belcher were excellent. Time Out for Women is definitely something I would take time out to go to again.

Since we were heading to Phoenix, we decided to get a hike in. We love hiking and try to hit new trails when we can. It was a fun hike, but not without some lessons learned.

• The second week of October in the middle of the day is not a good time to hike in Phoenix, it is still PRETTY WARM.
• When hiking in the desert, watch your step so you don't step on a 2 1/2 foot snake in the middle of the path. (Unfortunately I didn't have my camera out yet to capture the snake. I know Chris is really disappointed).
• Don't step on the small pieces that fall off of the fluffy (they only look fluffy) white cactus. It is quite a chore picking it out of the bottom of your shoe.
• The desert is dry, but it has it's own beauty.

The Bags and Wyoming

Beth and I decided back in the summer that we wanted to make some bags, Birdie Sling's to be more specific. This was an idea we got from our friend Michelle who has made several bags and they look awesome. With Beth coming in September and me taking vacation it was the perfect time for the project. We got the pattern and material and got started. After the first day we had succeeded in cutting out the fabric...this was maybe going to be a bigger task then we first anticipated. After about 4 days of working on the bags (working for several hours each day) we finally finished. Yeah! They turned out very good. We are proud of our accomplishments. The worst part of making the bag was having to pick-out stitches. When I was almost finished I had to unpick the entire thing I had just sewn and I was frustrated, to say the least. Beth, being a nice sister, helped me piece it together again so I wouldn't have to unpick it again. Before this I was thinking of making another bag, but after the last step I thought no way! However, I'm encouraged after finding out that even Michelle (the inspiration for the bags and a seasoned sewer) has to unpick things. I think maybe I'll make another bag or some other creation this fall :)

On a different subject, last weekend I flew up to Wyoming. David, Julie, Bailey and I met in Denver and drove up to Laramie to meet Beth, Chris and their girls for a Cowboys football game. It was a great game; perfect weather, great company, tons of Pokes fans, lots of "Cowboy Joe" and a win. Tons of fun. After the game we walked around campus seeing what was the same and different; it sure brought back great memories. After dinner at an awesome Mexican restaurant in Laramie, we drove to Beth and Chris's house in Rock Springs. It was fun staying with them for the next 1 1/2 days before we had to fly home.

Vacation!...in Rock Springs

Last week I was on vacation. I was in Rock Springs, WY which is not much of a destination but it was fun anyway. And it was very nice to have some relaxing time after 7 weeks of 6-days-a-week working in Africa. I visited Beth, Chris, Caitlin and Ashlee for a week and here are some of the highlights:

• Standing in the driveway so Caitlin could ride around me on her tricycle
• Going on walks with Beth and/or the girls
• Listening to Caitlin copy exactly what Beth was saying
• Caitlin talking non-stop during meals and explaining to us that "after I eat my piece of corn bread all gone I am going to have that piece and then that piece" (sure Caitlin )
• Ashlee waving and clapping
• Finding a steal of a deal on long jeans at the mall - buy 1 get 1 free - resulting in $10 jeans for Beth and me
• Meeting up with Taffy and her kids in Green River for the afternoon
• Riding to Green River and Logan, UT with Chris wedged in the back between two car seats - he was a really good sport about that
• Helping Caitlin put on "sun scream" and playing "membory"
• Reading books
• Visiting Grandma and Grandpa and the Stuarts in Logan

These are some pictures of us playing "membory". Ashlee was not very content with just sitting on Beth's lap and watching.

10 Year Reunion

I have been very busy since returning from Africa, therefore adding no posts. I am now however back in the saddle :)

Last weekend Beth and I attended our 10 year high school reunion in Laramie. Back in May I convinced Beth that we should go and we are super glad that we did. It was a good time and really great to see high school friends. There was a mixer on Friday night followed by riding in the parade and a picnic lunch on Saturday. It is amazing how much yet how little everyone has changed. This is a picture from the picnic, taken by my "coolest person on the face of the earth" brother-in-law Chris. In case you don't see me, I am on the top row (for those 6' tall or taller) in a purple shirt next to Beth in a green shirt. It was a great weekend. The only down side was missing those classmates who couldn't come to the reunion.