July 2013: Wolf Creek Weekend with the Family

 There is something great about all being in the same place at the same time! Lisa planned a fantastic get-a-way for our family. I was impressed with the location, cool weather, swimming, and plenty of room for the entire family. Wolf Creek was a success for sure.

 Lots of time to just chill... and spend time with everyone. 

JJ learned how to eat whip-cream from a can straight into his mouth... thanks to Aunt Brenda and Cousin Tyler. He wasn't too sure at first... but oh, man it only took one lick and he was hooked.

Also, JJ and David loved paper airplanes being tossed up into the loft... good times.

 So, so, so glad there was a pool. Being 8 mo. preggo there are few things to enjoy doing. But the pool was a hit for me and for all the kids too. Actually I am pretty sure everyone like it. No fear with these nieces and nephews... jump right in.

 Trying to find a little something fun to do... took us to Golden Spike National Park. A little bit of a drive, but it was fun to see the trains, and again the kid-os sure liked it.

FUN and more FUN! Good laughs, and good food, good company.

Sadly I didn't take many photos. And what I did was with my phone. I am getting bad at that.

We also celebrated Kevin's 18th birthday while we were there. (Which he wasn't photographed by me at all.) Fun to have Justine join us... welcome to the family. ;)

What else... hum... so many good times. 

David (3 yrs old) told us all about Wonder Woman and her nice boobs. LOL... that was hilarious.

Emma girl (3 yrs old) was up for the pool at anytime even though she wasn't feeling that great.

JJ was his usual self FULL of ENERGY... if I could bottle that up and take for myself... WOW!

Candace and Tyler cooked some delicious pizza cups, I was impressed. Ty said they learned how in Foods class. ;)

Games with the siblings in the evening... We played Uno LISA style. Tricky business.

Alan and Joe did bike rides, Cruz did a long run/walk to the lake one morning.... And me... I just tried to relax and be as comfy as a 8 mo prego lady can be.

For Cruz and I it was a lot of driving, 767 miles! But it was worth each one.

I like this yearly family get-a-way... can't wait for next year when we have a almost 1 yr. old. 

Adventures for sure!

Cruz's GOLDEN birthday! 30!!

My handsome husband-o turned the big 3-0! 

It was his GOLDEN birthday, 30 on the thirtieth of June.

What did he want to do for his birthday? 

Travel.

I know, big surprise. He loves to get away.

So, we did a quick little trip to California!

Before we left, on Friday I had a little surprise for him... a bunch of GOLDEN treats.

Worked out perfect so we could take them on our little road trip. ;)

I was surprised at how many GOLDEN treats you could find. 

This was just a few. There were lots of things with GOLDEN apple, but Cruz isn't a apple fan. They had GOLDEN gummy bears, which he hates gummy or sticky candy of any kind. 

I had to think "would he like this treat?" For the most part he did. He really liked the pretzels they were honey wheat. Yum!

Our destination was NEWPORT beach California.

WOW! it was so busy! We enjoyed it the best we could... but had a really hard time finding any parking. We finally found something, had time to walk the beach a little and grab some dinner... then our parking meter was out of money... so we decided to go do something else... and enjoy the beach area in the morning.

Our friend suggested SPRINKLES for a yummy treat.

Got to have lots of birthday treats...right?

Well... we got in line, and chatted it up with the guy behind us. Who gave us good ideas for the next day. (Locals know the best places anyway.) We enjoyed the sprinkles sundae. Which is a cupcake cut in half and in the middle is a scoop of ice cream. 

Delicious. 

More sights of Newport!

Next stop was CRYSTAL COVE.

This was the place the guy had recommended we spend at the beach.

The parking was way better, and it made it so much less crazy.

We just soaked up the sun, and relaxed on the beach all afternoon.

For lunch we went up the road to Ruby's Shake Shack... which overlooks Crystal Cove.

We had a turkey sandwich, burger and Cruz got a milk shake.

I must have been super thirsty cause I drank two cups of water. The food was good, but the view and the cool breeze was awesome. We were not missing the 112 degree weather in St. George.

I loved these red flower bushes. 

and... our last stop was Laguna Beach before we headed home.

Had a great time. Love that California is so much closer to us than ever before.

Guess we will have to go more often.

It wouldn't be Cruz's Birthday if we didn't spend a little time in Vegas.

My only request was that we didn't spend much time walking the strip... it was 115+ outside... and being pregnant it would have been just too hot.

SO, we stopped for a quick look at the Bellagio to see the flowers...

then went to the cheese cake factory for a little bit of food.

We shared the avocado egg rolls. It's Cruz's favorite.

Then had some delicious dessert at Jean Philippe Patisserie.

The crepe was super delicious! A perfect way to end your birthday, don't you think?

Happy GOLDEN Birthday Cruz Armando!

Love you!!

Cruz's Parents Visit SPRING 2013

The same day we returned from our HAWAII adventure we picked up Cruz's Parents from the airport.

 We were all very tired from all the flying that we just did... so it was a quick trip to see the flowers at the Bellagio, and some delicious dinner before we headed home. Seriously... I was exhausted, we had flown all night... and I didn't get much sleep.

 The next day we had all sorts of adventures. My boss, from Covenant was getting MARRIED... (see pictures below) and it was in St. George... so we went to her beautiful wedding. Sadly I forgot my camera, and so only got cell pics, but it was so fun to see her walk down the isle. Such a HAPPY day for her. LOVED it! Afterwards we took Cruz's parents for a little adventure around St. George, what a pretty place we live in!!

It was really fun to see Margaret get married, I am so glad we were able to attend!!! She was gorgeous.

While Cruz's parents were here, both Cruz and I had to work... so during the days they had to find their own hobbies! Cruz's Mom made lots of things for our baby! Booties, and a dress, hair band, some hats... she is very talented!! They also love to shop, they spent hours at home depot, wal-mart, and other places. Great time to stock up on things that are A LOT more affordable in the states. It was fun that we had our ultrasound while they were here. 

Cruz's parents are both super excited to welcome their 3rd granddaughter.

 We went to the Tuchan street fair... and then went to the Kayenta Street chalk art festival. Lots of fun, stunning works of art drawn on the ground! They also had yummy Mexican tamales... which were fun to have the in-laws try.

 Weekends were all about adventures while they were here... ZIONS! Cruz's Moms personal favorite. :)

From Zions we went straight to BRICE. So pretty and though still chilly there... we loved the view! We didn't visit here last time they visited... so it was all new for them!

 Cruz's "Uncle" was in Vegas for the weekend... so it gave us the perfect excuse to go there.... AGAIN! It was really nice for us to just have some fun with each other. We had dinner with him... but didn't take a picture.

 Hoover Dam! Wow, it's been forever since I had been there! They have totally revamped the visitors center etc... This was a great adventure, and Cruz's Dad really liked it. Nice to have something new to show them.

We had a great little weekend in Vegas... and then went back just 4 days later to take Cruz's parents to the airport! What a great vacation they had. We are so glad that they like to visit us! Cruz's Mom is always so nice and she cooks delicious meals for us while she is here. We are excited to have them come back when our little baby is born.

We had such a FUN time, I think we were all worn out by the end. :)

YAY! For lots of adventures!!!

Hawaiian Babymoon

Once we have a baby, we know our vacations will never be the same. ;) Not in a bad way, but they will just be different. So, we really wanted to be able to take advantage of the time we have before baby girl comes. What better way to spend it than on a BABYMOON. 

We debated on a lot of options....

and decided on Hawaii!

I think we went perfect timing. Half way through my pregnancy. 

I felt great, and we were able to enjoy our get-a-way with comfort.
Though it was kind of funny to try and lay on the beach, being that you aren't suppose to lay on your back. :)

Since both of us had never gone to Hawaii, we decided on going to Oahu.

We stayed in two different hotels 1st was just across the street from Waikiki beach.

So fun to be that close to the beach. This gave us lots of time to relax and rest on the beach.

 Cruz loved our view from the hotel. Even at our 2nd hotel we had views of the beach... and it was only a block away. 

We were lucky enough to meet up with our friend Amy to score some great military discounts... which took us to the Polynesian Cultural Center. I loved this!!! I think it was one of my favorite things we did. What a great program, and seriously beautiful place. I loved the night show... "Ha, the Breath of Life" fantastic performances all around.

We were able to run over to the temple, and so glad we did. It is gorgeous. We thought we would have time to visit again, but it was closed that day... so this was our only chance. So, pretty.

I tried really hard to get a picture that was awesome of the whale watching, and didn't luck out. The  best I got was the tail peaking out. I needed my bigger lens. 

We got to see tails of the whales popping out, but we also got to see the head too. I didn't have my camera ready and ended up with a picture of the sky. ha ha ha. But this was fun to see. What amazing creatures. 

Waikiki beach was busy but we loved every second. We had a lot of fun. 

Top left picture, is with Amy our cute friend who hooked us up with some great deals. We had some lunch together. It was fun to see her, and hear how things are going. Thanks AMY!! Always nice to have someone let you in on the most fun things to do, and also give you some ideas of where to eat etc...

Cruz tried paddle boarding and loved it. He didn't recommend it for prego me... so I watched from the beach. Looked like fun. 

Cruz went exploring and came back with a fancy pineapple drink in a pineapple. Festive don't you think?

Dole Plantation... what fun to see all those tropical plants and flowers. We tried the famous DOLE WHIP, and Cruz thought it was so gross. It cracked me up, and also left the rest for  me. Yum! He thought it tasted like the smell of finger nail polish. Honestly I loved the juicy slice of pineapple they gave us after the tour the best. Yummy, fresh, and sweet pineapple!

We rented a convertible while we were there and took a journey over to the North Shore.

We enjoyed the beaches, turtle bay, and treats from ted's bakery and then later giovanni's shrimp! All so delicious. 

Pearl Harbor, I was really excited to see Pearl Harbor. Not sure why, but stories of heroism and bravery  fascinate me. Lots of lives lost that day, and lots of stories of amazing people who saved others.

Reminded me of how lucky I am to live in the United States of America, and that we have willing men and women who go out and protect our country.

The memorial was peaceful, and also made me think of the Hiroshima Peace Park. I felt love for both. Thankful that we were both able to recover and rebuild... but also to honor those who lost their lives in both places.

KoOlina area is beautiful!

We ended up spending two days in this area we liked it so much.

Paradise Cove was a fun night.

I loved making the flower wrist band, and the performances were amazing too.

It was kinda cloudy so we couldn't really see the sunset, but it was still really pretty there.

Before we returned our car we took a little drive around the Island. Such great views, and fun to see a little more of Hawaii. I loved all the tropical flowers.

Our last day we decided to head over to Hanauma Bay. So glad we did. Awesome snorkeling place. Amazing fish swimming in that little area. 

Oh, and thanks to friends giving us some good tips we also got to eat some yummy malasadas which are portugese donuts without a hole. We had the filled kind. So warm and delicious.
Always hard to go back home to normal life. Vacations we love you, and you are always so good to us.

Hawaii, you were a fantastic vacation... we can't wait to go back!

Once we arrive back on the main land... we picked up Cruz's parents from the airpot. So, I feel like our vacation is still going!!

Cruz's Parents Visit Part 3!!!

I really love San Francisco!! It has been so fun to visit there. This was our 3rd time visiting there since we have been married. :) Good memories all 3 times.

 We went to the Japanese Tea gardens. So pretty there. It was a nice way to start the morning.

We took lots of pictures. These were just a few. The gardens were very pretty this time of year. Other time we went was in the winter... and still pretty but this time it was even better! 

Golden Gate Bridge. One of the many icons of San Fran! 

Lombard Street: Took us forever to get there... ended up driving down it... which totally freaked Mom out and put her on the edge of her seat! Then totally illegally parked and ran and got a few pictures. 

Coit Tower: Pretty picture before sunset

Transamerica Pyramid: Came across it as we were driving back to our hotel.  

Tiburon City: Such a cute little town. Reminds me of the artsy feel of Park City... but with water. :)

 Alcatraz Tour: We almost missed it. We were stuck in traffic and missed the tour we had purchased but were lucky to get on the next boat. So glad we made it, such a great tour and neat to see. Cruz's parents loved it. We were glad we got to see them. Ironically on the way back we sat at a table with a couple who were originally from Venezuela. Small world. :)

Pier 39 and Fishermans Wharf! I LOVE THESE PLACES... such yummy eats here. We had lunch at this little place were you could see the sea-lions out the window. They provided lots of good entertainment as we at lunch. Felt nice to sit and relax a bit. We showed them some of our favorite shops, including the salt water taffy place. Yummy.

We had a wonderful time there, we walked our feet off... and had some good laughs.

 I thought we can't leave San Fran with out riding the trolley. Little did I know that it would take FOREVER TO WAIT IN LINE!!!!! The parents were FREEZING, and to be honest miserable. But look at their smiles before we got on the trolley. And what a experience we had. A car pulled out in front of the trolley. We were in the back, but I guess it was kind of a miracle that we didn't smash it. Then we couldn't get up the hill... so a truck came to push us. But we were stuck. The trolley was so packed, I think it was too heavy. Then they sent a semi-truck to give us a good push and up the hill we went. SO CRAZY!! We ended getting off at China town and had dinner. Always fun in China town.

We had the most wonderful Salmon dinner at Cruz's uncle's house. His wife Kristina made a delicious meal, that we gobbled up. Lots of fun to have time to spend with them. So nice that we were able to make the trip and visit with them. Cruz's Dad and Enrique were good friends/cousins growing up and it had been several years since they had seen each other. They always make us feel welcome when we visit San Fran.

That was our trip, and the next morning we drove home, to Saint George. Slept and parents began packing. They had come with one suitcase each and went home with 3 each. WOW! The following day we took the to the Vegas airport to go home. They had a wonderful time while visiting us. We are so happy they came. It was so fun for me to get to know them better. It was so nice for Cruz to have time with his parents. We loved having them and can't wait until they come back in the spring. 

CRUZ'S PARENTS VISIT...part 1

Cruz's parents visited us for a month! We had so much fun with them. It was really great for me to get to know them better, laugh together and spend time with them. It was so great to see how excited Cruz was to show them. This is PART ONE of their adventure with us. :) 

warning: long post with lots of pics.

We picked them up from the Las Vegas Airport and then staied a few days hanging out and showing them the sights of Vegas. Cruz's Mom wasn't that excited about Vegas at 1st. Not much of a gambler, so she didn't really feel like she needed to see Vegas. Vegas is however one of Cruz's favorite places. His Mom quickly learned why. They loved seeing all the hotels, and their designs. We took lots of pictures, and walked pretty much the entire strip. We also went to Le Reve (The Dream) show. It was amazing! We all loved it.

One we got back from VEGAS, Cruz and I worked for a few days, and over the weekend we took them to the GRAND CANYON!

They loved it. Cruz's Mom was Freezing!! But the views were spectacular! Worth the drive, is what we all agreed on. 

On the way there we also drove through Zions, which was Cruz's Mom's favorite National Park that we visited. The Sunset was very pretty. Oh, and on the way there we saw a tumble weed go across the road. Cruz's Dad was thrilled. Something he'd seen in movies of the WEST. So, Grand Canyon and tumbleweed were crossed off of the list of must see things...

We then went to St. George for a few days, before heading to OREM for THANKSGIVING!

We meshed his family with mine. It was a great chance for them to meet each other for the 1st time.

HAPPY THANKGIVING!! 

We had lots of yummy food. Got to hang with the family for the day. It was fun. Cruz's parent are kind of hiding in the picture but they are behind Gerald. :) Thanks to my family for making them feel welcome. Now, let's all learn Spanish so that next time they feel even more welcome. ha ha.

They both loved the views of Timp. Whenever we were driving place to place they were pointing it out. Drove up to Bridal Veil Falls and through Provo Canyon.

On the way home we stopped and enjoyed the lights at RIVERWOODS mall.

The lights at Riverwoods were awesome! I think better than I've ever seen them.

Krispy Creme was a huge hit with the parents. We visit it often for their morning coffee, and some donuts too! I was pretty donut-ed out by the time we left orem.

next stop was the DINO museum at Thanksgiving Point. We have lots of funny pictures from this adventure. They have nothing like this, with all the full dinosaur skeletons where they are from.

Every time we were driving in the mountain areas we said to look for deer. My Dad was telling them maybe they could see an Elk. We never did, except for some dead deer on the road. :( So, we took them to Cabelas! A first time visit for me as well. And... you guessed it, they loved it.

Then we visited Salt Lake...

 Lights at the Gateway, and some shopping too.

 Lights and more shopping at City Creek Mall.

 Then to Temple Square!

They loved it, even though they were freezing! And it was actually pretty warm. We got them some hot chocolate to help them not turn into icicles.

Then we took them to Park City to see SNOW. A first time sight for Cruz's Dad.

 We had fun riding the lift up to the Canyon's Ski Resort. Had lunch at the lodge. 

We also took them to main street. 

Seriously, it was like a spring afternoon in Park City. We also visited the Olympic Park.

The Next day we took them to see the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

 It was amazing. They wished the singing lasted more than a half hour. After we all went to the little America for Brunch.

Tour of the Conference Center.

Back to St. George!

Well, the next week was in St. George. Cruz and I had to get caught up on work, after being gone. So it was more relaxing for his parents. His Mom (with the help of Dad) made us delicious lunches and dinners. We played lots of Rummikub, phase ten and uno. All games that aren't english based. :) oh, and see those silly pics of us with Christmas on the heads... that is at Walmart. Cruz's Mom LOVED that place. We went there often, and filled up many carts of food, and stuff. They did all their Christmas shopping while they were here! It became a joke.... well, we could go to Walmart! Oh, and they helped us with our Christmas tree.

St. George temple/visitor center. Had a great time there. Also, went to the tabernacle there... where they got free copies of the Book of Mormon. The other picture is when we tried to go to a Christmas concert at the tabernacle, ended up being a rehearsal only... Cruz's Mom was the youngest one there by at least 20 years... not counting myself. Funny story. Too bad Cruz was at work and he missed it. 

Live Nativity at Tuacahn. Short but fantastic!

St. George temple lights and frozen custard. 

more shopping.... at pier one.

Cruz took his parents while I was working to Zions and Virgin. They had a good time. Filled up the memory card with hilarious pics. :)

Little road trip to Arches National Park.

We did the little tiny hike to see the arch. Kinda far away. But we had a good time anyway.

Whew! Know wonder we were feeling exhausted. 

They love Utah, and all of it's sights. 

Part 2 is our California adventure!