| i like to move it, move it |

you know things are serious when YOU MOVE INTO TO YOUR FIANCE'S PLACE. yeah, talk about surreal. we found that it would be easiest to move my things to seattle before the wedding, rather than after. that way i am semi moved in and we won't have the stress of moving me.

my parents and i loaded a u-haul here in utah and then made the track to washington. i am so lucky to have the parents i do. they would do anything for their kids/grandkids. like, who pays for a u-haul and then gladly drives their child 16 hours only to help them unload it? scott and jolene, that's for sure.

| s p r i n g |

spring activities included:

last minute biking trip to boise

gillian turning the big 3-0

some "bunny" coming for easter

spring break in st. george

hiking angel's landing 

kylie and courtney's dance recital 

{ oh and kylie is now 12. whhaaa? }

third row jazz tickets and making our own kiss cam

breck getting pneumonia on our apt hunting trip in seattle 

mani/pedi's with all the girls 

getting stuck in the denver airport with my nieces

| be mine |

i look forward to valentine's day a little more since being a teacher. the kids get so excited to show off their valentine's day boxes and exchange valentine's. not only is it a fun day at school, it is also the same weekend as presidents' day which means no school #winning. this year (and last) i was able to go to kennewick. washington to be with breck. no lying that long distance relationships are hard. but it makes those weekends that we are able to be together that much more special and exciting. valentine's day was a friday and i was to fly out that night. my brother, scottie, dropped me off at the airport. i was giddy and couldn't wait to land in wa! as i'm sitting at my gate, i notice that the time to board had already passed. people waiting to board the plane were getting restless and i could tell something was going on. finally, the attendant got on the intercom and announced that my flight may be delayed if not cancelled due to fog in the tri-cities. what the? i called breck immediately and he was so confused. he lives in kennewick and the airport is a just few miles away in pasco, but he said it was mostly clear skies. i was so bummed. delayed would be fine. but cancelled? we are already on limited time anyway, that would just put a damper on things. after what felt like forever, the attendant gets back on to announce the flight was cancelled and won't fly out again until 8am. i was exhausted, disappointed and mad. all i wanted to do was to get to wa! i would be lying if i said i got a tear or two in my eyes. anyway, lisa and scotty came to my rescue at midnight.

i eventually made it to washington (without delays!). i was so happy to be there! after i arrived, breck and i bolted to seattle. we had a blast! 

things we did:

• snoqualmie falls
• coach outlet ;) 
• pike's place fish market
• gum wall
• sunset boat tour
• ate at the crab pot. where they little cook the seafood and dump it on your table and give you utensils to eat it. bomb dot com
• space needle when it was dark (umm hello romantic)

we had done all those things a million times before. however, it was more fun to do them together. the rest of the time in kennewick consisted of lounging, making yummy food and driving around. the weather could not have been more perfect. you know what they say. west coat. BEST coast.

{ Thanksgiving in Salem }

If you know me, you know I have mad love for The Pacific Northwest. Even though my parents want to live closer to their kids and grandkids, I am still so happy they live in Washington so I can go visit. Selfish? Maybe.

Adrienne and Scott will live in the Northwest for life. Scott is from Grants Pass, Oregon and Oregon is where they have decided to settle down with his podiatry practice. Not even mad.  Now I will always have an excuse to go to the Northwest. Currently, they live just south of Portland in Salem.

I was so excited to get out of Utah and spend some time with my family in Oregon. Especially see Tommy and Savannah! They grow up so fast and I hardly get to see them. Scottie drove down from Rexburg and we flew out together. When we woke up the next morning, the weather was perfect. You can see Mt. Jefferson clearly from Adrienne's house. However, later that after rain clouds started in and never left. It rained the ENTIRE rest of our stay. And not even the drizzle kind of rain. Pouring rain. For four whole days. Gave me a little taste of daily life on the west coast.

Thanksgiving morning, Scott, Adrienne and I ran a 5k at the Keizer Turkey Trot. It was a fun way to start off Thanksgiving. I finished in 31 minutes which was great considering I hardly trained. Meaning, I didn't train at all. My bad.

The day after Thanksgiving my family and I went to Lincoln City, Oregon which is on the coast. It was freezing but so fun to see the ocean. We went shopping (naturally) at the outlets and to the beach.

{floppy hats or bust} 

{The boys. The entire drive.}

That night Breck text me saying, "What if I just drove down tonight?" Of course I wanted him to come down, especially because it was only a 4-5 hour drive from Washington. However, Breck likes to tease me so I entertained the idea for a second but then came back to reality and thought, "he's just messing with me." Finally he text me and said, "Just left." Eeek! I was SO excited. He didn't get in until 1am. The best part? I might have not told him Salem was an hour south of Portland until he was an hour or two into the drive. Does that make me a bad person? Anyway, when he finally put the address into his maps he said, "Wait, they live in Salem!?" Whoops. Luckily, he still came!

Saturday Breck and I were able to go to The Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton. His cousin works for Nike and gave us a pass to go shopping at the Nike Employee Store. This store is legit. You get the newest Nike merchandise for 50% off. Imagine any Nike outlet you've ever been to, times that by 10 and that's how big it is. Plus, no tax in Oregon #winning

 {It's a known fact we match everywhere we go}

{heaven}

After that, we went downtown Portland and met up with my family. The line was too long for Voodoo Doughnuts when we got there, but my family had already gone through the line. Those doughnuts are the bomb!

How we kept Portland weird:

It was FREEZING by the time we got downtown Portland. Rain. Wind. 

Breck and I got Mexican food at a food truck and since everything was wet and there wasn't anywhere to sit, we decided to go eat in his car. The backseat of his car to be exact. Totally fogged up the windows and we were a good 3 feet away from each other. We kept giggling about that. It was hilarious. The best part? We were parked directly under the "Keep Portland Weird" sign. So yes, Portland, we tried our best to keep our experience weird. 

Needless to say, it was a perfect Thanksgiving.

{ nyc}

I'm not going to lie, 2014 has been just as rough as it's been good. If that even makes sense. I've had some downs, but I've definitely had my fair share of ups, especially when it comes to traveling.

In June, some friends and I had made plans to go to Thailand (umm yes please) in October. I had bought my plane ticket, but some things had fallen through. So as I was driving somewhere in Montana on my way to Washington, I called to cancel my flight and luckily, I got every penny back. But I was super bummed. I think my parents could tell too. Which is when they suggested I join them to go to NYC in October instead. I mean, whether they felt guilted into it or not, there was NO way I was going to pass that up. NYC is the best!

It was nice going back and not having to do all of the touristy things. It was fun to try new things. Don't get me wrong, if I was going to NY with someone who hadn't been before, I would hands down do all of those things over again. And funny I say that because last night a friend asked me if I would go with him. Well, DUH. 

Some of my favorite things from my trip:

+ High fiving Jimmy Fallon (top moment of my life thus far. Like, TOP) and going to his show. Especially when he looked me directly in the eyes and said "Hey, how's it going?" Gave me a sweaty (Ew) high five and then went on his merry little way.
+ Motown on Broadway
+ 9-11 memorial. We spent four hours there! It was awesome.
+ Biking over the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridge (and my mom almost getting ran over like ten times)
+ Trying so many yummy restaurants (Amarone and Sombrero in particular)
+ Rowing through Central Park (cutest thing ever)
+ Chelsea Market
+ Manhattan Temple

Favorite quote from my mom:
Dad: Let's go get a treat
Mom: Ok. How about a McDonald's Ice Cream Sundae?
Me : (Jaw dropped) Mom, we are in freaking New York City!! There's no way I am going to McDonald's! (My parents love their chain restaurants :)
Mom: Whhhat?? I love their Ice Cream Sundaes!

We ended up going to Junior's in Times Square. MUCH BETTER than McDonald's. Sorry Mom!

OR when she kept standing in the middle of the bike path and almost got ran over a million times. My Dad kept getting SO mad at her (fellow biker). Seriously, my parents were cracking me up.

(I may not look as excited as the lady behind me, 

but I was pretty sure my heart was pounding)

(Our eyes were making love in that exact moment)

(Rockefeller Plaza)

 (Brother in law, Scotty, was in town for work so we met up for dinner)

 (We like selfies)

 (Where the columns once stood. The foundation of the Twin Towers)

(fun facts)

 (The last column standing from the Twin Towers)

 (Fountain from tower 1)

 (MoTown on Broadway!) 

 (MoTown on Broadway!)

 (Fall in NY is perfect)

(Gelato, baby)

 (Brooklyn Heights. Look close and you can see the Empire State)

(Our selfie game is strong)

(Our new biker friend....name to be remembered... but check out dat Brooklyn Bridge! 

 (Central Park. The best)

 (He did all the work)

("and what's up with those duck lips?" EW!) 

 (A place of peace for the city that never sleeps)

 (Subway shots)

 (Best cookies in the WHOLE world)

(Chelsea Market) 

 (Chelsea Market, in an old Nabisco building)

The best part about this trip was the weather! If NYC could have zero humidity all of the time I would consider living there for a while. But it's that darn sweaty, humidity that I am not a fan of.

Such a fun trip and such a fun memory to have with my parents.

L O V E them! 

Until next time New York.....