Guys, guess what I did!?

I have to admit that I kind of had a late start to my New Years Resolutions.  I don't know why, but I get so anxious about resolutions if I start right on January 1.  So, instead of eating healthy on that day, I ate like a crazy carb-loading runner, which I am not.  Anyway, I ended up starting most of my resolutions about a month late.

As I was browsing Facebook shortly after the New Year, I saw a post from a girl, Erin, that Matt works with.  The post was all about how someone told her she wasn't adventurous, so she made a goal in 2015 to be more adventurous, and the post showed pictures and listed all of the adventurous  things that she did- trips, buying a car, etc.  It was so inspiring!  No one has ever told me that I'm not adventurous, but I totally am not adventurous.  When I was in high school I think I was a little more spontaneous, but all within bounds.  Same with my freshman year of college, but again within bounds.  I've always been a "Susie Schoolwork/Rule Keeper," and I don't really want to change that, BUT I think my life has become pretty routine and predictable, and Erin has inspired me to change!

I've been thinking over what I could do this year to go out of my comfort zone and challenge myself, and I decided that I needed a BANG to get me going.  So... I asked my bff neighbor, Lacey, to dye my hair!  Ahh!

Ok, ok, I know what you all are thinking--- "That's the big bang?"  So, here is some background into my hair's history:  I have gone through bouts of love and hate with my hair.  I finally convinced my parents to let me highlight it when I was in 9th grade.  My mom did a at-home kit and I ended up with full on polka dots all over my head.  It was a nightmare!  We drove to her friend's house who professionally fixed it, but the colors were off and it was just awful.  I vowed never to color my hair again... and let it grow out, which was a long and painful and ugly process.

Then, when I was a missionary, one of my companions, Kendra, found out that I had never dyed my hair and somehow persuaded me to let her do it.  It was fun and just a little redder and no one even really noticed.  However, my hair grows pretty fast and before long I had dark brown roots coming in.  I had my next companion, Jillann, dye it darker again, which also worked out nicely for a little while, but with it being summer and being outside all of the time, the color started to lighten.  About this time I had also had my hair cut by a Romanian woman who I don't think really understood what I wanted and just cut it how she cut her own super thick hair aka she thinned my out all over and I had a straight up mullet.  No, I will not show you pictures.  So, I was looking really good...  When I got home from my mission I had my sister do 8 week dyes until my hair finally grew out of the mess that was dying my hair on my mission.

So, now that you know more about my hair than you ever wanted to, you will understand why this was a HUGE DEAL.  I tried backing out a week before hand, but Lacey wouldn't let me...

And here are the results!  

It's a super subtle melt and I have to admit that I totally freaked out at first and couldn't decide if I liked it or not, but now, a week later, I LOVE IT!

Discovering the Toilet, Among Other Things

Well, Adam has officially discovered the toilet.

Adam insists on being in the same room as me at all times. He follows me all over the house and never lets me out of his sight. Well, I don’t really like him to play in the bathroom because it’s not the cleanest place by nature, although I do try to keep in clean. Mostly, I still haven’t completely overcome my pregnancy hair loss, and no matter how many times I vacuum or sweep the bathroom floor, there is always hair everywhere. It drives me insane. And all those hairs get wound up in Adam’s fingers and it just grosses me out. Anyway, I was doing my hair in the bathroom today and he followed me in. He loves to sit on the scale and watch the screen light up, and then tries to eat it. He started to venture over to the other end of the bathroom by the toilet, which I usually don’t let him do, but I was almost done with my hair and thought, “What the heck.” Next thing I hear is splashing!! Ahh!! I thought the seat was down! Ew, ew, ew. I picked him up and washed his hands under the sink, which he thought was awesome and laughed the whole time while trying to grab the water. 

The dishwasher is another new and exciting discovery.  When I unload the dishwasher, I let Adam pull out all of the silverware, aside from the forks and knives that I grab first.  This week he climbed onto the lid and then pulled the whole bottom part out!  

Adam's favorite kitchen drawer is the one with all of the measuring cups in it.  The kitchen looks like this about every day now...

 

  

Other areas of the house that Adam likes to explore are the computer desk, anything with a cord or a plug, shiny things like belt buckles and purse hooks, zippers, and our door mat. 

But, he is learning how to give kisses, which make all of the messes worth cleaning up over and over again. 

Happy Anniversary

Matt and I celebrated our wedding anniversary this week.  Three years!  I can't even believe it!  I've been doing some reflecting over the last few days about all that has happened in just three years.  We've really packed it in!-- We've each had two different jobs, lived in two apartments, had several cars, gone on many trips, had a baby, and so many more wonderful things.  We've also had a lot of learning to do.  I mean, I squeeze the toothpaste from the middle and Matt rolls from the bottom and I clean up the dishes as I'm cooking dinner and Matt likes to do it all at the end.  These are, of course, the minor things, but really, I feel like I've learned more about myself, about how to treat others, and about God's plan for us in these three years than in the rest of my life combined!  I'm so happy to be married to such a hardworking and selfless man who still leaves me notes on the fridge and surprises me with a full tank of gas.  I can't wait to see what the next few years have in store for us!

Here are a few pictures from our wedding-- Actually, these were taken about 2 weeks before.  We must have really loved each other being able to smile that big in 20 degree weather!  Our photographer, Emily, was so awesome to work with.  You can check out her stuff here if you're looking to have some pictures taken!

California Christmas Part 3

The last leg of our trip starts with a trip to Point Lobos.  Unfortunately, a lot of the trails down to the tide pools were closed.  But, we got to see the seals from a distance and enjoy the sunset!  This is definitely a spot that I want to come back to on our next trip out here.

We went one a three hour whale watching tour on our last day in Monterey.  We were surprised at how small the boat was with only 15 or so passengers total.  The boat hands were pretty rugged guys, so we felt we got a truly authentic experience.  We were warned about sea sicknesses, and I was a little worried about Adam because he wasn't feeling to well the night before with a runny nose and cough, but figured he would probably just sleep in his carrier pouch for a good portion of the trip.

About 40 minutes in, Adam woke up throwing up all over the front of me.  Matt and my dad ran into the cabin to grab some paper towels to wipe Adam's face and clean off as much as they could from my jacket.  He was totally pale and green which was just awful to see, but I figured he probably felt better now with an empty stomach.  He went right back to sleep.  

We saw dolphins, sea otters, seals, and once we got out into open water, whales!  It was so incredible!  I was actually quite amazed at how calm I was considering the ocean is my biggest fear.  I stayed at the back of the boat the entire trip because I did not want to get sick with Adam strapped to me sleeping, but I was still able to see most of the animals.  

Adam woke up and threw up again, which sent Matt over the edge.  My poor boys!  Matt felt pretty awful for the rest of the trip.  He wasn't as bad as one girl though.  I'm pretty sure she threw up 7 or 8 times and then proceeded to scream at the guide, "GET ME OFF THIS BOAT!!!!"  Over and over again.  I'm glad Matt had a little more self control.

All in all, the whale watching was a really neat experience, however, I don't see us doing it again anytime soon... or ever if Matt has a say in it!

We drove to San Jose later that day and toured the Winchester Mystery House.  Unfortunately, we couldn't take any pictures of videos, which is a shame because I'm pretty sure our tour guide was just as crazy and Sara Winchester herself.  I would have loved to get a recording of him.  Seriously guys, he was weird!

I was a huge ice hockey fan in high school and loved the Washington Capitals, and this was back when they were terrible.  And now they're awesome!!  And I'm on the other side of the country!  Lame.  I hadn't been to an NHL game in years, thank to Utah having next to no professional sports teams, but we saw that the Sharks were playing, so we got tickets!  The game was a blast!  Matt had never been to one before, so it was really fun being able to share one of my favorite things with him for his first time.  Now I've caught the bug again!  We may have to settle for now with the Utah Grizzly team to get our fill.

Lastly, we headed back to San Francisco and spent the day hiking around the Golden Gate Bridge and shopping at Union Square.  I could spend all day there, easy!  

 All in all, we had a fantastic trip!  We were able to squeeze a lot into a short amount of time.  It was great to be together with my family during this special time of year and make memories that will last forever!

California Christmas Part 2

Here we go with Part 2 picking up right where we left off--Lover's Point!  This is a small beach park where you can swim, rent bikes and kayaks, etc.  We just explored the water and climbed on all the boulders.  It would be a really fun destination during the summer.

We spent the next few days of our trip exploring Monterey.  The Monterey Bay Aquarium was number one on our list, but you know, it was poor planning to go on a Saturday.  Actually, if I could do one thing regarding this whole trip, it would be to come on a random week during the summer!  Every place we went to was crawling with tourists!...especially the aquarium.  We got there right when it opened and there was already a line to get it!  Luckily, we got our tickets a head of time so we didn't have to wait, but each exhibit was so busy that after an hour or so we were all pretty much ready to get out of there.

On our way to Carmel, we stopped in Pacific Grove to see the monarch butterfly sanctuary.  They hangout at the eucalyptus grove as part of their migration.  They hang from the trees in huge bunches, and you would never even know they were they because they are all gray with their wings folded up and just look like leaves!

Spending time in Carmel was one of my favorite things we did on our trip.  It is such a quaint, cute little city with tons and tons of shops and restaurants--if you are planning on every stopping by, be aware that just about every one of them closes between lunch and dinner (about 3-5pm), which was the exact time we were there are all very hungry!  Luckily we caught one that was willing to have us!  We took Adam down to the water and let him play in the sand for the first time!  He loved it, and it was everywhere-- ears, nose, toes, you name it, but so worth it to see him learning and experiencing new things.

We did the 17-mile drive and checked out the views of Big Sur from the car.  We hiked at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park where they have red wood trees and lots of poison oak!  My family does a lot of hiking, and it was fun to explore this new place together!

Hang in there for the last installment of our vacation-- Point Lobos, whale watching, a Sharks game, etc.  

California Christmas Part 1

This was the first Christmas in three years that our family was all together, so we decided to make it super memorable and go on a trip to Northern California to see San Francisco and Monterey.  The only stipulation from my dad was that he did not want to be in charge of planning it, so I volunteered and loved it!  It was so fun to research and choose different destinations and locations for us to visit.  We actually lived in Monterey when Amy and I were really little because my dad was getting a master's degree at the Naval Postgraduate School, so my parents had some places they wanted to visit as well.  So, here is the breakdown of our trip!

We flew into San Francisco and explored downtown-- Pier 39 and Ghirardelli Square.  Luckily the weather cleared up and was nice for us pretty much the whole week!

The salted caramel brownie sundae changed my life.  Try it next time you're there!

  

Being near the ocean was so cool for us-- I mean, there are no beaches in Utah!  And I love Utah and think it is so beautiful with the mountains and everything, but there is just something magical about the ocean-- and this is coming from someone who is scared to death of sharks and all things alive and swimming in the water.  But really, docks and boats and beaches and all of the seals... It really is amazing!  I could totally live here.

We also went to Madame Tussauds wax museum which of course was a blast.  I've been to the one in New York City, but that was in high school, and I forgot just how realistic all of the statues are!  I mean, they have pores in their skin!  This museum even had a tribute to Madame Tussauds, which was really interesting.  She lived in the 1700s in France and loved doing wax sculptures.  In fact, she would take the heads after sessions at the guillotine, take them home, and create molds of their faces.  Could you imagine someone in your house doing that!?  Pretty creepy, but also pretty amazing.

Matt hanging out with his pal, Steve.  He said, "Take a picture so people can see that Apple and Qualtrics were a match made in heaven." 

I'm a little embarrassed about how excited I was to see Christian Bale.  Celeb crush guys, you understand.

Our first stop in Monterey was to hike Jacks Peak to see the beautiful view of Monterey, Carmel, and the coastline.  We did this on Christmas day, and the road up to the hike was closed!  We ended up slipping through the gate and hiked the whole thing, which was actually worked out so well because we were able to see more of the scenery, and since most things were closed on Christmas day anyway, it was a nice way to pass the time.

Can't get enough of those faces!  Adam loves being outside and loves hiking, which we are so grateful for!  He does really well in this carrier that can be worn in the front and the back, and he can sleep in it!

The view from the top of the peak was amazing!  Please can I just move there!?

After hiking we drove by our old house and to the Naval Postgraduate School that my dad attended for his first masters.  The campus is really amazing.  The main building, Herrmann Hall, used to be a luxury hotel in the late 1800-early 1900s called the Del Monte-- one of the finest in North America!  I kept imagining what it would have been like back then as we toured the building, the grounds, and the huge ballroom.