Birthday season is upon us! Clark started things off by turning 21 on February 4th, then I turned ?? on February 20th and then Elliot turned 24 on March 12th. Three down, a bunch more to go!
Yes, our friends Marla and Steve Lundgren, who were supposed to come back last year are still in working and living in Laie Hawaii. So yep, we had to go visit them again! We had a great time walking on the beach, eating yummy seafood and playing games. We’ll see if they come home next year like they are promising! Otherwise, another trip?
January is always a boring cold month, so why not plan a weekend get-a-way to sunny CA with the cute girl that lives in San Diego?! We managed to fit in a day at Disneyland, time on the beach, a session at the San Diego Temple, and of course some tacos!
I’ve taken up biking. Well, let’s be honest…not biking, just riding around our neighborhood on my new bike with my cute matching helmet. But hey, it gets me out of the house, which is a good thing.
My good friend and college roommate, Melora, lives in Bedford, New Hampshire. Fall is a great time to visit! The colors were turning and we had great weather . We spent four days driving to the coast, checking out lighthouses, hiking and kayaking. We also saw the longest covered bridge in the U.S. and took a tour of Saint-Gaudens. Oh, and some shopping, movie watching and eating pumpkin spice yogurt-covered pretzels. Yeah, pretty sure I ate half the bag by myself.
The fact is, Mt. Rushmore is not actually on the way to anywhere. So, since I’ve always wanted to see it, we decided we would just drive there and see it. It was way cooler than I even thought it was going to be! So worth the drive! Did you know there is a Woolly Mammoth Dig Site close to Rushmore? Then, on “the way home” we stayed north and visited Yellowstone National Park. Did you know they have their own Grand Canyon — with two amazing waterfalls? Oh, and “Old Faithful” was cool too. 😉
Because I have a husband who really loves me, I left him on his own for 5 days and went to New Hampshire to play with my college friend, Melora. Coincidentally her husband was out of town and so we played! We drove down to Rockport MA, which is on Cape Ann. It was a gorgeous day and we had such a good time browsing the shops, sharing fish and chips and taking pictures of the famous fishing shack named Motif #1 that apparently is one of the top 10 photographed spots in New England.
If you have seen the movie “The Proposal” with Sandra Bullock then you might remember that it was supposed to be taking place in Alaska. Well, the cute town that you see in the movie (including the amazingly cool house where the weekend / wedding takes place) is really Rockport MA. The red fishing shack behind us is where she awkwardly climbs down the ladder in her suit and heels to the waiting motorboat.
Melora also took me kayaking for my first time around Lake Massabesic. That’s right, we loaded and unloaded those babies all by ourselves! Sunday night we enjoyed the super blood red moon in her backyard — we had a great view!
After a crazy busy summer, Alan and I were able to get away for a few days to Monterey, California. We rented the greatest studio apartment complete with private patio, Jacuzzi, bikes, and passes to the aquarium. It was so great to relax, walk on the beach, sit in the Jacuzzi, take the 17 Mile Drive along Pebble Beach, enjoy the jellyfish exhibit, eat seafood, ride bikes and tour the Point Pino lighthouse. You should try it…you’ll like it!
We love it!
Lucky us, during spring break, we met our New Hampshire friends in Florida and spent a fun week right on a beautiful beach near St. Petersburg. Our condo was spacious with an ocean view and every day except for one was sunny. We took lots of walks on the beach, sat by the pool, soaked in the hot tub, ate too much and too often, and played a few rounds of Canasta. One of the days we decided to take a day trip into Orlando to check out Universal Studios and the new Harry Potter World. Expensive…but fun! We even tried butter beer 🙂
