Here we go

We are at the airport! ✈️ on way to Frankfurt and then Prague 

Ready to go for the next 18 days!

Mother's Day

Matty & I headed up to Grammie & Poppa's for Mother's Day dinner. It's always fun being around them, especially when Poppa has had some peanuts

Here's my first attempt at a layered cake

Strawberry Swiss buttercream with Nutella & strawberries in the layers

I was hoping for a more gradient effect but I think that will come with practice

Grammie was pretty happy with it and it tasted good. Another big success is that it survived the car ride!

After dinner Grammie and I went on a walk around the golf course and it was a really pretty sunset

Opening Day

Matty & I have now been to every MLB stadium in California and I'm quite pleased about that. I wouldn't say either of us are over zealous about baseball but we do love us (*cough Derek Jeter cough*) a good ball game.

It was a long, but good game

And the best $7 seats we'll ever get!

Holladay Time

We found the perfect tree for our apartment and for half the price!

Some of the neighbors go all out on the lights and it was fun to drive by every night

Matty is becoming quite the pizza maker! We loved the deep dish he made for Christmas Day lunch. 

To make the pizza making easier

We went to the BYU bowl game at AT&T park

And found an empty Cable Car

And the Oakland temple Saturday morning

Then it was Happy Birthday Time Matty!

Maybe one more time

One of our favorite restaurants in the city 

And a Cable Car kiss on top of Lombard Street

Mexicoooo

Señor Matty and I flew in on Saturday night and we have had a lovely time so far! Thankfully we didn't take the bus like (someone) thought we should. When we got to the hotel we walked around the pool(s) and sat on a wall overlooking the ocean and talked for a few hours and then had the pleasant surprise of a firework show. Yesterday looked a lot like this

                              

And this

                            

Plenty of this

The sand here is not nearly as fine as Hawaii was or even most beaches in CA which is nice because it doesn't stick as much but was not fun to walk on for more than 20 feet. Now we're waiting for Ian & Lauren to come pick us up and head to the house

Excited for - wave runners - eating - scuba diving - glass blowing - Mexican blanket - body surfing

Life Lesson 1

Matty beat me to the bathroom this morning, which isn't a big deal at all. He was getting the final things ready for his NY trip and was busy so when I got to the bathroom, and more specifically the toilet (t.m.i.?) my thought was "Come on Matty.." When there wasn't any toilet paper left on the roll. Again, not a big deal but it's not pleasant doing the awkward reach first thing in the a.m. Fast forward about 7 hours 

"Come on me.." Little did I know (or notice) he had indeed gotten another roll out. I was the oblivious one.

- Here's to taking time to notice, not jumping to conclusions, and not expecting the worst in people. - I'm glad I didn't get all bent outta shape over it, which is easy for me to do the first 20 minutes of  consciousness in the morning 

This was a small reminder that a) Matty looks out for me b) I'm a terrible person before 10:00am c) misunderstandings are so stupid and easily avoided if we take the time to act and not react. I'll work on being better at this each day

Giants Game!

Mom took us to a Giants game over Memorial Day weekend and it was awesome!

Perfect seats, perfect weather, perfect company perfect game!

We could see all the way across the Bay into Oakland!

Some time I'd want to sit out in a kayak during a game for a "Splash Hit" home run

We'll definitely be going to more games this season!

A late Mother's Day

For a Mother's Day present I took Mom to the DeYoung museum for an exhibit and it was awesome!

Listen kids - this lady is gonna teach you to appreciate art and will take nothing short of perfection. Got it? Brace yourselves for hours in museums.

All over the country, any chance she gets. 

Monterey

Last week Matty had work down in Monterey for 2 days so we got a hotel for the night and it was adorable! It's right on Cannery Row, the main street that a bunch of cute shops are on as well as the aquarium. The Spindrift Inn has been there forever and i love how not much has changed in the rooms and lobby. Everything was quite a bit smaller than standard hotels today, which i like. In every room there is a wood burning fire place that makes it seem so cozy! 

 i love a good window seat with a view

The back of the hotel was a small cove

i wish Matty and i could have been out on a small sail boat since it was such a beautiful day!

Different than a view in Hawaii, but good to be back by the beach!

Towards the Monterey Bay Aquarium

The water temp is still in the low 50s so we will have to wait to go scuba diving till summer, but we can't wait to go kayaking with otters and jelly fish!

It's been a year!

 i can't believe it's already been a year since i first started this and it makes me sad how little i've documented! This year i promise to do better and try to diversify the posts. Since i've got some catching up to do i'll cram a lot in now and i'll start with Matty and i getting the Christmas tree this year. When ian, Troy, and i were little we would play hide-n-seek in all the trees while our mom picked out the best tree. We all came home smelling great :)

Matty and i got Troy a scratcher map for Christmas to keep track of all his travels; it was a huge hit

After Christmas Troy and i drove up to LAX to pick up his girlfriend Hannah and we met up with ian & Lauren at the Hollywood sign and Griffith Observatory for the day. It was incredibly clear!

Deet found our house!

For Matty's birthday we headed to AZ for a few days and he got his birthday wish!

it snowed!

We all went to Disneyland for a day and it was super fun!

Hannah got to drive on Indiana Jones

Glad the decorations were still up

 

Stylin TOMS

You know those projects you start and have every intention of finishing?

And then life happens... we moved, started school, job hunted, doctor visits, squeeze in some exercise, and every other thing that takes up the day.

Normally i'd say i love art projects and can get sucked in so fully that hours will go by and the only thing to bring me out of a trance is seeing that the sun has moved and now i need a light on. Then as i get up to turn it on i notice my knees are stiff and i've lost feeling in my feet

As i wobble to the light switch i take note of the time.. How on earth have i been sitting for 5 hours and not moved!? (if only math were like this) At this point it wouldn't be uncommon for me to realize i haven't eaten since breakfast and now it's almost 7:00 pm. Oops.

Meet said project.

i started these a long time ago for my cousin and bit by slow bit they have come together

A big problem for me is knowing when to call it quits. Sometimes things just don't feel as if they are complete and heaven help me if i'm going to let part of me walk around unfinished! i think this is one of those "artist's problems" once you're so invested in something if feels as if (phony as it sounds) it's part of who you are as a person. Maybe because it's the style in which someone draws/ paints/ photographs/ writes (whatever your medium is) shines through and it's possible to identify the the person by the art. You certainly wouldn't confuse a Monet with a Picasso right? That little piece of me can't be judged till i'm done with it and that is a hard conclusion to come to after a while.

Now i can call these done and get them sent!

ps - if you don't know what the (Harry Potter) theme is i do apologize you had no childhood.

Troy read the first four books to me and then we fought over the rest. My mom would literally have to set her strawberry twist timer for allotted time we each had to read. Can you say NERD children? Who fights over reading a book? Well if you read them you do understand and possibly had a similar experience and if you didn't.. Like i said, i'm sorry.