Monday, July 13, 2009

Happy Monthiversary!




Today, Chris and I have been married one month! :) Hurray for us!

To celebrate, we brought one of the layers of our wedding cake to the Reed house for dessert. It was a big hit. Delicious, lemony goodness!

Thanks Mama peck for making our wedding cake and saving us a layer :)!

Happy one month, Christopher! I loveth you!














A new restaurant







Chris and I tried the restaurant Tia Rosas on Friday (McKellips and Val Vista). It was such a cute place. We absolutely loved our chimis...but neither of us were a big fan of their beans. They tasted like they were smoked? or something. Yuck!
We ordered the fried icecream for dessert. It had some kindof Strawberry sauce on it that was just freaking delicious. I know that is going to be something that I crave many times in the future.
So, if you are going to splurge on Mexican food...this is a good little place. :)





Friday, July 10, 2009

Wicked!

On Thursday, July 9th, My parents, Chris and I had the pleasure of going to the musical, "Wicked". It was AMAZING!! We had such a fabulous evening. First we went to dinner at Chiles, then to the play. Best Christmas present EVER!! Thanks mama and papa! We love you. Mom and Kelli....We look a little crazed....but we were just excited..
Papa and Chris were super excited as well.

Kelli and Chris at Gammage Theatre's fountain

Papa and Mama

The Parents and Chris

Quirky dog.


When Lucy and I spent the afternoon at my parents house, she spent a considerable amount of time exploring every nook and cranny. My parents have a "pet dog" (it's ceramic). Lucy freaked out when she saw it. The hair on her back went straight up and she was on high alert. I didn't really capture the moment....but thought this picture was pretty cute.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

An inconvenient day!

Ever have a day where it seems like you are living under a dark cloud? Well, yesterday started out as a doozie! I woke up in the morning feeling very warm and miserable. The air conditioning had gone out... Super fun on a day that was supposed to be 109 degrees. So, after that fun little revelation, I went to check my email, blogs, and facebook but no such luck...the internet was not working. ARG! So, my plan was to drive Lucy (my dog) and I to Surprise to hang with my parents in their delicious air conditioning. I got both Lucy and I ready, packed up the car, and OOPS...the battery in my car was dead. (I had left the trunk slightly open for a few days). Awesome.

LUCKILY, I have the best family and support system in the entire world! Chris came home to jump start my car, Lucy and I spent a fun day with my parents, and Chris' dad fixed our a/c after work. I am so grateful for these blessings. I know that my little inconvenient day doesn't even compare with the problems many are facing and days like that remind me to be grateful for all that I have!

Sunday, July 5, 2009

A weekend away

So, you have a long weekend, annual passes to Disneyland, and family that lives in San Diego....what to do?! Sounds like a time for the "Happiest Place on Earth!" Chris and I took off after work on Thursday and arrived late that night at his brother's house. They had a room all set up for us....so we CRASHED! (Thanks Devin and Liz)!

Friday morning, we arrived at the park and took the lovely tram to California Adventure.

My own little Indiana Jones....so handsome!

That's right, I'm embracing the tourist look and sporting a visor...but not just any visor...a special 2006 World Cup (that's a soccer term--- for all my sports challenged friends) visor (it, the world cup, was in Germany that year and my parents hooked me up with a souvenier...woo hoo!)
Our first stop was California Adventure. Not too much held our interest there...but one thing did...Chris might be a bit of a muppets fan.

Next stop...Disneyland!

It's pretty much a rule that you have to get your picture by the mickey in the grass and we are rule followers!

Pirates of the Carribean
Haunted Mansion


Chris had never traveled by the Disneyland train...What?! and miss the Grand Canyon and dinosaurs?...I don't think so! We remedied that situation quickly! Aren't the flowers pretty?
We left the train at Mickey's Toon Town where we were lucky enough to wait in a HUGE line at Roger Rabbit's Ride...(This is the exact time where my feet revolted against me!)


After some time spent in tomorrowland...sadly, no pictures were snapped. We gave in and waited in line for Indiana Jones.


It's such a fun ride. Afterwards, we battled the holiday crowd....(Main Street was literally packed with people finding a place to watch the fireworks) and went back to tomorrow land to ride one of our favorites...Space Mountain. We ended the night with a bang...literally...get it, fireworks, bang?! Ok...I've been around Chris way too long!
We were planning on hitting Sea World on Saturday....but we are old and we needed a whole day to recouperate after Disneyland...so we vegged with Devin, Liz, Nathan and Matthew. It was nice getting to know Chris' family a little better. We appreciate them, their hospitality and the cooler weather. It was a fun get away!!!
Happy Independence Day!!!

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Honeymoonin'

On the road--
When Chris and I arrived in Seattle, my Aunts Jeanie and Mona met us at the airport (Jeanie was lending us one of her cars for our honeymoon). She surprised us by decorating the car with "Just Married" vinyl lettering on three of the windows. So cute! We felt so special. For some reason, I never got around to taking a picture. She also had a small vase of flowers sitting in one of the cup holders. So sweet! Thanks, Aunt Jeanie.

Somehow we made it through all of the scary Seattle traffic (Ok, Chris made it through the traffic, I helped by gripping the side handle, grimacing, closing my eyes and generally freaking out) and arrived at Anacortes to catch a ferry to San Juan Island.
We didn't have to wait in line too long and while we were waiting we had a wonderful view from the window.
We did venture out of the car for a few minutes to read the signs...I can't remember anything that was written on them...
It seemed really weird to drive onto the ferry...but super fun.

We climbed the stairs to the top floor of the ferry and enjoyed the beauty of the Washington from the boat. (It was pretty cold on these benches...so we moved inside to the heat)!
Gorgeous!!! The view, not me :).

Did I mention that we're married!!! :)

We called Helen (our Bed and Breakfast hostess) from the ferry to let her know of our arrival time and she recommended that we eat dinner at "Downriggers". It was located right on Friday Harbor and we had a great view of the boats, ferry, water etc. The food was delicious. Chris ordered Clam Chowder in a bread bowl and I had some kind of chicken. We were a little weary from the trip, so it felt nice to just relax, enjoy conversation, and eat!

On the island we stayed at the Highland Inn in the Whale Watching Suite. It was Amazing and the most romantic setting EVER. The room had a breakfast nook, fireplace, jacuzzi tub, a verandah that had a picturesque view of the harbor andVictoria. Did I mention it was amazing?!
Helen served us the most fancy and delicious breakfasts every morning. You practically had to roll Chris and I out of the room to start our adventures. We felt so spoiled to be served breakfast in our room each day.
LIME KILN LIGHTHOUSE
This cute little lighthouse houses the office of the people who are in charge of knowing everything about the local Orcas (Killer whales). There are three pods of orcas that live near the islands and these people literally know every orca by name. There had been no sightings of the orcas from the lighthouse in five or so days. Oh well, such is life.
LIME KILN


Chris and I hiked to an old Lime Kiln. The island used to be a huge supplier of lime. They cooked it in these kilns to purify it before shipping it all around the world.
KRYSTAL ACRES ALPACA FARM



We made a stop by this cute little farm. We had to see the alpacas (which apparently are some kind of llama). They were adorable. I thought they acted like puppies but Chris just thought I was crazy. There was a shop on the farm that sold products made from the Alpaca's fur? wool? I fell in love with all the beautiful sweaters, scarves and hats but couldn't justify spending huge amounts of money on any of them since I live in AZ.
ENGLISH CAMP
Before the San Juan Islands became a territory of the United States, both Great Brittain and America had a claim of the islands. So, there were two camps, the American Camp and the English Camp.
There was a little animosity between the camps which escalated when an American farmer shot a British farmer's pig (it almost caused a war between the two countries "The Pig War"). Luckily cooler heads prevailed and they decided to share the island until the claim to the islands was resolved.
There are remnants from both camps on the island (see below).

The school house.

Flowers that were in the formal garden.

English Camp Cemetary. We hiked up to this cemetary which was at the top of a very high hill. Let's just say we were a little winded (almost hyperventilating) when we reached the top. There was a lovely views...so it was worth it, right Chris?

Chris frolicking among the pretty yellow flowers in the formal garden.

ROCHE HARBOR
At Roche Harbor, we stopped by the famous, and most recommended Lime Kiln Cafe, home of the best donuts on the island. Unfortunately, they only serve them at breakfast time. So, we enjoyed instead, a panini for me and a lamb burger for Chris. Delicious!

This street was basically above the water, it include this cafe, the post office, a shower/bathroom, and a grocery store. It was so charming and quaint.
View from that dock.

THE HIGHLAND INN




FRIDAY HARBOR

We were so excited to go on a whale watching sea excursion. We wanted to see the orcas up close and personal. Doesn't Chris look handsome in his new hat?
Chris, on the boat, on task, and looking very cute :)!

What?! You can't see the whale? Well, it's out there. Take our word for it. We had so much fun on the boat. We did see a few orcas in the water. We mostly saw their fins when they came up to breathe. I did get to see a whale breech (make a little jump out of the water) which was cool...but poor Chris missed it. They also took us around the island and we learned about all the privately owned islands etc. We also saw lots of nature including whales, ducks, geese, rams, bald eagles, and sea lions. BRRRRRRR!!!!!!!! It was so cold! I was pretty happy to be leaving the boat and getting into a warm restaurant. Unfortunately we chose a pretty nasty place...Dos Diablos. We were very underwhelmed.
AMERICAN CAMP



We took a self-guided tour around American camp. It was a lot of info about the Pig War etc. but mostly we just enjoyed the amazing views.
ON THE WAY HOME....

Back on the Ferry, on our way to the airport. We had such a wonderful time. It was difficult to leave, but we were also excited to get back home.