Day 15

We have quite a bit to catch you up on!! By the way I'm doing this post from my iPad-- don't let anyone tell you that an iPad is just as good as a regular laptop. This is so awkward because I had to download an iPhone app to even get this to work and the keyboard is stuck in portrait mode. #firstworldproblems... Oh well.

So since last time. Cole and I have been super busy. Cole was sick and we were worried he wasn't going to enjoy Disneyland on Friday so we took him to a doctor that a friend of ours knows thinking he would give us a good deal. Well it was pretty hilarious what happened. So we drive down to his office and find out number one that the office is in a strip mall. As we walk in we pass this guy smoking and chatting it up with these two fat white trash chicks and the guy turns and is like, oh hey, are you him? Cole says... Ya I'm Cole. He says, Great, let me finish this smoke I'll be right in. Okay....

He doesn't have a staff so he signs us in himself. He's this loud talkative Jew and barely let's us get a word in. He asks Cole a million questions. And finally takes us back to the examining room. There is a doctor table with that loud paper on it so I'll give him that-- but also in the room is some old garage sale desk, a toolbox with his equipment in it and a scary barred up door going to the outside. Is this a real doctor? I'll get to that! He examines Cole and tells him he's not sure if he has anything bacterial but if we want he'll sell us a generic Z pack. In fact he says, since your moving to Hawaii and won't have insurance I can sell you a few of them in case you get sick there. Done! So we buy 4 packs for $20 each and get the heck outta there. We find out later that he once lost his license for over prescribing meds... Makes sense. But worked out for us!!! Cole took one of the Z packs and was healed so Disneyland was back on in full force.

Cole and I have been desperately missing our friends James and Megan so we had a little date over Skype. It was awesome. Just the fix we needed with our cute, dear friends. It was so nice to see them that we took pictures too. Hi James and Megan, we love you :)

The next day was Halloween and so the Smith kids dressed up and Cole's parents came down to make Chili in a Fritos bag and go trick or treating. I'm 27 and still on Halloween I eat way too much candy!! The kids costumes were awesome. Summer and Raven were these Monster High Dolls. Skyler was a zombie and his makeup was amazing. Sierra was Athena. Cole and I stayed up and watched a really really creepy movie. We couldn't even finish it and had to watch funny YouTube videos in order to fall asleep. Remember the Back It Up remix news story YouTube? That made me laugh and put me right to sleep.

The next day we drove up to Los Angeles to hang out with Charles. Sort of his grandpa. We took him to lunch and talked with him for a couple hours before Adrienne, the boys, and Barbara met us up there to go to the BYU girls soccer game against he school right down the street. Most intense soccer game over!!!! The teams were very evenly matched and the goalies were amazing. Especially theirs because we had three times as many shots on goal and the score was 0-0 the whole game. The game was a tournament game so they went into overtime and still no score. During the second overtime BYU scored and won!!!!

We went to dinner with Charles after the game and had the best stuffed Marsala chicken with a big price of chocolate cake for dessert. That night we stayed at Adrienne and Tyler's and then the next morning was Disneyland!!!

We made it to the park just a few minutes after it opened. The first place we went was California adventure. We got fast pass tickets to the new cars ride which was for 4:30-5:30 that night!! And we got tickets for world of color. We rode screamin, Hollywood tower of terror three times, soaring, splash mountain, the railroad roller coaster that I can't remember the name, buzz twice and i got my best score ever of 125,000 and Cole got 175,000. We totally cheated and looked up online how to get the most points. We also did star tours twice, space mountain, splash mountain, the haunted mansion, Snow White, whinny the pooh, madderhorn, we watched the Michael Jackson 3d movie, pirates of the Caribbean twice, and I know I'm missing some but you get the idea that the day was super successful. Of course we went back to ride cars with our fast passes and had to sprint through barricades as there was a parade happening and got road blocked and almost didn't make it in our window. But we ran! And got there at exactly 5:30. I'm so glad we did because the ride was awesome!! We then watched world of color and that night after some more rides we watched Fantasmic. We were so tired and almost fell asleep on the way down to cole's mom's house but we made it.

I forgot to tell you the delicious food we ate!! You probably don't care but at least know that we got the best ice cream!

Saturday, Adrienne cut our hair and then we went down to Amanda and Matt's for a picnic and hike. That night we hung out at the house, repacked all our luggage and ate Skyline 3 ways. And then pizookies for dessert :)

Sunday morning... We flew away! The day was going great. We flew in, got our bags (7 big military bags that we were able to check for only 170 bucks!!) and grabbed our rental car. We drove to where our campsite was-- the area at least-- and bought a storage unit. We put most if our crap in there and then made a Walmart run. Walmart makes you feel like home wherever you go. After Walmart we met up with a friend and hung out with her for a bit-- mistake because now it was dark and we hadn't been to our campsite yet!!! We were so tired by 8:30 with the time change that we just wanted to set up our tent and go to bed. So we drove a half hour to where our campsite should be.... When we got to where the guard shack should be we couldn't see a trail and no one we asked knew what we were taking about. The trail we found, went alongside he chain link fence by this government building. It wasn't much of a trail. A guy told us to make sure that we left our names so if we got lost they could send search and rescue. So we were already scratched out. Not to mention the big signs that said Beware! Hunting Grounds!! And lots of other signs. 

Well we were out of options so we going to hike in anyway. We got out of the car and started grabbing our gear when a very clear and big wild animal started running around in the trees beside us. I was out. I jumped back in the car and started looking for another place to go. We ended up finding a deal for a hotel in downtown Waikiki about a half hour away. We drove there, and our exhaustion had really set in. We finally pulled up and Cole went to go check us in. He came back about 5 minutes later swearing and yelling about the fat guy who couldn't check us in because our reservation hasn't arrived from Priceline. So I called Priceline and was on the phone for about 20 minutes be we finally got it all cleared up. Cole had to parks 4 blocks away... Poor Cole was about to have a melt down he was so tired. I dragged all our stuff up so that Cole could walk with out luggage and we finally got settled in and to bed.

Surprise it's actually a pretty great room we got at a steal and we survived our first night in Hawaii.

On to more adventure!

*Update! I hadn't posted this yet and I wanted to let you know that we went back to that campground in the daylight and staked out where we want to stay tonight. It's much more acceptable at day time (this is where the picture came from above). The other idea I had if this place didn't work out was to go back to the rental company and get a truck and just pop up the tent in the bed of the truck every night!  Luckily for now we won't have to do that. AND thank goodness for McDonald's wifi and my lap top. I finished this post using my mac instead of my iPad--SO much better.

Day Ten

Today is officially day ten since we left Utah. It's been a great little vacation so far--because it still feels like vacation! That's going to be nice until reality sets in I suppose.

Since last week, Cole and I have done quite a bit. Thursday, the next day after going to Universal Studios. Cole and I hung out with Adrienne during the day, but then once she went to school, it was just Cole, me, Thatcher and Truman. Look out. We took the boys to their school for trick or treating. Thatcher was a karate kid and Truman was a soccer player.

We walked them around from class to class to get their goodies. The sad part was--no one gave out any candy!!! Everyone gave them toys or little activities.

We consoled them by taking them to McDonald's for dinner and they ate and played on the big toy. Truman was starting to crash by 7, so we hurried to take them home and put them to bed. It was so much fun hanging out with them and they were so good all night, but putting them to bed was super fun. We read them stories and tucked them in.

The next morning, Cole and I got up early and went to Magic Mountain. We went two years ago and the lines were so long that over the course of the entire day we only rode 2 rides!!! So this year, we went on ten to make up for it. By far my favorite ride is the X2. Cole's also. It's not just the best ride at Magic Mountain, it's probably the best ride anywhere. 

Most of the lines we waited in were under 15 minutes. We had to wait an hour for this bad boy, but it was worth it.

We celebrated the day by going to eat at our favorite Mexican restaurant nearby. It was perfect. We then went back to Adrienne's to pack up our things, we drove down to Mission Viejo to drop off some things, and then on to Oceanside to crash in the guest bedroom of Matt and Amanda. 

We've been in Oceanside since that day. Saturday we woke up and went to watch Skyler play soccer. His team was on their way to winning the tournament that weekend with 3 wins and 0 losses that Saturday. After soccer we all went to eat at Famous Dave's BBQ-- mostly because of the corn bread muffins!

On Sunday, Cole and I went out to breakfast at our favorite restaurant Beach Break. We had the best meal of a Sante Fe omelette with Chirizo and home potatos. We get this because our favorite meal doesn't come with a side of coffee cake and the coffee cake is a must. Then we get banana crunch french toast. In case you can't see from the picture, there are little pieces of crunchy rolled or honey bunches or oats or something. Then topped with bananas. 

After we hung out on the beach for a bit, we came back to the house--and I can't believe I didn't take pictures. Barbara and Scott came down and we had dinner, but the best part is that we made some epic carmel apples. The first layer was of course carmel, but then we could add about 5 different candy/nut variations and choose melted chocolate as well. We really should have taken pictures of that night.

By Monday, a cold that Cole had been fighting took over. We hung out around the house during the day. Amanda and I went running, which was so nice! I love that California is still warm. By evening--it was time to eat dinner and carve pumpkins. Amanda made the best barbeque chicken salad I've ever had in my life. Always put bbq sauce in your dressing! And garlic. Not to mention the crispy onion fries she put on top. Cole hasn't stopped raving about it!

After dinner we all started carving pumpkins. Skylar completely independent, got his pumpkin done pretty fast. Sierra was busy teaching us the newest and coolest vocabulary: everything was tot's hilar, and tot's awesome. Raven didn't get help for a while, but once she got her pumpkin gutted and a design drawn on hers, she took off. Summer was hilarious and completed her pumpkin complete with heart designs in the cheeks. Here are the final products (Cole and I are super proud of our pumpkins. He did Batman, and I did Bane)

Today, Cole woke up sick. So after Amanda and I went running we took him to the doctor and got a Z pak. Yay! No more sick Cole. After that we went down to San Diego to look at the seals.

The little blonde seal totally reminded us of a stuffed animal :)

So for the rest of the week, we are going to a girls soccer game in LA, then to Disneyland, then doing one more day with the whole family--and after that it will be Sunday and time to take off to Hawaii!

Day Three Into Our Trip

Day one was the toughest of days, to begin our trip. Cole and I woke up to Logan and Lisa asking if we wanted to go to breakfast one last time before we left. Logan had texted us the night before and it seemed it had finally hit him too that we were really leaving. So Cole and I pulled ourselves out of bed with tired and sore bodies from going to the dunes the day before and got ready from our already packed clothes to go to breakfast. We met the next door Smith's at Jim's. What's funny, Jim's Family Restaurant is the first place I ever went to breakfast with Logan and Lisa when Cole and I first started dating. It was Halloween morning of 2010. So almost 2 years to the date we recreated our first breakfast with them. Full of laughing and staring at Addie (which is really hard not to do) we put off the plans of leaving that day.

After breakfast, we all went back to the house. Although Cole and I had been working for weeks to get ready to go, we still had some essential cleaning and packing to do before we could leave the house. To my absolute happiness, Lisa volunteered their help! As soon as we walked in, we put on sweats and put our hair up and began to work. Lisa was the lady of the hour. She cleaned everything in the kitchen that I hadn't been able to get to, worked on cleaning the bathroom with me, and wiped baseboards for at least 2 or 3 hours. It saved us so much time. Logan went to work too--also helping with the bathtub scrubbing, and loading the last bit that needed to go to the storage unit and letting us borrow his truck. As soon as everything was packed, and only the floor had left to be mopped. We loaded up the truck and made the final trip to the storage unit with our bed, the quad and just a few other things. Upon getting back home, mopped the floor, put the final bags in the car, and vacuumed our room. Then we slowly started turning off lights in the house. It was so sad! I was tearing up but not wanting to actually cry the whole time. Cole and I stood outside the car and agreed on one final look, so we went in and stood in the doorway for a few minutes, turned around, and locked the door for the final time. We passed a big for rent sign in the yard and sat in the car.

You see, we hadn't planned the rest of our trip yet!! We knew we wanted to meet our friend Marcos in St. George and camp with him, but the plans weren't 100% set yet on anything! So we drove over to Logan and Lisa's to say goodbye. We each held sweet little Addie and hugged Logan and Lisa. We then got into our car, and drove away.

Since we had no plans, we stopped by at Target. I was still in sweats from cleaning all day and I didn't want to unpack anything, so I bought a new outfit. Or outfits. I found two shirts, a pair of jeans (miracle), and a hat. Lasted me the whole road trip-plus some. Awesome. After the Target trip, we began driving. After going back and forth on what we should do, we ended up deciding that we would stay the night in Vegas. We got a room for $23, and we pulled in around 8--I think. Time and days are very lost to me as we haven't had jobs to help me keep track! The hotel we stayed at was right off Freemont Street. So the first thing we saw when we stepped out was this:

After people watching on Freemont Street for a bit, we hit the craps and black jack tables-- and I hit Jackpot Party, my favorite slot machine, but that's all I'm going to tell you about my slot addiction. We played for 3 hours I think before realizing it was no longer going up, but steadily going down. So we went up to our room.

The next day, we got up and hit a buffet (a must in Vegas) where we saw cowboys everywhere! It's the National Bull Riding Championship today in Vegas and the cowboys were all just arriving. I don't know why but a girl loves to see cowboys! After breakfast slash lunch, we drove the rest of the way to California. That night we hung out with Cole's parents and went to dinner and a movie. Atlas Shrugged II--unfortunately I have to recommend you don't see it. It has a great message, but was done so badly that it's really not worth your time. Just read the book.

Tuesday Cole and I went to Huntington Beach and had breakfast at the Sugar Shack for my first time. The french toast was wonderful! I had this egg thing will Hollandaise sauce that was to die for also. We did a little shopping and riding our bikes around, and hit the beach for a little relaxing.

After Huntington Beach, we went straight to Adrienne's house up in LA to hang with her and the boys. Truman instantly fell in love with Cole! We aren't sure if it was because Tyler has been gone or if he truly does love him, but it was adorable. Thatcher had us reading spanish books to him right off the bat. Since he's in Spanish emersion school, he gets to read Spanish every day at home. None of us, including Truman, knew what was being said and we wished Logan was there to pronounce everything correctly, but it was still fun.

Before going to bed, the boys came out with their toothbrushes and had us brush their teeth! Haha it was pretty funny watching Cole brush Truman's teeth :)

Today we woke up and went to Universal Studios! Cole had never been, and I only went about 15 years ago once with my family. I remember the Jurassic Park ride vividly, but nothing else. So today, we did the whole park. It's actually a pretty small park-totally doable in one day. 

Tomorrow starts day four, and hopefully I'll be able to keep up the days of our adventures all posted here on our blog.

In Our Final Moments

Well it's almost been 6 weeks, maybe 7 weeks, that I haven't had a job now. Cole is almost at 4 weeks. For the most part we've been able to keep ourselves pretty entertained. I work out with Megan as much as I can. Cole's friend Danny is back in town from the summer. We are so glad he's back--we missed him a ton. We've had a couple of little trips, played soccer about 3 times a week, and had a lot of good friends to hang out with and keep us busy. Not to mention all of the preparing for our move we've had to do! Tons and tons of little things. We lost our renters so we had to hire a property management company to take care of our house: which we both actually love. It's a huge relief.

We have about 6 days--and counting. We have a little bit left to pack, but after tomorrow everything will be completely packed except for the bags we are taking with us. How crazy is that??

Although I make it sound like we've been pretty busy, being without a job has been a little boring. It's sometimes hard to find things that will keep us entertained and from just staring at the wall. We watched all of How I Met Your Mother, but now that this is over, there's little left to really consume our time.

One of my favorite things to do by myself when I'm bored is play with Apple's Photobooth. I seriously just crack up by myself at all of the faces and distortions you can make with this program! So if you thought you'd get a good blog post out of me today, you were wrong, because all I really wanted to do was post the pictures that I took today that made me laugh for a good half hour or more:

If anything, hopefully now when you miss me you'll have something to look at to remind you how big of a nerd I am :)