First Two-Thirds of June

It is insane how quickly the summer is passing! We're almost into July! Before things get too far ahead of me, I thought I'd do a quick post and maybe fill in later.

 We received the game of Bananagrams as a wedding gift. We play it regularly. Sometimes we're brilliant. Other times we're creative. Other times we get a little desperate. I resort to "it, so, ex, and ad" (which is probably not allowed), and Garrett's go-to during a close match is "zit". Yesterday he mixed it up with "tiz". We had a good laugh.

I ran the 10k portion of the Utah Valley Marathon two weeks ago. It was my first 10k, and I ran with my friend who is 6 months pregnant. She, at six months, ran the PERFECT pace for me. We finished at about an average of 11:40 per mile. The first two miles were such a pain, but after that it was a breeze. I think about mile 3 is where I hit my stride and am able to go longer distances. We got big chunky medals, shirts, and a lot of coupons and advertisements.

Also, I decided that this medal would be my go-to-weapon if someone happens to break into our apartment in the middle of the night. It seems more powerful than the pens we have on our dresser. (Garrett insists he'll go for his hockey stick or golf clubs that are stored under the bed. We prefer to think we are well prepared rather than paranoid...) (Garrett, reading over my shoulder, just proclaimed "What! I'm not going for the hockey stick, I'm going for my own fists of fury! License to kill!" I sure love him.)

Speaking of coupons, we happened to find two free zipline vouchers for Max Zipline, which is a part of Wasatch Outdoor Adventures. Neither of us have really ziplined or done a canopy tour, so we decided to go for it! It was a lot of fun, and the scenery was gorgeous. Our guides were friendly, safety-oriented, and knowledgeable. We got outfitted, waited for the rest of our group to show up, gave the horses a pat, played with the friendly dog, and headed up the mountain in a ranger buggy.

 These are our "so excited!!!" pre-game faces.

I have to point out that our group comprised of Garrett and myself (the newlywed "young couple"), a fairly young family with three kids, ranging from 9-12, and a middle aged couple who had brought their 80 year old grandmother. Yes, 80. That was one kicking lady! She was a little unsteady throughout, but didn't give up and was so good natured about everything!

We learned that our guides once took a 90 year old man with a walker on the zipline. Apparently he loved it, and he's been the top favorite client. Garrett and I decided that we will be happy and healthy and go ziplining at 90 years old.

There were five lines, ranging from about 180 feet, to 1400 feet. Apparently the last run has you going at speeds of 40-50mph. It's great how secure you feel attached to a harness and two lines that together could easily hold two semi-trucks. Those cables are not to be messed with! 

Today was Garrett's birthday. His cake request was a "Better Than ___" cake. In case you're unfamiliar, it's essentially a chocolate cake, with sweetened condensed milk, caramel, whipped topping, and heath/skor bar on top. In short, I felt a cavity explode a tooth on the first bite, and I'm sure our blood sugar went through the roof. It was good, but made us realize that our diet is normally quite healthy and lacking in rich/sweet foods. We may keep it another day and then dispose of it to save ourselves.

(Also... I took one look at the ingredient list of the whipped topping and snorted in the grocery store. We enjoyed the cake without the topping... A poke cake!)


 I had planned a while ago to take him rock climbing. He used to go often, but hasn't been in awhile, and we don't have a rope. I arranged to borrow our friend's rope, and we headed up rock canyon to a great starter wall. It was  GORGEOUS morning, and there weren't too many people out. I'm really beginning to have a great appreciation for early Utah Summers, when there's a light breeze, warm sun, and blue skies.

 Setting up the route.

Gear set up and ready, fixing the knots.

Honeymoon: Park City and San Francisco

This post is about a year overdue. We actually had a three-part honeymoon/reception at the beginning of our marriage. We had a reception in Pleasant Grove, UT and had our "official" honeymoon in Park City. It was my first time up in Park City, and it reminded me of a cross between Seattle and San Francisco. *Note: all explanations will be in regard to the picture below. For example, Garrett (who has been to Park City before), showed me where the famous graffiti artist, Banksy, left his mark.

The architecture is probably what reminds me of San Francisco. I love the colors on this building.

We found a fantastic little bookstore with about three cats strolling around freely. Apparently the owners (of the bookstore and the cats) just keep the doors open and the cats come and go as they please. I found a cat napping in the planter outside the store...

We decided to see Despicable Me 2 while we were there. Just as we pulled into the parking lot, the Heavens opened and DUMPED rain from the sky. This picture really doesn't do the torrent justice. Also, the movie was full of children. And Garrett and I were the only ones laughing. A lot. We probably looked strange as the only adults in a theatre full of kids enjoying a "children's" movie. But we still love that movie!

We had about a day in between Park City and our trip down to Sacramento for the Cali reception. It's an odd drive until you hit Donner's Pass. There was a lot of flatness, wind, and construction.

We took a day to visit San Francisco! It was my first official time actually strolling the streets. We saw all the typical things, and then some.

*Please note that both dogs are ridiculously attired by their owners.

I LOVE the pier. Garrett was good-natured and we spent most of our time wandering around by the vessels, sea lions, and ocean in general.

Yes, this staircase played music. Surprisingly, we were only entertained for about three minutes.

For lunch we stopped at a restaurant that I can't remember the name of. The food was good, but not fantastic. It was probably the menu items we ordered. The view outside the windows was pretty great though.

There is an arcade on the Pier that houses a lot of old arcade things. This is actually where a piece of Princess Diaries was shot. And everything is creepier in person than it was in the movie...

We took a tour into the Asian district. It was kind of funny; we were walking along the street, and suddenly we were the tallest people in sight. This picture is taken at normal eye level.

A brief glance at Little Italy...

And the top of Lombard Street! I think the coolest thing about this street is not that it winds around, but that the houses are so clean, colorful, and well taken care of. The flowers in each yard were beautiful.

Trying to figure out the best way to get to Sausalito and then home... naturally we only had a tourist's map.

Last year, February 2013, my grandparents celebrated their 50th anniversary in California. Garrett and I were just dating at that point, but I invited him along. The entire family had an outing to the bridge, rodeo beach, and Sausalito. I like to think that trip laid a more solid foundation for our courtship. Naturally, we couldn't miss the opportunity to visit again. There are unique houses along the front of the water, a great "downtown" area, and delicious food. It's also pretty cool to be so close to the ocean along the sidewalks.



We'll get the Seattle pictures up soon, and hopefully some pictures of our first trip together down to California.