Pizza and Books

When I picked Zac up today after I got off work, he was starving. I told him to think of what he wanted for dinner, and I would make it for him. After thinking long and hard, he decided he wanted pizza. I said okay. But, before we went home to make pizza, we went to the city library, because I've been dying to read another one for weeks, since I finished my last one.

Here's a story about me and books: I really, really like books about the Holocaust. Stories about people who lived in the late thirties/early fourties in Germany and surrounding places who saw what happened during the war through their own eyes just thrill me. I love reading people journals and biographies about what it was like hiding from German police in bunkers, what little food they got to eat in ghettos, and what torture they went through at the concentration camps. Sad stories, yes. But somehow I love them. I love reading about how much courage they had when they saw their sister being shot and killed, and how much faith they had that the war would soon end when German policemen were living in their houses and walking through their streets. This is why, at the library, I checked out three books: Anne Frank, The Zookeeper's Wife, and A Woman in Berlin. I think they will be lovely reads.



When we got home, we started whipping everything out to make pizza dough. Zac and I, we're good at doing things together as a team. When I was making dough, he was doing dishes; when I was slicing the tomatoes, he was chopping the bell peppers. We're pretty good at that. When it comes to taste, though, we're pretty different.

This what I like on my pizza: tomato sauce, cheese, sliced tomatoes, chopped bell peppers, red pepper flakes, sliced mushrooms, and cilantro (LOTS of cilantro!), baked crunchy. This is what Zac likes on his pizza: Alfredo sauce, more Alfredo sauce, cheese, garlic powder, chicken, Italian spices, and a little bit of something green (which, in this case, was cilantro), baked soft. So, for this reason, whenever we make pizza for dinner, we always make two, and share our pizzas with each other. It works out pretty good. And did I mention that my pizza looked like Christmas? Look at my festive self!



Tomorrow is December. Do you know what this means? It means it's time to start the 25 Days of Christmas! I got this idea from this girl's blog, and I love it! For every day in December leading up to Christmas, you do something wonderful for someone else. If that not the best idea for the holidays? Just say yes, because it is.

• Go out of your way--befriend someone today that needs a friend and follow through to Christmas


• Tell someone you love them


• Make a tree decoration that will remind you of Christ


• In your prayers today, give thanks for every blessing without asking for anything


• Try to be as kind as possible to others today


• Try not to quarrel with family members today


• Do a good deed anonymously


• Make goals for yourself--seal a copy in an envelope to be opened in a year


• Visit someone sick or lonely or sad


• Do volunteer work for some worthy cause


• Do something fun for a child or younger sibling


• Try to forgive someone who has wronged you, be reconciled


• Make a "give list" instead of a list of gifts you'd like


• Improve yourself in some way to please the Savior


• Quietly reflect and choose uplifting activities vs. shopping


• Phone or send a card to an old friend or family member


• Listen to Handel's Messiah


• Make a Christmas treat for someone else


• Be a calming influence today and control your temper


• Accept the gift of forgiveness--pray for some weakness and ask for help in repenting of it


• Look at Christmas lights--where does all light come from?


• Sing carols


• Do something nice for someone without their knowing it was you


• Be the first to say hello to people all day


• Ask someone to tell you about a past Christmas

We'll see how I do on these, and I hope you get the chance to do some, too! I also have a whole Christmas list of things that I NEED to do before Christmas, mostly because they're awesome and festive.

• Watch tons of Christmas movies (namely The Grinch, Elf, The Santa Clause, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Babes in Toyland, and the collection of old Christmas cartoons we have recorded onto a VHS tape)


• Play in the snow at least once


• Drink hot cocoa and/or egg nog by a fire


• Go see the lights at Temple Square again


• Go see everything Christmas at the Festival of Trees


• Spend time with family

Have a happy December tomorrow. Christmas is on its way!

A trip downtown.

Yesterday in the afternoon, Zac and I headed up to Draper to hit up the Ikea there. We went a couple of months ago, and that's when I saw something fantastic. It was a mirror inside of a fancily designed frame. I told Zac I wanted it, and he decided that I could have it for Christmas. So we spent about an hour walking through that huge store, and finally found my mirror! We also bought some Swedish food there (because it's tradition!), like mustard basil sauce, chocolate bars, and orange ginger thins, and snagged some lunch at the cafe, too.

When we finished our activities at Ikea, we drove another 20 miles north toward Salt Lake City. Zac and I here, we love a little store called Urban Outfitters. Unfortunately, the closest one to us is 45 miles away, in Salt Lake City. So we made the drive up there to shop. Because the store is so over priced (I seriously saw a shirt there priced at $250), we usually find ourselves in the sale corner of the store, but that doesn't mean that I don't LOVE to adore and admire the pretty bedspreads, dishes, books, records, cameras, and clothing that are not on sale. While browsing through the sale rack, Zac found a nice (and I mean nice!) pair of green pants. I've been wanting colored pants (preferably yellow, thanks) for the last little while, so I was kind of jealous when he found these babies. However, I did find two belts that I loved. Zac found a shirt to go with his pants, and we made our way up to the registers. Everything we got was on sale, which made me happy inside.

We left Urban Outfitters and the crisp, cold air hit us as soon as we did. It was a cold night, but the Christmas lights and people running through the fountains (are they crazy?!) made it fun.



When we were done watching these crazy people run and scream through the fountains, we decided to walk the four or five blocks to Temple Square to see the magical Christmas lights. It was a nice walk. It was chilly, and my arm was in Zac's. On our way, we saw the prettiest little house called the Devereaux Mansion. I wanted to live there right away, but decided to take a picture of it instead. When we arrived to Temple Square, it was wonderful. The lights were everywhere! I've been to Temple Square to see the lights every year, and it still impresses me when I go back. We walked around and saw the Nativity scene, and the temple that Zac and I were married in. I love everything about Christmas, and going to Temple Square just makes it that much better.



When our noses and feet were too cold to bear, we made our trip back to the car, with the other dozens and dozens of people. On our way home, we stopped by Kneaders and ordered a cup of hot cocoa to share and sat by the fireplace. I recently discovered their hot cocoa, and have decided it's my new favorite. There's a hint of coffee to it, and I think that's why I like it so much, which is weird, because I've never had coffee--I've just smelt it. When we finished our hot cocoa at Kneaders, we went to Walmart to do some grocery shopping. Among other things there, we bought our very first Christmas tree: a four foot pre-lit tree. We set it up last night, and it brings magic into our home, I swear. It's glorious. We are going to hang ornaments tomorrow night, so I'll post a picture of what it looks like when it's finished. I'm so glad Christmas is here. I can't wait for the nights where Zac and I are snuggled up on the couch in our jammies with all the lights turned out but the ones on our tree, drinking hot cocoa, and listening to our old Christmas records. That just sounds like heaven to me. I'm excited to start new Christmas traditions with my little family, and continue old ones, like watching old Christmas videos on Christmas Eve. This time of year is wonderful, isn't it?

October and November

The last couple of months have flashed before our eyes. So, without any more delay, here's what we've been up to.

The first weekend of October was General Conference. Zac and I wanted to go up to Salt Lake City and listen to it in the Conference Center, but we had no way of getting tickets, so we drove up to my parents' house on Sunday morning to watch with my whole family. A tradition us Barlockers have every General Conference Sunday is to make apple dumplings together in between sessions--the kind my Grandma Deenie used to make. We usually end up using a turkey baster to squirt refreshing ice water in each others' mouths, though. Thank you, Matt, for starting that trend.



On October 22nd, my best friend, Emily, was in town. We met halfway in American Fork and took pictures of each other there. We also went to the American Fork DI where Emily bought some belts, and I bought the cutest little baby sweater I've ever seen. I don't care if I'm not going to have kids for a few years. We're both pretty awkward-looking in front of the camera, but aren't these pictures cool beans?



In the middle of November, we got to go up to Park City for a couple of nights with Zac's family. There, we relaxed in one of the many hot tubs of the Marriott Mountainside Resort, went Christmas shopping at the Outlets (where I got two gorgeous coats for $65 total) and sat in the hotel room and spent time with family. It was fantastic to get away for a weekend. It kind of makes me want to plan a road trip. In the summer of course. I'd be crazy to want to drive all day in the ice and snow.



That's the gist of what Zac and I have been up to the last couple of months. Well, that's all we have pictures of. I used to be so good at carrying my camera around everywhere I went. Now I don't. That's my new goal. I need more pictures of my new marriage.

Tonight Zac and I are at my parents' house. We are spending Thanksgiving with them this year. I'm excited for family and food. I'm excited for everything about tomorrow. I love the holidays. Happy Thanksgiving!

Labor Day Weekend.

Labor Day weekend was great to us. We spent it with family--both mine and Zac's. On Saturday, we headed up to Kaysville with my side of the family for a Family Reunion at the one and only Cherry Hill resort. My family has been going here as long as I can remember, and I always get so excited when the day finally comes. Cherry Hill is an RV park that has swimming pools, water slides (well, only two, but the tube ride is the best one I've been on by far), mini golf, a rock climbing wall, batting cages, playgrounds, an ice cream parlor, and a cute little convenient store. It's one of the best places in Utah. When my family arrived, we set up the canopy, put on our sunscreen and headed to the water slide. It's one of those water slides that you can ride all day and not be bored... just tired. There were ten of us--me, Zac, Jake, Matt, Steph, Daniel, Erika, Rachel, Melia and Sara--who went down the water slide all at once. It was hilarious to look back and see the train of ten people on tubes that you were a part of--especially when the rule was strictly four people per train. I wish I had a picture. Even a crappy one. It was hilarious.

After the water slide sucked all the energy from us, we walked back to camp to eat lunch, watch movies, eat junk food, make froot loop necklaces and earrings and sleep. After our nap, Zac and I went with everyone to hit up the arcade and play mini golf. We must have gotten bored with both, because we didn't even play any games in the arcade, and we only played about eight holes of mini golf. Still fun. We drove home exhausted.



The next day, Sunday, we drove down with mom and dad Swenson to their cabin down in Fairview to spend the night. That night was filled with pizza, card games, sunflower seeds, shooting BB guns, a visit from Robbie K and her husband, camp fires, scary stories, and a movie. While Eli, JoJo, Whitney, JT, Sophie, Zac and I were sitting around the campfire in the darkness telling scary stories, JT found a rock to wipe his boogers on, and then threw it into the bushes. Sophie and I were oblivious to JT's booger wiping, because the second that rock hit the bushes, we both screamed at the top of our lungs, and before I even knew what happened, Sophie was on my lap, hugging me for dear life. It was a great sight! She didn't get off, either, until Whitney told her that she could sit on her lap. Oh, Bouge...

The next morning, we woke up to mom Swenson making us breakfast! It was wonderful! When breakfast was over, we bummed around--played more card games, ate more sunflower seeds, and took some pictures. Zac even carved my name in a tree, next to his that he carved back in 2001. Then the both of us went on a ride together on the four wheeler around the mountains. If you've never been to the Fairview mountains, I suggest you go, because it is a treat, especially with the wind blowing in your hair. Nature is gorgeous. There's a reason Heavenly Father made it this way. It's for us!



The day after we came home from the cabin, I started my new job. I am loving it so far, and have convinced myself that it is the best job ever. Why? The pay, the benefits, the people, the free lunch on Fridays, the casual dress, the hand scanner, the drinks, the customers and even the work. It's fantastic. The only job better than this, that I can think of, would be to be a Photographer like Jaquilyn Shumate. Really. Isn't her work amazing? And she works with her husband. How great is that?!

Anyway, there's my Labor Day weekend in a nut shell. It was pretty grand.

Last weekend.

Last weekend, Zac and I wanted to get out of the house and do some fun things before he had to go back to school. On Friday, after coming home from work, we were going to go to our Ward Campout just for the night, but then it started raining, and we remembered that we hate driving through canyons in the dark (remember our elk encounter?). There was an outdoor concert that was being held that same night just a few blocks from our apartment, so we decided to go to that instead, but not before we got some dinner at Two Jacks Pizza. Ryan Innes and his band were playing first, and we really liked them. Ryan had some serious soul, which I am always quite fond of. Did I mention they closed off a whole block of Center Street for this show? So we just stood there in the middle of the street and listened to him play. It was a great time. The other bands who played after Ryan Innes were not so good. Zac and I decided to go find a place to sit, and watch people instead of intently listen to the music. People watching is so fun; I don't even know why. We saw a pair of lesbian couples. It was weird. When you see lesbians, especially in Provo, you really can't help but stare. It's just weird.



On Saturday, Zac and I packed up the car with food and headed up to Park City for a day trip. We started the day off shopping at the Outlets up there, but then quickly realized that the Outlets weren't cheaper than the regular stores they had down in our neck of the woods, so we stopped shopping, and drove to a park. It started to rain while we were trying to find the park, and so when we got there, we took a quick nap in the car and waited for the rain to pass. We woke up about twenty minutes later and found ourselves a nice spot on a picnic table, where we started making sandwiches for lunch. Then we decided to go walk Main Street. It was pretty, and took a few great pictures. I started to get tired while walking Main Street, and after a while, we decided to go back home.



Zac's now in school, and we're excited for this weekend, because we're going to Cherry Hill for my family reunion, and then up to the Swensons' cabin. It's gonna be awesome!

Plunge.

The other day while hanging out in our almost-a-century-old basement apartment by myself, I decided to do some cleaning. Zac was at work, and since our little 500 square foot apartment can be totally cleaned in just a few short hours, I went to work. I started on the bathroom, since that's the room that always seems to get the dirtiest the fastest. Between my make up all over the counter in the morning, and Zac's occasional shaving, it doesn't stand a chance.

Growing up, my mom would make us kids (Daniel, me, Rachel and Sara, mostly, because we were the ones who were home schooled) clean the entire house every other Monday, instead of learning about History, Math, English, and any other expected school subject. She said that she wanted us to learn how to clean a house, an

d how to clean it well. While this was mostly true, there's still a part of me that knows that somewhere deep down inside of her, she really just wanted her house cleaned. It was fine with me, though, because we'd get to split up into teams of two, and do house work, and it was a lot of fun. Not to mention the pizza she'd always order for lunch every other Monday. Sure, sometimes we'd fight about who did what, but looking back now, it was fun, and the feeling of a clean house afterward was incredible. Not only that, but now I know how to "clean the shit out of a house." (Sorry, that was weird. I hardly ever swear, promise.)

My mom always taught me, when cleaning a bathroom, to always clean the toilet last, so as to not spread the germs that were on the toilet to the sink or the bathtub. So, I cleaned the sink and the shower first, and then moved onto the toilet. Our toilet has a hard time flushing stuff down. Usually, we'll flush, and then a while later, toilet paper will creep back up and sit at the bottom of the bowl. (I know you are all dying to hear this.) Since that's what happened in this very instance, before attempting to clean the toilet, I flushed, hoping the toilet paper would go down. It didn't. Instead, the water in the toilet bowl went up to the very top of the bowl, and just sat there. Our toilet was clogged.

Zac and I don't have a plunger. We're usually pretty good about not clogging the toilet. I'm not even sure that this little incident was our fault, because our little toilet looks about as old as the house is that we live in. Not knowing how to clean a clogged toilet (my mom didn't teach me that one), I waited for Zac to come home. When he did come home, he went and used the bathroom, flushed twice, and over flowed the toilet. I'm talking toilet water all over the floor of the bathroom, seeping into the carpet of our bedroom. I'm not going to lie--I was freaking out a little. I handed him two of our extra towels (thank goodness for people giving us an abundance of bath towels for our wedding that we couldn't return), and we wiped up the mess as best as he could. I stayed far away.

When he was finished, I told him that we needed to buy a plunger. We drove over to Walmart, and picked one out. We had to walk the length of the store carrying that stupid thing. It was kind of embarrassing. Everyone knows that if you're at the store, carrying only a plunger, and walking in a hurry, there's only one thing t

hat could've happened. Everyone who passed us was giving us weird, disgusted looks. I mumbled to Zac, "Don't look at us, don't look at us, don't look at us," as we made our way up to the self check-out lane.

When we got home, Zac took action and plunged the toilet. It took him a while, because our toilet is pretty crappy (haha, get it?!). But soon enough, the deed was done. Then I made him mop the floor with cleaner, and he did. Our toilet is working now, which is fantastic, because I really had to go that night.

In other news, we finally got our wedding pictures back after two and a half months of being married. I'll post more on that lovely day in a while. I guess I also still need to post pictures of our lovely apartment (and when I say lovely, I mean falling apart, bug-infested, smells like cigarette smoke). Stay tuned for that. I know you'll love it!

We hit an elk.

A couple of days ago, on Sunday, Zac and I drove up to Fairview to spend time with his family in their cabin they built up there. We arrived there in the afternoon, and spent our time shooting guns at a plastic cup, taking naps (two, to be exact), and riding the fourwheeler around the mountains. It was a perfect day!

We left just as the sun was setting. It was dark by the time we got onto the freeway that leads back to Spanish Fork. As we were driving, an elk walked right in front of us. We didn't see it until our headlights were shining on it, and by that time, it was too late to do anything. We were going about 65 MPH, and the moment we hit the elk, it had completely stopped our car.

The airbags went off, and Zac and I just looked at each other and screamed bloody murder for a few seconds. We both jumped out of the car, and I called 911 while Zac was looking for his phone that had fallen underneath the dashboard when we wrecked. The operator on the other line asked where we were, and I had no idea, because we were in the middle of nowhere in Spanish Fork Canyon. By thar time, a family had pulled over and gotten out to see if we were okay. I handed my phone to the man helping us, and he told the operator where we were.

By that time, my stomach was hurting pretty bad from the impact of the seat belt. I didn't know what to do. I just stood there, grabbing my stomach and crying while Zac put his arm around me. I told Zac that I needed to call my dad (who was in California with the rest of my family), and so Zac let me use his phone. I called my dad and told him what happened, and let him know that we were alright.

The family who pulled over let us sit in their car until the police officer came about half an hour later. He took down our information and let us sit in his car. Zac's dad had come down by this time, and we looked at the elk we had hit. It was huge! But I already knew that, because I saw it a couple of seconds before I hit it. The police officer called a tow truck and an ambulence--just to check up on us. When the ambulence got there about 45 minuutes later, they had us go inside and they took our vitals there. Everything was normal, and by this time, my stomach had stopped hurting.

The tow truck came a little while later, and found out that our car wouldn't start when they tried to get it up onto the truck, so they had to chain it up and drag it. The police officer gave us a ride home to our apartment, and when we got home, we just sat on our bed and cried.

It's amazing how much Heavenly Father protected us that night. Even though hitting an elk wasn't really what we wanted to do that night, Heavenly Father protected us so much. We walked away from that with no scratches, just a few sore body parts. And the whole time we were stranded there on that road, I felt at peace, like everything was going to be okay. And it is. Yes, my car is totalled, and I'm going to have to get a new one, and my insurance rate might go up, but I have my husband, and he has me. That's all that matters to me. I don't care about my car. I'm glad the car was the one who took the hit instead of me or Zac. You cannot tell me that Heavenly Father does not protect his children. He was there that entire night.

This has been such a testimony builder to me. I've felt nothing but love these last couple of days. Love for Zac, love for our family who helped us, love for the family who pulled over, love for the police officer, love for Heavenly Father. It's amazing. I've learned so much from this.

Things to be excited about.

It seems like this week I have a lot going on that I really, really can't wait for. It's nice, because before I got married, I was excited about my wedding day, counting down the days. It's great to know that there are still things to look forward to, even after something exciting happens. By the way, Zac and I have been married for three and a half weeks. It's the very best.

Here are my exciting happenings for this week:

1. My sister, Rachel, gets home from China. She's been there for the past four months, teaching little Chinese kids how to speak English. I haven't seen that woman since before I was married! We'll pick her up at the airport on Friday!


2. The Manti Pageant (otherwise known as the Mormon Miracle Pageant). Zac and I are going together this weekend, and I'm so excited to share that with him. We also have a goal of visiting each temple in Utah by our anniversary next year, and this just means we can cross one more off. Awesome.


3. I ordered my first Bountiful Basket yesterday, and we get to pick it up on Saturday morning! I'm so excited for fresh, local produce! And for $15 for roughly 6 fruits and 6 vegetables, that just puts a smile right on my face!


4. Summer! Today is the first day of summer! It's the longest day of the year! I think I want to stay up and watch the sunset with Zac... after we go to a BBQ, of course! I love the summer, and everything that comes with it: rodeos, demolition derbies, parades, popcicles, picnics, and swimming! Wonderful!


5. Zac's cousin, Tannon, gets his endowments tomorrow, and we were invited to attend the temple with him! I love the temple, especially when we get to go two weeks in a row (Zac and I went last Tuesday).


6. The Provo Farmer's Market is on Saturday! Zac and I went to a Farmer's Market on our honeymoon, and I love them! All the wonderful colors and smells and sights! It just makes me automatically happy.


7.  I got a new calling in church, and it's not a teacher! I'm in charge of enrichment night in the Relief Society. I get to plan the activities, which is probably the most fun calling I know of! I'm so excited to start, and already have a few ideas of things to do. I get sustained on Sunday.

That's all for now. See how exciting my life is this week? I love it! I am one happy girl. Not to mention that I have a wonderful and handsome husband to do all of this with.

Full moon.

Today, I was on a roll. I kept busy from 7:00 in the morning, when I woke up, until just about ten minutes ago, when I finished getting ready for bed. That's over sixteen hours. I feel great, because I got so much done today. Here's how it went:

7:00am: Woke up, took a shower.
7:20am: Got dressed, made lunch for Zac to take to work, finished getting ready for work.
8:05am: Left for work [late].
8:10am: Arrived at work, and did my priestly duties.
2:00pm: Got home from work, changed my clothes, and started cleaning the front room. (There were tons of stuff everywhere, mostly our wedding presents.)
3:00pm: Zac called.
3:05: Continued to put stuff away, organize, find places for everything, iron the table cloth, sweep the floor, do the dishes, hang frames up on the wall, vacuum, fold clothes, make the bed and clean the table.
4:45pm: Zac came home and gave me a long, tight hug.
5:00pm: Continued to put things away and finish everything up, and then went and helped Zac take all of our boxes to the dumpster on the other side of the house. (Our whole porch was occupied with said boxes. Can you say white trash?)
6:00pm: Started dinner: homemade fettucine alfredo, while Zac played Magic: The Gathering.
6:45pm: Ate dinner.
7:00pm: Our new neighbors, Kristi and Scott, came over and introduced themselves. (I'm really quite fond of them.)
7:30pm: Decided to make cookies (from a mix--I regret it) for the Bishopric when they came over.
8:30pm: Bishopric came over and chatted with us, and gave us advice. (I'll extrapolate later.)
9:00pm: Gave cookies to our new neighbors, mentioned above.
9:15pm: Went on a walk with Zac around the neighborhood, and ended up at a park playground.
10:30pm: Came home and got ready for bed.

You see?! My day was filled with never-ending tasks. I kind of liked it. I've never been so busy before, nor so... not bored. I have a goal of becoming more productive. I've always admired my friend, Celeste, because she isn't afraid to get out there and get things done. I've always wanted to have that kind of attitude, but was always too lazy or too scared to start things. But today, I started (and finished) things that I've been wanting and needing to do for a long time, and it felt so good!

My favorite part about today was the evening. The Bishopric coming over and visiting us, eating dinner and meeting our new neighbors, and spending the night outside with Zac.

While the Bishopric was over, the Executive Secretary (I can't remember his name--it was a weird one) gave us some advice. He said to get involved in the ward, because the more you get involved, the more people get involved in your life, and you are able to bless each others' lives, and make friends, too. Then Bishop suggested that we both keep up on our home teaching and visiting teaching, because "it's like Heavenly Father giving you two people to take care of, just for you." Cool. I'm going to like this ward.

When Zac and I escaped out of our house (after the Bishopric had left, of course) to go on our walk, we first ended up at a gazebo just two blocks from our apartment. We talked about how we like being married so far. Then I had the idea of going to a park and watching the full moon come up over the mountains. We walked four more blocks, and came to Maeser Park. We climbed up on the playground, and talked about things we used to do as kids. For example, I used to jump off our old fort into the snow in the winter, and walk to the local Maverik gas station with my sisters to buy an Icee or a bag of candy, and walk in circles on top of the humongous tractor tire in our old backyard until my feet were black. Zac used to go to his church parking lot and skate board there for hours on end, and go to Fast Gas gas station and get treats. It was fun to get to know Zac a little more, because I never knew that about him. I kept glancing towards the east mountains, but never saw the moon come up. It started to get chilly, so we left for home. The air on the walk home smelt like lilacs and pine trees, which was a lovely plus to a great stroll.

You might be wondering what our apartment looks like now that I've got it all organized and clean. Let me tell you this: at first, our bedroom was clean and our living room was a mess, but now, our living room is clean and our bedroom is a disaster. I will post pictures as soon as I get everything situated. And as soon as I can figure out why there are so many bugs in this house.

Our honeymoon.

Welcome!

Thirteen days ago (on May 27th), Zac and I were married. The first half of the day (when we were at the temple) was sunny, bright and warm--just what I wanted (and prayed for). But as we were driving to our reception center that afternoon, Zac and I could see dark storm clouds over Utah Valley. It rained at our reception, but it was kind of cool, because Zac and I got to have our first dance in the rain. Not to mention the entire bottom seam of my wedding dress was soaked and dirty, which was cool, too, because I've always loved Trash-The-Dress photo shoots. I'll do it officially in a few years, but getting it dirty the night of my wedding was pretty fun.

I'll tell you more about my wedding day in a later post, when I get the pictures from our photographer. What I want to write about right now is our honeymoon: where we went, what we did, what we saw. So here goes.

The Sunday after we were married, Zac and I packed up our car and headed down to Las Vegas to spend the night. His parents let us use their time share at the Marriott hotels for our entire trip, so that's where we stayed in Vegas. It was beautiful. It was nice to get away from the cold, stormy weather of Utah, and be in the sun with palm trees standing over you. We didn't do much in Vegas; we didn't even walk the strip. But we did have a fantastic breakfast the next morning, which we recreated when we got home.

That Monday morning, we packed up our car once again and headed to Newport Beach in California. The Memorial Day traffic was terrible, and it took us about 8 hours to drive there, when it should've only taken us about 5 or 6. It was okay though, because Zac and I both started going crazy near the end from being in the car for too long, and that was funny, and cheered me up. {Funniest quote of the whole trip, spoken by Zac during this car ride: "Stupid bird... trying to fly uphill..."} We arrived in Newport Beach around 7:00pm. There was a mix-up when we checked in, which took about an hour to solve. The lady who checked us in, Robertha, commented on how our receipt said "Mr. & Mrs. Swenson", and how we looked too young to be married. Then, without hesitating, I said, "We're from Utah." That got Robertha laughing so hard, and it made me feel cool, because no one ever laughs at my jokes. We got to our room around 8:30. We walked in and toured the 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom, suite that would be ours for a few days--complete with 3 big screen TVs, a kitchen with all the dishes and cookware you would ever need, and an ocean view. Wonderful.

On Tuesday, we drove an hour and a half to Six Flags. It was pretty crowded there, and the lines were 30 minutes to an hour long, so we didn't get to ride very many rides, but Zac knew about all the cool ones, so we rode those. My favorite was Deja Vu. We went to Cafe Rio for dinner that night, and I spotted some fellow Mormons.

When Wednesday came, I was really excited. Zac and I drove down to San Juan Capistrano, a cute little city just 20 minutes south of Newport Beach. There, we went to the Farmer's Market, something I've always loved to do. We bought strawberries, dried mangos, and Zac bought me a bouquet of gorgeous flowers. When we were done there, we drove down to Capistrano Beach. Neither of us brought our swimming suits to San Juan, so we hung out on the beach in our rolled-up jeans. The waves were fairly big, and the tide was coming in, so I told Zac to run from the waves with me. When I was little and visited the beach with my family, my mom or dad would always run from the waves with me. So that's what Zac and I did. We would run out to the ocean, as far as we could go when the waves were the furthest from us, and run away from the waves as they came rushing onto the shore, and try not to get wet. It was so much fun--my favorite thing we did on our whole honeymoon. By the time we left, our pants were wet and sandy. That night, we experienced the most amazing Italian Food at Mama D's Italy Kitchen. If you're ever in Newport, I highly recommend it.

On Thursday, we went to a giant shopping mall called Fashion Island, which really isn't an island at all. After walked around for a while, and realizing that all the stores were overrated and really expensive, we decided to go to Laguna Beach, this time with our swimming suits. We did the same thing at Laguna Beach as we did at Capistrano Beach, but at Laguna there was sea weed--tons of it! It was gross. So instead of running from the waves, we ran from the sea weed. And Zac threw sand balls at the seagull who was trying to get into our beach bag. We also got a chance to go to the pier at Newport Beach, which was gorgeous. We walked on the pier, and walked on the boardwalk with all the little surf shops lining it. Later that night, we went to a show. I thought it was going to be a Cirque du Soleil show (because that's what it said on the website), but it was actually a Broadway sex-themed ballroom dance show. Awesome. We left during the intermission, and went and got ice cream at Cold Stone.

Friday was the day we left. We checked out before 10am, and drove the whole way home. It was long and exhausting, but I'm glad Zac and I did it together. I'm also glad he can entertain me in the car for 12+ hours. We stopped in Beaver and got some of the best beef jerky ever, which we still haven't finished. We got home and collapsed on the bed.