Labor Day in AZ

As much as I am loving it here in NYC, I was sooo excited to go home for Labor Day! Lots of events going on! We had such a great time! I got to reunite with some great friends and family members, meet Sarah's fiancé, Mike for the first time, see my brother tear it up in his first high school football game, play with my niece and nephew, lots of swimming and bbq, and best of all just chill with the fam! Here are a few pics from the weekend.

Baby Hayden (my niece) in her cutest little swimsuit...all ready for the pool!

Rex loved his ride with Grandpa on the ice chest after Jason's football game! I couldn't get enough of these kids while I was there!

A little family trip to the bowling alley! First time I met Mike (on the right), Sarah's fiancé. Typical picture, everyone smiling and me being stupid, showing off Pete (did I mention on here that I'm pregnant yet? More details on that to come. But yes, for now we call my belly Pete).

I snuck Rex up the slide (since he wasn't tall enough) and he LOVED it! The nice lady let me take him a few more times.

My cute sister, Gretchen. (Ok, her real name is Alysha, but I call her Gretchen)

Playing at Max and Kinzi's house with Hayden!

Septmeber 11th

On Saturday afternoon we decided to go walk around Ground Zero in honor of Sept. 11th the next day. We had a very humbling experience. Of course, this day is celebrated all over the country, but it felt so much more REAL actually being here in NYC and walking down the somber streets with those that lost loved ones. Church yesterday was amazing. The speakers were great and the music was incredible. One of the many benefits of living here is that there are so many talented and brilliant people! One chick from the ward stood up without the mic and busted out a gorgeous opera song, then the choir got up and sang one of my favorite songs, "Death Shall Not Destroy My Comfort" and it seriously brought tears! Bishop got up and talked about how Sept. 11th 10 years ago was his second day on the job and he was just down the street from the towers. So many people here experienced the tragedy first hand. I can't even imagine looking up and seeing the planes crash into those incredible buildings with my own eyes! God Bless America!

Random thoughts from NY

The past month has been so much fun and we couldn't be happier! We have been in our apartment for 3 weeks now and we just love it. Bryan went straight to work and has been pretty busy. As for myself, I am still learning the ways of the city and totally enjoying myself. Bry calls it laziness and I call it recouping from the years of hard work that I put in to get him through school. (Also doing all those things that I never had time for when I was working full time) :) Sooner than later I am going to have to find some kind of job to help pay for the freaking expensive groceries. We have already done some very fun things, but I have been slacking in the photography department, so here are some of the pics I have taken in the last few weeks.

I have already discovered some local favorites of mine. Here is one...Rita's! Pick your flavor of italian ice and blend it with vanilla custard and you have pure heaven. I am addicted. There are so many good places to eat here, when I come back to AZ for Christmas I will be one fat rolly polly, but perfectly content.

We love Puerto Rican food! One of the first things we did when we got here was look up PR restaurants. Here is one that we found and it didn't disappoint!

Mmmm, my pernil con arroz y habichuelas, of course with a side of tostones (my favorite!). Seriously makes my mouth water just thinking about this.

Here is Bry's catfish meal, I forgot the name of it in Spanish.

One day we went wandering up in The Bronx...

A few weekends ago we took the ferry to Staten Island to visit some friends that live out there. Here is Ms. Liberty on the ride back to Manhattan.

We had a blast with our friends, Catlin and Joseph Gedge, but of course I didn't get any good pics. Here is Bry going crazy with their two kids in the stroller.

The view from Bry's boss' apartment. Beautiful!

We had to make a decision when we moved out here, and of course we were not about to become Yankee fans...so we are Mets fans! We have made it out to 2 games already. We could go to a baseball game every night if it were up to us (except it takes forever to get out there).

These are 2 quick pics I snapped before we moved into our apartment. We are still waiting on a few pieces of furniture, then I will post more pics!

Starting A New Chapter...together.

We made it to NYC and all is well! As I walk around I keep asking myself...is this really my new home?? It is all so foreign to me still. Where are all my usual hot spots that I love in Mesa? This is definitely a new way of life for us. But we are sooo excited! We found an apartment on the Upper West side of Central Park and get to move in on Wednesday next week! As soon as we get settled and get things figured out I will be posting pics of our new place! Thanks for all the texts, emails and calls asking how we are doing. Life is good in NYC!

Puerto Rico!

The last few months have been so exciting for us! Bryan graduated from law school in December and went straight into studying for the BAR exam. He took the bar in February, and 2 days later we were on a plane headed for Puerto Rico! We literally took 300 pics in the 10 days we were there, but I don't have a year to post them all, so here are some of the favs. If you wanna see more, check out my facebook page! We had an absolute blast and are considering moving to Puerto Rico (50% joking, but Bryan did send his resume to a couple law firms down there).

The LAST day we were there I found my Dr. Pepper at a gas station!

Here is Bry at one of his old apartments from the mission

We did a tour of the camuy caves.

Good morning! One of the nights we were there we stayed in a little shack in the middle of the jungle (or forest...whatever). The next morning we had a visitor! Maybe because the walls didn't meet the ceiling.

Came across some kids playing some bball with this hoop...Bry had to show them what's up.

Our little shack.

A huge lake in the middle of the forest!

What's for lunch?? Marlin on a stick. Yum!!

Bry had the great idea for me to pose for this pic. Well, the wave ended up trashing me and do you see how sharp those rocks are??? I almost died.

love.

Pina Colada...extra rum please. With some mufongo for lunch.

Couldn't get enough of how BEAUTIFUL the beaches were!

Bry's near death experience... it was so windy out on those rocks. We found out later that some dude fell off the cliff at the same exact spot Bry is and was instantly killed. But it made for a great picture!!

Some new friends I made in Ponce at the Carnival

Best ice cream in the world!! We went there twice in the 1 day we were in Ponce.

Hiked to the top of a waterfall.

Zip-lining through the forest! Tarzan style but with goofy helmets.

The Andersons! A family Bry knew on the mission. Kathia cooked us an amazing dinner!

Yes, the church is true in Puerto Rico, too.

At a castle in Old San Juan...I sent him to the dungeon.

The view from our hotel in San Juan.

Ok, the only bikini pic you guys will get. This is off the island of Culebra. The snorkeling was so incredible! We spent a couple hours pretending we were as pretty as some of the fish we saw.

This is the day my hubby got fried. The knife on his leg left the best tan line ever.

Culebra. Please don't make me go home.

The city never sleeps, better slip you an Ambien

About a month ago, we were able to take a trip with the Perkinsons to New York! It was an absolute blast and we are so lucky to have such a fun family! I took hundreds of cool pics but figured I better limit them on here.

Chillin at the top of Niagara Falls

We did the Maid of the Mist boat tour and it was so cool! We were in a boat and it took us right in the middle of the Horseshoe Falls. It was incredible to see and FEEL how powerful all that water is! There is so much water coming over the edge every second!

Father and Son

This pic is from the Canadian side of the Falls. We were able to spend a little bit of time in Canada.

We drove to Kirtland, Ohio and visited the temple and church history sites. Then, just for the heck of it we drove to Cleveland since we were so close. Tribute to Lebron! (or not)

Our fun car ride!

Palmyra Temple where we did baptisms with the whole family!

Sacred grove... my favorite part of the whole trip. So awesome.

Running down the Hill Cumorah! Is that allowed? Oh well!

Drenched!

"Are you seriously going to eat all that meat? Hurry, take one of these digestive pills."

The famous William Blake's "Ancient of Days". A copy of this painting hung over our bed for the first 2 years of our marriage... Why? No idea. It has since been moved to Bryan's office. This is the front of the Rockefeller Building.

Yay for Phantom! We also saw Mary Poppins, which was amazing!!

Yankee Stadium. We could sit at a baseball game all day long.

In the CROWN of the Statue of Liberty! What a hike up those tiny stairs!

Little Italy and Chinatown

The Perkinson Stampede! Loved it.

In front of our personal favorite Cathedral. Right up next to Columbia University.

The Amazing Mets!

Yes, we had to buy hats.

Video of Maid in the Mists! It was crazy!