Portlandia

Travis and Alisha got married this weekend in Portland. We were fortunate enough to be able to get practically free (only paid taxes) flight tickets from Mikey's Dad. The only downfall was that we had to fly out of Boise however we got to see his family so it was actually not a downfall. Freddie, Mikey's cousin, hooked us up with a room at the Red Lion for only $40 a night. On friday night when we got there we picked up our car (we also got that for super cheap) which was a new Subaru impreza. {Funny side note: The lady at the car counter asked us if we wanted to upgrade because the car we got wasn't very big. We declined of course cause there were only 2 of us, we figured as long as there was a trunk for our luggage and 2 front seats we would be fine. When we got out to the car we saw what we had rented and it was plenty big enough. All we could do was laugh.} Once in the car we went straight to none other than Voodoo Doughnuts. I was watching a show on tv about cool places to visit and Voodoo Doughnuts was one of the places so it was a must see for me.
I got the Voodoo Doll doughnut which is pretty much a chocolate bar in the shape of a person with crosses on the eyes and a pretzel through the heart. It was delicious!


After Voodoo Doughnuts we went to Powell's Bookstore which is this massively huge bookstore in Portland seriously if you can't find the book you want there I don't know where you would. After Powell's we headed over to the Lloyd Shopping Center which is a huge mall. Shopping in Oregon is awesome because there are no sales taxes. I got a really cute brown pencil skirt for only $20! Once we were all shopped out we headed back downtown and went to a restuarant Mikey had eaten at before however the name was changed, it is now called Santeria. They had really fresh mexican food and it was yummy. It was also attached to Mary's, a local strip club. You have to go through Mary's if you need to use the restroom. Needless to say neither of us needed to go to the bathroom while we were there. After a nap at the hotel we meet up with Travis and Alisha for dinner with their families and wedding party at a restuarant called Stanford's. It was delicious! Seriously best pasta I've had in a long time and the salad was so so good. On Saturday we took a day trip up to Seaside and Astoria . We went to the beach and strolled along main street shopping along the way in Seaside.

After Seaside we headed up to Astoria for a delicious lunch on the Columbia River. Mikey had the best clam chowder and a yummy salad with pears, candied almonds and a vinegarette. I had some sort of sushi-like appetizer that I can't even describe but it was so good! We will definately go eat there again if we are ever in Astoria.

With our tummies full we headed up to the Astoria Column. Little fun fact Astoria is where the movie Goonies was filmed. I can't remember how many stairs we had to climb to get to the top but it was a lot and after circling around and around by the time we got to the top I thought I was going to throw up. We only stayed up there for a few minutes cause I felt so sick but we managed to get some good pictures.

I pretty much slept on the way back to Portland to try to get rid of all the motion sickness. I was even more sick after circling even more down the stairs on the way down. When we got back to the hotel we got all dolled up and headed to Trav and Alisha's wedding. It was beautiful! The venue, the food, the decor...everything was perfect. Travis tried to be sneeky and had his classmate hide his car so we couldn't decorate it. We drove around looking for it and couldn't find it but I told Mikey let's just try one more time to go around this block and bam we found it! We got them good after that! All in all it was a really fun trip and we are so happy we got to go!

Salt Lake Temple

Today was a good day. We spent a majority of the time at the SALT LAKE TEMPLE. We went with Kris McIntire and Shauna Crockett to do a session however we didn't make it in time so we completed some sealings, had lunch in the cafeteria there and then Mikey and I did an endowment session after. It was so relaxing to spend the day at the Temple and a great way to start off the New Year. There were also a million brides I counted 7 different brides while we were there~!

and a Happy New Year!

To ring in the New Year we went to see Sherlock Holmes. Which was an awesome movie! I loved it and thought the cinematography was really unique. After the movie we shared a pork roast and fondue with the Staleys and their siblings. We stuffed ourselves full and then played Scategories for like three hours. Then at midnight we all cheered and kissed our spouses for the New Year. It was the first time for as long as I can remember that I didn't watch the ball drop at midnight but still a great time!

With love...

Here is our holiday greeting card! Wishing everyone holiday happiness and love the whole year through!

A Merry Christmas!

For Christmas this year we had a couple opportunities to celebrate. The week before Christmas we went to Boise for Beca's graduation from Boise State's Nursing Program and also her commission into the Army as an Officer. Since the Burts weren't coming to Utah for Christmas we celebrated Christmas with Mikey's family while we were there. Rhonda made a delicious prime rib dinner and then we all opened presents. The nieces and nephew were so excited with the gifts they received and we had a great time with the family. We of course received awesome gifts too! Marilyn and Lenny hosted the annual Burt Christmas party this year so on Christmas eve we stoppped by there for a quick bite and visit with the Burt side of the family. Then Granny Lois hosted her annual Christmas party at the clubhouse so we finished the night off there. She does this sort of raffle gift thing and strangely enough Mikey received an exact gift I wanted to get him but ran out of time to get it. I wanted to either buy or make him a black scarf with argyle print on it to wear with his suits and dress clothes. I was so happy when he opened his gift and received a black scarf with argyle print on it! I think I was more excited about it than he was! One Christmas day we just hung out home just the four of us. Of course I went out of budget and got Mikey a bunch of stuff because I couldn't decide what to buy. He needed everything I got him though so it worked out. We just decided it would be Christmas, birthday and Valentine's day gifts. I also got sparty and mo a stocking full of goodies that they loved! Mo loved her "babies" we got her so much we had to take them away, in just one day she almost ate them completely! My mom made us a really awesome gift too! She put together a recipe book with all the famous family and friends recipes we all love and wanted to know. I was really impressed with her thoughtfullness and creativity. I must say it was a great Christmas this year!

Pumpkin Swirls

This year we spent Thanksgiving in St. George with my Mom, Juan, Justin and Morgan. The weather was beautiful of course and we had a good time. I made a delicious pumkin swirl cheesecake that turned out better than I had anticipated! So thankful for all the love in our lives! We also celebrated Justin's 27th birthday on Sunday. I thought I would be really funny and got him the girliest gift card to Barnes & Noble so when he used it he would feel like an idiot! Got to love sibling rivalry

I'm ready for my close up!

My friend from school, Chelsea Johnson, has a wonderful talent in taking pictures. It has been awhile since we've had family pictures so I thought this year for Christmas we would pay for family pictures for my family. She did a wonderful job and we all think they turned out great! You can be the judge!