Santa Cruz...... Here we come............................maybe.?

The team has been talking about making a trip down to Santa Cruz & the beach for a while now. So we decided that the day was July 3rd. Why we chose 4th of July weekend and the day before the 4th, still remains a mystery.....

Itinerary for the day is as follows:

-Leave @ 11:00 am ( drive is only 1.45 hours away)
-Drive for 45 min & hit stand still traffic.
-move at a gradual 0-5mph for the next 3.5 hours
-(150 degrees + no air conditioning+4 tired hot sweaty people= the longest drive ever.)
-After spending 2 hours in the car we seriously debated on turning around and just going home.
-Finally reached Santa Cruz around 3 and stopped @ Subway while the rest of the team headed to the beach
-Somehow we got lost, didn't have a working cell phone and couldn't find the team for another 2 hours while we wondered around the busy overcrowded beaches. (in this time we sat on the beach for 15 min, which was super nice, I waited in the bathroom line for 35, and we witnessed a beach front wedding in the middle of thousands of beach goers.) It was interesting to say the least.
-We finally met up the group for dinner out on the wharf we got some really good hamburgers & took some fun pictures!
-We talked to a local just as we were leaving who informed us that we were on the worst beach there, and there were plenty of private beaches just about 5 min the other direction :)

haha as you can see it was quite the day. Pretty amusing. Fun but not relaxing. But our 15 min on the beach were quite enjoyed & I guess we will just have to go back again.

here are some pictures we managed to snap of the day....

Lessons learned:

-Never ever ever travel on the fourth of July.

-Talk to the Locals as soon as you arrive.

-Always have a cell phone on you
-Leave early

-Enjoy the journey :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRAYDON!!!

Braydon is 23!!!!!

Words cannot describe how much I love this man:) He is everything to me and I am not myself without him. I am so grateful to be married to my best friend. Its the greatest feeling to know we are going to be together forever. I could not ask for a better husband. He is so patient with me and loving. A day doesn't pass by without him saying 'I love you'. He has such a strong testimony and is a constant example to me. He is one of the hardest workers I have ever met in my life. Seriously he does not stop, give up or quit early. He has a passion for life and family and sports. & I love it!! He is perfect and I couldn't be happier to be his wife :)

Happy Birthday Braydon. I love you!

We spent the day....

 Saturday we all went to Lake Del Valle and hung out by the water and had a little bbq, we played some catch and went searching for a rope swing. We never did find the rope swing but we know where it is now so were going back soon!!

He has been dying to open his presents all week.. haha so I let him open 1 early, and the rest on his birthday :)

We ate an ice cream cake on Sunday and then another cake with the team on Tues!

So as you can see it was more of a Birthday week... those are way more fun anyways right?!

4th of July!!!

Happy late 4th of July everyone:)

This year was a little different for me and Braydon,

we got to work... but at least we spent the day together! :)

We were happy when we found out it was a short work day and took off immediately to Livermore to the rope swings!

When we finally found the right spot, we found out that the rope swing was a very good hike away and was trespassing. So we decided to give the "pillars" a try. (some boys sitting on the picnic table directed us on where to go) & to our surprise they were soooo much fun! 

as you can see brayd loved it! 

We had a ton of fun and hopefully we can go back soon!

its so hot here so any chance to get in the lake is one we will not miss! :)

later that night we rode our bikes down to the fireworks and met up with some friends for a bit and then went to the park and watched the show! 

Here are some sweet pictures, braydon took. He is getting good at this camera.

I love this time of year! I am so grateful for the freedom that we have the chance we have to live in this wonderful country!!! we are so blessed!

Fathers Day

What a great day! A day to reflect on your dad :) I find myself doing this often. My Dad is the best....

 -DAD-

Thanks for being so Awesome.

you are...

Fun: I know I can count on you to go do pretty much anything with me

Adventurous:  You Enjoy new things & Exploring. I miss our horseback riding trips and being in the mountains with you. We need to do that SOON.

Brave: I swear nothing scares you.

Hard working: ever since I was little I have recognized how hard you work in everything. You push your self so hard. In Business, The Ranch, Running, Everything.

Funny: You are always making us all laugh, hahaha just thinking about the things you say right now I am smiling:)

Patient: I have very few memories of you getting mad at me, when I was little and even now. That says a lot! 

Understanding: You don't judge others and you always try to see things from a different light.

Trustworthy: I trust you with anything. & I know many other people do to.

Honest: You are 100% honest in everything that you do! Not many people can say that. 

I could not ask for a better example. You truly are all of those things and more. You are so wonderful and I love you so much! :) I try to be like you, hopefully some day I can!

I love you!!

Happy Fathers Day Dad! :)

Oakland Temple

We were lucky enough to go to the Oakland Temple this morning. What a beautiful place! It is way up on the hill, and has the most gorgeous temple grounds. The fountain isn't running in this picture but when we left they turned them both on and it was so pretty! and it ran down the middle as well through all the rocks. 

I love going to the temple. I love the spirit that is there and the calming feeling I get every time... We are so lucky to have somewhere as sacred as this to "get away" from everything. & being able to go with Braydon makes it even that much better!  We are also hoping to make it to the Sacramento Temple while we are here as well. It is fun seeing all the different Temples, & now I can finally go inside!!! :)

Fact: There was no angel Moroni on this Temple... Braydon said he was still sleeping or too cold I cant remember, (we were there early) BUT I just looked it up and its one of the 8 temples in the world that doesn't have and angel on top. Interesting....