Vancouver Weekend

Well, let's see. I finally remembered that I actually took pictures of my little weekend trip so I guess that means I have to blog about it, right??

So we'll just do a quick little post while I'm bored at work. Good idea? Great idea!! My good friend Michele and I decided that we wanted to do a little Girl trip over Labor Day weekend (this was after it was already decided that Andy and I wouldn't be spending $1000 to go to Portland for the weekend and Andy is not a big fan of short road trip vacations - or maybe I just told myself that, because in reality I just wanted a girls weekend and that made me feel less guilty?!? Either way...)

We headed out at about 7:00 on Saturday morning and drove the 2 1/2 hours up to Vancouver, BC. I was pretty excited seeing as how I've never been to Canada. Also pretty excited that we could go somewhere cool and not have to drive forever. I can't believe how fast it went by. We didn't even get tired of conversation and have to resort to listening to the radio. I figured that was pretty good! We got the border and just slowly crept through. I really don't think we even had to stop. I didn't know what to expect with the border patrol-guy, but I didn't even really have to talk. He just asked a few random questions "What we were doing in Canada?", "How long we'd be there?", "Where we were from?"...pretty simple questions. We answered sufficiently and then we were on our way.

Canadian border flower-flag 

We had to drive another 20 or 30 miles before we hit Vancouver. We really had to watch our speed, seeing as how everywhere else but the USA uses the metric system, so the speed limit was in kilometers. Pretty interesting. Anyway...so we finally reach Vancouver and it is sooo pretty! I was amazing how bright and white and clean it looked. First order of business was to ditch the car and head over to Granville Island. Well, technically before that, we had to make our first purchases. $20.00 super fancy rings! Aren't they lovely? Now to just make sure I actually wear it...

No no no, it's not gaudy at all!

We walked down to Yaletown and headed out on this little pier and waited for the water taxi to take us to Granville Island. I really liked the island. There is a big Public Market where you can buy all kinds of foods, and some crafty things (not as much as at Pike Place Market).  

Yummy cinnamon-crispy things

I feel like all I spent my money on was food...but that's okay when you're vacation, right? It's how you experience things.... Anyway, the market had a ton of yummy food and there was this bakery with these super huge crunchy-cinnamon disc things. I really wanted to buy one, and figured I could just save it for later. But then the worker pulled out one that was broken and gave us free samples! It was amazing. And I'm so glad that I didn't buy a huge whole one for myself. It was way too sweet. A sample was all I needed.

Really hilarious street performer from New Zealand!

This little street performer was hilarious. He was from New Zealand and just made a bunch of funny/crude jokes. Haha! Michele and I were laughing a lot. And because of that...and because I was on vacation.... I gave him $5.00! I never do that...and afterward when I was wondering where all of my cash went, I really kind of regretted it. Oops...

Oh speaking of cash, I have a very embarrassing story of trying to get my cash. We ran to the ATM because we figured we would need cash to buy stuff at the market. So Michele got her cash out and pointed out how pretty it was (it was all Canadian money). It was my turn, so I put in my card and got out $60. I grabbed the receipt and then walked back to the market. Oh but when I tried to buy something...I couldn't find my cash anywhere!! Apparently, I had left the ATM without taking my cash. How brainless could I get?? So I ran back to the ATM...no cash anywhere. I asked the little shops by the ATM's and no one had turned in anything. I searched my purse, but I knew that I had not grabbed out the cash. There was this really nice lady that was helping me and just told me to say a prayer that everything will work out. I decided that I was just going to have to suck it up and get more cash out, because I was still going to need it. So I tried again...and this time, I paid better attention! There was an error and it hadn't gone through!! Wanna know why? Oh, because I was trying to use my credit card...holy cow....again, brainless! I couldn't believe that I didn't even realize that it didn't go through the first time. But man, was I relieved. And the sweet lady was still there and she said that she just said a prayer in her heart that everything would work out. What a cutie! People up there are super friendly!

Picking the nose

View of the city from the water

We hung out on the island for quite a while and then headed back to check into our hotel. We were so tired by that point. We got to our room and it was super pretty with a really nice view of downtown. And then we just crashed for a few hours while we decided where to eat. 

We made reservations at a nice Italian restaurant back toward Yaletown, but then decided against that since we were too lazy to walk very far. We asked the concierge if there was a yummy Italian place nearby and there was! Yay! We walked there and sat outside. I wish I would have taken pictures (especially to try and make it last longer since it was so darn expensive!), but I just didn't think about it. My meal alone was $60...I couldn't believe it. Oh well, it's okay if you're on vacation, right? Vacation is a good excuse for everything. After dinner we headed back to the hotel because we were both full to the brim. We watched HGTV and fell asleep at 9:00. Haha! Some crazy girls weekend we had!

The next day we were so tired and didn't make very wise decisions. We decided to get up and go to breakfast at 9:30...and at the same time thought we needed to check-out of our room...So after we had breakfast, there was literally nothing to do because everything was closed. Sunday in Vancouver was like a ghost town. We just walked around trying to kill time until things opened and kept trying to come up with something to do. But because of our expensive dinner the night before, neither of us wanted to spend any money! We decided to just get our car and drive around Stanley Park and then go to North Vancouver and stalk rich people's houses. It worked...but we were both just exhausted. After a quick lunch we decided to just head home.

Japadog! Crazy Japanese hot dogs...you can get a hot dog with Yakisoba on it. So weird!

Bridge crossing over to North Vancouver

On the bridge, I was a little scared being so high up

We decided that if we go to Vancouver again, we will definitely plan our days out better. That way, we can save money and do different things without wasting time. All in all, we had a lot of fun. But it was also a good learning experience for us. :)

Happy 4 year Anniversary!

Man, 4 years....each year gets more crazy and crazy to think about. Time just flies by so fast, it's like a year isn't even that long anymore! As I'm writing, I realized I didn't take any pictures of this (sad day!), but on the morning of our anniversary I surprised Andy with 4 hanging clear balloons in each doorway that he would walk through that day (in our apartment anyway). On each balloon I wrote the number 1, 2, 3 and 4. And in each balloon was a piece of paper that contained my favorite memories of that specific year of our marriage. It was really fun to reflect back on each year and think about the things that happened in that year. I told my mom what I had done and she said "Oh, wouldn't that be fun if I did that for 34 years of marriage?" Could you imagine that? I wouldn't be able to do that....4 years was hard enough to think of a specific memory in that specific year. Anyway... I think Andy liked it, except I don't think he appreciated the loud noise of popping balloons that early in the morning.
We went to work and we were able to get off around 3:30 (after I had received my lovely flowers from my lovely husband). Oh, another tradition that popped up for our anniversaries - I always want to be able to remember what we did on each anniversary. So whoever plans the date that year (we switch off each year) has to do something that was done in an anniversary in the past. Like, on our first anniversary, Andy and I drank orange soda in goblets while eating our wedding cake. So last year for our anniversary I had orange soda in goblets with our dessert when we got home from dinner. This year was Andy's turn, and he got me my stargazer lillies because that's what my bouquet was when we got married. Make sense? That's really hard to explain for some reason... Anyway, so I loved my flowers  EXTRA this year, because Andy put some thought into them instead of just buying whatever.

After we got off work, we headed downtown to Seattle. We did a little shopping while killing time before dinner (I bought 2 pairs of pants for $25! Yay! Love me some H&M). Andy also bought a skinny little wallet/card holder (very exciting, I know)... We went to dinner at Mexican Cantina, which is a delicious Mexican place where Andy and I ate when we first came to visit Seattle. I love that place...the BEST chips I've ever had, I think. If Jan remembers, she can attest to it because we ate there when she came to visit. Again, anyway.........after dinner we headed over the 5th Avenue Theater to watch Rent. This is Andy's favorite play and I was very excited to be able to watch it with him. (I'm super annoyed because I can't get the other pictures to upload that aren't sideways!! So this is all you get, at least it's not a bad picture of me. Ha!) I really enjoyed Rent. The music is fun and full of meaning. The actors did a really good job, too. Plus, our seats were amazing, I even had a clear view of the stage.

Overall it was a really nice anniversary. I've always been so grateful that Andy and I are able to spend as much time together as we have. I'm not sure how I would ever be able to handle it if Andy had to work crazy hours and go out of town a lot. I'm grateful for all of the struggles and trials that we've been given in order to make us grow closer together. Throughout the 4 years we've been married, we have really learned how to work together as husband and wife - and that is so important! We've made so many fun memories and I honestly cannot wait to see what the future has in store for us. I love you Andy Tolton! Thanks for having the patience to deal with me on a daily basis and for showing me your unconditional love every minute of our lives. Happy Anniversary!

New Home in Juanita

Man...it feels like it took me forever to get the house somewhat organized, and I still have a lot to do. But I know you've all been dying for pictures of the new place (right?!?), so here we go. 

Here we are after the move, just picking up a few last things and locking the door. It was a little sad to say goodbye to our first home in Washington. But excited for the new adventures ahead.

Saying goodbye

I told Andy that when we came back for the food that we needed to remember to bring a bag to put it in....well, we both forgot the bag. So we just threw it all into the trunk. Made for a funny picture. 

Fridge items...in the trunk because we forgot bags. Oops!

Okay, so here is the tour of the new place:

Entryway

Take a left...head to kitchen, dining room, and living room

Take a right...head to bedrooms and bathroom

Full size washer and dryer = HEAVENLY!

Second bedroom. Still needs to be organized and turned into my craft room.

Master bedroom. I love the window benches in both rooms!

Bathroom

Closets and shower

Bathroom again

Kitchen. Beautiful granite counter tops and nice appliances. None of that apartment-quality crap.

Dining Room. So big and bright.

And living room. 

So that's the new place. I have been keeping a list of the little things that I want to make/buy so that I can decorate. But that will all come with time, seeing as how we don't want to spend a fortune all in one month. I am trying to be thrifty though to keep it fairly inexpensive. We really like it so far, the area is pretty quiet (except for the ever present crows...man, I could kill every crow I see...). It definitely sucks to move on a Tuesday and have to work the rest of the week. We were so tired and it's taken us a little while to recover from the move. Andy had a super busy and stressful week at work, so our weekends have consisted of unpacking and just resting. I'm sad that we haven't taken advantage of the nice weather to enjoy the beach and the rest of the area we moved to; we could walk 10 minutes and be at the beach, but we will get there soon enough, maybe tomorrow. Tomorrow will be our first Sunday in the new ward. I'm looking forward to it, but you all know how it is...just kind of nervous-making having to get used to a new ward. I'll let you know how it goes. :)

We are moving!

Andy and I are moving...again. It's the same old story, our lease was up, they increased our rent, the apartment size still stayed the same. We had a good run though; 2 years in the same place...that's pretty good for us! We looked and looked for an apartment in our ward boundaries, but it was just not gonna happen....unless we wanted to pay $200 more a tiny bit more room. Not gonna happen. Therefore, we decided to venture out of our ward boundaries (I know, I know...how could we??) and we found a TON of condos to rent - double the space and only a little bit more a month. *Please note that the decision to move and the searching all took place in a matter of 1 week* We looked at 2 places on a Wednesday, really liked the second one, but were kind of holding out for a condo we were going to see on that following Saturday. They couldn't really wait for us that long to submit our application, so we decided to just submit the application and eat the $100 if we liked the other place better. Friday rolls around, and we weren't feeling too confident in getting that first place we liked because of the other parties interested, but we knew that this place we were checking out on Saturday would be the one, if it looked the pictures (big IF!). But I get home from work, got a phone call - it was the Saturday condo saying that they were cancelling our appointment because someone else was interested and their apps looked good. Boy was I upset! This was the condo that was making me OK with moving outside of our ward...now what to do? Oh well, check your email, Kellie! And that's what I did. Right after I got off the phone, I checked my email and the Wednesday condo said the place was ours if we wanted it!!!! Boy, did we want it! So we got the ball rolling, put down the deposit, signed the paperwork...and we move in on the 31st! Yippee!! I just love when things work out how you want them to.
I'm not sure how long this link will work, but if you click here then you'll be able to see few pictures of the new place. And obviously I'll write a post about it once we get in and all settled. But I'm just excited for 2 bedrooms and 1050 square feet! Wahoo! I've never lived in that much space (well, except at the in-laws for a few months). But 1050 sq. feet of my own...man, I can't even believe it. We went from around 300 sq. ft. in Logan to 570 sq. ft. where we live now. There is going to be so much space!!!!!!! Until a little one comes along and takes up all of my newly acquired, much-loved space (but I can't complain about that, now can I??) :)

Utah Visit

A few weeks ago, Andy and I were able to visit Utah for my oldest niece's baptism. I can't believe she is already 8... I wish I had gotten pictures of her, because she looked so beautiful all in white. More about that in a little bit.

So we flew in on Wednesday night and got there around 10:30. We HAD to head straight to Meg's house to see her and for Andy to meet baby Aidyn. Oh.My.Gosh! He is the cutest little boy and he was just so sweet the whole time. He loved Andy immediately. Meg said that he is not a snuggler, but he snuggled right up to Andy. I loved it!

Sweet baby snuggles

We were lucky enough to get to sleep on a wonderful air mattress while we were there, so you know we got some GOOD sleep. Haha! But that's okay, we don't expect to sleep much whenever we visit family and friends. The next morning we woke up and little Gracie and Benson were running around and playing. It was so fun to have them at Mom and Dad's house while we were there so that we could play with them all the time. Gracie was scared of Andy pretty much the whole time...He's probably just too big and bearded - I'm not sure. 

What we woke up to each morning. Benson in his diaper, hanging on Uncle Rich!

We went to lunch with Rich's girlfriend, Amy. It was so nice to finally meet her! We went to Chili's and it was delicious. I really miss having a Chili's around here. Amy was super sweet and I really like her. It's so cute to see her and Rich together...holding hands...but I missed out on any kissing scenes...dang her shyness!! After lunch we headed to Dave and Shell's house and played with the kids. They have a trampoline! And it was amazing! It was pretty tiring to jump on, though. I really don't remember ever getting tired from jumping - guess I'm just an old, out of shape, lady now. 

Mr. Krue! He has gotten so big; he looks so grown up from when I saw him in December

Sweet baby snuggles for Aunt Kellie. Mommy was jealous...

On Friday, we went to Rian and Paige's Kindergarten graduation. They sang such cute songs, with cute hand actions...it was adorable! 

So hard to get pictures when every other person in the room is also trying to get pictures!

Cute cousins playing with each other

After the graduation, Andy, Meg, Aidyn, and I headed down to Salt Lake to meet up with Jan and Spencer. We ate some German food at a place that they love and then headed to the new City Creek shopping center. Meg and I had some fun at the sunglass shop. They have some ridiculous looking and ridiculously priced sunglasses there.  

Lookin' so fine

We did some shopping and I bought a few things. We tried to get Meg to buy a few things...but the things she bought, she eventually ended up hating. Except one shirt, maybe... But either way, we all had fun. It was so much fun to hang out with my friends and my sister. Because that used to never happen! Whit eventually made it down to Salt Lake and after a little more shopping, we headed to Jan and Spencer's house to just hang out and Andy left to hang out with Derek and Brian. We had some good laughs at some old memories and shared secrets. Haha! Whit also brought her waxing stuff. I told her I didn't have anything to wax...but she found something! My nose!!! I didn't even know that was possible, and I thought it would be the most painful...but it didn't even hurt one tiny bit!

The girls

The boys...Andy was the only loner who didn't wax. He sure missed out!

Saturday rolled around and we had family pictures (see post here). It was a fun time, as always. We got them done pretty quick and that was a good thing. They really turned out well! Now I just need to get them printed for our house. We headed to Jade's baptism after that. It was so neat...I love baby blessings and baptism. The spirit is always so strong! I think it even brought Andy to tears (and that just doesn't happen very often anymore). Jade was so sweet and was trying so hard to be reverent and really feel the importance of this day. She did such a good job. After the baptism, Jade and her parents and grandparents all went to dinner and guess who got to babysit the other kids?? Andy and me! And only Andy and me! It was amazing...and so much fun. So we had Canyon, Rian and Paige. They were so cute, and so good! At first when Dave asked us to babysit, for some reason I was imagining having all 5 kids. I was a little overwhelmed, but more than willing to do it. But when you take out Jade and the baby, that only leaves 3 and that's more manageable. They were seriously so much fun and they love their Uncle Andy so much! They kept laying on him on the tramp and calling him "their comfy couch". After dinner, everyone came back over and we watched a movie outside. I love Utah summers! The weather was so perfect and hot and wonderful! I was in heaven.

Rich moved up to Logan the same weekend we were there, so we drove up to Logan to see his new apartment. He'll be there for 2 months while he takes a few summer classes. I was so happy for him to be a real bachelor and have his own place! He was pretty nervous on Friday when he moved, but once he got there and got everything just how he liked it, he didn't seem too nervous anymore. 

Doing his first load of laundry

Kitchen

Closet and bathroom

Sweet view...he has horses as neighbors

Silly Andy...can't ever smile normal

Cute Richard! So excited to be doing laundry

We took a scenic route home, driving by the new Brigham City temple, and down old North Plain City road. It was really fun to just take our time getting home and enjoying the country feel.

We had a family get together on Sunday, complete with a delicious meal of Hawaiian haystacks. Yum! It was so much fun to be together as an entire family. It was not very hard to say goodbye to everyone, because we still had one more day in Utah. But, since it was Monday...everyone was going back to work, Rich had school, and we had to pack. So Andy and I just took the day for ourselves. We ate at Training Table...and it was fat, and delicious. We went and watched Snow White & the Huntsman, it was really good. And then we headed to pick up mom so that she could take us to the airport. 

I tell ya, the man cannot smile normally

Just a little sleepy looking

I cried after we left the house, saying goodbye to Judy, Benson and Gracie. It was really hard for me this time...I just really missed everyone and we had so much fun together. But lucky for us, Mom and Dad are coming to visit in October! Yay!!! So I hope that the time goes by fast.