We are now
officially members of our church, Red Mountain Community Church! Like Jeremiah
said, it wasn’t an especially extensive process, but a few classes and an
interview later, we are members and are excited to have made that commitment.
Honestly,
February was pretty boring overall for us, we were just so consumed by school
and work. But we managed a few fun things in there!
For Valentine’s Day, we made it pretty simple, but fun.
Jeremiah gave me flowers and chocolates and a Coke Zero (he knows me so well)
and my birthday gift to him doubled as a Valentine’s gift, so on Valentine’s
Day I only actually gave him some candy, but he enjoyed that. For our date, we
went to Chick-fil-A for dinner! You’re probably thinking how strange we are,
but it was great! They were doing a special sit-down Valentine’s deal complete
with a waitress, actual menus, live music, candles and a tablecloth, a free ice
cream sundae bar, a carnation, and a gift certificate for another free meal. So
we had a fun time and dressed up just to complete the experience. So some
people may think it was odd, but we had a great time and saved some money!
After our meal we just watched a movie. Another great Valentine’s Day shared
with my best friend!
The live music was actually really good!
Also in February we celebrated my
mom’s birthday by getting the whole family together for dinner at Sauce and
frozen yogurt for dessert. It’s always fun (and a little crazy) to get the
whole family together. My whole family was planning on going up to the cabin
the weekend after my mom’s birthday, but Jeremiah and I had to stay back for a
few different reasons. But at the last minute, my brother and sister-in-law and
their kids stayed home too. So on that Saturday night, Jeremiah and I went over
to their house to babysit while Brian and Terrisa went out on a date. We had a
fun time with Paisley and Parker, as we always do, just playing around! Then
after we put them to bed, we watched the movie “Gone Girl” for the first time,
and really enjoyed it! What a strange movie! But I would definitely recommend
it. So besides that, there really was not much to report from February. It flew
by, and we are thankful because it was hectic!
So before we knew it we are now
here in March! But ask any college student what March means to them and they
will most likely say- Spring Break! Yes indeed it was our Spring Break this
past week. We just had to get through the first week of March, which was full
of midterms. But we did, and then were so excited to be free for a week! On
Friday, the 6th, we met up at our old high school to watch a track
invitational. Most of you reading probably know that I was on the track team in
high school, primarily as a pole vaulter, and Jeremiah was a dedicated
supporter, coming to many of my meets. He
says he always enjoyed coming, and of course, I love anything track, so we
decided that we should do our best to attend some track meets throughout the
year. So we sat by the pole vault for a few hours and cheered on Mountain View
pole vaulters! That was a fun way to start our Spring Break.
Then we both returned to our parents’
houses for the rest of the week. Throughout the week we did some fun things
both together and individually with our families. On Saturday morning I went to
this event called the Phoenix Flea with my sisters, mom, and Grandma, and we
had Pizzeria Bianco for lunch- yum! Then Saturday evening I met up with
Jeremiah’s family for dinner at Oregano’s (yes I ate out twice in one day, but
for the record, I got a salad for dinner) and then Jeremiah and I went to the
Phoenix Symphony. At the symphony they played a beautiful cello concerto and a
couple other pieces. Sunday after church, I went with Jeremiah and his family
to watch Jeremiah’s brother, Nathan, in his Sonic Brass concert. He had a
couple of really beautiful solos on the flugelhorn and overall it was a great
concert! He is a very talented musician and it’s always fun to hear him
perform. After the concert we all went over to his grandma and grandpa’s house
for dinner. They are heading back to Kansas for the next few months and so we
wanted to see them one last time before they left. They have a house here and
in Kansas that they switch off between. Anyway, dinner was great and it’s
always nice to see them! After dinner I drove over to my friend Stephanie’s
apartment to hang out with her and some of our other friends. Myself and the
other girls that were over are going to be bridesmaids in Stephanie’s wedding
in May and her other bridesmaid who is from Virginia was in town and so Stephanie
wanted us to meet her. We had a nice time getting to know her and just hanging
out and chatting for awhile! Stephanie is a good friend of both mine and of Jeremiah
as well, and we sometimes go on double dates with she and her fiancé. They both
met in marching band in high school as well, so we have a good amount in common
with them! Anyway, I’m sure you’ll read about the wedding in May via the blog
as well! Monday through Wednesday we did a few things, mostly just enjoyed our
time at home. But Thursday morning we left for, guess where! Where else but
Disneyland!! Yep, you heard right, we went to Disneyland over our Spring Break.
This trip was with my family for my niece, Paisley’s fourth birthday! So early Thursday
morning Jeremiah and I drove up with my sister, brother-in-law, and niece
Madeline. We stopped at a place called Matt’s Big Breakfast on the way, which
was delicious. Once we got there, we didn’t do much, mostly just settled in. Jeremiah
and I went to a nearby mall for a couple hours and got Paisley a birthday gift;
then we all got hotel happy hour and just hung out around the hotel! Friday
morning we got out on the shuttle to Disneyland by 9 am, which is quite a feat
with 12 people (including two babies)! We spent all day in the California
Adventure park and had a blast! It was fun to do more of the kid attractions
and take the time to watch some shows. There is always more to explore at
Disneyland and this trip, Jeremiah and I definitely had some new experiences! For
Paisley I think the best part of the day was meeting Elsa and Anna from Frozen!
We got to go into their castle and get their signatures, and Paisley looked
pretty excited. We also watched the Aladdin show, spent a lot of time in Bug’s
Life land, and did plenty of walking. And don’t worry, we managed to find time
for Tower of Terror, California Screamin’, and Toy Story Mania a couple of
times each! Oh yeah, and for dinner we went to a restaurant called Ariel’s
Grotto. It was so cute! Under the Sea themed and five different princesses came
out during dinner and visited each table. Also, the food was delicious! Needless
to say we were exhausted by the end of the day, but on Saturday we got up and
did it again! Except Saturday we spent all day in the actual Disneyland park. Saturday
was Paisley’s birthday and we had made her a shirt that said, “It’s my 4th
birthday” on it. She reminded us throughout the day that it was her “special birthday.”
In the morning we visited the Bibbidy Bobbidy Boutique where Paisley got her
hair and makeup done! It was the cutest thing and she looked like she was
really enjoying it. Cutest princess ever! Even with the painfully pulled back
hairstyle! After that we did a few things in Fantasyland, watched a show, went
on Space Mountain, and some of our other favorites. The day flew by! For dinner
we went to this place with Monte Cristo sandwiches, and I don’t understand how
those things made it on to the entrée part of the menu. That was dessert. If
you’ve never had a Monte Cristo, you’ve got to try one because it was
delicious, but man I’m sure it was terrible for me! I can’t believe Paisley is
four now!! I’m so happy we could get everyone together to celebrate at
Disneyland! What a fun way to celebrate!
So for those of you who don’t know
too much about Disneyland, there is a place called Club 33 in New Orleans
Square that it infamous to Disney-goers. It is a restaurant/bar type thing that
is impossible to get into unless you have a lot of money just sitting around.
You have to be a member which costs something like $10,000 a year I think? You
should look it up if you’ve never heard about it. Anyway, we were all talking
about it and my dad and brother-in-law George decided to go look at the door
where you get into the place and a man came out and asked what they were up to
and if they wanted to go in!! So the two of them actually went in to Club 33!
Of course, we didn’t believe them when they first told us, but they took
pictures to prove it so we had to believe it. The rest of us were extremely
jealous. So that was an especially exciting part of our trip.
On the drive to Disneyland.
Shuttle to the park.
Obviously having no fun at all!
Dreams really do come true at Disneyland!
Paisley after the Bippity Boppity Boutique!
So Sunday rolled around, and now we made our way home. No fun, but necessary I guess! Back to reality, back to
school, back to work!
We have officially purchased our
Eurail passes! So we are now going to be able to get around Europe. Our next
step is to look into hotels and hostels for sleeping arrangements! Also, I
think I mentioned this before, but if any of you reading have been to Europe,
feel free to comment or email us with suggestions on places to visit! We’d love
to hear! We are going to start compiling a list of some of the top things to
see in each city that we are going to be visiting. This way we can have a
tentative plan in each city and just pick a few things we want to do when we
get there. At least that is the plan for now!
Have a great week everyone! I hope
the weather is warming up for those of you who live in cold-winter climates!
