A little update...

A lot has happened in the last few months, but honestly I haven’t updated the blog because some of those happenings are not quite set in stone yet.  A few people have asked me recently if we still have a blog… Oops!! So here is a quick update…

One totally exciting event took place way back in like June-ish, but took some time to become official.  Grant was offered an internship position with a company called Managed Wealth Financial back in the spring, but Grant told them he can’t do his internship until his senior year, which was 2 years away at that time.  However, he heard through some friends of ours that he could do his internship for a company that he had previously worked for.  So, he contacted the regional manager who had offered the internship to him and told him he could start working for them now!  As of August, Grant is a financial consultant, currently licensed to sell life insurance.  He is studying for his Series 6 exam, which covers investments and securities.  That is what he wants to focus on in his career, so he is excited to take that exam before the end of the year.  Grant loves finance, which I am sure you already know if you have read my past blog posts.  He reads finance books all the time and is always helping others with their personal budgets.  AND he has been the ward clerk since I think March, which he LOVES.  He took his first few clients in September and sold his first two policies at the end of the month.  He is really excited about his career choice, and it is fun to see him so passionate about what he does.  I am grateful that my hubby is so natural in this area, because I am totally NOT! I have learned a lot about finance, and I feel very secure because he knows what he is doing.  Those of you who are married can probably relate to those times when you realize you’re married to the right person… When Grant told me he wanted to be a financial consultant, it was one of those moments :)

I changed my major on the second day of this semester.  Those of you who know me probably know I love, love, love psychology.  I always knew that’s the field I wanted to study and have a career in.  AND, I have enjoyed it all through college.  However, back when Grant and I were dating, we discussed whether or not I would be a working mom or a stay-at-home mom.  Grant always wanted the latter, yet I wasn’t really set on either one of the two.  I realized soon after we had that conversation that I really wanted to be a stay-at-home mom if our situation allowed, and I have known without a doubt that that is what I want to do since we have been married.  So, I knew in the back of my mind that I might not be putting a degree to use right away, since we were planning on starting a family right after I graduate.  I also didn’t plan on working until our kids are older or even out of the house.  BUT, I was still getting my degree for that “later-on” or “just-in-case” situation.  However, on the first day of the semester, I sat in my History and Systems of Psychology class and had this overwhelming feeling that I wasn’t doing the right thing.  I was confused because I LOVE psychology (always have since my first psych class in high school) and didn’t know what else I would do.  I have always kind of planned on attending cosmetology school after my BA, so I thought that maybe I should just graduate with my associates at the end of the semester and attend the hair academy next year, then  finish up my degree if I wanted/needed to afterwards.  That was a possibility for a few weeks, until I realized I needed to change my major.  I know it was the right change because I have been so extremely excited about it since.  I am now a Marriage and Family Studies major with an emphasis in Home and Family Living.  So, I get to take lots of classes that will be so practical and useful for being a wife, mom, and homemaker.  That is what I am most excited about.  Another huge plus is that I still get to take quite a few psych classes.  ALSO, I get to take a pregnancy class and a few sewing classes, which I am super excited about.  This major definitely caters to my creative, future mommy side.  It's great!  I want to take all of the classes available to me, even though I don’t need all of them.  That’s when you know you are majoring in the right field :) I’ll be in school a little longer now, because I was about half way through when I made this change.  That’s okay, though.  We knew we would be sticking around Idaho for a while anyways since Grant is starting his career here.  We aren’t in any rush… although, I am not going to lie, I would be perfectly fine being done with school sooner so we can start a family.  I am SO excited to be a mommy!

I think it is safe to say that, after a year and a few months of marriage, we are still adjusting.  I learn new things about Grant every single day, and we encounter new struggles and experiences that kind of rock the boat every now and then.  Marriage truly is a journey, and I love it.  It is sometimes the hardest journey, but it is so worth it… especially when you know you are on the journey with the right person.  I am grateful for the countless humbling, learning experiences I have had thus far in our marriage.  I know that I have recognized more of my shortcomings and bad habits since we have been married than I could have when I was single, and it is both amazing and difficult to work through those things.  I feel so blessed for those moments.  I can see how the Lord has taken careful consideration in giving me the right lessons and experiences to grow and become the woman I want to be and the woman He knows I can be.  Having a wonderful spouse who loves me through it all is the best part.  Grant is so supportive of me, even when I’m talking about my faults.  I know he loves me no matter what, and I think that in itself is such a beautiful, rare thing.  Another thing that tells me I married the right person :)

 I think Grant is pretty settled here in Idaho, yet I am still trying to make it feel like home.  When I think “home” I still think Arlington.  I think part of that is because we are still in school, and who knows how long we will be here?!  Our living situation feels so far from permanent, although part of me feels like we will be here for a while.  Like I said, still adjusting.  As much as I don’t love the unknown, I don’t fear it because I know that my Heavenly Father is in charge of our future.  He has a perfect plan for us, and I am grateful for that.  I like when a new page turns in our story.  It’s so exciting to see what is unfolding for us.  I could probably be a little more patient about it… something I’m trying to learn.  Regardless of what happens, we have each other and that is all that matters!

Our First Anniversary

We just celebrated our first anniversary this past weekend.  I can’t believe how fast it went!  I feel like I blinked maybe once… and here we are a few days into year two.  We have had such a blast together.  We have learned lots about each other, ourselves, and how to make our marriage better.  All the experiences we have had this past year, whether good or bad, have helped us grow and love each other even more.  We have gone through some significantly difficult struggles since we have been married, but I am no less than 110% grateful for each of these struggles.  It has helped us learn how to work through things together and to keep our Heavenly Father at the forefront of our lives.  He truly has been the key to our success in all things, and I know that as we continue to seek Him in our marriage, it will only improve.

I can honestly say that I have grown up so much more than I thought possible in one year.  Marriage certainly has a way of throwing every single responsibility and stress on a young couple.  I remember telling my mom that it was weird having to think about buying toilet paper, PAM, and printer ink.  Add that to rent, insurance, gas, groceries, and all those other things you need to live day-to-day, and it’s a great recipe for a fantastic lesson on being a “grown-up”.  I don’t feel like I was necessarily thrown into being responsible for myself since I was away at school in Hawaii for a year before we were married.  However, being responsible for yourself as a college student doesn’t even begin to touch being responsible for you and your spouse as a married couple.  I am grateful that Grant is so financially minded and frugal, because he has taught me so much about budgeting and finance that I never knew before.  Our paycheck-to-paycheck income has especially forced me to be wise with our money and diligent with our budgeting.  I have loved every minute of it, and I certainly feel like I am so much more prepared for any financial situation that may come in our future. 

Thought I would share how we celebrated our first anniversary.  We had such a wonderful day!  Since our actual anniversary fell on Sunday, we celebrated on Saturday.  We woke up, had some pancakes, and got ready for the day.  We decided that we wanted to start a tradition of visiting a new temple and doing sealings every year for our anniversary.  So, we drove down to the Idaho Falls Temple, which we had never been to before.  It was a super busy day there with lots of weddings, so we were there for a while.  It was nice to just sit in the temple and have some time to reflect.  After the temple, we went to Olive Garden for lunch.  We both had soup, salad, and breadsticks.  Can’t go wrong with that!  After lunch, we changed out of our church clothes and begin to walk around in Idaho Falls.  There were street fairs all along the Snake River and downtown Idaho Falls.  We explored the booths, and I couldn’t help but tell Grant that I felt like that is what couples do on their 40^th anniversary or something. It was certainly low-key, but we had so much fun just walking hand-in-hand. 

 Idaho Falls Temple

We had decided that we wanted to try our hand at geocaching, so we downloaded a free app that includes directions and hints to find a cache.  The first one took us to this super cute island in Idaho Falls that we explored for a while.  I could have stayed there all day.  We couldn’t find the cache, and decided to try another one since we weren’t quite sure what we were looking for.  The second one took us back to the temple, where Grant climbed under a tree to find the cache!  It was seriously so exciting!  We signed the list inside with the date and our names and, of course, snapped a couple pictures.  With that, we hopped back in the car and headed home for a nap before dinner.

 Grant found the cache!

 Signing our names on the list

I decided that I would make dinner for our anniversary to save a few bucks.  On Saturday night, I made teriyaki chicken, one of Grant’s favorite dinners.  After we ate, we headed to the dollar theater here in Rexburg to watch Now You See Me.  We haven’t gone to a movie together since our first week here in Rexburg back in January, so we definitely enjoyed it.  It really was the perfect, relaxing day that I think we both really needed!

Sunday was kind of just like any other Sunday, besides the fact that we exchanged anniversary gifts.  I made Grant a “52 Things I Love About You” deck of cards.  He had compiled a folder of pictures, one for each month of our first year of marriage.  He said he was going to make a calendar.  We ended up going to Porter’s, a craft store in town, together this week.  We got a few things we needed and made the calendar board together.  It was a lot of fun.  One of the cards in the deck I made Grant says, “You help me with my crafts”.  I really do love that about him.  He helps me paint, sand, glue, measure, hang-up, or anything else I ask for help with.  This was really the best gift ever… he came up with a craft idea and then let me make it however I wanted.  The best part was that he helped me with it. 

Yes, my hubby and I made this!

After church on Sunday, I made steak, asparagus, and, Grant’s request, French fries for dinner.  We finished it off with one of our favorite desserts, Strawberry Delight. 

My favorite part of our anniversary??  When Grant told me to close my eyes, walked me to the kitchen, hit play, and started dancing with me to our wedding song.  I cried… a lot!  I am a sucker for slow dancing and Grant HATES it, so it was so sweet for him to do that for me.  It was the best ending to a wonderful weekend. 

I truly am so blessed to have Grant to share my life with.  He is such an amazing person, and someone who I try to be more like every day.  He is selfless and caring, and he is the kind of husband every girl dreams of having.  I am so excited to see what adventures unfold for us in this next year and all the years to come.  

Grant's Birthday!

Grant turned 24 on Sunday the 12^th/Mother’s Day!  Thought I would share how we celebrated his first birthday since we have been married.

We started last week on Tuesday with lunch at Red Robin, Grant's favorite restaurant.  He has a “Red Royalty” card, which allows him to get a free burger during his birthday month.  We had to take a trip down to Idaho Falls that Tuesday to get some stuff for our fish at Petco, so we decided to just eat at Red Robin then.  His favorite burger is the Royal Red Robin burger, which has bacon and a fried egg on it… apparently it’s “really good”.  He was certainly a happy camper eating his burger :)

I had asked Grant a few weeks before what he wanted for his birthday, and he kept telling me nothing.  He said he didn't want me to spend a dime on his birthday and to just do something that didn't cost money.  So, I told him to make a list of ten things he wanted for his birthday.  Apparently I should have set some kind of rules because the list he composed was titled “10 things I want for my birthday that don’t cost money”.  That just has Grant written all over it, doesn't it?!  I kindly asked him to make a second list of 10 things he wanted for his birthday that do cost money just in case I actually wanted to get something for him.  This second list consisted of finance books only.  If you don’t know Grant very well, now you do!  However hard this was for me, because birthday are always a huge deal in my family and I always go all-out for birthdays, I complied with his wishes to keep it simple and not spend a lot of money on his birthday.  I ordered three of the books for him online, got him some of his favorite treats, and made him a 24-punch card booklet with random favors from me (one of the things he asked for that didn't cost money was a coupon book). 

I still wanted to surprise him with SOMETHING because he already knew everything about his birthday.  I had been planning to take him golfing the day before his birthday, but somehow he figured it out and told me he didn't want to (yeah right!!) because he didn't want to spend the money on it.  So, I took him to play tennis instead at a park here in town… poor guy.  I’m TERRIBLE at tennis.  Should have just hired someone to play with him!  He spent most of the time teaching me haha :)  About a week before his birthday, I was texting a couple from our ward that we are good friends with about having them come over for dinner and games on his birthday, which I was going to keep from Grant.  I also sent a text to my boss about making a cheesecake for him since that is one of his favorite desserts.  I told him to not read my texts until after his birthday in order to keep these things a secret.  He still figured both of these surprises out.  Even though I tried to play the dessert off by making the cookies he asked for, he still knew I got a cheesecake.  "I am just that good", he says.  I am anxious to see if I can ever surprise him for his birthday. 

After we played tennis on Saturday, he helped me do some grocery shopping for his birthday breakfast and dinner the next day, and then we went for hot dogs at a place called Skeeters.  Afterwards, he went to play baseball with one of his companions from his mission and some other guys.  On Sunday, I made hash browns, sausage, and eggs for his birthday breakfast.  After church, he had to stay for his new calling as assistant ward clerk, so we asked our friends to give me a ride home.  This was when I went and picked up the “surprise” cheesecake and decorated with a batman “Happy Birthday” banner.  I made lasagna, bread sticks  and salad for dinner, and we also had some watermelon… one of Grant’s favorite fruits.  Our friends joined us for dinner and games, and we had a ton of fun!  After games we lit some birthday candles, sang “Happy Birthday”, and ate some cake cookie whoopie pies and strawberry cheesecake.  Even though I didn't succeed in surprising him, he didn't care and had a fabulous birthday :)

Birthday Breakfast!

Batman birthday banner

Birthday dessert :)

Life in Rexburg

I have been TERRIBLE about keeping up with our blog the last few months.  We have been busy, busy, busy... I'll have to do a bit of catching-up in this post :)

We have been in Rexburg, Idaho since January 5th.  After both of us were accepted to attend BYU-Idaho beginning winter 2013, we began looking for housing and sending in applications.  After about a month of absolutely no luck, I started to get a little stressed.  Most of the apartment complexes were full by the time we were actually accepted.  We were checking Craig’s list, the BYU-I bulletin, and asking friends in Rexburg to keep an eye out for us.  We were on our knees in prayer all the time, trusting that the Lord would help us find a place.  We both knew we were supposed to be in Rexburg and that everything would work out like it was supposed to, but it was still a little stressful.  We looked for months with no luck, and by the time Christmas came around, we packed all our stuff and made arrangements to move to Idaho not knowing where we were going to live.  We were thinking we may have to camp out in our car for a couple weeks until something turned up, or maybe find some friends to stay with until we could secure a home.  FINALLY, 5 days before we were supposed to drive to Rexburg, we found out we had a basement apartment!  This news was seriously the most relieving news in the world.  We moved in the Saturday before classes started, and we got our moving truck with all our belongings on the Monday that classes started.  It was definitely not ideal, but we were just happy to have a place to live!  I was super nervous about it, since we had never seen pictures of the apartment at all.  I was hoping it had enough room for us and that it would actually feel like home.  When we arrived, I was SO happy - it is the perfect place for us!  The living room and kitchen are so big for a basement apartment, and there are two bedrooms, so we have an extra closet for storage and room to have guests stay here.  We knew that the Lord had His hand on this place for us.  We love our little home, especially since it is our first one together :) I will post pictures soon.

When we applied to live here, they said it was furnished, but when we got here there were couches, a kitchen table with chairs, a computer desk, and dressers.  No bed.  For the first month living here, we were on our air mattress.  Not the most comfortable thing in the world, but I still couldn't complain because we had a roof over our head!  We visited the mattress outlet in town and bought a mattress and box spring, and I was extremely excited to finally pull out our new sheets and beautiful quilt we got from the wedding.  Grant is going to build a bed frame for us this summer, which he is super excited about.

Grant and I had 4 classes together during winter semester, which made transitioning so easy.  We got to spend a lot of time together that way, and we saved lots of money on books because we were able to share for the classes we had together.  The semester just ended a couple weeks ago, and Grant and I both did really well.  He ended with a 3.9 and I got a 4.0.  Definitely a good first semester in Idaho! Grant was officially accepted into the Business Management program after passing his presentation with the board.  He had to complete a portfolio, which was about 15 pages long, and present to the board, consisting of members of the Business department.  He has decided that he wants to be a financial advisor, which is perfect since he is a business management major with an emphasis in finance.  He has already had someone contact him about doing an internship with their company.  That is really exciting after just being here for a few months!  He is applying to do fast grad, which allows him to go to school all three semesters to finish faster.  He really loves finance, and it is fun to see him so excited about his career plans.  He reads finance books like you wouldn’t believe and is really good about helping us be smart with our finances and budgeting.  I am so blessed to have him!

Both of us had been looking for jobs since before we moved here, but it is SUPER hard to find jobs in Rexburg.  I got really lucky when I walked into Da Pineapple Grill, a Hawaiian/Asian restaurant here in town with a sushi bar, to turn in an application at the end of January.  The owner interviewed and hired me on the spot.  I have been working there as a waitress and sushi roller since February 1^st.  I really love it, and it is certainly nice to work in a place that feels like home to me.  The comfort food isn’t bad either ;)  Grant applied at literally 20 places since we have been here and just started last week with a property care company.  He has been donating plasma for a couple months to bring in some extra money. 

Grant and I love our ward here, although we only have a few couples that we actually know well.  We like being in a married student ward a lot more than being in a family ward.  There are a handful of babies and kids in the ward, so I do get a little baby-fill on Sundays.  I have two callings in the ward – ward music chair assistant and activities committee member.  Grant doesn’t have a calling yet, but I keep telling him that Heavenly Father is giving him a break before he is called as the Bishop ;)  We were also called to work in the temple, which we had wanted to do for a while.  We have been working in the baptistry every other Saturday for two months.  It is so wonderful to get to the temple even more than we usually do. 

Now that we are both off-track, we will just be working.  We have quite a busy summer ahead of us, with a few weddings, a baptism, and a niece on the way.  We are looking forward to having visitors this summer as well. Grant’s youngest sister, Carly, and my little sister, Serafina, are coming in August to attend EFY here at BYU-I.  My mom is driving them down and bringing my little brothers the week before to visit, and then Grant’s mom is coming down to pick the girls up and drive them back home.  We have not done a whole lot of activities here yet, so we are excited to have them come and join us in exploring Rexburg :) 

Honeymoon

I know this is way past due, but I am FINALLY writing about our honeymoon!  We had such a wonderful time and only have our fantastic friends and family to thank for the wedding money that went towards our trip.  We are so grateful :) This will be a long one, but hope you enjoy!

Thursday, September 13^th: Day 1

This was a pretty long day, as we woke up bright and early to finish packing and load up the car to begin our drive to Coeur d’Alene, where we would stay for the night.  We had lots of suitcases and bags, as well as a cooler with some food and our clothing steamer (I hate ironing).  We had planned on taking my little yellow bug since it gets better gas mileage, but didn’t know how well that would work with the large pile of things we had to take.  Surprisingly, we fit it all in the car.  The bug looks like it can’t fit much, but she hasn’t failed me yet!  We left Marysville at noon, stopped to run a few errands, and then we were off on our little road trip. 

It was so wonderful to just have hours in the car with each other to talk without anyone else.  Since we are so busy with work and have different schedules, we rarely have time with just the two of us.  That’s what I was most excited about… having time to ourselves.  One of the wedding gifts that we received was a 4-talk set on CD called “For all Eternity” by John L. Lund.  Grant’s good friends from his home ward, the Grants (no joke), gave it to us.  .  It was such a wonderful thing for us to listen to as newlyweds.  We got some great advice, and kind of evaluated ourselves based on some of the issues John Lund discussed.  We had quite a few good talks and finished all 5 CDs during our trip, since we had quite a bit of driving.  :) Thanks, Grant Family!! 

When we finally arrived in Coeur d’Alene, we had dinner at Red Robin, Grant’s favorite!  We were both pretty hungry because we hadn’t eaten since we left Marysville.  Afterward, we headed to Heath’s house to crash for the night.  Heath is engaged to Grant’s sister, Wendy, and he was gracious enough to let us stay at his place while he was out of town.  We watched a few episodes of How I Met Your Mother before bed to keep up with our running marathon (and caught up just in time to start season 8 when we got home from our honeymoon!). 

 Views from our road trip

Friday, September 14^th: Day 2

We slept in this morning, since we had a whole lot of nothing to do before we could check in at the resort at 6 pm.  We watched some more How I Met Your Mother, ate a little, watched a couple movies, and then packed up once more to finish the rest of the drive to Stoneridge Resort in Blanchard, Idaho where we would stay for the week.  It was only about an hour drive from Coeur d’Alene.  It really is in the middle of nowhere, but is a really nice resort (I guess the biggest in Idaho) and has lots to do.  They have a golf course, which Grant would have loved to spend a day on BUT his golf clubs wouldn’t have fit in the car AND I don’t golf… he didn’t want to do anything without me.  It probably would have been a waste of money for me to go anyways since I have never held a golf club in my life.  Driving range first! Haha :)

After we checked in and got settled in our room, we headed to the nearest grocery store(which was half an hour away) to stock up for the week.  We took advantage of having a full kitchen and ate at the resort as much as possible.  While planning our trip, we made a daily itinerary with meals and all so we could make an exact grocery list… one of the few ways we limited our spending on the trip.  We brought a couple things from home as well, so we had even less to buy.  While we were out, we also had dinner at a little local restaurant.  Grant had fish and chips, and they were amazing!!  Second runner up to Grandpa’s beer batter fish n chips :) When we got back to the resort, we put away the groceries, got our nightly fill of How I Met Your Mother, and headed to bed.

 Our home for the week

Saturday, September 15^th: Day 3

Our first day at Silverwood!  This was the entire reason why we decided to stay in Idaho for our honeymoon… we needed some theme park action!  Stoneridge is only a little less than half an hour away from Silverwood.  Both Grant and I have been to Silverwood more than once and kind of know our way around the park.  On our drive there, we took a walk down memory lane, sharing stories of our previous trips to Silverwood and talking about our favorite rides.  In the process, we made a plan of attack for the day.  Unfortunately, I got a headache early on in the afternoon, so our thrill rides were cut short.  However, we rode the train ride a couple times and hopped on the Ferris wheel.  For lunch, we ate at the pizza place where the magic show theater is.  We got there early enough to get seats close to the front, which resulted in the magician asking me to help him in the magic show.  He called me out when he noticed my “Bride” shirt.  Another girl in the audience and I helped him with a card trick, which totally blew my mind! After lunch and the show, we did a few more small rides and walked around the park.  We decided to take a risk and get on the log ride… We got drenched!!  Fortunately it was warm and sunny, so we dried off pretty quickly.  Besides having a headache, it was a wonderful day.  We got lots of comments on our “Bride” and “Groom” shirts.  We decided it was ok to wear them on our honeymoon to get some use out of them, since there won’t be many good excuses to wear them in the future ;) 

 The Magician

 My 15 minutes of fame :)

 Before getting drenched on the log ride

 Our view from the Ferris Wheel

 Second time on the train ride

 If you raise your camera, he raises his gun

 Buffalo on the train ride

 Getting robbed on the train

 My score is on the left and Grant's is on the right.

What can I say, I have a good shot ;)

 Aftershock!

 Driving the old cars

Sunday, September 16^th: Day 4

Another day at Silverwood!  We were both a little more into the coasters the second day, which resulted in two headaches instead of one.  Those wooden coasters are a little too shaky!  Because of that, we did the train ride a few times again, and even watched the magic show at lunch once more.  I think I figured out how he pulled off his card trick! Despite our headaches, we had another wonderful day.

 Our favorite ride

 Practicing for when we are parents :)

Monday, September 17^th: Day 5

After having breakfast at the resort, we drove an hour to a little town called Liberty Lake back in Washington.  We had pottery painting on our schedule for the day, but we first stopped at a redbox to pick up a couple movies for that night.  We also got a recommendation for a great lunch spot in Liberty Lake called Barlow’s.  It was delicious!  Grant had a burger (his typical choice when we eat out) and I had a sandwich.  We then made our way to an adorable little pottery studio in Otis Orchards called “The Pottery Bug”.  I have always loved painting pottery and thought it would be a fun Monday activity.  I warned Grant that we would probably be there for a few hours, mostly because I take my sweet time when doing something crafty.  I tend to be a perfectionist.  Poor guy was done in half an hour and had to sit and watch me paint for the next couple hours.  We had some great conversation, though. I had actually emailed the owner of the studio before our trip to make sure they could get our pottery fired by the time we were driving back through at the end of the week, so she was expecting us.  She gave us a bowl of skittles because she said she forgot to grab a bottle of sparkling cider to congratulate us.  She was so sweet!  We had a great time, and I totally recommend The Pottery Bug if you are ever in Otis Orchards!

 Grant getting in touch with his artistic side

 Birthday cake plate

 Grant's Seahawks bowl

 Stopped for a picture on our drive back

Tuesday, September 18^th: Day 6

Today, we woke up bright and early and got ready to go to the Spokane Temple.  We went to the 10 am session, so we had to leave our resort by 8:30 to be there in time.  It was our first time going just the two of us since we got married, so it was a definitely a special temple trip.  I was nervous to be going through a temple I had never been to, especially since it was my first time going without my mom.  Thankfully, the Spokane temple is so small that you basically go in a complete circle from start to finish.  After the session, we walked around the grounds and took some pictures before having a picnic lunch in the grass by the church.  It was the first picnic lunch we have had together :)  Once we finished and packed up, we made our way to Riverfront Park in Spokane, where we rode the merry-go-round and the gondola.  We were bummed that the tour train was closed for the season, but we walked around to see the sights instead.  After having our fill of the park, we went to visit Wendy at her apartment and took a little nap before going to Laser Quest.  If you like laser tag and have never been there, GO!  It is basically a three story building with the biggest laser tag maze.  It is HUGE!  Anyone can play at any time, and it’s every man for himself.  The games are 20 minutes long, but they go by so fast.  Grant and I played 2 games.  Both of us were in the top 5 in both games, and I proudly placed second in game 2.  Grant was so mad that I beat him simply because of my accuracy.  He said, “I made more hits and got shot less than you, but you still beat me!”  I had 170 points added to my score because of my accuracy, thank you very much ;)  We were both starved after laser tag, so we headed to Chili’s for dinner.  I had never eaten there before and was pleasantly surprised.  It was so yummy!

 Gondola

 The view from the gondola

 Dinner at Chili's!

Wednesday, September 19^th: Day 7

We thought it would be a good idea to spend a whole day at the resort since there was so much to do there.  We played ping-pong, pool, and some board games at the club house, and had a go at mini golf.  Their course was filled with historical artifacts and articles about Blanchard, Idaho, which made it an interesting game.  Grant won, of course... but only by a couple strokes :)  We really “vacationed” on this day; it was our one day without an actual schedule.  We relaxed, took our time, and did whatever we wanted to do… which included driving to the nearest Chili’s AGAIN for dinner.  That is how much I loved it. When we got back to the resort, we relaxed in the hot tub before cuddling with cookies, milk, and our favorite show.

 The mini golf course

 Old pro :)

We got really good at taking pictures of ourselves using

the camera timer :) 

Thursday, September 20^th: Day 8

Today we went horseback riding!  Both of us had been looking forward to this the whole week.  We drove up to Sandpoint, Idaho and had an hour and a half ride through the mountain trails.  We were the only two on the tour, which was nice.  It was so peaceful and quiet on the ride, and we had such beautiful views of the mountain ranges.  Both of us were incredibly sore by the end, though.  I forgot how uncomfortable it can be to sit on a horse for that long!  I am pretty sure my horse was tired of me being on him too, since he tried to throw me off a few times during the ride.  I was holding on for dear life!  My horse was very ornery- he would not let Grant ride next to us.  He wanted to be right behind the trail guide and his horse.  Every time Grant tried to ride next to me, my horse would turn sideways or speed up so he had to stay behind us.  A horse with road rage… it was hilarious!  After our horseback tour, we had dinner on the waterfront at a restaurant called Dish.  I had the most delicious fish tacos with avocado fries.  SO yummy!  Can you guess what Grant ate?  Yep, a burger like usual.  While waiting for our check, our waitress brought out a piece of the most magnificent chocolate mousse truffle cake with a lit candle to wish us a happy honeymoon.  Neither of us had told her we were there on our honeymoon, so I was confused as to how she knew!  I guess while I had gone to the bathroom, Grant told her we were celebrating and wanted to surprise me with a dessert.  It was the best dessert I have ever had!  A wonderful ending to a great week.

 At the top of the trail

Grant and I with my crazy horse

Friday, September 21^st: Day 9

Check-out day.  We were both not ready to leave at all, but who is ever ready to go home after a vacation?! We packed and loaded up our car for the ride home.  On our drive, we stopped in Otis Orchards to pick up our pottery, which turned out super cute.  We also stopped in Moses Lake, where we met my mom and our friend, Shirline, for lunch.  They were headed to Spokane for the weekend for Zumba.  We ate at this nice restaurant along the lake in town, and had a surprise visit from my Aunt Brenda, who lives in Moses Lake.  After saying our goodbyes, we continued on our drive.  We stopped at John and Danielle’s new house for a few hours to visit before arriving in Yakima for the rest of the weekend. 

We had such an amazing time on our trip.  I cherished spending time with JUST Grant.  We certainly love living so close to family and having Grandma Jackie open her home to us while we wait to head to school, but it was so great to get away and have time to ourselves.  We look forward to having that more often when we head off to school at the end of the year!