Valentine’s Day

Last year, Dave and I decided that we would rather not deal with the restaurant crowds on Valentine’s Day. Dave was in charge of dinner this Valentine’s Day. I felt bad because I had the day off so I had plenty of time to cook dinner, but Dave insisted on taking his turn with the V-day celebrations.  Dave had to work, but still managed to go grocery shopping and cook dinner for us. He was so thoughtful and made a vegetarian meal because that is definitely what I prefer. He also rented a movie (Water for Elephants) so I would have something to do while he made us dinner. We ended up watching it together after dinner and it was one of the better movies I‘ve seen lately. What can I say, I’m a very lucky girl to have such a great Valentine/ husband!!!

Happy Birthday Dave

Last month Dave celebrated his 26th birthday. (I can’t believe we’re both going to be in our upper 20’s this year- makes us sound so old!) It was a pretty low key celebration. He did not want a birthday party this year so it was just me and Dave. After he got off work, we went to dinner. Dave wanted to go to Red Robin so he could get a hamburger and fries- definitely 2 of his favorites.  We also went shopping so Dave could spend his birthday money. We spent the rest of the night opening his presents, watching one of our favorite TV shows, and just hanging out. Happy birthday Dave!

Stay-cation

Dave had quite a few business trips when he first started his job. It made for a few very lonely weeks, but on the plus side he racked up quite a lot of points at a pretty sweet hotel.  We took advantage of these points and spent the weekend  in San Francisco.

Our hotel- The Omni

On Friday we walked around Union Square which is always fun. It was also Chinese New Year and so I thought it would be neat to check out Chinatown. I had pictured Chinese lanterns galore, Chinese dragons roaming the streets, gongs going off, etc. I think this vision somewhat resembled a faint memory I have of a Chinese New Year’s parade in elementary school. It was quite the opposite. Everything was closed for the night and there were only a few Chinese lanterns. I was a bit disappointed, but maybe my expectations we a bit far fetched.  On Saturday, we woke up and had breakfast in bed. This was quite nice I must say (especially because I didn’t have to wash the sheets afterwards from the muffin crumbs that were all over).  We decided to walk though Chinatown again because it was on our way to our next stop. It was a bit more festive during the day and had quite a fun atmosphere.

We continued on to Little Italy. I really liked Little Italy. There were so many quaint Italian restaurants that looked delicious.  I had read online about a hole in the wall pizza place that literally had thousands of great reviews. We went there for lunch and it lived up to my expectations. It was really good! Our next stop was a walking tour on Telegraph Hill. I had heard about San Francisco walking tours and thought we should check one out. There are a ton of them and each walking tour highlights a different landmark, historical feature, or tourist attraction in the San Francisco area. There were many that sounded appealing- from San Francisco Victorian mansions to Nob Hill, it was hard to decide on just one. The tour we went on covered Telegraph Hill and Coit tower. Our tour guide was excellent. She told us unique and funny stories of the history of Telegraph Hill, showed us where Mrs. Ghirardelli lived until her passing, pointed out the oldest inhabitable building in San Francisco, and much more. It was such a fun way to get to know this part of the city. These are some of our pictures from the tour. The views from Telegraph Hill are spectacular and we were lucky to have a very clear day- no fog at all!

The steps in this picture are in front of a row of houses and the foliage is their shared backyard/ garden. It was really pretty. We were there when the mailman was delivering the mail and the poor guy had quite the trek to get to everyone’s front door.

There were many sailboats in the bay

Alcatraz in the distance

I pretty sure Dave was having a good time despite his fake smile.

This somewhat resembles a senior photo. Classic.

We spent the rest of the afternoon at Ocean Beach. It was a gorgeous day. It was in the high 60’s/ low 70’s. Days like this make me so happy I don’t live in cold Utah anymore.

 

The sunset was beautiful, but it sure did cool off quickly once the sun started to go down.

Dave’s silhouette

January Date Night

Dave and I have exact opposite schedules. He works days and I work nights. Dave also works quite a bit (as in almost every waking moment of everyday…poor guy). All of this means our time together is very limited. One of our goals for 2012 is to go on one date a month. One date sounds a bit pathetic, but it’s realistic and better than none. Dave plans the odd month dates and I plan the even months. Dave planned a fun date for us this month. We went to Dave & Busters. The food was tasty and we had a blast playing games. Some of the highlights included us winning 100 tickets on Deal or No Deal (too bad this wasn’t a win on the actual show), Dave getting slammed in the face with a basketball while playing hoopshoot, but not missing a beat, and Dave winning the jackpot on hoopshoot. Great start to our 2012 dates!

The Rest of our Trip to Utah

Although we were all in Utah for my grandma’s funeral, I sure did have a great time spending time together with family. It was a couple days full of tears and laughs. My parents brought their Xbox Kinect and it provided hours of entertainment. My cousin Julie and Dave had us all laughing so hard in their Minute to Win It competition. It was hilarious! Here’s the video of one of the games.

Dave and Julie

We also played Just Dance 3. We had been playing for a while and decided to have my sister Ashley play to see if being an actual dancer helps in this game. Verdict: most definitely. She dances about 30 hours a week at a dance studio and also attends a magnet High School that has a dance emphasis and it shows. She is so talented! Here’s one of Dave and Ashley. I love how Ashley even nails the head movements. The filming on this video is a bit poor. Sorry.

Dave and Ashley

Dave did a good job, but Ashley sure did it with style. Also, I’m not quite sure why Dave’s pants are so high. I sure do love his freestyle at the end though.

I forgot to bring a camera on this trip and so all I really have are these videos taken on Dave’s iphone, but they are much more entertaining than photos would have been.

Thanks everyone for making a great ending to an emotionally exhausting day!

Celebrating my Grandma Donna’s Life

This post is dedicated to my grandma. My Grandma Donna passed away on Christmas Eve which was bittersweet. She had cancer and it sounded like she was suffering quite a bit the few days prior to her passing. I am so glad she no longer has to suffer. She is my last and final grandparent to pass away. It’s kind of crazy to think that an entire generation of my family is gone. Her funeral, or as my uncle reminded us- a celebration of her life, was held in Utah. Even though these were bittersweet circumstances, I was pretty excited to see my immediate and extended family. Everyone was able to make it. I don’t remember the last time we were all together and so that was pretty cool.

The last time I had seen my grandma was the night before I moved to California. We thought she might have cancer, but it was not a sure thing at that point. I remember at the time I had a feeling this would probably be the last time I would see her in this life. She was in great spirits and I am glad this is how I get to remember my last time with her. The last thing she said to me was to send her letters. I thought this was cute because I’m so used to calling, texting, or emailing people, but her generation wrote letters.

Her viewing was held Thursday night. I really enjoyed looking at all of the pictures of my grandma throughout the years. She was always so stylish and fashionable. Some of her outfits from 60 years ago would still be in style today. She definitely had a classic look. A lot of friends and family members of her generation have already passed, but it was great to meet those who were able to come. I had never met her brother before and he is the cutest man. It was fun to get to know him and I could not believe his outlook on life. He too has cancer and still maintains the most positive attitude and approach to life. I was also able to meet some of my grandma’s friends that she always spoke so highly of- the Roses. It was kind of cool because one of the Rose girls told me about one of her memories of my grandma when she was a teenager. She  was younger than my grandma and remembers looking at her and hoping that she could be as beautiful and well liked as my grandma when she was her age. This was interesting to me because whenever my grandma spoke of the Rose family it was always in a way that you could tell she really looked up to them and so it was neat to realize that they too looked up to her.

Pictures from the viewing

I was able to speak at my grandma’s funeral which  was an honor. I am very intimidated by public speaking and have a hard time holding it together at funerals. Thankfully I made it through my talk (with a few tears, but it was a funeral afterall). I thought I would post a copy of my remarks not so everyone has to read them, but just so I can keep a copy of it. 

“I am grateful for the opportunity I have to say a few words today. As I’ve been deciding what to say, it has given me the opportunity to reflect upon my relationship with my grandma. I decided one of the best ways I can honor her is by sharing some of the qualities I admire in my grandma.

First would have to be her passion. Whenever grandma was feeling sad, lonely or disheartened, you could instantly change her mood by bringing up certain topics. These were the things that would brighten her day and remind her of some of her most cherished memories.

Definitely one of her favorites was BYU. She loved her cougars. She would often talk about her days as a BYU student and how different BYU was when all the men were away at war. She was a proud alumni of BYU all the way to the end of her life. She loved BYU sports and was always a loyal fan.

Another thing she was passionate about was traveling. She often spoke of her many travels. She would always make me laugh when she’d recount that the other teachers she taught with at school would get jealous of all the time off she took to go on trips. Her favorite vacationing spot was hands down Hawaii. I had the opportunity to join her and grandpa on one of their trips to Hawaii. I’m not quite sure why they agreed to let me come along, but it sure was fun to see them in their element. Grandma was absolutely on cloud 9 as she sat next to the pool in paradise. They had all of their favorite restaurants and things they made sure to see. I remember asking Grandpa what he liked about visiting Hawaii and he replied, “I like coming to Hawaii because grandma loves it and it makes her happy.” I couldn’t agree more with that. It was one of her favorite places on Earth.

Which brings me to the thing she was probably most passionate about, and that was grandpa. The last few years of her life she definitely struggled with her role as a widow and understandably so. I remember visiting with her not too long ago and the topic of grandpa came up. She immediately started crying and expressed how much she missed him and how lonely she was without him. She missed her travel buddy and companion. I am so grateful that they have been reunited and can continue on their journey together.

Another quality I admire in grandma is her sense of humor. I don’t think she realized how entertaining she sometimes was, but she sure did make me laugh. My husband reminded me a few days ago of one of these instances. Grandma would always give me advice on getting married. Her most frequent counsel was that I could marry more in a minute than I could make in a lifetime. She definitely had a point. When she found out that I had chosen nursing as a career, she thought it was the perfect opportunity for me to find myself a rich doctor. When I went to visit her to tell her I was engaged, she immediately perked up and said, “oh so you found your rich doctor?” Her reaction was definitely priceless. I told her no. My fiancé was actually an accounting student, but he went to BYU. This definitely redeemed him in my grandma’s eyes.

The last quality that I would like to mention is my grandma’s love of family ties. She enjoyed doing genealogy and studying the lives of the early LDS church pioneers. She was always proud to be closely related to President Gordon B. Hinckley.

One of my most cherished memories of my grandma was when she was able to be present at the temple with me when I went through for the first time. I had invited her and told her I would love it if she could come. I knew this would be a big sacrifice for her because it required her to get dressed in her Sunday best and would require a lot of time and effort on her part. I had to get to the temple earlier than everyone else. I remember waiting in a room and wondering if my grandma would end up coming. It definitely made my day when I saw her walk in and I hope she knows how much that meant to me to have her there.

My grandma will definitely be missed, but her legacy will be honored as we focus on the example that she set for us all and as we remember the things that we admire about her. Elder Russell M Nelson once said in general conference,

“Life does not begin with birth, nor does it end with death. Prior to our birth, we dwelled as spirit children with our Father in Heaven. There we eagerly anticipated the possibility of coming to earth and obtaining a physical body. Knowingly we wanted the risks of mortality, which would allow the exercise of agency and accountability. “This life [was to become] a probationary state; a time to prepare to meet God.” But we regarded the returning home as the best part of that long-awaited trip, just as we do now. Before embarking on any journey, we like to have some assurance of a round-trip ticket. Returning from earth to life in our heavenly home requires passage through—and not around—the doors of death. We were born to die, and we die to live. As seedlings of God, we barely blossom on earth; we fully flower in heaven.”

I am grateful that my grandma has once again returned home to be surrounded by loved ones. I am forever thankful for my knowledge of the plan of salvation and that I know I will be able to see my grandma again. This knowledge is what gives me hope and comfort with the passing of a love one.”

All of the grandchildren and their spouses. This might be the only picture of all of my cousins together in more than 10 years. Good thing our outfits were coordinated:)

All of the original grandchildren.

Christmas 2011

Dave and I had an excellent Christmas. It was unlike any other. Not in the fact that it was excellent, but in it’s uniqueness. It was much different than either of our families’ traditional Christmas festivities, but was the beginning to of some of our own traditions.

I had to work the couple days prior to Christmas, including Christmas Eve. I was absolutely thrilled because at my previous job I was supposed to work Christmas Eve and Christmas. I was ecstatic when I found out I had Christmas off at my new job- a much better schedule than I had anticipated.  I remember three years ago when I worked my first Christmas. It was sad to miss Christmas with my family, but everything gets put into perspective when I see parents at work watching their baby fight for their life and I realize I don’t have it so bad. I am so blessed and probably see the true meaning of Christmas in a different way than if I were at home with family.  Everything changed though when I got married. I have accepted the fact that I work holidays, and I’m fine with that, but I feel so bad because it now it impacts Dave too. Me missing the holidays with family also means Dave misses the holidays too.

I was so impressed with Dave because he took matters into his own hands. He decided that we should still have a nice Christmas Eve, even though it would just be the two of us.  He made us a delicious turkey dinner complete with strawberry shortcake for dessert- which we both love. It was nothing short of impressive. He even remembered to set the table with our Christmas linens and everything. After dinner, Dave read us the story of Christ’s birth out of the Bible and then I headed to work. Dave and I love cinnamon rolls. Dave decided we should have cinnamon rolls for our Christmas morning breakfast. He not only made sure we had cinnamon rolls, but wanted homemade ones so he whipped out the bread maker and made the dough from scratch and all. They were absolutely delicious! He also made homemade smoothies which are another favorite around here. I’m so thankful that Dave made sure we still had a nice Christmas Eve and Christmas despite me being somewhat MIA.

We then hopped in the car and headed to Oregon to see Dave’s family. We spent a very short 24 hours in Oregon, but I’m so glad we were able to make it. This was my first Christmas with the Morris family as last year we celebrated with my family. It was a wonderful Christmas day. We had fun laughing, exchanging gifts, and celebrating. 

On the 26th, in true Morris fashion there was a tennis match. I still don’t know how to play tennis (one of these days I’ll learn) so I watched and was thoroughly entertained. Nate and Becky dominated! They are pretty good.

Thanks for a Merry Christmas Morris family!

Amy’s Weekend

My little sister Amy is a senior in High School this year. She dances on the school dance team. As a senior, she can choose to be spotlighted at the winter or spring dance show. This means she gets to choreograph a solo and perform it at the show. She chose to do her dance at the winter show. She worked very hard on her dance and I was so excited to see it. She did an amazing job! I was so impressed that she not only choreographed the dance, but that she performed it solo- sounds pretty intimidating to me. She had a smile on her face the entire time. She also danced in probably 10 other dances which made the whole show fun. My nephew Benji sat on my lap during the show and he was hilarious. His commentary had me laughing out loud a couple of times. He is such a little comedian.  My little niece Lauren was absolutely adorable. This was only the third time I’ve seen her and I can’t believe how big she’s gotten. She danced right along the entire show and was completely enamored. I think she might follow in her aunt Ashley and Amy’s  footsteps and be a little ballerina.  Great job Amy!

Amy’s fan club

Amy & Benji

A precious picture of Lauren with her dad and grandpa

Saturday night was the girl’s reverse dance at the high school. I got to help Amy get ready which was really fun. My sister-in-law Elyssa took Amy’s group pictures for the dance. I went so I could see Amy and her group and to help Elyssa position people in the pictures. This was quite an entertaining experience. There were, I think, 8 couples. We would position one couple and by the time we got to the 8th couple, the first couple would usually be unpositioned. You could tell they were all a little uncomfortable or felt awkward being that close or touching their date for too long. Probably a good thing, but it kept making me laugh. Positioning a couple for engagement or wedding pictures would definitely be easier:)  

Amy and her date. She looked so pretty!

On Sunday, I got to have another Thanksgiving/ turkey dinner compliments to my mom. Yum! On Monday, my mom took the day off to spend time with me which was so nice of her. She had a brilliant idea for us to go and get massages. It was so nice and relaxing! Amy met up with us afterwards and we went and had lunch with my dad on a beautiful golf course. It was such a great weekend and I’m glad that I could be there for these fun events in Amy’s life.

Christmas Festivities

Our Christmas season began with Dave & I picking out our Christmas tree from a tree lot. Last year was my first year in probably 20 years to have a real tree. I loved the real tree because it smelt so good, but I was a bit nervous to get one again. Last December, my legs were broken out in hives all month. It was quite obnoxious and uncomfortable. The  only possibility that I thought might be causing the hives was our Christmas tree. It was basically the only new thing I could think of and the hives went away when we got rid of the tree. Quite odd. We decided to get a different variety of tree this year and see if it helped. I’m happy to say that our Christmas tree this year did not give me hives so I think I might be allergic to Douglas fir trees. Good to know.

Dave and I decorated the tree as soon as we brought it home. Dave was a good sport and ran to the store not once, but twice, to get more lights. I must have strung them a lot tighter than last year. I was so excited to decorate our tree so that I could display our new tree skirt. Last year when I was in Hawaii, I saw a tree skirt that I LOVED, but did not get it. My mom has a great memory and when my family was in Hawaii this year she remembered that I wanted it and bought it for me! I have such a thoughtful mom! It looks great under our tree.

Another festive thing we did this year was go to a Christmas Creche exhibit with another couple from our ward. A Creche is another name for the nativity scene which depicts the stable in which Christ was born. A church building in Palo Alto displayed over 500 Creches from 80 countries. It was an incredible display. Each room in the church had a theme. There were so many different types of Creches. They had the traditional wood, glass and ceramic nativities. There was even a life size manger scene and one made out of Legos. In true silicon valley form, they even had one carved in a computer chip. There was one made inside of an egg shell and one made on the tip of a pin that had to be viewed with a magnifying glass. There were so many beautiful ones. This was a great activity to remember the reason for the season. I think Dave and I will make it a Christmas tradition to attend this Creche exhibit. Unfortunately, pictures were not allowed inside the exhibit:(

Dave and I also went to San Francisco to see the city decorations. Union square was so beautiful. There was a giant tree and an ice skating rink. Macy’s department store was also quite impressive. Our friends recommended a couple of hotels to check out. The Westin Hotel had a 12-foot sugar castle on display. The details were quite impressive. We then took a very steep 6-block trek to the Fairmont Hotel to see a giant gingerbread house. It was a two-story house made out of 5,500 pieces of gingerbread, 850 pounds of icing, 425 pounds of candy and 8 gallons of chocolate. Wow. Apparently, the house has to be touched up every night because visitors snack on it throughout the day. My favorite part of visiting the gingerbread house was the “snowflake princess” that walked out of the house. The gingerbread house was built around a doorframe. Some sort of event behind this doorframe was getting out when we were there. All of a sudden this lady walked out and her outfit and headpiece were nothing short of comical! I hope she was dressed that way for a purpose and not because it was a festive outfit. Dave and I’s time together has been quite limited ever since we moved to California. It was nice to spend a night together laughing and enjoying the Christmas season!

Love the lights on the palm trees

The sugar castle

Gingerbread house

Check out the snowflake headpiece