San Francisco Vacation, Day 1

Okay, I know you're all going to hate me for doing this day by day, but I have so many pictures that it will just be easier.

Let me back up and tell the back story on this vacation. I knew for a while that Devin was taking me somewhere after my graduation, but I didn't know when and I didn't know where. All he told me was that we were going somewhere. I finally got out of him that my sister was going to watch the kids and that we were going to be gone for four days. That's all I knew for a long time. Then, I mentioned something to my mom one day and she said something about her having the kids for part of the time, so then I knew that my mom was involved too. Finally, on our anniversary (April 26), I begged and pleaded and whined enough to Devin to get out of him that we were going to California and that we were flying out of Provo. He also told me we were leaving May 12.

From there, I looked at where you can fly from Provo and the only options were LA and Oakland. I finally got him to admit that we were going to Oakland, but he wouldn't tell me what we were doing. He said he had some things planned and that there was a package on its way to the house that I was not to open. I thought the package had to either be a swimsuit or something (but that would be risky for him to buy, yes?) or tickets to some sort of event. Well, once I knew we were going to Oakland, I got really excited and told Devin that we should go to see an A's game while there, since I love baseball. I started to look up the schedule and saw that they were playing the White Sox. I was really excited and told him that we should get tickets. He was really enthusiastic about this idea, now looking back on it- overly so. And then it hit me-- the San Francisco Giants play right across the bay and they are a national league team. That means that they play the Atlanta Braves. I have been a fan of the Braves for a long, long time. In fact, I think my first few posts on this little old blog when I was a wee baby in college were about the Braves. Anyway, I decided to look up the Giants schedule and Devin was much less enthusiastic about this idea and tried to deter me, but I was persistent and looked it up. I saw that they were playing the Braves the week we were going and started freaking out, hitting Devin, and telling him that the Braves were going to be there and that we needed to go! He finally said, "I know honey." HAHA. I totally ruined his surprise. He had planned for us to go to two games and bought shirts and hats for us both (that was the package coming). YAY!!! What a good husband/vacation planner. Seriously, nothing could have been more exciting for me. A bonus for going to SF/Oakland is that his parents are on their mission there, so we were able to see them and stay with them while there. Perfect trip.

I was nervous about leaving the kids, but honestly, they had such a good time with my mom for the first two days, my sister for the second two days, and my neighbor Megan for the last. We got home and picked them up at Megan's house and Hallie and Jace were outside playing. We got out really excited to see them and ran over, but Jace told me "Mom we are playing a game!" Neither he nor Hallie came over to see us and didn't act at all excited to see us. Gotta love it. Flor cried when she saw us. HA! We are that awesome. They had the time of their lives and it was so great to just spend time with Devin without kids. That hasn't happened in forever.

Okay, my long-winded self will calm down now and show you a few pictures. The first day, Monday, we flew in in the morning and Devin's parents picked us up at the airport and then let us borrow their car to go sight seeing. They went back to the mission office while we drove to see Muir Woods. Muir Woods was beautiful and really fun to see. I recommend it. We ended up hiking a 4 mile-ish trail because we had no idea where we were going or what we were doing. It was a loop and a bit intense, but it culminated in a really good view of the valley, so it was worth it. I did not have the right shoes for hiking though and paid for it with blisters the rest of the trip. Oh, well. You live and learn.  That night, we picked Devin's parents up at the office, had dinner, and then took the BART into San Fran for the first baseball game. It was amazing.

Picture time:

At the top of the hike that we didn't know was a hike....

Check it out. We actually bought a camera for this trip (I have only used my phone for years) and it had a panoramic feature- had to use it. This is the view from the top-- the bay is in the back and you could see right into it. It was quite pretty.

At the Braves game! Okay, Giants game. I've got to admit that their stadium has a spectacular view! Sooo pretty.

So beautiful when the sun was setting. I was seriously in heaven here. The last time I went to a Braves game was right about when this blog started and I was talking about it...so about 2005? 

 It is a necessity to have a hot dog at a baseball game. At least for Devin. :) Not me, since I don't like them. We did have the famous garlic fries at the next game and they were delicious. 

More to come! I know you just can't wait!

MSW Graduation

I finally made it to graduation day. In some ways, the year flew by, and in other ways, it seems like forever ago that I started the program. It was three semesters of schooling, two of which also included my internship. The first semester was probably my favorite- it was the bridge courses for just the advanced standing students, so I got to know a lot of people well because we were all in the same classes, and I had some phenomenal professors. My second semester was okay and my last was okay as well- I chose to have two online classes the last semester so that I only had to go to Salt Lake once a week. There were pros and cons to that decision, but it turned out okay.

To be honest, the program was easier than I expected it to be. I had a lot of homework and papers, but very few quizzes/tests, which I think is normal for an MSW program. I would much rather write a paper than take a test anyway. Don't get me wrong, I definitely put in effort, but I also was able to maintain my life, spend time with my kids & husband, and work. I ended up with a 3.98 GPA. Darn that one A-. :) So that tells you how not-hard it was. I feel like I put much more effort into my Bachelor's program and I only had a 3.5 GPA when I got my Bachelors. Anyway, I am super glad it was only one year because I was totally maxed out after the one year. Ha. Poor people that had to do it in two.

My cousin Carlie also graduated the same day I did and her graduation was right before mine in the same building, so our family all trekked down to support us. My dad and Sharon also came down, which was nice. We went to dinner Thursday night at Tucanos with them (super yummy) and then did the whole graduation shenanigans Friday morning before having a big lunch at Chili's with my mom's side of the family. Carlie works there so she was able to reserve us a back room, so we took our time and were as loud as we wanted. My Uncle Judd was kind enough to buy everyone's lunch too, which was so generous of him. The family all chipped in and got Carlie and I each a new wallet filled with all kinds of gift cards. The best gift ever! I also made out with a bunch of cash. Super awesome family I have. That cash came in handy when we went to San Francisco the next week! More on that later. I sure do love my family.

And now, you know I'm about to post a billion pictures. Here they are:

My whole class. Can you spot me? I was actually quite shocked at how many of them I had never seen before the graduation. Mostly the 2 year students, I think. We just never had any classes together apparently.

This picture cracks me up. Everyone looking bored stiff, as they should be having to sit through two back to back graduations.

Oh, look, there I am walking. Thanks to my sister Jen for most of these pictures. Can you believe I wore shoes that tall? Me neither.

Some of my friends from the program:

Faeiza 

Amber- totally would not have survived the program without this girl. Love her. 

Laura

Chelsey, Wendy, me, Amber, and Krista

Right after we walked. Forgive the blurry, but we were excited!

This was on the SW Facebook page. Just the people that have last names near mine alphabetically. I know Kael on the left, but not the other two and the kid on my right was one of those I had never seen before. Hahahah

Michelle and Brett

 And, the people who earned this degree with me. Thanks for all the support everyone. I wish I had pictures of my aunts Sue and Mari Ann, too. They were there and they are equally as important to me, but I for some reason got no pictures with them. I also want Dev's family to know how much their support has meant. His parents and sisters helped with our kids throughout the year on multiple occasions when my life was crazy. They are keepers.

Carlie and me. Such a GREAT DAY!!

Check out those freaky sleeves...whoever invented those, I have no idea. I did keep my phone hidden down one of them during the whole ceremony, so at least it was handy.

Grandma Sharon with some of the girls.

My dad and Sharon

I love my little family! I think Devin really was happy for me, despite what his face might show??

Che' and I. She watched my kids every Thursday for the last month and a half or so of school, all while going to school and working herself. Love her.

My mom and Dave

My awesome sister

Grandma and some of her grandgirls

My Grandma. Both of my Grandmas are incredible examples of me of getting an education all while having and raising kids. This one was a school teacher (kindergarten) for years. I imagine she was probably the best kindergarten teacher ever. My Grandma Shawna taught too, on the college level though. She taught interior design at Ricks (now BYU-Idaho) for a long time and I remember going to her office when I was young and just being in awe of all the material and things she had in there. I'm lucky to have such amazing women for grandmothers.

That's better honey!! He looks kind of excited here...

Cort and me at lunch at Chili's

Landon, Che', Cort and I also at lunch. 

Thanks everyone for your support. I truly have the best family ever. It still feels weird to say that I have a Master's Degree!! But, it feels great because this has been a long time goal of mine. Onward and upward now...

Easter 2014

This year we kept up tradition as much as possible, but it was different from previous years. Because we thought we were moving, we opted to have our egg hunt at Che's neighborhood park. We invited all the Idaho peeps too, but they all decided to have their own hunt at Jennifer's house instead of coming down since they'd all be coming a few weeks later for mine and Carlie's graduation. So, we had a small little party with Che', Landon, & kids and Carlie. Still a great time and the eggs flowed aplenty with money and candy. 

April Randoms

And these really are random...

Park Trips: 

And sometimes even with friends! The kids are sure going to miss their neighborhood friends...

These fit into the very random category:

Just love these kids

Hallie and her friend Carly (my friend Lauren's daughter). They made fast friends when we went to Lauren's for dinner on a whim one night.

I got to watch the Moroni statue being placed on the Provo City Center Temple. It was right outside the window of my internship, so I had a fantastic view. The temple is coming right along!

We went to dinner one night with Grandma and Doyle as they passed through town on their way home from Arizona. Just love this woman.

Our awesome neighbors own a cute soda shop here in Provo and I was lucky enuogh to serve in the primary presidency with her...so one Sunday for our meeting, she brought us all dirty diet cokes. Don't worry, I left mine at home for church, but Jane brought hers with her. :) Love those ladies. I was released two weeks ago and it was a sad day.

Sisters with twinner hair

One day I asked Flor to go get some pants, and she came back up with four pairs of underwear. She then proceeded to try to get them all on while I sat and laughed. Funny girl.

Proof that I actually passed that thing. Never again, never again.

And I deserved these from my sweet husband after all that. :)

Flowers started to bloom and were so pretty until the roofers killed them all by dropping shingles on to them. We weren't too happy about that.

He's just funny

Sibling love

The kids decided that they wanted to clean the kitchen without my even asking them! Jace did the dishes (and did a pretty good job!) while Hallie mopped the floor. I didn't have the heart to tell her that she should have swept first. :)

General Conference!

And it was our 7th Anniversary! Yeah, I know I used to do a whole lovey dovey post about our anniversaries, but well, I just don't have it in me this year. So just know that it has been a great 7 years and I look forward to a lot more together!