The Honeymoon

So I didn't find out where we were going on our honeymoon until we pulled up to the airport the day after we got married.  My plane ticket's destination was PUERTO VALLARA!  I was so excited!  But I have to admit that I didn't know exactly where in Mexico Puerto Vallarta was until after we got home from the honeymoon.  It didn't matter because I was with Brad and I was happy!

Our honeymoon was heaven on earth :)  I loved every minute of it!  There was constant sunshine and instant access to the beach.  We stayed in a huge resort that was all inclusive, so it was a little like being on a cruise just  without the sailing part.  It was a four diamond resort, and we highly recommend it!  Every meal was a buffet, and every single time we left our room that felt like a suite, I swear someone came and tidied it.  There were seven pools, a swim up bar, and free kayaks for use in the bay the hotel was in.  Brad ordered a virgin something or other at every opportunity.  Also, we now love Mexican cheese.

Besides pool lounging and eating, we went out on several adventures: a jungle zip-line tour, a whale watching tour, a trek through the downtown area, and our own kayaking expedition.  Also each taxi ride to and from our hotel was a death defying experience.  Traffic laws there are nothing like they are here...

Anyway, our stay in Puerto Vallarta has now become my happy place that I go to when Provo is bleak because of snow and lack of daylight.  I loved it so much!  But enough of me saying that over and over, and on to the pictures.

There were flower petals on the bed when we arrived, along with a basket of fruit and wine, just because they knew it was our honeymoon!

This is the view from our room's balcony.  The picture doesn't show the ocean very well, but it was right there!

We had this ocean view pretty much every meal.

We took a kayak out into the bay and paddled around for a little bit of exploring.

This is the start of our zip-line tour.  We look like bugs with our huge glasses.

He told me to lean back and then he grabbed my feet and this is the result!   It was funny and very surprising.

Brad started out going backwards, but then started spinning :)

Yes I look like a very pale monkey.

We loved our tour guides!  They cracked jokes about us being on our honeymoon the whole time and let us go backwards and upside down (as seen in the pictures above).

This one took a glamor shot of himself when we handed him our camera.  Ha ha!

Next we visited the petting zoo.  We didn't pet this one though.  Just looked.

We then went for a very cold swim in a river.   You have to do things like that when you are young ya know?

The best part is that we were the only ones swimming and it was right next to a restaurant full of people listening to me squeal to Brad about how I'm scared and then once I hit the water, how cold it is.  Sometimes it is unfortunate being such a loud person. haha

During our whale watching tour, we probably saw 7 or 8 humpbacks including a mother and her baby.  The mom was pushing her baby to the surface for air to teach it how to breathe.  The marine biologist on the boat told us the baby was only like a day old.  

This picture doesn't do justice to how big the whales were.

How many pictures do I now have of Brad and I on a boat?  I think this is number 10 billion.  But I love it!  Being on water is the best.

We saw a bunch of other sea creatures on our excursion, including this turtle who didn't notice us until we were right on top of him because his head was stuck in the water.  This is him swimming away.

Wedding Day

In my last post, I didn't mention anything about the actual events of getting married but such amazing events cannot go without mention.

December 18, 2010
The day we got married started out in a rush of course.  I got my hair done at a salon, and it took longer than I planned.  I also didn't plan on Brad coming over beforehand, but of course I sat and cuddled with him instead of getting ready, so by the time my hair appointment had ended, I had little time to do anything else but change and finish my make-up in the car on the way.  I also forgot like a bajillion things that I would need that day.  My mind was not focusing very well on mundane things like face powder and deodorant.  Yes, you read that correctly.  I will admit to whoever reads this that I forgot it until after the temple!  So embarrassing.

But the temple ceremony was amazing anyway!  I am so glad that it all went smoothly and that I said "Yes" at the right time!  It was a close one, I was so overwhelmed, I could barely make myself hear what the dear sealer was saying, I was very busy looking into Brad's eyes and feeling in awe of the fact that I was, at that moment getting married for time and all eternity.  But I did fine, and it was beautiful.  I cried with happiness after.

Seeing everyone outside of the temple was such a happy moment!  My family and friends were troopers in the sprinkling/misting rain that was coming down.  We took group photos only, except for two of just Brad and I (thank goodness we did a huge photo session a month before when the weather was better).  We forgot to have someone pick up everyone's bouquet, but on your wedding day things like that just don't even matter.  Everything was still lovely.

The luncheon was so so yummy, and my Dad cried a lot at the slide show of pictures of Brad and myself growing up and dating, and our bridal photos...  And then I cried, and then there were toasts, and I cried more, and then,

The reception.  Brad and I were both pretty tired from all of our emotions and the events of the day before the party even started.  It went by in a blur.  We didn't have a line, and it worked out great.  We still talked to pretty much everyone there.  After the cake cutting our families pretty much turned it into a dance party, which was pretty much my dream come true!

We left in a shower of sparklers, which we ran through four times for the camera. :) Our car was very well decorated (thank you to whoever did that), surprisingly it was at the moment that we were driving away and everyone was shouting and waving goodbyes and we love you's that I recognized how very wonderful it is to have so many people supporting you in your decision to marry.

Thank you to everyone who came and to everyone who helped.  Brad and I love you all.  It was the best day of our lives!

*I will add pictures as soon as they are done getting edited!

Married Life

I am so excited to be posting as a married woman!  I am currently sitting next to my husband at our new kitchen table, in our apartment, as he continues to eat the fabulous dinner that we made with all of our fabulous new kitchen equipment.  Life is so great!

I love that I have been married for three and a half weeks and I am already writing a post titled "Married Life" as if I know everything there is to know about it :)

I will just tell you what I know so far.  Last night we went to bed at 11:00 p.m. and I woke up at 6:00 a.m. to exercise.  Brad was on time to school, and I was only a little bit late to work (we share a car).  These events might not sound like anything extraordinary, but according to my previous life habits, they are.  I haven't been able to get my self in bed before 12:30 or 1:00 a.m. for many years.  I haven't woken up early to exercise since my freshman year of college.  And I am usually half an hour late to work since my boss doesn't really care. 

So what I know about being married so far is that it is totally improving my life!  Also, I am realizing that when two people are working on the same task, that task is done a lot more quickly.  Unloading groceries from the car, organizing a room, and cooking dinner all seem easier now.

Being newly married is just bliss.