A few snippets from the weekend

We went to the Phoenix Temple open house on Saturday. All these temples popping up in Arizona makes me so happy!

This one is pretty small, especially compared to the Gilbert Temple, and absolutely beautiful.

Eli sat on Dallin's shoulders during the tour. I know he won't remember it, but I loved watching him look all around and take everything in.

And even though it doesn't look like it in this picture, I think he had a pretty good time. :)

We also stopped by to see grandma Carmen, who is always so happy to see us, especially Eli.

I finally used this certificate I got for my birthday about... three, maybe four years ago. About time, right? I'm pretty sure butterscotch squares are what we will eat in heaven. SO GOOD. 

Eli met his doppelgänger at IKEA. He had some pretty mixed feelings about the experience.  

First, interest and curiosity. 

Then exuberant displays of affection. 

Things quickly turned south as deep feelings of jealousy began to develop, and the offending lookalike got a smack in the face...

...and an attempted arm amputation.

But then Eli realized this supposed "lookalike" was lacking his shiny bald head...

...so the jealousy dissolved, all was forgiven, and they parted as friends. 

We finished off the day at Chick-fil-a where the cousins were finally able to hit each other in the face without doing harm. Possibly the best day of their short lives. 

Becca and I pretty much finished up painted the bathroom we started a couple weeks ago, when this picture was taken. We are awful at taking duck-faced mirror pictures (that's probably good thing). Next step: staining the cabinets! Wish us luck! Man, it feels so good to see real progress being made on our house. 

Two

Two years ago today this handsome man and I got hitched. 

Cliché as it sounds, I don't know how I got so lucky. He makes me happier every day. 

When I was engaged, and for a little while after we got married, so many people gave me marriage tips or advice. I remember hearing lots of them say that things get really hard after a few months or a year, once the "honeymoon is over," but man... it just keeps getting better. I don't know if it's something we're doing right, or if we just happen to get along remarkably well. Most likely it's a little bit of both. All I know is that just when I think I couldn't possibly be any happier, somehow every day I am... and it's all his fault. ;) 

Happy anniversary, my dulcet darling! I'm so glad you are mine.

Fairy tale castle, creepy basilica, and temple (Spain part 3)

(Click here for part one, part two)

I have been some really beautiful places in my life. I've done a bit of travelling in my life and spend a lot of my time outside exploring and hiking. This means that it's a big deal when I say that Segovia (our next stop after Merida) is in the top 3 most beautiful places I've been. I felt like I was walking around inside a painting of a fairy tale. It was magic, I tell you... magic!

My favorite picture of us!

Looking up at the castle from the river.

First order of business was to check out the inside of the castle.

Tiny suit of armor!

There were some amazing views from the castle tower of the town (with the cathedral in the center) and some snow-capped mountains in the distance.

Working off all the delicious food on the stairs to the tower! 

Here is a closer view of the cathedral we could see from the tower.

Inside was beautiful, and very different from the cathedrals I saw in Russia.

Next stop: the incredible, huge Roman aqueduct! It's almost in perfect condition, even after all these years, and it is truly a sight to see.

See little Dallin way down at the base?

We couldn't stay long because we had one more place to stop before headed back to Madrid, so off we hurried to our car by way of the beautiful path/stairs. These were much more fun going down than coming up.

A couple more pictures of the grandeur, because it was irresistable...

...and then we were off to our next stop, Valle de los Caidos, or Valley of the Fallen. Now, this is kind of a controversial place. It was built by Franco, who was kind of a bad dude. And when I say he built it I mean he forced his enslaved opposing political leaders to build it. I don't know the whole story thanks to my limited knowledge of Spanish history, but all I know is that this place gave me the willies. Although majestic and amazing, is was very creepy.

There is a huge basilica carved inside, but no pictures were allowed. Look it up if you'd like!

I wish you could tell just how massive that cross is. 

We tried to walk up to the cross, but the trail was closed, so we got as close as we could and then walked around the big monastery a bit before heading out.

We drove through El Escorial where there is a huge, beautiful monastery. I didn't get a picture of it, and we didn't have time to find parking and see it, but it was beautiful! 

After El Escorial, we managed to successfully make our way back to the airport to return the car, which was both stressful and miraculous. The next morning we woke up bright and early to attend the beautiful Madrid temple.

We were able to do both sealings and initiatory, and it was wonderful! Oh, it is beautiful in there. The Celestial Room is so bright and gorgeous, and I just loved being there. Maybe one day we can go on a mission here!

P.S. I got to wear the Shabby Apple dress I got with the gift card I won from the lovely Katie (from Katilda, which is one of my very favorite blogs to read) to the temple! The bright red felt very fitting for Spain. :)

Lunch of a Spanish tortilla, bread, and European orange Fanta. Also known as what I wish I could eat all day errrday. If you haven't had real Fanta (not the crap from the US) or a Spanish tortilla, then you are missing out, folks. Good stuff right there. And of course it tastes even better when enjoyed at a cute cafe with outdoor seating.

We spent the evening exploring Retiro Park.

The Crystal Palace

Pretty leaves in the park. Aren't these cool?

A view of Puerta de Alcala on the walk home.

The next and final edition of our last few days, which included a crazy bullfight, museums, my birthday, and a really beautiful, unique cathedral, will be coming soon! :) Thanks for reading! 

Warm weather, good books, and daffodils

I've been having some serious beach withdrawal lately. 

I used to go camp on the coast near San Diego every year (at least) with my family and I haven't been back for a few years. I miss it. It also doesn't help that it seems like everyone I know and their dog is at the beach right now for Spring Break and they like to rub it in with pictures of golden sunsets, foamy waves, and sandy toes. Ya'll are killing me.

Thankfully, the weather here has pretty much been perfection all week and that helps a lot. It actually feels like Spring! When we got 6 inches of snow last weekend I seriously wondered if it would ever get warm again, and the very next day it was 25 degrees warmer, the sun was shining, and my warmth-loving heart was happy. Very happy indeed.

Besides thoroughly enjoying the fact that I get to sleep in and will only be wearing Sunday clothes on Sundays  for the next couple weeks (seminary teacher problems...), here's what I've been doing to celebrate Spring Break:

1. Reading, particularly outside in this glorious weather. I even found some green grass! 

2. Tree gazing (also known as embracing my inner hippie). You can't see them in this picture, but this tree is sprinkled with new little green leaves. Makes me happy. :)

3. Bike riding on the cute beach cruiser Dallin gave me for my birthday last year. I would prefer to be riding in on the boardwalk, but you know... a quick trip to pick up some "essentials" is a close second. :)

Nothing says Spring quite like some cheery daffodils. Don't you agree? :) Spring flowers are my favorite. 

4. Playing with my new camera and trying out different ways to edit my pictures

This doesn't exactly show off my mad camera skillz (that was sarcasm) but we're cute and I had to include it. ;)

5. Gettin' my crafty on (or at least attempting to do so)

Making an insert for my purse so I can use it as a camera bag... so far so good! I've also been experimenting with different ways to make bows/headbands but I don't have a picture of that. 

I have a secret dream of becoming a graphic designer... I need lots of practice. ;) Oh, and some rather expensive software that I will probably never have... :P I'm not a huge fan of how these two turned out, but it is still fun to play around and I did print off the first one to frame.

6. A whole lot of wearing sweats and doing nothing. 

And boy, does it feel good.