Coast to Coast...Well Almost

We started the summer in Utah, went to California, back to Utah, up to Washington, and then back to Utah. It was time to end this crazy adventure by going across the country to Mississippi. Jed and I both have a car so we decided to haul our stuff using a the ABF pod system. It worked out so well. We packed it up, they picked it up and it was waiting for us in Mississippi. We said goodbye to the Harrison's, Hartman's and Winkle's, which was so hard because it has been so nice to have them only a couple hours away, and then we went to Bountiful to see baby Jack Nelson get blessed. As soon as the blessing was over we said goodbye to the Nelson's, Kidd's and my parents. With wet eyes the three day journey began. Our route was Utah, Wyoming, then Colorado. The first night we stayed with my cousin Sam and Sadie in Colorado Springs. The second day Colorado, Oklahoma, Kansas, and then Arkansas. The second night we stayed with my Grandma and Aunt Marj. It was exciting to see them and I'm so happy we are only five hours away from them now. The final day was only five hours but it felt so long. Our journey was almost over but what lie ahead was so unknown. When we pulled up to our house the first thing we noticed was how terribly hot and humid. I didn't think I would ever get used to it. The second thing I noticed was the amount of very large bugs. Luckily with time I became less paranoid and they hardly bother us now, sometimes. From the beginning the ward has been amazing as they contacted us to help us move in! We had a lot of work to do with out little home on Sarah Ann dr but we were finally home after 12 states, 12 different beds, and 3,838 miles since graduation day. Even though Jed will be going to school in Memphis and I will be working in Memphis, we live in Southaven Mississippi. A lot of LDS students live here and so we decided to give it a try. It is about a twenty minute commute for Jed but the neighborhood, ward, and shopping conveniences make it worth it. We are beginning to make Southaven our new home. Our adventure was just beginning!

Bear Lake/Caleb and Natalie's Wedding

With most of my family in town for Caleb's upcoming wedding we felt that a trip to Bear Lake was in order. In a last minute decision Caleb, Natalie, Andrea and I went up early to go to Bloomington Lake the day before. It gave us a chance to get to know Natalie better and spend time with them both before we took off to Memphis. After dropping off some furniture at their new apartment in Logan we drove up up past Bear Lake and made the long drive on the dirt road up to Bloomington. (Andrea and I made the trip up in the jump seats of Natalie's truck which made for a unique ride :)) We dropped a few things off at a roadside campsite to claim our spots then made it up to the lake around 6 PM.

Bloomington Lake is a glacier lake that my family has a tradition of going to whenever we visited Bear Lake. Any other day a 6 PM swim in that lake would be freezing cold but it had been a 100 degree day and the water was surprisingly warm. We took a few jumps off of the huge rope swing and then fought off the blood-sucking horseflies by paddling out to the middle of the lake in some inner tubes. After a few jumps off of the cliffs the setting sun told us it was time to go. Upon returning to camp we found that in our rush to leave we had forgotten both matches for our fire and batteries for our flashlight. With things getting dark fast Caleb and Natalie drove to the nearest store (about 40 minutes away) to buy some matches. Unfortunately they drove a bit too quickly and were pulled over by probably one of the only cops for miles around. We soon got our 100 dollar fire going and chatted until late at night. We enjoyed getting to Natalie better and were grateful for the time we were able to spend with both of them before moving east.

The next morning we went early to the North Beach and set up a spot for the family to come later. It was a hot day but with the help of several layers of sunscreen and lots of time in the water it was perfect! It being Andrea's first time to Bear Lake she commented on how it was her new favorite body of water because it was "fun like the beach but without the sharks". We built sandcastles, pushed kids in inflatable boats, played paddle ball, and a fun made up game we called beach ball (like ultimate frisbee, basketball and water polo all in one). After everyone got sufficiently sun burned we packed up and grabbed the traditional raspberry shakes on our way out. It was one of the best trips to Bear Lake I can remember and we made some great memories as a family.

Caleb's Wedding

California

For most of our marriage, we had been saving little by little for a fun trip to go on after graduation. We had considered many different options but we decided we would like to spend some time in Southern California for a week. With school over and our move fast approaching we had one week at the beginning of May that we had set aside for our trip. We took advantage of the cheap travel prices just after Christmas and bought two plane tickets through Allegiant Air out of Provo (super cheap by the way!) and two tickets for three days at Disneyland! We planned our trip so that the first four days we would see the sights (particularly the beaches) then the last three days at Disneyland. After arriving in L.A. we drove to Rancho Santa Margarita where we stayed with the Smith family. Makenna Smith was a teammate of Andrea's who had extended the offer for us to stay at their place. They were extremely kind and I don't think we can say that we would have had the same experience without them. Not only did they house us but they insisted on feeding us and helping us experience California.

The first day we drove to San Clemente and used the Smith's boogie boards at the beach. It was perfect weather for us our entire stay and although the water was cold we really enjoyed riding around in the waves, walking the pier and watching the surfers. Andrea should be given recognition for her profound bravery in overcoming her fear of sharks and going out pretty far into the water.

Day two was one of our favorite days there. We had originally planned on going to one of the popular huge LA beaches like Newport or Huntington (which are great, don't get me wrong) but when Jessie (Makenna's sister) offered to take us surfing we couldn't resist. They provided the suits and boards and we followed Jessie to Doheny State Beach. Apparently since it has smaller waves it is a popular place to teach little kids how to surf... and a few untalented adults like us. We learned quickly what kind of waves to look for and after a few tries we were able to get up on the board and ride in the wave. It was absolutely exhausting and I wish I had the energy and arm strength to stay out much longer but we figured 2 hours was a good start to our professional surfing careers. We also learned the value of wet suits in cold water. While we didn't last much more than an hour in the water the previous day, we could have stayed out in the water for quite some time without feeling the least bit cold.

After a successful surfing session we went to the Dana Point tidepools. We got there just as the tide was beginning to go out and we had some fun finds including a huge sea hare (a crazy huge slug-looking thing). When the tides began to cover up the fun we hopped back in the car and drove north along Highway 1 to Laguna Beach. We grabbed dinner and a pizookie at BJ's (one of our favorites) with a view of the Pacific out the front window. We then went out and played on the beach until the sun set. It was perfect weather and a beautiful evening to finish off the day.

For the third day we decided on a whim to visit our friends Brock and Siera Butler in Carlsbad, about an hour south of where we were staying. After visiting with them for a few minutes (and eating some delicious home-grown loquats) we took a drive with them to San Diego where they showed us around. It turned out to be bad luck because there happened to be Cinco de Mayo celebrations going on everywhere which made it hard to see everything we wanted to. We did get a chance to walk around the San Diego temple grounds which is beautifully built. We also grabbed some lunch at a small taco shop in La Jolla and then stopped by Seal Beach. It was way more exciting watching seals than any of us originally expected and we ended up staying for a few hours watching the seals sunbathe, play in the water, and attempt to bite people's hands off when they tried to pet them. I guess it's not common knowledge that seals actually have teeth...

On day four we said goodbye to the Smith's and after catching church in a nearby building we drove north to the Disney half of our vacation. On the way we stopped by the beautiful Newport Beach Temple and enjoyed the beautiful weather.

Our extended visit to Washington

After Jed and I spent time in Moab and California, we packed up our belongings and said goodbye to Provo. This was actually hard for us. Provo had been our home for five years and we had so many wonderful memories and friends there. It was also hard to leave our apartment as it had become our home. Our next stop was Spokane Washington. Because of how our summer was set up, we weren't sure how employment would work out. Jed and I both knew we needed jobs, but nobody wanted to hire someone for a month or two. Luckily for us there was work in Spokane. Though I never thought I would go back to Subway again, I found myself working there once again. Jed on the other was hired by my parents to paint there house. What was meant to be a one house job turned into a two house job as my parents neighbors hired him to paint their house as well. The list of clients rapidly grew but luckily for Jed's sake we weren't going to be there long enough. We were truly blessed though. Between Subway, painting and being with my parents our six weeks in Spokane went quickly. We were able to squeeze in some fun along the way though.

One of Jed's friends from High School, Shawn McRory, moved to Spokane and we were able to spend some time with him and his wife Morgan and their two boys. We went to Manito Park with them and they came with my parents and us to Bowl and Pitcher for cheap chicken in the park. It was really good to connect with Jed's great friend.

We spent some quality time with my parents playing games, going to the temple, and of course going to Fiesta Granda. It was good to see them so much before we moved so far away. It was also during the time when my dad was retiring so we were able to support him in the many parties and celebrations he had in his honor. It was really neat to see how adored my dad was as a teacher. We also went to a Indian's baseball game which was a blast. It was family dollar night so tickets, hot dogs, drinks, and ice cream were all a dollar! Jed had the idea to honor my dad over the loud speaker on his retirement. It was so fun to see how surprised he got!

 Retirement Party

I was really excited to have time to show Jed some of the best Spokane experiences. We enjoyed Carousel rides downtown, the two of us took the blue and white kayaks down the little Spokane, and we went mountain biking/riding on the centennial trail and seven mile. I actually had never biked the Seven Mile trails and both Jed and I feel in love. Jed and I also got to go to Coeur D'Alene Idaho and celebrate our  3rd anniversary where we had our honeymoon! We walked the boardwalk and went to the French Restaurant Fleur De Sel from our honeymoon. It was just as amazing as we remembered. 

Because David and Bridget Harrison, Jed's brother and sister-in-law, were so close, we took a weekend to visit them in Poulsbo Washington. It was a wonderful little trip. We had already gone to Seattle a couple years previous so we spent all of our time in Poulsbo. We walked the viking inspired downtown. We of course flipped over rocks on the low tide to watch the sea life. We found this really cool pocket in the sand that sucked the water down including a crab. We still don't know what happened to the crab. David and Bridget took us to Point No Point shore were we enjoyed the beautiful, very cold, ocean, and throwing rocks. It was so much fun to spend some time with the Harrison's. 

When our time was up in Spokane we were really sad to leave bu we were excited that we were that much closer to moving to Memphis. It was still sad to say goodbye to my parents and childhood home. I'm afraid we won't be back for a very long time!