Sunday, March 16, 2014

2013 Adventures and Highlights

In March Todd surprised me with a snowboarding date with my friend Jess.  We always have so much fun together!

During the cold winter months in Utah we have to keep ourselves entertained.  So, we had our friends Megan and Andy over and made a baller fort in our living room and watched a movie in it.  


In May Todd graduated with his Bachelor's in Graphic Design.  After 2 schools and 7(ish) years, we were both ready to move on to the next phase of life.  Hooray!
Austin, Todd, and Fred

Right after graduation we left for Vegas Todd's cousin's reception.  Confession:  we did do a little bit of gambling while we were there.  Just slots- and we even won a little money!  Don't worry- it won't become a habit.  :) 
Our huge winnings!

The Anderson Clan at the reception

In May Todd found a job in Salt Lake City and I was able to (finally) put my two weeks notice in with the company I had been with for over six years.  It was a great day!
The look of pure joy and excitement!

It's not legit until there's a name tag.

In June I was able to fly to England to visit my parents.  They were serving a mission there where they worked with the young single adults (YSA).  I met up in Chicago with Jen (my sister) and made the rest of the journey with her.  It was so much fun!  Following are a few pictures of MANY.  It's so hard to choose which ones to share.  Just ask and I will show you all of the 1300ish pictures!

Windsor Castle
Jen and I in front of Windsor Castle

Such beautiful gardens!  I was shocked to see palm trees there.  Who knew?!

I forgot he was real.  I'm invading his bubble big time! 


We spent two days in London exploring, riding bikes, seeing Wicked!, shopping at markets, and eating lots of yummy food.
 1-Riding bikes in Hyde Park  2- Piccadilly square  3-The longest escalator in the world.. or at least the longest one I've ever seen. 4- Hyde Park chapel 

 The cutest phone booths!  We need these here. 

The London Temple.  We even saw some people we knew there.  Small world!


 Posing in front of the hotel we stayed in.  It was so cute and charming.  

 Dad let us loose on the little town of Windsor.  I think he was sick of us getting distracted by
all of the cute shops. 

1 and 5- We were able to meet the Baral family- my parents helped them in their conversion to the church. 
2- The town of Croydon 3-Getting some much needed snuggles from my mom 4- My parents posing in front of their photo wall the YSA group made for them

In July we took our nephew C to a Bee's baseball game in Salt Lake City.  It was so much fun and they even had fireworks for the 4th of July!



 In July we went to the 20th anniversary for the filming of the Sandlot, so we were able to go to THE Sandlot and meet some of the crew.  It was so hot, and a super long line- but it was so much fun to meet them.


In August we went with Keith and Rachelle to Cecret Lake.  It was a really fun mini-adventure and gave us a good idea of fun things to do in the area.

August was a big month for us, because we decided to go ahead and start the adoption process!  It is an exciting decision and we can't wait for this adventure!

In September my parents got home from their mission and we had a mini-family reunion in Idaho.  It was so good to see everyone that came and we missed those that couldn't make it!  I only took a couple of pictures (I'll do better next time!), so here they are!
 Grandpa and Gala with their cute little puppy.

Idaho sunsets are so beautiful!  We had a wonderful view on the Twin Falls bridge. 

In September we decided to drive out to the Salt Lake one beautiful Saturday afternoon.  It's really pretty, but very stinky!  I wasn't expecting that.  So we walked around for a little bit, looked around the visitors center, and then made our way back home.  It was fun, but we will do our research next time so we know what there is to do out there!

For Halloween we dressed as Wayne and Garth from Wayne's World.  It was so much fun and everyone got a kick out of our costumes.  Party time!

November was a busy month!  I started a new job in September so I felt like I couldn't ask for time off for Thanksgiving, so we went down to Todd's parents house earlier in the month.  While we were there we were able to go to The Wave in Arizona.  It's a beautiful rock formation that you have to draw a ticket to be able to get in.  
 Todd surfing at The Wave

Me taking in the beauty

Todd went Camping with Keith in November also.  I thought they were crazy for braving the cold temperatures, but they had a lot of fun!  

Lots happened in December.  It's always such a busy month!  
We went to Temple Square a few times to see the lights- it's something you HAVE to do if you live in the area, and it never disappoints!
 We even saw Buddy the Elf and Santa!!

The pretty lights at Temple Square.

Earlier in the year we started getting together once a month with all the cousins in the area to play games and hang out.  December was our turn, so we made another trip to Temple square and then came back to our apartment for hot chocolate, treats, and some Guitar Hero!  It's so nice to live so close to family!

Christmas this year was with my parents.  They just bought a house about 45 minutes south of us, so it is nice to have them fairly close.  
 Christmas morning!  We were waiting for Corey and Erin and the boys so we could finish opening presents.

Beautiful Todd. Beautiful Utah Lake.

Venturing out on the frozen Utah Lake.  It was pretty fun until we heard a popping noise, and then we booked it for the shoreline!

Well 2013, you treated us well!  We both found new jobs, moved to a new city, had a lot of adventures, spent time with family and friends and were blessed with health all year long.  I can't wait to see what adventures 2014 holds for us!