Fourth of July!!

The Fourth of July here in California was one of the best I have ever had! 

We started our day out on Lido Island (near Balboa Island it is the cutest place I have ever been). Here, we were lucky enough to tag along with Reese's uncle (Kyle Moody) to a beautiful breakfast hosted by a neighbor. I finally met the beatiful Eliza Moody, the last of Reese's family I had to meet! YAY! After that we walked in the Lido Island parade! Cousin, Jack Moody was so excited to ride his scooter in the parade, and he went really fast! It was so much fun!

 We decided to go to Balboa Island afterwards, since we were so close. If you have never been to Balboa you HAVE to go. It is so cute! In the summer they are so patriotic and there are flags everywhere! I loved just walking around looking at all the beautiful homes on the water and their fabulous Fourth of July decor. Seriously it was my favorite thing. I think Reese was over it after about 40 minutes though, hahah!

p.s. Worst feeling ever is when you realize you forgot to put sunscreen in your part, like the part in your hair. And you feel it burning?! Girls... am I right?!

 While on Balboa, you have to stop and get the famous "frozen banana", and there are two shops right next to each other that sell them. I have been to both and have yet to find a difference between them, both claim to be the original and I have no idea which one is! If anyone has an opinion on this please share, I'm oddly curious. Reese didn't want a banana (weird right?). So, I ate one by myself. Ladies please, am I the only one who feels weird eating a treat when the hubs doesn't? I don't know why I hate it so much. Usually this happens when I make brownies. We both eat one, and then I want another one, but I just can't do it if he doesn't eat one too. So then the conversation sounds like this "I know you want another one Reese" and then this.. "Please please please just eat one more". Until finally I can eat my last brownie guilt-free. Hahaha so lame... don't judge!

 

After going to Balboa, we went to HUNTINGTON BEACH! On the Fourth of July. We went there. We deserve a badge of bravery, I know. But hey when it's just the two of you and you got no kids, you can do anything so we are choosing to live it up! After finding a parking spot (a small miracle in itself) we walked down to the beach and watched the humans. What a surreal experience. We watched them feeding and sun bathing, in the thousands, shoulder to shoulder. A phenomenon I will share with my children by their bedsides one day. 

When we got to the pier we noticed a big tent with PEPSI all over it. Realized they were filming COMMERCIALS! It was called the "pepsi challenge" and they selected volunteers who blindly drank two sodas and had to choose their favorite. Obviously, Pepsi was trying to prove they taste better than Coca-Cola. Thinking this could be our first debut on television, we volunteered. The camera guy was filming our every move and I just knew this was going to be our 15 minutes of fame. We were so confident as we chose the soda we thought was best (totally believing it was Pepsi) and then the lady looked me in the eyes and said "you chose wrong". Failure. At least we got free Pepsi's out of it?

We met up with the Hutchison family on the beach that afternoon and let me tell you, greatest family ever! They were so nice and invited Reese and I to join them for an authentic Fourth of July barbecue (where Reese was able to showcase his talent of how much meat he can consume in one sitting) and they even let us go to the fireworks with them! Like, what?! They have this holiday figured OUT! Down to a science. Truly, Reese and I really admire this family and have never met a bunch who are more friendly and kind (not to mention hilarious). We had a blast with them!

Watching the fireworks on the beach was so incredible! Apparently, every year there is a firework show on the Huntington beach pier. Watching them over the water was so beautiful! The pictures really don't do it justice.

 It was a very authentic Fourth of July! We are PROUD to be Americans!

Caribbean Cruise Part 3: Cozumel!

Our last and final port was COZUMEL! We had heard so much about the great snorkeling and fish in Cozumel. We decided to book a snorkeling excursion here. Pictured below is the boat we took to the reefs, which was seriously an ancient pirate boat with a tiny engine. We were puttin' along next to the giant cruise ships.

 

 We decided to bring some rolls off the ship to feed the fish. At one point Reese gave me a little pinch of bread so I could try it. I extended my arm ALL the way out (that's a long way) and I am not kidding you the fish were biting my arm all the way up to my shoulder! I did that weird underwater scream, it was totally creepy. Fish bite!

 

HAHAHAH this picture.... what?? I thought it would be cute... 

 

 First of all, this next picture is straight up embarrassing. But I just need a moment to vent here. Why is it when I take pictures of Reese underwater he looks so graceful and perfect and when I take one I look like a whale? (If you don't believe me, reference the photos above for evidence) I remember when I did this pose underwater I truly thought to myself "I think that one is going to be really cute".... Please tell me if that even slightly looks attractive to anyone. The fish are swimming away from me. Why is it when you are underwater you think you are so much more attractive than you are on land? It's not just me that feels that way right? Like somehow the water can conceal all your flaws. Clearly, that is not so! Maybe it was just the little girl in me trying to mimic the little mermaid. Have you ever tried to do the "hair flip" that Ariel does? In your mind, it plays out so much better than it does in real life. Well, that's kind of how an underwater camera works.

 

 Reese loves fancy drinks! In an attempt to save money we didn't get the drink package on the ship, so by the end of the week we were craving one! These Pina Coladas were so good! And the view wasn't bad...

The last formal night on the ship, there was a beautiful sunset and I got this picture of Reese on the deck! He is so handsome! 

We had the best time, can't wait to go again!

Caribbean Cruise Part 2: Cayman Islands!

 Our new favorite place in the world is the CAYMAN ISLANDS! The third port of call on our cruise, we were so excited! I didn't plan an excursion for this day because I had read on Cruise Critic that this port was an easy place to find entertainment the day-of, and it saves money! I have to admit I was really nervous! I had never NOT planned an excursion (with the exception of Labadee where there really are no excursions)! We tendered in to port and started looking for a taxi to the beach.

View of our huge ship!

We ended up going to Seven Mile beach and it was so easy to take a taxi there. When we got to the beach we could not believe our eyes, it was so so beautiful! I have never seen a beach with such clear water and perfect white sand! Oh my gosh it was heaven! Typically I don't like swimming in the ocean because its usually cold and uncomfortable but I was in the water ALL DAY here! We rented some snorkeling gear and Reese had so much fun going out and looking at the little fish. There weren't a ton, but it was so cool that they were right where we were. We brought some rolls from the ship and fed some of the fish and that was cool to watch!

We weren't in port here very long which was really sad because we loved it so much! That was one downside to having 4 ports of call in a row, our days were somewhat short. So we swam, snorkeled, and laid out for just a few hours before we had to go back to the ship. We really want to go back here one day with our families! Something that set the Caymans apart from other places was that it seemed really "American-ized". There were Burger Kings and Wendy's all over the place. It is the kind of place you feel comfortable walking around, unlike some of the other ports like Jamaica. BUT they still had all the random shops like "Diamonds International". What is the deal with that store?! It is at every single port. There must be a misconception that Americans buy diamonds and sprinkle them in their salads on a daily basis. Confusing. And how many people randomly decide to buy a diamond while on a cruise. You are trying on sombrero's and t-shirts then all of the sudden "Oh, that diamond looks nice, I'll take one of those with this bumper sticker and key chain".

On a separate note, renting our snorkeling gear was an experience in itself. When we got to the beach there were a ton of vendors trying to sell/rent stuff to us and I wanted to find the best deal on snorkeling gear. So, I walked up and down the beach for probably 20 minutes trying to find the best deal and I talked to EVERYONE and was negotiating deals (some of you can totally picture this). I ended up renting from a sassy native lady who said to me "Girl, I don't blame you for not trusting anyone, if I came to America I would NOT trust you, better believe that." Wasn't sure how to take that, so I just took the snorkel gear.

Until next time!!

Caribbean Cruise Pt. 1

So excited to blog about our cruise! It was with Royal Caribbean on the Freedom of the Seas, and 7 nights! The ship left from Port Canaveral, Florida and the ports of call were Haiti (Labadee), Jamaica (Falmouth), Grand Cayman (Georgetown), and Mexico (Cozumel).

Just Boarded the ship! After our long overnight journey from LA! (First and LAST Red Eye ever)

The real reason I went on the cruise, to see how much this man can eat with no limitations. Needless to say, my entertainment was excellent! "Come on, you can eat one more plate I know you can" "Chug chug chug"

Our cabin!

 Our travel agent got these sent to our room for "graduation" (she is seriously the best) SO YUMMY!

 We spent some time exploring the ship and went up on deck as we pulled out of port.


We were suckers for all the shows, seriously I think we went to all of them. They had a MAGIC SHOW! Who doesn't love a Magic Show....



Day One was spent "at sea" so we discovered some hidden talents of ours. First all, napkin artistry. Reese is really a visionary when it comes to folding those table linens. Second, Salsa dancing. I begged Reese to go to a class and he ended up loving it, but I loved it more. HAHA!


HAITI! 

 This port was really unique! R.C. bought all the land in this port and fenced it off, so it was like getting off the R.C. ship to the R.C. island. They brought lunch out and all the activities were by R.C. which made it convenient. I wouldn't say it was an "authentic" Haitian experience at all, but it made for a really fun beach day! The water was beautiful and the beach was amazing. We played some sand volleyball and walked out "Dragons Breath" point but spent most of our time on the beach. We didn't book an excursion here and I wouldn't advise it! Everything is there for you. My best advice would be to get off the ship early to make sure you get a nice shady spot on the beach, those went quick!

 This was 10 seconds after we had showered ourselves in sunscreen, which was a daily occurrence.

 The first formal night! It is so hard to walk in heels on a rocking cruise ship! We were cracking up, so glad I survived.

 JAMAICA!

This place was crazy! In a strange turn of events, we found out our excursion got cancelled the night before we were supposed to get to Jamaica. AHHH! We were lucky and were able to re-schedule an excursion that night. We ended up going zip-lining and river tubing and it was fun! PROBLEM: We weren't allowed to take pictures because the excursion guys wanted us to buy the ones they took of us, so we had to hide our camera and we only snuck this ONE. So, lame right?! Oh well.

The zip lining was really fun and so beautiful! HIGHLY recommend doing it! The river tubing is where it got interesting. Reese and I had a guide who paddled us down the river, he was facing us and talking to us the whole time. I'm not going to lie I totally felt like a lazy American watching him do all of the work, and I wanted to grab a paddle the whole time, but that's what they do there so I rolled with it. Anyways, it was straight out of a movie! The jungle was so cool and the views were amazing. Then, it started to drizzle, then rain, then POUR. It was RAINING LIKE CRAZY! All the bugs in the swamp were going nuts and there were RED ANTS crawling all over my tube and I was flicking them all off one at a time (once again, feeling like a dumb American as our Jamaican guide was laughing at me). Meanwhile, thunder and lightning were RIGHT on us and I felt like a piece of meat ready to get roasted. Totally scary but seriously awesome. I thought it was pretty funny when our guide said "this is just a light drizzle in Jamaica" as I was watching the river level rising. Anyways, the lightning got so close our guide started to get worried. Luckily we were almost done and got out of the river. We were the first group to finish and our guide said "we can either wait for the truck, or we can run back to the lodge". Obviously we ran, it was so crazy! It had to be one of my favorite moments! We were running though the Jamaican jungle in a crazy rainstorm with this Jamaican dude who was seriously SO FAST (claims he is BFF with Usain Bolt, I actually believe him after eating his dust)! After that we got on our buses and went back to the cruise ship. All in all, pretty memorable.

Moving, Vacationing, and Working!

 Before we moved to LA I promised a lot of people I would do better blogging, and I have been failing at that!  So, I promise I am going to be a better blogger nowadays :) Starting now!

We have had so many changes the last few weeks! We have had so much fun! First of all, we moved to Los Angeles on June 1st! Although we didn't have tons of stuff, we decided using a moving van would be easier because we could move everything at once instead of spreading it into trailers, trucks, and separate loads. Reese drove the moving truck all the way from Las Vegas to Los Angeles, and he handled it really well. I definitely couldn't have done that! Seeing our truck in the LA traffic was so scary. My family helped us move down and I don't know what we would have done without them! Saying bye to them as they headed back to Las Vegas was so sad! I was really scared being left in a city I was unfamiliar with, but with Reese there I knew it would be just fine :)

Our new apartment is coming together! It was really dirty when we moved in, so we got to work and cleaned it from top to bottom! Reese and I spent two and a half hours cleaning the shower alone! There was mold in the shower track and Reese had to wrap a rag around a screw driver and scrape it out little by little. I was soooo grossed out, but it HAD to go! It is so much better now! WOO it was such a workout. Our apartment has white walls and wood floors which I seriously love. I like it because it looks and feels so clean. We have unpacked everything and now I am just working on getting every area the way I like it. I love doing that! I am sorry I haven't posted many pictures of our apartment! I plan on doing a whole post dedicated to our new home, later on when it is put together! (Not too long I promise! haha)

We had a week in California before we went on our cruise, so we tried to do some fun things! One day we drove up to Malibu and went to the beach! It was so pretty I was dying driving along the PCH! We also went to the Santa Monica Pier and the shopping district around there, the Los Angeles temple, and toured Beverly Hills! Really, it was just fun spending time together :)

Our cruise was with Royal Caribbean! It was Reese's FIRST cruise and both of our first time in the Caribbean! We had such a blast! Our ports of call were 1) Labadee, Haiti 2) Falmouth, Jamaica 3) Georgetown, Grand Cayman and 4) Cozumel, Mexico. SO FUN! We went ziplining and river tubing in Jamaica, snorkeling in Cozumel, and we went to the beach in Haiti and in the Caymans. The Caymans is our new favorite place I have never seen a more beautiful place in my life! Definitely going back! We used disposable cameras off the ship because I was way to nervous to take my nice clunker camera onto the islands! Not to mention its huge. I plan on doing a separate blog post on the trip later on with those pictures! Question: Does anyone know where to develop pictures from a disposable camera where they will put them on a CD? Haven't done this in SO long! Hahah

And that brings us to TODAY which is Reese's FIRST DAY OF WORK! He was so excited this morning and has been looking forward to this day since December when he accepted the offer. I am so grateful for him working so hard for our family, I am really proud of him! I love him a lot :)

That brings us up to speed for now! When we get internet in our apartment I will be more connected I promise! I am currently typing this is a coffee shop and as we speak my hair and clothing are becoming infused with that lovely scent. (I actually really like that smell, so I don't mind a whole lot) Anyways, I'm off for another day of running errands and cleaning. Love you all!