GIRLS WEEK on the East Coast!

Girls week with my mom, and sisters Camille and Celeste was AMAZING! It was so so much fun and I was so happy to see some familiar faces and be able to spend time with my family! We spent the first day out here in Philly :) I drove them to the Philadelphia Art Museum where we took some pics with the "Rocky" statue and filmed ourselves running up the famous stairs. But just before we did that, we could'nt resist taking some pics with an old statue of a naked man on the fountain just across the street from the museum. It got a little heated. Even Miki, my mom, took a few. That is so rare!
It was a good time :) From there we took a tour through the art museum. It is insane. There are so many things to look at and we barely had enough time to get the upper floor. The museum is huge and so beautiful! After that we headed over to Ruths Chris Steak House and treated ourselves to some good food. I just loved being able to chat with the girls!
The next morning we headed off to NYC on a train- business class (which apparently everyone gets) we thought we were getting the special treatment. haha! I was the only one who managed to stay awake. I have a pic of camille asleep, my mom probably wouldn't want me to post the one of her, and I had the BEST pic of celeste asleep but she erased it before I could even upload it. I was SO SO MAD! Anyway, once we arrived at Penn station at Madison Square Garden we called for a taxi and headed to our hotel which was located right smack dab in the middle of time square. Our hotel was literally inside of one of the jumbo screens. I loved it! Each night we ate at the restaurant located in our hotel- the food was delicious and the view wasn't too shabby either. We were dinning with a 360 view of time square. We spent our first day in the Big Apple exploring Time Square and in the evening we headed to the Opera house to see the musical "South Pacific". It was so good! It would have been even better had there not been a woman sitting on the row just in front of us who had drenched herself in AVON perfume! We had to breath that scent in the entire time. Camille nearly threw up and I was just trying so hard to ignore it. But overall the play was fantastic!
The next morning we woke up bright and early to meet our private chauffeur, Bryan, outside our hotel. He was a really cool guy who was born and raised in NY so he knew all the sites we should see that you cant see on a tour. On our way to our first destination he drove past the hospital which was where the majority of the injured people went on 911. Across the street from the hospital there was a fence with tiles honoring those who passed away on that tragic day. It was extremely moving to stop and read each tile and read the names of real people who gave their lives that day. Some were even children who were victims on the planes or in the day care at the trade centers. It was so sad.
On a better note, we then went to the the mall on Pier 17 and did a lil shopping. At the end of the pier we had an awesome view of the Brooklyn Bridge. Since we didn't have time to eat breakfast that morning, I was starving and so was everyone else. We grabbed a quick bite before heading off to the site at 911. Once we got there it was hard to see the actual site because of all the construction going on so we peaked through some small holes in the fence to get a tiny view. So much has changed since I last saw it. They used to have a little memorial outside of the site but now they are solely dedicated to rebuilding and when they finish they are going to have a memorial museum that people will be able to go to. I'm sure that wont be finished for a few more years. But across the street from the site there was a big piece of Metal which was one of the last pieces of the 911 wreckage. It was left in the shape of a cross, on it there is still a piece of melted metal hanging from the top left corner. The cross will be put in the 911 memorial museum once it is constructed. We were lucky enough to run into some fire fighters right there at the sight just as they were leaving for a job. They were hurrying but we got to snap a couple of pics with the truck parked just next to the cross. It was a reminder of the sad events that happened right there just a few years ago.
After that, Bryan took us to a park with a far view of the Statue of Liberty. Since it was so rainy outside we didn't spend a lot of time embracing the view. We snapped a few pics and headed off to our next location. Next up was the Trinity Cathedral, the oldest cathedral in the city, which was so ornate and beautiful. The details on the walls and windows are always so mind boggling to me! Around the corner from the church there was the first sky scrapper ever built in NYC. Although now days the tallest buildings in the city could double or even tripple this one, at the time it was built it was the tallest building in the world. It was a beautiful building.
The vibes in New york are so cool- it kinda wakes you up and makes you want to move. I can see why they call it the city that never sleeps. Anyway, we saw the big bull on Wall Street which has been in a few movies. The first one to come to mind is Hitch-( the part where the jerk guy gets punched out and he lands right under the bulls butt. ) There is actually a cool story behind the bull and how it got there but it has to do with the stock market and competitors and I know that if I retold the story I would just slaughter it. Obviously I don't know anything about that kind of thing. So Ill have to look into it again and get the story right before I go into the details. I took a few pictures but it was hard to get a good one because there was a crowd of people who couldn't speak English all crowded around it. The pictures that i have will just have to do I guess.
After that we headed to China Town to get some purses! That was an adventure in itself. haha! Since technically its illegal for them to sell us the fake designer bags- its all like an underground thing. We had to use code words to the sales guys like " Can you take us BEHIND THE WALL?" that's code for "Show the the fake purses!" haha! It took us a little longer than we had anticipated to get our bags just because at first everyone was denying us when we would ask. We just kept trying though and finally one of the stores we went in came around. There was the cutest little couple working and they were so happy to help us. They explained to us that just 20 mins before we got there, an undercover cop had come through the area trying to catch any of them in the act of selling the fake bags. We then realized that was the reason we had been so hard to get the bags at the other stores near bye. I wish I had a picture of our funny Chinese bag salesman friends but Camille has the only one and I still haven't gotten it from her. China town was such an adventure!
Thanks to my mom and to our chauffeur Bryan we had a wonderful time in NY! Bryan knew all the history behind everything and was very informative. He also is in a band- we jammed out to his music. I was pleasantly surprised!
By the time we got back that night we were all exhausted! Camille and I hit up time square one more time and got ourselves the classic I LOVE NY t-shirts. We just couldn't get enough on New york! We were so sad to leave :(
My sisters last day on the east coast turned out to not be they're last day after all. haha! I insisted on taking them to the Liberty Bell on the way to the airport which actually caused them to miss their flight. Oopsy! But we got to see where our founding fathers signed the declaration of independence and touch the same buildings that they once roamed within. :) Thanks to me, we were able to see and feel the history behind this great nation!
I stayed the night with them at the Marriott hotel at the airport and we spent one more night together :) I was happy because that happened to be the night that Aaron had to spend in Delaware and I would have spent the night alone at our apartment otherwise.
The next morning was so sad for me because I had to say goodbye to my mom and sisters (tears)...
Girls week was AWESOME and I cant wait for the next one! I hope that it becomes a tradition for us! Thank you mom for planning everything and making it such a memorable time! xoxox!

The Amish....

About a week after we arrived here in Philly we decided to visit a near by Amish community. I have always been fascinated with the Amish people and it has been a life long goal to see them in action. So thats just what we did! It wasnt as exciting as I expected it to be but it still was a little bit of a rush. Bridger was the only one brave enough to actually get out of the car and talk to one of them. I just felt too bad to go up to one of them in fear of making them feel like I was treated them like they were a show or something. Here are some pics and videos of our Amish friends :)

The Philadelphia Zoo

A few weeks ago my beloved friend Natasha and myself went to the zoo here in Philli. It was so much fun! Did you know that the Philadelphia zoo was the first zoo in the USA? I bet you didnt :) These are the kinds of things that you can learn when you visit the zoo. We saw all of the animals in their, not so natural, habitats and we even had a run in with a wild peacock! WOW! To say the least, it was a very adventurous day for both of us! I have some videos Id like to post so hopefully they work.....

Our Adventures in Philli :)

So as I said earlier in one of my previous blogs, Aaron and I moved to philli for the summer. So far its been so much fun! The drive took us three whole days to get here and I dont think I have ever been so happy to finally reach any destination, and Im pretty sure Aaron would second that.. I was so sick of being in the car and towards the end of the drive I started to get kinda grouchy. We followed our friends Bridger and Natasha all the way here. They were the ones with the GPS and without them Im sure we would have been lost for sure. Bridger has an obsession with hunting and just had to stop at nearly every Cabella's on the way here so we got some nifty pics at some of our stops. I didnt take a lot but Im sure Ill take a lot more on the way home.
Once we got here things were fine. Our aparment is really nice compared to what we were living in when we were in provo so both Aaron and I were excited to get moved in... well kinda moved in. We only brought the bare essentials here since we didnt have a lot of room in our car. I usually like to go all out with decorating so its been a little bit of an adjustment to just have bare white walls and no pictures or anything. It was kinda depressing for me at first but now that I have made some new girlfriends with the other APX wives Im not spending so much time alone in my boring apartment- its been a lot less depressing. Its actually been kinda fun! When Im not working in the office Im out and about with the lil wivesies. As a matter of fact, I have a pic of all the Desperate APX wives :) Well almost all of them. There are a few missing. But the pic was taken at one of the company get togethers while all of the boys were playing their home run derby. All of us girlies were sitting in the dug out supporting. :) Im at the very end of the row in th pic. There are also some pics of Aaron at home base showin all the guys whats up.

First Things First... Our honeymoon

I finally figured out how to get all my pics from my camera transferred onto my computer! And these pics go way back to before Aaron and I were married. So I want to put all of them on here but I guess that I have to start at the begining. So these first pics are from our honeymoon!

Our wedding was amazing and then our wedding night was so much fun ;) haha! We didnt get to eat anything at our reception because we were too busy talking with the guests and having a good time. By the time that everyone had left the food had already been cleaned up. So we were starving, of course, and it was after 10 when we left the reception so all of the restaraunts were closed..... Except Village Inn! haha! We shared an omlett and our waiter gave us two free pieces of pie since it was our wedding night. It couldnt get any better than that! We Spent our first night in downtown Salt Lake and the Hotel Monico. It was so nice! They gave us a complimentary bottle of Sparkling Cider, which we saved for later in our honey moon.
The next day ( Dec. 28) we drove out to provo and spent the next night in our very own apartment which was fun because it was "our" apartment. Then the following morning (Dec.29) we headed up to midway, UT. The drive was beautiful in the middle of the winter. We passed by Deer Creek and it was all covered with ice. Everything was a winter wonderland and we were all cozied up in my warm car listening to Michael Jackson and enjoying the scenery!
We arrived at the Homestead and headed to our cute Honeymoon suite. There are some pics of our room and the room number. We Spent the next two nights there. It was so cozy in our lil room and each time I looked out the window there were deer walking around the lot (also shown in the pics). We went to the crater which is a natural hot springs located inside of the crater thing. Its pretty cool. The water there is so clear and you can see all the way to the bottom. Its really deep! A lot of people go there so go Deep water diving. But Aaron and I are more of the floater types. haha! We just bobbed around and had a good time :)
On Dec. 31 we changed locations for the last time and headed to our Honeymoon suite at the Johnson Mill. But before heading over there we decided to go sledding at Soldiers Hollow! So So much fun! We were cruisin down the hill so fast! Then we would hook our tubes back onto the line and it would pull us right back up to the top again. Sleding is my favortie winter sport for sure.
So after that, we headed back to the Johnson Mill and we had some warm honey oatmeal and cleaned up. Since it was new years eve we headed to the town and got some dinner at one of the nicer places up there. It was really good! I got a pulled pork sandwhich and Aaron had a french dip :) After our delightful meal we headed back to our Suite. It was AMAZING! I felt like a princess there. It was a cozy lil cabin and was decorated so nice. Definitly the best way to spend New Years! We opened our bottle of sparkling cider and kicked back by the fireplace while we watched a movie. It wasnt until a little while later when we discovered that we werent alone in the room. I noticed a tiny shadow running accross the floor from the bathroom area to under the coffee table. I immediatley jumped up and demanded that aaron lift up the table to confirm I wasnt just seeing things. He was pretty scared, but being the man he is he tip toed over to the table and slowly lifted it up. The little mouse came running out as fast as it could and ran behind the Armoure. haha! Aaron and I both jumped up on the couch and were freeking out! It was pretty funny and definitly unforgettable. The guy at the desk brought up some mouse traps- that was the leaste that they could do- and we set three up in different areas around the suite.
Around 4 A.M. we woke up to the "SNAP" of one of the mouse traps going off. Aaron put his glasses on and went to check on the status- sure enough there wasnt just one mouse caught but two of the mouse traps had mice in them. EW! haha! It didnt ruin our night but it did add a little flavor! We recieved a gift card for another free nights stay which we can redeem anytime before Dec 31, 2009.
Our honeymoon wasnt perfect but I wouldnt have had it any other way! I couldnt have been more happy than I was being there with Aaron :)

P.S. Here are some videos from the honeymoon...

Life... "Philly Style"!

So I havent been on here for a while and Im still trying to learn how to use this blogg site. Thanks to my sister Camille I have a decent looking page but eventually I will be able to manage this on my own and Ill keep it updated. :) So a lot has happened since I last wrote on here... Aaron decided to quit the BYU Soccer team and work summer sales instead. So we moved all of our stuff into a storage unit and headed accross the country to Philadelphia, PA. It has definitly been a new experience but so far its been a good time. Aaron has exceeded everyones expectations with his sales and is kickin butt to say the leaste! Im so proud of him. I dont have any pics saved on my computer yet of our adventures since we arrived but I will take care of that later. However, I do have this cool pic of us on Brian's (Aarons Dad) motorcycle just days before we headed out here! We are so hardcore!