My little sister, Brittany, graduated from BYU-Idaho a few weeks ago! My parents were driving up there and I decided the day before they left to go up with them! I was so glad that I was able to be there! It was so much fun seeing Brittany and being able to be there for her graduation! She graduated in nursing and has worked so hard and done such an awesome job!!!!



We left for our 1st stop, St. George, Wednesday right after work. We spent the night at Melissa & Sam's and it was so fun being able to spend some time with them and with Jenna of course!!! She had nicknames for everyone, Ash, Al, Grammy, & Grampy, and it was sooo cute!!!



Thursday we went to Swig (rootbeer with coconut and a cookie is the best) and the park and then headed off on the long drive to Idaho. Even though it was a longer drive, I actually really like the scenery from St. George to Rexburg. We stopped in Provo at an Indian place, Indian Palace, that we all loved!! And then we finally got to Brittany's!!!




Thursday night we all hung out and Ally came over. Friday, we went to a park, had a picnic, and played Matt's favorite game, frisbee golf. The weather was really nice and it felt so nice to just lay out in the sun, visit with Britt, and not have anything that we needed to do! Then we went to the graduation ceremony. It was very different from BYU-Hawaii. They had everyone together to hear a few speakers. President Clark & President Gay both gave really good talks. It was cool to hear President Clark speak, he was just called to be a General Authority so he said it was the last time he would be speaking as the President of the school. Brittany is a little in love with President Clark and kept talking about him the whole trip!!! :) We went back to Britt & Matt's and had dinner and played games.







Saturday Matt made us the most amazing french toast, it was really the best I have had! Then we went mini-golfing at a cute place. Then we went to a movie, McFarland, that we all liked. It was funny seeing them try to make cross-country running so exciting and made me glad I wasn't racing anymore! I still love running, but I always got so nervous to compete, especially in college!! We got frappuccinos at The Cocoa Bean and played games and then had the best dinner at The Snake Bite, Britt's favorite! We stayed up late playing Settlers of Cataan and truth or truth.



Sunday morning we headed back, stopping at Temple Square to pick up Ally. It was fun to walk around the temple and see all of the gorgeous flowers! It was the nicest day and I wish we could have stayed longer and visited some friends!! Then we drove to St. George to stay another night at Melis'. We had a late birthday dinner for my mom and then stayed up late talking and doing scooter races on my mom's scooter. Ally was the champion, I was in the middle, and Melis struggled a little and was always in last!!! Haha!! It was so nice staying up late and talking with Melissa & Ally. I was so happy I got to see all of my sisters in one week! It is so nice being able to just talk with them! I am so glad that I get to live by Brooke and see her all the time!!! It would be the dream if we could all live near each other!!



Jenna woke me up Monday morning and cuddled in bed with me, it was so cute!!! We had a picnic at a park and relaxed there a while before heading back to AZ. I don't know why, but the drive back seemed soooo long!!!! It was so nice to get home and be greeted by my hubby!!!! Nate & I had never been apart for that long, except the 5 days we were broken up when we first started dating!!! I am so thankful for Nate and that he is okay with me going on trips to see my sisters!!! He is the best!!! It was hard being apart for him but I was so glad to be there for Britt's graduation!!!

Missing Nate!!


I was Jenna's Elfie for her and supposed to make her toys. Apparently I was not a good elf because Jenna told Melis I broke Candyland later that week... haha!!


Scooter races, very intense. Ally was the champion, I came in second, and Melissa had a little trouble getting speed on the scooter...

We looked through our baby books a few weeks ago and I couldn't resist posting some of these. My favorite is the tilted head one. Nate insists that the photographer kept telling him to tilt his head more and more!!

Our spring break was soooo nice!!!! I probably couldn't survive a job with regular vacation days and no long breaks. I love working with all my students, but I also love my breaks and have a countdown to each break/holiday and a grand countdown to summer!!!!



On Saturday we slept in and then went on a bike ride. Being able to sleep in and then go for a run or bike ride in the morning when the weather is perfect is the best! Then we relaxed for a while and then went to Cheesecake Factory for lunch! Next we went to a spring training game, Padres vs. the Cubs! The Padres won!!! It was pretty hot outside (90 degrees), but we had so much fun and it was the perfect way to start out spring break! After the game we stopped by to see my mom and then went to try out Waffle Luv. I loooved the nutella waffle, so good!!!





Sunday was church! I am a primary teacher and have a little autistic boy in my class who I have to chase a lot, so I can never wear heels. It was really hard at first, but has definitely taught me patience!! Anyway, we had a meeting during primary, so Nate was going to watch my class so I figured I would wear heels for once. I walked into the meeting late and tried to quickly find a seat. I accidentally stepped halfway on a hymn book and completely lost my balance!! I slipped/fell hard onto this lady's lap as everyone was watching!!! At least I am used to falling and embarrassing moments!!! Haha, but this one was pretty bad!!! (My poor mom actually slipped on a skateboard last weekend and broke her ankle, so sad!! ) Me and my sisters all have this same sense of balance... :)

Tuesday we painted our bathroom (light blue). I bought some cute house decorations from Kohl's. Then we headed to San Diego! We got there late and hung out a bit before going to bed.

Wednesday we went to Disneyland & California Adventure!!! Some CA highlights of the day were going on Tower of Terror for the first and last ride (it is my absolute favorite!!!), going on Screamin' California for the first time, Nate surprising me and getting me a Salted Caramel Ghirardelli Sundae (sooo good), and walking along the cute pier. Disneyland was so fun too. It was perfect weather and not too crowded! We got to go on all of our favorite rides there and barely had to wait in line! Nate & I did the Buzz Lightyear ride and I told him whoever won could choose where we ate lunch. Somehow, he ended up with 70,000 points and I had 17,000. I don't even know how!!!! So we had Thai food for lunch and then we had dinner at the Mexican place that I really like and Nate hates. I kept calling it "Disneyland's best kept secret" and Nate kept getting annoyed!




On our trip to San Fransisco I had told Nate my favorite part was getting a sundae from Ghirardelli Square and he thought that was so funny!)


We got to Nate's parents' house just in time to meet Melissa, Sam, and Jenna. Sam had a conference for work so they stayed with us a couple nights!

Thursday was the best beach day!!! We went to La Jolla to see the seals first! There were a lot of mom seals with their babies and they were sooo cute!! One of the mom seals kept rubbing here baby's back with her flipper, it was sooo cute!!! Then we hung out at La Jolla Shores for a few hours. Jenna loved the water and kept pulling me and Melissa in it and saying, "we need to go in the ice cave!" When we got cold, we made sand castles, that Nate kept saying were more fun for us than for Jenna... Then we went to Con Pane for lunch and Melis loved it just as much as I do! When we lived in Hawaii, we would always get sandwiches and cookies from Wailua Bakery and then go to the beach, so it felt almost like we were in Hawaii again!! Then we went to PB, the beach by my old house! We spent a few more hours there, had a water fight, and then headed back to get in the hot tub and have dinner with Nate's family!



Jenna was in heaven with Nate's mom! She gave Jenna lots of bread and her own bowl full of honey from their beehives! Jenna kept looking at Melissa to make sure it was ok and she put so much honey on her bread it was crystallized!!!


Being a mermaid in her mermaid pjs

Friday we went to the beach again! This time we went to Carlsbad, where we were meeting up with Sam. It was such a nice beach day again! I love March weather in San Diego! It was sad to say bye to Melissa and Jenna, we had so much fun with them! Jenna was so cute and kept calling me Ash. Anytime she couldn't see me should would yell, "Ash, where are you?" She is the cutest niece and I had so much fun playing with her and getting to hang out with Melis!!! When we said bye, me and Melissa had both brought little notes and presents for each other!



On Saturday, Nate had a ton of backflow tests to do, so I went to help him. When I go with him, he does the tests and I record the numbers. We did tests and Nate worked on my car for most of the day. Then we got take out and watched a movie with his parents and Nicole and Ryan.

Sunday we headed back to Arizona and went straight to see my mom. The day that my dad left for a 2 week trip to Thailand, she accidentally slipped on a skateboard and broke her ankle! It was really bad and she had to get surgery on it on Monday. I took the day off Monday so I could pick her up from surgery. We spent the day watching movies and eating take out!! Then Nate came over and we spent the night there. Luckily, she is not in too much pain but it is so sad to see my mom in a cast!

Then back to the real world! It is always so hard going back to work after a break!!!

The past few weekends have been incredibly busy. I like it because it makes things go by quickly, but at the same time sometimes I wish I could slow time down. Ethan's b-day was a few weekends ago!



This weekend we went to San Diego again. February and March are the busiest times for Nate's business. It was the most beautiful weather! I love all of the succulents and spring flowers!!



While Nate did backflow jobs on Saturday, I went the the beach with Nicole. It felt sooo nice to relax and finally get a little tan!!! I forgot my wetsuit, so I couldn't surf, but it was still soooo nice to be at the beach!



Afterwards, I went to Con Pane to get sandwiches and cookies for Nate & I!



We got back Sunday and went to Brooke & Cody's for dinner. Brooke made the best lasagna ever!!! Then we went to the park and the boys played football while we watched. It has been so much fun living close by Brooke & Cody. They are so nice and fun to be around and I love living by my sister!!! Now we just need to get all of the other sisters out here!!! :)