Scenes from our last days

Huzzah, I finally have power to my computer to blog! Thanks to another trainee who bought a converter (p.s. it's hard to find converters in Cambodia, so don't believe them when they say you can get them here easily.

I just wanted to post a few pictures from our last few days in Utah. We had a great couple of last days and had a great goodbye party, at which I did not take a single picture, so sorry about that.

My work was so supportive of us going that they had a little cake get together on my last day. They had someone make this cake.

Yes that is Ankor Wat and the Peace Corps symbol on a cake. How cool is that? I was so impressed with the woman that made this, her cakes are yummy too!


It was weird for me to leave my job, it felt like I had been there forever. I decided to leave something behind for them to remember me, so I left this at my desk.

Aww yeah I did. Thank you pinterest for the idea.

Sorry I don't have a whole lot of pictures from our last little bit in Utah, but we spent most of our time with family doing things like this.

I'm so glad that we got all of the family time that we did, because it has only been a short while since we've been gone, but it feels like forever and I miss them!

Thank you to everyone who came to see us goodbye and a special thanks to Meagan and Charles who held our place in the security line at the airport, and without whom we wouldn't have made it to our plane with 1 minute to spare.

Wedding Wednesday - Our first place

I'm almost done with the Wedding Wednesday posts. I'll be in Cambodia when the rest of these post. That's crazy, when I started this we weren't even sure that we were going to go anywhere with the Peace Corps, and right now I'm writing this while waiting for our staging/orientation to start the day before we start our life in Cambodia.

1. how it all began: how you met, first date, first kiss, how long did you date? first picture together.....etc.
2. when you knew he was the one: self explanatory.. but how and when did you know?
3. proposal: how it happened, how long were you engaged for? was it a total surprise?  pictures of that... etc.
4. the ring:  tell us about it! did you pick it out? did he? pictures! tell us about his ring too!
5. engagement/bridal pictures: let's see em!
6. the colors: show some of the flower and colors you used
7. the dress: was it what you always imagined? did you have it made for you? white or ivory?
8. the little accessories: you know, veil? shoes? jewelry? what did your bridesmaids wear?
9. the reception: where was it at? show us some pictures! what day did you get married?
10. the cake/food: i love food. so tell me about what you had at your wedding!
11. your song and/or the first song you danced to at your wedding: share a music video or lyrics if you can!
12. favorite part of the day and least favorite part of the day: can be anything.
13. honeymoon: where did you go? was it good?  ;) haha...jk.
14. thoughts on marriage: what is the easiest/hardest part? if you could change anything, what would it be?
15. first place that you lived together: pics if you have them!
16. kids: do you have any yet? if not, when do you plan on it? how many do you want? any tips on good/bad birth control?
17. most recent picture of you and your significant other and what you love most about them :) and any other thoughts.

This week is all about our first place together! We moved in together when we got married. In fact, the night we got back from our weekend away in Park City (since we went on a honeymoon a couple of weeks later) we had to set up our bed in our apartment. We didn't have a couch for like a month. It's crazy to look back on how little we had back then, and see how much we just had to get rid of. We were so blessed with so many things.

Our first apartment was in downtown Salt Lake City. We loved it. We loved living downtown. It was in a little bit of a sketchy area, but we never really felt unsafe. We had a lot of fun and made some friends when we lived downtown. Downtown Salt Lake City just has a cool vibe.

We lived there for 7 months before a better apartment practically fell in our laps. We still talk about our first apartment very fondly and sometimes still wish we were still there.

Siem Reap

Siem Reap:

Most tourists go to Siem Reap to see Angkor Wat. You should go, but that's not all you should do. If that's all you see then you're missing out on the real Cambodia. Go explore other cities!
   
 Places to stay-

1.            Angkor Park Guesthouse: ($12) We always stay here when going to Siem Reap. The prices are very reasonable, the hotel is clean, the two sisters who own it are awesome and it's very close to the Pub Street area. This hotel is cheap and very basic, with hot water, a tv and comfy beds.
2.            Tanei Guesthouse: ($20) This hotel is lovely and a step up from Angkor Park. They have a great little pool and you can get breakfast included for very cheap. The staff is very nice, and the guesthouse has it's own tuk tuk which can pick you up for free. They also have bikes you can use for free.
3.            Golden Banana Hotel: ($35) This is where we go swimming when we come to Siem Reap. The hotel is gorgeous, and reasonably priced, but out of our price range. The staff are very nice and the pool is fabulous.
4.            Terrasse des Elephants ($100) I've never stayed here, but a friend did and highly recommended it if you want something really nice. The hotel rooms have mini waterfalls and ponds in them. The hotel has a pool on the roof. The price of the room usually includes one dinner at the restaurant.

   Where to eat:

1.            Il Forno: ($8)This Italian restaurant is pricey by our standards, but isn't by western standards. This restaurant has the best Italian food I've ever had. You should make reservations as they're often very busy, but it will be worth the hassle, I promise.
2.           Viva: ($5) This is great Mexican food, and often very cheap. Their happy hour is practically all day, so you can get cheap drinks and $1 tacos.
3.           Le Boulangerie: ($5) This french restaurant is run by a Khmer chef trained in France, and it shows. Such good food! You can build your own sandwich for $4, and my my my, they're delicious; hands down the most delicious sandwich in Cambodia.
4.           F For Falafel: ($5.50) This place is great, you can get a giant Falafel sandwich with all the fixins for $5.50. This feeds two of us it's so stuffed with goodness. They also make fabulous smoothies. I recommend Mango Passion fruit with yogurt.
5.           Blue Pumpkin: ($2) Ok...this is a time where I don't want to tell you of this goodness, because I  want them to run out :) They have amazing ice cream! If you have a group, it's cheaper to buy a  tub...and you'll eat it all. But the real secret here is their baked goods. They have amazing cheesecake and macarons, but this is the hush hush part, get the mille feuilles. Get it and you won't be sorry, just make sure there's one left in the case for me :)

I'm not the best person to ask what to do in Siem Reap. We're usually so deprived for westerness that we spend a lot of time at the grocery store, eating, and at the pool. So this section is based off of things I have seen other tourists do.

What to do:

1.           Angkor Wat. ($20) Go Do it. They say to actually see the temples you need 3 days. If you don't have 3 days, go at least 1 full day. They're amazing. A Tuk Tuk will charge between $5 and $10 and they'll wait for you, or just tell them what time you want to go back. Always negotiate before you get in and hold firm, they might try to hassle for more when you leave.
2.           Crocodile Farm: These are really cool, and they're all over Siem Reap. If you meet a nice Khmer person, you might ask if they know someone who has crocodiles and you can go see them for free. That's what we did, and it was pretty cool. There is a huge main one, so if you ask a tuk tuk driver that's probably where they'll take you.
3.          Silk Farm: I've never been, but it seems really cool. It's about a 20 minute ride outside of Siem Reap. That way you get outside of the city and get to see a hint of what the rest of the country is like.

Leaving

Hey guys! We are in the San Fran airport awaiting our flight to Phnom Phen! It has been a crazy few days preparing for this and going to orientation. We have received so much information, and I'm sure that it's just going to be information overload for the next nine weeks as we learn our jobs, and as we learn Khmer. The internet connection here is horrible, otherwise I would post some videos. (So youtube Speaking Khmer and Peace Corps and there is a cool video of a girl speaking it).

Make sure to comment while I'm gone so I know that you're reading it!

We have really enjoyed the people in our group so far, it's huge, we have over 60 people going with us. I'm excited that everyone seems really nice and friendly. Maybe it's that we all have the same drive that led us to this place. We're really excited though!

 This was just a few hours ago when we waited forever to check our bags in the San Fran airport.

Wedding Wednesday - Best and worst parts

Well, we're almost off to Cambodia, so this is my last Wedding Wednesday post that isn't scheduled. Now we're done with most of the wedding facts this week is about my thoughts on marriage.

1. how it all began: how you met, first date, first kiss, how long did you date? first picture together.....etc.
2. when you knew he was the one: self explanatory.. but how and when did you know?
3. proposal: how it happened, how long were you engaged for? was it a total surprise?  pictures of that... etc.
4. the ring:  tell us about it! did you pick it out? did he? pictures! tell us about his ring too!
5. engagement/bridal pictures: let's see em!
6. the colors: show some of the flower and colors you used
7. the dress: was it what you always imagined? did you have it made for you? white or ivory?
8. the little accessories: you know, veil? shoes? jewelry? what did your bridesmaids wear?
9. the reception: where was it at? show us some pictures! what day did you get married?
10. the cake/food: i love food. so tell me about what you had at your wedding!
11. your song and/or the first song you danced to at your wedding: share a music video or lyrics if you can!
12. favorite part of the day and least favorite part of the day: can be anything.
13. honeymoon: where did you go? was it good?  ;) haha...jk.
14. thoughts on marriage: what is the easiest/hardest part? if you could change anything, what would it be?
15. first place that you lived together: pics if you have them!
16. kids: do you have any yet? if not, when do you plan on it? how many do you want? any tips on good/bad birth control?
17. most recent picture of you and your significant other and what you love most about them :) and any other thoughts.

 photo by Duston Todd

Marriage is an interesting thing. It has ups and downs pretty much every day.

 Hal says the hardest part of marriage is not always having your way. I say the hardest part is that when you're grumpy or having a hard time you still have to think about that other person, and put their needs before yours. It's hard to think of other people when you're so focused on the fact that your grumpy, and it makes it really easy to take your bad mood out on your spouse. It's hard to put someone first when you're having a hard time yourself.

The easiest part of marriage? The good times. When you're getting along really well and just spend most of the day with laughing. Our marriage seems to go really well when we can get quality time together. Marriage is definitely work, but it's really nice when those moments of hard work get you to a really good place in your marriage.

If I could change anything....I don't know if this refers to in your marriage, or the wedding, but I think the only thing I would change is my cake. It turned out a bit lumpy, and I didn't get to have any of it, so it would have been nice, but it's definitely not anything that ruined my day.

Marriage is work, and it has good and bad times, but when those times are good it can be so much fun. It's nice to have them to look back on when you're having a hard time.

Also, this book forever changed my marriage for the better, so maybe if you're struggling, it will help too.

Wedding Wednesday - Honeymoon

I only have a few more weeks of these wedding Wednesday posts! I'll have to do the rest as scheduled posts because I only have 9 days left here. It's coming up so quickly.

1. how it all began: how you met, first date, first kiss, how long did you date? first picture together.....etc.
2. when you knew he was the one: self explanatory.. but how and when did you know?
3. proposal: how it happened, how long were you engaged for? was it a total surprise?  pictures of that... etc.
4. the ring:  tell us about it! did you pick it out? did he? pictures! tell us about his ring too!
5. engagement/bridal pictures: let's see em!
6. the colors: show some of the flower and colors you used
7. the dress: was it what you always imagined? did you have it made for you? white or ivory?
8. the little accessories: you know, veil? shoes? jewelry? what did your bridesmaids wear?
9. the reception: where was it at? show us some pictures! what day did you get married?
10. the cake/food: i love food. so tell me about what you had at your wedding!
11. your song and/or the first song you danced to at your wedding: share a music video or lyrics if you can!
12. favorite part of the day and least favorite part of the day: can be anything.
13. honeymoon: where did you go? was it good?  ;) haha...jk.
14. thoughts on marriage: what is the easiest/hardest part? if you could change anything, what would it be?
15. first place that you lived together: pics if you have them!
16. kids: do you have any yet? if not, when do you plan on it? how many do you want? any tips on good/bad birth control?
17. most recent picture of you and your significant other and what you love most about them :) and any other thoughts.

This week is about our honeymoon. I blogged a little about our honeymoon here, and here. Hal and I went to the Dominican Republic for our honeymoon, specifically we went to Puerto Plata. We flew there with buddy passes that someone gave us. (hint: never use buddy passes to fly out of the country) Neither of us had ever used them before, so we had no idea what we were in for.

We flew from Salt Lake to New York just fine, no problems. It was all amazing. The hotel that we booked had free shuttle to and from the airport. We were planning on having just one nice in the city, but well, such is the luck of buddy passes. We actually tried to get on 3 different flights to the DR. No such luck. So after spending almost our entire day at the airport, and having Hal's bag sent to the DR without us (after they assured us it wouldn't) we got on priceline and booked another hotel for the night.

We had an awseome shuttle driver who gave us a tip to take the shuttle to the airport, and to take the little train from the airport to Jamacia Station. From there we bought tickets into the city on the Long Island Railroad. It was more expensive than taking the subway, although a lot faster. It was a little slower than taking a cab, and a whole lot less expensive. It got us into the city in like 20 minutes.

I think New York was probably the best part of our honeymoon. The two nights we had there were such a blast. I don't have a lot of pictures, because we were too busy exploring, and we forgot the camera the second night we went. Man, look how short my hair was!

We finally made it to the DR a day late. That really seemed to mess with the hotel. Because of this they weren't there to take us back to the airport, and we didn't get our dinner on the beach, for some reason they thought we were staying an extra day, and that's why things got mixed up. That's nice that they were going to give us an extra day to make up for the one we missed though. We were reunited with our luggage and were instantly welcomed by heat and a sweet band played music as you exited into customs.

Luckily Hal speaks spanish was able to find the people who were waiting to pick us up. Our all inclusive hotel wasn't as fancy as it appeared online, especially the rooms, but there were still lots of beautiful things about it.
I loved these lights they had all over. And lets face, it I loved the petals on the toilet, I just thought they were hilarious.

The DR was beautiful, when it wasn't raining, and I wasn't dying (I got really sick right when we got there). Puerto Plata is in the north of the country, and it really was beautiful.

Because it was all inclusive they had really cool shows every night. The food was actually really good, and we didn't get sick of it. They had tons of local yummy fruit too. They would always look at us strangely when we would ask for our drinks without alcohol.

I definitely would suggest going to the DR on your honeymoon, just make sure to check the weather. We went in October and the weather wasn't very good. I'd love to go back, and go to Punta Cana. I've heard it's amazing.

And of course, any excuse to show this picture, love it.

James Irvine Trail

After our leisurely walk down to the ocean in my last post from the Redwoods we decided to do a much harder hike. We drove from Del Norte woods (where we camped, and I would suggest camping there. It is a lot less crowded since it's not advertised as old growth. Parts of it were clear cut a while ago, but the campsites are amazing. You aren't too close to people and the trees and plants hide you from the other campsites.) down to Prairie Creek Campground. After looking at the maps at the visitors center we decided on the James Irvine Trail, and Fern Canyon, and then head on out to the beach from there.

I'll save the Fern Canyon pictures for another post since seriously, it's so amazing that it deserves its own post.

It took us like 4 hours to do what the guide said would take 2. Not so much. It really wasn't that difficult once we started going and got used to the pace. Although what we thought would be a nice hike, ended up into about a 12 mile hike.

I learned so many cool things about Redwoods. Like how their bark doesn't really burn, so the middle will burn and the outside will still be there, and it will stay alive and other trees will grow out of it SO cool. I love that when a tree falls down over the trail they just cut out the part that went over the trail and leave it all there.

 After what seemed like ages we finally made it to the beach. Yahoo! Too bad it was real cold by then, and the fog had rolled in. I was too cold to go swimming, so I designated myself the picture taker and just got my feet wet. That was enough cold for me.

We decided to head back once we knew it would get dark if we took 4 hours to get back. Luckily it only took us 2 hours to get back.

 

Can you see me?

Can you see Hal?
How about now?

Then Charles hugged the tumor tree that was one of my favorites.

We had so much fun hiking in the midst of the Redwoods. I wish that we had more time there, that we could have done more exploring, but after spending all day in the forest I felt petty good about actually having seen the redwoods.

If you're ever traveling through Crescent City, seriously take Highway 101. It goes through multiple state redwood parks, and you follow the redwoods for so long. Such a beautiful drive. It's prime for listening to Voyage of the Dawn Treader :)

Wedding Wednesday - Favorite and Least Favorite Moments

It's Wedding Wednesday time and this week was a hard one for me!

1. how it all began: how you met, first date, first kiss, how long did you date? first picture together.....etc.
2. when you knew he was the one: self explanatory.. but how and when did you know?
3. proposal: how it happened, how long were you engaged for? was it a total surprise?  pictures of that... etc.
4. the ring:  tell us about it! did you pick it out? did he? pictures! tell us about his ring too!
5. engagement/bridal pictures: let's see em!
6. the colors: show some of the flower and colors you used
7. the dress: was it what you always imagined? did you have it made for you? white or ivory?
8. the little accessories: you know, veil? shoes? jewelry? what did your bridesmaids wear?
9. the reception: where was it at? show us some pictures! what day did you get married?
10. the cake/food: i love food. so tell me about what you had at your wedding!
11. your song and/or the first song you danced to at your wedding: share a music video or lyrics if you can!
12. favorite part of the day and least favorite part of the day: can be anything.
13. honeymoon: where did you go? was it good?  ;) haha...jk.
14. thoughts on marriage: what is the easiest/hardest part? if you could change anything, what would it be?
15. first place that you lived together: pics if you have them!
16. kids: do you have any yet? if not, when do you plan on it? how many do you want? any tips on good/bad birth control?
17. most recent picture of you and your significant other and what you love most about them :) and any other thoughts.

Today we're talking about my least favorite and my favorite parts of the day. I'll start with my least favorite part of the day, so we can end on a happy memory.

My least favorite part of the day was finishing up getting this done:

We started too late on my hair. My dad who does not like to be late was there rushing us. It was a stressful moment when my dad came into my future in-law's house and told us we had to leave now. I was so frazzled that when we got to the temple I realized that I had forgotten Hal's wedding ring and our marriage license in my car. oops. That was a not fun moment, but it all worked out. Someone brought us the license, and the ceremony still started on time.

My very favorite moment is something most of the people reading this might not understand, so I'll do two moments. My favorite moment was sitting in the Celestial Room with Hal just talking before we went into our ceremony to be sealed together. It was so nice to have that 10 minutes to just bask in the spirit and to know that you're making the right decision and to say sweet things to your future husband. That's the advice I give to anyone being sealed in the temple. I tell them to take that time to tell their future spouse how much they mean to them. It meant a lot to me. If you want to have any idea what I'm talking about, you can go here.

My second favorite moment of the day was when we were leaving from having our pictures taken, and it was just starting to rain. I had wanted it to rain SO much on my wedding day. We were leaving with our photographer, and two of my sisters were left with us when it started to rain. So what's the one thing I wanted to do more than anything on my wedding day (besides get married) dance in the rain! We practiced our wedding dance, which if you missed I posted the video of last week Even though our photographer had to leave he stopped in his tracks and took these awesome shots of us dancing in the rain.

 Photos by Duston Todd

We had so much fun dancing in the rain. By the time we changed out of our clothes it was pouring down rain and we all got soaked trying to find where they had parked my car, but I didn't complain, in fact I pulled down my slip and lent it to my sister who's white dress was fast becoming see through. I'm so lucky, I got exactly what I wanted on my wedding day, and I've heard that if it rains on your wedding day, that it's good luck!

hike in crescent city

Hal and I took a little last minute trip that I haven't had time to blog about until now. On my birthday we were out with some friends and we had been talking about taking this trip forever. We realized we had less than 2 months, and if we didn't plan it now, we were never going to go. So 3 weeks later we found our selves in California to go see the Redwoods!

After what was supposed to be a 16 hour drive, and ended up taking us 22 hours. We maybe took a wrong turn because the two girls in the car were driving at 2 am and were talking to keep each other awake...and maybe missed a turn. and maybe went 1 1/2 in the wrong direction, and didn't realize it until we hit the junction for Burns or Boise, and accidentally started heading towards Boise. I got real tired once the boys were awake. Funny how that works.

When we saw the sign for Boise 100 something miles we realized something was wrong. That's when the boys woke up. Oops, a little 4 hour detour doesn't do anyone any harm...except when you're driving all night and haven't slept.What matters is that we made it!

My sister came down from Portland to play among the trees with us. 

We were dying after the 22 hour drive, so we went on a mini hike in Crescent City, CA that goes from the edge of the Redwoods down to the Ocean. It was SO pretty.

Man, directions wasn't our thing on this trip. We took a wrong turn and ended up by this river and some campsites. Eventually we found the path that led to the ocean.

And this is where my sister photo bombed us. Lovely, right?

Right here, if you go around sunset, there are a ton of sea lions. Some even came really close to the shore. You would look out and just see heads popping up all over.

This is my favorite picture. I took it on the way back up as the sun was setting. I didn't even edit it, it was so pretty.

 

Next up, I have pictures of the actual Redwoods, and an amazing hike we did.