Sad news, Cory's not a matchmaker. As per Cory's request I cannot comment futher. He says I need to work on being meek. PS I still love you, Drew. On a side note . . . these are some awesome pictures we took for a game I made for FHE a couple weeks ago. It was a concentration game, you picked a picture and tried to match it with a hobby or talent of the person whose picture you picked. The girls loved it!
When we started planning this trip we thought Puerto Rico was basically considered a part of the USA. The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is a self-governing unincorporated territory located in the northeast Caribbean. Yeah, definitely south of the border!!
The idea of the trip started off with two Buddy-Passes for standby tickets on Jet Blue. We saved mucho dinero by using these passes and paid with our time! It took us 24 hours of travel, including layovers, flights with no more room, flying into a different airport than planned and renting a car to get where we needed to go.
Day 1: Flew into Aguadilla, rented a car, drove cautiously (HOLY COW!!! These people are insane! I've been to Mexico a number of times and they seem like angels compared to the driving manners of the Puerto Ricans. Lesson #1 in Puerto Rico not really being influenced by America.), went to the El Parque de las Cavernas del Rio Camuy, took a tour, drove to our condo in Condado, ate traditional Puerto Rican dinner (Mofongo y Pollo, chicken sauce stuff over mashed plantains - YUM!), went home showered and SLEPT!
Day 2: Returned the car, played at the Beautiful Isla Verde Beach, had my sun glasses stolen by the ocean - so I'm wearing Cory's golfing glasses, rode some waves, got some sun, ate some crazy pizza (The American? is what they called it. Tomato sauce, cheese, ham, bacon, green peppers, ground beef, and two fried eggs. We tried to substitute the beef for mushrooms, they left off the beef, added canned mushrooms and charged us $2.15 more! Lesson #2).
Day 3: More beach, read a book, Cory studied, played in the waves, watched Scary-Thong Lady, went home, took a long nap (You know? We had a long day at the beach.), ate at Fudd's, etc.
Day4: Rented a car, drove to Fajardo, took the ferry to Vieques(this isn't the ferry, but apparently in PR when something is considered no longer useful, you should just leave it where it is or throw it on the big pile of garbage next to your house!
Lesson #3), saw a dolphin, went on a Bio Bay Tour (I cannot even adequately describe or express how amazing this place was. It's a natural wonder of the world. These little dinoflagellates live in the bay and . . . they glow. They don't glow, but it's a long description with words I don't remember. It was unreal! The pictures from the website don't even do it justice. It was like Tinkerbell dust, truly! The bathroom at the tour place was awesome!), stayed at Bananas Guesthouse and ate there.
Day 5: Rain, chased this lizard around,had some crazy old man walk past me and say, "Callate Bruja!" In other words, "Shut up Witch!" I wasn't even talking. Lesson #4.), walked around El Fuerte Conde De Mirasol,took the very choppy ferry ride back to Fajardo, drove back to condo, went to the Pinones (WOW! Traditional PR food made in these little shacks on the side of the road. We had Ensalada de Carrucho - it's raw conch with onions in a briny liquid, served with plantain chips. I liked it, Cory wasn't a huge fan. He also had a fried thing shaped like a banana, but it was like a seafood corn dog!), walked around Pinones Beach and watched the wicked waves,and got a Coco Frio.
Day 6: Went to San Juan Viejo (Old San Juan) on a autobus, took in the historical sights, melted, walked around the whole city (Twice, I think!), went to Castillo San Felipe del Morro(way cool and super old, started in the 1540's completed in 1787, tons of barracks, secret passageways, and lookouts to explore. This was the Triangular Staircase.), saw theCementerio Santa Maria Magdelena de Pazzis (All the old influential people of PR are buried here, wish our cemeteries looked this cool! My face is the perfect description of how hot I felt.), walked through the Castillo De San Cristobal, ate in a hole in the wall called Restaurante El Jibarito (Great Comida Criollo, Cory had mofongo and ribs, I had a pork tamale and fried sweet plantains - it was really good.), took the bus home (I casually mention the bus, but it was not casual at all. We're lucky to be alive! Lesson #5.)
Day 7: Flew home!
Overall, the trip was fantastic! We got some much needed, Cory and Rachel quality-time, remembered how adventurous we are when our kids aren't around, and most of all, HAD FUN!
After returning home and trying to get back in the routine, I realize how much a love traveling! I love looking forward to trips, and the memories from them. The girls did great, aside from Tessa being sick, and we missed them so much. Thanks to my parents and Cory's grandparents for watching the girls and Amie for the tickets!
One of the few benefits of having a ridiculously knowledgeable husband is that he's always studying and learning new and interesting OB techniques. We call this the Uterine Punch! Get in line ladies!!
Here are a few of my FAVORITE things (at the moment): #1- Online Tutorials: I love these things, especially the free ones! That's how I find so many of my projects and I can say I've had success on every attempt so far. My idea, my mom's skills, voila!
Once an over sized mini skirt, now a bag. I love how the pockets work still, and the liner was already in it!#2- Harvest Grain 'N Nut Pancakes: This is an IHOP recipe I've been after for years. My mom and I always say, the more nuts the better, and I think that applies in all areas of my life. It's at Top Secret Recipes for free this week!
#3- Heather Bailey's fabric line: Holy Smokes! This stuff is by far, the most colorful, fun, vintage looking stuff out there. I'm addicted and fully plan on using it in the near future! #4- Girl Scouts Samoas Cookie Ice Cream- Enough said!#5- Deseret Industries: I missed this place so much when I was in AZ. Goodwill doesn't even compare! My family and I have found endless entertainment and so many amazing things there. I'm not even ashamed to tell people that I wear clothing from D.I. My best find this year was an awesome shelf made of barn wood that I refinished and put in my grandma's bathroom. #6- Twilight Soundtrack: I know, I know, we're all up to here with Twilight, but I LOVE the soundtrack and listen to it all the time. Turn up your volume and ENJOY! Except the weird Rob Pattinson song, that one bugs me. #7- Fancy Nancy by Jane O'Connor: Where have these books been all my life?!? Emory and I could read them all day long. Cory loves the french in them. They're Stupendous! (That's just a fancy word for great.) #8- PaylessShoesource: I used to go here fro my shoes as a kid, and just recently started going again. Why did I stop? They have tons of cute flats and I especially like the American Eagle stuff; it's even better when it's on clearance. I also love the accessories. Cheap stuff that's super cute! #9-The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch: You can watch the lecture online or read the book. (I love the book.) I love to highlight books, magazines, anything; this whole book would be highlighted if I'd let myself. The MOST AMAZING story and outlook on life and how to live it! #10- Mi Familia: They are so dang cute! I love Cory so much, he's a great husband and father. (Sorry I karate chopped you in the throat, buddy.) I love the girls, they're in such a great phase. They play together so well, and actually have fun. They played for a full hour like this the other day. Not one fight the whole time! (And yes, they chose to get in there, I didn't put them there!)
I can't even begin to explain how crazy this last week was for me. It didn't rain, it poured! It started off with the death one of the sweetest people I have ever known. I have so many great memories of her from Young Women events and high school. She was in my Driver's Ed class and I remember us have the best time, laughing about all the crazy rules of the road that we would never obey! I think my favorite thing to do with her was leave ladies choir 10 minutes early to avoid hall traffic with her wheelchair, and riding in the elevator wasn't half bad either! She was a special person and I can't wait for the day that I see her again with her beautiful perfect body! On Wednesday my best friend Heidi got married! It was fun, low-key wedding and so nice. They were sealed in the Jordan River Temple in the morning and it was a wonderful experience. Their sealer talked all about the importance of family. It was lovely. What wasn't lovely was the snow that started outside! It really wasn't too bad, but I'm sure Richard and Heidi were Popsicles by the time they were done with pictures. After that, there was a luncheon at Market Street (woo-hoo!) and it was delicious.
Me and Heidi in a typical "working moms" pose!Me, Heidi and Richard.
I think the thing that I enjoyed the most was spending the whole morning and most of the afternoon with my super hot husband! It was so nice to got to the temple and hold hands while listening to the sealers advice to the couple. Then we did some errands on the way to the luncheon, and actually sat down and ate in peace without the childrens! Thanks to my mom for watching the girls. I've realized, throughout this whole medical school experience, to enjoy every second I get with my husband - and I thoroughly did!
This was us on the bridge outside of MS.
Thursday, I helped my mom get ready for the funeral luncheon, and practiced the piano. Friday was Jordan's Funeral and it was perfect. That's really the only words to describe it. Perfect! I love her family so much, they are some of the best people ever. Her mom is an amazing accompanist and handles almost all of the ward's piano playing needs. With her not able to play this week, I got to take over everything. Wow! That woman is a SAINT! I have never been so tired of playing the piano in my whole life. I was more than happy to play for the funeral, in fact I wanted to. It was all the other stuff people called and asked me to help with, on top of me getting a cold, that pushed me into piano overload. I played for the funeral, then helped with the luncheon afterwards. Saturday, I played at a baptism. Sunday I played the organ (what a joke!) and played for primary (which is my calling) and talked in Young Women's and substituted for the choir! Phew . . . that wears me out thinking about it! This almost sounds like complaining, but it most definitely is not. I am so grateful for the talents that Heavenly Father has blessed me with. I love playing the piano almost more than anything else! Music is so special to me and I owe thanks for the many things I have learned from it. If you haven't heard "Come thou Fount" from the Reflections of Christ soundtrack, your'e missing out. It's by far our favorite song and I want it back in the hymn book. I also got a bonus calling this week . . . Girl's Camp Director! I'm so excited! It'll be crazy planning it, but I love the girls and that's all that matters. PS We also had an amazing Super Bowl party yesterday. My Grandma Audrey, her husband, and Josh and Syd all came over. Dang those Cardinals! We were all screaming and none of us sat down the whole last quarter. The food we had far outshone the game, Mango Habenero wings, potato skins, ribs, coleslaw, clam chowder in bread bowls, and chips and dips galore!
