Summer Travels

Summer 2013 was the summer of weddings!

Good things happens in 3 threes, a friend always reminds me. Well, this year, 2 of my best friends whom I've known since Freshman Year at BYU also got married. Whitney got engaged a week before my wedding and Alison only about a month later.

From March to November, I traveled to Utah 5 times!!!

March- plan my wedding
April- My Wedding!
July- Whitney's Wedding
August- Alison's Wedding
September- Mike's College Reunion

The trips were quick, but so much fun! I had a chance to visit family, meet up with friends, and watch as my best friends got married. It was a lot of flights back and forth between DC and Utah, but I loved every minute we spent in Utah. I have wonderful friends and I'm so happy for them!

My mother-in-law Petrine, me, my mom Angie

The night before my wedding we had an informal dinner in lieu of a wedding luncheon. It was a fun night for families and wedding party to meet. Luckily, my brother and sister in law were gracious enough to host us at their beautiful home.

Alison, Steffany, Liz

Mike's groomsmen: John, Mike, Hunter, Ryan

The Generous Hosts! Alisa & Kurt (and two nephews Aidan, Jake)

Liz, Brittney, Brea

Alison, Brea, Steffany (long time roommates)

In-n-Out, best pre-wedding meal! (okay, so it was the day before the wedding)

MOVING DAY!!!!

Hard to come back to rainy Maryland after a week in Hawaii, but at least we were coming to OUR home! By the way, we have a spare room and it's ready for guests!!!

First meal in our new apartment!!!

1 month anniversary (I know this has nothing to do with a trip to Utah, but I just wanted to give Mike a shout out. The balloons and flowers were all Mike!!!)

Okay, also not a trip to Utah....San Francisco. I headed to Oakland the last week in June for a HR training for my new job! I accepted a position (promotion) with the Public Health Institute. I'm still with USAID, but my hiring mechanism changed as well as some of my job responsibilities. I had an afternoon to enjoy the pier in San Francisco before flying out to Portland to visit my new niece!!!

Sweet baby Claire Christina Kemeny was born June 10 and was only 3 weeks old in these pictures.

Tour of Temple Square on 4th of July

Watching the Stadium of Fire Fireworks in Provo from the MTC fields

Whitney's Bridal Shower/Bachelorette Party (pink was the theme)

Starting with my own wedding, eating In-n-Out has become a Utah wedding tradition! In between the sealing and reception, an In-n-Out trip is an absolute must! And while the burgers are good, I really go for the chocolate shakes!

DC Reunion at Whitney's wedding (Nick, Steffany, Ally, Paul, me, Mike)

Whit's wedding

I know it wasn't our wedding...but why not!

Alison and Steve's wedding at the Draper Temple in August

Alison's reception with old roommates and friends (ignore the crazy eyes)

Trip #5 to Utah!! Over Labor Day we headed back once again to the Beehive State, this time for Mike to meet up with his college buddies. These guys all met at BYU their Freshman Year and hadn't been together in years. We enjoyed some family time, BBQ, BYU football, and a baby blessing. For the BYU game, we endured our second lightning delay, but this was better than the UVA game since we won! 

Lots of trips to Utah this year and all for good reasons. I'm not sure when we'll be heading back, but as I have a nephew on the way and a best friend's baby, it probably won't be too long! Summer 2013 was quite an adventure!

Honeymoon in Hawaii

Just getting a jump start on my New Year's resolutions of journaling/blogging more frequently. I have loads to catch up on. And since I've now been married for 8 months, I figured I should add a new post to follow the wedding one.

The Honeymoon!

Mike and I enjoyed 7 wonderful days in Hawaii. I'll spare you the details, but since this is my online travel log, I need to at least share some pictures. We split our stay between Oahu and Maui, which turned out to be a perfect combination of busy and relaxing.

Upon arrival to Honolulu, we met a senior missionary couple at the airport and when they found out we were on our honeymoon, they offered us free tickets to the Polynesian Cultural Center. I'm so lucky to be married to a man who loves to strike up conversations with strangers wherever he goes! We took a day to drive the North Shore and stopped for shaved ice and shrimp trucks! We pretty much ate our way through Hawaii!!! We also took a day at the PCC and enjoyed it thoroughly!!! We stayed for the luau and fire show that evening. Our last day in Oahu, we spent in Honolulu visiting Pearl Harbor and Waikiki Beach. We arrived to Pearl Harbor around 10 am and found the tickets to see the USS Arizona sold out for the day. Then Mike, being his charming self, politely told the ticket person we were on our honeymoon and only there for one more day and that we really wanted to see the Memorial. They informed us that there are stand by tickets if we talk to the Park Ranger. Of course, we did and 4 minutes later walked right onto the boat taking us to the Memorial! I love that Mike doesn't mind asking for anything!!!

Our first Dance!!! We won for the newest married couple at the Luau!

Making friends at the PCC

Then we headed over to Maui. Spent a day at the beach snorkeling, swimming, lounging, drove the road to Hana and did all the side stops for waterfalls, tree swings, cliff jumping, and swimming in the Seven Sacred Pools. Maui was absolutely perfect with beautiful beaches and outdoor adventures!!!

We loved Hawaii! It is the most perfect place and I only wish it wasn't two 6 hour flights away!!!