Anniversary Trip

It has been a while since we've posted. Things have just been so busy! So, while I sit and watch the Iowa game (go Hawks!), I finally have some time to blog about our trip to Arizona!

We decided to take a trip to the Grand Canyon for our anniversary. I had been looking forward to it for so long! The Grand Canyon is an 8 hour drive from San Diego. When I told Josh that he said, "I would drive 12 hours to see it!" So, we took a couple Harry Potter books, and the drive time flew by :-) (Josh may not admit it, but he really likes HP)

I am slightly obsessed with travel websites and finding great deals on things. (If you are looking for a fabulous travel deals website, visit travelzoo.com!) I found a great deal on a Scottsdale resort, so we cut up our drive on the 1st day by staying in Scottsdale. Now, Iowa summers are hot. Really hot. But I'm not sure I've ever been 115 degree weather. It was simply stifling! (I think Elizabeth was trying not to laugh at me when I told her this, as she has lived in Spain and Nicaragua, but we're not used to it, ok!) Anyway, we tried to spend most of our time in the pool.
We woke up early in the morning to go play on the water slides. We were the only people there. If we hadn't been the only people there, we probably would have been the oldest people there.
They made the desert look pretty beautiful.
That's right, I listed my prefix as 'Dr.' when I reserved the room. The person checking me in probably thought I was 19, though. I don't think he knew what to call me. I found it pretty humorous.
We set off the next afternoon for the Grand Canyon!
We saw quite a few elk. This one was in our campground eating each evening.Josh was pretty nervous about getting near the edge (I think he gets it from his dad!), but I still talked him into this sweet picture.
Most of the time, however, he looked like this.
We took a hike down into the canyon one afternoon. It was pretty grueling, but we made it out alive. We had a look-out spot that we were planning on stopping at to turn around. We never saw it, however, and accidentally hiked past it to the NEXT look-out point. Oops. We still dominated it.

Later that day, we found our own secluded corner of the canyon, set up our chairs, and read for a couple hours. It was our favorite part of the trip; the most relaxing hours I've had in months!
We camped at a campground in Grand Canyon Village. It was our first time using the tent we got for our wedding a year ago. It was a great first camping trip for us, hopefully one of many more :-) Josh is a spectacular camp-food-cooker, and he made the best breakfast I've ever had!
It was a great way to celebrate our first anniversary, and we look forward to many more!

P.S. The Hawks just beat Penn State, and we are going slightly crazy. GO IOWA!!!!
My favorite quote from the game:
Reporter: "Coach Ferentz, what were you thinking when Penn State came out and scored a touchdown on their first play."
Kirk Ferentz: "Crap. Simply put, crap."
I love him.

Preppy Shoes and Annoying Phrases

Josh is wearing flip-flops and bought a pair of shoes at Aldo. I used the phrase "No worries" when leaving someone a voice mail today. Uh oh. I think we're getting Californianized.

Yay for Family!

My parents and sister came out to visit us earlier this month. I had been sooo excited for them to come out. I was jumping around the house all week in giddy hyperactivity. (Really, I was SUPER hyper. And my poor husband had to put up with me.)

It was such a fabulous time! It was a great week for them to come out as far as my work schedule. I was able to go in early and be off by early afternoon everyday.

We went to a Padres game right when they got here. It was a beautiful day for it. We got gelato after the game at a place we like right next to the stadium. Yum!

Monday, they went to the zoo. Josh and I met them there later after work. We love the zoo! There's always something new to see: like when my parents saw a lion urinate on some girls that were standing near the fence in the "spray zone." There's always excitement at the zoo!


My dad loves to sail, so of course one day we went sailing on Mission Bay, very near our condo. We rented a catamaran and tooled around the bay, trying to avoid other sailboats and windsurfers, and making sure my dad didn't achieve his goal of "sailing out to the open sea!"





I'm pretty sure nothing scary enough happened on our outing that warranted this terrified of a reaction. I must have just caught my mom at the right moment. She'll love me for this pic :-) I can't stop laughing at it!
It was Josh's first time on a sailboat, and he was a total pro!
On one day, some family that lives north, closer to LA, came down to hang out. They went to the beach and had a blast [while I was working :-( ] but I met up with them later. It was so fun to hang out with lots of family that we hardly ever see! And the triplets always keep things exciting :-)

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On their last night here, we went on a dinner cruise around the San Diego harbor. It was so cool to see the city from out on the bay. We saw some fireworks being shot off of a boat, and we danced the night away to the band's music! (Ok...I could only get people to dance with me for like 2 songs. Something about "everyone's watching me!"-in Josh's whiniest voice.)





Now that they are gone, our condo seems so empty! I was used to the way things were before they came, but now it is lonely around here. I already knew I missed family and home, but now I'm reminded of how MUCH I miss everyone! Things will get busy again, and we'll be fine. But we are lucky that we both have families that are so great that we miss them when we're gone!

I guess it was a successful trip! And I think Kelli wants to come back soon...