Mexico Cruise

The first week of May, Sean and I went on an incredible vacation to Mexico with my family! I'm just now finding time to blog about it.

We drove to LA with my sister, brother in law, and perfect little niece. The girls sat in the back talking and watching movies while the boys drove and drank their rockstars.

We checked in, boarded the ship and started our vacation.

My brother is weird. We love him, but he's weird.

Our first day, Monday, was a "Fun Day At Sea." My sister and I laughed about how they call it a fun day, do they think we're 5? But I guess they're right, it is fun. You sleep in, eat as much food as humanly possible,  go to comedy shows, and lay in the sun.

That night at dinner, it was formal night. We don't dress quite as "formal" as others. Our formal night is more like "church clothes" night.

Sean won't smile for the camera.

So I kept trying.

And finally got a smile.

Cute brothers

The dinners are amazing. You get a three course meal, and the menu is different every night. Not to mention, you can order as much and as many dishes as you like! Cruising is the way to travel, take my word for it.

I love this picture. When Sean laughs his eyes squint up and it's the most adorable thing ever.

My family is known for ugly pictures, and Sean fits in well.

We went to a comedy show almost every night.

I make him take pictures even when he doesn't want to (which is always).

Again, my weird brother. We love him for who he is.

Cabo San Lucas was our first stop.

We bought lunch at this random little place. Good thing Sean and Chad speak Spanish.

We took a little glass bottom boat out to Lover's Beach.

On the way there, this little guy stopped by (not so little).
He came right up to our boat

and Chi fed him a fish.

After the Sea Lion left, Leila wanted him to come back. She kept clapping her hands together saying "Come here boy! Come here boy!" So cute.

The famous Los Arcos

When we got to Lover's Beach, this guy was chillin there with mini iguanas.

Without even asking, he put them all over Sean.

Lover's Beach is at the very tip of Mexico's Baja Peninsula facing the Sea of Cortez. If you walk like 100 yards, you'll be on Divorce Beach that faces the Pacific Ocean.

While we were walking to Divorce Beach, Sean's sensitive little feet got too hot, so we had to take a break.

Divorce Beach. Maybe we shouldn't have taken a picture here...

The waves were HUGE on the Pacific Ocean side; our tour guide kept saying we would be "loco" to go in water. Well, my husband and brothers decided to test it out anyways.

My buff man

Then this happened...

Leila loves the sand and the ocean.

Cave exploring

Daniel climbed everything he could get his hands on

You can tell when I post my pictures and when I post my sister's. Her's are such better quality.

We climbed through this little hole in the rocks and found a beautiful, completely empty beach.

Leila and James buried Chi.

Then Leila wanted a turn.

We were shocked she laid there so calmly.

I just love this girl. She is too cute for her own good.

My siblings that I love

Our waitress Windi. She was from the Philippines.

The next day, Wednesday, we were in Cabo still, and every one did their own thing. My dad and brother's went fishing and caught a 7 foot Marlon. Cindy and Chi swam with dolphins. Jen, Chad and Leila relaxed in the sun. So Sean and I explored the city.

Please pardon the inappropriateness. It was just too funny.

These weird skeleton ladies were everywhere.

Sean wanted to blend in with the Mexicans so we don't look like tourists and get ourselves killed. I guess I didn't help much since I was waving my bright pink camera everywhere making Sean get in pictures.

We walked around the city, browsed the flea markets, and had ice cream.
It was a great day.

Our ship, carnival splendor.

Eating shark. I hate sharks, they terrify me, so everyone said I had to "conquer" them by eating them.

The animal in our room one day looked like a devil. Chad said it was a bunny, but I'm pretty sure bunnies don't have horns.

The next day, we were in Puerto Vallarta. My dad, Jen, and Leila took a boat to a beautiful beach and held monkeys and pythons.

The rest of us went on a canopy adventure.

We had a 45 minute speed boat ride

Then we took a bumpy ride through Mexico.

Poor Chad got the worst seat.

Gearing up

They made me put my camera away after that. But we had a professional photographer follow us around.
(Those pictures are at the end of this post.)

Puerto Vallarta is beautiful. It was our favorite.

The last two days were "Fun Days at Sea" while we sailed back to LA.

Our second formal night.

Sushi

This might be the cutest picture I've seen in my life. Ever.

The whole fam

What a cute man

I had this dessert every single night. It truly was the greatest thing I've ever tasted in my life.

They sang happy birthday to Daniel and I

We played a lot of ping pong.

and mini golf

and relaxed.

We basked in the sun, went to shows, and ate. All. day. long.

Canopy adventure pictures:

While we were riding the mules, Sean was behind me, and he tried passing me. Well my mule wasn't going to let that happen, he bit Sean's mule in the neck, then kicked Sean in the leg. It was hilarious.

Our first zip line

The second zip line

We did this thing they called half zip line/half repel, but I honestly felt like I was just free falling 30 feet. No pictures, sorry.

Then came the 100 foot waterfall repel.

I think Chad might be feeling an adrenaline rush here.

Our group

The entire group

This zipline went into ice cold water.

We did a bunch of hiking, walking on a tight rope, and other stuff. Then came the worst part: free falling 100 feet. I almost died. They put you over the edge and you just... fall.

Then when you get this close to the water, they stop you, and you think you don't have to get in.

But you do.

He stopped me here and said, "Now you see her...

...Now you don't."

Daniel fell so fast, he pulled the guy into the water.

Our tour guide was the coolest guy ever.

There were a few more zip lines and other things. On the last zip line, we raced.

Talmage beat Chi

I beat Sean. He was ahead of me the whole time, but I didn't break at the end. I was the first one on the platform-so naturally, I won.
(We still fight about this)

Daniel beat James, by a lot, ha.

And I have no clue who won here.

It was the greatest vacation. We really needed it.
Sean and I are already planning (dreaming about) our next cruise. Hopefully we'll go in January to celebrate Sean's birthday and my graduation!

Now I'm Legal

Finally I'm 21 and allowed to drink. Ha, kidding. But seriously, now I don't have to be the one to hold Sean and his friends back from going to concerts or eating dinner at a bar. 

It used to go like this...

"Where should we eat tonight?"

"We could go to the Bayou."

"Melissa isn't 21."

I ruined all the fun and was teased about being little.

Well that isn't happening anymore. This girl is legal now.

I have to blog about my perfect birthday. I used to get unbelievably excited about my birthday. I could easily be compared to Lily in How I Met Your Mother-you can see what I'm talking about here. This year, I wasn't as excited. Maybe it's because I'm getting old. Or maybe it's because now that I'm happily married, everyday feels like my birthday. I personally think it's the latter. Either way, it was a perfect day.

Last weekend, Sean and I celebrated by having a movie marathon. We usually don't see too many movies in theaters, but there were three we were dying to see. Thursday, Friday and Saturday we saw these movies.

 We loved Avengers. The Hulk is freakin awesome. And I just love Robert Downey Jr. "What is this, Shakespeare in the Park? Doth Mother know you weareth the drapes?" 

Going into it, we thought this movie would be a little more funny and a little less dark. Sean loved it, but it just creeped me out. I should have known-Tim Burton and Johnny Depp are weird.

We really enjoyed this movie. It was pretty hilarious, although it provided a small form of birth control for us. 

Monday we had a big family dinner at Olive Garden with my family and Sean's. It was so great to be with both my families.

On my actual birthday, I woke up to breakfast in bed. Sean seriously spoiled me all day. I also got to go to his class and administer a survey for some research I am doing. I learned that my husband is a teacher's pet. He's one of those smart students who does all their homework perfectly, that all the other students are jealous of and all the professors love. The exact opposite of me... Whatever. I'm lucky I married one of those rare "hot nerds." 

That evening I came home to beautiful flowers and presents. The best presents were my shiny new laptop and my garden. Sean and I have always said that we want to have our own garden when we're old. Being able to grow our own food is one of the coolest things I can imagine. Well, Sean got me started! He got me a "mini garden" to put on our back porch. I'm so excited to start growing our own tomatoes, onions, jalapenos, garlic, and more. It really was the greatest gift ever. For dinner, Sean took me to Los Hermanos (they give you free fried ice cream on your birthday).

 Then we went to the place where we got engaged one year earlier. It was so fun to celebrate my birthday, and also our engagement. I still think it was the most perfect proposal.

 I also got to go to my best friend's bridal shower, it was so fun to spend time with her and other good friends. I can't wait for her wedding in a couple weeks.

Apparently, it was Sean's birthday too. All day, I would tease Sean by asking him to do EVERYTHING for me and I'd say "It's my birthday." As the evening wore on, he got creative and said "Now that we're married, we share everything, so it's my birthday too." Touche.

I really, truly had the most perfect birthday ever. And it's not over yet! I have a girls night with my sister tomorrow, and lot's of free dinners. About a month ago, I signed up for every free birthday dinner I could get. So we now have free dinners to Red Robin, Tucanos, Benihina, and more. I'm so blessed to have the most perfect husband, family, and friends. 

I'm finally 21!

Lately

Here's what we've been up to lately...

We went ice skating for the first time. Can you believe we've never been together? Pretty sad if you ask me. It was really fun to see how good Sean is, he did speed skating in middle school.

Sean and his brother Bruce took me snowboarding for my first time ever! Another sad fact: I've been skiing, but never snowboarding. Sean and Bruce were really good teachers. I was dreading it because everyone said "You'll hate your first time" but I honestly loved it. I can't wait to go again.

I started an internship last month. My best friend, Bryn, was able to get me an awesome internship at her work- Early Head Start in Salt Lake. They are a program that help low-income families with children ages 0-3. I am loving it, my boss is my best friend so it's basically the best internship ever!

I went with my sister and Sean's sisters to see Hunger Games! We were lucky enough to see it the night before it came out at 7:00pm, thanks to my awesome sister-in-law, Ashley. I absolutely loved it and can't wait to see it again.
Here's my sister and I waiting for the movie to start. Trying to appear somewhat normal, then showing our true excitement...

The pictures get worse, so I'll stop there.

Sean and I read the Hunger Games together. He always made fun of me for being obsessed, but now he's hooked and read all three books in five days (he was even reading on his lunch breaks), then we went and saw the movie together. He loved the books, but hated the movie. I, on the other hand, am weirdly obsessed with both.

My laptop has been giving me a lot of trouble lately. There's nothing more frustrating than a computer that is slow and freezes constantly, especially when you're doing school work. My incredible husband came home one day with a gorgeous brand new laptop! Happy early birthday to me! It's so pretty and nice, I'm almost too scared to touch it.

I registered for classes for the last time ever (unless I go to graduate school-decision pending). I graduate with my Bachelor's this December. I can't believe it! Registering at BYU is the worst. I'm so glad I'm done.

Sean has made a huge decision to quit his job, and finish school. Recently he has had strong feelings that he needs to have a degree. It's been a hard decision because his current job is amazing and almost everyone he works with has their Bachelor's degree anyways and he's already on that level of employment. But we both believe that education should be a priority, so he's taking the leap of faith and doing it. He doesn't have that much longer until he gets his Bachelor's in finance, then he may go to Law school or get an MBA. I'm so proud of him.

I have recently become obsessed with wanting a puppy. Okay, it's not recent, but whatever. I want a Papillon. Is this not the cutest thing ever? Is it sad I already have a name picked out for our non-existent dog? I ask Sean daily to buy me one.

My best friend of 15 years got her mission call to Rochester, New York. So happy and excited for her!

For April Fools Day, I tried convincing Sean I was pregnant, but I didn't have it planned out well enough, so it was a complete fail. Next year I will get him. He, on the other hand, played an incredibly mean trick: ice cold water while I was in the shower and ran away yelling "April Fools!!" He was so hilarious trying to play tricks on me all day, I couldn't even get mad.

We discovered our new favorite restaurant: La Jolla Groves. After our first time there, Sean kept saying "Remember how good that food was?" over and over again. We've been back three times in the past two months.

Finals are kicking my butt. 6 finals in 4 days. Why do professors feel a need to give final projects AND a final exam? And why am I blogging when I should be studying?

Sean and I are trying to survive all this craziness just to get to the first week of May. My dad's Christmas present to all his kids was a Mexican Riviera Cruise! It's basically all we can think about.

Two Years

Exactly two years ago today I met Sean at Zupas. He came to Utah to attend one of his best friends weddings (by the way, this couple has now become our closest friends-Congrats to Nick and Briana for being married two years!) and that evening is when I met him. I wish I could say that it was love at first sight, but I'm not sure if that exists. There was nothing monumental about the day I met him. To me, he was my friends friend. But I will say that it's one of the most important days of my life. He has made me so unbelievably happy these past two years. A few days ago I discovered that my sweet puppy needs to be put down. She's not a puppy anymore, I got her for Christmas when I was 8 years old, but to me she'll always be my puppy. It has been some of the hardest days I've ever experienced, because she's so much more than a dog to me. Sean has been the most supportive sweet husband, I know for a fact I could not go through this without him. Just another reason why I'm so lucky to have him.

I'll do a few more days of this challenge thing-y...

Day 8: A place you’ve traveled to and where else you want to travel.

I've been so blessed to grow up in a family that loves to travel and makes it a priority. In school when we are asked to tell an interesting fact about ourselves, I love saying I have been to 15 countries. I am so blessed, I think traveling teaches you something you can't learn any other way. My favorite place is Florence, Italy. Sean and I want to travel everywhere and anywhere, but we really want to go to Hawaii together!

Day 9: A favorite picture of your best friend.

This is my handsome best friend:

Day 10: Something you’re afraid of.

Me: sharks

Sean: needles

One time, we had a texting war. We'd send each other pictures of bloody needles and attacking sharks until we both were so traumatized, we couldn't text each other for a while.

Day 11: A quote you love.

If you know me at all, you know I am obsessed with quotes. I have a never-ending list of quotes organized by topic. I didn't think I could pick just one, but I forced myself:

“The highest and most beautiful things in life are not to be heard about, nor read about, nor seen, but if one will, are to be lived.” -Soren Kierkegaard

Day 12: Something you don’t leave the house without.

Dumb question. Our phones?

Day 13: Goals.

Don't feel like typing them all up. We have them. I must be getting lazy, guess I should stop.