August

So I don't know how many of you have been to Vegas in the summer time, but holy crap is it hot! I've lived in California so I thought I would be somewhat prepared, but boy was I wrong. It wasn't unusual for it to be over 110 degrees. The only time we left the house was to go straight to the pool that is in our neighborhood. Night time isn't really any better with lows in the 90s or 80s. There's basically no good time to be outside at all during the summer months. On our walks to the pool, it felt like the skin was literally melting off my body. Gross, I know. I am extremely happy that we did have a pool though, and that we were able to get nice tans!

A refreshing 103 degree day...

Our nephew Giovanni under water...he's a great swimmer!

The best part of August was that the family that I used to nanny for came to visit their grandparents (Charlie and Nancy) who live here, so we got to spend lots of time with them! Of course I was in heaven, I'd only been gone a month and was already missing my boys like crazy! We went over to Charlie's sister's house for a BBQ and of course we spent the whole day in the pool. Jason did a great job of convincing the boys to jump into the pool. They were not excited at all, but he eventually showed them that it was fun and there was nothing to be afraid of! I was so proud of them. We got to go out to dinner on the strip with them at Maggiano's (soooo delicious!), and watched the pirate show at Treasure Island. Another fun thing we did while they were here was go to the go-kart place.

I love this picture!

Jason's first time on the strip!

Charlie and Nancy had extra tickets to a 51's baseball game so of course Jason and I were more than happy to take them off their hands. We brought Roger and his friend from work Nick. I got a baseball and had one of the players sign it. They won the game, and there were fireworks afterwards. Lots of fun, even though neither one of us had ever even heard of the team before this haha.

Before the game, waiting for Roger and Nick

One of my good friends from California, Erica, came to town so I got to meet up with her. She was supposed to be a bridesmaid at my wedding but wasn't able to come, so I was glad I got to see her here. Actually the night before I saw her, I got the opportunity to go to a Fun. concert with Erica's friend Melissa, who was already in Vegas, had an extra ticket, and didn't want to go alone. I felt like I was being set up on a blind date but agreed to go meet up with Melissa and go to the concert with her. Free concert, a new friend, how could I say no? Luckily Melissa was awesome, we had tons of fun, and the concert was amazing! 

Going clubbing with them the next night was definitely an interesting experience. I used to do that sort of thing all the time. I loved staying out late and dancing all night. I borrowed some "going out" clothes from Sheena, and my husband gladly sent me on my way. He hates dancing and wanted me to go get it out of my system so I wouldn't ask him to go dance ever haha. Well I don't know if it's because I'm "old" or because I got married, but I was ready to go home before we even went out haha. We didn't even get to the place until 11 or so (already past my bedtime!) and once we got there, I just got extremely irritated by how loud it was, how crowded it was (all those sweaty drunk bodies pressed up against me...yuck), and all I wanted to do was go home to my husband. I'm so lame, I know. I kept texting him and telling him I wasn't having fun, so after maybe 45 minutes in the club, I said goodbye to the girls and left. Either way, I was glad I went and got to spend some time with Erica!

Me, Erica, and Melissa before going out

E-Unit reunited!

Oh, I also got a job at this time. I had already received a job offer from a nice lady named Sheila, who had twin babies (very young, only a month or two old, a boy and a girl) but they lived really far away and I did a trial day with them and quickly discovered how stressful that job would be. The babies were so young and required so much attention. They slept and ate at different times, I didn't get to eat that whole day and was only able to go to the bathroom once (very quickly!). The parents hadn't even done it on their own yet, they both had their mothers staying there helping them. How did they expect me to do it all by myself when they couldn't even do it the two of them?? I politely declined, which was a huge risk, because I didn't have any other job lined up yet, Jason didn't either, and we were quickly running out of money. I talked to him about it though and he didn't want me to take the job if it was going to stress me out that much, so we took a leap of faith and luckily, about a week later I got an interview for a family who lived MUCH closer (only about 10 minutes away).

The Williams family (ironic, huh?) also had twins (boys, a year and a half old, Carter and Wyatt). What is it with me and twins, seriously?! I think I am destined to have some of my own. This way I'll be more prepared I guess haha. Anyway, they hired me a few hours after my interview and I've been with them ever since. They're a great family, the dad is from Seattle so we bonded over that, and the boys are a lot of fun! I love being a nanny!

I have a lot of catching up to do...

I have not blogged since our honeymoon. We have been married five and a half months. I guess I've got some catching up to do!

First and most importantly, just a few short weeks after becoming husband and wife, we moved to Las Vegas. Jason was to stay in Washington to work a few more weeks and earn us some money while I went down by myself to get us moved in and started looking for a job. Jason's sister and brother in law, Sheena and Roger, were kind enough to let us stay at their house until we got settled in Vegas. After an extremely long, grueling drive by myself (I broke my drive up into two days and spent a night in Sacramento) I finally arrived at my new home. Our plan was for Jason to drive to Utah and meet me at my grandma's house for her 70th birthday party a few weeks after I moved, and then we would head back to Las Vegas together. Well as you can imagine, it was extremely difficult being apart from each other for that long. It didn't help that we were newlyweds. We missed each other so much that after five days apart, we ended up buying Jason a cheap flight out to Vegas and we went up to Utah together.

It was so great seeing all my mom's side of the family and spending time with everyone. We also celebrated Maleah, Darsie, and my birthdays. Yay for July birthdays! Highlights from the trip include boating on the lake, Seven Peaks (a water park), and teaching baby Landon how to wave.

Out on the lake

So much fun! I even did a backflip off the tube...not intentionally.

I also lost those sunglasses when Becky pushed me in :(

The crazy Vella family

I told you we're crazy...

After all our fun in Utah, Jason had to fly back to WA to pick up his motorcycle and drive it back. My poor husband. That drive was horrible in a car, and he had to do it on a motorcycle, with no music (the headphone jack on his phone was broken), no one to talk to, and with no air conditioning. He stopped at his cousins' house in Sacramento and slept for a few hours, but pretty much did the 20+ hour drive straight through. It was a complicated journey, getting us both to Vegas but we did it!

"In sickness and in health"...let's get the sickness part over with!

So Idaho was not my ideal location for a honeymoon, but Jason's family was having a big reunion in St. Anthony, ID just a week after our wedding, so we decided to road trip there and stop at cool places on the way. Plus, we couldn't afford to go anywhere cooler haha.

The first night we spent at a bed and breakfast in Bothell. It was nice, quiet, and very quaint. Our room was cute but small. We played a get to know you game (given to me by my "boss" Kristine at my bridal shower), had a nice shower, enjoyed the very nice bathrobes, and read letters to each other that we had written instead of doing vows at the wedding. It was a perfect first night of being married.

The next morning, we enjoyed a good breakfast and were eager to get on the road and get out of rainy, cold western Washington!

We arrived in Wenatchee and had some lunch at Sonic, where I got to enjoy my favorite--chili cheese tater tots. We were happy to see the sunshine and to feel some warmer weather. We weren't in a hurry to check into our bed and breakfast in Cashmere, so we went to the small and pretty ghetto mall to do a little shopping and get pedicures.

We absolutely loved our B&B in Cashmere (located halfway between Leavenworth and Wenatchee. If you're ever in the area, we highly recommend you stay there! It's amazing). The owners were very nice and helpful, and the view was breathtaking. There was a little hiking trail around the back of the house, which we used the next morning. We went into Leavenworth for dinner and ate at an Italian restaurant. Unfortunately the food was not very good. We got some chocolate afterwards to make up for the crappy dinner, and walked around, looking in a bunch of the tourist shops.

Then it started...in the middle of the night, Jason got very sick. We assumed it was food poisoning, until we spoke to his family and found out they all had the same thing. Poor Jason couldn't eat the delicious breakfast that was prepared for us the next morning. He had to stick to plain toast while I ate a yogurt parfait, a delicious quiche and an amazing pear muffin (and I don't even like pears!). I felt so bad enjoying the food while he sat there with his sad little piece of toast.

There was one other couple staying there, another newlywed couple. The girl was from Seattle and the guy was from Australia. He reminded us of our friend TJ, only with a sweet accent. They were very nice, and offered to say a prayer for us and our marriage (he worked for a church). That was the second time someone random offered to pray for us. While we were taking engagement pictures at Tumwater Falls park, a young boy said he was doing a prayer walk and asked if he could pray for us. So random, but sweet!

Jason had stopped throwing up by the time we left, but was still feeling very sick so I made the drive to McCall, Idaho. I did have to pull over once for him to throw up. It was so sad watching my poor, sick husband on the side of the freeway. I kept crossing my fingers that I didn't get whatever bug he had!

Jason's grandparents had very generously offered us their timeshare in McCall, at Lake Payette. Neither of us had been there before, but it was awesome! A very cute resort town. It was hard to enjoy it though, while Jason was so miserable. I had to go and get dinner by myself.

The next morning, Jason still wasn't feeling well but we went out to the pool and relaxed. We also splurged and got a couples massage, because we discovered even though my car is a "luxury car," it is not comfortable for more than half an hour or so. Our backs were killing us, so we decided a massage would be worth it. I'm always up for one and Jason had never had a professional one before.

On the 4th of July, we tried to find the parade in town, but failed, so we just walked around the lake. Sadly, Jason was still sick. We went back to our condo to eat, and had planned on going to the pool again after lunch. That's when my leftover quesadilla that I had eaten for lunch decided to make an appearance. I told Jason I wasn't feeling well, but at the time I really didn't think I had what he had. That was, until I started throwing up regularly. Every twenty minutes to a half hour for the next 9 or 10 hours to be exact. NOT FUN! Jason had only thrown up a few times, but after talking to his family, we learned that everyone was affected by this nasty bug in different ways. So we spent our 4th of July extremely sick, on the couch, watching soccer, Big Bang Theory, and Friends. We didn't even get to see any fireworks--Jason heard them, and I was sleeping.

The next day we drove to Idaho Falls. I was still feeling very nauseous, but thankfully I had stopped throwing up. We stopped for food and shopping in Twin Falls, and ate at Chili's. It was the first "real" food we had in awhile, and my stomach had shrunken so much that I could only eat about 5 bites of my pasta before I was full.

We were staying at a "destination inn" in Idaho Falls, where we got to choose different location themed rooms. We chose Hawaii of course, because if we can't afford to go there, it's the next best thing right? The room was really cool, and came with a big projection screen and massage table. They gave us cheesecake and sparkling apple cider when we got there. We drank the cider, but were both still feeling really sick so the cheesecake would have to wait :(

We took a bath in the tub, and considered using the massage table, but it is just hard to find the motivation to do anything when you're that sick. It was really sad being so sick on our honeymoon. We didn't even want to touch each other because we felt so miserable. We need a re-do, because we were sick most of our honeymoon! Anyways, we had a mellow night there and then headed to his family reunion the next day, and that concludes our wonderful (except not) honeymoon. 

The Big Day

As my dear friend Cherry so kindly pointed out (awhile ago), I am way behind on my blogging. Thanks CCBB for the reminder! Time to get to it.

**Warning: this will be a long one!**

On June 30th, almost two whole months ago, Jason and I got married. Somehow, it feels like just yesterday and like forever ago at the same time. Let me attempt to walk you through the craziest day of my life.

I went to bed late the night before, and woke up early, surprised I even slept at all. Amber (my wonderful maid of honor who flew in from CA) texted me and asked if I was awake, then told me to go back to sleep but that was impossible. I don't really remember what I did all morning besides try to eat some yogurt and make sure Jason was not around. At about 10:30 we finally headed over to the church to start getting ready. I remember being so anxious, and scolding Amber for driving so slowly. In her defense, it was rainy and she wanted to make sure we didn't crash on my wedding day. Good looking out Amber!

When we arrived, we discovered that my wedding was having its first (and thankfully only) catastrophe. The wedding was in two hours, and nothing was set up. As you can imagine, I was not a very happy bride at that moment. Luckily, Jason and I had our families and friends who were there set up as quickly as possible while I was getting my hair and makeup done. We definitely could not have done it without them, and I'm SO grateful it was able to get finished in time!

As I got ready, I really didn't have time for it to sink in that I was about to walk down the aisle and marry the man of my dreams. I was about to fulfill a lifelong dream of mine. It was too hectic and crazy for me to even fathom at that time. All I cared about was having some Diet Coke, but I probably only managed to have a few sips of it. I was also really hungry and starting to get shaky. Persephone, Jason's adorable niece, was kind enough to offer me some goldfish crackers :) I was running around like a crazy person trying to get all pretty, but at the same time trying to check on the status of the setup, and making sure Jason was okay. He didn't understand why I had insisted that we not see each other that day until the actual ceremony. Call me old fashioned, it's just something I always envisioned about my wedding day.

Gotta have my Diet Coke!

A huge thanks to Christie Marlatt for doing my hair, she did great!

Once I was all dolled up, my bridesmaids and dad started to torture me and try to make me cry...I mean, they complimented me and said how beautiful I looked. However, that is the last thing I wanted to hear.  I was trying extremely hard to NOT cry during the wedding and it hadn't even started yet! I told them all to shut up and tell me I look fat or ugly. My dad started in about how proud he was of me, and I wouldn't let him finish. People clearly don't understand--don't make the bride cry!

Being the wonderful procrastinator that I am, I had just barely chosen the wedding music the night before, with help from Amber. When Jason and the rest of the wedding party walked down the aisle, it was to All You Need Is Love (by Vitamin String Quartet--they are absolutely brilliant). It was perfectly happy, upbeat, different, and everything I wanted it to be. When it was my turn to walk down with my dad, the song changed to Angel Eyes by Jim Brickman.

The walk down the aisle felt like forever. I told my dad we needed to walk slowly so I wouldn't trip over my dress. He started walking too slowly, and I remember whispering "Not that slow, we look retarded!" which caused both of us to laugh. I don't remember looking at anyone's face on the way up there, I don't remember walking past our cake, I don't remember seeing our wedding party up front, I don't even remember what any of the decorations looked like. All I could focus on was my future husband, standing at the end of the aisle, looking extremely handsome in his gray suit and bright yellow Converse :) He had gotten both a regular yellow tie and a bowtie, and he hadn't decided which one he was going to wear. Luckily, he had gone with my preference, the bowtie, and looked absolutely perfect.

My handsome groom!

Once I got to Jason, not crying wasn't really an option for me anymore. Most people don't know this, but the few weeks before our wedding were obviously extremely stressful, and let's just say Jason and I had gone through a lot during that time. Standing up there, hand in hand with him, was very emotional just thinking about what we had been through, and where we were now. I remember mouthing to him that his face was all glittery. He rolled his eyes and smiled, and mouthed back "my mom" (she was wearing a very sparkly dress). As President Bippert (aka Bobby B) began the ceremony, I honestly couldn't focus on anything he was saying. Jason just kept looking at me with this adorable, sweet smile that made it impossible for me not to cry. So I chose to stop looking at him, and look attentively at Bobby B instead, even though it was fake. I have no clue what he said.

Trying to keep it together!

Anyways, we both said I do, exchanged rings, kissed, and were pronounced husband and wife! We walked out of the chapel and were greeted with hugs from our family and wedding party. I don't remember who (I'm guessing Michelle or Isabella), but someone came up and told me that Kim was broken. Confused, I searched to find her. Then I saw what they meant. My poor baby sister was bawling her eyes out haha. Oh Kim. I guess she had been crying the whole ceremony. I did too, so obviously I can't judge but it is still really funny! The other funny thing I remember about that time was Lance, my new brother in law, hugging me and saying "You know, you didn't just marry Jason--you married all of us, even me!" I replied, "Why do you think I'm crying?"

Pictures and the reception immediately followed the wedding. It is all a big blur of people, music, dancing, and not getting nearly enough food. Every time we managed to sit down at our table, we were pulled away to go do something else (first dance, cutting the cake, garter toss, etc). Oh well, I guess that's pretty standard for weddings. We had our first dance to Jason Mraz's "I Won't Give Up" and to my surprise, Jason sang the words to me. If you know Jason at all, you know he doesn't sing, so it was really sweet that he did. I couldn't say much then because it was right after he had stuffed a huge piece of wedding cake in my mouth, so the majority of our first dance I was chewing and swallowing the cake (which was made by the lovely Emily Peet!! She is awesome for volunteering to make our cake). His car was decorated in an inappropriate fashion of course, and we drove off into the sunset...except not really. We drove to my house, where we opened up our gifts, changed our clothes, loaded up the car, and headed up to Bothell for the first night of our honeymoon. We stopped at Burger King on the way, since we hadn't eaten hardly anything all day!

So that was our big day. It was crazy and wonderful and hectic and stressful and amazing and happy and did I mention crazy? But I wouldn't change a thing :)