Month in Review: April

The biggest things this month were my birthday (is that vain? haha) and the cruise, but here are some other fun tid-bits from April:

• Matt and I finished Winter semester with flying colors, and we are now on to Spring Term, where the classes are longer and the term is shorter. I am taking an introductory computer programming class and a Spanish lit class, and Matt is taking Econ and a religion class.
  
• We got to go to a Salt Lake Bee's game with some friends! Matt and I are so bad at making plans with people, so it's always nice when we finally go out with other couples. The game was a blast, and the hot dogs were delicious!
  
• I got a new job! I was a little concerned about the job search-situation at the end of March, but things quickly turned around for the better. I was hired on as a Student Assistant at LDS Philanthropies, which raises money for all the BYU schools (among other things). So far, it's been a really great job, and I love the people that I work with! The office is right next to campus, which is so convenient. I do have to wear Sunday dress to work everyday. At first I thought this would be fun, since I have so many cute skirts and dresses, but I got kinda tired of it after the first week. Now I'll usually bring some pants to change into before I go to class. Overall, though, I'm excited for this new opportunity!
  
• An update on Lent from last month: we almost lasted!! We went two weeks without cracking, then Matt needed a little celebratory dinner in the form of Cafe Rio. That dinner did us in. Soon he was back to eating out, and I turned on Netflix while folding laundry. I now have a much greater respect for those who participate in Lent! Maybe we'll try again next year and be more successful.

That Cruisin Lyfe

We love cruises. Our cruise to Ensenada was so fun! It was just long enough to feel relaxed, but short enough to keep the boat a novelty. We cruised on the Carnival Inspiration out of Long Beach, down to Ensenada, Mexico.

The first day, we boarded the boat and explored. We had a lovely ocean-view room, and the boat itself was quite pretty. There were many lounges, a big pool, waterslides, mini-golf, and of course, the food! We went to the seated dining room every night for dinner, and it was delicious. There was always a good range of choices, and Matt and I always ordered more than we should eat! The best part was that we got the table to ourselves. Usually on a cruise, you get seated with about 6-8 other people for dinner. I was a little nervous about who we would be seated with, but it turned out that I didn't need to worry! Matt and I were literally the only ones at our table for 10. We definitely enjoyed our nightly gourmet meals for just the two of us. After dinner, we went to one of the musical shows, watched some (unmusical) people try karaoke, and explored the ship some more.

Dinner on the first and second night

The second day was spent at sea! The day began with the most delicious brunch! It was honestly the highlight of my day. I ordered eggs benedict and frosted flake-coated french toast. I just couldn't decide between the two so I got both haha. I couldn't finish either, but I certainly enjoyed them! It was a little cloudy but warm, so we tried out the pool for a while. We also played mini golf, ate lots of ice cream, relaxed, went to a comedy show, and saw another musical performance. It was just the right balance between relaxation and having something to do.

The third day was port day at Ensenada! We quickly ate breakfast then got off the ship as soon as possible. We didn't really have anything planned for the city, so we thought we would just figure it out when we got there. We took a shuttle from the port into town, then we caughtanother bus up to the Bufadora. The Bufadora is a natural blow-hole created by sea water rushing into a cavern, building up pressure, then being released into the air, like the blow-hole of a whale. I guess it's a pretty unique phenomenon. It was cool to see a huge pillar of water rush into the air every 17 seconds, but I did get a little too close one time! I tried to get pictures, but it was hard to catch it in action. There were tons of little shops and stands lining the way to the Bufadora, which Matt and I explored. I got some sandals, and he got candy. There was also a great taco stand which we enjoyed immensely. Best fish and carne asada tacos ever!

After the Bufadora and shopping, we looked around town for a short while and headed back to the ship. We laid by the pool again, then we went to a gameshow that they had on board. It basically takes a bunch of Hasbro board games and turns them into a show, so there was life-size Connect Four, interactive Trivial Pursuit, and Monopoly. It was really fun, especially when I was chosen to go up on stage to participate! The game I played (on a team) was Operation, in the form of skee-ball. I was terrible. I only got point for one out of seven shots, and I completely face-planted as I was running around the stage! It was so embarrassing. Matt got a really good laugh about that one. Later that night, we enjoyed dinner and another comedy show.

I was obsessed with the towel animals that they made each night! Can you blame me?!

We were a little sad that the cruise was over so soon, but Spring classes started the next day. We deboarded the cruise early the next morning and made the long drive back to Provo. The cruise was such a nice diversion from the busy semester we had, and it gave us just enough relaxation time to gear up for the term ahead of us! We'd love to go on another cruise with some friends... any takers?!

L.V. and L.A.

Matt and I decided that we needed a little rest and recuperation after Winter semester finals, so.... we went on a cruise! It was pretty last minute, but one of the best decisions. We needed something quick, since we both started Spring term the next week, so off to LA we went to board a 3-day cruise to Ensenada, Mexico. If you're going to go on vacation, though, you might as well make the most of it. Matt and I rented a car (the cutest little Fiat!.. I'm in love) and headed to Vegas, en route to LA. The drive to Long Beach is 10-11 hours, so we thought splitting it into two legs was a better idea, and it turned out to be really fun!

In Vegas, we stayed in the Riviera, which was... an experience. Let's just say we got a killer deal on a room, and now we know why. For example, no shower curtain? Luckily we just stayed there one night and checked out pretty quickly in the morning. We didn't leave Vegas yet, though. We explored the Strip a little in the morning, but it was all to reach the most delicious destination: Hash House A Go Go. I vaguely remembered hearing stories about this place, but those memories were nothing compared to what I experienced, which was the most overwhelmingly delicious breakfast I have ever tasted. We waited about 30 minutes (which was short, considering all the people waiting in line), but we needed all that time to choose what we wanted to order! I decided on fried chicken and waffles, and Matt got a meatloaf sandwich. Neither of us were disappointed. I think I still dream about this meal. I could barely eat half, it was so big! Going to Hash House was definitely a highlight of the entire trip.

Look at the size of that Chicken and Waffles! And there was bacon cooked INSIDE the waffles.

 After eating, we started our journey to Long Beach! We naturally stopped in Primm at the outlets (can't stop me from shopping), made it to California, then experienced LA traffic. That was fun. Finally we made it to Long Beach, and we were MUCH more satisfied with our hotel situation! We settled in and explored Long Beach for a while, then we grabbed dinner at Bubba's Shrimp. The next morning, we headed to LA to explore some of Matt's old stomping grounds from back in the day. First, we visited the temple, which was beautiful! We had been planning on doing a session, but someone (*I*) forgot their recommend... so we just went to the Visitor's Center instead.

Afterwards, we stopped by Tito's Tacos for some lunch. No regrets there--it definitely lived up to the hype. Those are probably the only hard-shelled tacos I have ever truly enjoyed. (Are you sensing a food theme here?)

A delicious box of tacos...

That day was cruise day, so we had to hurry back to Long Beach to board the Carnival Inspiration. Stay tuned for details on the cruise!

Feeling 22

I'll be honest--I have still never heard Taylor Swift's "22" song, but it just felt right to reference it. I'm twenty-two now! Woohoo! It's so weird to me that I am now fully into the third decade of my life (I had to think about that...third? yup). I've never really had a bad  birthday, but I've had some pretty great ones. I think that this year really takes the cake, though. So many sweet moments and birthday wishes came together to create the perfect day.

The Sunday before my actual birthday, my sisters hosted a fun birthday dinner for me at the Dicksons. It was so fun to celebrate with them and eat delicious food. Steak tacos and chocolate bundt cake! (not together, obviously...)

Now for my birthday on the 16th...

First off, it was a reading day! My birthday always falls pretty close to finals week. This year, I got lucky, and my birthday was the day before finals on a reading day. The only school-related thing I had to do was attend a review session! After my review session and a few hours of work, I got to hang out with Matt all day. I'm the type of person that doesn't need a big group or party--I'm totally good with just being with my best friend. And that's what I did.

My first present of the day was finding out that I made the Young Ambassador's team at BYU! The YAs is a performance group at BYU that sings and dances all around the world. I have dreamed of being a YA since as long as I can remember, and finding out that I finally made the group was more than I could have wished for. (I'll write more about YA's in a later post!) We went to an early dinner at Tucano's, one of Matt and my favorite restaurants. Afterwards, we went home and I got to open my presents! Matt was so good at keeping them surprises. I got a new jacket and scarf (thanks mom and dad!), and Matt got me a piano keyboard! I have been having withdrawals from playing the piano, so I was so happy to get a keyboard of my own. I'm so grateful for my husband who helps me develop my talents and do the things I love.

After dinner, Matt took me to the "Sacred Gifts" exhibit at the BYU Museum of Art. Ok, this was really my idea, but Matt was kind enough to allow me to drag him along! The exhibit was all religious paintings  of Christ by Carl Bloch, Heinrich Hofman, and Frans Schwartz. It was such a beautiful exhibit. It was incredible to actually see in person these paintings that I have seen all my life. I especially liked seeing the lesser-known (at least to me) works of Christ.

All in all, I had such a wonderful birthday. Thank you for all those who made it that way! 22 really does feel good.

Month in Review: March

Remember that time I said I would write at least 2 blog posts per month? Ya, that doesn't kick in until next month... ;) March was a fun month, but it seems like every month is fun when you are married to Matt! Here are some of the highlights:

Lent

This year, we decided to try out Lent. Matt and I are taking a "Survey of Christianity" calss this semester, which is fascinating! I think it is so important to have an understanding of other people and truly learn to appreciate differences and similarities. As Christians ourselves, it was so interesting to learn about the many different denominations. It has been one of my favorite classes at BYU! Anyways, Lent is a tradition mostly in the Catholic church (although I know Protestants who celebrate it as well) where you give up some sort of vice or bad habit for the 40 days before Easter. There is always a big party and day of "lasts" on day before Lent...ever heard of Mardi Gras? 

I think it's a really beautiful idea to try to purify and sanctify yourself in preparation for Easter. You give up some sort of guilty pleasure in order to become more like Christ. Matt decided to give up fast food (if you know his eating habits, you would know hard this was), and I decided to give up Netflix. I know, mine seems a little shallow, but I've really been wasting SO much time watching marathons of "How I Met Your Mother" and "Gossip Girl." I decided I could be doing so many more important things instead. Anyways, we started this month, and we'll see if we can last until Easter!

St. Patrick's Day

We had the most delicious dinner at the Dickson's for St. Patty's Day. Each of us Pelton girls tried our best to recreate our mom's delicious holiday meal. We are suckers for corned beef and cabbage... ok really we just like the delish mustard sauce that goes on top! It was Matt's first "traditional" St. Patrick's Day dinner, and he was surprised that he liked it! He has really only had corned beef from a can on his mission, and he did not like it. Needless to say he was a little wary of our corned beef! But now he has a new opinion. It was so nice to spend the holidy with my family!

School and Work

This isn't so much a highlight as it is a requisite report. Matt and I have been busy studying away! I can't believe the semester is almost over. Just two week in April then we're done with Winter Semester. We've also been busy with work. Matt is still at the MTC and I am a TA. I'm looking for a new job, though, to have during the summer and into the Fall. I will miss being a TA, but I just feel like it's time to move on from PoliSci 200. Let the job search begin! I've already gotten rejected for a book shelving job in the Harold B. Lee Library, so my prospects are really looking up right now. *sarcasm*

Next month's goal: take more pictures and write more posts! Happy March!