California or bust!

July has already been so good to us, and it's not even over yet. We walked outside on the first of July to find this beautiful scene. We are so grateful for the beautiful world we live on and especially for the opportunity that we get to live in beautiful Logan.

We thoroughly enjoyed our Fourth of July holiday in Milford. We started the day out with supporting the city by participating in the annual 5k Run/Walk. I have been running off and on this summer and wanted to see how I would measure up to other runners. So I ran my best and came out with a 23 minute race. I don't remember the last time I competed in a race and I'm not going lie, it felt so good to compete again (even though I burned my lungs a bit). Dallon was there at the end of the race to capture the intense finishes. Hopefully by this time next year we can fix his shin splits, so he can join in on the fun.

Next came the parade! We love watching all of the floats, performers, rides, and military men/women carrying the colors of our nation. MahLee danced with the rest of the cheerleaders. I'm not going to lie, it is really weird having a cheerleader in our sporty family, but to be honest, MahLee is such an incredible dancer! It will be interesting to watch her on the sidelines cheering. Aren't Akaydeh, Kinley, and Tay such cute dancers? Kam and Trex rode on the Primary Float and had a great time. 

We had a great time at the park for all of the festivities. I was able to get my cotton candy fix for the year and I couldn't have been more excited. All of the kids participated in the annual kid races and here is a picture of Kam ready for his race. For our barbecue I was volunteered to make the deviled eggs.

Right before dusk, we participated in the new Ping Pong Ball Event. People buy bracelets and then Michael Mayer flies in his plane over the golf course and releases hundreds of ping pong balls. Each has a number on it and you can win some pretty great prizes. Dallon and I made out like bandits! We got a couple of free icees, yum, some free blizzards/frosties, a lamp, photo album, American fishing backpack, and half a pig, cut and wrapped! (a $150-$200 prize!)

When I found out that I had won the pig, I screamed for joy and went to find Dallon the great news. As soon as I told him, he got this really confused look on his face and said, "I don't know what that means." I explained how awesome the prize was and he was able to wrap his head around it and then came up to my excitement level.

And to round out this wonderful holiday, we thoroughly enjoyed our firework show at the park. We are so very grateful for the opportunity that we have to live in this country; to live in a place where we are free to choose for ourselves how to live.

Saturday the 5th, we packed up and headed to California for our summer vacation. For a couple of weeks, I put together some travel packs for the kids to help keep them occupied on our long road trip. Kam loved to traced his mazes, so that he could do them over and over again. Stocks was adorable as usual and was a asleep one minute, and then posing his face off the next. He definitely keeps everyone smiling and laughing. He is such a sweetheart!

The first day of our trip we headed to Huntington Beach for a little fun in the sun. It was quite the excursion to find the perfect place for the whole Tribe, but we made it to the beach and had a lot of fun. (Begonia Park was the place where we had lunch (a paradise if you will). Our KFC never tasted so good after trekking all over the coastline for a place to play at the beach). 

Also, I always knew that Dallon liked the beach, but I never really knew just how much until we had to practically pry him and Jeep away from jumping through the waves. I don't think I've ever laughed so much in such a short amount of time at all of the tumbles we all took along the shoreline. It was definitely a great time.

Kam and Trex didn't really like the whole water scene, so they spent their time burying things, themselves, and other people. One of the best moments was when Kiana offered to bury Kam and Trex in the sand and she kept saying over and over again, don't move, the sand will get all messed up. So once they got done getting buried, they offered to bury Kiana. When they got done burying her, Kam leaned over Kiana and said, "Wanna get messed up?" 

The next day, while everyone else chilled in Anaheim, Dallon and I went to Los Angeles to do some sight seeing. We rode the train through Southern California and enjoyed seeing the incredible scenery. We got to Union Station and rode The Metro down to Hollywood Boulevard.

While in Hollywood, we went on a tour of Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Hollywood Hills, Rodeo Drive, and of course Hollywood. There were so many great things to see! We went up to see the Hollywood sign and while we were there, we were able to get this amazing panorama picture of the Los Angeles Valley. It was a beautiful and clear day, so we were able to get great pictures.

We went around looking at different celebrities' houses like Wilt Chamberlain, Bruno Mars, Britney Spears, Jackie Chan, Katy Perry, Julia Roberts, Michael Jackson's, Robert DeNiro,  Denzel Washington, and many others.

Oh and FYI, this picture of our tour bus includes Emma Stone's grandparents, aunt, and cousin! Before our tour started we overheard them talking about Emma and we didn't think it was real, but then the aunt explained that they were telling the truth. It was crazy! So our tour was pretty cool to say the least.

This picture of the Badgley Mischka store is the store that Julia Roberts went to in Pretty Woman! ("Big mistake, huge!")

Towards the end of the tour we got to see the House of Blues where Freaky Friday was filmed. Once we were dropped off on Hollywood Boulevard we headed to the Chinese Theatre where a ton of stars have their hand and footprints. We then went to the Wax Museum and had a great time posing next to the stars. Some of those statues were amazing and looked just like the real person....others not so much.

After the Wax Museum, we went to the Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum. There was a Jimmy Hendrix portrait made entirely out of guitar picks so Dallon had to get a picture with that and I posed next to the world's tallest man to see how I would measure up.

This is a picture of Capitol Records, where tons of famous artists have recorded major hit records. This other picture is the Metro Line Map. We became very familiar with this map throughout our week of traveling around Southern California.

Day two of Cali was dedicated to Disneyland! (Well, California Adventure). It was so much fun watching the little kids light up on the rides or whenever they would see a disney character. They kept us laughing throughout the entire day and made our day at Disney unforgettable.

Everyone had a buddy so that no one got lost and Kam would not let Dallon out of his sight the entire day. It was adorable. Oh and yay for matching backpacks! Also, how cute are all of those ears! 

We LOVED Cars Land! It was so great! The ride was even cool for us older peeps. But it was THE best when Dallon rode with Kam during one of the rides and Kam was starstruck when Mater came. Dallon said his face was priceless.

Trex surprised everyone when he went on The Tower of Terror! He did NOT like it all btw. Daezia came out of the ride with him clinging to her. After he calmed down for a bit, he told us that he would never go on an elevator again, well one that had seats. Kam was devastated that he wasn't tall enough to go on that ride, but we explained just how scary it was and then he turned a complete 180 when he told us why it was THE scariest ride because of the ghosts.

The selfie with Tay was taken just after she head butted me to photo bomb the picture with Kam. I didn't even see it coming! So I had to take a picture of her to document the experience. I had to get a picture of Daezia and Frozone because her and Dallon love to quote his super suit lines.

After a long day, Dallon got some snuggles from Stocks. I don't know what it is, but Dallon can get Stocks to sleep within a matter of minutes! It is crazy, but completely adorable.

The adults went to dinner at Benihana and when we came back, we found Kam like this. He was completely exhausted!

The next day we rode the metro again to head to LA. We went to the Guinness Book of World Record Museum. We found the guy that Daezia could give a run for his money. (The World's Fastest Ketchup Drinker). I also got a great picture posing in the world's fattest man statue.

We then decided to take the metro and bus to Long Beach. We passed by the Staples Center, Compton (sketch and a half), the aquarium, some pretty nice houses, and some not so nice houses.

We ended up at Huntington Beach yet again, for another fun day of beach activities. The Spauldings, Daezia, MahLee, and Akaydeh met up with us after Disneyland.

The beach is sooooo gorgeous!! If we lived here, we would definitely come to the beach every day! (Durfey sand photo cred-Kiana Don)

Day four involved another Metro ride into LA. We traveled to China Town and found the restaurant where Rush Hour was filmed. Dallon loves Rush Hour, so we had to eat there of course. The orange chicken was DELICIOUS! Definitely worth the trip.

My favorite part of China Town was the swap meet....it was never-ending! We spent a good amount of time just wandering around, and I'm sure we didn't even make a dent in it. Our golden purchase was a hat for The Chief, (he's been wanting a hat like the ones on Mulan for years! So we became the favorites when we got him his very own).

We then headed to Little Tokyo to get us some Hi-Chew and sushi. We found the goldmine of sushi at Kula, it is a revolving sushi bar, best idea ever! We got to pick and choose a variety of delicious rolls, all at very reasonable prices. Success! While we were eating, I decided to look up some places where a few of our favorite movies/tv shows were filmed in LA. Little did we know, when we stopped at Little Tokyo, we were just a hop and skip from "The Loft"! (Where Nick, Jess, Coach, Schmidt, and Winston live in New Girl) So we walked on over and had a short photo shoot.

We were sad to pack up our things in Cali, but eager to head back to Utah. After a LONG day of traveling, and traffic being horrific, we stopped at the Nevade/California state line to hit up the Fashion Outlet Mall. We all found some killer deals on various products and walked away very happy with our purchases. We then got a couple hotel rooms at Buffalo Bills and spent the night. (I would highly recommend NOT staying at Buffalo Bills, no free wifi and everything closes at 6. Lame!)

One more photo from Benihanas....delicious food, great company!

Our summer vacation was epic and we had a great time! We were so grateful that we were able to spend time with some of our favorite people! We couldn't have asked for a better vacation.

Happiness is:

• Disneyland of course
• The Beach
• Great food and great people to share it with
• The laughter of our cute nieces and nephews
• Ear plugs, best invention ever.
• Road trips singing along to 90's Alternative/Pop

June 2014

June started off with a fishing trip to our favorite marina. Dallon caught a mighty fine catfish on our outing. I did not end up so lucky and just reeled in some baby ones. We sure wish it would warm up a bit to help make these trips a little more awesome. 

We then got a visit from Mike and Sharon in the middle of the week. Mikaela and Daniel were married and we were able to go show our support by attending the luncheon. It was at the lovely Copper Mill Restaurant. It was fun chatting with Grandma Durfey, Aunt Vickie and Uncle Marty, as well as the parents of the bride, Uncle Gary and Aunt Le Ann.

That weekend Nish and Jeep came up for a visit! Kin ran at a youth track meet in Provo and then they came up to Logan to go to Buffalo Wild Wings (Dallon and Jeep's absolute favorite place to eat) to celebrate Jeep's upcoming birthday. Happy birthday Jeeps!! I don't know who loved the photo op more, Dallon and Jeep or Kin and Tay. 

The next weekend, we had the opportunity to go down and visit our peeps in Wayne. Jaxx is getting so big! He is so much fun to hold and play games with. He has the cutest smile and dimples to die for. There's never a dull moment when Luxi comes to visit. She found some shimmery lotion and decided that her legs needed some moisture. We also found out that Shanda didn't know what a leg war was...so we had to explain it and do a couple of rounds of course. Mike won...no surprise there....but it was fun to watch. 

Living right next to the fish hatchery, sure has its perks. The kids are able to run around on the beautiful grass, makes great scenery for photo ops, and it is a great place to go worm hunting for our fishing trips. Which if you decided to go fishing, don't try and use a raft on a windy day, especially if you only have one working oar. Maddi, Miley, and Luxi had so much fun running around on the grass and rolling down the hills. Their  cute giggles and laughter are so contagious!

The next week brought an event that brings tears to my eyes. The Relay for Life event takes place each year to raise money for cancer research to help find a cure. I have happy tears because our sweet Tay is a survivor of stupid cancer. Sad tears, because stupid cancer has taken more than just one of my sweet loved ones. I relay to help find a cure. As we walked and walked the entire night, Dallon and I talked about his future. He is studying Biological Engineering in hopes of finding a cure for cancer so we don't have to say goodbye too soon to those we love and cherish.

After we were able to recover from pulling an all nighter, we had a family barbecue. We love being able to spend time with our families and we also love barbecues! While Dallon was cooking, the boys sat by him, all the while soaking up everything they could. They are constantly asking Dallon how things work and why he does certain things. It is so adorable to see just how much they look up to him. Oh and how cute is Stockton?

I want to start doing something that one of my friends does after each post. She simply writes a list of things that make her happy. What a great way to count blessings and to be mindful of things little or big that bring happiness into someone's life. Thanks Sara!!

Happiness is:

• Re-watching quotable chick flicks, I've been in an Emma Stone mood ever since her epic LSB
• Road tripping with great music, techno, country, pop, indie, whatevs
• Playing with our adorable nieces and nephews, we can't believe how big they are getting
• Summer, enough said
• Night fishing trips, there's just something about a peaceful lake at night with my main man
• Modern medicine, we wouldn't be here without it 
• Sunflower seeds- ranch, dill pickle, and cracked pepper

VEGAS VACATION 2012

We had a blast on our first road trip as a married couple. We had to stop in Cedar City at a car wash because the car decorators did a mighty fine job at making it difficult to see while we drove.  But we cleaned it up and headed to St. George for our getaway. (Dallon's fam all chipped in to get us a pretty sweet deal at one of the hotels, lucky us!) The next morning we headed down to the sunny and warm Las Vegas.  We got all checked in at the Excalibur and then went out to sight see. We decided to go to an aquarium and to the Titanic Musem! Dallon loved the aquarium and I loved the museum. It was a win-win outing.

Dallon found a Brazilian restaurant relatively close to where we were staying, so we walked on down and ate us some delicious food. (It was delicious, but we will probably NEVER go there again because it was pretty pricey).

The next day was filled with sight seeing, eating, walking, and exploring. We saw the Tournament of Kings show...dinner and a show....it was great! We were seated in the Spain section and watched jousting, fighting, and other fun medieval stuff. All the while eating our dinner without utensils. It was a fun time.

We also made a stop at the M&M Factory/Store! It was so cool to see all of their merchandise as well as the interesting people that Las Vegas has to offer.

The next day we decided to see the pretty flowers at the Bellagio. It was so cool to see all of the artsy stuff all created out of flowers. My favorite was this portrait, entirely made of flowers.

We also stopped by the Coca Cola Factory where we tried over 20 different types of coke. It was really interesting to taste just how different things are in other countries. Our minds were blown.

We also saw the world's largest chocolate fountain! Talk about a lot of chocolate! It was so cool.

We decided to eat lunch at Panda Express and Dallon just so happened to get this fortune in his cookie! How fitting right?? I sure love this guy.

The next day we ventured to Planet Hollywood for dinner and a show. We saw a comedian who was hilarious! We ate some delicious food and then went around to look at the cool movie artifacts.

 

Before we headed back to reality, we decided to go see the temple. It was quite the expedition because neither one of us had a GPS, but we finally made it and it was totally worth it. The grounds were gorgeous. We are so grateful for temples and the work that takes place in them.

FEBRUARY 2014

Danielle Baker, a dear friend, had her bridal shower this month and I was able to attend. It was so great seeing the Baker and Maples girls! I sure have missed them! We had a great time at the shower playing games and chatting.

 

This month also brought a baby blessing. Darci had Jaxx Scott Brown in January and asked Dallon to bless him. It was a beautiful blessing and I'm so grateful that Dallon was able to do this for Darci. Jaxx is such an adorable baby! We now have 3.5 nephews (Stockton in April) and 5 nieces.

 

February also brings state basketball!! We ventured down to Richfield just in time to catch some great basketball. We went out to eat at Pizza Hut in between the 'good' games and had a great time.

 

Dallon and Jeep LOVE hanging out together to help combat the estrogen battle. They can talk nerd for hours, (ie phones, computers, science, random facts, etc.)

 

We also were able to celebrate Trex and Daezia's birthday. Daez made an awesome super hero cake for the two of them. It not only tasted delicious, but it looked amazing too!! Daez is so talented in the cake decorating department.

 

JANUARY 2014

January brought basketball games, remembering our loved ones, a bridal shower for my cute friend Jessica, a sad Kam, (he was mad at Kiana for moving to Kentucky) and a sister picture.

 

MahLee played against one of her bff's from Escalante while were visiting and we even got to see Daez play some tenacious D. It was great to see Nisha's commentating skills live. She does a great job and I especially am grateful for this technology when I'm up in Logan.

 

The holidays always bring happy memories of family, but they also bring sad memories. I truly miss my Grandpa every holiday season because he was the epitome of being Christ-like. Yes, it's not the same without him, but I'm so grateful for his legacy. The holidays also make me think of my awesome Uncle Rob. I will never forget the news we received that Christmas morning, but am so grateful for his loving example, and for the chance I had to know this amazing man.

 

DECEMBER 2013

Our finals were gruesome to say the least. Dallon was busy as usual, studying for math and his other intense finals. I was busy finishing up project after project for my classes. I felt a huge sigh of relief as I was able to complete the last of my 'formal' classes before I start student teaching in January. The most difficult item I had on my plate was an intense sewing project, a business jacket made out of wool, 98% of it being hand-sewn. I have never been much of a sewing person, but after advanced sewing, I feel like I can hand sew anything (not that I would want to). It feels like the light at the end of the tunnel is finally obtainable. For my student teaching, I was placed at Spring Creek Middle School, located in Providence.

 

Once finals were over, Dallon and I were lucky enough to arrange our schedules so that we could visit both families during the holiday break. We started out the Christmas holiday in Wayne where Santa came to visit Maddi and Luxi. They were so adorable as Santa explained how they should be good all year, not just on Christmas. Luxi didn't quite know what to think for awhile and just stared. She finally got enough courage to sit on Sharon's lap by Santa.

 

Michael and Sharon got the girls matching snow suits; which were absolutely adorable! They immediately tried them on and posed for some pictures. Luxi also had fun teasing all of the adults by putting out here hands like she wanted someone to hold her. Right when someone would reach out to get her she would turn away and laugh. She is one crazy girl, but we sure love her and Maddi.

 

 

Christmas in Milford started out just like any other. We watched our cute nieces and nephews open up a few of their presents at the Spaulding Residence. Here are a few snap shots of the fun filled morning.

 

We then headed down to Tribal Headquarters to open more presents. Kam LOVED his bat cave and constantly asked Dallon to 'pway wif him' and his bat cave. Tay got a jewelry making kit and made me an awesome necklace. She also loved playing with the Lincoln Logs they got from my mom and dad. Trex was sportin his new ninja turtle beanie and Kin loved her bandalooms!

The highlight of my Christmas was when I opened my present from Dallon. He got me a cotton candy maker!! I could barely contain my excitement and made a batch as soon as I could. Dallon could not contain his excitement also when he opened up his Monopoly game (the electronic version, complete with debit cards).

Overall, Christmas was a wonderful day. Not only were we fortunate enough to receive gifts, but we were able to give gifts as well. Dallon and I would much rather give gifts to others because there are so many people who do so much for us. We try our best to remember what Christmas is all about; our Savior Jesus Christ, the reason for the season.

During the break, we had the opportunity to catch one of MahLee's basketball games. Kam chatted Dallon's ear off as we watched the intense game. We also played Monopoly, which Dallon and I won! (Thanks in large part to Daezia, for making some sweet deals).

OCTOBER 2013

October had us busy like usual. Between school, work, and road trips, we rarely had a minute to spare. Here is another documentation of our license plate findings....somebody loves football and decided to put TCHDOWN on their plate. Dallon the football junkie greatly appreciated it.

 

We had the opportunity to show our support on senior night during halftime of a tiger football game. Daezia and Sherri represented the cross country team very well. I can't believe Daezia is a senior! It seems like just yesterday that her and MahLee were dressed like twins from head to toe. They both have grown up to be gorgeous girls, inside and out.

 

I don't know why people make me so irritated at football games....If the whole campus and town have been advertising about a "WHITE OUT" game...then why would you wear red?? I don't know why this bothers me so much.

The last picture of this collage was taken on a visit to see my sweet Aunt Diane and cousin Melanie. My mom, Nish, and Jeep drove up from Milford and met Dallon and I in Utah County. My Aunt Diane had just gotten surgery and we wanted to come visit her to show our love and support. Oh I how love Aunt Diane hugs! She is someone that I have always looked up to throughout my entire life. She is one of THE most loving and thoughtful people in the whole wide world. At the time of this picture, I did not know that this would be the last time I would get to see her before she passed away. My heart still aches whenever I think about her and the sweet person she was. I will miss her dearly.

 

One of the many reasons why we love October can be summed up in two words, DEER CAMP. We love camping! Here are a few highlights of our camping trip with the Livingston/Spaulding crew.

I'm pretty sure Trex got the first bite out of Kam's doughnut. Deer camp just isn't deer camp without my mom's homemade doughnuts. They are so delicious!!

 

There's never a dull moment when we all get together. I just love to see the different facial expressions people make in these pictures. It definitely shows their personality.

 

I had the opportunity to drive down and watch MahLee compete at The State Cross Country Championships located in Salt Lake. Every time I watch these races, it takes me back to when I had the chance to compete. MahLee ran very well and represented Milford wonderfully.

After the 1A races got over, they gave out the awards for individual finishers, team winners, and Academic All-State. Daezia, along with Maggie Ellet, (a long time family friend) were fortunate enough to make the All-State team! After it was all said and done, we took some family pictures and then went to eat at Golden Corral.

Also, Daezia is a dork and likes to steal my camera to take tons and tons of selfies. (Exhibit A shown above).

Right before Halloween, we decided to throw a pumpkin carving party! We invited some friends over and had a great time. Taylor and James did an outstanding job with their pumpkins!

Colin and Sara made an adorable pair of pumpkins. Kelsey and Justin stole the party with their combine efforts on their pumpkin. We are so lucky to have such great friends in Logan!

 

At the end of October, we were able to go and support Nish, Daez, and Mahls at state volleyball. We have coined this weekend as sister's weekend and love spending time together watching volleyball.