AZ Trip!

So we have been home from Arizona for about a week and a half, and I still haven't put anything about our trip up! So, here it is! We had so much fun seeing family and swimming! When we got to AZ we had a BBQ with Marc's family and got to meet our nephew for the first time! We didn't take a lot of pictures, but on Labor day we went with my family hiking to one of our favorite places! We took a ton of pictures there, and thanks to my dad and his fun new camera, he got some great ones of Marc and I.

This is one of my favorites of Marc and I, he really knows how to sport a bucket hat!


This is at the top of the trail. You start here and hike all the way down in. It takes about 45 minutes to an hour. There is a creek that runs through here and you have to hop rocks about three times. It is a lot of fun though!


When you get down into the canyon there are a few places to stop. My family has a spot that most people stop at, there is a very rocky beach, across from that is a very rocky part of the canyon that you can cliff dive from. We usually stop there with a lunch that we bring in. My mom and I usually watch everyone jump, the water is freezing and we stick our feet in just to cool us off. This is a picture is in the canyon, the rocks are pretty high, but the water is deep and so it is pretty safe, although I was scared when Marc jumped in!


We had so much fun while we were there, but we were so busy eating at the places we miss, and visiting with family the time slipped away from us! We are excited to come home at Christmas and see everyone again, and hopefully spend more time with our friends and family! We got a little home sick after we got back, it seems like all the people we love the most are in Arizona and we can't wait to move back out there and be with everyone! If we didn't get to see you when we were there this last time we will make time for you the next time around!

See Ainsley, I told you I would get this stuff up here!

Cupcakes!!

For our wedding someone gave a Westcor gift card. If we didn't use it, it would start subtracting money from the original value. So, when we were down in Arizona we went to Kierland Commons to use it at the Create and Barrel. We had to spend it all since it was going to subtract money if we did not use it soon.  I found this super fun cookbook! It was only $15, and it is amazing! There are quite a few different sections all with tons of fun recipes! There is a "health-freak" section, kid's sections, low-fat, etc! All the recipes are fairly simple and for the most part use baking staples. There are some that use self-rising flour and sweet butter, but those are pretty cheap! At the end of every section there are three variations for every recipe! There are so many fun ones, we didn't know where to start! We made Chocolate Macadamia  Nut cupcakes for our first attempt and they were delicious! Next we are going to try Banana Honey Muffins! The nice thing is that every recipe makes 1 to 1 1/2 dozen cupcakes so you are not taking a giant risk! There are about 6 or 7 other books like this that this company makes, I think I am going to look online for them, this was the only one Create and Barrel had. Anyway, if you want cupcakes, let me know! I would love to make them for you, or, you could go buy it and make them yourself! 

Fun, Lazy Weekend!

This weekend we decided to be lazy! Friday we just ate dinner, and watched the Olympics. Marc also told me when I got home from work that we could go to the store and buy a fish! We got a Calico Fantail, which is slightly larger than a goldfish. We had fun thinking of a name and finally settled on trigger when we put him in his tank because he swam so fast!

 Saturday, we woke up and made a yummy breakfast. Then we cleaned our apartment and headed out to Idaho Falls for the day. There really isn't a lot to do there and the stores were all packed with families getting ready for school to start. It was really Marc's ploy to get me out of the house and away from my book, although we were both at the same spot, so I read on the way there and the way back!

 We went to Bath and Body Works and they were having a sale on their hand soap, so marc let me pic out a few. Then we went to Pita Pit for lunch! It was so yummy! We then ventured to Target were I talked Marc into getting a small power drill so that he could hang some things in the apartment for me! 

We also finally got our living-room organized and set just how we want it! I will have to take pictures and post them, but it finally looks and feels like a home!

Yummy Food!

So, I know it has been awhile since the last post, so it's about time! First off, my parents sent Marc gift cards to Omaha Steaks for his birthday. After much deliberation he finally decided which steaks to get. They came last week in a styrofoam box, complete with dry ice and all! Marc was very excited about the dry ice and brought it all in to show me while I was working on the computer! You can see how excited he was...

 

On Saturday we went shopping and I was thinking since we have been married I have not made Chicken Cordon Blue. So we bought all the stuff, and I taught Marc how to make it! It is actually really inexpensive and really easy! Not to mention that it tastes fabulous! Of course you have to have a colorful meal... so we had peas and carrots! It looked so yummy we just had to take a picture!

That last picture was really just for artistic value, but it looked pretty cool! It was a really yummy dinner! We watched some of the Olympics while we ate! It was a fun night! I realized that the last few posts have been about food, so the next one won't! 

Sundae Adventure

                                                             
After traveling, a hard week of work, and school, we decided to take it easy this weekend. We got all our chores done pretty early, then decided to relax and take a little break! We got "Million Dollar Baby in the mail that day, so we decided to watch it. Before we put it in we decided we should have some ice cream.  Marc said he would take car of it, this is what I found when I walked into the kitchen,

                                                         

Marc had taken brownie and Oreos (both regular and chocolate creme) and placed them on the bottom. He then added GENEROUS scoops of mint chocolate chip ice cream to the mix. He then put a large amount of whipped cream on to of that, followed but carmel sauce. We each had our own bowls but were not able to finish the massive sundaes! I am not complaining, but there was so much!  Maybe next time we will just have to share!

San Diego Trip

Last weekend Marc and I were able to take a much needed trip to San Diego, California. Marc's parents and brother were there as well. It was a quick trip, but it was nice to get away from work and school for a few days! We had a ton of fun hanging out on the beach and soaking up the sun. After two days of laying on the beach, and swimming in the ocean we were pretty sun burnt. We did enjoy ourselves though! We played frisbee on the beach with a huge frisbee and after a while had to stop, the beach was really crowded and the people that were napping didn't like the sudden blast of sand rudely waking them. 

We went for a walk on the pier in Oceanside, but that turned out to be less fun than we hoped. There were tons of people fishing all around and the dead fish smell was quite heavy in the air. Not to mention the large amount of fish guts so decoratively covering the railing. There was a restaurant on the end of the pier, it is actually one we like, it is called Ruby's. Unfortunately we were placed at a table right next to the door for those sitting on the patio. Every time the door opened we were blessed with the smell of dead fish. If that isn't a way to get people to leave quick, I don't know what is. We quickly left after losing our appetites for our Strawberry-Banana Milkshake, not without eating the cherry! 

We took a ton of pictures, Marc laughs because I like to take artistic pictures, so there are tons of rocks, the pier, the water, and seaweed. But I just keep telling him that one day he will appreciate the fun pictures and silly memories that we have while it is still just the two of us!

Our Story

I figure since there are a few people that don't know the Marc and Melissa story, I will tell it! Marc and I met in the Fall of 2004 at BYU- Idaho. We were in the same ward, and he came over because he heard we had a Super Nintendo. He came over everyday to play and soon we started dating. It didn't seem to work out and we became best friends. That didn't seem to work either, so we dated again. This went on for about two months, he still had not gone one his mission, I started dating someone else, and so did he. We kind of went our separate ways, talking occasionally. He called me and told me where he was going on his mission, he even came and said good-bye. The whole two years he was gone we didn't talk at all. I was dating another guy in the Summer of 2007, my parents met him and didn't like him. They kept asking about when Marc was coming home, they didn't really know him either, they were just ready to get rid of me. My dad remembered that there were some strange connections to mutual friends of Marc's family and my family. Long story short I got an e-mail with his phone number and home address. Not wanting to be a stalker, I used my facebook stalking skills and found him that way. I ended up working for his dad and we started dating. About two months later Marc came back to school and I stayed home to finish my internship. We kind of left our relationship open, but after 24 hours of him being away we changed our minds. We were married December 29, 2007 in the Mesa Arizona Temple and have been so happy ever since!