November, December

Well, in 7 days my sweet hubby and I will be married 6 months -- and boy has that time FLOWN by!  Between the craziness of the final semester of my undergraduate, packing moving, holidays, going from three callings as a couple to two for myself, and being the wife of a seminary teacher I almost don't even know what happened!

As I near the end of my journey at this precious little Cal State, with only a week left of finals and papers, why do I blog now?  Of course, for no other reason than procrastination!  But seriously, I just need a break from theories, statistics, and papers.

So to lift my spirits as I wait for some lovely dough to rise, I present you with Thanksgiving and the beginnings of Christmas:

My darling husband and I took a quick trip to see our families for Turkey Day.  Luckily this time we were graced with the benefits of flying (1 hour vs. 6 by car).  Here is a little photo-documentary of our trip.

One of my favorite parts of going home, are the cute little pups I get to play with.  My parent's black lab, is always so difficult to get pictures of, but this little guy refuses to leave my side.  He even waits outside the bathroom door the entire time I shower!  What a sweetie-pie

But nothing is really better than hanging out with the nieces and nephews on my Mr.'s side of the family.  I get to see my precious little ones once, maybe twice a year if I'm lucky, so I've grown very close with his nieces and nephews during the 4.5 years we've been together.

On Thanksgiving we went to his dad's uncle's house an hour and a half north of my hometown, which was surprisingly an easy drive with the Thanksgiving traffic!  Aside from the delicious dinner that I was too hungry to even try snapping a picture of, the best part of that trip was playing with the kids and riding around on a super sweet red Vespa!


 Don't let this picture fool you, I was too much of a sissy to drive it myself!

* * * Disclaimer * * * 

You've made it this far, so I only feel it's fair to warn you - this is going to be a long post!!  But as long as your here, I have some more to tell you :)

Well anyway.  We got back from a lovely trip and immediately I turned Southern California into a Christmassy Winter Wonderland!  So what if I can't have actual cold or snow, it's like on of Dom's favorite Christmas Songs goes:

"Some folks say it doesn't feel like Christmas

If you can't look outside and see some snow

But I don't recall that it was snowing

In Bethlehem two thousand years ago"

Besides, who needs the bitter cold when you can create snowcapped cupcakes, hang wreaths, and put up a real Christmas Tree (none of that fake nonsense)?!

 

Of course Christmas baking is fattening amazing -- but I think one of my favorite parts of commercialized Christmas is the tree.  Between the beautiful lights, the sweet smell, and the decorating traditions I couldn't be happier!!

We went to pick out our Christmas Tree, per my request, the Monday we got home from our Thanksgiving travels.  I know, I'm ridiculous, but hey!  This is my first Christmas as a wife and nothing sounds more exciting to me than baking, decorating, and stringing pretty lights everywhere :)

Anyway -  We went down to the beautiful chop-your-own fields of the Home Depot parking lot.

 The lucky tree that now calls our apartment home is a beautiful Noble Fir that was taller than me, again per my request.  My sweet husband, despite knowing it would be way too big for our tiny little apartment, appeased me and got us a tree just shy of hitting the ceiling.  And boy I could not have been happier that night!

But the best part is decorating the tree!  I love that my mom sent us a cute Christmas package filled with holiday pillows, blankets, ornaments, and kitchen accessories.

This one has always been a favorite of mine, even before I understood what Christmas was really about or what the nativity really was.  I think I liked it at first because it has a little spot at the bottom you can stick a light in that brightens up the background illuminating the star behind baby Jesus.  I love that my mom sent me this ornament.  Not only because I used to fight to put it on the tree every year . . . but more importantly because it brings the birth of Christ into the trivial wintertime activities.

My second favorite ornament is one that my middle brother claims is "his."  But just because he was born eight years before me does not me he gets claim on the gem! Oh man.  This is one of the glories of the Christmas tree! So you can guess how delighted I was when I opened the box and the ornament I begged my mom to put in the package was sitting right on top!  Oh man.  The picture to the left is the one I texted him as soon as I hung it on the tree.  The response back made my week.

But what makes everything even better, is that I decided to go on a hunt.  My brother got this beauty of an ornament before I was born and I was determined to find it's soul mate via the internet.  I'm not going to show you everything I got . . . But I'll give you a preview of the package . . . 

Christmas is just the best :)

Life as a Wife.

Ok, I'm not going to lie, I'm a TERRIBLE blogger.  When things get hectic, the blog goes out the window - and by gosh by golly, it has been a hectic first five months of marriage!  But we've had the time of our lives.

Living life as a wife is, how do I put it . . . AWESOME.  I love married life.  I love being my own family.  I just love it.  That's all I really have to say.  I just love it.

A lot of perks and fun stories come from being married.

One perk I particularly enjoy is the addition of a new extended family.  I've now officially found myself a part of the Fosson Family.  Such an amazing check off my list.  The family I've adopted has adopted me ten times over.  They are such a phenomenal support system.  I love knowing that not only do I have my family, the family I grew up in, but I've got a brand-spanking-new extended family of mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, nieces, and nephews.

This being said, I'd like you to . . .

(a) Meet my Family:

This is a picture of us thoroughly tanned from our trip to Hawaii

(b) Meet the amazing Family that raised me:

and last, but not least, (c) Meet my sweet newly acquired Family:

Daddy's Little Girl

So normally I center my posts almost entirely around the man of my dreams, my husband.  But this post is going to be a little different.  I want to write a little homage to the first man I ever loved, and the one who (aside from my husband) will love me forever and ever . . . my Daddy.

Dom and I got all our wedding pictures recently from the amazing Caitlin Sheffer. And before I show any of my beau and I, I want to show the some of my Daddy and I.

So without further adieu, here is my handsome Daddy:

I love my dad.  But just because he's awesome, doesn't mean he's an awesome dancer as well.  Haha.  Although, you wouldn't guess that from these pictures.  He looks like a bonified twinkle-toes here.  This was probably one of the most fun things I've ever done.  It took us FOREVER to pick the song, but when he picked it . . . well, he definitely picked it!!  We danced to Isn't She Lovely by Stevie Wonder.  I just loved it.

The last wedding my family was all truly a part of was my biggest brother Michael's (not pictured below).  I was nine and my daddy . . . well he was a little younger . . . and maybe a bit skinnier . . . but an amazing daddy all the same!

 Throughout all the years, I've always been daddy's little girl.  I've always been his curly haired princess

And the truth is, I always will be.  We'll always be the goofy pranksters and mom-teasers.  He'll always defend me agains those mean big brothers. 

While this is true, things will be different.  I'm no longer just daddy's little girl.  I'm the little girl he gave away.  But his giving away came with standards.  He wanted the man I married to be honest, loyal, brave, and funny.  He wanted the man I married to "hang with the boys," to love my family as much as we do.  My dad pretty much described in detail, the man I actually did marry.  And when my husband sat down with my dad to ask if he could be with me forever, it's no wonder he said yes.

And as I cried my eyes out on the walk down the aisle, my sweet daddy hugged me, kissed me, and told me how proud he was of me as he handed me away.

And then I happily married this guy.

He is the most wonderful, handsome, sweet, and amazing man I've ever met and will ever.  He is the only man that will ever measure up to my dad.

 I don't remember ever being as happy as I am now.

 

Honeymooners (06.24.2012 - 07.01.2012)

Scene: Waikiki, Oahu, Hawai'i

Act I: Waikiki Marriot, Floor 30
So I'll start it out by saying we got lucky. And I mean VERY lucky.  We arrive at the hotel after our 5 hour flight across the ocean (a first for both of us!) and the receptionist at the desk where we checked in read our reservation for a two double bed room - both of us, immediately shocked reported to her that there must be some confusion and we reserved a king suite, so she searched for a couple minutes, and in Mr.'s words, "Put us in the best room in the hotel!"

Out of 33 floors, we were placed on the 30th, in a corner room with two ocean view balconies.  Every morning, we opened the door to warm sunshine and ocean breeze and every night we sat out on our favorite evening balcony and watched the sun set slowly into the ocean as surfers caught waves back to shore.  Hawai'i was seriously magical.  One morning we even woke up to a rainbow, literally right outside our door!

The hotel was right on the beach.  One we made the quick trip downstairs we walked for less than a minute and were in white sand and warm water -- Hello Paradise!

We loved relaxing on the sand in the sun.  After the craziness that begat our wedding we were thrilled to lounge and, to put it simply, just be together!  Before now we didn't have too much time, but the transition has been effortless and exciting.  As amazing as our time was in paradise, nothing beats being at home and cuddling with my husband :)

Act II: Pearl Harbor
For this, I have to hand over the typing to my husband.  My commentary will be interjected her and there, but I need him to be the narrator to this part of our adventure in paradise.

This part of our honeymoon travels was a very humbling one. We scheduled a tour of Pearl Harbor, and specifically, we toured the USS Missouri, the USS Bowfin, and the Arizona Memorial. We arrived early in the morning, not sure how the whole process worked. But quick enough, we purchased our tickets and began the day.



Up first was our tour of the USS Missouri, a famous battleship-turned-museum (though brought to life again in the major motion picture Battleship). I immediately felt different when I entered the ship. In a small way, I think everyone who walks on such a piece of history feels of the experiences and emotions of those who originally occupied the space. For me, I felt of the courage, bravery, and patriotism of those of manned the boat, yet also of the fear that must have inevitably crept into many of their minds as well. This was a massive boat, capable of delivering massive blows and undoubtedly facing enemies capable of doing the same.

Though much of the boat was blocked off to tourists, it still felt like a huge maze. Tiny doorways and ladders, and many dark rooms. I appreciated them keeping some rooms preserved to reflect what they looked like when the ship was in active duty. It helped enhance the experience for me. Perhaps the most interesting part of this boat was learning about the surrender ceremony that took place aboard its deck. It was interesting to look at the black and white photos of the Japanese officials who stood behind the document stating their surrender, then being able to walk to the exact spot where it occurred.

Up next was the tour of the USS Bowfin submarine. The first thing that stood out to me was how small everything was. From sinks to staircases and beds to kitchens, everything was miniature--and it had to be! It all came down to how fast you could get the boat to drop or rise in the water and any unneeded weight made it more difficult to control. Given that fact, I don't think I could have done it. I'm terribly claustrophobic. I was fine traversing the small pathways below deck, but during active duty, there is added to it a crew of around 100 soldiers. Talk about a tight fit. If I didn't have a problem with the space, I'd probably have chosen a spot on the sub. It was awesome.

Last up was the tour of the USS Arizona. We took a short ferry ride out to the spot of its sinking and immediately when people started getting in line for it, there was a pronounced silence that fell over the whole place. This is why people go to visit Pearl Harbor. Not because the Arizona was more important than any other part of the harbor, but because, I think, it symbolizes the heartache of the attacks that day. It was the biggest ship in Pearl (luckily) and is responsible for the most casualties. So our ferry docked and we got out on a big dock that is parked perpendicular to where the Arizona sank. As we were standing on it looking out, we were able to see much of the length of the ship extending for our left and right.


The most powerful part of experience was noting that oil still drips from the sunken ship, made visible by the reflective puddle it leaves at the surface of the water. They've ensured that it won't be cleaned up because it acts more powerfully as a reminder to Pearl's visitors than it does as a detriment to the sea life surrounding it. For me, it acted to slow down time. Looking down at that
rainbow colored surface made it feel to me as though the attack just happened yesterday. Furthermore, it made me think that any similar tragedy isn't any less horrific only because it happened before our time or outside the confines of our state or country. Seeing the oil still dripping made me realize that.

All in all, it was my favorite day. It was worth the trip to Hawaii in and of itself. Its a trip that puts things in perspective and makes you grateful for those who serve our country in the armed forces.

Act III: Polynesian Cultural Center

The PCC was seriously, amazing.  Besides being beautiful and having delicious food, it was so fun to see some of the many different cultures of the polynesian islands. This place is really too amazing for words.  So rather than explain it myself, I will refer you to their website and this video . . . plus some of the thousands of pictures we took there.  We went to the Alii Luau, which was to die for and I know I've only included a very few pictures, but for the sake of getting this online after 6 months . . . here they are!

Laie Hawaii Temple . . . so bright you can't even see it!!

Act IV: Hanauma Bay, Snorkeling

This place was seriously beautiful.  A little crowded and chilly (for Hawaii) the day we went, but seriously so amazing.  I wish we bought an underwater disposable camera.  The fish were so bright and colorful.

Failed Picture Attempt

Act IV: Aloha.

All in all, we had a marvelous time.  There were so many things we did and so many pictures we took (as I'm sure you can tell by the massive amount included) it would be impossible to include all the details . . . especially since this is being posted so late.  Well in ending the post, I'll add a few obscure pics that I just think are great.

America Pants.

My favorite of us from the trip.

Seriously.  Dangerous.

Our last sunset.