Happiest Place on Earth

I'll do a full post when I get back to Utah but just wanted you all to get an update of what's going on in my life. Let's just say, California has been good to me. Isn't Mickey just adorable?

Mouse and Company

Temple Trips and Summer Sunsets

I've realized that I have a tendency to post sunset/landscape pictures. However, tonight was too good to not share with all of you. My hubby and I left the temple to see this gorgeous thing...

Ignore Our Lovely Photo Bombers

I <3 Utah

It's moments like this that help me remember just how much God loves His children.

The Simple Things: Homecomings, Birthdays and Bubbles

What a beautiful weekend we had. The time always goes too quickly and I never get enough time with my Philly. However, this weekend was full of happy moments that I very much enjoyed.

First of all, President and Sister Hart came home! I was so excited to see my mission president and his wife. They touched my life and are such amazing examples to me. I cried as I listened to them talk about their experiences and how much they loved all of their missionaries. It brought back so many memories from the mission. Brasil will always be "sacred ground", as they said. They were so sweet to have us all at their house afterwards. It was fun to see all of my old mission friends. I had to wait about 30 minutes in line to get a picture with President and Sister Hart but, it was worth it.

My Mission Mama and Papa

The fun continued on Sunday. We spent the day with my family for Corinne's birthday (the big 2-4). As a present to her, we distracted the Munchkin. Phil and I found out that bubbles are a cheap and delightful way to distract a toddler. She wouldn't stop giggling.

She Was Using the Cap as a Cell Phone.

I can't get enough of this kid. She's an awesome playmate. This video is evidence.

Happy Monday, from our family to yours.

Give and Take

Marriage is founded upon principles of charity and selflessness. Although I try to be a selfless person, I must say that I fail quite often. The "give and take" adage doesn't always find me on the giving end.

Today was great because I got to sleep in and my hubby insisted that I stay in bed while he made me french toast. Isn't he a cutie? He also helped me clean and generally doted on me all afternoon. So I spent most of my day in the "take" territory. If I'm being honest though, I absolutely loved it.

He's Too Good for Me

Phil also made all of dinner. So, in an attempt to do something nice for my amazing guy, I agreed to go on a hike. Now, all who know me understand that nature is not my cup of tea. I have a hard time enjoying it, and I usually don't appreciate it. Why would I purposefully make myself hot, sweaty, dirty, and uncomfortable? Anyway, it's a work in progress.

The Hubs was so excited about this hike. He told me that he knew exactly where he wanted to go. He told me it was pretty steep but it should only take about 15 minutes to get to the top. Looking back, it probably didn't take much longer than that but, it seemed like it took forever. We went up Rock Canyon and hiked a pseudo trail to a ledge overlooking the valley. I wouldn't admit it to Phil but, it was totally worth it. 

Pictures Don't Do It Justice

Utah Valley

My Favorite. You Can See the Temple!

We decided to celebrate with Kong Kones at Macey's. Nothing wrong with that.

Extra Chocolate for Me.

I feel incredibly blessed to have such an amazing husband. He's always giving and I wish I could be more like him. Heavenly Father certainly knows me and helped me find the perfect man for me. Cliche I know, but I don't care.

#Crepeau2014

¡Viva México!

One benefit of getting married in the middle of the semester is that you get to take two honeymoon trips. Because Phil and I got married in February, we only took our "real" honeymoon about two weeks ago. Phil's uncle Kevin was so nice to fly us out to Mexico for a week. Thanks Kevin and Monica! We debated where to go but finally settled on San Jose del Cabo, the more mild of the two Cabo locations.

Everything was so beautiful. Our hotel was quaint and we loved our stay. Here are some of the highlights.

We left on Tuesday afternoon and didn't land until late Tuesday night. We took a shuttle to the hotel (we remembered just how annoying Americans can be) and basically crashed. We woke up Wednesday, so excited to start our day. Our hotel was right in front of the Mega, the Mexican equivalent of a Walmart, so we walked over to buy ourselves some breakfast. The bakery was obviously our favorite and we got some sweet rolls called conchas (shells) and some muffins.

Love Him! And the Conchas

After breakfast, we put on our swim suits and headed over to the beach. The beaches by our hotel had really strong currents so we couldn't swim a lot that first day but had lots of fun relaxing on the beach and just hanging out.

Our Paradise

While we were relaxing, we had a lovely Mexican pirate come up to us... Okay, so maybe he wasn't a pirate but he definitely had a patch over his right eye. His name was Jorge and he chatted with Phil about his shells that he painted for a living. I fall for little things like this, plus I thought Jorge was super funny so we bought one. It matches our living room perfectly. He put our names on it, but that cost us extra because it was "más difícil".

The Final Product

 After cleaning up a bit, we talked to the concierge about the best places to eat. She recommended this local taco place called Los Claros. It was a long walk in the heat from our hotel but it was totally worth it. We got fish tacos, octopus tacos, chicken tacos and a shrimp taco. The homemade horchata was fabulous and Phil loved his Mexican Coke.

Traditional Mexican Tacos

We walked back on the beach that evening and watched the sunset. We even got punked by a mariachi band who charged us after they played a song for us. Live and learn right?

On Thursday, we decided to venture to a beach a little farther from the hotel. Our concierge recommended Playa Palmilla and we were not disappointed. We took a local bus and walked about 15 minutes to get to the beach. So breathtaking! 

Playa Palmilla

They had lots of palm umbrellas set up for shade and we camped out the entire day. Since it was during the week, we were there with other families on vacation. We swam in the water, laid on our towels and read books and magazines. I'm a big fan of the Latin lifestyle. Everyone was eating and chatting (even our on-duty lifeguard spent most of the time with his friends). It was wonderful. We even got to eat some local popsicles that reminded me so much of Brasilian geladinho. Don't mind how burned we look.

Pineapple and Fruit Punch

Friday was rough. After spending so much time in the sun, my face was super swollen (Pictures unnecessary). I told Phil that I couldn't leave in the heat of the day because it only made it worse. He was such an amazing husband and went to the store without me to get us food to eat. He made me a traditional Mexican breakfast of refried black beans on fresh bread, topped with eggs, avocado, and cream. Divine! 

Too Cute! Am I Right?

We did venture out for dinner though. We never planned where we were going and always walked around until we found a place that looked good. On Friday evening, we walked into this place that I thought was an old restaurant and found out that it was this upscale bistro. The food was incredible! It was the only night we didn't eat Mexican food. Phil got steak and I got shrimp stuffed chicken. Both were delightful. The best part was the group of Mexican men at the table next to us. All of them were watching soccer and joking around as they drank their beers. So fun to watch.

Fancy Food

After spending all day Friday resting, we were both ready to get out of the hotel on Saturday. It was a much busier day because all the locals also take the day off but it was still super fun. I was grumpy at first because I looked like the Hunchback of Notre Dame but Phil helped me be positive. We went all the way to Playa Chileno, which was closer to Cabo San Lucas. We had a bit of a mishap on the bus ride over. When we got on, we told our bus driver where we were going and asked him to drop us off when we got to the correct stop. Well, apparently he forgot so we ended up passing it and getting off in the middle of the desert. Yeah... Good thing Phil could ask some locals who told us how to get to the right place. Ah memories. 

Hunk

Saturday night was another adventure. We always came home and took a shower and then walked to downtown to find a new restaurant. Saturday Phil got carne al pastor and I got amazing fajitas. Notice how burnt I am? 

Nom, Nom, Nom... 

Please Ignore My Swollen Face

When Sunday came, we were both really excited to go to church. I had missed having Latin sacrament meetings so I was anxious to see if it was anything like Brasil. The chapel was very similar (lots of tile and no carpet) and the members were so friendly. Everyone came over and said hello to us. Phil was totally in heaven.

La Iglesia

Phil convinced me to be brave that day and try tongue tacos. I was hesitant, however, they tasted great. We were big fans of the local restaurants. It was super fun to go off the beaten path. This restaurant gave us hot sauce and guacamole in ketchup and mustard bottles, plus three different kinds of salsa. Not to mention the limes and pico de gallo they added too. 

Not as Swollen?

Monday came way too quickly. We knew we wanted to get some souvenirs for our families so we headed downtown. There were tons of shops with every trinket you could want. We checked out the Catholic Cathedral first. I loved the detail and the stained glass.

He Couldn't Resist

We meandered through the shops for awhile. I really wanted something for our house so we went to quite a few stores before finding our lovely pillow. We got some other gifts for our families too. 

Our Treasures

It rained for a bit so we took cover in a local bar to watch the Mexico-Croatia game. Nothing better than Hispanics watching soccer. 

Virgin... We Promise

Perfect Way to Cool Down

Since it was our last day, we wanted to make sure to take a picture in front of the Mexico sign by our hotel. We asked a local to take a picture for us. This is what we got. 

Fail...

We debated where to go for our last meal in Mexico, but decided that we loved Los Claros so much that we had to go back. Definitely a good choice.

My Happy Place

Notice His Mexican Pride?

We were so sad to leave our personal paradise. 

Too Good

Our flight home was long and we were so sad to leave. Not to mention that we came home to this: 

Yes, I Helped

Silly Flat Tire

Not exactly the warm welcome we anticipated but we were proud of how quickly we fixed it. So many memories. In short, I feel like the luckiest woman in the world. My husband is the greatest and there's never a dull moment for the Crepeaus.

Fourth of July: Idaho Style

I absolutely love the Fourth of July. It is one of my favorite holidays and I have so many awesome memories of the Fourth from growing up. We'd head over to the neighbors, have barbecues and always launch the traditional fireworks. I'm a huge fan. Marriage, however, has led me to compromise on my holidays. 

Phil's family lives too far away for us to spend holiday weekends with them so we headed up to good ol' Idaho Falls for our Fourth this year. Apparently it's the biggest fireworks show west of the Mississippi, so I conceded to make the trip. Phil was so excited to see his old friends and the families from his ward. We left on Thursday after work and had a gorgeous drive up. It was absolutely beautiful.

Ignore the Dirty Windshield. 

We stayed with Phil's family friends, the Avondets. It was a madhouse because they had all of their kids in for the weekend too. I felt bad because we had a bed and some of them slept on a couch but they were so gracious. We were up bright and early Friday morning for the big Independence Day Parade. It was so cute. Plenty of cheesy floats and bulk candy. Totally American.

USA Pride!

We hung out with Phil's friends' families. We had two barbecues (with homemade root beer) on Friday and lots of fun. Somehow, every holiday in the US revolves around food. I'm not complaining.

Phil Making Root Beer

Eventually, it came time for the fireworks. Everyone heads down to the river hours early and we went too to save our spot. Since we had some extra time, we walked around the banks of the river and got to meet up with one of Phil's favorite mission companions who's up in Rexburg for school. It was hot but so worth it.

THE Idaho Falls

IF Temple from Across the River

Phil and Eddie

Once we walked back, the fireworks started. They didn't disappoint. Everything was choreographed to music and I loved it.

Boom!

Saturday was amazing too. I told Phil that I wanted to see all of the sights from Idaho Falls and he was an excellent tour guide. He took me on a chronological tour of his life in IF. We started at his house (which is now owned by a family that rents it out. That was disappointing) and then met his Chinese neighbors, Rita and Henry Chu. Oh my goodness, I love Asians. Rita was truly delightful. She sat us down and pulled out pictures she'd saved of Phil on his mission and from our wedding invitation. She wouldn't let us leave without bottles of water and gatorade, Chinese dishes and scarves and a bamboo painting. Loved her.

The Crepeau Home

Phil and Rita

After stopping there, he took me to his old elementary school (which was under construction), his junior high, and high school. We then went by the pool where Phil used to work and stopped at the IF Temple. The Visitor's Center was awesome and the missionaries were cute. The temple was magnificent. I fell in love with the fountain in front and the beautiful stained glass.

Edgemont Elementary

Taylorview Junior High

Go Tigers!

IF Pool

IF Temple

From the temple we went on to see Papa Crepeau's old office and headed out to get ice cream at Reed's Dairy. The ice cream was delicious and their Gorilla Crunch flavor did not disappoint. Yummy swirls of chocolate and peanut butter... I was in heaven! The baby cows were a fun addition and we found out just how long their tongues are. Crazy!

The Traditional Phil Pose 

Gorilla Crunch!

The Tongue!

After the IF tour, we came home and had dinner with the Avondet family and played some yard games. I was a master at bocce but "Mexican Golf" was not my strong suit. I did get a point, after the game was over but still felt the need to document it.

Phil Playing Mexican Golf

I Can Score Too!

The weather was so beautiful so we decided to head with the Avondets to a minor league baseball game across town. Go Idaho Falls Chuckers! They played the Ogden Raptors and lost, but it was still fun. Baseball is my pace because it allows for plenty of chatting between the exciting plays.

Oh Baseball...

Aviator Twins

We Love Erin!

We left the game a little early to head over to the drive-in. I'd never been to one before and it was on our summer bucket list. The weather got a little chilly but we still enjoyed ourselves.

Drive-In 

Needless to say, we came home super tired today. It was a busy and exciting weekend but we loved every second. We're so grateful to live in this amazing country and feel so blessed to be surrounded by amazing friends and family. Happy (belated) birthday America!