Remember the Alamo!

Last Sunday Danny and I went and walked around some of the sites in San Antonio. First we saw the Alamo, which Danny gave me a quick history lesson on. A few interesting things I learned is that we lost the battle, this is where Davey Crockett died, and that the fort is surprisingly small. However our troops held off the troops from Mexico for a long time and inspired others with their gusto. This is where the phrase, "Remember the Alamo!" came from and was a monumental battle that eventually led to us gaining Texas. (that was my kindergarten version of the Alamo. Don't even ask me to explain Star Trek)
Next we went to the San Antonio river walk which is so beautiful! It is crazy the things they have built over and around this river. (It is still up for debate which was there first, the river or the buildings) But anyway, there was a hotel in which the lobby was the river, all these restaurants built right on the edge, and everything was so green and vibrant. Last year Danny texted me some pictures of the river walk and I told him I wanted him to propose to me there. While its a little late for that I am still so glad we went!

World Cup-Goodbye NC- Welcome Home Robin- Hello Texas- Fathers Day- One Year Anniversary

Warning! This post is going to be longer and more involved than even that title!
So it has been a few weeks since I have blogged and boy has it been an eventful few weeks! (and I didn't even take very many pictures) So here goes nothing. I really do apologize if you get bored you don't have to read it all.

First off... the World Cup!

I could not be Danny's wife and not talk about his LOVE for soccer and the world cup. This is so huge for him. The night before the world cup started he got really excited and retreated to a boy-like state of excitement. The next morning he woke up early, started singing, "Ole, Ole, Ole, ole!" put on a soccer jersey and said, "It's Christmas that only comes every four years!" I am not going to pretend that I understand his excitement but I do love seeing him like this. It makes me laugh pretty hard.

Goodbye North Carolina!
It started off with Danny and I's decision to leave North Carolina and the pest control industry for the security system industry back in Texas. When we moved to North Carolina we thought it would be the perfect situation because we could be close to family while still making as much money as we would be in Texas (or so the pest control people said). After a month of hard work we had made fewer sales in pest control than Danny did in security systems last year and security systems pays a lot more! So we sacrificed the comfort of being close to family to be able to make a little bit of money.

We took a day to explore Raleigh because we hadn't been able to see much while working all the time. We went to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Science, downtown Raleigh, and Duke University. Here are a few of the photos:

This is the skeleton of a blue whale. It was HUGE! (see Danny to the side)

Oh no! Something is eating Danny.

Welcome Home Robin!
We also got some exciting news right before we left that Danny's brother ROBIN IS HOME! Robin has been serving in Afghanistan for the last 6+ months and getting to see him was a huge reason we decided to go to North Carolina. So it was perfect timing that he came home the day before we left. We took one last trip out to New Bern and got to spend time with Robin, Mar and the kids, in which I neglected to take pictures. Sorry. It was so great to finally meet Danny's brother! And Danny hadn't seen him in a few years so we both were so glad.

Road Trip/Hello Texas!
So we left North Carolina Tuesday morning to drive to San Antonio Texas. The GPS and mapquest both said it would take about 22 hours and we thought, "We are both adults, we can just drive straight through." Wrong! For some reason it was a really long drive for both of us and at about 1 in the morning after driving for 16 hours we pulled over and stayed the night at a really classy Red Rooster Inn. I did learn a few things on that road trip and here are a few of my thoughts:

• Baby wipes, GPS and books on tape are road trip essentials. Lesson learned.
  
• New Orleans: wow. It has been how many years since Hurricane Katrina and just while driving through it there were so many building and bridges that were still in ruins. So crazy.
  
• While we were eating chicken in New Orleans and watching the Lakers/Celtics game there was a news flash about the BP oil spill and everyone at the restaurant got really upset. It hit home to me that this is really affecting this people. It finally was real to me.
• When you eat too many Starbursts, grapes no longer have flavor. Sad.

Alright so we made it to Texas, we are finally going to be in the same place for at least two months.

Next up: Fathers Day!
Since the week had been pretty busy already I didn't have time to even send out Father's Day cards or anything but Danny and I have the most amazing fathers! My dad and I have always had a special relationship. As the youngest daughter I was always "Daddy's Little Princess" and although I get teased for it, I love it. My dad would take me on Daddy daughter dates when I was younger and I still remember going out for ice cream and just spending quality time with him. He taught me to be strong in the gospel and to gain a testimony for my own. He is a worthy priesthood holder and is always there to give me a Father's blessing or whatever I need. I love you Dad! Danny's dad is also an incredible man. He is one of the hardest workers I know. While serving as a bishop in their ward and working full time he always takes time to put his family first. He and Luz have such an amazing marriage and I am so glad Danny has learned how to be the perfect husband and (future) father. I am so grateful for Jose and the choices he has made for his family that made it possible for Danny and I to meet and be married. We love you Jose!
And a quick little thing about the future father of my children: Danny! (the picture is of the kids attacking him in the morning and him trying to sleep through it) He was pretty excited that he got a treat in church because he's married and will be a father someday. I am so glad that he is so great with kids. Every time I see him with his nieces and nephews or just any kid I get so excited for the day when we get to have our own family. He will be a wonderful dad!

One year!
Alright and you are probably ready to kill me for my long-windedness right now but one more thing: Danny and I started dating a year ago yesterday! I know that is so lame to even bring up but it was pretty huge for us to finally move from the friend realm into the dating realm. This is a picture we took that fateful weekend. It is also pretty cool that we are back where it all started. It was June 20th 2009 when Danny flew me to Texas to visit him. That night we talked about why we had never dated and I think I told him something along the lines of, "Be glad you've never dated me, you're better off that way!" And he replied with, "Why don't you let me decide?" He kissed me and we started dating the next day. And I'm so grateful that he did! That also means that it was our 7 month wedding anniversary so also yay for that!

The New Place

I wanted to post a few pictures of the new place since it is such a huge difference from our old basement apartment. We didn't pack much so it looks pretty sparse but the pictures from the website online make it look as great as it really is so I give them the photographic credit.
This is the amazing pool where I am now spending most of my afternoons. I know, I know, I'm supposed to be out there killing the bugs. I told Danny I would try knocking doors with him for two weeks and then decide what to do from there. Well my two weeks is up and for some reason this pool seemed more inviting than the people on the doors. No it really came down to the fact that I was slowing him down because I was always thirsty or had to use the bathroom or what not. And it turns out I'm really emotional when it comes to rejection. I'm gonna go let him work his magic on his own now.
And this is an aerial view of the floor plan. It's pretty sweet really. In fact just looking at this picture is making me want to rearrange the furniture. Maybe that is what I'll do today. After the pool of course.

Feliz Cumpleanos Danny!

"Danny, hold up the cake so I can take a picture." Awesome.
Just wanted to give a shout out to my hubby because he turned 26 on Saturday! No offense to those of you who are 26 plus but I feel like 26 is old. Good thing he still acts like an 18 year old! No really though Danny is amazing and it has been a pretty huge year for him. Here is a review of some of the incredible things Danny has done this year:

• He flew me out to Texas to visit him, we consequently started dating...finally! (he also rode The Steel Eel, the biggest roller coaster of his life, a big feat for him)

• He had an amazing season as captain of the USU mens soccer team (this is an awful picture but Danny is number 11 in the background)

• He got married!
• He got accepted into the Jon Huntsman School of Business

• He won three intramural soccer tournaments (yay for free t-shirts!)

I could go on and on but I'll spare you the cheese. Danny is so great and has been really important to me for a long time now. I'm so grateful for his parents for having him and raising him to be an incredible man. He is the perfect husband for me, always making me laugh, cheering me on and being patient with me. I can't wait to see what will happen in his 26th year of life!

Andy Garcia

"Hey, you look like Andy Garcia." This is a phrase that Danny hears multiple times every day, and especially knocking doors. There are some people that won't even open their door to talk about pest control but they come running out on their front porch to tell him that he looks like Andy Garcia. He just laughs and says that he gets that all the time but for a while I would get pretty offended when people told him this. I finally confessed to Danny that I hate it when people tell him that. He showed me some pictures online and I came to realize that I was thinking of George Lopez. There is a huge difference. So just for the record, yes, Danny does look like Andy Garcia, but not like George Lopez. (For those of you as unaware as me, Andy Garcia is above, George Lopez is below.)

The NC!

34 hours and 11 states later, Danny and I are finally in North Carolina! We have been here for about a week now and we have already had quite a few adventures. Here is a list of a few things I have LOVED about it here so far:

• Our shower is at least 4 times as big as the one in Logan
• The humidity is great for my dry skin
• It's not snowing here! It's in the 70's and 80's most days
• The swimming pool, weight room, front-step garbage pick-up, and free refreshments at our complex. Feeling pretty spoiled.
• All the quality time with Danny (he's stuck with me now)
• Free cable!
• The beach is two hours away
• Washer and dryer

Here's what we have been up to:

The first day here we went to play with Danny's sister-in-law Margeli and her kids Chiara, Fabrizio and Bella. We only had one day but we got to go to Atlantic Beach and play a few round of hide and seek.

Just eating some lunch.

My husband the mermaid. This was pretty funny because the kids were sitting calmly on the blanket eating lunch and Mar and I were going crazy burying Danny in the sand. We're real mature like that.

Bella is the funniest little girl. She always pulls the craziest faces (a woman after my own heart.)

Ultimate hide and seek. I'm pretty sure Danny has some bumps and bruises from this round but it was totally worth it. Call me crazy but I think Chiara fit better in the cupboard.

Our first day knocking doors. My hair has been perma-poof since we've been here. Something about humidity...

The Raleigh Temple! Beautiful!

Those are our Raleigh adventures for our first week here. I'll try and get some pictures of our apartment to post because our "second home" is pretty incredible compared the the humble abode we occupied in Logan.

Graduation

I finally graduated from Utah State on May 8, 2010! It was five years coming but I have learned a lot about life and a few things about social work while I've been in Logan. Doing the ceremony and walking thing seemed a little bit ridiculous to me because we were simultaneously moving and cleaning but I'm glad I did it. I'm so grateful that I have met so many great people while at Utah State: great roommates, professors, classmates and of course Danny. Its crazy to think that one decision to come to USU made such a big difference in where I have ended up. So glad I made the right decision. Here are a few pictures of the day.

I had to put this picture in because we went out to Dinner at Ruby River after the ceremony and Russell ate a HUGE Buffalo Burger, fries, milk, and part of an onion blossom. I ordered the same thing and didn't get through half of it.