Vancouver

Over the last 6 months, I have had the amazing opportunity to travel all over the country (and to Barcelona) for my job. I get to travel to different ports and train different teams, but also get to see different cities. The best part is that the people who I work with know these cities like the back of their hand and so I always get to see the best parts of the city. I recently went to Vancouver, BC and loved it! I spent a week there and had the chance to go explore the city with one of my co-workers. It was the perfect day out and we pretty much walked the entire downtown area. I never would have dreamed I would have the chance to travel to all of these amazing cities, but I am so grateful I can experience all the different cultures this world has to offer.

 30,000 feet 

 The view from my hotel

 I tried a pannekoek (Dutch pancake) and it was delicious! 

 The gas lamp district

 Olympic Monument

Seeing the ship off after a long day at the pier

Cha Cha Changes

Whew! It has been a crazy few weeks. So much has been going on and yes, there have been a lot of changes. I accepted a position as a training analyst at Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. I am so excited about this opportunity! I loved my job at Acquinity Interactive, but the commute wore on me. My job there taught me so much about how to be a better trainer. I had an amazing mentor and great support there. I will really miss it! Now I get to experience a whole new kind of company and work. I am excited and scared at the same time. I just feel really blessed to have this opportunity to work for a great company and have this opportunity to work closer to home.

Derek and I also had the chance to take a little break and go on a quick trip with our good friends Caitlin and Andrew Peterson. We all went to college together and got married within a month of each other. They are such great friends, I am so glad we made the time to do this with them! I will be post overloading that trip soon :)

So I guess that about sums up the last few weeks. Doesn't seem like much when I write it out but I have felt like a lot has changes. I am really excited about the future and I just keep feeling so lucky to have the opportunities I have been given. 

Peterson/Estes Cruise: Day 1 and Day 2

What a week! We had the opportunity to go on an awesome Caribbean cruise with our good friends the Petersons. It was the perfect week of relaxing and having adventures. The night before we left we picked up Andrew and Caitlin at the airport in Fort Lauderdale. We came back to Miami and drove around the city to show them where we live. Saturday we woke up and finished packing before heading off to the airport. Jacki was awesome to take us to the port and get us on our way. We checked in pretty easily and before we knew it, we were on the boat! Our room assignment was perfect (we were on the main deck) and we had the chance to watch as we left Miami. After that, the excessive eating began! I don't think I have ever eaten as much as I did this last week and it was awesome!

Leavin' MIA

Goodbye Miami!

The next day we had a day at sea so we got to just relax and lay out. I got to read and enjoy the pool with Caitlin while Derek and Andrew played basketball. Derek won the free throw contest and Andrew won the 3 point contest. We love our athletic husbands! That night we had our first formal night so we got to get all dressed up and took some pictures on the deck. We played "Screw Your Neighbor", the card game, every night. It took me a few days to learn how to play but we all finally got the hang of it. Caitlin was definitely the overall champ but we all had our turn to win. Having a day at sea was the perfect way to start the trip and really relax. 

The girls

Happy vacationers

The whole crew

The U and The U (we know which one is better)

Formal Night

Peterson/Estes Cruise: Day 7

Day 7 was our last day at sea. We cruised past Cuba and had a really windy day. Since it was the last day of the cruise, we decided to take it easy. We woke up late, laid out in the sun, napped, read... a normal lazy vacation day. It was the first day that I started to feel the reality of home again and had to stop myself from stressing. Luckily, I had a great book to read and easily fell asleep several times throughout the day. The boys played more basketball and we were all happy campers. Throughout the week, we played cards and a bean bag game they had on the ship. We got our butts kicked most of the time but we did win one (hence the victory pose in the below picture).  Overall, the last day was the perfect way to end a great week!

Islands of Adventure

The end of summer caught me off guard this year. It seems like we were so busy the whole time I didn't even realize Derek was going to be back in school before we knew it. Luckily, a bunch of kids from Derek's med school class planned a fun get-away to Islands of Adventure a few weeks after school started. We had a great time celebrating everyone's birthday and just being together.  I loved going on the kids rides (I don't love roller coasters), especially Jurassic Park. We are so lucky to have such great friends!

Getting ready to celebrate the birthday girls

The distraction pic so we could sneak in the cake

The crew after the long, awesome day

At dinner at Port Canaveral

Another group shot

Derek and Shawn make this shot

Leaving the park. Such a fun day!

Catch Up

Wow! The last month has just flown by! I cant believe it is already July 1st. Sometimes I wish I could grab time and make it sit still. The last month has been full of fun and friends. Derek finished his first year of medical school (YEAH!!). We are 1/4 of the way to Residency and I am so proud of the hard worker Derek is. Sometimes I cant believe that we have been in Miami for over a year and that our lives are so embedded here now. It seems like we still have a long time to go before we are done with medical school, but I know time is going to fly by (or at least I keep saying that to myself when I feel like we have forever to go).

Since Derek is on summer break, we have had more time to just relax and enjoy each other's company. Derek has been helping me with projects around the house and just got back from a trip to DC. Dustin and his family are moving from Washington state to Washington DC and Derek went up to help him unpack. I am so excited to have all the nieces on the East Coast, especially since Carrie is due in September with baby #3. We cant wait to meet her and I am hoping we can make a weekend trip to DC this fall to see the city and the girls.

We also celebrated the Miami Heat's win with friends (post to come), enjoyed the pool, watched too much TV, ate a lot of good food and genuinely relaxed. This week we are heading to Sanibel Island to spend the 4th with my family (Mike included!) and soak up some Florida sun. I wish that summer time was just reality and I didn't have to work and we could just hang out all the time together. I think they call that retirement, but I am ready for that now! Anyone else feel the same?

I hope everyone is having an awesome summer! More posts and pictures to come in the next few weeks :)

Happy New Year!

2012 was quite the year! I still can't believe that this time last year we were just getting back from Miami and we were committing to moving here. I was managing the Retention Department at Vivint and was working crazy hours. Derek was finishing undergrad and enjoying his only "easy" semester of college. Our lives are so different now! While life is equally chaotic, it seems we have learned to enjoy the chaos a little more. I am so grateful for the amazing experiences we have had over the last year that have gotten us to this point. 2012 brought challenges but was the year that propelled us into a future both Derek and I are excited about. Here is a recap, by month, of our year.

January

Planned our move to Miami. Derek started his last semester at BYU and I told my job we were leaving.

February

We went to Derek's mission (Toronto, CA) with the Petersons

March

Signed a lease to move to Miami, started packing and saying goodbye to friends

April

Derek got Lasik, Derek graduated, we drove across the country and got to stay with friends and family in Tennessee and Georgia

May

We celebrated our 3 year anniversary, I turned 25 and we enjoyed a month of no rent while we stayed with my parents

June

We moved to Miami!

July

We visited South Carolina with the Estes and settled into our new apartment

August

Sarah and Ryan visited Miami, I finished working at Vivint, Derek started medical school

September

I started my new job at Acquinity, I got called as Young Women's president, Derek turned 25

October

Visited Pennsylvania with Mom, Sarah, Betsy and Aunt Nez

November

Had our first Florida Thanksgiving together, Hosted YW in Excellence

December

Derek finish his first semester of medical school, had a Humpherys Christmas and an Estes New Year

I probably missed a thousand things, but those were some of the big events of this year. Like I said it was a crazy year! I am excited for what 2013 has to offer! More posts to come about resolutions and goals :)