Stories of Kel

McKay's (very long and detailed) Birth Story

2017-01-26T20:10:00.002-08:00

It was Christmas time and Kelsey’s mom was visiting for the holidays. Due to her work schedule, Chris could visit for Christmas but had to be back in Virginia by January 3rd, when classes started back up (she was working at Virginia Tech in the registrar’s office). She hoped to be here for the baby’s birth but the timing was a bit of a gamble because Kelsey was due on January 2nd, and first babies often come late. Needless to say, Chris was anxious to meet the baby and Kelsey was anxious to have the baby out!

To help speed up the process, Kelsey started doing anything she could think of to speed up the process, including: tons of exercise (walking miles around Stulsaft Park in Redwood City), nightly bouncing and hip rotations on the yoga ball, various uses of evening primrose oil, eating loads of pineapple, custom essential oil blends from friends (Brittney Montoya), acupressure, and plenty of step ups on the ottoman.

On Tuesday morning (Dec. 27) we thought we struck gold. Kelsey woke with wet underwear and we thought her bag of waters had broken. She wasn’t having contractions and wasn’t in pain, but there was a significant amount of wetness and since we really had no idea what we were doing (and she kept getting wet throughout the morning), we decided to go into the hospital and get things checked out.

After two hours in the hospital and many different people touching many different parts of Kelsey’s body, we were discharged. Kelsey’s water hadn’t broken, it was just normal cervical discharge that increases as the body gets ready for delivery. We went home and started exercising again.

Kelsey was feeling like a nice walk with a view so we looked up some trails closeby and decided to head to Pulgas Ridge for a little hiking. The sun was shining and we only needed a light jacket for the shady spots. We wandered around the hills and took in the views. We finished the day with lots of games, just like we had the days prior. We decided we didn’t want to spend all of our maternity and paternity leaves just watching Hulu and Netflix so our Christmas presents were almost entirely games to play while on leave. We played a lot of Pounce, Blokus, Ticket to Ride, Rummikub, and Splendor.

On Wednesday we decided to do something fun while Chris, Kelsey’s mom, was in town. We decided to head to the San Francisco Zoo. We had great weather and the zoo wasn’t crowded at all so it turned into a great day. It definitely took our minds off everything yet we got in a good 6 miles or so of walking. We of course finished the night with lots of games again.

We went for a vigorous walk around the trails at Stulsaft Park Thursday afternoon. Stulsaft has some pretty steep inclines so I’m sure people were getting a kick out of seeing Kelsey huff and puff up those hills. We finished the day with a little curb walking since at this point there wasn’t much we wouldn’t try and it was almost turning into a challenge to see what would work.

That night we had a couple friends stop by to visit and Kelsey was having a bit of cramping. She started feeling pretty uncomfortable and a few hours after they left the real pain and contractions starting setting in. We started timing the contractions and they were coming about every 10 minutes so we thought (again) that this must be the real deal.

We kept timing them as the hours went by and the pain got worse. They started coming closer and closer together so Kelsey hopped in the shower to try to alleviate some of the back pain that would come at the end of the contractions and to also get ready to go since we were sure this was it and that we would be headed to the hospital. The contractions got down to about 6-7 minutes apart so we called the hospital to give them an update. We stayed home through the end of the night and a couple hours in the morning until the pain was pretty unbearable for Kelsey. We called the hospital and let them know that we would be coming in.

We arrived at labor and delivery and checked in and got situated in a room. Kelsey’s doctor was working labor and delivery that day so they had her check Kelsey out instead of one of the midwives. We hoped and prayed they would admit us since the pain and contractions were pretty awful, but when the doctor checked Kelsey out they found that she was still only dilated to a 1 ½. Kelsey broke down a little bit and cried some tears of frustration, pain, and exhaustion. The doctor gave Kelsey some Percocet and Benadryl that would help Kelsey take a nap and get some rest since the contractions had kept her up that whole night. We got home around noon and Kelsey fell asleep right away and slept until 4 or 5 when the meds had worn off and the contractions were back in full force. We thought perhaps distraction would be best so we attempted to play some more games that evening but it eventually became too hard for Kelsey to focus so we called it a night.

That night was full of trying anything to relieve the pain of the contractions. Kelsey tried just about everything to get through the contractions that night. She took multiple baths and showers, had Tim apply as much counter pressure as he could, cat/cow yoga positions, bouncing/hip rotations on the yoga ball and ultimately just gripping the blankets and sobbing into a pillow to get through each contraction. We’re pretty certain the neighbors upstairs were wondering what in the world was going on in our apartment. Eventually the contractions got closer and closer together and we watched as they went from 7 minutes apart to 6, 5, and 4 minutes apart. We were both so paranoid about getting sent home a 3rd time so we stayed home extra long just to be sure. Once the contractions stayed at about 3-3 ½ minutes apart for an hour and a half we called in and let them know we were on our way.

The car ride was miserable trying to get to the hospital as it was almost impossible for Kelsey to hold still through the contractions. Luckily we live less than 10 minutes away from the hospital.

We checked into Labor and Delivery, Kelsey changed into her hospital gown, and the midwife came in to check her out. We held our breath and prayed that Kelsey would be dilated enough to be able to be admitted. She probably would have lost it if she hadn’t progressed. The midwife said that Kelsey was 100% effaced and was dilated to a 5. Kelsey cried tears of joy and yelled out, “thank goodness!” The midwife had the nurse hurry and get all the IVs started and get Kelsey prepped so that she could get an epidural as soon as possible. Luckily the nurse was speedy and we were able to have the anesthesiologist come in to give Kelsey the epidural before she had to go into another room to help with a c section. Who knows how long we would have had to wait so we felt lucky we were able to have the anesthesiologist come in before the other patient needed her.

The anesthesiologist gave Kelsey the epidural which luckily didn’t take too long because it was really hard for her to sit still through the contractions and they seemed to be coming one right after another. After 20 minutes or so the epidural had kicked in and Kelsey could finally relax. The nurse shut off the lights and told Tim to go grab some food and told Kelsey to take a nap. Tim headed to In N Out since it was right across the street and Kelsey tried to sleep for a while but was only able to doze off for a couple minutes due to the excitement and knowing that the baby was actually coming today. A couple hours later Kelsey texted her mom and told her to come on over to the hospital. The midwife came in and checked Kelsey’s progress and found she had progressed from a 5 to a 7 so she broke the bag of waters. Kelsey was pretty numb at this point so she didn’t feel anything at all. We all sat in the room and chatted for a bit and decided to turn on a movie to pass the time. We watched “33”, the movie about the Chilean coal miners that got trapped in the mine. I think the nurses and midwives thought it was an odd choice after everyone kept asking what we were watching.

Soon enough Kelsey was entirely numb from her waist down and her legs were super floppy. The nurse asked Kelsey how many times she pressed the epidural button because her legs were incredibly numb and it was getting close to time to push. Kelsey had only pressed it once or twice hours earlier so we weren’t sure why she was so numb. The midwife came in and said that apparently everyone who had an epidural from that anesthesiologist that day had been super numb so it looks like it was just a strong dosage given.

The midwife checked Kelsey again and this time she was at a 10 so she left to check on another patient real quick while the nurse got Kelsey ready to do some practice pushes. She did a couple pushes and the nurse asked Kelsey if she could feel any pressure. Kelsey said she kind of could. Baby’s head was super low and was about to crown so the nurse told Kelsey not to push until the midwife was back and another nurse left to go get a big mirror so that Kelsey could see what she was doing while pushing. It ended up being incredibly helpful, especially since Kelsey really couldn’t feel anything at all still. The midwife came back and Kelsey started pushing. We could see a little bit of the head and some dark hair on baby’s head. That definitely made everything seem very real. The midwife poured some mineral oil on Kelsey to help prevent tearing and Kelsey would do a few pushes and then take a break to let the skin stretch. Baby’s oxygen levels were a little bit low so they put an oxygen mask on Kelsey and the pushing continued. After a total of about 20 minutes or so the head emerged and the rest of the body slid right out. We were shocked at how quickly and somewhat effortless the whole delivery process was. After 36 hours of horrible unmedicated labor and contractions at home it was a relief that the delivery went so smoothly.

The nurses unbuttoned Kelsey’s hospital gown and placed baby on her chest while they rubbed him down with the towel to dry him off. Tim cut the umbilical cord and then Kelsey enjoyed some skin to skin time with baby. Almost immediately after placing baby on Kelsey’s chest he raised his head and looked around. Everyone kind of went “whoa!” and the midwife said that was super bizarre for him to have that much neck strength. I guess he is a strong little guy! The placenta was delivered and then the midwife spent about 45 minutes stitching up two 2nd degree labial tears. Once everyone was finished Kelsey’s mom headed home to let Tim and Kelsey enjoy some family time with baby. The nurse rolled Kelsey from the labor and delivery room to the recovery room. Kelsey was starving but the hospital kitchen was closed so Tim ran out to see what he could find at 9pm on New Year’s Eve. He came back with McDonald’s and we enjoyed some mediocre chicken nuggets and an Oreo McFlurry as our first meal as a family of 3.

That night the nurses came in what seemed like every 20 minutes or so to check on Kelsey and the baby. The nurse came in to help Kelsey use the restroom but her right knee was still pretty numb so her leg gave in and she started to fall while walking to the bathroom but luckily the nurse was holding onto her. Baby slept super soundly that night despite woken up so many times.

The next day Kelsey’s mom stopped by to check on things before heading to church. She came back after the first hour and we all relaxed and took turns holding the baby and dozing off. Kelsey’s friends Lauren and Rachel stopped by that night to meet the baby and drop off a few little gifts.

Monday morning Tim got up early to take Kelsey’s mom to the airport at 5am and then ran home for a quick shower and nap. We were all set to be discharged at 12:30 that afternoon but we were pretty much ready to go at 10 am. The wait seemed super long as we were very anxious to get going but they finally let us out of there around 1pm and we headed home so happy to finally be a family of 3!

Baby on the Way

2016-10-19T11:42:00.004-07:00

Can I admit that I actually miss blogging sometimes? Maybe it's that work has started to slow down so I actually have time to sit in front of the computer and blog rather than have the computer be something I'm so sick of by the end of a long day in the office. Either way here I am and I cannot believe it's mid October.

So much has changed since my last blog post in February. The biggest one being that I am now pregnant! I laughed when I read my last blog post as I said, " It seems like every night turns into a conversation about what we want to do next in our lives. We seem to change our minds every week so who knows what the next few years will have in store for us but every possibility seems exciting so I can't wait!" Little did I know that I would be pregnant just a few short months later. We were hoping for a baby to come bless our lives but I was trying to not turn it into a big stressful thing. I'd been off birth control for close to 2 years and we were hoping it would just sort of happen and luckily it did! I probably wouldn't have planned a January 1st due date for my first child but now I couldn't be more excited to start off the new year with my little guy by my side. The only bummer is the timing with the holidays my parents won't be able to come out after baby is born which was hard for me to get over at first. My mom is able to come for Christmas though for a few days so maybe we will get lucky and baby boy will grace us with his presence a few days early. Cross your fingers!

We have a little over 2 months to go until baby boy makes his appearance. I had no idea picking a name would be so hard. We can't seem to find anything we love and I am having a hard time not associating any name ideas with someone I already know. When we got our first ultrasound picture our little dude had the exact profile of Charlie Brown. A little long skinny neck with a big round basketball head. We jokingly started calling him Charlie and now it has kind of just stuck. Every night we pray for Charlie to grow healthy and strong and we laugh at Charlie's kicks and moves in my belly.

Life Update

2016-02-08T13:22:00.000-08:00

I'd say its about time for a little life update around here! It is definitely very much overdue. Tim and I are still loving life in the bay area and feel like we are definitely starting to have some deep roots here. We have incredible friends that we love like family and still seem to be able to find new things we love about the area all the time.

Tim is still commuting from where we're located in Redwood City up to VISA in the financial district up in SF. I make up for his long commute with my short one (10 steps down the hallways to my office) so I suppose it kind of evens out. I've been apartment managing for about 5 months now and feel like I'm finally getting the hang of it. It's been such a blessing to not have to pay rent with how expensive the bay area is. The perks are excellent and I am coworkers with two of my best friends which makes it even more fun!

We've had tons of visitors lately which has been so much fun. We've loved moving into a bigger place and having a guest room so that friends and family can come visit without being squeezed into our tiny previous apartment. My parents finished their mission in Puerto Rico in December and came and stayed with us for 2 weeks over Christmas. It was so much fun for us. I love being able to be a tourist in our own city so we can check more items off our bucket list. We had fun going to potlucks, a Stanford basketball game, a BYU game at St. Marys, Muir Woods, lots of days in the city, beach days, more rounds of Pounce that I can even remember, my dad doing dishes every night and my mom organizing my apartment to perfection. Parents are the best, right?

About a week later one of my cousin besties, Allie, and her husband, James came to stay with us for a long holiday weekend. They had a lot planned on their own while we were working but we also had a ton of fun walking the entire city of San Francisco in the pouring rain, eating and eating and eating, and of course more rounds of Pounce. Tim and I have been kind of hooked lately in case you couldn't tell. We love Allie and James so much and were so glad they flew out from Utah just to see us!

Tim and I feel incredibly blessed with amazing family, friendships, and incredible experiences that we have been able to share together. It's hard to believe we're getting out of the newlywed stage of life and inching closer to 4 years of marriage. It seems like every night turns into a conversation about what we want to do next in our lives. We seem to change our minds every week so who knows what the next few years will have in store for us but every possibility seems exciting so I can't wait!

Ciao Italy!

2015-12-11T11:25:00.000-08:00

Italy has been at the top of my travel list ever since I can remember. Tim and I were talking about it A LOT and then for my birthday in July he surprised me by saying we would be going a few months later for Thanksgiving! We had enough hotel and credit card points saved up to do it really cheap with free flights and a couple free hotel stays. If there is anything I love more than traveling it is traveling without breaking the bank. We booked our flight to Rome but knew we wanted to hit a few more cities and narrowing it down was honestly so hard! Ultimately we ended up narrowing it down to Rome, Cinque Terre, and Florence (with a quick stop in Pisa on the way from Cinque Terre to Florence!)

We ate and ate and ate and made sure after we were stuffed we had gelato to top it all off. One thing I loved about Italy is that besides taking trains to get from town to town we didn't have to take public transportation at all. Everything was so compact and close together that we just walked. And boy did we walk! You know you are doing a trip right when you come home at the end of the day completely exhausted from running around.

Click the clip below if you want to see a little taste of our adventure. Warning my video making skills are seriously lacking! ;)

Custody X Change

2015-10-07T18:00:00.001-07:00

Hi, my name is Ben Coltrin (Kelsey is my sister-in-law). I’m trying to get the word out about some software I sell, and Kelsey has generously agreed to let me post something on her blog about it.

I wrote the Custody X Change software to help divorced parents create parenting plans and custody schedules and keep track of actual parenting time. The software works well for people who aren’t in a high conflict divorce (or in any kind of abusive situation) and who want to resolve their custody issues through mediation or negotiation without repeatedly going to court. A lot of parents use my software instead of hiring an attorney (which can save a lot of money) but some people use it along with their attorney.

My goal with the software is to help parents put their children first when making a parenting plan . Divorcing parents have a lot of things to deal with and I hope that my software is easy to use and that it takes away some of the frustration of working out the custody issues. With the software you can easily look at different kinds of schedules, look at different provisions to add to your plan, make changes as you need to, and keep track of what is going on with parenting time.

I’m working on a web version of the custody calendar right now. The goal with the web version is to help parents communicate about their child and keep track of the custody situation. I hope it will be a valuable tool for people who are co-parenting.

Now, I hope most of Kelsey’s readers don’t need divorce software now or ever. But, a lot of people have siblings or friends who have gone through a divorce, so maybe you can tell someone about Custody X Change if you know someone who could use it. Thanks for helping me get the word out!

Sweden

2015-10-06T17:40:00.005-07:00

We hopped on the train to the airport to head to our final destination of Stockholm! It was a super short flight which was really nice. As we were walking out of the train station we saw tents everywhere and a bit Red Cross station. There were Syrian refugees everywhere and it was absolutely heartbreaking. It definitely made everything on the news hit much closer to home. We explored the town for a bit and decided on trying out a Swedish hamburger place that was supposed to be a good price and delicious. We had been skimping out on meals quite a bit in Norway (so expensive in Norway!) so a big juicy burger sounded perfect. We had no idea what anything was on the menu and we were too hungry to be adventurous and risky so we both went with what looked like a bacon cheeseburger. It was sooo good. I’m not normally even a burger person but Vigarda was awesome.

While in Norway and Sweden we noticed that there were quite a few homeless people on the corners but it was much different than back in the U.S. It was usually a middle aged woman with a scarf on her head kneeling with a paper cup. Inside the paper cup was a picture of children or perhaps her family. She would reach out her arms and start talking in her language. We looked this up back at the hotel and apparently they were Romanian women. I guess the borders have become a lot looser and it almost turned into a business of people bringing them over to collect money from the Scandinavian countries where people are usually pretty well off and generous. Every few hours the “boss” comes by to check on the beggers and they collect their money. They are usually given room and board in exchange for “working.” It was really sad to see.

Sunday morning we headed out to Gamla Stan to check out more of beautiful Stockholm. We needed to try some authentic Swedish food so we went to Nystekt Stromming for some herring, lingon berries, mash and veggies. YUM. We did some more exploring and then made our way to the Vasa Museum. So amazing!! It is a 400 year old ship that sank in the Stockholm harbor on it’s maiden voyage and was underwater for over 300 years until they finally found a way to bring it up to land. It was very extravagant and had so much detail. Apparently living conditions were so bad in Sweden that people would rather go out to see and be a crew member than stay in town. Fun fact: the Vasa was the main inspiration for a lot of ships in movies like Pirates of the Caribbean. Towards the end of our time at the museum Tim wasn’t looking so hot and was needing to sit down a lot and rest which is very unlike him. Usually he is the one pulling me around. ;) He asked if we could go back to the hotel for a quick nap. I checked on him after about an hour and he was burning up so I decided to let him sleep while I tried to find a good spot for dinner. He ended up sleeping for hours and looked awful once he woke up so we decided to bag the dinner plans. We ended up finding a little market a few blocks away so we stopped in and got some snacks and a salad and ate in. It was a bit of a bummer way to end the trip but luckily we had gotten up early that day so we had seen just about everything we wanted to see.

Norway

2015-09-29T19:40:00.000-07:00

Thursday we had an early flight out to Bergen, Norway. We left our hotel at 5AM only to find that the tube doesn’t open until 5:30. We stood and waited until they opened and hoped we would still make our flight! Luckily all went well. Once we arrived in Bergen we exchanged the rest of our pounds for Kroners, bought a bus ticket and went on our way! We found our hotel, dropped off our big backpack (so glad we went this route instead of wheeling a clunky suitcase around all the cobblestone streets) and then decided to walk up the trail to Mount Floyen. I had been super excited about this hike for months so I couldn’t wait! We took our time going up the mountain since we were starving and hadn’t had much sleep but eventually we made it to the top! There is a trolley that can take you up and back down for about 10 USD but I definitely recommend the walk! The views were incredible! We stopped about every 10 minutes on the way up to stop and take pictures. The view just kept getting better and better. We decided to treat ourselves to an ice cream cone at the top. Best soft serve ever! Or maybe I was just really hungry. Either way, yum. Except that I accidentally put dried onion ring crumbles on top of some of it. I totally thought it was some sort of caramel or cinnamon thing. Whoops. It later proved to be very good on the Reindeer Hot Dog. Much better than on the ice cream. We explored the town, walked down by the wharf and old town and stopped in some little shops. We went to bed early because the next day was Norway in a Nutshell!

Friday we got to the train station early to hop on our train that would get us started on our journey to Oslo. We ended up taking a train from Bergen to Voss, a bus from Voss to Gudvangen, a ferry from Gudvangen to Flam, the Flam Railway from Flam to Myrdal, and then a train from Myrdal to Oslo. It was quite a day! Norway is such a beautiful country. I loved seeing the tiny little farm towns along the way. It was so picturesque with the little red wooden homes with green rolling hills and sheep and goats wandering around. The ferry from Gudvangen to Flam was incredible. Norwegian Fjords are on a caliber of their own. Most of the people on the 2 hours ferry ride with us huddled inside to stay warm but Tim and I put about 8 layers of sweaters and jackets on and staked out a spot on the top deck outside with the best view. SO worth it! It was 2 hours of the cutest little villages and most breathtaking views. It was quite a long train ride to Oslo so it was pretty late and dark by the time we got there.

We woke up in Oslo on Saturday to a band playing right outside our window and found that the Oslo Marathon was going on right outside our door. We checked it out on our way over to the Royal Palace and Vigeland Park. Vigeland Park is the world’s largest sculpture park. They were all created by one artist! They were a little different (all nude) but pretty interesting! A huge Asian Tour Bus pulled up right as we were leaving so I ended up having to take lots of pictures of people with their ipads. We hopped on the train to the airport to head to our final destination of Stockholm!

London

2015-09-25T09:27:00.000-07:00

We have wanted to go to Europe for so long and finally decided we just had to make it happen. We waited for an amazing deal to pop up and back in January one finally did. We found a great deal through Norwegian Airlines on a direct flight from Oakland to Stockholm. I’ve always wanted to go to Sweden but it wasn’t at the top of either of our lists for European destinations. We decided it made more sense to go with the best deals instead of our first preference on places to go so we booked our trip for September! We then found a very inexpensive flight from Stockholm to London so a few months later we added that on.

We flew all night and landed in Stockholm. We then immediately grabbed our bags and got back in security to head to London. It was a super long day of travel and we got to our hotel in London around 8pm. We dropped off our bags and hit the street to find some food. We immediately fell in love with London and had so much fun looking around taking it all in. We stayed in a VERY cozy little hotel that barely fit the two of us. Tim could almost touch the walls on either side with his arms stretched out! Sunday morning we rose bright and early and set out to check out Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square before the crowds got too crazy. There was a huge bike race going on so it was a little crazy over there. We ended up wandering over to Westminster Cathedral and popped our heads in and a service was starting. We decided to grab a book and take a seat. I am so glad we did because it was so neat to experience a Roman Catholic Mass in such a grand cathedral right in the heart of London. It was absolutely beautiful. They talked a lot about charity and how to interact with those who are in need. It was a really beautiful message.

We checked out a few of the free museums and sights and then bundled up for our Jack the Ripper tour that night. We learned all about the famed Jack the Ripper serial killer and went around with a guide who showed us where all the events took place. It was super interesting hearing about what the east side of London was like back in 1888. I am so glad I wasn’t there at that time! So much poverty and disease. We finished the night at the most amazing curry house. The combination of being cold and starving made it the best place ever. We will always remember to head over to Brick Lane for some amazing curry.

Monday was such a fun day. We went to the Winston Churchhill War Rooms and Westminster Abbey. Honestly I didn’t know a ton about Churchhill so it was really neat to learn more about his life and what a big player he was in the war. Westminster Abbey absolutely blew me away. I think I about lost my breath when I went inside. It was definitely the most grand, extravagant thing I had ever seen. It ended up being one of my favorite parts of the trip.

Monday was also the start of the rain. It pretty much rained nonstop after that. Luckily we had brought a little umbrella but we still got soaked most of the time. We decided to just give in and enjoy the sogginess. J We walked over towards Big Ben and while walking across the bridge we noticed a bunch of these Eastern Europeans playing the 3 cup and a ball game. Everyone kept guessing wrong where the ball was so Tim said he wanted to try. He guessed wrong (we later learned the people guessing wrong were all working undercover for them and it was all a trick.) Long story short we were super naïve and lost more than we would care to admit. Ahh we were so dumb. Now we know! We tried to make ourselves feel better by considering it a donation to people who probably needed the money more than we did. We finished the day with the National Gallery and some Fish and Chips and Vegetable Soup to warm up from the rain.

Tuesday Tim had a meeting at Oxford so we took the train over there. It was really neat to get out of the city and see a different part of England. I wandered the small town on my own while Tim was in the meeting and then we met up later to grab some lunch and do some more sightseeing. We looked around a few of the houses and then went in some of the churches and cathedrals. It’s amazing just how old everything is. You can also tell that we didn't bring any suitcases and just two backpacks because we're pretty much wearing 3 different outfits the whole trip hahaha

Wednesday we did a few more museums. I absolutely loved the Tower of London. Right as we walked in a tour was starting so we got to learn a ton about the tower. Much of it was quite morbid with all the torture devices and beheadings but it was pretty fascinating. We saw original armor and skeletons and of course the Crown Jewels. By that point it was pouring rain and we were pretty soaked.

We headed over to St. Paul’s Cathedral to do some indoor sightseeing. Little did I know that this would be one of my favorite parts of London right next to Westminster Abbey. There was an audio tour as well so we learned hundreds of neat facts. We were super tired and our feet were killing us by this point but we decided to walk up the 528 steep steps to the top of the cathedral. I am so glad we did! It was so fun going up the tiny stone stairwells and seeing the cathedral from the top looking down. We continued up to the top where there was an outdoor 365 degree view outside. It was breathtaking and probably much better than the London Eye would have been. It was a little nerve wracking though since we were being pelted with rain and the wind was blowing. Well worth it though for sure!

We finished off the day at Kensington Palace which was lovely. I loved the gardens and all the open space. Much different than Buckingham Palace which is right in the middle of everything. This was also one of the rare moments where we actually got a photo together! We offered to take a few people's pictures to then ask if they would take one of us but quite a few people declined! It was kind of comical. I think some people must prefer selfies now. So weird. Anyways, stay tuned for Norway!!

February and March

2015-03-21T13:20:00.000-07:00

Has it really been 2 months since I last blogged?? Whoops. I've been caught up loving life and I am entirely okay with that. I don't however want to forget all the fun moments we've had!

The weather has been absolutely gorgeous! Spring blooms everywhere and warm, sunny days day after day. It almost doesn't feel real walking to work smelling jasmine and lilac and seeing roses pouring over the fences. It definitely feels like a storybook sometimes.

Work has been fun, new, exciting, exhausting, fun, and is certainly stretching me and pushing my limits. I am seriously learning so much about patience and teaching, and loving these kids, I think it's really good for me and certainly is helping me grow as a person. I definitely have a deeper understanding of just how important literacy is and the importance of learning.

Lately we've been enjoying lots of double dates and fun adventures into the city.Milkshake making dates, finding the best burrito in the Mission, scoring rush tickets to see Newsies in SF, and lots of girls nights. I've said it a million times but we really love all the wonderful people we've met in Redwood City. We've really made some friendships that will last a lifetime.

Tim has been working his butt off spending every spare minute studying for the GMAT. He is taking it as I type. I'm hoping all his hard work pays off!

Beach Time

2015-01-29T17:03:00.002-08:00

January has flown by! It's been almost a month since I got hired on full time at Project READ and it has been amazing, I seriously love that place. I somehow dodged getting sick when it seemed like everyone around me was ill but it finally caught up to me a couple days ago and completely wiped me out. Chills, aches, sore throat, no voice, etc. Thank goodness for Tim taking are of me even though he is super busy at work. We are praying he doesn't catch it since he is working on some big projects at work and has a business trip next week.

In better news we had a lovely weekend last week and were able to get outside to enjoy the gorgeous weather. We went over to Half Moon Bay (our favorite beach super close to our apartment!) walked around, then made our way down the coast to Ano Nuevo and then Santa Cruz.

I had heard that you can see elephant seals at Ano Nuevo but had no idea they would literally be right in front of you lying on the sand. Tim and I were just walking looking down at the beach and luckily looked up and one was sleeping 5 feet in front of us. They are such massive creatures. They were pretty fun to watch.

Favorite Home Recipes: Cauliflower & Sweet Potato Soup

2015-01-20T22:27:00.001-08:00

After trying several recipes I love combining all the aspects I love and then adding my own ideas. I have been trying cauliflower soup all winter long and am basically in love with it. I've also been addicted to sweet potatoes for the last 6 months or so and decided to throw a bunch into the soup last week. I about died from deliciousness. Tonight I made it again and added a few more things and it is just too good not to share.

Sweet Potato & Cauliflower Soup

2 tbsp butter

1 chopped onion

1 head cauliflower broken into florets

2 large sweet potatoes peeled and diced

2 chicken bouillon cubes

Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Saute the onion in the butter for 5 minutes. Stir in the cauliflower and sweet potato and saute for 5 more minutes.
Dissolve bouillon cubes in 2 cups water, add to pot, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes, or until all vegetables are tender. Transfer to blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Add creole seasoning to taste. Enjoy!

Christmas Break

2015-01-09T17:12:00.002-08:00

This year we spent 2 whole weeks in Utah for Christmas. I basically froze my buns off the entire time. I was also under a pile of blankets or next to the fire. I think it was my first Christmas not seeing ANY of my immediate family members which was really bizarre. My parents are in Puerto Rico, brother is in Argentina and my other brother and his wife were in Denver. I was happy to be able to see some extended family and spend lots of time with my wonderful in laws! I got a little sad seeing how much my nieces and nephews had changed in the 6 months since we saw them last. I wish we didn't have to miss any of them growing up.

To sum up the trip I would say that we ate, slept, played games, had parties, watched moves and repeated. It was pretty glorious honestly. I think we had a total of like 7 or 8 family parties with all sorts of variations of family members.

Being in Utah again was a pretty weird thing for me. Being in a landlocked area made me feel kind of claustrophobic. It sounds really weird and bizarre but that is the best way I can describe it. I loved seeing the mountains again. I didn't love how cookie cutter and uniform a lot of Utah is though. Such mixed feelings! It'll be interesting to see where we end up someday. As always I definitely missed out on a lot of photo opportunities and I'm sad I didn't take more!

A Look Back at 2014

2015-01-02T14:18:00.001-08:00

2014 was a pretty good year! We had lots of changes and lots of adventures. I feel so thankful for all the changes in my life. Some were hard and others brought incredible blessings.

In January we enjoyed our last winter in Utah and froze our buns off. We decided we needed some more adventure in our life so we decided to leave our comfort zone of Salt Lake City and look for other job opportunities. We spent lots of time with friends and family before taking off to Silicon Valley where Tim had accepted a job at Google.

In February we sold everything we owned except what we could fit in our small car and drove to California to start our new adventure. We had somewhere to stay for 2 days and spent that day driving all around the valley searching for an apartment. I'm pretty sure we looked ridiculous at apartment showings with everything we owned in the car with us. We found a great deal on a teeny tiny apartment in Redwood City and quickly fell in love with the area and the people around us. Tim turned 26 and his birthday was probably neglected since we were in the middle of moving.

In March we spent lots of time exploring the area around us and took lots of day trips. We spent most of our time venturing in the city where we quickly learned just how much we loved San Francisco. We discovered lots of differences between California and Utah and embraced the change. We also discovered our favorite beach, Half Moon Bay and felt lucky that it was less than a half an hour drive away. We also discovered that flights to Hawaii are ridiculously cheap from the bay area so we planned a last minute trip to Kauai where we went on some of the best hikes, fell in love with fish tacos, and considered never leaving.

In April we finally bought some furniture for our little apartment and got more settled in. I saved all my DIY projects for the week that my mom came to town and felt blessed to have her help since I was totally clueless. We made the most of every weekend and went on more day trips. We went on a weekend trip down to Santa Cruz where we saw Bill Crosby and went to some marine museums.

In May we brunched in the city,spent lots of time with new friends, I started tutoring at Project Read, and found out that my parents would be moving to Puerto Rico for 18 months to do service through the LDS church.

In June we took a weekend trip down Highway 1 to L.A and spend time with friends. We also made a quick visit back to Utah to send my parents off to Puerto Rico and attended a wedding.

In July and August I celebrated turning 24! We went back to Utah for the 4th of July and loved seeing everyone that we didn't get to see during our short trip in June. Tim also made a big decision to leave Google. It was pretty scary leaving before we had lined up a new job but we both felt like it was the right choice. I finished up my semester and Tim was unemployed so we decided to take off and spend 3 weeks exploring the east coast. We spent a week and a half in New York City, a few days in Philadelphia, a few in D.C and then finished up with a few days visiting family in Virginia. That trip was hot and sweaty and we spent lots of time on cheap buses. I don't think I will ever forget running full speed through New York City carrying a backpack and a suitcase trying to catch our bus in time. When we got home Tim accepted an amazing position at VISA that he loves.

In September we celebrated our 2nd anniversary! We also had Tim's family come visit us in California. We hit up all the touristy spots and also took them to some of our favorite local spots. I started interning at Project Read and got started my last semester of school.

In October we had a super fun Columbus Day Weekend and our friend from L.A came up to spend it with us. We created our own card game, saw the Blue Angels, ate lots of treats, and explored the city, My grandparents and Aunt also made a detour from their trip and spent half the day with us and it totally made my day.

In November we discovered and fell in love with Muir Woods, celebrated our first Thanksgiving away from home, and went up to Berkeley for the BYU v. Berkeley football game.

In December I graduated with my B.S in Marriage and Family Studies from BYU-Idaho! I went to job interview after job interview and decided to accept a full time position with Project Read. Can you tell I have totally fallen in love with that organization?? We finished off the month with a flight to Utah to spend Christmas in the frigid cold. We definitely acclimated to the warmth of California and pretty much froze the whole time.

A Night in Berkeley

2014-12-17T21:23:00.001-08:00

The Saturday after Thanksgiving there was a BYU alumni night at UC Berkeley. There was a little barbecue and such before the game and then we walked up to the stadium. It was such a great game! It was a blast being so close up and seeing all the action. Our friend from our last ward's little brother is the BYU quarterback so we cheered extra hard for him and lucked out and got to see lots of touchdowns in our corner of the stadium. It's not a BYU/LDS activity if you don't run into someone you know and of course we did! We were standing cheering and I heard my name and right behind us were some of my friends from my old singles ward.

Afterwards we explored Berkeley which we had been wanting to do for months but never had the chance to. It is such a fun town! I joked with Tim that we should be looking out for the cast of Parenthood. If only it wasn't Hollywood.

Thanksgiving

2014-12-17T18:35:00.000-08:00

Ahh I am so behind on posting but there have been so much fun things happening the past few weeks that I don't want to forget.

Thanksgiving was such a great time. This was our first Thanksgiving not being with family so we knew it would be a little different. Luckily we are blessed with incredible friends and had the best time celebrating together. I loved watching everyone (including myself) calling up their moms and watching YouTube videos trying to make all the recipes just right.

These people plus many more are the reason we decided to stay in Redwood City even if it is a ridiculous commute for Tim into San Francisco every day. They are truly the best!

Hunting

2014-12-10T21:41:00.001-08:00

Hello! It's me! I'm still alive. I'm not going to go on and on about how I'm sooo busy and about how sorry I am for not blogging. I think that is kind of silly. I did want to pop in and say hi. I am SO close to graduating guys! I can hardly believe it. Just a few more days. I still need to think of something celebratory to do since I won't be going back to campus to walk.

In other news I am having the hardest time getting into the holiday spirit. Something with it being beautiful and warm and rainy and flowers budding in beautiful California in mid December. Also we didn't put up a tree and don't have any decorations. We're leaving to Utah and I'm kind of just counting on absorbing all the festive Christmas then. For now a little Christmas music and focusing on the Savior a little more than usual does it for me.

Job hunting. I am on the hunt. Literally. I got a great job offer but I just knew it wasn't right and I ended up declining. I know there is something out there that will push me, help me grow, and help me to do something meaningful. At least I hope so. Wish me luck!!

Muir Woods & Life

2014-11-19T22:27:00.001-08:00

Life has been pretty routine lately. I guess that is why I have been a bit MIA here on the blog. Homework and going to my internship throughout the week while Tim works and then try to squeeze in a little bit of fun and a lot of errands on the weekend. Every night I make the same lunch for Tim for the next day. Mixed veggies, a bit of quinoa, and a small grilled chicken breast. I feel like I've been in my routine for so long now it'll be super strange to have it suddenly stop in December. Good thing I'll have the holidays to distract me, right? Can I even begin to tell you how excited I am for time with family and friends, playing games, chatting all day, eating all day, did I mention Cafe Rio? Oh I have missed it so much. Serious withdrawals over here.

Oh, and last weekend was interesting. We took a couple people that Tim works with to Muir Woods since one of the guys was just visiting the office for a couple weeks from New Zealand and everyone wanted to show him around. We were a funny bunch. A married couple, a single girl, and a middle aged dad. That place is beautiful. I can't believe we hadn't been yet. We ended up buying a season pass because it was only $20 and for all 4 of us to go it would have been $28. Not sure who came up with their pricing model.

Quickest Visit Ever

2014-10-26T22:16:00.004-07:00

I've said this a million times but we love when we have visitors! It can be tricky for extended periods of time since we live in the world's tiniest apartment but we make it work! My grandparents and my aunt were heading to Sacramento for a quick weekend trip and we were lucky enough to convince them to come spend half a day with us down south. We had quite the eventful few hours! Love this grammy of mine. :) Can we all agree she does not look like she is in her 70's???

We loaded up in the car. I'm not kidding we were loaded in there so tight. My grandma was on the ground on a pillow and my grandpa and I were sharing a seat, Tim was driving and my aunt was in the front. It was hilarious. Sorry for the blurriness!

Tim was our fabulous tour guide and we did a quick drive around as much of SF as we could fit in. We got rear ended (I thought it was an earth quake, it just shook our Honda Element haha) so that was exciting. Even more exciting when the folks just drove off. But it was Sunday so you can't get too upset. Luckily it just bent my aunt's wheelchair ramp thing is all.

We then headed up to one of my favorite spots ever. I probably post way too many pictures up at Twin Peaks but you just can't beat that view. It always takes everyone's breath away. Including mine, every time!

We are so glad they made the trip out of their way to come visit. Come back soon!!

Friday Night Thoughts

2014-10-24T23:39:00.002-07:00

I think I now understand why most people do an internship by itself rather than with 14 other credits. I'm losing my mind! 2 months until graduation!

My amazing visiting teacher/friend is letting me use her bike while she is having her baby and it has been so fun! I haven't had a bike since I was about 10 so it has been really fun. The only thing is riding a bike as an adult is way different than as a kid. I miss riding on the sidewalk! For some reason people feel the need to taunt/harass/cat call bikers all the time. It gets a bit obnoxious.

Speaking of babies. I feel like everyone around me is announcing pregnancies or having babies! It's been fun knowing about other's secret little babies on the way. :) This stage of life is so fun because you are constantly surrounded by little cuties.

Job hunting in the bay area is no joke. I think that's all there is to say there. Someone hire me?

I'm torn between city life and country life. I crave cities. I love the hustle and bustle and all the things to do and see and eat and experience but lately I have just been wanting peace and quiet and space a patch of yard that is my own even if it is only a couple square feet. Someday!

Halloween is exactly one week away and it just donned on me that Tim and I have not done one Halloweeny thing this year. I suppose because it feels nothing like Halloween here in CA. Also Tim and I have never carved pumpkins together. We are pathetic.

While we're being real here, does anyone else look like this all the time? You would think I would outgrow my baby hairs by 24 but I definitely have not. #hairinthefaceforlife

The Best Columbus Day Weekend Yet

2014-10-13T21:44:00.002-07:00

Having visitors in town is always a blast. It gives us an excuse to check out new areas and show off some of our favorite parts of the bay area. We have been practically begging one of Tim's best friends in LA to drive up and visit us ever since we took our trip down to L.A. We finally convinced him to come up and visit for Columbus Day since Tim had the day off work. We packed a whole lot into our weekend and I have to say it was one of the most fun weekends we've had here.

On Friday Tom arrived and we drove down to Palo Alto to get some of our favorite food at Curry Up Now and then dessert at Cream. When we were driving home we started chatting and by the time we got home the boys had created an idea for a card game so we ran by Target to pick up supplies and we drew out the game and started playing. We ended up taking the game around with us all weekend and played a ton.

On Saturday we headed up to the city to do some sightseeing and to catch the air show going on during Fleet Week. We of course had to stop by the Farmer's Market for all the yummy samples and our favorite little french donuts with custard. We walked all around the city. My calves are still on fire from those hills!

Tom got stopped by a random old lady who gave him a beaded bracelet and told him something in another language and Tim got pulled on stage while we were walking past a street performance. To say it was entertaining would be an understatement.

On Sunday we had a nice relaxing morning at church then decided to head up the coast to walk around Sutro Baths and Land's End. We ended up having The Blue Angels fly right above our heads while we were over there so we had a great view without all the crowds. We finished our day with the gorgeous view up at Twin Peaks. I can't ever get enough of that view.

On Monday we stopped by the Mission District for some bomb breakfast burritos on our way up to Sausalito. I love all the murals and and paintings on the walls and buildings. Oh and incase you were wondering I got to listen in while a little child walked by and asked his dad about the painting on the far right.

After that we headed into Sausalito and it was a super hot, sunny day. While we were over there I looked over and the fog was coming in like crazy, After a couple minutes we couldn't see SF at all through the fog. We drove over to Point Bonita to check out the lighthouse and were surprised when it was super foggy and about 15 degrees colder than Sausalito. It still blows my mind how a quick drive can change the weather so dramatically. I think this was my favorite part of the weekend. The lighthouse was breathtaking and the scenery was just gorgeous. I think the fog and stormy weather was the icing on the cake. I love when the water gets choppy and greyish green and everything is misty. It gives it such a magical look. Did I mention we got to see some porpoises swimming around? Totally made my day!

Flowers From an Active Volcano

2014-10-13T20:53:00.004-07:00

I received a bouquet from Bouqs in exchange for this post. All opinions are my own as always!

When Tim and I started dating he asked if I liked getting flowers and I told him no. Anybody that knows me knows that I am super frugal so spending money on something that you just look at just wasn't a priority of mine. Even when Tim wanted to buy flowers for an Anniversary or birthday I would decline and give him an alternative. (usually food!)

I think it took actually receiving flowers to change my mind. Thanks Bouqs! Having fresh flowers in the room (especially when you live in a super tiny apartment and are in the same room all the time) really brightens up a mood and makes everything more cheery. I think I might finally be converted to being a flower fan! I mean how could you not with these gorgeous blooms in your living room?

I first noticed The Bouqs Co. when I saw them on Shark Tank. Is anyone else addicted to that show? They had such a smart idea! They charge a flat fee for any flower arrangement. Now your significant other doesn't have to sit and wonder if you'll like the more expensive flowers better than the cheapo ones. Brilliant! I also love that they source only from eco-friendly, sustainable farms that respect their environment and their workers. They provide living wages, childcare, healthcare, and adult education throughout their farms. I can always stand behind a company like that.

Do you love receiving flowers? What is your favorite kind you've received?

Late Night Munchies

2014-10-09T21:26:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we were hanging out with our friends Lauren and Patrick and we decided that we wanted to go grab some dessert. This was right after we stuffed ours faces with pizza. We're so healthy. Tim joked that we should drive up to San Francisco and just share a ton of different desserts and create our own dessert food tour. We all laughed and then next thing we knew we were in the car and headed north up into the city. It was kind of hilarious. We were stuffed full of all sorts of randomness but it was seriously such a fun night. It also included trying to get rooftop access but we won't go into that, haha!

We ended up getting cream puffs at Beard Papa's, donuts at Bob's, ice cream at Bi-Rite Creamy, and fresh juice from some random cafe. It was such a fun night and a great way to go out with a bang before Lauren has her baby any time now. It was so funny watching Lauren run up and down the hills of SF 37 weeks pregnant. Cheers to fun times doing silly things with awesome friends.

Sparkling Strawberry Limeade

2014-10-03T19:03:00.001-07:00

I decided it's about time I share one of our favorite treats with you. This is perfect for hot summer days, Friday night game nights, Superbowl parties, you name it! It is always a hit! You'll also be happy to know it is the easiest thing ever, here is all you need:

Sierra Mist (my husband insists it is 100x better than Sprite, I can't tell the difference!)

Limeade

Frozen berries

Add in a couple ice cubes if you like it extra frothy

Combine in blender for about 20 seconds

Currently

2014-10-03T14:09:00.000-07:00

Wishing I didn't leave all my worst homework assignments for the end of the week. It makes Friday/Saturday the worst. Why do I do that to myself?

Eating this and this every day for lunch. So good!

Wishing I could hop on a plane this very second to visit my parents in Puerto Rico. 15 months till they come home! Can you believe they are old enough to be "senior missionaries?" They look 20! (Senior missionaries get to swim so they were spending a couple of hours of free time at the beach. Not normal missionary attire!)

Searching and applying for jobs. 10 more weeks until graduation!

Roasting hot. It should not be 92 degrees in October.

Thinking up Thanksgiving plans. Our first Thanksgiving without leaving to go see family. Weird!

SO Looking forward to General Conference this weekend. I have been craving it.

Loving these lovely blooms from The Bouqs. Review coming soon!

The Perfect Green Smoothie

2014-09-30T22:34:00.003-07:00

I think it is safe to say that I am addicted to my green smoothies! They seriously make me feel like a wilted flower coming to life when I drink them. I am no coffee drinker but these definitely give me the pick me up that I would presume coffee gives a lot of people. The great thing about green smoothies is that you can dumb just about any kind of produce in there and it will turn out decent. I usually just grab whatever is on sale in the produce section but I decided to put together a list of my 4 favorite smoothies. Enjoy!