girl time with my sis, Chels

This past week Chels was able to stay with us in Park City. But we were everywhere all week long! We went wedding dress shopping (she is getting married, woot woot!), visited friends, did lots of clothes shopping, worked on a makeup tutorial (which will be posted on the blog in the near future), went on a hike, worked out and just had a great time having sister time! It was so great and I was glad that we had that time together. We, however, did not do very good at taking pictures while she was here! But we did manage a couple...

We got to see B for a couple minutes. I about died with the little girl she is becoming. Definitely no longer a baby!

Oh the lovely dresses that Chels got to try on! She was stunning!

the Puerto Rican side [yes, I AM Puerto Rican]

Two weeks ago I took a trip to California. My grandma Maria has been having some rough times health wise and my mom was flying out to help take care of her, so I decided to tag along! I got to spend time with grandma, helping take care of her, visiting with my uncles and cousins and just soaking up time with my mama. I feel very grateful to have those moments with grandma Maria because I don't know if I will get the chance to have any more with her. We didn't get out of the house much on our trip, but here are some pictures from my phone that we took.

Side note: Grandma HATES pictures. I think she might pass out from yelling at me if she knew I had been taking pictures of her without her knowing... but I was sneaky and did what had to be done ;)

Cousin Taylor. Apparently we look a lot alike?

With Uncle Frank! He doesn't smile for pictures either...

But I caught a picture while he was telling a story!

Uncle Henry!!! He took us out to dinner :) Love him!

Mom had never been back to her high school since she left, so we decided that it was about time...

She finally got to sit at the "cool" people table! ;)

My mama is GORGEOUS. Seriously. Wow!

And we briefly drove by her old home! It was very bright so not a great picture...

It was fun to see where my mom went to elementary, middle and high school and then to hear of her and uncle frank's stories of their childhood. I love my crazy Puerto Rican family :)

10 things

I've seen several blogs that do this 10 things that you probably didn't know about me thing and I thought I would join in. It is fun to see what people have to say about themselves so now it's my turn to share.

1. When hubby met me, I had NO Bright colored clothes to my name. He certainly changed that about me, but I will forever have a love for black, white and gray. I feel most like myself in these colors and you will probably mostly see me in them.

2. I was dating/engaged to another guy when Josh and I became best friends and he stole my heart away (scandalous, I know...). He fought for me then and I knew then that he would never stop fighting for me. It's something I had never experienced before. He truly is my prince, knight in shining armor, my one and only. I will forever love our story of how we came together, probably because how messy and crazy it was. It makes for a great story to tell people we are just getting to know :)

3. I have a love for looking at people's blogs. Reading everyone's stories, styles and seeing their pictures is so awesome. It opens people up in ways that you might not get to see them otherwise. Some people make fun of blogs but I think they are amazing. There are so many strong women out there that I feel some connection with knowing that they are in the same, although unique, journey of self discovery as I am.

4. I am a member of the church of Jesus Christ of latter-day saints, and i LOVE it. I am not always the best at sharing my feelings and thoughts about spiritual things but i feel the love and presence of my Heavenly Father and of Jesus Christ. There is not a day that goes by that they don't help guide me and give me strength. My only wish is that others who feel lost of empty in some way that they could feel this completion as well.

5. I am the biggest wimp when it comes to spiders. Even before we were married I told Josh that his job is spider killer. And he has had to kill many spiders, especially because we have been basement dwellers most of our married lives.

6. I was supposed to graduate in December, but due to some circumstances I decided to go to school another semester and graduate in April. One of those influences was a positive one in which I received a full tuition scholarship!!

7. I used to HATE my hair being natural and crazy (like in the pictures above). In high school mostly I thought I had the most ugly wavy, thick, crazy hair. As I have gotten older I am learning to embrace and to love the messy and unpredictable hair I have because at least I know that I have options of how to fix it (although I still envy people with straight smooth hair. That will never go away).

8. When I am mad, sad, angry, I am the worst communicator ever. I don't like to talk when I when I am feeling these extreme motions. Like at all. I will stare you down for hours if you keep trying to get something out of me. This is hard for hubby sometimes (and most people who have to deal with me ;)) because he is a problem solver and is great at talking things through. Being with him is helping me draw out some of these lacking skills. I love that he makes me a better person.

9. I have an amazing relationship with my parents. I feel like being the youngest child was the best ever because I got my parents all to myself when my sisters moved out. My parents are the best examples that I have and they are truly some of my best friends! I feel so lucky that I have that.

10. I went through a phase in life where I didn't think things were funny! [I am sorry for all those people who knew me or had to put up with me during this sad stage of life haha] I mean, I am sure that I laughed some. But "funny" movies or comedians.. I just thought they were stupid. Man, have I changed a lot! Hubby says that he can't even imagine me as the person that I described I was back in middle school/early high school times. I can't even believe that that person years ago was actually me. I am  glad that I have changed in many ways and continue to try and change for the better.

okay, maybe 11 things about me because this one has been on my mind.

11. One year ago I officially became an aunt to a beautiful little girl. And in a few months, I will become an aunt again to two darling twin girls. I thought being an aunt would be fun and I was excited for my sisters to have babies, but I never REALLY knew just HOW much I would love these nieces of mine! It has been an incredible overwhelming feeling of love for those little girls/. It is something that  I cannot fully describe but it is simply the best!

Saturday was filled with more great adventure! I love how our weekends we always find something fun and exciting to do. As it should be ;). We went hiking in the morning with our cousins Derek and Eliza at Stewart Falls. It was a great hike and a fun time, minus me sliding down and hurting my hand :(, but I guess that was bound to happen sometime soon! We then all went swimming at BYU and then to Derek and Eliza's to make our own pizzas. I love how I have had the time here at BYU to get to know more of Josh's family and to really create some fun friendships. It is so great that right now we are all so close and can hang out together, because in a year or two, who knows where we will all be!

Art Festival and 501 on Main

It was a fabulous Friday night. Wearing all black, hair fixed for the first time all week, and a night out on the town. There was an art festival all along Main Street in Park City and we decided to check it out. We walked up and down the street, enjoying looking at all the booths of art work that we will never spend so much money on. Since we had never eaten on the famous main street before we decided to try a new restaurant and randomly landed ourselves at one called 501 on Main. We were seated on the outside patio and it was the perfect night to be outside. The weather was perfect and the bustle of all the people on Main was fun to observe and be a part of.

the  view from dinner

delicious chicken sandwich!

where we were sitting

There was a store with a whole lot of cow...