our summer vacation

Josh had a project to do last week that was canceled because his clients couldn't come up with the money in time. So we decided to head to San Diego to finish up a little bit of sprinkler work for his Aunt and Uncle, spend time on the beach, and be together since Josh is a workaholic in the summer. It was also perfect because I didn't have a job yet. We tried to get some friends or family to come with us, but since it was kinda last minute, no one could come.

pretty views for our drive..

It was a fun and long drive down and was nice to be able to relax and talk about anything and everything. We stopped for the night because we were exhausted and couldn't quite make it. The next morning we got up and finished the last leg of our journey. With the exception of a missed exit and a couple toll roads resulting in change of dollar coins since we only had a $20, the drive was pretty uneventful.

Our first stop was to see Grandpa Hutchins. Luckily we caught him as he and Uncle Matt were heading to eat lunch so we tagged along. We went to the Harbor for some fish and chips! It was SO delicious! We ate to the sounds of greedy birds and sun bathing seals. Harbor ambiance at its finest. When Matt went in for some dippin' sauce for his fish a sneaky bird swooped in and stole half his fish! It was hilarious!

Grandpa is always tellin' stories

seriously sooo good! 

see the seals on the dock?

I also got to fulfill a dream of mine. Cirque du Soleil! It was AMAZING! I probably sat with my mouth hanging open the majority of the time ha but I just couldn't help it!

I was a littttle excited! :D

I can't even describe it properly because you just had to be there. There was a couple who did this trapeze act that was so cool. They'd do flips, hang by their neck, and then girl would drop from really high until at the last second the guy would grab her ankle or hand. Man. It was so cool. They had unicycling girls who threw plates onto their heads from their foot and onto each other's heads all while on a unicycle 15 feet in the air. Oh! and there was a group of guys where one guy balanced a pole on his HEAD another guy threw yet another guy onto the pole, he climbed it to the top then balanced upside down on the top of the pole on his head! Just so amazing strength, flexibility, and skill. I would go again in a heartbeat.

The rest of the week was spent hanging out with our cousin's cute little boy, doing sprinkler repairs, planting palm trees, loving the sun and beach, and eating delicious food!

We were sad to come back but so happy we were able to spend time together, relax and get some sun! 

ode to kevin

My big little brother is all grown up and headed on a mission! We were lucky to be there when he opened it! I have to admit when he said, "Elder Kevin Jurgensmeier you are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints..." I got teary eyed! Its so hard to believe that this little kid is old enough to go on a mission!

Tempe Arizona Spanish speaking!

So cool that he'll be living in the same place where Erik and Dawn live! 

 We are SO proud of Kev and his decision to go on a mission! It was funny, he was a little sad that he had to wait until August to leave. He is such a good example to me and is going to be so great! I have always looked up to him, even for those brief years when I was taller than him. :) I loved randomly running into him on campus and will miss him a lot! The people living in Arizona are so lucky to have him!

where'd you go?

Don't worry, I haven't just been wallowing in self pity since my last post because we didn't win the dream house... which by the way is less than 2.5 miles from where we live now.... (and yes, I did drive by s l o w l y  so I could take some pictures) However, there is a giant blue outside wall that just doesn't strike my fancy, so its totally fine that I didn't win. I mean, using the money we also would have won to get some paint and cover it up would be way too much work.

So since there's no bitter feelings, we've been pretty busy doing other things. Josh is working really hard and is super busy while I've been a stay at home wife in search for a job. A stay at home wife is NOT all its been cracked up to be. I mean, I thought I would LOVE sleeping in, reading books, looking for jobs, making recipes that I find online, you know, living the life. However, when your husband works from 7:30 to 7:30 everyday, it gets quite lonesome. The house is too clean, the stack of books I've read is too big, and the job search is not too fun. I think I'm just going to have to bite the bullet and get a job that, while I don't reeeaaallly want, I'll take it.

I've been busy doing a couple fun projects though! We had this bench that sat in our entryway since we moved in and I knew I wanted to make something cool with it. While in home depot one day with Josh buying supplies for work, we picked up some paint samples of different colors and some pots and the next day I set to work!

                It definitely adds some color to the yard! haha

We planted some flowers around the house as well and some herbs one Monday night for family home evening. I'm excited to see how they do! Hopefully the basil, cilantro and peppers we planted grow a LOT so we can eat them up!

We also went to the new City Creek mall in Salt Lake. It's pretty gorgeous! Beautiful water fountains/falls and a pretty view of the temple from a glass walkway. My friends said it was great and since we were in Salt Lake picking up some more landscaping materials, we stopped by and check it out.

I finally got to experience H&M and bought some cute pants! There is also an IKEA-esque store there but it was more high end which if I could, I would have bought everything in one of the bedrooms... gorgeous wood floors and walls, bed frame, and decor. ahh.