A day at the ZOOM!!

Today Jordan and I got an invite from a couple friend to go to the Zoo. They have been wanting to get together with us to hang out. With school and work it's has been hard to get a day that we were all available. Fortunately this week was spring break and a great sunny day for a trip to the Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake.

One of the many great things about being married to Jordan is that he has seven fascinating and beautiful nieces and nephews. One of which was able to come with us to the zoo.

Ariana Called it the Zoom!

It's great to have kids around because they can remind us of the simple things we take for granted every day.

Ariana did just that today!!

To little kids its not always about trickery and the most up-coming technology. They like to learn, see and experience. Simple shapes, simple colors and a whole lot of love!!!

Today Ari had fun, almost every animal she had learned about (and their sounds) was at the Zoo for us to.

On the ride up to Salt Lake to the Zoo, Jordan and I found out the Ari's favorite animal to see at the Zoo would be the Lion and Alligator! Wow, how exciting!! Getting to the zoo Jordan and I felt bad because we found out that the zoo did not have a Lion, or an Alligator. So Sad! But Ari is a trouper, she loved all that she would see!!

Although there was no Live Lion to see, Ari loved the lion drinking fountains found amongst the park!

We got to see Elephants. around the sides of the exhibit they had fun facts about the animal. Like what the skin of an elephants felt like and how big it's tusks can be.

it was rather interesting that all the birds were free to roam the whole park. Such as, even the turkeys and peacock were able to walk along side us if it wanted. We even found one in the Gorilla exhibit.

Penguins are always fun!!

Just for Adam we spent special time at the Rhino Exhibit!

Here are is giving the statue a kiss!

The real Rhinos were hiding a bit
Just a funny idea of Jordan's!

We got to see cougars. I'm sad I didn't get a picture, but Ari said a very special cheer to the cougars! "GOOOOOOOOO... COUGARRRRs," she exclaimed as she sat on Jordan's shoulders, rolling her fists!

Monkeys were probably my favorite! Jordan thought that was obvious!

Of course The bear was a big hit for Ari. Right away she named them Baby Bear and Papa Bear. Her and Jordan have a funny thing about that!

I thought it was cute how Ari was very sociable with other kids at the zoo. This little girl shared with Ari how cool the birds were!

This tortoise was Huge! it seemed like three times the size of Ari! And probable a hundred times her age!

The camels were cool! did you know that a camel can survive about six months with out water. Crazy!

This was also about the time Ari started getting tired of saying cheese.

Porcupines

More turtles

The gorilla was taking a nap

Ari got to see the full size of a gorilla


Jordan and I got to be groundhogs for a moment

At the end of seeing all the animals the zoo had a small park that the kids could play on. And to all our surprise and excitement Ari found what she was hoping for all day long! Yes, an alligator. Jordan and I were happy to see satisfaction!

Ari told Jordan that he was crazy!

So he tried to wrangle the Alligator!

Of course Ari wanted to join in!

Ari as a tortoise

Ari and our friend's little girl playing in an alligator egg! Or to Ari, "an Ex-ster egg."

Here are the pictures of me putting the plates on the car!!!

Guess who took the pictures?

Official Utah-ians!

My dad gave my car to Jordan and I as cool gift! We were having to get the car registered in Utah and this is the before.

To get he car registered here we had to get the states safety and emissions test. I have to admit, that when I was living at home my Dad REALLY, took care of my mom, sister and I. He handled most of the car stuff; and I was very grateful for his love and care!

So when I went back to pick up my car I was in shock. The lady on the other side of the counter handed me a piece of paper with the huges letters stating "REFUSED!" What?...Why?

The lady told me "your windows"

When I was in California for two Christmas ago my sister and I traded cars for the winter. While she had my car in San Diego, I guess she didn't feel cool enough in my car as is, so she decided to get my car windows tinted. To be honest I was excited that she did, it has been nice. I really like it when we switched our cars back!

So now you probably know what the problem was. To understand you have to know that the tints on windows can range in different percentages. I guess that California allows a higher percentages of tint on your front windows than Utah does. so this picture shows my car and the differences between the front window and the back window. now I look more un-cool driving in my car than I was before the tints! Thanks Becca, Love you!

Love Day

I know I'm so behind, but these are pictures from Valentines Day. We had a lot of fun! Adam and Melissa had a church valentines dinner and dance night. It was fun to get to dress up and have a delicious dinner pre-pared by Adam and Melissa.

The church was beautifully decorated, we all got to take cute couples pictures (Marci Platt as our photographer), and they had some of the young men serving us.

We had the best time!!

Sledding

So I know this is over a week old, but better last than never!
Out in Spanish Fork, where the Basua's and Platt's live, is a golfing range that was piled with snow. Perfect for sledding!!
We went out there two Saturdays ago and had a blast! Don't we just look so sexy!

This is Jordan with our niece Ariana, who is turning three in July, she kind of became our little trooper that day. Her and Jordan trucked up and down the hill so many times!
I wish I had more pictures of the other kids and family, they were all having too much sledding!

This brought back so many old memories sledding up in big bear as a kid!

Mom, do you remember going out sledding and playing in the snow all day and then when we came back to the cabin all we wanted to do is take nice hot showers, but we had to take showers in like one hour intervals because the hot water ran out too fast. So when it finally came to my turn there was absolutely no warm water at all! It was so horrible; I had to get clean and you ended up running to and from the kitchen with buckets of warm water as I sat in the bath shivering.
Oh.. the memories! There were a lot of great ones! Thanks for my childhood Mom!

This is what the toast said:

"I would like to propose a toast to Michelle and Jordan,

Congratulations to the both of you on sealing the beautiful love you guys share with each other.
Michelle, I want you to know how honored I am to be standing by your side during this memorable event in your life. I always imagined wedding planning to be a stressful time, but you were the perfect person to be Maid of Honor for. You were yourself the whole time; relaxed, creative, and happy about everything! This place looks stunning, just like You!
I’d like to tell you a little story I will never forget; the day my sister told me she was getting engaged. She flew into San Diego Airport for a family event. I picked her up by myself, and from the moment I saw her standing on the side of the curb she had a huge smile. I felt special because I thought she was excited to see me. To my surprise, she was more excited to tell me something. I figured out she couldn’t hold it in anymore and she needed to tell someone, because once she jumped eagerly into my car, she immediately showed me her left hand and blurts out “I’m engaged!”. Like everyone else did when they heard the wonderful news, I screamed, congratulated her, and gave her a huge hug. So the next words out of her mouth, “I want you to be my Maid of Honor.” There I went again, screamed and said my infamous words “Shut up!”. I gladly accepted, and we were full of smiles and more screams the entire drive to my apartment. Not to mention, I was a little jealous because of the gorgeous ring on her hand. Whoever picked out that ring must know a thing or two about my sister!
Jordan, I knew from the moment you and my sister were together, I wanted you to be “the one” for her. You make her very happy, you make us all laugh, you always have a kind heart, and you fit perfect in our family. I’ve always wanted you to be the brother I never had. Michelle is going to be the best wife, mother, and friend for you. I know this because she has been the best sister and friend to me.
I will be here for you guys, always! I love you both very much!!!
Here’s to Lovely Bride and Groom! Cheers!"