The Nutcracker!

About a month ago, I got a flyer in the mail, from the Lewis Family Playhouse, advertising the Inland Pacific Ballet's production of The Nutcracker.  As I looked at the flyer I mentioned to my parents that someday I wanted to see The Nutcracker, but for now I was going to work on saving my pennies.  I didn't really put any more thought into it.  However, the next day, when I came home from work, my parents told me that they had an idea for my Christmas present, but wanted to run it by me first.  My dad asked if I would like to go see The Nutcracker with my mom for Christmas.  Ummm...YES!  How cool is that?!?  I was super excited about it and when the night finally arrived, my mom and I had a great time seeing the show!  At first I was scared that we weren't going to make it to the show because the Lewis Family Playhouse is at Victoria Gardens, which is a mall, and malls are always crazy at Christmas time!  We had to park SO far away and hustle all the way to the other side of the mall to get to the Playhouse!  We did make it, though!  Phew!  

I had never been to a ballet and it was on my bucket list, so I was super excited!  The first act went by super quickly and the dancers and music were amazing!  After intermission, the second act flew by as well!  It was fun to see how the music I'd heard all my life fit into the actual show!  I loved seeing the show and, especially, getting to see it with my mom!  It was a super fun night!

With the Sugarplum Fairy!

 In the lobby during intermission

And, of course, we had to end the night with a mother-daughter selfie!  :)

My New Apartment!

So, the plan was to move out in January.  Christmas would be over, we'd be starting out the new year, and I'd still be on Winter Break!  When could be a better time to move into my first apartment than that?!?!  I had been scoping out apartments and driving by ones I was interested in during the day, night, weekends, etc. to make sure they weren't too scary at any given time and finally, I set aside a time for my mom and me to go out and actually tour the apartments and ask my million questions so that I could really narrow down my options.  I made a spreadsheet for each apartment complex (there were 6 on the list) that I was considering, so that I could fill in all the essential information and make sure I didn't forget any questions.  Everything was mapped out, organized, January was 3 months away, and everything was running as planned.  On the way to the first complex, which was my first choice, my mom asked me what I would do if they had something available sooner.  Would I take it or was I firm on January?  Um, really???  I was a girl with a plan from which I was not interested in deviating.  I told her that I was firm on January, maybe I would consider the very end of December when I was on break, but definitely nothing sooner than that!

We arrived at my first choice apartment complex and went into the office and met with one of the people there.  I started asking my list of questions and filling in my spreadsheet.  This complex was looking better and better all the time!  They had everything I wanted and, on top of that, I found out that each apartment has its own storage room attached to the balcony!  The fact that apartments are severely lacking in storage space had been of great concern to me, so this was absolutely amazing!  I felt good about this place and asked to walk through some apartments.  She told me that they had models of their studio apartment and their two-bed, two-bath apartment, but that they didn't have a model of the one-bedroom OR any empty ones we could go through.  So, I wouldn't be able to see the type of apartment I would actually be interested in living in.  Before I go on, I should mention that I had two deal breakers.  First, I was NOT going to live in something I hadn't walked through first; this was going to be my home and I needed to see it to make sure it felt like home and that I would love it there.  Second, parking.  I have been to so many apartment complexes where the parking situation is absolutely terrible.  I didn't want to live anywhere where there wasn't plenty of parking for my friends and family. Deal. Breaker. I soon found out that this apartment had BOTH of my deal breakers!  I went ahead and took the tour anyways and figured that, by January, they would come up with a vacant one-bedroom that I could tour.  The parking situation was one that I would have to put some thought and consideration into.

After the tour, I went back to the office and went over different options with the person showing me around.  I told her the options I was interested in and she went through her list of apartments that met my qualifications and their availability.  When she mentioned one that was available on November 8th, I had the craziest, yet clearest feeling that I should take it.  It was NOT what I had planned on, nor what I wanted.  I was set on January, but suddenly all of that changed.  So, I signed my lease, put down my deposit, and freaked out...just a little!  haha  My move-in date was no longer three months away, but just three weeks away!  Also, I had just signed for an apartment I had never seen and the floor plan was not super great!  All of my deal breakers were out the window and I now had my first apartment!

The next three weeks passed painfully slowly, but when it finally arrived, everything was ready!  My parents, Steven, David and his boys, and Scott helped me move everything is and it all went super quickly!  They were awesome!  I've never actually seen a move that ran so smoothly.  I was having my couches, washer and dryer, and cable/wifi installed that day and everyone showed up at the very beginning of the given delivery windows, except the cable guy, who showed up about 4 hours early and said that he was in the area and had a cancellation and asked if I would mind him getting the job done early!  When does that ever happen???  But it did!  Just more reassurance that I had done the right thing.  It's amazing to me how we can have the best laid plans and that, in a moment, everything can change.  I still don't know why it was pivotal for me to move now instead of in January, but I truly feel that it was.  I love that Heavenly Father has a plan for us and that He knows what's best even when we have no idea why things happen the way they do.  I've been in my place for almost a month now and I LOVE it!  Everyday, I feel so happy to be in my own place!

Here's a little tour:

Welcome!

The front door is on the left side of the picture in the living room and I'm standing in the dining room.

This is the dining room, obviously, and the washer and dryer are in the closet with the white doors.  I love being able to do laundry in my own place and not having to take it to the laundry rooms at the complex.

Kitchen!

Bathroom! Yes, it's orange!  Would you expect anything different from me?

Bedroom!

My balcony!  The storage room is on the right, but is not in the picture.

It also has a playground, which my nephews had to test out right away!

They approve!

Anyhow, that's about it!  I love it and am so grateful for it!  Now, my next adventure will be to decorate for Christmas!!!  We'll see how that goes!  ;)

Go Fish!

Since Josh's birthday is on July 8th and Dylan's is on the 25th, they usually have a big joint celebration.  This year it was at John's Incredible Pizza in Riverside.  The boys decided that they wanted to go fishing for their birthdays, so Jacob planned a fishing trip to Irvine Lake immediately following their birthday party.  So, for their birthdays I got them tackle boxes loaded with all kinds fishing gear and a couple cartons of night crawler worms as bait.  Here's a couple of sweet pictures from their party.  

 I love how Josh is looking at Nancy!  He loves the silly faces she makes to keep him entertained!

The party was a little bittersweet because the end of July not only signals their birthdays, but also their return to China for the year.  We just try really hard to make every moment count.

Anyhow, after leaving the pizza place, we all headed to Lake Irvine.  We had some crazy toll road drama, but eventually we all made it there and picked a spot on the far side of the lake.

We used garlic flavored shrimp as bait and it smelled disgusting!

 Jacob helped the boys get set up!

 I love fishing, but I hadn't originally planned on going fishing, so I wasn't exactly dressed for the occasion.  It was a beautiful day out on the lake!

 This was Nancy's first time fishing!  It took some convincing, on my part, to get her to try it, but once she did, she rocked it!

Sweet Dyl with his fishing rod!

 Look at that gorgeous sunset and that precious little boy!

 The moon was also enormous and incredibly bright!  You can't really tell how huge it was from this picture, but its reflection in the water was beautiful as well!

So pretty!

By the end of the night, no one had caught any fish, but we definitely had a great time together!  

Baby, It's Hot Outside aka Our Great Arizona Adventure!

Since my sister works for a company that owns lots of hotels and offers their employees a certain amount of R&R days each year, she and I decided to hit up the Little America Hotel in Flagstaff, Arizona.  I had gone to Flagstaff a few years back, but I was pretty much just passing through and didn't really do much in the area, so it was pretty much like visiting a new place altogether.  Beforehand, Diane had looked up some of the local attractions and we discovered that there's actually a ton to do there!  AND many of those things involved areas of archaeological interest, which was right up my alley!  

Super early in the morning of July 18th, I hopped in the car and drove to Phoenix to pick Diane up from the airport.  I made really good time and ended up killing about an hour at...drum roll, please...Wal Mart!  Um.  The Wal Mart in Phoenix is really scary; I don't ever want to go there again, but on the upside, the Phoenix airport is one of my favorites to fly in and out of.  So, I'll just focus on that.  Anyhow, I suck at directions, but am extra talented at getting lost, so finding Diane in the labyrinth of arrival and departure lanes, terminals, etc. was extra adventurous, but once I found her, our vacation officially began!

The first place we went was Montezuma's Castle!  I'm pretty sure that Arizona actually means "hotter than the Sun" in some ancient language, and the second I exited my car, that belief intensified.  Oh. So. Hot. BUT it was ok because what we were about to see was amazing!  Look at this:

I know, I know!  It's amazing!  To give you more perspective of just how amazing it is, here's a picture that shows exactly how far up the mountain that dwelling was built!

This stuff always blows my mind!  I love it!

After we spent some time here, we got back in the air conditioned car and drove to Sedona.  Sedona is a cute little town that is known for it's beautiful rock formations.  They really were pretty to look at with their multi-colored striations and rich red color.  We walked around a bit and then went to see The Chapel of the Holy Cross, which is a church that was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.  It was built right into the mountain and was an interesting looking building.

After that, it was off to the hotel!

I thought our room was super cute (and also huge).  Although it's not really my typical style, I totally fell in love with the chandelier in the room.  After a long day of driving, we were ready to call it a night.  We got dinner at the hotel restaurant and then just chilled in the room for the rest of the evening.

The next day was crazy busy!  It was full of great things, but extremely full nonetheless!  First up: Lowell Observatory!  We got here at opening time so that we could fit everything into our day.  This is actually a very famous observatory, where lots of cool things have been discovered.  For example, this is where they discovered that the universe is actually expanding.  Kind of a big deal.  It's also where they discovered Pluto!  Side Note: we had the COOLEST tour guide who was SO passionate about what she was telling us.  Seriously, she's the kind of teacher I aspire to be!  So knowledgeable and engaging!  Plus, she helped us feel better about Pluto being demoted from a planet to a dwarf planet.  Sorry, Pluto.

So, this is me playing with the telescope/camera that Pluto was discovered with.  I totally geeked out!  

And here's Diane looking at the sun through a special filtered telescope and that's our awesome tour guide!

After this, we headed toward the Grand Canyon.  On the way there, I was driving through the middle of nowhere when, all of a sudden, a huge, dark grey WOLF ran out in front of my car!  It was definitely not a coyote, but a gigantic wolf.  Oh my goodness!!!  I did not hit it, but I had to slam on my brakes and swerve like a maniac.  Diane was sleeping and woke up very startled. For the record, I had no idea there were wolves in Arizona, so I Googled it a little later and discovered that the Mexican Grey Wolf lives in that area,  Vindicated.  We stopped at Bedrock City, which is right outside the Grand Canyon and it was pretty cool!  It's basically like visiting the Flintstones' town.  It's a major tourist trap, but I'm not gonna lie: it was awesome and well-worth stopping.

 And this happened:

 We each got to go down the slide a couple of times before some kids came a wanted a turn!  Sheesh, kids!  Do I look like I'm in the mood to share???  ;)

Next, we went to the Grand Canyon!  I went there a couple of years ago, but this was Diane's first time.  I'm still in awe of how beautiful this is!  Truly, the work of the Master.

We also did some hiking and ran into this guy on the way back:

He was not bothered that there were people around at all.  Later, as we drove out, we saw a whole family of deer, including adorable little babies!

When we left, we went back to Lowell Observatory for their nighttime programs and we got to look through the telescope at various stars and then we got to go into one of the big domes and look at Saturn through a big telescope!

It was awesome!  BUT it had been an exceptionally long day and I was ready for bed!  I had to go to a grocery store and then came back and hit up the room service menu.  Sometimes you just have to eat a reuben and creme brulee in bed.  Tonight was one of those nights.  I must admit, however, that it was delish!

The next day, we found a local ward and went to Sacrament Meeting there.  It was a bit of an adventure because they were changing the bishopric, so there was really a lot going on.  We, then, headed to Wupatki National Park.  There were lots of different settlements there and it was awesome!  I even got to stand on a ball court!  Those always fascinated me when I was taking my anthropology classes in college.

After this, we went to visit Sunset Crater, which is basically a huge lava field from a volcanic eruption.  Seriously, lava was everywhere!

Pretty cool!

This was pretty much the last thing we did on the trip, but it was definitely a packed three days!  Diane was flying out of McCarran in Las Vegas, so we made the trek out there and parted ways.  Overall, it was a great trip where I got to spend quality time with my sister and see lots of awesome things I had never seen before!

North to Alaska!

I'll give you fair warning that this is going to be another one of those picture explosion posts.  My apologies! ;)   This summer I went on my first cruise!  My parents and I flew into Seattle on Friday and checked out Pike's Market, land of the steepest streets ever!  That's ok, though; you can't be a first-timer in Seattle and miss out on Pike's Marketplace.  We grabbed dinner there and then hung out in the hotel.  Diane flew in late that evening and the next day, we all went to the Space Needle together.  I've always heard about the amazing view from the top of the Space Needle and, oddly enough, I was disappointed.  Perhaps it was that my expectations were too high or that simply nothing can beat the view from the top of the Empire State Building on a beautiful, clear, summer night.  It was pretty cool, however, that we got to see our cruise ship docked and waiting for us to hop on!

A couple of hours, one broken camera, and a crazy Amazing Race-like adventure to find a new one (on foot, without a car, in a completely foreign city) later, we boarded our home for the week.

When we first boarded the ship we got something to eat and then my parents went to their room to unpack and my sister and I went to our room to unpack.  When I walked into our room for the first time, I was relieved at how spacious it was.  People had described the showers as barely usable in size and told me that it would be a bit cramped, but that it would be okay because we wouldn't be spending much time there.  I actually found it to be pretty good sized, relative to what I was expecting!  Thank goodness!!!  Later, we met up for dinner and then went to see the nightly show in the big theater.  It was kind of a preview of all of the shows for the week, so we knew right off the bat that we had good things to look forward to.  Also, on the first day of the trip, I discovered my favorite place to sit on the ship: the window sill in our room!

I loved sitting there and staring out the window at the beautiful ocean and all of the pretty scenery.  Don't worry, though; I also spent a good amount of time outside enjoying the majesty of the sea from the deck, not just holed up in  my room.  ;)

The next day was spent entirely at sea.  The water was rough and I almost died.  Well, not really, but I did take full advantage of the sea sickness patch my doctor so graciously prescribed.  We also took our first round of formal pictures and got our very first TOWEL ANIMAL!!!  I put that in all caps on purpose, by the way!  I was SO excited!

The next morning, we got up, oh so early, so we could catch our first shore excursion in Ketchikan, Alaksa.  If you've ever heard that Alaska is beautiful, you heard correctly.  In fact, "beautiful" is the understatement of the century.  As I felt our ship come to a stop, I pulled open the curtain and what I saw was absolutely enchanting!  The pictures can't even begin to do it justice, but I'll post them anyways because, well, that's just the kind of girl I am! Pictures, pictures everywhere!!!

This was my first glimpse of Alaska.  The low-hanging clouds hovered over the mountains like fingers caressing the peaks.  It looked just like something out of a movie and, in person, it was absolutely gorgeous!

After getting off the ship in Ketchikan, we went to Totem Bight State Park, which was pretty cool!  It had a bunch of totem poles and we got to visit a clan house and learn all about the totems, how they're made, what they represent, etc.  It might sound kind of lame, but for someone, like myself, who loves anthropology and learning about how people lived long ago, it was perfect!  Not to mention, the landscape was super beautiful!

 After we finished our tour of Totem Bight, they dropped us back off at the dock by our ship and we were able to spend some time in town.

How adorable is this town????  Little trolley and all!

The big wooden building on the right side of this picture was a store called Christmas in Alaska!  If you know me well, you know that I love Christmas and that I collect a Christmas ornament from everywhere I travel.  So, of course, this store was like heaven to me!

But WAIT!  It gets better.  Santa. was. there.  Yes!  You read that right!  Santa (the real one, of course) was there and he I got to sit on his lap.  At first when he told me to sit on his lap, I was like...ummmm...I will crush this little old man!  Fortunately, he was quite persistent and finally convinced me that I wouldn't break him!  haha!  So, I got to sit on Santa's lap at a magical store that is so close to the North Pole!  Also, if you know me well, you know that I get extremely excited about the dumbest things.  This is one of those moments; you'll have to excuse me! :) 

So, after that, we explored town a little and discovered that the main thing anyone is selling to tourists in Alaska is jewelry.  This was actually true at all of the places we visited in Alaska.  I did not buy any jewelry, but I did try some Alaskan salmon.  I don't usually eat much fish, but when you visit the salmon capital of the world, you MUST eat some salmon!  It's the law.  ;)

 At the end of the day, we got back on the ship and went to dinner!  I actually love this picture of my parents; I feel like it sums them up pretty well.  My dad, whom everyone thinks is super serious, was cracking jokes and my mom (and the rest of us) laughed hysterically!

Then, I saw it: the most beautiful sunset ever.  It was gorgeous! 

 That night, my mom and I went to one of the lounges for pina coladas and to watch Dancing with the Jewel Stars!  It was pretty entertaining!  Passengers paired up with crew members in an awesome dance competition.  It was fun to have a mommy-daughter night out!

The next day we stopped in Juneau.  For this shore excursion, we hiked to Mendenhall Glacier.  It was amazing!  I know I'm making it sound all dramatic, but truly, I could not believe what I was seeing.  When our tour bus pulled up to the visitor center, where we began our hike, we could see the glacier in the distance and were awestruck.  It was so perfect it didn't even look real.

Like with everything else on this trip, pictures just can't do it justice.

This is us before the hike.  Diane was there too, but she went on a different, more rigorous hike, so we didn't get a picture with her.

 This is Nugget Falls, which was right next to the glacier and emptied into Mendenhall Lake.  It was crazy how close you could get to it!  So powerful and beautiful, and...cold!

The bluer the ice, the older it is.  Some of the ice was the most beautiful blue color I had ever seen.

 After our hike we went back into town (Juneau) to look around and do some shopping.

 We had to be back on the ship fairly early that day because we were going to sail up the Tracy Arm Fjord to see Sawyer Glacier.  This part of the trip was really cool because we were able to sit on my parents' balcony and enjoy the scenery as we sailed.  Since it's such a narrow passageway, we could see little waterfalls and other land features beside us.  Since the water was glacial water, it was a light turquoise color that was incredibly beautiful!  Another perk was that it was pretty cold.  Being from Southern California means that you don't often get to sit around, all snuggled in blankets, very often.  It was fun for all four of us to be together in such a setting.  We couldn't believe how many icebergs there were in the water and how we still just powered through the passageway.  We knew it was safe since the ships do this all the time, so we got to spend our time relaxing and looking at the ice and marveling at how pure the water was and how huge the bergs were under the water.

 After we stopped for a bit, my mom and I went to another part of the ship for a better look.

 Amazing!

The next day, we stopped in Skagway.  We didn't actually spend much time in the town itself because we took a shore excursion that took us into parts of Vancouver and Yukon, Canada.  We started out on a bus that took us several places and the tour guide told us interesting information and made a few stops along the way.  

 Behind me, you can see little piles of rocks, called inukshuks.  They're supposed to look like people and they're kind of like calling cards to let someone know that you were there or to signal that they're on the right path.  It's an Inuit tradition and they were kind of cool to look at.

 Next, we went to Carcross in Yukon.  We ate lunch there and then got to look around.  It was awesome!  They had tons of animals to pet and things to see.

 We also got to see and play with Alaskan Huskies, and even saw some Husky puppies!  So cute!

 Mom, Diane, and I got to go on a dog sled ride (it was a dog cart ride since it was summer and there was no snow) pulled by real Alaskan Husky Sled Dogs!  It was the coolest!

Something I found interesting was how badly the dogs wanted to pull the sled.  They were barking and running, definitely in a way that was begging to be picked to pull the sled.  When they let them off their leashes, they ran to the sled and waited very impatiently to be hooked to the harness.  So, if anyone ever tries to tell me that it's cruelty to animals to make them pull the sleds like that, I know better from first-hand experience.  The ride was so much fun!

 Next, we went to Caribou Crossing and were able to get a super awesome stamp in our passports! It had reindeer on it!  Getting a stamp in your passport is always fun, but getting a very unique one is even more fun!  :)

The last thing we did on this excursion was take the White Pass Railway.  It took us through some very pretty countryside and allowed us to see some things that we wouldn't otherwise have had access to.  I must admit that, although we saw lots of amazing things, by this time I was getting a little stir-crazy from sitting in a bus and then sitting in a train for so long.  However, it was still an amazing experience!

The next day was spent at sea.  Mom, Diane, and I participated in a photo scavenger hunt that had us running all around the ship trying to get pictures of as many things on the list as possible.  Some of the highlights:

Mom high-fiving a photographer

 Diane and I having a pillow fight

 Diane and I playing a game in the game room

 Diane ballroom dancing with a complete stranger outside the lounge

 Mom and Diane playing ping-pong

 Me pretending to hit the jackpot in the casino

 It was so much fun! And did I mention that WE WON???  Well, we did!

That night we had dinner at Moderno, the Brazilian grill restaurant on the ship.  It was delish!

The next day was the 4th of July and, we spent it in Canada.  Our stop for the day was on Victoria Island in Vancouver.  We visited Butchart Gardens and it was a very pretty place to be.  Sadly, it was raining, but it all worked out anyway.  The flowers were still gorgeous and we still had a great time!

 On the way back to our ship, we took a Victoria Highlights tour.  It was cool to see The Empress Hotel where lots of famous people and royalty have stayed.  In fact, according to our tour guide,  when the Lindbergh baby was kidnapped, Shirley Temple's parents brought her here to hide her for a bit, just in case.  The horse drawn carriage was a nice touch.

 We also went by the Parliament building.  I loved the architecture here!  So pretty!

 It was our last night on the ship, so we were glad to come back to a towel monkey hanging from the vanity!  

One last awesome thing happened that night.  I've never had a 4th of July without fireworks and, although I knew I would be having an amazing time, I was a little bummed that I would be spending our Independence Day in Canada and that I would have my first firework-less July 4th.  At bedtime, I sat in the window in my room and looked out at the stars as we sailed toward our final port.  Suddenly, in the distance, I saw fireworks bursting in the sky!  One, right after another!  As I looked out at the skyline I could see lots of fireworks in the sky!  It was amazing!  I turned our TV to the channel that tracked where our ship was and noticed that we were right by Port Angeles, WA.  As I watched in amazement that I was getting my Independence Day firework show afterall, I could see the entore skyline continue to light up!  It was my little 4th of July miracle!  I know it's silly, but it meant alot to me!  :)  The next morning when we woke up, we had already docked and were just waiting for our departure time.  It was sad to leave the ship after spending such a great week on it.  It's amusing to me that I was so skeptical about going on a cruise in the first place!  It was an amazing week that I will never forget!

Here are a few of the formal pictures we took on the cruise:

After we got off the ship, we got our bags, rented a car, and drove back up to Vancouver, Canada.  We went to Capilano Suspension Bridge Park where we explored nature and walked on a super long, super high suspension bridge.  I thought it would be scary, but it actually wasn't.  The swaying of the bridge wasn't my favorite, but the view was fantastic!

After this, we headed back to Seattle and Diane flew home very early the next morning.  We had a great time and I'm glad we were able to spend time together!

Mom, Dad, and I continued our vacation in Seattle by going to the Museum of Flight.  If you're ever in Seattle, visit this museum.  It was amazing!  I've been to many air museums over the years and this one definitely stands out.  We got to take a tour of a B-17, like the one Grandpa Wheeler flew in and see lots of other historical planes and replicas of historical planes.  We also got to have some fun in the play area and, of course, I had fun playing in the not play area too.

 This is the Air Force One on which LBJ was sworn in as president while Jackie Kennedy stood beside him in her little pink dress, which was still covered in blood.

 B-17

 Next up: The Seattle Underground Tour!  I love cool historical stuff like this!

  

The following day we went headed to McMinville, OR to see the Spruce Goose, but on the way, we decided to take a detour and see Mt. St. Helens.  Here's the view of it from the visitor center:

Can you see it?  Me neither.  Determined to see it, we decided to head up the mountain so that we could get a view of it from above the clouds.  Mission accomplished!

 When in Bigfoot Country... ;)

 We got to see the Spruce Goose at Evergreen Aviation Museum!  It was awesome!  All I could think of when I saw it was Yogi Bear and The Spruce Goose!  I used to love that movie when I was a kid!

 Dad and me inside the Spruce Goose!

Then, we went to Portland where we would spend the remainder of our vacation.  We got to visit the Portland Temple and then went to VooDoo Donuts!

The following day we went to the Portland Aquarium, which actually was pretty cool for such a tiny place.  They had lots of hands on things to do.

After leaving the aquarium, we saw Maleficent in the movie theater at the mall and then went to the airport to wait for our flight.  It was such an amazing vacation, but it was also very much time to go home.  I will never forget the amazing things I got to do during this trip!  What a reminder of how very lucky I am to have such wonderful opportunities.  Opportunities I thought I would never get to have!  And, of course, I'm so grateful to have family that I love spending time with, who make every experience so much better!