A quick update!

Wow how time flies by!  Our last post was in June and here we are in November already!  We have enjoyed our summer and fall days so much...Half way through the month of July, Gary headed out to the Philippines for work but there wasn't much complaining going on there - He served in The Cebu Philippines Mission and was pretty excited to go back and visit!  While he was in The Philippines I headed back to Nashville to see friends and work from the office.  Nashville will always be one of my favorite places :-)

Gary got back from The Philippines the middle of August just in time for a little round of golf in Alabama with his brothers and dad.  It was a well deserved trip for him and we had a great time in Alabama with family (and not to mention mine and Rachel's afternoon of shopping :-)).
After Alabama, we headed back to New York but that was short lived for Gary...he left a week later for China and I stayed in New York to prepare for company :-).  Yes Sterling and Missy came for a visit to The Big Apple!  We had so much, went to see Wicked on Broadway (which was amazing), toured the city and indulged a little with cupcakes from Crumbs and lunch at Shake Shack!

Gary did surprise me with a last minute trip to Florida for my birthday weekend since he was out of town...He is so thoughtful and knows exactly how to make me happy :-).  It was a great weekend for me to be with my family while he was gone.
Gary got home from China on the 30th of August and on the 2nd of September we jetted off to Hawaii for a much needed vacation - as if we aren't gone enough, this was a true relaxing time - no worry of work or reality.  Just a little time in paradise :-).  My sister Lucretia and her husband Bobby were able to come to Hawaii with us.  They haven't been and I'm sure it was a much needed vacation for them too!  We went to The Big Island and Oahu.  While we were there we checked out Volcanoes, Waterfalls, rain forests, good eats, snorkeling, beaches, The Dole Plantation for some pineapple sorbet, the Temple in Kona and in Laie and a little Matsumoto shave ice on North Shore -yum!  Enjoy the pictures!

Outside our hotel in Kona on The Big Island

Bobby & Lucretia in Kona

Volcano

Lava fields

smoke cloud from the active volcano

Some smart person built a house on the lava rocks...if there is harden lava then there is a chance hot lava could flow there again

Kona Temple

on the submarine at Pearl Harbor

So serious

Fallen soldiers at Pearl Harbor

At Laie Temple visitor center

Beautiful Laie Temple

The Polynesian Cultural Center

North Shore on Oahu

Lucretia & Bobby

that's a huge sea turtle - it was hanging around us for a good half hour

Dog The Bounty Hunter's Bail Bonds - Gary is wearing the shirt proudly!

After we returned from Hawaii we had a little time at home to settle back down a bit before Gary headed out again to Korea. Gary's brother and sister in law, Randy and Shauna were able to come out and visit and we had such a great time!  Shauna and I shopped (this was just the beginning of my out of control spending), we toured, we went to Broadway to see Rock of Ages (actually pretty fun play), went to Little Italy and ate ALOT (which I loved)!
I left for Utah on the 5th of October and Gary left for Korea on the 7th...Utah was a BLAST for me!  I was able to see friends I hadn't seen in so long!  I am so glad I was able to go out and see all my wonderful friends!  Gary on the other hand didn't have such luck in Korea.  I think the traveling has finally gotten to him.  He was ready to come home the minute he got there.  He did some pretty outrageous things while he was there (well outrageous to me).  He went to Dr. Fish to get his feet "softened"...meaning...you put your feet in the water as fish food and the fish come up and basically eat the rough, dead skin off your feet.  Not really something I want to try but of course Gary was up for it :-).  He also decided it would be cool to risk his life and go to the DMZ which is the boarder between North and South Korea.  He said it was pretty interesting but I would DEFINITELY have passed on that adventure if I were out there.
Needless to say we are finally home in New York and enjoying seeing each other again!  We will be married one year on November 13th...wow how the time flies!

Welcome to NYC Mom and Dad

My parents were able to make it the New York last weekend and we had such a great time! They got in on Thursday night and left Monday morning and there wasn't much down time! We did the temple, Shake Shack (love that place), Broadway play - Promises, Promises (such a great show!), Time Square, Wall Street, Ground Zero, The YANKEES Game (Such a highlight - it was a great game and my parents enjoyed it so much! I think it was my Dad's favorite part of the trip:-)), Battery Park to see the Statue of Liberty, Central Park, Rockefeller Center, Top of the Rock and Madison Square Gardens. I'm so glad they were able to come out! New York is some place everyone should come to visit. Now we need to get Don and Brenda out here - Let's plan something!
Here are some photos from the trip - Enjoy!

Brooke & Casey's Wedding in North Carolina

This past weekend my beautiful cousin Brooke was married in Blowing Rock, North Carolina.  That morning it was raining and very foggy but by the time the wedding started it was perfect weather.  It couldn't have been a better day for her and Casey!  It was great seeing family and being in North Carolina...I really love that place

Niagara Falls and Palymra, NY

We have been so busy this month!  While Gary has been in Canada for work I stayed in New York and we decided to meet up on the weekends.  The first weekend we went to Niagara Falls...not much to do there except for checking out the falls so we decided to drive 2 hours to Palmyra, NY and check out The Sacred Grove.  Both sites were amazing!  The Falls were amazing and of course we did the Maid of The Mist where they drive you out to the actual falls - so great!

We enjoyed the The Sacred Grove so much!  It was one of the highlights of the trip.  To see Joseph Smiths home as a child and the grove he knelt in and saw our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ was overwhelming.  The church is true, can't doubt that!

Revelon 5K in Manhattan

I walked my first 5K in New York with Gary and two of his co workers, Bryan and Steve...We walked for Womens Cancer...great cause!  After the gruling 3.1 mile walk through Central Park (not really gruling) we headed to Shake Shak for lunch.  That by far was the highlight!  Love that place!!

Welcome to Greece!

What an amazing experience!  Gary went to Greece for work and I was able to tag along for a week...The weather was in the 60's and the ruins were blocks away from our hotel.  Looking at all the temples and bath houses and the cities and the Acropolis - I can't fathom how they were able to build these structures these back then.  Everything is made out of marble and they had to carry it up a huge hill!  Anyway, enjoy the pictures...We loved every minute we were there but we also loved the moment we were back in our own home and country :-)

Trip to Monterey, CA

So we took a little time around Valentines Day to visit Gary's family in California.  While we were there we were able to check out the 17 Mile drive out in Monterey.  It was beautiful!