Adventure #84: Maria. Just, Maria.

"She is gentle! She is wild! She's a riddle! She's a child! She's a headache! She's an angel! She's a girl!" - Lyrics from the Sound of Music's "How Do You Solve a Problem like Maria?"

September 3-30, 2016

There are so many things that make Maria just Maria. Like her scrunched up smile.

Or when she does something completely random. Like sitting on top of your head.

Or when she plays the piano so delicately...

And the next second she is pounding on the keys.

Or how she loves to play by herself, but only if someone is very close by.

Or how it doesn't take much to make her smile and laugh.

Or when she's tired of being in the carseat and just wants to sit with Mommy. Her mood changes from screaming lunatic to joyful angel.

There are so many things that I love about this baby girl. The best part is that she does new things every day and there's just more to fall in love with. I can't wait to see how wonderful, unique and hilarious this little chicky-pooh will be.  :)

Adventure #83: Enjoying those summer days

"Some days are simply made for playing." - Mary Anne Radmacher

August 16-31, 2016

Our summer travels were over and Jordan started school, but we still enjoyed every bit of summer.  Maria loved walking outside any chance she'd get. 

I was laughing so hard when I found these pictures. They were taken on different days when Jordan and I were each alone with Maria. I guess it's just natural to copy her. haha

I also tried to take Maria to the park more. She's pretty timid about most things, but she's getting the hang of it. The one thing she is not timid about is the swings. She giggles and giggles with every swing. I just love watching her have so much fun!

Adventure #82: Maria loves soccer

"The beautiful thing about learning is no one can take it away from you." - B. B. King

August 6-8, 2016

The Summer Olympics have been on, and Maria and I have enjoyed watching lots of events together. My brother, James, got her an Alex Morgan shirt and so we always had her wear it when we watched their games. 

Along with watching soccer, we also started to teach Maria how to play! This video is from the very first few minutes after showing her how to kick the ball. I thought it was so cute how she would laugh every time she kicked the ball. She loves to have fun and soccer is just another way to have fun.  :)

Adventure #81: The Philadelphia Temple

"The temples... are as a refuge from life's storms-- even a never-failing beacon guiding us to safety." - Thomas S. Monson

August 5- September 17, 2016

This post is about all of our recent experiences with the Philadelphia Temple. Our first experience was volunteering to play music for the Open House. After guests have toured the temple, they come to a reception area to learn more about the architecture. It's in the reception area where there is always someone playing music. 

First of all, the temple itself is stunning. Even though it's brand new, it also looks like it has been in Philadelphia forever. The outside mimics surrounding buildings and the inside mimics Independence Hall.

Jordan and I had an amazing time playing the piano while guests spoke with sister missionaries, watched videos, or explored more information about the temple. We were so grateful for this opportunity, and that we were able to serve together!

We were also blessed to have amazing friends to watch Maria while we volunteered. Maria had fun playing with some new toys and we were proud to see how much she's already drawn to the force (yes, we are obsessed with Star Wars).

A week or two after we volunteered, we got to take our first tour of the temple as a family. We also went with some of Jordan's friends from school. I didn't get any pictures from that trip! The inside of the Philadelphia Temple is not like any other temple I had ever seen. It's just so unique and beautiful. You can check out pictures here.

Jordan's friends said they all loved the architecture and even asked some questions about our beliefs. It was a great experience and it was nice meeting some people from Jordan's school!

My next trip to the temple was with my dear friend from high school, Felisha. She lives in New York City so we've been able to see each other a few times since we've been in New Jersey. The tour was great (obviously) and it was so fun hanging out with Felisha and having deep conversations about everything! I love her so much and I love how much she emulates the Savior. I definitely was blessed to have her as a friend. :)

Later that week I got another chance to volunteer with music for the Open House. I also got to see one of our favorite sister missionaries there! I used to go out and teach with them all the time! It was one of the things that really saved me while I was adjusting to motherhood and to the east coast. 

The next week was the temple celebration and dedication. The youth of our church have been practicing for months and it turned out to be a great program! Some one even posted it on Youtube if you ever want to watch even part of it. The finale is the BEST! I was in tears. It really made me feel so joyous and excited to have a temple of God 15 minutes away! How lucky are we? Not even everyone in Utah can say that!

I have already felt strength from this temple and I know that it will bless our family as we attend and keep the covenants we have made with God. Just having the temple here has helped me to come closer to God. And because of that, I have been able to become a better mother, wife, sister, daughter, etc. It's amazing how much life can change because of one building. But this isn't just a building. It's a house of God. It's where He dwells. It's where we make covenants to follow His laws and to help others to feel of His love. This temple has helped me understand the importance of temple work, family history, covenants, obedience, love, and the Atonement more than ever before. 

If one temple of God can do that for me, it can bless anyone and everyone. If you've never been to a temple, GO. You don't have to be a member to walk outside the temple and feel the difference. 

Sometimes I feel like part (an incredibly small part) of the reason the temple came to Philadelphia was to help me. And to obviously help and bless thousands upon thousands of other lives. But I really think that Heavenly Father knew I needed the temple. Maybe that's why he guided us to live where we live now. And to come here at the time we came. The temple has been an answer to prayers too numerous to count. My only hope in posting this is that someone else will be able to feel what I have felt. To know what I know. And ultimately, what I know is that God loves us and He has a plan for each of us. All we have to do is ask. Reach out. Pray.

Adventure #80: Being home after a summer "abroad"

"The magic thing about home is that it feels good to leave, and it feels even better to come back." - Wendy Wunder


August 3-4, 2016

One thing that Maria really missed while we were on vacation was reading. The first couple of weeks that we were home she would read every single book, every single day. It's one of our favorite things to do; just watching her read book after book.

We also got to take a trip to the beach (sorry, I mean the shore) with the young women from our church. They had a lot of fun... even when they got smashed by waves. haha

Maria had a lot of fun too... eating sand...

I was happy to see that after a summer filled with going to the beach, this girl still loves it. 

And even after getting home from the beach, Maria went straight for her books.  :)

Adventure #79: OBX

"Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: 'What! You too? I thought I was the only one.'" - C. S. Lewis

July 15-23, 2016

Our final trip for the summer was to the Outer Banks. We were going to stay with a bunch of Jordan's closest friends from High School. Jordan is always so excited when we get to Virginia. (And so am I).

It wouldn't be a good trip if we didn't stop by Pierce's Pitt BBQ in Williamsburg. Maria was sooooo happy to be out of the car and to see other people!

As we got closer to Poquoson (where we were staying with the Andrews for the night), we saw a rainbow. It was so fitting as we felt that there were some good times and great people waiting for us at the end of that rainbow.

The next day was long. We hit a lot of traffic trying to get in to the Outer Banks, but it was so worth it! The first night we watched some videos Jordan and his friends had made in High School. They were so awful, funny, disgusting, and cute all at the same time.

We felt very relaxed on vacation and got some great sleep!

We were staying at a beach house that was across the street from the beach so we went just about every day. Maria LOVED the beach. She walked around like she owned the whole thing!

Some of the boys built huge sand castles everyday and Maria played in it like it was made for her. lol

That night we had a very nice dinner and then we watched the sunset from some sand dunes. It was gorgeous. It was the first East Coast sunset at the beach for me!

Sorry some of these are a little dark and hard to see. Pictures never fully capture beautiful moments like these.

Maria is still new to walking, and so the sand and the waves were new obstacles for her. She did a great job most of the time...

but every once in a while she would fall... hard. What I love about this picture is that this face-plant didn't even phase her. She got right back up and started running again.

We had so much fun in the sun and playing in the water! I honestly think that Maria would have stayed there all day and would be the happiest girl in the world.

One of Jordan's best friends, MJ, is getting married next year. His fiancé happens to be a fantastic photographer and took some amazing pictures for us!

I could stare at these pictures forever because I think they are just so perfect!

It wouldn't be a complete trip with Jordan's friends if it didn't involve doing ridiculous things. So we put pantyhose on our heads with a tennis ball inside and knocked down water bottles. 

I think we looked pretty awesome... lol

More fun times at the beach:

Ok seriously, how did we get so lucky to have this cutie?!?!?!

Since it worked so well other days, we dug Maria her own hole to play in. She loved sitting in the warm water.

For some reason, Jordan really wanted to be buried in the sand. All his buddies immediately joined in and made this happen:

Maria then went and sat on his face while he couldn't move. haha We all had a good laugh. and here is Jordan after emerging from the sand:

We also spent a decent amount of time in the pool. We could go hang out there when Maria was taking a nap.

Every night a group of us were in charge of dinner. We got to make dinner with Jared and so since he's an amazing cook, and since Jordan and I are living in Philly now, we decided to make Philly cheesesteaks! They were sooooo good! We made them just like they do in Philly. We had people order wit or wit-out onions (the slang people actually use in Philly to order their steaks) and then they chose their cheese. Cheese Wiz is obviously the best, but people are always hesitant to try it!

MJ's finance Corrin also took some great pictures of all the boys.

Speaking of which, MJ and Corrin had lots of fun with Maria. And vice versa. :)

I also decided to help build the sand castle while Maria was taking a nap.

One of our last days in the Outer Banks we took a tour of a historic house nearby. They have lots of stories about people who have encountered ghosts or ghost-like activity there. It was a little creepy. 

The craziest part of the whole tour was when we found out that the home was owned by Edwards Collings-Knight who also happened to found the town we currently live in New Jersey. What?!?! This was their summer home and their other home in New Jersey is just down the street from our apartment! Creepy! haha Creepiness aside, it was also very beautiful there.

We didn't take pictures of this every night, but we played this game just about every night after dinner. I think it's called Around the World? I don't know. You just try to keep the 8 ball rolling by only using the white ball... It was so much fun! We played until 1 or 2 in the morning sometimes so half the time we would just laugh and act dumb. 

This was our last time in the pool and Maria got some quality time with Mama and Papa Andrews (MJ's parents who made this whole trip possible!).

Something else that Mama and Papa Andrews made possible was a date night for me and Jordan. We went on a tour up the coast to see wild horses! I LOVE horses. In fact, Jordan doesn't ever let me forget that on our first date I talked about my dream of owning horses someday.... haha it was a wonderful date! We don't go on very many baby-free dates, so it was fun to get some alone time. :)

It wouldn't be a complete date if we didn't do our pose, right? lol

I forgot to mention that aside from the other games we played, we played card games and board games every day and night as well. Our last night we played spoons and Jordan and MJ ended up like this:

The Outer Banks was an amazing trip! Honestly I just loved watching old videos and hearing old stories from Jordan's friends. It made me excited and nervous to see what our children will be like. haha! Just kidding... I'm sure they will all be great! Especially if they are all like Jordan. :)