goals and stuff

it's not jan 1, but i have some end-of-february-on goals for 2013...

answer my phone when it rings. this is a big one. i never answer my phone. blow dry my hair at least once a month (ambitious, right?). have pizza and a movie night once a month (you can come if you want). temple, once a month with the husb (apparently i can only do monthly goals). make myself like running. go out to breakfast more. wear lipstick (even though i'm scared of lipstick and zach hates lipstick). listen to music more. make homemade cards. and make a new dessert once a week (but also go off sugar wants to be a goal as well.......).

these are just a few... i have more in my head that i dont want to put down because i havent finalized them in my head yet:)
yay for goals!

and here's a picture of me... because i'm wearing my favs scarf.

and here is a picture of my puppy guy.

bangkok/ LAST ONE ON THAILAND I PROMISE

Fruit. shopping. temples. people. fruit. shopping. temples.

and we enjoyed and loved it all. we did 2 days here in Bangkok, and it was the perfect amount of time.

oh and these pomegranates below? as good as they look.

and they made them into pomegranate juice which was EVEN BETTER.

we also did a canal tour. we rode through this canal lined by homes in bangkok. it was very interesting and fun to see. there is a floating market along the way. thailand is awesome, you guys.  i don't know why i don't have pics from this... but it's in the vid:)

coke light. mmm. so refreshing there.

favorite in Bangkok was the backpacking district. it was this cool little street with tons of fun shopping and places to eat. lights going across the streets, music and a hip, thai crowd and backpackers passing through. it was very cool. and we got some good buys at tis place. khao suong, was the street name, i think... something like that. i loved it here, in fact we came back both nights we spent bangkok.

ok guys, this is it. bye thailand posts! this is the last of you! i miss it already. but really. get me out of utah. this snow and weather is KILLING ME.

and also, if you get the chance, you've got to go to thailand. it was absolutely amazing. and like i've said over and over, unreal. i'd recommend this trip to anyone. and like i also said... everyone needs to go to thailand!

**again thanks for the pics zach/dave/jen/rob/everyone

chiang mai

Oh, the elephants. 

we spent a day out in the country in Chiang Mai with the elephants, and the family who raised them. it was amazing. they elephants were to them what frank is to us. they really do just treat them like their pets. it's actually really endearing. the elephants know these guys and are close to them, it's very cool. 

they were so large and amazing up close like that. they were like funny little kids, some of them. we learned a lot of elephant facts - i'm sure zach can tell you all of them sometime  if you're interested. i'd recommend this elephant adventure to anyone, it was one of the best parts of the trip. and i really liked the excursions.

we bathed the elephants in the river and then rode them into the water. they were so hilarious, frolicking in the water. they were like little kids. seriously rolling around in the water splashing water at us. it was so crazy. unreal. and so awesome.

you couldn't help but smile pretty much the entire time you were with those giant mammals. in some pics i feel like i've never seen zach so happy!

the next day in chiang mai we took a scooter ride out to this park where no.tourists.go.
seriously, only thai people for miles.
and oh my gosh wait til you hear what they were all at this park for. we are talking hundreds and hundreds.
to boil eggs! they all went out there to boil eggs in this hot spring, then put their feet into the  mineral water course.
they call it the "Drink & Egg" which, to me, is so funny in and of itself.
anyway, the eggs were delicious. they give you a little soy sauce to enjoy them with. and i quite enjoyed mine and zach's.
but then on our scooter ride home, it didn't sit so well. it's fine though. worth it.

then we scootered through one of their national parks. up and through the entire park until we reached the other side. on the other side was a small village where i swear they had never seen a white person in their life. we were just with sloth and cait at this point, and it was pretty awesome. the kids came to the window to see us ride by and wave to us, and the little village was very cool to see.

on the way home though it was dark.and.FREEZING.

we stopped about halfway - after riding through the canyon and on the freeway on the back of a scooter - to get anything that would cover our arms. short sleeves and a skirt was not cutting it and we were seriously freezing.

so we picked up some beautiful second-hand thai men's flannels and they were PERFECT. the thai people at the market were laughing at us as we walked out with our new gear on.

we took a thai cooking class while we were there as well. it was so fun! i have yet to make one of the dishes we learned, but i WILL one of these days. i know it doesn't sound like the funnest (not a word?) thing in the world, but honestly, i would tell anyone to make sure to do this while you're there. they just make it so fun and entertaining and very cool and so very delicious.
we went to the market and our guide lady showed us the ropes -  what to get and why and where.
then we went back and chose our meals we wanted to make and made them. then enjoyed, enjoyed, enjoyed.
and it was amazing. one of the best meals i had.
and you get a cooking book at the end... so i really am going to try them out on my own, you guys.
WHAT? I AM.

niners again. for the love. these two.

temples and shopping. one of the best things about Chiang Mai was the shopping. so many handmade, unique things to look at, buy, taste, enjoy. it was awesome. we need to go back just for the shopping! there are a few things i regret not buying already.

oh and the very best massage i got in all of thailand was here. i was wandering around one afternoon and ran into this little place. and boy. so glad i did! i will dream about that massage for years to come. best $10 spent (a little pricier than most - i almost didn't go for it. it's crazy how you start to think a $10 hour and a half massage is not a good deal when you're out there...).

and new years eve in Chiangmai was the best. no place i'd rather be. (and no alcohol was allowed in the town square...which was kind of nice). people were lighting off floating lanterns all over town, and especially in the town square. thousands went up all night long, along with fireworks. it was an amazing sight. and such a good memory to have. it really was just like Tangled, i'd never seen anything like it.

oh and the FOOD.. do i talk about food too much? there were food vendors LINING the streets. we tried it all, pretty much. it was so fun. a band and all.

chiang mai, you treated us well.
everyone needs to go to thailand!!!

why i love valentine's day

because everyone wears PINK!
fresh flowers all over. my favorite.
because it's all about celebrating those you love. valentine or not.
because i was one of those girls who picked the perfect card for each person in the class to put in their vday box. and still love finding/receiving the perfect card.
and now, because i have the best of valentines... he really is a good one. he was my first valentine when i was 18, and he's going to be mine fooor-evvvv-errrrrr. love you zach. thanks for running errands with me all day on saturdays and wanting to watch my shows with me some nights and for motivating me to work out to make me feel better and for taking our pup on long walks at night and for making me feel good about myself all the time and making me be a better person, even when it's easier not to be and for loving my family and being crazy about your neices and nephews and for taking care of our little family of me and you... i love you. like, a lot.

now go to costco rather than smith's marketplace for flowers this year:)
(baby steps, guys... he already knows im not a roses girl, we take this husband training thing one year at a time;)). (and costco quality can't be beat, but you all already know how i feel about costco...).

Phuket, Thailand

I cannot say enough good things about phuket. or Thailand for that matter. i feel like we did all the right things. and that is thanks to our tour guide and trip planner, candice sherman. her and rob basically did all the research and planning and we really just went along for the ride. we had just enough beach days and busy days and i left thailand feeling like we did it perfectly. and it did not go unappreciated, we love you for taking care of us cand - she knew exactly what we'd want to do and couldn't miss. so if you need suggestions.... go to cand. (or ask me, i have a spreadsheet i could send ya:)).

other than the tsunami that was the day after xmas 8 years ago (i would suggest seeing the movie Impossible AFTER going to thailand...if at all... it freaked me out so bad) phuket is perfect. and those Thai people! i cannot say enough good things about them either. the way they portrayed them in the movie is truly how they are. good hearted and kind. and funny. i never felt uneasy or threatened while we were there, the people wanted to help us and wanted to make our experience in thailand a good one. they are great people.

we went to thailand with zachs family. minus jess’s family (our babies) and we missed them terribly. it was not the same without them or jess and jon. we also missed mac mac, who had to spend his first christmas with grandma belnap... but he wont remember, and we had to have his parents with us... so sorry mac guy! maybe next year we will let you have your parents for xmas.;)

we also had matt (sloth) and cait with us. slothy is one of zachs very best friends and has been for years and years. and cait is his cute wife. we love caitlin to pieces. and they are the best to travel with... many trips to come, k guys?! they don’t have a choice so i dont know why there was a question mark there. it was honestly so much fun to have them there along with the fam. they fit right in. 

jen, candice’s good friend (and all of ours) also joined our team. she is a blast. party all the time with jen jen. so fun.

and aunt steph. zach’s aunt. unfortunately she didn’t bring her bag of nail polish (we are talking hundreds of OPI nail polishes. pure heaven), but we love our stephy. game to do whatever. which is nice to have with a group of TWELVE.

Phuket was a beachtown. we hit a lot of beaches while there and hung out in the town at night. the town had a lot a lot of shopping and street food, massage parlors and people. it was such a fun town. we spent a lot of time walking up and down those streets. it's funny how they all sell basically the same thing, yet we were still buying stuff up until the day we left. it never got old. and the people are so cute! another thing i loved about them is they don't beg for their money (like many places do like when you get off cruises, etc), they work for it. phuket is a tourist-y area, but every person is at least selling something and have some pride in what they do. i appreciated that.

We were in Phuket for the first week of the trip. we did two days of excursions, which were absolutely amazing. and the rest were basically beach days (which i also looove).

I've kind of grouped the excursions together in pictures, but one day we did pha nang bay and the other day we did the phi phi islands.

The first excursion was probably my favorite day of the trip. we had the same tour guide for both days, and we loved him - Supe. He took us to all the right places at all the right times.

First, We went to a pretty little beach on a small island where we were basically the only people there. some snorkeled, some laid on the beach, some climbed a rope and swung on a swing-thing. it was very fun. We went to another area where we got on canoes and thai men canoed us through and between little islands. it was so beautiful and fun. i wasn't the most excited for this part, but it was one of my favorites. Then we went to an islands all on stilts. this is where they fed us the best thai lunch we'd had. i'm still thinking about the food. then we toured the island. it was pretty amazing. and incredibly unique. the children grow up there, go to school there, everything. it was fascinating. He took us to many other beautiful beaches and islands and places that were unreal. absolutely unreal. do this tour if you go.

Second, he took us to the "beaches" beach (The movie...that im pretty sure none of us had ever seen but was honestly probably the most gorgeous beach of them all... and that is saying something), showed us "james bond rock," took us to monkey beach, took us to a snorkeling spot, and a few other amazing beach and places. and another absolutely amazing lunch. on the same island that we had to take zach to when he decided to cherry drop off a swing into the ocean and hit his head on a rock. he had to get stitches at this place. it was just awful. tetnis shot - in. numbing shot - in. stitches - in. they don't waste one second of time. zach said he could feel every stitch, his hands were white, clenching onto the sides of the bed, and he could see blood dripping from his head into a bucket on the ground. this is where i walked out of the room because i was going to pass out and let nurse cait take over. she did much better taking care of my husband. they also stitched a bandage to his head, for whatever reason. it was weird.

niners game. i think this was around 4am. no keeping these boys away from their niners.

(cab ride from the airport... after 36/1500 hrs of traveling)

the city. we just fell in love with this little town. and here are acouple of things i want to remember about it...

1. the boys all got tailored suits made. they picked out the fabric and went in for several fittings - and they turned out really really good. zach got a 3 piece, he’s always wanted one. and it turned out awesome. he looks so good in it. i’ll let you all see sometime;)
2. the massages. i think some of us got a massage of some sort every day. pedicures, manicures, thai massages, oil massages, reflexology... everyday. and the best part FIVE BUCKS. not even kidding $5-$7 for every massage we got. and i got some of the best massages i’ve ever had. the first day there, after the never-ending flight, we went and got a thai massage and it seriously hit the spot. i dont think anyone could ever give a thai massage quite liek a thai lady (or lady boy in dave’s case). they are tiny ladie and they just walk all over your back and twist and pull you in ways you never thought were possible. it’s insane and so painful, but amazing all at the same time. anyways, after it’s over you feel like a whole new person. and after our  flight to get there, nothing felt better than that.
3. the beach was literally across the street form the main part of town. there was a warm breeze and it beaches make everything better.
4. we rented scooters and rode all over town. it was a blast. at night, during the day, to and from our house up the road from the town. it was awesome and we got to see some really cool places that way. although...if you are not an experienced scooter rider - freaky. thai people drive like maniacs are they are all crammed on the road with no rules/laws holding them back. 
5. crepes.every.night. we found the best crepe guy in phuket and were loyal to him. he was quite the artist:) he even scraped fresh coconut for us. mm. coconut, nutella, banana. that was me.
6. the little restaurant by our house was really yummy.best mango sticky rice all trip. and that is saying something. and yummy pad thai. mm.
7. our secret beach. we found a secluded little beach one dat that we had to hike down to. it was so beautiful and, like i’ve said, unreal. i swear it has been in a movie... when we first found it we just jumped in the water like little kids and splashed around. it was exactly what we pictured thailand to look like and be. and the only way to get to this beach was by boat or by this little trail that we happened to stumble into. there is a little place to eat that was very delicious. 
8. best egg mcmuffin of my life. thailand mickey d’s knows how to do it. hot, fresh, delicious.

phuket, we loved you. i cant stop looking at these pictures (or the hundreds of others we took).

**pics are courtesy of zach, dave, jen, kels, rob, etc etc etc.