Oregon Trip August 2013

I want to post about this trip because we did a lot and took a lot of pictures.  I'm sorry Smith family that I didn't get many pictures of the family reunion.

For Oregon, this was our basic outline.  Warning, this may be picture overload.

Friday, Aug 16 - We flew to Portland, got our rental and drove my sister's house in Eugene.  We arrived around 4 in the morning I believe.  We got just about now sleep.  My brothers chose to stay at my sister's house to help keep her awake and get some time away from the parents.

Saturday, Aug 17 - We took my sister out to breakfast at Voodoo Donuts.  She wasn't going on the rest of the trip with us because she had to work, so this was a good way to spend time with her.  We then went to Florence, to go Dune Buggying.

Peter wanted to play Mini-Golf, so we did.  Jared is a cheater at the game, so Peter followed his example.  It became a legit game between my dad and me and then a joke game between Peter and Jared.







Sunday, Aug 18 - We spent the day in Newport.  My dad, Jared, and I went to church and totally ran into the Elders and one of them was Elder Hyde.  He was one of my lifeguards from Daybreak last summer.  It was a funny coincidence.  After that, we went to the Aquarium.

Monday, Aug 19 - This may have been my favorite day of the trip.  We went to Astoria, saw the Goonies House, Astoria Tower, and a Zip Line Tour.  

       

At Astoria Tower, We hiked up to the top and Jared had forgotten his cell phone in the car and wanted to take pictures.  Peter said he could run to the car and back in less than five minutes.  We took the dare and he managed to do in a little more three.  We now wonder why he is not doing Cross Country with school this year.  

Tuesday, Aug 19 - Silverton.  We stayed at my Gradnpa's house during our time here.  My dad, Jared, and I went to the temple first thing in the morning then joined my mom for the 10 falls hike at Silver Falls.  Finally, for dinner, grandpa wanted to go to Home Country Buffet and all of the adults forgot their cards, so I ended up footing the bill. (Yes, I got reimbursed, but good thing I had my purse on me.)

 Wednesday, Aug 20 - we drove through the gorge.  I took Jared up to Menucha, where I went to Danish Camp every summer and we enjoyed the sights along the Columbia River.

Thursday, Aug 21 - This was another one of the days I was excited about.  Sadly, it was a cold day, so our day of rafting wasn't as good as the other times I have been.  We also took Jared to Shaniko.

Friday, Aug 22 - Drove down to Bend and spent a day relaxing.  It was definitely needed after a busy week.

at Smith Rock

Riding Bikes at the Resort

Saturday, Aug 23 - Crater Lake

We hiked to the lake edge.  We also got tickets for the boat ride around the lake.

Of course the picture from the edge of the Crater is on my phone.  It is quite beautiful though. 

We then had to go home to Las Vegas.  I can't wait for our next adventure.

Long Time Needed Update

So it has been the longest time since we have updated our blog.  I do apologize for this.  I will try better in the future.

Jared
-Still employed with Cafe Rio
-Attending school at Nevada State College instead of College of Southern Nevada.  CSN was a community college, so he needed to get his residency to move into a 4-year school.  He is really enjoying his coursework this semester.
-When he isn't doing one of the two above, he is spending time with his wife, or researching grad programs.

Robin
-Still employed for Childs' Play (for about a week more)
-Will start working at Cancun Resort shortly, as their new Pool Manager.
-Spends time cooking and crafting when not working.
-Robin had her birthday so she is now 25.  We went to eat Maggiano's to celebrate.

Our Family
-We went on two trips this summer.  We went to Utah for Jared's Family Reunion in June.  We also went to Oregon to spend time with Robin's family.
-We are working at being healthier.

Big Brother

Jared and I may have different styles of TV shows that we prefer.  We do have a few we watch together.  However, one show that Robin watches is Big Brother.  This last season, the second place contestant was in Las Vegas for a conference and chose to hold an informal meet-up at the Rio, to meet fans of the show.  Robin was able to quickly go and meet Dan.

One Year Anniversary

Jared and I have been married for one year now.  I really can't believe its been a year already.

The highlights in this first year include. . .

• We celebrated our marriage, by going to Disneyland.
• Robin graduated college in August.
• We moved to Las Vegas.
• Having the Smith family over for Thanksgiving.
• Spending our first Christmas together by spending time with our friends and seeing Les Miserables.
• New Years was spent with Robin falling asleep and Jared supplying cheesecake and apple cider.

On Saturday, January 5th, we both worked earlier in the day.  After work, Jared and I went to Olive Garden for dinner.  We got one of the waiters to take our picture for us.  We found this idea on pinterest about taking a picture on our first anniversary with us and a wedding picture.  Next year, we will take a picture with us holding this year's picture and so on and so forth.  

Our Picture vs. What it will look like in a few years

We then went to the strip for a scavenger hunt.  It was done by a company called Strayboots.  They send your cell phone clues and then you respond with the answers.  We got to learn some fun things about the central part of the strip.  

Happy New Year!

Hi Everybody,
    Happy New Year! This is Jared typing. I thought I would try my skills at a blog post so here it goes. I hope all of you had a fun and safe holiday season. The New Year looks hopeful and full of surprises for everybody. Lets hope that 2013 is a good year for everybody. I thought I would give a little update on what Jared and Robin did over the holiday season.

    Overall, the holiday season was very relaxing and stress free. To sum up, I would say that for us it was simple and enjoyable. I worked Christmas Eve and the day after Christmas as well as New Years Eve and New Years so we stayed in Las Vegas this year. We weren't entirely alone. Christmas was spent with some really good friends who were also in town for the holidays.

     Here is a brief summary of some of the things Robin and I did when we weren't working or involoved in other activities.

     One night the two of us went to the Bellagio Resort and Casino to see there Christmas exhibit that is displayed in the hotels botanical garden conservatory. There was a really big, massive real tree all decorated. There were other exhibits as well including one behind the front desk of the hotel.

                                                                     The Big Tree

 

                                                                    This is made from real flowers

 

 

                                                  This was the display behind the front desk


   We also went to the rooftop of the observation overlook at the Cosmopolitan. The pool was turned into an ice skating rink. The bar had hot chocolate available and there were fire pits with chairs for people to sit and enjoy the warmth of the fire.

The view of the strip from the obervation deck of the Cosmopolitan

 

We also spent a lot of time watching Christmas shows, reading Christmas books and endulging in the spirit of the season.

 

   On Christmas Day we woke up early, which bytheway I dont really do. My alarm is usually set for 9am. :) We headed over to our friends, the Diesters too see their children open up their presents. The kids, Isaac and Isabell got lots of toys. The big gift Isaac liked was his Cozy Coupe.

Some assembly required. Fun trying to put it together

   Attempting to put the Cozy Coupe together was interesting. Isaac kept getting in it and pushing it across the floor. Also, the youtube instructional videos are totally inaccurate. They make it look so simple. I guess the key to putting a plastic car together is to not have a kid in it during the assembly process. :)

 

   We spent the day with the Diesters socializing and enjoying each others company. In the evening we all gathered for a traditional Christmas turkey dinner. I loved spending the day with the and seeing the kids.

  

   Robin and I did break away, headed back to the house and did our own little christmas. We opened presents. She got me a book I really wanted, Anne of Green Gables movie and a wii gift card to use to download games onto the wii from the wii store. I got her a really nice set of pearls complete with necklace, earrings, and bracelet. We also received a pizza stone. The highlight of the season was Robin and myself seeing Les Miserables Christmas morning. It was amazing.

 

 

 

That about sums up our Holiday Season for Robin and I but before I end this post there is just one more thing I needed to update. For New Years we stayed at home. Robin wasn't really feeling well so we didnt want to go anywhere. She stayed home and I went to Cafe Rio to get us dinner as well as Cheesecake from the cheesecake factory. At midnight, we opened a bottle of sparkling cider and endulged ourselves in cheesecake. :)

 

Well thats it. That is the update from Robin and Jared and our lives in Las Vegas. Be the best you can be this year. Happy 2013!

 









Thanksgiving

This year, we stayed in Vegas and Jared's family came to us.  His parents stayed with us and his sister and her family stayed down the street in a condo.

The family arrived on Wednesday (after I did some shopping) and we went to the pool.

Thursday we celebrated Thanksgiving by getting catering by Smith's Grocery Store.  They provided a turkey, mashed potatoes, broccoli and cheese casserole, cranberry sauce, gravy, and stuffing.  Amanda made rolls, I made fruit salad and raspberry jello salad, and Jared's dad made pies.

After dinner, we went to the Cactus Botanical Garden and Chocolate Factory.  They decorated the cactus garden with lights and it was surprisingly very beautiful.  The chocolate factory has a free self-guided tour where they give you free chocolate.  The chocolate is delightful.

On Friday, I had to work.  Jared took the niece and nephew to the park.

Friday was a relaxing day for the most part.  Playing the Wii, watching movies, and socializing.

Saturday, Jared and I both had to work.  After we got home, we had homemade pizza and played games.

Sunday, we all attended Sacrament Meeting together for church and then split up.  Jared's family went back to Utah and we went home and to work.

***Raspberry Jello Pudding Recipe***

1 small package raspberry jello

1 small package instant vanilla pudding 

1 small package tapioca pudding

3 cups water

Bring to a coil stirring constantly

Cool and fold in.

1 small container Cool Whip

1 1/2 cups thawed raspberries

Refrigerate until served

Jared's 28th Birthday

Jared turned 28 on Monday.

We started off with going to Chili's for dinner.  Jared got ribs and I got a caribbean salad.

Jared had no idea where we were staying the night (all he knew was that a hotel was involved) so we drove around while Jared was trying to guess where we were going.  We ended up staying at the Golden Nugget.

I got us cheesecake from the cheesecake factory and the same sparkling apple cider we had when we stayed at the Anniversary Inn, when we got married.  It was great to spend time just the two of us.  

For Jared's present, I got him the Nashville Band's Tribute for missionaries.

I wrapped his gift in a cereal box to make it look like the gift was larger than a cd.  Look at how happy he is.