Disneyland Anniversary Trip

i most definitely hit the husband jackpot with david. not only does he want to be a pilot, but he also loves adventure and will go along with my ideas including visiting disney as much as possible.

we decided for our first anniversary to visit disneyland again. not only did we get engaged there, but it is my most favorite place on earth. i love it so much and could probably live there. we bought our tickets way back in february because there was an awesome deal going on and played the waiting game. the dates in september worked out a little better for us than over our actual anniversary and we loved disney this time of year.

we left early wednesday morning and arrived at the park only a little after opening. it was not too busy and we immediately rode a ton of rides. after playing in disneyland for a few hours, we jumped over to california adventure and played there. it was so much fun. in true david and emily vacation fashion, we found our way to the grand californian lobby and took a little nap. it was much needed and we felt so refreshed the rest of the day.

we ended the night in disneyland with the new paint the night parade and disneyland forever firework show. both were incredible. the parade was so fun and the firework show was even better. disney sure does know how to do things right.

the next day we had a magic morning for disneyland and rode space mountain, star tours and astro blasters right away. it was a lot of fun. side note: they revamped the matterhorn which made for a much more pleasant riding experience. we skipped around from park to park and watched world of color. they also re did that for the 60th anniversary and it was amazing. it was great before, but now it really highlights the legacy walt left behind. we watched the firework show from the front row in disneyland again and it was even more amazing. they say it is a different experience from every place in the park and this was the best yet.

the final day in disney we started in california adventure and met olaf! i am obsessed with anything frozen and meeting olaf sure was fantastic. we were walking around the park one day and i sort of laughed to myself and told david i loved disneyland because it is acceptable to walk around wearing minnie mouse ears on your head and it doesn't matter what age you are. you can still enjoy it at any time in your life.

on saturday we made our way to downtown la to the fabric district. i have dreamed of this place for months. i could not wait to go. i saved up was so excited. it blew my mind. i could not believe how fantastic this place was. we stayed for 3 hours and i could have been there for 6 more. i got over 60 yards of fabric and i cannot wait to start sewing! i am now a pro packer getting all of that fabric to fit into 2 carry on suitcases and 2 carry on bags with the rest of our other stuff.

after the fabric district fun, we went to the beach. no vacation is complete without a beach in david's book. it was fun to just relax in the sun and hang out after days of walking (we walked over 40 miles in three days).

we wrapped up saturday night watching utah annihilate oregon as well as wandering through downtown disney.

sunday- we relaxed, packed up and explored downtown disney some more. we wandered through the disneyland hotel and that was so fun. one day we will be able to stay there:) we shopped a little more and then headed into la to visit the temple. it was really neat to see. i love when temples are smack dab in the middle of a busy street in a city and this glorious site is just in your face. it is always special to see different temples.

after we saw rodeo drive and then aldcla. this was especially exciting because dance moms is my favorite show and guilty pleasure. i can't help but to love it.

 i am a wimp when it comes to splash mountain. it is my favorite ride, but i hate getting wet

 david's face :) :)

New York-the end

 Our final day in New York was my birthday! we decided to try a frozen s'more which also happens to be at the same bakery as the famous cronut. We didn't plan on getting one because we figured at 11 they would be sold out. We walked up there and the line was so short! We only had to wait about 20 minutes and the cronut was completely worth it. So freaking good. Worth the hype, worth the wait. Ours was peach and i have no real words to describe it except for amazing. We also got the frozen smore there which was my favorite treat of the entire trip. It is ice cream wrapped in a marshmallow torched right in front of you. It was delicious. 

After we went to Central Park and walked around there for a little bit and then went down to the high line and walked around there for a little bit. After that we went back to Bleeker street pizza.

We saw the flatiron building which David had been talking about the entire trip. And we made our way back to the hotel to go home. 

We had one last shack burger at the airport and headed home. 

I always hate leaving New York. I would pack up and move there tomorrow if I could. Until next time.. 

Football Season

The start of this football season was completely bittersweet. It marks the last first football game as a Muss member, and it makes me so sad. David and I are lucky enough to be in the front row and I am telling ya, there is nothing better. We get on tv quite often and the jumbo tron. Priorities. 

This year is especially incredible because I serve on The Muss Board. It has opened my eyes to countless experiences that I would not have had otherwise. I get to be way more involved with the school and football in general. Being in the front is one of the most incredible things. I have always been in amazing Muss groups that get way into the game, but the front is the craziest, rowdiest, most fun environment ever. It is seriously the best.  

College football has always been a big deal in my family and I am glad my dad and brother were so obsessed. I have many favorite teams and love the sport so much. 

new york pt.2

After some much needed sleep on day two... we headed to coney island because that is one thing none of us have ever seen. it was such a fun place. as david said... every vacation needs a beach. we just walked around had lunch on the pier, and headed back into the city. 

we went to grand central for some black and white cookies from zaro, which is hands down are the best black and white cookie in the city. we explored the station a little, showed david whispering alley, got a smores cupcake from magnolias and went to macys to play on the old wooden escalators. 

After that, we went to soho and got the much anticipated BIg Gay Ice Cream. Oh man was it delicious. I think it was one of the best ice cream cones I had ever tasted. Yum. We also tried pizza from Joe's which was reccomended to us and  it didn't disappoint. I think we ate more pizza in three days than I have in one year. 

After that we called it a night. 

Day three- we took a walk through Washington square park to get to a little shop called bantam bagels... Sound familiar? Do you watch shark tank? They were on shark tank last season for their stuffed bagels. They were delicious. We finished our first set and decided we wanted a couple more flavors.

We explored and then made our way to the upper west side. We saw the temple, Lincoln center, and made our way to the famous Levain Bakery which had the best chocolate peanut butter cookie ever. 

I guess we really just had a lot of treats because that is all I have pictures of. We walked around some more and made our way back to soho for... You guessed it, more pizza. This time at Bleeker Street Pizza which according to their sign was voted the best pizza in New York for 4 years or so. It was delicious. 

Another fantastic thing we tried in between treats.. The grilled corn at cafe Havana. I still dream about that delicious corn. It was incredible. 

We took a ferry ride later that night and saw lady Liberty. After we walked around battery park to watch the sunset on our last night in New York. It was gorgeous. 

taylor swift

Have you ever had a weekend where great things were happening single day and you didn't know which to be most excited for?!?

Labor Day weekend was that perfect weekend. It started off Thursday with the Michigan game and Friday Taylor Swift and Saturday was a day of relaxation (which neither David and I had been home for in a month or so) and Sunday we went to Idaho for a family reunion. 

But let's talk about queen Taylor for a minute. Best. Concert. Ever. Taylor has been my favorite person ever since her days of opening at Cheyenne Frontier Days in Wyoming. Back when she was just learning how to perform live. I have been to every tour with the exception of Speak Now and I was on an LDS mission or else I would not have missed it (I actually had tickets but had to give them up). 

Meghan and I bought tickets back in December and played the waiting game along with 50,000 other fans until September when she finally came. We had general admission tickets and knew we wanted to be at the rail in the first row. Mission accomplished. We waited in line starting at 8am which may or may not have been a little bit of a waste of time but that's ok. Waiting in line is part of the fun. We made new friends, I did homework, and built up the anticipation for the greatest concert ever. 

Finally they opened the doors and we booked it to the pit and made it to the front row at the rail. life made. It was the best thing ever. 

Taylor was incredible. She always puts on a good show but this one was especially incredible. Plus she made eye contact with every single person in the front. It was amazing. She also gave out bracelets to everyone in the arena and they lit up in sync with which song she was singing.  Love her. Loved the night. 

I had to lean back to take a lot of these pictures because she was so close!