Totally unexpected

You know how I mentioned in a previous blog post about how I am bummed that we haven't had a chance to see Andy, Gaby and the girls since coming back to the U.S.? Well...the craziest thing happened and now Adam and I are heading to Thailand, Myanmar (Burma), and Taiwan starting this Friday! Last week Adam and I were talking about how we needed to really do something with our American Airlines miles. Since Andy and Gaby are now living in Taiwan, we decided to check once again to see if we could use our miles (we called once before and they said there was no availability). Andy mentioned that he was going to Thailand/Myanmar and as luck would have it, all worked out and we are leaving this Friday! I AM SOOOO EXCITED...but totally unprepared!

This will be our first international trip since coming back from Ecuador. Oddly enough, I am nervous about traveling to countries where I can't speak the language. It never worried/concerned me before because mime-ing was just part of the fun. I promise you that I didn't speak a lick of Turkish (pathetic attempts at saying "teşekkür ederim" came out as "tea, sugar, a deer...um"). I think that I got used to being able to get around in Ecuador through verbal communication that I have forgotten what it is like to be in another country and be able to say NOTHING. Since I don't have enough time to learn Thai or Burmese, and I certainly won't be able to brush up on my Mandarin (it is really pathetic...no puedo entender ni hablar el idioma de Taiwan...wo ting bu dong, haha), I guess I am out of luck...should be fun!

I can say that I am definitely looking forward to my second trip to Taiwan. I really enjoyed our trip a few years ago and I know this one will also be unforgettable! Looking forward to Taiwanese snacks and street food! No stinky tofu, pigs blood or squid on a stick though!

Andy and Gaby...here we come!!

April Update! Family Time, National Parks, and More!!

Adam and I have been all over the place last month, and I just didn't get a chance to update. We were able to spend some quality time with Adam's parents during the first few weeks of April before we headed to Utah for more family time! We took a trip out to Jemez on one day (gorgeous weather!) and also visited the Albuquerque BioPark (the botanical gardens and the aquarium).

Battleship Rock in Jemez

Saw a wooden bear!

Tulips and daffodils at the botanical gardens

Japanese garden

We also took Cuba out a few times to throw the ball around. 

Taking a breather with the ball

Cuba with her eye on the ball! 

We drove to Utah from Albuquerque in mid-April, only to arrive in Salt Lake City right as a snowstorm came in. On our first day at Susan's house, we awoke to a nice layer of snow cover (at least a foot!). To enjoy the April snow, Paul, Susan & I had hot chocolate and went snowshoeing in Mill Creek Canyon (Adam stayed at home to bake lemon cupcakes with Jared). We also cooked yummy food (sweet and savory crepes!) and went out to Korean food (if you are in SLC, Myung Ga has delicious bulgogi, cucumber kimchi, and spicy tofu soup!).

During the week we headed up north to see Amy, Kevin and the family. As always, time went by too fast and we weren't able to do everything together that we would love to. Though I did get to fake-eat mudpies made by the nieces!

Mmm, mud cake and mud chip cookies anyone? (notice how nice the weather is...only 2 days after the snows!)

We then spent the following weekend with Susan and Paul again- mostly lounging, reading books, taking some short hikes, and watching movies. It was a super relaxing and nice visit before heading to our next destinations- Bryce Canyon National Park and Zion National Park.

Both parks were absolutely gorgeous. We didn't have our camping gear with us, so we didn't camp but we were able to enjoy the park nonetheless and also attend a lot of ranger programs. We enjoyed seeing all the hoodoo formations in Bryce Canyon- very cool colors and shapes. It was National Park Week so entrance was free, but shockingly it wasn't too busy. Bryce Canyon is a very small park and many of the hiking trails in the south were still snow covered. And as always, click on the photos to see a larger image.

It was a little chilly- good thing we had all weather clothing!

Zion National Park was a little bit more crowded. Adam and I entered from the east entrance, so we had the chance to drive through the tunnels. We did several hikes while in Zion- lots of gorgeous views. We did encounter large crowds on some of the short paved hikes, but on the more moderate ones, it was nice and tranquil!

Adam actually posed for a photo! Hooray!

After enjoying the gorgeous parks, we headed back to California! Susan came down and we celebrated her birthday. We ate, relaxed, watched movies, took walks, chatted, and just spent lots of time together as family, which was amazing. I've been really appreciative of our time between things. If only Andy & Gaby were closer!

This was super early in the morning when Susan and Betty were leaving so we are all a little tired!

We are going to be in California for the next month or so until we.......move to Boulder, CO!! Adam will be going to grad school at CU Boulder this fall. We plan to move to Boulder in July or August (depending on when we can get an apartment), so I will be job searching over the next few months. Wish me luck!! We are going to be moving pretty far from my parents and Betty, so I am glad we have had the past several months to spend with them!