ALASTAIR + LALEINIA

Natural Bridges, Santa Cruz, CA It has been decided that 2011 was officially the best year of our lives so far. So much has happened, most importantly getting married in the Oakland, CA temple in April. Since then, life has been wonderful and we have been blessed more than we realize. We really are thankful to our friends and family, and most importantly to God, our Heavenly Father, for a great 2011. Who knows what 2012 has in store for us! For New Years Eve, we decided that we would go down to Santa Cruz to see the Natural Bridges and celebrate a New Year. After the sun went down, we went to the Arcade by the Santa Cruz boardwalk to play some Skeeball and other favorite games. After burning through all of our tokens, we were amazed to see that it was only 8:30pm, and so we jumped in the car and drove to San Francisco for the New Years Fireworks. And what a decision that was. As we were stuck in the crazy traffic out of San Francisco, we talked and created our bucket lis...

Following the age old tradition, December 27th had to be spent in the city of San Francisco. In true Wharf style, it was appropriate and necessary that Alastair would wear his yellow coat. He did. They didn't really do much, but being there was enough. Memorable moments include getting a coveted free parking space, miles away from their final destination, and eating at Chowders on Pier 39. However, it must be said that the time spent at the arcade was not only educational, but fun. Alastair and Laleinia spent large amounts of money ($8) that would make any parent cringe, but the games were so enjoyable that the cash was a small price to pay for the wonderful experience that was the museum of past and modern arcade history.

It was long, it was winding, and it was a road. That was our trip. We left Rexburg for Modesto making stops in Salt Lake City, Provo, St. George, Las Vegas and Barstow (for our sins). Some highlights from our trip: Salt Lake City: In the Tabernacle at Temple Square, Lain found this wonderful seat. We were trying to decide which seat would be the worst, can you imagine sitting right behind this pillar? We didn't get married in Salt Lake, but we got our picture here anyways! We were joined on our trip by Chris and Naty. Also worth a special mention was Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, which we saw in the cinema with Kip.  Las Vegas: Upon arriving at the Imperial Palace on the Las Vegas Strip, we were notified that we would be upgraded from a normal room to the deluxe bed chamber. Bounding into the room, Alastair told Laleinia that the view from their deluxe room would surely overlook the lights of the strip. Upon ripping back the curtai...

Since Alastair is in Pocatello on some business class excursion and he woke me up really early and we haven't written in a while, I thought I'd give this blog thing a try! We officially have no place to call home. We are vagabonds, or nomads, whatever term you prefer! Personally, I prefer the word vagabond because I have no home and no job. Yesterday was my last shift putting away books and more books at D.I. When Alastair and I were both working, I joked that I was doing more manual labor than him (Alastair sat in front of a computer while I lifted many heavy objects and was constantly on my feet). Nonetheless we both pulled our weight and helped each other out financially!  Another thing in our life is finishing up this week... SCHOOL! Let me just say, I am so ecstatic that school is almost done! We have been so busy with projects, class trips, laminating, print jobs, tests, etc. Alastair is such a smart cookie and it amazes me! Words cannot describe how intelligent ...

Moving brings with it many challenges. The debacle over which shoes stay and which shoes go was an especially intense affair. It had to be carried out at midnight, and like ripping off a band-aid, Laleinia severed the emotional attachment with X-amount pairs of shoes. Watch the exclusive footage here.

Well Ladies and Gentlemen, the time has almost come to leave our first nesting ground. Just like the birds, we are soon migrating to a warmer climate in an attempt to escape the frigidity that is the Rexburg winter. In an attempt to immortalize our first home, and also to try out our new camcorder, we have put together this cheesy apartment video. To be honest, we don't expect anyone to make it through this six minute educational video, and that is alright. And before anyone asks, Alastair is not the Pianist in the song, nor is Laleinia playing the recorder. Or are they...

Well first of all it was nice to be back on the road with a chance of seeing something interesting together. What made it even better was being in our new car! We are getting rid of Burberry (the Land Rover) because we can't justify the lack of fuel economy any longer. We'll buy another Land Rover some day when we have tons of money! Back on the road. Anyways, we were smiling all the way there because we knew we were getting way better miles per gallon in the new car (which is yet to be named) than the old one. Living in Rexburg we are so close to Yellowstone. We really should go more often! First time in Montana together. We drove through and stopped quickly in West Yellowstone, a small town in the south-west corner of Montana, from which we entered Yellowstone national park. Good job we brought our own food since it was about $20 for food in that town! Alastair's first trip to Yellowstone  Alastair had never been to Yellowstone, which is one of Lalein...

Denver, CO It was time for another Dragons road trip, the last and most adventurous of the season. School and work were missed on Friday as we hit the road at 6am from Rexburg, ID to Colorado springs.  In this car all weekend We got there about 90 minutes before the 8pm kick-off, and had a really good game. After 90 minutes the score was 1-1, and so we went to a shoot out. Shoot-out Everyone of the five Dragons players scored their penalty, and the game was won as one of the Colorado Springs players hit the bar with his. Get in! I'm going to pretend that we ended on a high and didn't get destroyed the following afternoon by the University of Wyoming in Laramie, WY. Madison Dragons 2011 Because of Lain having to work in Rexburg, this was the first night that we had been apart since we got married! We don't want too many more of those!

Well here it is, the first six months of marriage in photos! We hope you enjoy it as much as we did! April 16th 2011 - October 16th 2011

Well we have been married for six whole months now, and so here is an update of where we have been together! We know it is pretty weak, but hopefully six months or a year from now it might just be a little better! We need to pick up the pace!