Catching Up Part 2: New Chapters

The Fonseca's have started a new chapter in our new married lives.

If you haven't already heard...

1. Where have you been living? Under a rock?

&

2. Tony and I are now living in Seattle!

Along with planning a wedding, Tony was going through an interview process with Amazon, and about 2 weeks before we got married was offered a job. So with the stress of getting all the finishing touches ready for the wedding, and moving into Tony's house, we were making a decision on whether or not we should move. After some heavy duty praying, a few pros and cons lists, and a trip to Seattle for Tony, we decided that this time in our lives was the best time to try something new and go on an adventure. So we had made the decision that Seattle was where we were headed. 

After the wedding and our amazing honeymoon, we were brought back to the reality that we were moving in 3 weeks. Tony and I both worked for a week and said our goodbyes to our jobs in Utah. 

Saying goodbye to Sportclips was extremely hard for me. I had been working there for 4 1/2 years and it had become a second home to me. I felt more comfortable there than almost anywhere else. Most of the clients that came into our store I knew not just as clients, but as friends. I knew them and they knew me. I knew a lot of their wives as well as their children. I had watched the children of many of my clients grow up. One-by-one I had to break the news to my clients. Many of them weren't surprised and they were all extremely supportive. And I will admit I had to hold back tears as many of my clients walked out the door for the last time as my client. And as my last day of work approached it was very bitter sweet. I was so excited to be moving with my new husband, to a new state (which I had actually never been to), and to start this new chapter in our life. But I was sad to be saying goodbye. 

So with my shears, clippers, and many empty Tupperware containers from many long days with short lunches inhaled in between clients, I tearfully waved goodbye to good ol' SC, and let out a big sigh.

The next week brought a lot of excitement! Tony and I headed to Seattle in search of a place to live. Our trip was short, sweet, and full of apartments. We only spent about 3 days there and each day was completely booked with appointments at different apartments. After the second full day we started losing track of each apartment. It was all becoming one big blurred apartment.

"Which apartment had the good view?" 

"Wait, was that the place that had the weird shaped bedroom?" 

There were many strong contenders. A lot of places that felt like they could be home. Feeling really stressed out, and starting to highly consider plan B (Amazon's corporate housing they offer, until we find a place), we went to our last appointment. As we walked into the elevator with nicely designed walls and tv, both in awe of the cool elevator, Tony looked at me and said "Dude, we're totally going to live here!" (Although Tony doesn't think he said "Dude".) We walked onto the main floor to find a busy, people-filled common area with coffee shop, small market, and restaurant! Again, I think we might have looked at each other thinking "This could be it!" As we met with the leasing agent and went to look at a few available apartments, we just couldn't believe this place actually existed. It was everything we had been looking for. Modern, in budget, great location, within walking distance of Amazon, decent amount of space, and storage!! 

It almost felt too good to be true. The rest of the night as we forced ourselves to continue to take into consideration all of the other places we had seen, we kept coming back to this last place. Nothing compared and we couldn't get it out of our heads. We decided to make our decision. The last place was it! The next day we headed back to the apartment to put a deposit down and start the process! 

Afterwards, still in disbelief of what just happened, we decided to do a little sightseeing since we hadn't had time before then. Tony surprised me and we headed to the space needle! It was quite the experience looking out from the top of the space needle, to our soon to be neighborhood. It was definitely a moment I will never forget. After taking in the great view we headed to the airport to catch our flight....or so we thought.

After arriving the suggested 2 hours prior to our flight, we waited patiently to board our flight. We waited. And waited. And waited a little more. Finally the voice came over the intercom saying our plane was broke and they were fixing it. Meanwhile I started to complain...just a little bit...because the next day was my birthday, and I was not spending my birthday in an airport!!!!!!

Later. Another voice on the intercom saying we were not leaving that night, and we would be stuck there until tomorrow morning. Cool. Well luckily Delta put us up in a hotel for the night. We would be back the next morning at 4:30 to catch our 6 am flight. Only to be delayed another 2 hours.
Finally.... we were in the air headed back to Utah...on my birthday. 

Luckily I have an amazing husband who planned an amazing day for me. We did a little birthday shopping! Went to lunch with my family at Chic-Fil-A (which I'm craving super bad right now...they don't exist in Seattle.) And had an amazing dinner at The Melting Pot. 

It was a great birthday week in Seattle with a great birthday to end the week! 

3 days later the movers showed up. Packed up our house. And we started the drive to our new home in Seattle. 

Although much smaller than our previous home in Saratoga Springs, our new home is just as great in many other ways. We live right downtown, in the midst of the hustle and bustle of the city. Our view from our apartment is incredible, especially at night with all the city lights. And although our furniture barely fits, and its a little crammed, we've made it home. And it now feels like home. 

And with that of course we felt like we needed to add this little cutie to our family!
Introducing....Pixel!

The newest member of the Fonseca family! (Who get spoiled far more than she should...from us...and my mom who considers her a grandpuppy.)

She too enjoys our view. This is a normal activity for her. 

So we spent Thanksgiving in Seattle with just the two of us. It was actually really nice to really break in our apartment (after a month of living there already) with a huge Thanksgiving dinner made by....yours truly, ME!

Turkey, ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes, corn, and rolls!

It was quite the success!!

We are now fully into the Christmas season with our apartment all decorated and our tree lit up! Tony and I grew up with different Christmas tree expectations. He grew up with real trees, and I grew up with fake trees. So I was excited to have a real tree this year! It was really fun to have it delivered and to have the fresh smell of pine fill our apartment. 

This is above the sliding door to our bedroom.

On the bookcase in the "entryway."

"Family Christmas Photo"

Pixel is not so fond of selfies.

But now I am excited to head back home to Utah for Christmas. I am excited to visit my family and spend some time with them. And of course go to Chic-fil-a and Cafe Rio! 

Catching Up Part 1:Hawaii

There has been a lot going on since we got married, and I have a lot I want to share with the crowd. But I felt like I need to get caught up first before I add more. 

Catching up part 1.

Prepare for photo overload.

Don't say I didn't warn you.

One word folks. 

Hawaii.

The honeymoon might have actually been one of the firsts things we set in stone during the wedding planning. Lets be honest we just wanted a nice, long, relaxing honeymoon somewhere neither of us had been before. And after discussing different places and crossing places off the list because they were too over the top (Bora Bora...one day we shall meet) we decided Hawaii was the perfect place for us. 

So next step was deciding which island, which was actually quite difficult to decide on. It came down to Oahu or Maui. We had so many people tell us "Oh you have to go to Oahu" or "Maui is the best island you can't beat it."  We decided that Oahu was where we were headed! It seemed like it was the perfect combo of relaxing and things to do and see. 

And....ooooh it was perfect. A dream come true. The perfect way to begin our marriage. 

Well the wedding day went perfectly...so of course I was not too surprised that we woke up late on the day we are suppose to catch a plane to Hawaii. Luckily we only woke up 30 minutes late and weren't too worried about catching our flight...until we got to the airport and security was a long hot mess of people. But we were not going to let anything keep us from getting on our plane to paradise. And finally we did, on time! 

6 long hours later. 

(For a plane ride to paradise it's quite unpleasant.)

Alooooooha!

Let the week of Hawaiian bliss begin. 

And with a convertible it did!!

I know I know...we were those people.

But come on....why shouldn't you get a convertible on your honeymoon...in Hawaii. 

Exactly.

It was so much fun to let the top down and enjoy the perfect weather...all the time. 

(That being said please excuse the messy top down hair in most all of our pictures.)

We decided in the beginning that we were not going to hold back on our honeymoon (of course we weren't going to go tooooo crazy). We wanted this to be a week we wouldn't soon forget. A week that we could later say "started the best years of our lives." We wanted to enjoy every part of our trip. Starting with the place we were staying...the JW Marriott in Ko Olina.

I wish I could have spent a million weeks in Oahu at the JW Marriott. 

You guys. That place might honestly be Heaven on Earth. 

Maybe.

It was the perfect combination of luxury and relaxation. 

Definitely the nicest hotel I've ever stayed at.

On a more secluded part of the island (not ideal location) but it was beautiful. It was part of a group of different resorts all in this area with their own private beaches and private bays. 

Bliss. Pure bliss.

As we were in the process of picking our jaws off the floor in amazement of where we were staying we got a knock at the door with a special delivery for the Newlyweds!

Hey that's us!!

Champagne and strawberries. 

I believe I remember asking Tony "Is this real life?" 

And it was hard to believe that it was.

Of course we didn't drink the champagne but....we did pop the cork off our balcony and laughed at the fact that the cork went shooting off to who knows where! Hopefully not to injure any innocent bystanders. We then set off to explore our home away from home. 

The shark and stingray pond outside the lobby.

Our resort, the beach, and the bay.

We arrived at the perfect time to enjoy our first sunset in Hawaii.

What I would give to be back there right now.

Everyday was a new adventure and an opportunity to cross something off our list of things to do.

First up...of course the beach. Duh.

Then....the Dole plantation for a little Dole Whip.

Yumm-o. Seriously so good. 

Later that night we decided to take a drive up Round Top Loop and Tantalus lookout. 

What an amazing drive, with of course the top down, that took my breath away. I couldn't believe the beauty of the island. Thanks to my cousin Amy for telling us about it!

The next day we had planned to go to Pearl Harbor and see the USS Arizona. That was something I had really been looking forward to, and when we got there something was just not right. The main parking lot was completely empty and gated off. But we noticed that there was another parking lot a little further down with a bunch of cars in it. So we went and parked in the other lot not really sure what was going on. Well unrelated to this moment (or so we thought) this day was the first day of the government shutdown. 

As we walked up to the gate we noticed a small sign reading:

Sooooo...thanks government. Thanks for shutting down all the national parks...including Pearl Harbor...while I'm in Oahu...for the first time. Rude. I guess that just means that Tony will have to take me back to Hawaii so we can experience Pearl Harbor.

So after the Pearl Harbor debacle we had to change coarse and decided to head to the other side of the island to see the Valley of the Temples. We spent most of our time at the Byodo-In Temple which was gorgeous. It was absolutely beautiful. So serene and quiet. It was kind of nice to just enjoy the quiet beauty of the gardens to reflect and take it all in.

Following Byodo-In Temple we decided to head to Waikiki to check out Hanauma Bay. Hanauma Bay is known for their snorkeling but we had been told it was super touristy and there were better places to snorkel, we didn't plan on snorkeling there, we just wanted to check it out. So we started that way. Got stuck in horrible traffic for more than an hour (which is pretty much how it is all the time in Honolulu and Waikiki). And as we were coming up to the turn for the bay there is a barricade in the road that says "Hanauma Bay closed on Tuesdays." Did I mention it was Tuesday? Coooool. 

By this point Tony and I were...let's just say...not in a good mood. We had just driven almost an hour and a half to find the bay closed...awesome. So instead of turning around, we decided to just keep driving along the coast. Which turned out to be a great idea. We found an amazing lookout with a cool blowhole in the coral. And then we found an amazing beach to walk along for a little while. 

After cooling down and relaxing for a little bit on the beach we decided to head home, to get stuck in more traffic. 

Well obviously this day was not going according to plan, and we were starting to pick up on that. But little did we know, the cherry had yet to be put on top. 

As we were pulling into the parking garage at our hotel, the tire pressure light turned on, letting us know one of the tires was low on air. So when we parked the car Tony got out to find....a flat tire. BONUS! Bless his heart, after the day with many bumps in the road, he had to change a flat tire in the hot and humid parking garage. Man I love him. 

So needless to say we wanted the day to be over. It wasn't a horrible day. But we definitely could have done without the bumps. 

The next day was probably the highlight of our trip, which made up for the not so great day we had the day before. Tony had secretly planned (and then accidentally spilled the beans) an ATV tour for us to go on. And it was awesome!! I had been on an ATV tour once before in Mexico with my family (where my brother and I rolled our ATV haha) so I was super super excited to go on this with Tony!! 

Of course on our way there I was in awe of the views and the beaches we encountered. We had a little extra time so we spent a little time on the beach taking pictures and being amazed by the beauty. 

The tour was so fun! As we were on the tour they took us to many spots where different movies had been filmed and a few historic military spots that had been used after Pearl Harbor was bombed. 

Eating fresh Guava off the trees. So delicious!

The tour was so fun!! I think we had the best tour guide as well because he took us to pick fresh guava. Then at the end of the tour he took us on some wild trails with lots of twists and turns and lots of dirt! We were so filthy afterwards, but it was so worth it!!! I would totally do that again in a heartbeat! Thanks babe for planning such a fun adventure! 

The next day was a really fun filled day as well. We headed to the North Shore to spend our day. If we were to ever go back to Oahu (which I hope we do) we will definitely spend more of our time on the North Shore I think. That is what I had imagined when I thought of what Hawaii would be like. 

We spent the afternoon at Sharks Cove snorkeling! This was Tony's first time snorkeling and it was perfect. Sharks Cove is in a cove (obviously) made of coral, so the water is really calm as long as you stay in the cove. There were a great amount of fish to see and the water was perfect. It was so fun to experience Tony's first time snorkeling with him. He was so excited and in awe of the fish and the whole experience. 

My cousin Amy and her family live close to Sharks Cove so after snorkeling we got to meet up with her and get shaved ice. Oh baby it was so good! It was so fun to catch up with her and hear about her families adventures living in Hawaii. They certainly do live a different life living on the island! They are sure lucky. 

After shaved ice we headed to the Polynesian Cultural Center! Amy's husband is working on the renovation so he was able to get us a good deal on tickets, Thanks Jon!!! We had dinner at the buffet and then went and saw the show. Wow. The show there is fabulous. I am so glad we decided to go! It was such a traditional poly show! Fire dancers, hula dancers, grass skirts, the works! It was so fun to see!

The next few days were spent mostly in Honolulu seeing different things there in the city. 

And of course spent by the pool and the beach!!!

 I mean come on you guys. The pool at our resort was just...heavenly. 

Because we were still on Utah time we were going to bed at like 9 or 10 at night and waking up around 7:30/8. So we were at the pool bright and early before the crowd showed up, catching up on our tans before heading out on our daily adventures. I mean you can't go on your honeymoon to Hawaii and not spend a good amount of time working on your tan, I mean you just can't. It wouldn't be right.

And let's get real. The sunsets were spectacular, so that was something we really tried to catch on the beach every night. You just don't find a sunset like these on the mainland. 

Our time spent in Hawaii was amazing. Our honeymoon was everything and more than I expected. I am so grateful that Tony and I were able to spend a week together in an amazing place. And I cannot wait to get back there, maybe to another island, but back to Hawaii nonetheless. 

Aloha for now Hawaii. We will be back.