The French Story

2 weeks till D-day!

2012-01-09T21:41:00.000-08:00

Same Outfit...but 7.5 months

2012-01-09T21:40:00.000-08:00

A July Belly - 7 months

2012-01-09T21:39:00.001-08:00

A June Belly

2012-01-09T21:39:00.000-08:00

Trying to look pregnant

2012-01-09T21:33:00.000-08:00

Around May, I decided that I needed to start wearing some pregnancy clothes. I had to stick it out to even fill out the t-shirts. Talk about an in-between stage!

But the exhausted look on my face? That was no effort around 7pm!

Old News, so I'm catching up

2012-01-09T21:08:00.000-08:00

So almost a year ago, I was feeling a little queezy, but no, it must just be the flu.

A few days later, a test confirmed that there was a surprise coming in about 9 months. But at only 10 weeks, that surprise looked just like a gummy bear.

Talk about a great way to start off 2011! If only I had any idea about what would happen in that 9 months - morning sickness like I can't even discribe, exhaustion, and an insane amount of anticipation!

Seattle Continued

2010-06-07T20:30:00.000-07:00

So I'm learning to post in 3 photo increments. Best part of the trip to Seattle was celebrating Mike's birthday, which happened to line up with Megan Jensen's Seattle wedding reception. Yes - that is a genuine smile on Mike's face...apparently you put him in a sombrero and everything is funny.

Megan is such a beautiful bride! And such an amazing wedding dress - she's such a designer! I loved her hair - I wish I could pull of a cut that cute!

Yumm...Ivars. This photo was purely to make Ben and Jess jealous! And you know it's good when you can eat it while you're waiting for your flight! Don't even have to leave the airport anymore to have a true Seattle experience!

Seattle!

2010-06-07T20:24:00.000-07:00

Spring brought me home this year, and I'm glad I got to see Seattle under such beautiful conditions this year! No trip to Seattle is complete without a trip to Pike Place Market, and it made me reminicent of High School, deliquent boys, and new adventures being back there. Who can say no to Pikes on a sunny day?!?

I got to spend the weekend with my mom, learning how to sew again, and I'm proud to say that I completed a purse and skirt. Before you know it they'll be calling me Coco...as in Chanel, not cocoa the powder.

Thanks for the fun weekend Mom!

Too Lazy to Blog...or FB

2009-11-09T18:42:00.000-08:00

Ok - So I know I've promised to Blog...I guess I've been a good liar - so I'm going to try to make up for that!

I updated some picts on facebook from our super trip...14 flights in 6 weeks...LA, Boston, Jamaica, NY, Bermuda, Seattle and SLC.

Here's what you have to look forward to:

Ohhh Bermuda....

Ahh...New York

Who is that beautiful girl getting married? 3 Weddings in 1 week! Holy Cow! When I go to Utah I get 'er done!! :)

4th of July in Shasta

2009-07-07T22:18:00.000-07:00

So the day before the 3 day weekend, I decided we HAD to get out of town for 4th of July...and luckily enough there was 1 campsite left in the entire Shasta area - so away we went!

With little prep work, we went on the recommendation of a friend to Dunsmuir, CA, just 20 mins south of Mt. Shasta. There was so much to see and hike to, I had to share some pictures of the beauty of the area - just 3 hours from our house! As always...my favs...no photoshop.

Along the way we stopped and hiked the grueling Castle Crags - straight uphill to the Crags:

And then settled into our campsite for a weekend of hiking to some of the regions most spectular waterfalls.

First stop...starting small...was Headgecreek Falls. Just a 10 minute walk from the freeway off-ramp.

Then we moved onto the big one...the reason we came to Dunsmuir - Mossbrea Falls. This was a 45 min flat hike in on the railroad tracks. Luckily for us, we didn't see any trains.

I did a pretty panorama stitch of the falls - but it was too big for blogger to handle, and low-res it looked hideous...so sorry his is all you get!

Yes - that is Ben on top of the bridge there - whenever there is an exposed ladder, Ben will climb it!

Finally, the last day we went to the big finale...McArthur-Burney Falls. Some say it's better than falls in Hawaii...we're not saying that...just that we loved it! It was over 120 feet high!

GREAT end to a beautiful trip and a great way to celebrate our country's birthday by visiting all of these National and State Parks! Makes me so grateful to live in a land full of freedom, natural beauty, and well protected natural treasures. Hope you enjoyed the peak into our weekend!

Temple Mini-Video...response to Big Love Episods

2009-03-24T22:55:00.000-07:00

I don't know if everyone has heard about the buzz the recent "Big Love" episode caused. I found it extremely shocking and inappropriate, and then found myself in the middle of many discussions with my co-workers about what exactly was going on there.

The LDS church recently released this video, somewhat in response to the Big Love episode, and to briefly explain our temples. Take a peak, and I hope you enjoy! I love to discuss the temple, if any of my buds have questions!

Very Tardy Peru...days 1-2

2009-03-07T19:46:00.000-08:00

So after hearing it from...oh...everyone that we (I) haven't posted Peru pictures from our trip in October and I'm going to lose all of my oh-so-loyal followers, I thought I would take a baby step and put up pictures from our first Peru Stop-Over...Colca Canyon. I wanted to wait and photoshop them up for y'all...but I'm a bit too lazy lately.

We had 4 separate cities/locations within Peru to hit in our 10 days there (yes, we were crazy), because we wanted to see EVERYTHING, and I couldn't get a ton of time off of work. I now wish that I would have quit my job and just stayed there for 3 months, like all of our Aussie friends did.

So local #1 - Colca Canyon. Why Colca? It's the "Grand Canyon of South America" up in the Andes, and is the last habitat of the nearly extinct Andean Condor. We flew into Arequipa, which is one of the larger cities in Peru. We then took a tour bus up the canyon and were able to see quite a bit of the local flavor along the way.

Our hostel was gorgeous with historic, local color reflective of the city and the Spanish influences.

We headed up on the canyon and were greeted at each of our outlook stops by local merchants. I fell in love with the little chicas who were selling souvenirs, I wanted to bring one of them home!

We met llamas with pink bangs and ear piercing..it reminded me of our friend Cecilia from Columbia...

As we continued up to the Colca Canyon, we went through many cities that date back to before the Incas. In this particular city, gold and copper were found in the hills about 5 years ago, and prospectors came out to purchase the lands and turn the city into a mining town. They offered the villagers a good sum of money for their lands, enough to get them out of living in poverty.

The villagers came together and decided that, although they were living in huts without plumbing and electricity, they would continue to live the way of their ancestors, and continue to live simple lives without the influence of outside evils. Wow - talk about impressive decisions.

When I tried to take a picture of this woman from the front, she hit behind her skirt. These women wear 6-12 skirts, for warmth and to enhance their "womanly" figure.

A night and a day later, we made it up to the viewing point for the Condors. The valley was spectacular, but because of the narrowness and depth of the canyon, I couldn't get a good picture showing the entire thing. But here's an idea of the beauty of the area.

And at the canyon, a ways up into the Andes. We're at an elevation of about 12,000 feet.

So we perched up on a ledge, and watched for about 1 hour, and finally were rewarded with a condor sighting. Look close - you can see it in the middle flying away from me - try to zoom in...it's hard to imagine, but it has a wing span of up to 10 feet, and it's head looks like a vulture.

Postponed Peru Blog

2008-11-30T16:33:00.000-08:00

I know I'm very behind, but here are a couple pictures to whet your appetite for our Peru Adventure! This is from our 1st day, spent in Bogota, Columbia.

Sorry they're not all prettied and adjusted...just for you to enjoy in their raw form!

We started out the trip with a long layover in Bogota, Columbia. We decided to go out and explore for a few hours, rather than sleep on the dirty airport carpet. Below are the pictures from our ascent up to Cerro de Monserrate. We took a cable car STRAIGHT up the hill...

and hiked up to the church.

The white church built on the mountain summit is at 3,200 meters and dominates the cityscape. Every Sunday Pilgrims (and tourists like us) take the cable cars straight up the side of the mountain to pay their respects to Senor Caido, the Fallen Christ, inside the church.

The best views in Bogota are seen from the peak, as well as a dirty little market behind the church.

Yes, that is 4 different types of blood sausage...hungry?

Also atop the mountain is a gorgeous restaurate. Unfortunately they weren't open at 6 a.m.!

Street vendors lined the roads up to the church. This was the most intersting one...in her little cook house she made these delicious corn pancakes with cheese in the middle. Yummy!

We then dashed back to the airport to catch our next 2 flights that took us into the heart of Peru. Coming soon...inside Peru!

Be my friend on GoodReads!

2008-11-11T22:00:00.000-08:00

So you all know by now how bad I am at this blogging thing...I promise Peru pictures will come up eventually. But you can be my friend on GoodReads! I'm much more of a reader than a blogger and I update there every week or 2!

I would love to see what all of your are reading, too! Check out my latest book review...
There we go - now I feel more like a blogger :-)

The Ordinary Princess by M.M. Kaye

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
For some reason it popped into my dreams a few weeks ago that this is the fairy tale my grandmother use to read to me when I was little and where my nick-name came from. It was wonderful to re-read - I couldn't put it down. And it made me think of grandma - which is probably why it got so many stars from me.

A really sweet story with a strong female character. Best part is that it's not too long and detailed that parents would get tired of reading it to their kids. I've already bought a copy for my un-conceived daughter :-).

View all my reviews.

3 Year Anniversary!

2008-11-02T17:32:00.000-08:00

By the time I'm finally posting this, we've been married 3 1/2 years...but who's counting? We spent our 3 year anniversary at Marine World in the Bay Area. You can see Shamoo (or whatever this one is named) in the background doing a trick for us!

Familiar Faces!

2008-11-02T17:27:00.000-08:00

It was wonderful to see Brandi come into California out of the snow this summer! Yes - they came in June and it snowed a few days before they left Utah! I loved having Brandi and her hubbie Clayton here this summer...and even more excited that they're moving back full time in the spring once Clayton finishes school!

Here we are at the Golden Gate Park. They're so lucky to have lived in the heart of the financial district all summer!

Spanish Party

2008-11-02T17:18:00.000-08:00

So I'm trying to catch up on a bit of blogging - 6 months or so worth, to be exact.

A few months ago we had a Spanish party with our friends Ashley, Jason and Charity. We had amazingly authentic dishes - and they should know - Jason, Ben and Charity all served missions in Spain. Sorry that it's taken me 3 months to post these Jason!

Ok - I'm finally giving in...

2008-04-27T21:00:00.000-07:00

So after all of the harassing comments (you know who you are), I am finally updating my blog :-).

Now, I know you've been wondering "What on earth has Cari been up to with her fan-tablous life"? Well, the answer is in my previous blog - just CROWN MOLDING. I know - my local friends are getting tired of that excuse, too. It took 3 months, but looks great. I'll put up pictures once I clean up.

So last weekend we finally got out so I could have something to blog about. We went on a beautiful hike up through Desolation Wilderness just outside of Tahoe to Horsetail falls. After our morning hike in the snow (yes we found some!) we played and gambled the afternoon away in Tahoe. So good to finally get out of the house!!

The mini falls that started the hike...

An hour and a half of hiking through granite and snow like this... And through Desolation Wilderness... We arrived at the foot of Horsetail falls....and I said I was done! Not hiking up those falls! As you can probably guess, the snow was melting and we kept crunching through - sometimes to the stream. Afterwords, just chillin' at Lake Tahoe.We are so lucky to live in such a beautiful area! We just love Sacramento - so close to both Tahoe and San Francisco! Which is foreshadowing for next week's blog....

I'll try to get back on this blogging thing. Thanks for your love and support regardless of my sporadic blog-ing-ness!

Crown Molding

2008-02-02T17:07:00.000-08:00

So I'm a budding carpenter! It took a whole day, but we managed to get the crown molding up in just 1 bedroom!! I think I'll take 5 years before I am able to vacuum up all the wood shavings.

Very Crazy project. My recommendation: Hire a pro.

And you guys were right, I am starting to get additcted to blogging. It's so quick, and like an instant journal, which of course I'm bad at keeping. So I'm now calling this "blogging for blessings".

Inspirational

2008-01-29T21:30:00.000-08:00

I got super creative and figured out how to post a video. This is the most entertaining thing I have ever seen. Ladies and Gentlemen...Ok Go.

Rumor has it this took over 4 months and 487 takes to shoot, and there was a broken leg in the process. How do I get a job doing something like this? I am definatly in the wrong career field. Some day I hope to be this cool.

Chop Chop

2008-01-29T20:45:00.000-08:00

So after rave reviews from my 4 readers, I have continued on to blog #2. Thank you for your comments - they're the only thing that have gotten me to #2.

Everything is pretty much the same as after blog #1, but there is a new HAIRCUT!! Let me know what you think :-) Not the best quality picture - but I was in a hurry.

By the way - how do all y'all have so many other cool things on your blog? And how much time do you spend on these things?!?! Music? Slide shows? Links to other people's blogs? Ha ha - I guess I'm just too lazy. I'm taking off for my book and the fireplace. It hasn't stopped raining for more than 2 hours in like 3 weeks. Am I back in Seattle without realizing it? Oh wait, no...I can still see the sun. Must not be in Seattle!

I miss y'all - when are we going to have a Plateau Princesses Reunion? And are there even any remaining Plateu Princesses holding down the fort back home? I volunteer my casa anytime! (Can you hear Ben protesting in the background?)

My 1st Blog

2008-01-04T15:44:00.000-08:00

I feel like I'm taking my 1st steps writing my 1st blog! After numerous request and insults that I'm not a real person because I don't blog, I'm caving in and letting y'all into my not-so-secret life.

Since I have a lot to catch up on - here's the vitals...

2004 -

Met him
Graduated from BYU
Did the Europe thing

2005 -

Married him - honeymooned in Cancun
Moved to Austin for the summer

Begrudgingly returned to Utah for his last year in school

2006 -

He graduated from BYU
Did the Puerto Rico thing for a couple of weeks
Moved to Folsom, CA (just outside of Sacramento) for his work
Got grown-up jobs and started slaving away
Discovered Carmel, CA - my new favorite get-a-way

2007 -

Bought a house and moved during the hottest week of summer (yes, we're crazy)
Did the Hawaii thing for a couple weeks for Christmas - it rocked

So now that you're all caught up and I didn't spare a detail, we can move forward and I will keep everyone updated on all of the austentatious details of our glamorous life :-)