Family Videos

So if you couldn't tell from the last post, I'm kinda in the process of doing a digitization project of my family's home videos. Maybe these will only be amusing/hilarious to members of my fam, but I thought I'd share a few more gems that I've come across.

This one is just priceless. I just LOVE watching my cool older siblings acting like complete dorks.

And here we have another music video shot by Jheri in San Felipe, Mexcio. The serious tone of this piece makes me die laughing. I particularly love the part when Jheri climbs on top of my grandma's van and wistfully stares off into the distance in her cyndi lauper-inspired jumper. Other appearances in this clip include Tricia, Lolita (our lil' amiga), TJ, Grandpa Ferrin, baby Mason, Grandma Ferrin, Me (very briefly), and Great-grandpa Butler.

Okay. As cheesy as this is—and it is REALLY cheesy— it does bring back so many memories of San Felipe and those magic summers of my childhood. San Felipe is one of those places that I know I'll probably never visit again in my lifetime, and if I did, it wouldn't be the same. Great-grandpa's cliff-side trailer-shack-thing (I don't even know what to call it) overlooking the beach no longer stands. All I've got is the memories and these exceptional family films.

Sweet Child O Mine (1992)

Some of my friends have expressed a desire to know what I was like as a kid. Well, this is the absolute best I can give you. It's 1992. Holli, age 4, obediently does everything her teenage sister tells her in order to create this fantastic music video with clunky analog camcorder + Walkman cassette player. Kinda long, but I think the end is rewarding. By all means, enjoy.

Commentary:

0:02 - Mosquito bites, man.

0:36 - You have to understand (as I am doing those painful cartwheels) that this is San Felipe, Mexico in July. It is probably, like, over 100 degrees. That sand is burning hot. There is a reason that I look like I'm about to die from heat exhaustion.

1:54 - A face that could break your heart, right?

2:04 - You can hear Jheri telling me to "walk." I'm not very good at following directions, obviously. And so she proceeds to kick me in the butt, launching me into my "cute walk" that she taught me.

2:36 - One-handed air guitar. Ain't no thang.

3:52 - I tell Jheri that she has the camera upside down. Of course, I didn't realize this was part of her artistic vision.

4:50 - I don't know. I must think it's still the "where do we go?" part. I couldn't really hear the music through any of this.

5:25 - Just call me Axel from now on.

6:07 - "was that GOOD?!"

Magic Song: SEPTEMBER

Shout out to Marin!

I just had to before the month ended. 

In my dreams, this song is playing at my back-to-school disco party. 

Boy, I miss school sometimes.
Something about Fall always makes me.

But I just go
Ba dee ya dee ya dee ya...

Anniversary Road Trip: ZIONS NAT'L PARK

The final stop on our grand road trip was Zions National Park. Our original plan was to hike the narrows; however, because of flash flood warnings, we decided to decline. I didn't want our trip to turn into an episode of I Shouldn't Be Alive—even though it's probably one of my favorite shows on TV. Instead, we opted for a short, breezy hike to the Emerald Pools. After two weeks of tons of driving and sight-seeing, this turned out to be a good choice for us. Nothin too crazy. Just a nice stroll in the land of the red rocks.

the hike to the pools was a refreshing mist trail

As usual, Jacob had to get soaked.

I think my favorite part of the hike was when we found a quiet, 

shady spot near a pool and took a nap on a giant boulder. 

Sometimes I just gotta nap. 

red rock views.

Found this little guy near the trail. He was pretty good at camouflaging.

I couldn't leave without visiting the stables! This horse loved me.

Found a little orchard-market on our way out of the park and bought this delectable cup of mango gelato. Just what the doctor ordered.

We could've spent more time exploring Zions, but we had to admit it to ourselves—we were ready to go home. After two weeks of adventure, I was aching for Provo. I never thought I'd say it, but it really feels like home now. As we drove back into town, it was amazing to see the red-orange patches appearing on the mountains and the pee wee football players practicing in the park. Fall came while we were gone! Glad we made that last stretch of summer count, but I'm ready for a new season. I wonder what year two of marriage has in store for us. Good things, I reckon.

Whew! Well, I'm finally done with these road trip posts.
Are you relieved? I am.

Anniversary Road Trip: TUACAHN

After we escaped the flash flooding in Las Vegas, we headed staight up to St. George to see Aladdin at the Tuacahn ampitheater. Surrounded by gorgeous red rocks, this might've been the coolest outdoor theater performance I have ever experienced—and the desert-y feel was perfect for Aladdin. We were a little worried that it might rain on us, but luckily we stayed dry and bundled up with sweaters and blankets for a show in the cool night air.

Best part of the show?

THE CAVE OF WONDERS WAS IN 3-D!!!

Blew my mind.

Magic Song: THIS HEAD I HOLD

rad song.

Anniversary Road Trip: LAS VEGAS

Our plan was to try to get on The Price is Right before heading out to Vegas. Well we went to Hollywood, got in line, got the sticker with our name on it, everything seemed cool—but we quickly realized that this was going to be way more of a commitment than we were expecting. Like, it was going to take ALL DAY LONG. We also realized that it was Breast Cancer Awareness day and that only "survivors" would be eligible to be contestants. Jacob thought about running and getting a quick mammogram—just in case he DID, in fact, have breast cancer.

NOT.

We felt kinda lame, but we decided to ditch out and head to Vegas. Still, it was fun being there and feeling the group excitement of WE'RE GONNA BE ON TV! All the "Save the Tatas" and "Hey Drew! These are REAL!" t-shirts were pretty funny too.

We rolled into Vegas in the afternoon and got settled into our luxury casino hotel. Okay, not so luxury. Imperial Palace is definitely one of the cheap-o places on the strip. But our room was kinda awesome, and it was in the perfect location to go and explore.

the construction going on was real cozy and inviting.

Okay, but back to our room. It was awesome for one very important reason—it had a DELUXE LUV-TUB! This tub was GINORMOUS. And if you can tell from the pic, it had a mirror above it. Kinda trashy? Very Vegas.

I think the last time I could lay down in a tub like this I was likely joined by dozens of My Little Ponies.

We thought about splurging and going to see Phantom of the Opera at the Venetian—oh yeah, but our hotel gave us the completely wrong show times and we missed it. But it's probably a good thing. I'm not sure we really had the courage to dish that much dough in one night. One day when we are rich and famous...

Instead, we just walked around and checked out all the fancy hotels, shops, and free attractions. The "volcano" at the Mirage was kinda hilarious. It kept getting put out by the rain that would soon turn into a flash flood. Not the mighty "100-feet of flames" we were expecting.

Lots of poor attempts to get a decent picture together.

We ate the the Flamingo's casino buffet and pigged out vegas-style.

Probably the most accurate fortune I've ever received.

best free attraction in Vegas.

So this is what we woke up to. Literally, the sight right outside our window. FLASH FLOOD ALERT!

So yeah, we were stuck in Vegas. No way we could drive our little car through that raging river! But instead of crying about it, we treated ourselves to the most AMAZING BREAKFAST I HAVE EVER HAD IN MY LIFE at a little place called the Hash House. I ordered what they called the sage-fried chicken benedict. I can't even think of an appropriate expletive to make you understand how delicious this was. One of the best things I have ever tasted. And if you can't tell, HUGE portions. Yes, there is a large chicken fried steak under all that chipotle gravy. I ate 'til I couldn't eat no mo!

We had fun watching the MC Hammer impersonator dancing his butt off in the casino.

We had to wait quite awhile before we were allowed to exit the flooded parking garage, and so we spent most of our time strolling the fancy Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace. Jacob also had heard many a great tale of the "ceilings painted like skies," and wanted to see them. Dreams come true.

All I can really say about this trip was that it was funny, and that's all I was really hoping for. We didn't actually do a lot—I mean, what are young-Mormon-marrieds-on-a-budget really supposed to do in Vegas? Our options are somewhat limited. Wandering around and just amusing ourselves with the craziness that this town is was entertainment enough. Surviving a flash flood on top of it—and you've got yourself a memorable trip.

And let's not forget about that Luv-Tub.

Anniversary Road Trip: SANTA MONICA BEACH

On our last day in Southern California, we hit the lovely Santa Monica Beach. We literally spent our ENTIRE day here. Swimming, sunbathing, picnicking, reading, exploring the pier, riding the Ferris wheel, watching the sunset etc, etc, etc. We got a pretty dang sunburned, but it was worth it. Beach fun always trumps beach problems.

My grandma is the best grandma and packed us a lunch for our beach picnic. Lots of sandwiches, cherries, granola bars, and rootbeer.

BABE

What?!? Jacob is TOO TALL to ride??? How sad.

view from the ferris wheel

Riding the ferris wheel. I could've stayed on that thing all day.

We hit up Bubba Gump's for dinner on the pier. I want those shoes!

the coconut shrimp was Yum-o.

these things were so fun!

Orangutan arms

who doesn't enjoy that silhouette?

It was pretty much a perfect end to a perfect day.

We love each other and stuff.

Magic Song: CONTACT HIGH

live accoustic version:

Turns out the guy who delivers our pizza (AKA Chris Griffin's doppelganger) also has one of the most beautiful soul voices I have ever heard. He looks a little greasy, but I LOVE Allen Stone's voice and don't mind his cheesy, derivative lyrics one bit—cuz honestly, what's a feel-good soul jam without some cheesy, derivative lyrics, right? Allen's got a message for the people!

Anyway, I've been singing this one in the shower a lot lately.

If you like, this video of Allen is KILLER. Wait for the end!

Year-old Wedding Cake

 

Would you believe that my mom sent our wedding cake all the way to California just so Jacob and I could participate in this wacky anniversary tradition? No, we didn't request this. She did it all on her own and was pretty proud of herself. We thought it was pretty funny. Love you, mom!

My grandma made even more of a production of it by inviting my aunt and cousins over to witness the event and serving up Martinelli's for all. My eight-year-old cousin even toasted that we may always have "happy anniversaries." Very sweet.

The cake wasn't quite as good as it was a year ago, but wasn't bad either. 

Here's to our marriage, our family, and wacky traditions.

Anniversary Road Trip: THE GETTY

Our day trip to the J. Paul Getty Museum in L.A. to see art and stuff. 

Sometimes we are cultured like that.

picnic in the garden + modern and contemporary art tour + lots of meandering through the many many galleries

Anniversary Road Trip: MORRO BAY

We arrived in Morro Bay on the evening of our anniversary. We didn't know much about this place, except that it was the last stop on National Geographic's suggested route down the PCH and the home of the famous Morro Rock. I just had a good feeling about this place. From the photos and description, it looked like it had a rugged charm about it. We found a cute hotel with some great packages for dinner and breakfast and made our reservations.

Our expectations were definitely surpassed. Everything was lovely.

We LOVED our room. It was cozy, beautifully decorated, and even had a fireplace.

They also left us some champagne for our anniversary. Unfortunately, we do not drink alcohol, but we appreciated the kindness! Hopefully, some of the housekeeping ladies got to enjoy it.

Next stop was Dutchman's for dinner. We got an amazing deal for two 3-course meals through our hotel. We ate like KINGS!

My favorite part of dinner was sitting by the windows and watching an otter playing out in the foggy bay. It was my dream to see an otter!

bring on the appetizers! Popcorn shrimp and garlic fries.

We ate some fancy seafood.

dessert!

After dinner, we bundled up and a took a long walk past all the shops and restaurants down to Morro Rock and the beach. The fog made everything look eerie and enchanting, and the whole town seemed so quiet. I'm almost sure that we were the only ones at the beach that night. A very romantic setting for our anniversary.

night at the beach

The next morning, the fog started to lift and we took some beach cruisers (provided by our hotel) out to explore.

We stayed at the Beach Bungalow Inn, and absolutely loved it. Free beach cruiser rentals was one of the awesome perks of staying there.

Through our hotel package, we received free breakfast at a cute diner down by the water called Frankie & Lola's. They seriously had the most amazing breakfast menu I have ever seen.  Again, we ate like kings and only had to tip the waitress!

I ordered the "ABC" scrambled eggs. DELICIOUS. (sorry for all the food pics. This is mostly a reference for myself in case we ever go back to Morro Bay. I'll definitely want to eat here again!)

Jacob got the "Chillaquilles" eggs. AMAZING.

We rode our bikes down to Morro Rock,  the big volcanic monument.

We saw a family of otters chillin out on the kelp forest! Do you see the baby with its mama?

Me with the otters in the background. I couldn't have been happier. I could've watched these guys for hours.

waiting for free willy to jump over.

Carousel Taffy. This place was a dreamland.

So much taffy! We bought ourselves a nice colorful bag full of the stuff.

At the last minute, we decided to go kayaking in the bay!
We are spontaneous and adventurous sometimes.

Jacob had to do the hard work in the back and keep up with the rotations of my short arms.

Beached on a little island. Morro Rock behind me.

We got up close and personal with the Morro Bay sea lions. They were a riot. 

We had fun listening to them roar and fight over their own place to sleep on the little dock. 

They all held this pose! so funny.

 After leaving Morro Bay, we headed down to Pismo Beach—Jacob's ol' family reunion destination. We ate lunch at the Splash Cafe and ordered the famous clam chowder. Afterwards, we strolled down the long stretch of beach and searched for sand dollars. We even found one!

In line at Splash Cafe.

I really loved exploring all these new places in an area of California that I had never experienced before. 

And of course, celebrating our anniversary at the same time just made everything even more dreamy.

I love being married to this guy.