Our first family trip!

Honeymoon! We went to the beautiful Oregon coast and hung out on the beach for a week! It was so fun! We had some minor car problems, but in the end it added to the adventure!

The awesome oreo-ness lasted forever on our back window!

We went to Multnomah Falls! This also marked the beginning of car hiccups...

Part of the plastic underneath came apart so we put it back together! 

We enjoyed a picnic outside the Portland Temple. Well, actually we started to, and then we drove on, eating the food on the road because I got too cold!

We finally made it to Newport Beach! The most adorable little Oregon beach town! I loved the cute shops that were open everywhere and the interesting people that call this place their home!

We had some rain and sun! Here is a sunny day on the beach.

So, I decided that I needed to write our names on the sand. It seemed pretty romantic!

 Cute huh?

The water came in and left me all alone... haha! Next time I am gonna write it smaller and quicker.

Matthew also enjoyed the beach.

Favorite shot of him of the day. He is just the most dashing beach bum!

I love this place.

We also went to tide pools! It was so so fun. There are so many different creatures packed into just one pool of water. I wanted to touch every single one!!

We just hung out all day playing at the beach. 

Then we got PIZZA! It was so so good! I love that we both are obsessed with Hawaiian pizza. That makes ordering pretty easy.

Then we went to an aquarium! It was so fun!! I hadn't been to one since I was a kid, and we ran around the whole place looking at every single exhibit just like two 4 year olds!

This guy was pretty grumpy. I bet someone probably called him ugly (cough cough Matthew). Kids are just so cruel these days.

We had trouble locating the sea lions, until this guy came to us out of the blue! I was so excited we go to see one up close! I started to talk to it telling him to come closer to the glass... 

Then suddenly he backed into the water like he was going away, but instead leaped his massive body up on the shore, bumping the glass where my over-eager face was pressed!!!

As you can imagine I screamed a bit, and Matthew, like a good husband, took pictures.

They also had this awesome part where the fish swam over and around you in a tunnel. It was a highlight as well.

 We ended the week with an amazing open house put on by Matthew's amazingly talented mom. It was so perfect! It was complete with lights and beautiful Chinese lanterns.

Needless to say, it was a wonderful week. Now we are back in the real world just getting on with the rest of forever!

The Best Love Story Ever Told

So I decided it was time to join in the ranks of bloggers out there.

There is no better way to begin than to share the most wonderful love story of mankind.

Eh-hem....

Once upon a time there was this crazy red-headed girl from Tennessee.

She grew up in a beautiful small town with her wonderful family and friends.

Life was happy.

Then, her time in Tennessee came to an end. It was the day for her to spread her wings as a young woman, and she traveled across the country, to the land of Utah.

Life was even more fun! She made some amazing friends.

   

One of whom was the extremely awesome John John De Leon.

She had no idea what was about to happen....

She was introduced to the handsomely-dashing-manly-faced prince

Matthew Ryan Curtis

They became best-friends.

She thought he was handsome.

They did everything together. They played music, made delicious meals, went to the temple and volunteered at the MTC, played sports and card games, went on wintery adventures, and in the middle of it all....

They fell in that wonderful messiness we call 

L-O-V-E.

The adventures of Matthew and Rebecca had begun. And as they spent more time together, they realized that this life together was good enough to last forever.

Then the daunting task began to commence.

They had to say goodbye.

For 2 and a half years.

The Lord called Matthew Curtis to serve as a full time missionary in the distant, beautiful land of Brazil.

So he went.

Year One:

Matthew worked hard in Brazil, and wrote Becca every week.

Becca stayed in Utah and kept going to school. She missed him with her whole heart.

Letter days were the best days.

Then, Becca decided (with extreme help from her Heavenly Father) that she needed to take a break from school and go and serve a mission as well.

So she did.

And life was happy. Still the letters kept flowing as they fell more and more in love, thousands of miles apart. Funny how that works, huh?

Year Two:

Both of the two crazy, love-struck kids put their all in the work of the Lord. Together walking hundreds of miles talking to thousands of people. Praying for each other on their knees everyday.

"Every morning I wake up from my dreams still holding tightly to your hand. I love you, Rebecca"

-Elder Curtis

"Matthew, a missionary is someone who spends time away from their loved ones, so others can spend eternity with theirs. I love you, best-friend"

-Hermana Flake

Then, after 2 years, Matthew finished his mission faithfully and had to return home, no longer a boy, but a man. :)

So he did.

He got to be with his family again and had a new, beautiful niece to get to know!

The next 6 months he waited. Making sure Becca was spoiled with a letter each week.

Then, her time in Uruguay ended, and it was time to return home.

So she did.

That night they talked across skype for the first time. They heard each others voices. Becca cried.

They were together again. A little more grown up, but still very much in love.

Matthew and Rebecca laughed, played in the sprinklers, teased John John, and lived life together again. The time apart was hard... but it was sure worth it.

They decided that this love could last forever. She wanted to make him yummy food and always make sure he had someone to hold his hand. He wanted to always make her laugh with his dorky little jokes and tickle fights. They wanted to live happily ever after...

So they are.

THE END