A month-long vacay

What an amazing November I had! First, you might have noticed that I changed by blog intro-paragraph from 'unmarried' to 'newly married'... November 10th was definitely the highlight of my month, but it didn't stop there. After 22 years of planning my wedding, everything turned out perfectly! :) The only thing I would've changed was the passage of time, what a blur the whole day was! People are right, the day does go by SO fast, I wish I had a 'slo-mo' button. The temple was an incredible experience - and the reception that night was everything I envisioned and more. Those of you who were there- thanks for making the night so special.
Here is a pic from our "exit"

Ben surprised me with a night at Little America that night, and then it was off to Mehico. Puerto Vallarta was great! The weather was warm and just what the doctor ordered, but I would say we had a rather cultural experience. Here's a lesson... Cancun feels like Miami, but downtown Puerto Vallarta feels like Mexico. God Bless the USA - :) We had a great time though, and I think Ben was impressed with my conversational Spanish.

After returning, we worked two very short days, and then off to Monty for Thanksgiving! It was SO nice to spend some quality time with the family... even when they were in Utah for the wedding it seemed like we didnt' have time to really visit, with all the last minute errands and various other pre-wedding functions. Taryn planned a truly fantastic menu for our Thanksgiving Feast... and feast doesn't even do the meal justice. Taryn is unbelievable - and so ambitious. (buy her stock now... and one day be rich!) Three cheers for Taryn.
So while we were there, my mom set up a Cooking demo with an Italian chef who owns/operates/cooks for his own restaurant in town called Moroldo's. It was fun to be in the kitchen with him and listen to his awesome accent. He'd demonstrate each course and then serve us the food. Yummy! Here is a picture from our 'fieldtrip'. (and just to clarify...Ben found my high-school softball jacket and made me wear it in the picture)

Another fun thing we did was head down to this painting place in Whitefish... the place was called "Stumptown Art Studio" - what a name. We all painted our own pieces while we sat around a big table... and it was a blast! On the back of our plates we all named this fieldtrip: Stimpson Stompdown at the Stumptown Art Studio. We are so clever - it was really hilarious at the time. Here we are!


The trip was so much fun- we decided to ditch work another two days to play some more. Ok, just kidding, a blizzard blew in and delayed our flight for 2 days! Whattaya do? We pulled another week-long vacation out of this trip too. I think I worked a total of 5 days in the whole month of November. Made me wonder if I ever wanted to go back. :)

Ben and I are having so much fun right now. Still getting our apartment furnished and such, but for now we're livin on love, and Ben's mom's leftovers (I don't cook yet, and she's just so charitable!). We're looking forward to Christmas and cuddling up as the weather turns cold. Back to reality for us (I have no more vacation days until next April I swear), but it sure was an Exceptional Month-Long Vacay!