Christmas Vacation 2014

After we finished up out fun at the MIAMI BEACH BOWL we climbed into the car and began our 20 hour journey to Keller, Texas, Mike's home town.
What made this even better? A stop in Alabama to see my sister and as a bonus, my parents were there visiting her!

It was so good to see them and especially so close to Christmas! I don't know when the last time was I saw Candi at Christmas!
After a good little "nap" and breakfast we drove to Bessemer to visit Mike's mission. I loved seeing one of the areas he served in.

We finally got to Keller and it was so nice to see the house all decorated and of course the family!

 We played plenty of cards, our favorite game, Nertz!

 Every time I come to Texas I have my list of places we have to eat. Texas really does have a lot of my favorite placed that you can't find in Provo. I think Texans love donuts because there is a donut shop on every corner. We figured we deserved a sausage roll, or 3 from our favorite shop.

Michael really enjoyed having a backyard to putter around in. He helped clean it up, built a fire pit and we all enjoyed it.

On the 31st, we rang in the new year with Caspian, the friendliest of the kitties. He didn't think we were as funny as we did.

I can't go to Texas and not visit a Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives location. We chose North Main BBQ and it did not disappoint.

A Children's Museum visit complete with planetarium show.

 To say that Laura and I laughed this trip is an understatement. This was taken while grandma was yelling at us because we were laughing too loud, which made us laugh even harder.

This is Dave and Rebecca Smith. Dave was Michael's Young Mens leader when he was a teen. They have recently been called to serve as Mission President in the New York New York North Mission. We were able to visit them and chat about everything going on and it was one of my favorite nights! I am so excited for them and all the wonderful things they will do while serving the Lord in New York. I am also SUPER excited to be designing their mission blog so you'll here more about them later. 

Finally, because you need something to laugh at.... 

While heading to a favorite Keller mexican restaurant, Kassandras, I ate it and ate it hard! 

 

We had such a wonderful time celebrating the holidays in Keller with Mike's family. Now, it's home for Michael's shoulder surgeries. 

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Miami Beach Bowl

We just finished up the Miami Beach Bowl which completes our BYU Football experience.

To say this location was beautiful is a complete understatement! The warmth and trees and beach... oh we just didn't know how to handle it all! Somehow we managed! 

We started at the beach and we didn't even care that we both have WILD hair so now you get to enjoy it! *You're welcome*

Our most fun times were definitely at night enjoying the beach. We loved getting close to the water, making a little castle fort and seeing how long it would survive before the water overcame us.

Now it's not a bowl game without checking out the local eats and we really found our Miami Beach favorites! 

Starting off at Pizza Rustica on Lincoln Street - at the heart of Miami Beach! It's a fun area that has everything you need from shops to food and everything in between. 

Yes, we went back again the next day... and with no guilt.

So thankful for this girl! Michelle made the bowl so much more fun. 

Nothing like some shopping....

including the Kardashian's store -- DASH

Mike and I picked one night to go out on our own and have a really nice date night.

It was beautiful to walk along the beach and enjoy each other and the scenery.

We visited Bellini and had some delicious seafood linguine. I was in foodie heaven!

What better way to spend our last day than by the pool??

I submit that there is not! :)

Lunch and (virgin) drink by the pool. 

As we headed to the fireside we couldn't help snagging a picture by this BYU Christmas tree.

We loved that Loews Miami Beach Hotel did everything up for us.

It was a little emotional seeing Michael participate in his last ever fireside.

The firesides have always been my favorite part. Sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ is always an important part of the mission of BYU football and I love seeing our football family share their message and wonderful experiences with those around them.

The boys headed to the stadium to check out Marlins Park where they'll be playing the next day! 

I love these guys so much! Of course my favorite is there in the bottom right but really these guys have been such an important part of our life.

Game day was here and we were very excited to watch the cougars!

While the outcome was not what we expected or hoped for we all walked away very proud of the way our team fought. Going to OT twice made for a very exciting game!

I still can't believe I watched Mike play for the last time. Shouldn't we be prepping for another season? Nope, not for us. Now it's off to Texas for Christmas and then back to Provo! 

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Texas Trip 2014

This trip to Texas may have been my favorite so far! I'm not sure why, maybe because of the final exams we left behind but I do know I've grown much closer to my in-laws lately and it's been so much fun!

So we made it to Texas on Tuesday night after our fun on the Frontrunner and airports. I'm happy to say our travel to Texas went off without a hitch!

Wednesday brought the beginning of our sad couple of days. After years of fighting good long battles, the Yeck's decided to put down 3 of their 5 labs. Mike was especially sad to see Strider go - after 15 years together they we're still best friends.

Michael spent most of the day digging a grave for the three to be buried together. It was hard work in the Texas dirt but it was good for him to be apart of that.

Thursday morning we gave the dogs one last good meal and took them to the vet. I think the vets office was even struggling as they watched one family bring in three dogs. It was really hard but I'm glad I was able to be there with Mike and his dad. The vet's office was great and we appreciate their sensitivity and caring approach.

Our Texas trip continued with a trip to Legoland with Millie

We loved singing along to Frozen in the car while Bill and Mike analyzed the movie!

 And a ride on the carousel where Millie wanted to go faster and faster and I almost lost my dinner with all the spinning.

The next day it was off to Snooty Pig for the best blueberry muffin ever! Seriously, best thing I've ever eaten!

 And a quick road trip to Ranger, Texas! Look it up, it's a quaint little town with a small collage that Mike's sister Laura works at. I'm sad I didn't get any pictures because you would have enjoyed it! But here's any empty bottle of Cheerwine which is a delightful drink that can only be purchased in a few places, mainly in the south! Try it... love it!

Friday, this bunch headed off to Rock Hill. Glenrose, TX to be exact but Millie calls it Rock Hill. The 15 passenger van made this trip even better! 

 Some time in the sun and a little water fun!

Around the corner we found the FarmHouse, our home for the night!

 This place had all kinds of animals and I even tried to beg the man to let me ride the horse. 

 

Even after explaining that I grew up with horses he assured me that his insurance wouldn't allow it. Understandable.... I guess. :( 

There was hammock time complete with reading a book, for pleasure, not school!!! 

And a little bit of craziness

We finished our fun filled day off with a perfect fire and some snuggle time with Baby Preston - the newest Yeck family member.  

 
Our journey to Rock Hill was a success and I would love to go back someday. To check out all of the arrangement options at Country Woods and see my review, visit this TripAdvisor link.

We finished up our trip with some awesome restaurants! Seriously, these trips surround so much food!

Keller has this little donut shop and it's amazing! Seriously, Barbara always has them when we wake up the first and last morning of our trip. We love their breakfast version of pigs in a blanket. I think the term pigs in a blanket doesn't do it justice because they're just amazing!

We love to visit restaurants that have been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. It's an awesome show on the food network, it makes you so hungry! So we went to Chef's Point - the 5 star gas station. A chef decided to put a 5 star restaurant in a gas station. It used to be just that, mainly gas station with a bit of a sit down place. Now it's expanded and it's mainly a restaurant, expanded to more space and adding a fancy patio, which I think makes it lose some of it's appeal. The food was great, especially the What Nots, an appetizer to die for! Crab filled, cheese stuffed mushrooms! It was an awesome place to eat, and hey, it's in a gas station.

Babe's, where do I start with Babe's? It's a county restaurant with two things on the menu: Fried Chicken and Chicken Fried Steak. Since they've only focused on that, they've perfected it! It does come with mashed potatoes and gravy and the greatest corn known to man! and biscuits. This is easily my favorite place to eat in Texas!

We had a blast in Texas and didn't want to come home but it's nice to be back in our place. I'm working full time and Mike's working out, has an internship, and working. We're super busy but having fun and excited for more adventures this summer!  

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