Neves Family Vacation 2013

Can't believe that we are half way through January already! It seems just like yesterday, we were putting up the Christmas tree, and the world had gone crazy shopping. Gabe and I had a great holiday season. We spent a quiet New Years Eve at home with Gabe's mom and brother. We watched movies, talked, and ate delicious food. On New Years Day, we slept in, did a little shopping, and then we were able to go to dinner with my family and Gabe's family. It's always so great, that we can all get together as one big happy family.
In 2011, after Gabe and I got married we did a ton of traveling. Hawaii, LA, Las Vegas, and ended the year in Brazil. Gabe loves to travel, he would spend everyday somewhere new if I let him. But since Gabe lost his job in the beginning of 2012 we were not able to have any vacations this last year. Gabe was heartbroken, so since it had been a year, Gabe's family was going to be in town, and we finally got back on our feet, we decided that it would be a great time to start planning yearly Neves family vacations. This year, our destination was San Diego. I had been to San Diego a few years ago, with a friend but Gabe nor his family had ever been. So, we all packed our bags and the 3rd day of January the entire Neves family (which only consists of 4 of us at the moment) was on a plane to California! We had rented a condo, and had tons of plans for the week.  But without fail, a family vacation is not a vacation without a little stress. When we landed and were retrieving our luggage, my suitcase came, then Gabe's, then Lucia's and then...... Marcello's luggage never came. They lost it, it fact they never had put it on the plane. So his suitcase, was sitting in SLC. Lucky for us, the condo had a washer and dryer, so we could wash his one pair of clothes that he had on. After two days, we got the suitcase back. It was just a slight downer to the trip. We quickly recovered, and went about our week. We went to Sea World, did a city tour,  shopped, went to Little Italy, ate fantastic food, spent some time at the beach, and just really enjoyed ourselves. Unfortunately, all good things had to come to the end, Lucia and Marcello had an earlier flight back to Brazil so we dropped them off at the airport. It was hard to say goodbye to them. This time was a little different, this family vacation allowed for us to all get a little closer. Lucia and I built a good relationship and I was sad to see her go. Marcello and I get along so well, for the first time, I am not the youngest in the family, so we can all pick on him.  There were a few tears shed, and tons of hugs. Gabe and I had like 8 hours to kill before our flight left. So, we went to lunch, shopped around, and just hung out for awhile. We had a layover in Vegas, upon arriving my mother had called to inform that there was a blizzard in Utah and that our connecting flight had been delayed. By that time  I just wanted to get home, and go to bed. So Gabe and I grabbed expensive airport food for dinner, and two hours later boarded the plane. Upon boarding, the lovely stewardess came on the intercom and announced that we were going to try to fly to SLC, and if the pilot felt that it was unsafe to land the plane in SLC, we were going to turn around and come back to Vegas. Great.... the one thing I kept thinking was I sure hope they brought extra Diet Coke's because I was going to need the entire can. Long and behold, we landed in 3ft of snow, took us 30 mins to taxi to the gate, waited outside in the cold for an hour to get a taxi , and then what normally is a 15 min drive from the airport to our house took an hour to get home. We arrived home just after 1 a.m. and it has taken me the entire week to catch up on sleep.
It was a much needed vacation. The next family Vacation is already in the works. Maybe Gabe and I will go back to Brazil, with a mini vacation to RIO. Maybe they will come back to Utah and then we will go somewhere new. Or maybe just maybe we will meet half way and do a cruise across the Caribbean.

Christmas 2012

Well another Christmas has come and gone. I still cannot believe that in just a few hours it is going to be 2013. Sometimes I wish that time would go a little faster but after it is gone I want more time. This Christmas was one of the best Christmas's that I have had in a really long time. I worked Christmas Eve night. It was kind of a slow night and kinda long. My brother and sister-in-law have recently bought a new house and they wanted to be able to celebrate in their new home. On Christmas day, Gabe and I went to Ogden to Scott and Brooke's house. It was so much fun to see the girls show us all of their presents that Santa brought. Their little eyes lit up, and they were so excited to play with all the toys. It reminded me that Christmas is such a magical time. We opened up our gifts from each other, ate dinner, played games, and watched a movie. Gabe and I slept over. It was so nice to be with our own little family and spend quality time with them. I cannot wait for the day that Gabe and I have our little ones running around and getting excited for Santa. This week has been somewhat crazy though. Between Christmas and my in-laws coming I have kept pretty busy. We are so excited that Lucia and Marcello are here. I don't think that we really know how much we miss them until they are here. It has been so fun and so wonderful to have them here. We do not get to see them that often and so when they are here, we take advantage of it. We are going to celebrate New Years together and then on Thurs, we are all flying to San Diego. It will be so much fun. I cannot wait to just have time to relax and have time for ourselves. It is a much needed break. I hope you all have an amazing and safe New Years!!!!!

Tis the Season

          I cannot believe that is already December already! I feel as though this year has gone by so fast. It only seems just yesterday that Gabe and I were getting married. Over the last few years I have been less fond of Christmas. I am not sure if it's because I am getting older and becoming a scrooge, or because I don't have any kids. I just feel that instead of being a time for family and the true meaning of Christmas, it is rushed and stressful. For the past few weeks I have been trying to  de-junk my house. My mother and brother in law are going to be here just after Christmas. I can't wait for them to get here because we miss them terribly. But this time is going to be a little different. They are staying with us. I am a little nervous. I have a  tendency to over think things and freak out a lot. I just want everything to be perfect. So i have been trying to get the house together.  I have been so wrapped up in cleaning that I have forgotten that I still need to buy gifts. I have not done one ounce of  Christmas shopping. I just feel that there is so much to be done and so little time.  I have Gabe's gifts and that's it.
     When I first moved here to SLC, my mother gave me my grandpa Krim's old Christmas tree for my apartment. I have used this Christmas tree for the last 5 years. My grandpa used this tree for many years and it was old to begin with.  Last year as Gabe and I put up the Christmas tree, we decided that it was time to retire it. Everytime that we would touch it, the branches would fall off and it just looks so bare. So this year I wanted to have a pretty tree. We got a pre-lit tree so that we don't have to string lights ourselves. I even made my own ornaments. This is the one thing that I enjoy doing. I am pretty excited to put it up. Pictures to come soon!
      Even though the next few weeks are going to be hectic, I hope that I have some time to really think about what Christmas is all about. It's not the gifts, or the food, or shopping, or even cleaning. It's about the spirit of giving and remembering the Saviors Birth. I too often forget what the meaning of Christmas is about, Maybe that is why I feel so stressed about Christmas. I hope that everyone has a great Christmas and that you take a little time to think about what it means to you.

Thanksgiving 2012

There are several different reasons as to why fall is my favorite season. I love when the leaves start to change different colors. There is something about the reds, oranges, and yellows that just make everything seem so warm. I also love fall because most of the country stops and really thinks about what they are grateful for. I too have thought about what I am grateful for.  Here is my List: 1. I am grateful to have the church in my life. 2. I am grateful for my amazing husband, who loves and supports me 3. I am grateful for my mother, who teaches me every day 4. I am grateful for my father, who loves me unconditional  5. I am grateful for my brother and sister-in-law who are great examples 6. I am grateful for my two beautiful nieces who brighten my life 7. I am grateful for Gabe's family who always help us 8. I am grateful for my wonderful friends who are always there 9. I am grateful for my job 10. I am grateful for my education 11. I am grateful for my health 12. I am grateful for my little apartment 13. I am grateful for my car 14. I am grateful for my life

Looking over this list makes me realize that I really do have a lot of things that to be grateful. I am sure that there are many more. I have a lot in my life that others do not. I simply can't imagine my life without any of these things. For Thanksgiving this year, we will have a big family dinner with lots of amazing food and company.  For that too I am grateful.Not many individuals say that they can do that. Although, this is the time of year that we all start to think about and give thanks to the things that we do have, it should not be the only time. I know that we get carried away in the duties of everyday and don't really take the time to say thanks. But we should all take a little more time in our lives to be thankful for what we have.

My Birthday 10/12/12!!!

       Over the last few years, I have come across many individuals who don't like birthdays. They don't like getting older, they don't like celebrating, or maybe they just have never had a real birthday. For me, I enjoy every minute of my birthday. Sometimes, I enjoy the entire week of my birthday.  We all have our own ways of celebrating and mine happen to be a little extreme. My brother and I are exactly 8 years and 4 days apart. Growing up we always celebrated our birthdays together. Not many can say that they enjoy sharing their birthdays with another sibling. But for me, I was the youngest and I always got what I wanted. One year, my mother had told us that we were going to have one birthday cake for the both of us. Scott wanted a Batman cake, I wanted a barbie cake.  When the day of our party arrived and my mother brought out the barbie cake, Scott was not happy. Ever since then, Scott hates cake. I figure that my birthday is the one day out of the year that I get to celebrate me, and me alone. For that reason alone is why I love birthdays!
    This year was an awesome birthday as well. Since Scott's birthday is 4 days before mine we usually just celebrate it together with our parents and do our owns things on the actual birthday! This year we decided to go to the Brick Oven for the family dinner. It was amazing!!! I had never been there before and needless to say we will be going back. You can either choose between pizza or pasta. It is all you can eat. With the pasta it comes with all you can eat salad, soup, and bread. You can choose any type of pasta you want and they make it in front of you. And then you can put any sauce you want. It's amazing. My brother and sister in law got the pizza buffet. With that you also get all you can eat salad a soup. They have waiters come around to your table bringing slices of all sorts of pizza. It was so amazing. I think that might be where we go from now on for every birthday!
     Gabe knows how stressed out I have been the last few months, so for my present he gave me a spa day! It was amazing. The massage is just what i needed. I must have been really tense, because the therapists could not stop talking about how tight my back was and how many knots I had. She did an amazing job and if I had the money I could go every week. Since I have been on this diet, I have not had any junk food. I have been craving a hamburger like no other. So for lunch Gabe took me to get a hamburger. He is so sweet, massage and a hamburger what more can a girl ask for?  ha ha. Then we did a little shopping. I tried to find a new outfit. But I feel that I am at that awkward stage in my diet where the clothes I have now are way to big but the smaller size don't fit quite right. I guess eating that hamburger today did not help any. So of course the one thing that fits no matter how much weight you lose. SHOES!!!! I bought some really cute boots for the winter. Then for dinner we went to the Cheesecake Factory, because that is the other thing that I have been craving is cheesecake. Dinner was delicious and the Dulce DE Leche cheesecake was AMAZING!!! It was a great birthday. I am so lucky to have a great husband who spoils me rotten, and wonderful family and friends who also spoil me. Can't wait to see what this next year brings!!!!

Good Times!

Well since I have not written anything in awhile I figured that I would fill you all in on the things that have happened this month. Nothing too exciting we just live a semi-normal life. But here we go.
Gabe started his new job in the beginning of August. He absolutely loves it. Gabe  also started school the end of August. I guess he loves that too. He only has one more semester after this one and then he will be done. YAY!!! I can't wait. Gabe's family is planning on coming out to visit us the end of December and New Years and then we are all taking a big trip to San Diego.  I can't wait, it will be the first time that we have been on actual vacation with Gabe's family together.  I love his mom and brother so much and we miss them so much that this will be an awesome thing. Since Gabe lost his job earlier this year we have not been able to really have a vacation since we went to Brazil in December. It defiantly is needed. As far as me, same old same old. Still working, paying the bills, that's about it. Although, I have had a breakthrough. The closer Gabe gets to finishing school and us planning our future the more we have talked about having children. I of course want to be a mother more than anything in the world. I figured that I needed to lose weight and really lose weight. A co-worker of mine and good friend did the Jillian Micheal's Body Revolution diet and got great results. I figured that I would too. It is so hard for me to stick to a diet without an exact meal plan because if it were left up to me to choose I would pick the junk over healthy food. This 90 day program gives you exercise plan and meal plan for the entire 90 days. It is fantastic. Gabe is not much of a dieter and was not to keen on the idea. I do not want any risks with having a baby. I do not want to put myself nor my child in danger because of something that I could have changed! So, Gabe and I started. It has been about two weeks and we are already seeing awesome results. The first week was more of a jump start week. We were really restricted on what we could eat. No carbs, no fruit, no caffeine!!! It was so hard for me. Gabe and I were both addicted to caffeine and suddenly not having it I went through so much caffeine withdrawal. I feel like I had a migraine the entire week. It was hard and I wanted to give-up but I knew that this is something that I had to do for me and my future children. Guess what? I am doing it! The first week of the diet I lost 11 pounds and Gabe lost 10. We have not weighed ourselves in this week but I am sure we have lost even more. Yesterday I put on my capri's and they nearly fell right off.  I feel good, I get a little discouraged at times because although I can feel the results I am not so sure that I can see them yet. Everyone has told me that it takes awhile to start to notice. But I feel so much healthier and the best part is I don't really crave sweets. I will have moments when I wish I could have a brownie or a little chocolate but when I think about the bigger picture it really is not worth it. Things are going great here and Gabe and I are happy!

Blessings

I wrote awhile ago about trials and how our life seemed to be on a rough road. It still has been for some time. I would myself discouraged, and unhappy on the things that Gabe and I did not have. I have learned a lesson the last few months. I learned that Gods time is not our time. I know that this trial of ours may have only been a few months. To us seemed like it dragged on forever. In April Gabe had lost his job. We were devestaed. It was a very difficult time for us. I had my job but we did not think we could make it on that alone. At times it was difficult to look at others and not be envious of what they had. It was hard to feel like we were doing everything that we were supposed to and still be so discouraged.
Lucky for us Gabe and I have great people in our lives to give us encouragement and advice. It was those people that made things a lot easier. A few days ago Gabe received a new job. We could not be happier. Although we felt like it was forever without one, to Heavenly Father it really was not. I cannot express how grateful I am for the many blessings that I have received throughout my life.  I have an amazing husband who I am so proud of. It's such a blessing to have such a great man by my side. He lifts me when I am down, he cries when I cry. He smiles when I smile. For the last few months I have focused on the things they I did not have rather than the things I do have. I have a husband who loves me unconditionally. I have family who are there whenever I need them. And I have friends who care about me. Looking back on the last few months as much discouragement and sadness that I thought was in my life there was ten times more happiness that I did not focus on. I think about those that have a much harder life than I do. I am not sure how they make it without family, friends, and a great spouse. Yeah the first year of marriage has been challenging, but I think it's made us stronger. I love Gabe more today then I ever have. I know that when Heavenly Father sends us another trial, I know that we can get through it. It may be hard, it may seem like forever, but in the end the blessings you receive after are far better than your can imagine.