Better late than never...

I was waiting to post pictures of the new apartment until we finished a little project we were doing for one of the walls...but the project was a bit of a disaster, so I will post those pictures when the project is a success. Until then, here is the rest of the apartment for those who care (ie: my mom).

Free Tickets

Nothing says "Happy Valentine's Day" like free movie tickets :) Kevin and I decided that we were going to the CineBistro last weekend for V-Day, which we had heard is like an upscale place for dinner during the movie. I wanted to see a chick flick or course, since it was V-day and all, so we just headed over there without really looking to see movie times, etc. Luckily, the movie we wanted to see was playing, but while we were in line, two girls offered us free tickets to see Avatar in 3-D. We hadn't seen that movie yet, so we took them up on their offer. I thought that was so sweet of them!! So, we got free $15 movies tickets and we really loved the movie. The food, WOW, was delicious. And the desserts looked ever better. The greatest part was trying to eat dinner in the dark, with 3-D glasses on. Hahaha. I think that is why they suggest getting there 30 minutes early...but sometimes when you get free tickets, you don't have that luxury. Luckily I didn't spill on myself :)

All-in-all, it was a wonderful date and I would definitely go back.

Triple Date

Last Friday night, Kevin and I went on a triple date with some friends. Daleth and Andre are in our ward, and the other couple (Marisabel and Robbie) are friends of Daleth and just got engaged :) We went out for sushi (not my favorite), but I was trying to be flexible. The restaurant was really packed, so I figured that was a good sign! The roll I got was actually pretty good. I think it had crab or something, which I generally would not like, but there were these little crispy things on top of the roll, with some kind of orange sauce (I'm an expert....can't you tell) that made it pretty delectable. I only almost gagged a couple of times. For me, it is more of a texture thing. If only the bites could be smaller :)

Anyway, after dinner we headed over to play some pool. While waiting for our table, we joined in with all the kids and played some air hockey, basketball, and my favorite, DDR (dance-dance-revolution.) Kevin and Robbie battled it out...

Once our table was ready, we played a few rounds of pool and then the girls started chatting and the boys went off to play some more games. Hahaha. We were there till almost 1 in the morning and I honestly can't remember the last time we stayed out that late. I guess we are getting old or something. We had a great time and it's been fun getting to know some new people.

The girls: Marisabel, me, and Daleth.

Key Biscayne

A few weeks ago, Kevin and I headed out to Key Biscayne, which is about 5 miles off the coast of Miami. Our friends told us there were fun places to ride bikes, so we loaded up the gear and headed out. The weather was beautiful, and so was Key Biscayne. The State Park had a really nice trail, but it wasn't very long. I think in total it was maybe 2 miles, which was nice since we were in flip flops and swim suits :)

You can also head out to the beach off of the trail, so we parked our bikes and dipped our toes in the water. I always heard people say that the beaches here are warm, but I would have to disagree. Well, granted it is the winter, but the water was a little nippy. But then again, not as cold as the beaches I grew up near, so I am grateful for that.
I almost stepped on this tiny fish. Poor guy was dead, but I had to take a picture because he was kinda cute and super small (hence the comparison with Kevin's foot).

Towards the end of the afternoon we finally found the Cape Florida lighthouse and walked up to the top. The staircase was very narrow up to the lantern room and there were about a million people in the tiny building, including a boy scout troop! It was a cool view from the top, but scary because it was incredibly windy, very high up, and the railing seemed insufficient.

The lighthouse is apparently one of the most celebrated landmarks owned by the State of Florida. This lighthouse is still illuminated, but they built another lighthouse that is more strategically located for guiding the ships.

After the tour, we packed up our bikes and headed home. We were going to stop in South Beach and ride our bikes over to Lincoln road to have some dinner, but it was started raining as we were driving in that direction. Apparently we have bad luck with bikes and rain. We decided to play it safe and eat dinner at home instead :)

The promised pictures

See previous post for adventure details, but I wanted to include a few pictures for your enjoyment. I am hoping you can get a sense for the whole hilarious-ness of the day. I only wish we had a picture of us riding through the pouring rain, pedaling our little hearts out, trying to beat the sun going down. This mental picture will always be a classic. And with that, here are a few of the highlights...

Kevin didn't want to wear a helmet, but Kimberly told me I had to

or else she was going to tell Dad. Hahahaha...gotta love big sisters.

At the head of the trail, before we knew what we were getting ourselves

into!! Also, please notice how Kimberly so nicely matched the helmet. I

didn't get the memo. Kevin really didn't get the memo...maybe this is

why he decided to forgo the helmet?

Bridge that crossed over the freeway.

We still looked pretty chipper at this point.

Me and Kimberly. I look like a freak, but I was roasting and I

couldn't wear my sweatshirt any longer.

This is about the time that we decided we should call for a cab to pick

us up. It was pitch black and we were completely soaked.

The gas station where we waited...without functioning bathrooms :(

This placewas a real dive...look closely and you can see car seat

benches behind us. Possibly serving as additional seating for patrons?

Trying to fit three bikes into the taxi cab.

Probably one of the funniest parts of the night!

The end.

Kimberly, hopefully we can do this again real soon :)

Weekend with Kimberly

Kevin and I headed to Tampa Friday night to visit my sister Kimberly. After about 4 hours in the car, I was excited to arrive at her apartment :) We got there super late, so we didn't do a whole lot except go to sleep. We had been planning on a bike ride for Saturday, weather pending. Things looked pretty good Saturday morning, so we headed to Dunedin for a little adventure. Little did we know that it was going to turn into a GREAT adventure. We rented our bikes from a very nice guy who (mis)informed us that it would take about an hour to ride to Tarpon Springs (sponge capital of the world) if we were riding at a leisurely pace. So, with that, we headed off on the bike trail. (After taking a picture of course...which the bike shop owner was actually excited to take!) It was a perfect day with a light breeze that made the ride pretty nice. After about a hour, we thought we should be getting close, but everyone we asked along the way made it seem like it was just around the bend. Hahahaha. Granted we did stop once or twice to fix a pant leg, look at the random gorilla habitat, or try to spot a manatee, but we were riding at what we thought was a good pace and it took us about 2 hours to get there. Talk about a sore behind :(

Once we locked our bikes to the fence, we headed for a Greek restaurant for some food. The food was great, the waitress not so much. But we enjoyed our meal and walked around the street fair for a little bit before continuing our journey. Just as we started walking back to our bikes, it started sprinkling. YIKES! We decided that if we rode "like the wind" according to Kevin, and didn't stop, we might be able to make it back before it got dark. So, we hopped back on our bikes and within about 2 seconds the rain started. At first this was kind of funny. We were trying to ride hard, but my legs felt like they were going to fall off. I said about a million prayers that we would make it. I felt like it was a race against time, or that I was on some sort of reality show where I had to meet some challenge. Hahaha. Side note- before we even started back on the journey I began feeling sick, which is not new to me because most things make me feel sick, but this was not the time nor the place :( Nobody else was sick from the food, so I figured it was just my weird stomach. Just imagine trying to ride your bike as fast as you can, when you feel like you have the flu or something, and you need to go to the bathroom (sorry if that's too much information), and it is pouring rain, because yes, it was pouring after about 15 minutes.

It was quickly getting dark and we had only gone about 5 miles, we figured? (Another side note- this "leisurely" bike ride turned out to be about 10 miles each way. ) We got several rude comments about how we needed lights on our bikes (obviously, but thanks for telling us). At about mile 8 we pulled over to a covered bus stop because the rain was getting harder and it was very dark, and we were heading back into the trees on a bike trail that was not lit. We figured that was not the safest choice. So, instead we called a cab to come and pick us up. We waited at a gas station, and of course the bathroom was out of commision!! We took some rather hilarious pictures, which Kimberly has on her camera, so those will come later. The cab driver was very nice and helped us try and load our 3 bikes into the trunk. Hahahaha. We knew we couldn't be more than 2 miles away from our destination, but we ended up using our bike lock chains to lasso the trunk shut so we didn't lose a bike. Kimberly also took a picture of that :)

The cab driver said that when he got a call from "Kevin" with a bike, he thought it was his drunk "friend" who called on a regular basis, just out on a bike adventure. He was relieved that it wasn't THAT Kevin. Hahaha. Anyway, we made it back safely and pulled in just as the bike shop owner was coming back to put his bikes in the store. I was worried he was going to be mad when he saw his bikes piled into the trunk, but he seemed fine with that and more concerned that we made it back safely :) It was a great adventure and one that we will definitely not forget.

When we got home Sunday night, Kevin summed up the weekend perfectly when he said that it was "great food, great company, and great adventure." Thanks Kimberly for a great trip and hopefully we can do it again soon.

This is the only picture I have for now, but just wait for the pictures that are yet to come!!

Somebody turned 28!!!

Kevin turned 28 the day after Christmas...he is getting to be an old guy! Hahaha. Unfortunately, we were both kind of sick, so we took the opportunity to sleep in. Once we decided to face the day, we had a little 7-layer dip for a snack, and headed out for another adventure. We wanted to head up north to check out a mall there (Kevin was getting some birthday shoes) and also to see the beaches. We really liked the beaches there. Little did we know, but in the above picture, about 20 yards away, was puppy paradise. We were wondering what the orange cones were at the bottom of the bridge, but as we looked around, it seemed that all the dogs were having a little party. It was seriously hilarious watching them run around and play together. We had a good time watching them and making little commentary as they played.

Overall, Hollywood and North Beach were really nice. There is a boardwalk that runs along a big section of the beach with restaurants, bike rentals, etc. We enjoyed a yummy pizza dinner and then headed home for some birthday cheesecake (mom's recipe of course)!! Thanks to everyone that called Kevin to wish him a happy birthday :)