Hawaii!!

The week of April 17-24 my family went to Hawaii for Easter. We went to the island of Oahu, which was a first for us all. Our hotel was just a few blocks from the beach, so we could walk there in just a few minutes. The weather there was amazing! It was 80's the entire time but also breezy for most the week, so that the heat didn't kill us. For the first few days, we just relaxed at the beach. The first beach day was so the first group of us could recover from the plane ride over, and the 2nd beach day was so my mom and sister (who came a day later due to her volleyball tournament) could recover and relax.  This beach didn't really have huge body surfing waves, but it felt great to float in and then just lay out on the sand. My dad had the unfortunate luck the first day to step on a sea urchin, so he had to spend most his time soaking his foot. Luckily that dissolved most the spines and he got the others out himself so he was good for the rest of the trip. Haha after that we all bought some water shoes so the same didn't happen to us. ;) We all got a tiny bit fried on Tuesday, so on Wednesday we decided to do Pearl Harbor. It was so amazing to get to see the museums and the memorial over the tomb of the USS Arizona. What an amazing part of our history. On Thursday we did the Polynesian Cultural Center. It was really cool. Before we got there, we stopped at the macadamia nut farm and tried free samples. They were super yummy. :) At the Center, we went to different villages that represented different places such as Fiji, Samoa, etc. and learned a bit about each of them. We then went to a  luau dinner, and then a show. It was an awesome day. On Friday we started out at a snorkeling bay and swam through some reefs. We saw some amazing fish, a few that were bigger then our heads! After that, we grabbed lunch and headed to a beach called Sandy Beach, that had waves over 8 feet high. It was a very popular body surfing beach and tons of teens - 30 years olds were there surfing, boogie-boarding, and body surfing. My dad and Nick immediately went into, and Alli went with them for a bit, but they waves were a bit much, even for her, so she just played in the brakes along the sand with Matthew. I watched with my ankles in the water, but never got in. Haha I knew one try would waste me.  That day we all came home pretty tired, and, even though we had all been good with sunscreen, we were all also pretty burned again as well. Haha was definitely an aloe vera day, with advil and lots of water as well.  Saturday we hiked to a waterfall and got to swim to it and take pictures under it.  We then rested at our beach again for a bit and went for the last time to eat at this amazing burger place we had discovered, that really has the best burgers ever. It was such a wonderful trip, and coming back to the cold weather was definitely hard. I so can't wait for summer here now!  

Day 30

A photograph of yourself today + three good things that have happened in the last 30 days!

This is the most recent picture of me that I have, and its of me and my best friend Sadie at the Festival of Colors.  So this is the final day of the 30 day challenge and it asks 3 good things that have happened to me during the last 30 days. 1. There have been some beautiful warm spring days in between the nasty weather we keep having. 2. I have actually been sticking to working about 3-4 times a week. 3. I have been getting more hours more at work. :) Also, on another plus note, I leave for Hawaii this Sunday with my family and will be there for a week! yay! Have loved doing this challenge because not only did i blog more, but it passed the time until the vacation as well. lol. Goodbye 30 day blog challenge, I have enjoyed you! :D

Day 29

Something you could never get tired of doing.

Something that I never EVER get tired of doing is reading. I love the feeling of getting lost in a good book, and can do so for hours and hours. Reading is a true passion on mine and is something that is really a huge part of who I am. It may sound cliche, but I could no sooner stop my love of reading, then i could stop breathing. I am a true bookworm. ;D My favorite authors to read are Jane Austen (who's books I can read over and over again), James Rollins (who's book Excavation i have read over 6 times), and Steve Berry. :) 

Day 28 & 27

Day 28-Your favorite movie.
Hmmm.....Its hard to pick one movie as my top favorite, so I may just make a list of my top favorites. Haha...not sure how anyone can pick just one movie. My top 5 fav. movies would have to be: 

          1. The Mummy

          2. The Mummy Returns

          3. National Treasure 1

                    4.Pirates of the Caribbean 1

                    5.Jurassic Park 1

I have tons and tons of runner ups as well, but of course, can't list everything. ;D These are my top favs because I never get tired of watching them and have loved them for years. 

Day 27-A picture of you last year and now and how have you changed since then?

Last year at this time, I was newly engaged (Nick had proposed in Baltimore on Easter day), my best friend Sadie was on her mission in Chile, I was still going to school at the U, living at home, and my hair was long and more of a redish brown.

This year, I am now happily married, my best friend sadie is home from her mission, I have graduated from the U with a BA in History, Nick and I are living at his parent's house as we rent out the house that we bought over the summer, so we can pay off the motgage faster, and my hair is darker and shorter. (I cut it after the honeymoon, but am growing it back out now, which Nick is very happy about. haha....;D) This year went by pretty quickly since for a majority of the time I was planning my wedding. Since getting married in Nov. I have also been enjoying learning to be a married couple with Nick and growing together as we figure out our life together. It has been an amazing first 5 months of marriage so far. :)

Day 26

A photo of somewhere you’ve been to.

I choose two photos, because they go together. The photos are of my sister and I at Versailles in France in July 2009. I had been there on a study abroad in Tours (which is 55 min from Paris) from May 31-July 4 and she, my mom, and my aunt luanne came to pick me up, and we spent a few more weeks in Paris and the South of France. In the first picture we are in front of the palace, and in the 2nd we are inside an art gallery section. It was such an amazing experience! :)  

Day 25

What’s in your purse?


My purse is is a nice large purse and often contains quite a lot of stuff in it. Hahaha.....
On an everyday basis, it contains: my wallet, my cel phone, work keys, hand lotions, headache medication, lip chap, my keys, gum, mints, my planner, checkbook, hand sanitizer, and a book (because i get off before Nick, and we usally carpool, so I read while i wait to either pick him up or get picked up by him). lol see... a lot. ;D

Day 24

A photo of something that means a lot to you.

I have always loved the Salt Lake temple and not only is it one of my favorite top favorite temples, but now it means even more to me because it is the temple in which Nick and I were sealed together for time and all eternity. It is such a beautiful temple and I absolutely love the sight of it!

I had to throw this picture in as well because the Hawaiin temple is one of my other top favorites and I get to see it for the first time in a few weeks. :D

Day 23

15 facts about you.
1. I was born 2 months premature and was in ICU for a month afterwards.
2. I am left handed, as are all the girls in my family (the boys are all rightys. Haha we are 50/50 exactly.)
3. I'm claustrophobic and scared of heights.
4. I love scary movies and haunted houses.
5. I got my hunter's safety licence at 15, and beat a majority of the grown men there.
6. I am a huge bookworm, and absolutely LOVE to read. James Rollins, Steve Berry, and Jane Austin are my favorite authors.
7. My favorite season is Fall. I love watching the leaves change colors and the slight chill in the air.
8. I went to France for 6 weeks on a study abroad and lived with a french family, taking classes at a french institute while there. (If i could live in France for a few years i totally would)
9. I am LDS and so proud and happy to be so! :D
10. I love history and have a great memory for facts and dates.
11. I can be shy at first meeting, but am very outgoing once i get to know you. :)
12. The only sea food that I will eat it clam chowder soup, I dislike everything else.
13. I am deathly allergic to penicillin.
14. I am the oldest of 4 kids, which goes girl, boy, girl, boy.
15. I knew after 4 months of dating Nick, that he was probably going to be the guy that I was going to marry...and I was right. :)

Day 22

A letter to someone who has hurt you recently.


Dear Ex-friend,
   I am sorry that our friendship had to end, we had a good few years. But you disliked my husband for no real reason, except that, once he was in my life, I suddenly had someone else to share more of my time with, which is owed a significant other. You were nice to him when we all hung out, but constantly made little jabbing jokes to him and about him, which were always on the meaner side. It also really bothered me that you had the nerve to say that Nick and I didn't have "real" jobs like you, because we worked for our dads. Just because we work for our parents, doesn't mean the job is not just as good as yours and that we are not just as independent as you. That remark (which you made more then once) always made me feel you were looking down on me. How is that being a true friend? Also, you never seemed to understand that life gets busy sometimes, and plans have to change, especially when one is planning a wedding and then trying to settle into married life (because my life is totally back to how it was before I was engaged now, if you had waited, things would have settled down). If I had to change plans on you, it was always, well "I have a friend in the same situation, and they are just as busy, yet they ALWAYS have time for me too." No matter what I said, I was always in the wrong. It was as if, toward the end, you had predetermined I was a bad friend who wasn't worth it anymore.  You always acted like you went through so much to stay my friend, yet those that I have been friends with for 6 years or more, can go weeks with out seeing me or talking to me, and when we do finally see each other, we pick right back up where we left off, and would do anything for one another. I guess we were just way more different then we thought, because I have never had any of the drama with them, like the drama I had with you.  I do hope you have a nice life however. Goodbye.


Sincerely,
Ashli Spurrier West

Day 21

A photo of something that makes you happy.

Besides this pictures itself making me happy, it is my dear husband Nick, who is featured in this picture, that makes me happy. He is my best friend and we have such great times together. I am so glad that i got to marry my best friend! :D

Day 20

The meaning behind your blog name.


The meaning behind my blog name is quite self explanatory. It is West, because that is my new last name and Nick and I's last name together. :) Since the blog was created to chronicle our married life together, West is the name that I picked for it, which i felt was perfect. :D

Day 19

Another picture of yourself.

The picture i picked is of me and my dear hubby at my 22 surprise birthday party, which Nick awesomely planned and i had absolutely no idea about! We went to the ice skating rink near my house, and had a blast! :)