After our trip to California in October for Zach's & my mom's birthday, I needed to come back for my birthday! We booked a trip when airline tickets went on sale and got our Disneyland package through Getaway Today!

And remember how last time we did NOT like staying at Paradise Pier? I made sure we stayed as close to the park entrance as possible. We stayed at the Tropicana Inn for this trip and I could not recommend it more! It was a 5 minute walk to the gates, super clean and recently renovated. Plus it was like $130/night!

We also spent part of the birthday trip at Harry Potter World & Universal - definitely my best birthday yet! I did NOT want to turn 30, but running around Disneyland with this guy definitely made me feel like a kid again.

Instead of making a turkey and sitting around at home alone, we decided to go on a fun Thanksgiving weekend adventure! We still hadn't been to Bryce Canyon & Capitol Reef and thought that would be a fun way to explore more of Utah - hotels were cheap since it was off season, the weather was PERFECT (60s and sunny), it wasn't crowded, and we already had time off from work! Why not, right?

One day: 3 states, 2 National Recreation Area/Monument, 1 dam, 1 temple, 500+ miles!

Life was just getting stressful this month and it felt like so many major disappointments hit in the same week. I needed to get the heck of our dodge and recharge, so on a Friday afternoon, we hit the road east! Thankfully, there was no Oregon football game that Saturday, so I didn't need to plan around when Zach would be watching the game in the middle of the day. Great timing!

Zach and I were never able to go on a "real" honeymoon after our wedding - we both had to be back at work the Monday after our wedding - so we always planned on doing a real trip during our first anniversary.

This is long long long overdue, but I'm super excited to share all the details about our recent Disneyland trip at the beginning of October! It was just part of a bigger 8-day trip to California, but the visit to Disneyland was my favorite part of the vacation! This trip was extra special for a few reasons:
1. We'd never been to Disneyland for the Halloween celebrations.
2. I hadn't been to the parks in 6 years and Zach hadn't been in 14 years! A LOT has changed since then!
3. We were visiting for both my mom's AND Zach's birthdays! They spent their exact birthdays in the parks - how much more special could it get?

It's World Mental Health Awareness Day and I just wanted to share a few thoughts. I had planned on doing a live video instead but frankly my nerves got the better of me - maybe next year!

As a lot of my friends know, I've struggled with depression, anxiety & suicidal ideation for most of my life, starting before age 5. It got worse as I aged and I saw the worst of it start in college - I made plans to kill myself or disappear frequently and felt like I would crumble under the weight of my mental anguish. I felt so ashamed of having mental illness - my closest friends were always generally happy and seemed annoyed and dismissive when I was down.

I've always hated myself and this self loathing grew each year. It ruined my confidence, my ability to have healthy friendships, my relationship with God, etc. These feelings increased after college, as I floated through a bad job market and tried to find some nugget of hope to build on. I've spent the majority of the last 10 years thinking I had no future to live for and made countless plans to end it.

When I was 19, I thought I would never live to see 30 and now I'm less than 2 months away! I'm not cured by ANY means, but I'm in a much better place than I've been in the last 10 years. Mental health is NOT a one size fits all experience - everyone has a different cause and will have different tools to heal & fight it.

I don't share my experience to get sympathy or whatever - I just wanted to share in case there is someone out there who feels like they're in this fight alone. YOU ARE NOT ALONE! You have NOTHING to be ashamed of and have people who love you. I know when you're in the middle of the darkness, your mind will tell you that no one cares and it won't get better but it's wrong! The darkness & anguish you feel is a BIG FAT LIAR and is NOT permanent. The sun will rise again for you and your future is worth sticking around for.

Whoever you are, wherever you live, you aren't alone! I don't care if we've never met or haven't talked in a long time - I am here for you! Send me a message, text, carrier pigeon, whatever! I am in your corner and will help you fight it 💪🏻

Anyone who knows me, knows I'm mildly obsessive about researching every available option before making a decision, ESPECIALLY when it comes to travel, a big purchase, or if it will affect other people. Our recent October Disneyland trip fell into all three of those categories! We hadn't been to Disneyland in over 6 years and would be there for both my mom's and Zach's birthdays, so I especially wanted to make it a great experience.

Three weeks ago we ventured down to Southern Utah again for a little extended weekend, this time to visit Zion! We snuck a trip to the St. George Temple in there too, so I could knock something else off my 30 before 30 list!