That time we went to Disneyland! (Honeymoon)

I guess I should tell you about our honeymoon! We'll work backward. I promise, wedding pictures are forthcoming.

We stayed the night at the Little America (thanks to some great aunts and uncles who gave us a great room!) and in the morning, we began our drive to California.

We were met with a storm, which washed away a lot of the window paint and decorations which our friends had so lovingly put on our car. We listened to "Matched" on audio book, and just talked a lot. It was great, but long, since we did the whole drive in one day.

But at long last, we reached Disneyland!

 Yes, we are wearing "Just Married" pins. It was so much fun. Wearing them started a lot of conversations, and almost every worker congratulated us. (Even though sometimes it was an obligatory, bored "congratulations.")

 It was so blasted hot. We carried around a water bottle all day long and kept filling it up even though the drinking fountain water is not cold. It's water. Whatever.

 We ate a fancy dinner at The Blue Bayou. Sam and I both love Cajun/Creole/Southern food. It was so yummy. And it was so fun watching all the people go into the scary depths of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.

Roller coasters are so much fun, and I'm so glad Sam and I both will go on pretty much anything. We did have some firsts, though. (Please note the random bystanders in the photo. It's part of the DLand experience.)

 It was my first time on Storybook Land. Yes, it took me 21 years to go on this ride. I guess I was always too busy going on hard core rides to go on this simple, adorable Disneyland classic.

Sam went on the teacups for the first time! Usually spinning makes him dizzy...

He's OK. Don't worry.

 We waited an hour and forty-five minutes for the new Cars ride, Radiator Springs Racers. It was worth the wait. It was broken down for an hour, and took fourty-five minutes to fix it. But we met some new friends in line, so it was worth it.

It was a great way to begin our journey of marriage.


Our favorite rides (and why):

Meg--Space Mountain (We went on this about four times), Indiana Jones (just because), Thundermountain Railroad (we rode it right underneath a sky full of fireworks), and Matterhorn (Yeti, even though they don't have the snuggle seats anymore)

Sam--Space Mountain (music makes the ride super fun), Indiana Jones (Such a classic, and just so fun), and Midway Mania (reminds him of me, because I raved about it forever and it's way better than Astro Blasters)

-Meg

Merry Christmas!

And to all a good night!

-Megan

Running in the rain

I keep saying I'm not a journalist, but I always find myself behaving like one. I am interning at a paper this summer. The Islander is a kinda-sorta legit paper. A young little thing that everyone is Syracuse reads because it is mailed to them as a community newsletter--no charge.

I cover Track and Field because my sister Lindsey is the bomb.com at that, and my other sister is a up-and-coming freshman star. Lindsey runs the 400-meter and Adriana is liking the 800-meter. I like the meters on my camera.

This weekend is the state championships, which are held at BYU. Today was so rainy and cold. We had an umbrella, but it was useless in the torrents of rain and wind. I actually started crying at one point. There was misery in the humid, cold air, and our clothes were soaked.

I can't even fathom how hard it would be to run in that, and yet so many did.

Eventually, the sun came out, although it was never quite as warm as it could have been. Luckily, my mom and I brought a few extra clothes and blankets that we kept in the car so we could change between events.

We're headed back down tomorrow for the finals! (Today was the trials) I'll probably be donning my U of U hat because it feels really good to wear it down there amongst all that blue. And I hope to see some of my besties that live down in P-town.

And I'm going to take more pictures with an intimidating camera which I am borrowing, so I only sort of know how to use it. And I'm going to interview people, despite my dislike for that. It's going to be great and sunny.

-Meg

p.s. I have exciting news about what ELSE I'll be doing this summer... stay tuned. I can't wait to share! (Unless rapture happens, then I guess it won't matter anyway...)

I'm a Fan

It's not that I can't sleep, I just don't want to.

When I'm stressed, I indulge in fan-girling.

I love Harry Potter (this you know). I love Pixar and Disney. I love to hate Twilight. I think Star Wars is pretty awesome. I can't wait for the Hunger Games Movie. And now I'm becoming obsessed with Doctor Who.

These things make life happy.

And thanks to everyone who has listened to me rant the past few days. I appreciate your ears. (If you still have them.)

-Meg

Salmon Cakes

I knew I there had to be a reason I stayed up late:

I call it the Matthew Chain.

Today was a good day, full of running, gardening, organizing, and taking over the world. But today also included cooking Salmon Cakes.

Not successful.

My mom will tell you they tasted wonderful, and maybe they did. She's probably just saying that because she's my mom and she has to.

The salmon cakes I had were drenched in cilantro dressing, so I couldn't taste them, not like I can taste much anyway. I opened the new bottle of dressing, and by accident I poured too much on.
This are they. Disgusting-looking, I know. My mom makes them much more beautifully.
This is the one that fell apart. Putting it on the Harry Potter plate slightly redeemed it.
The corn was boiling. This was at the height of my anxiety. I'm trying to make cakes out of mushed up salmon, mayo, and breadcrumbs, so my hands are messy and gloppy, and the water's boiling over the pot, and I'm trying to remember which cakes have been on the pan the longest and which ones need to be turned over... [I do not like cooking].

-just little old me(g)