honeymooning with the honey

 Antimony, UTAH.  

Samuel loves surprises. I, on the other hand, would check all of my Christmas presents before Christmas to know what I was getting. I would pretend to be surprised but would always know. I am a great detective, but S adamantly keeps all secrets from me, even with my pleading! The honeymoon was no exception. I couldn't have picked out a better place for our first few days as a married couple. It was totally secluded, rustic, and cozy. The first few days (and the majority of days after actually) were spent relaxing around the house and doing whatever we wanted. At one point, we were both sitting in bed eating chips & brownies at like 2:00 pm and exclaimed, "Man, this is the life!" This phrase was repeated on multiple occasions.

 First day as a married couple, light as a bird.

 Natural little wildflowers outside our cabin :)

 No vacation is complete without amazing food. I planned all of the meals for the week, complete with both S and I's favorite dishes. His= stuffed peppers; mine= apple crisp. We can obviously tell who has the sweet tooth between the two of us...

FIRST EXCURSION: BRYCE CANYON.

 

 Can you see the hail & blizzard surrounding us? I think this was the beginning of it. We were wearing Chacos & shorts, of course. I am blaming my goofy smile on the fact that I probably couldn't feel my bottom lip at this point.

 One of my favorite things about S is his adventurous, spontaneous spirit. We initially wanted to just take the bus to all of the viewpoints (too cold) and then head back, but once we got to the first viewpoint, we randomly started hiking down the trail...and never turned back...I love his spontaneity & love of exploring. Even if it means the combination of our spontaneous sometimes amounts to frozen toes & noses...someday we'll learn...

SECOND EXCURSION: ESCALANTE-GRAND STAIRCASE N'TL MONUMENT

 The weather was a little more agreeable this day. Just a little. ;)

 When we got to the waterfall, of course the water was ice cold. We had brought our swim suits but would have been crazy to get in. Good thing we were just that crazy. Well, S was...I only got into my ankles. I'm a wimp! There were thousands of caterpillars on the trail & it reminded me of the time as a kid when my sisters and I made a caterpillar-killing factory. Great story to share on a honeymoon. Back to the cabin...

 This is the view from our cabin porch, where we ate most of our meals.

 Feelin' pretty John Deere in our deer-themed comforter. ;)

 Here are some views of the interior of the cabin. The bedroom was up this ladder (pictured) & the kitchen was small but sufficient. Perrrrfect.

 Samuel was already making notes in his brain on how he is going to build our future A-frame cabin. ;)

 Oh you know, just our first #kissdip photo. I obviously need to learn to trust him more, or do yoga. That back bend is kinda a stretch (no pun intended).

 I mentioned my Dad picked a wildflower bouquet for my mom on their honeymoon & S promptly stopped to pick a bouquet from the side of the road...was I fishing or is he just a serious stud? Probably both. But look at them flowers!

On Wednesday, we made our way from southern UT, up to the north...(still a surprise to me) all the way to my new favorite state...but not before stopping in Salt Lake City to pick up our gifts & have some Hector's steak burritos (same meal we had on our first marathon date & on our engagement night):

 (Notice the strategic hand placement to show off Samuel's wedding ring. Nice, right?) On to...

 

Driggs, IDAHO.

 

The view from our airbnb rental. This place was someone's house, so we didn't want to take photos inside. It was a lot more spacious than cabin #1 & also very cozy & cute. Situated on the west side of the Tetons, we had a great view every time we left our place!

  

Biking up to Grand Targhee. This doesn't capture the green. And the frozen fingers.

 It was rainy most days in Idaho, which we didn't mind for the most part because it meant a reason to stay inside together. This was a great thunderstormy afternoon of Cribbage & movies at 4 pm. ;)

THIRD EXCURSION: GRAND TETON N'TL PARK

Mostly just an introduction to the park (S had never been there!), we were going to do a 3-mile hike together but then S proclaimed, "Why don't we just run the 6-mile route?" so of course, I obliged! How did I find such a good match? Beyond me. I love how Samuel challenges me and motivates me to push myself. And accompanies me on all of these adventures! What could be better!

Of course, our 6-mile route turned into a 7 mile run of starvation (somehow I forgot to eat?) and thunderstorms (per honeymoon usual) and dreaming of Thai food...all the way up to Inspiration Point!

 We obviously found our inspiration pretty fast...view's great but...

This picture stinks of the both of us, but was one of the funnest nights so I'm including it...after fulfilling my Thai food dream, we headed back to Driggs, which has a drive-in theater (I'M OBSESSED WITH THOSE)! After we showered, whipped up some apple crisp, packed it and fifty blankets into the Subaru, we headed to the drive-in & binged on crisp while watching two movies in a row from the backseat of his car. Sooooo cool & sooooo fun.

  

FOURTH EXCURSION: JACKSON, WY

Hot springs are totally our thing. Maybe it's because there are literally like 50 in the vicinity of my current home in McCall (two of which we've hit up). I love them. I mean, what could be cooler than a warm/hot tub IN THE MIDDLE OF NATURE? Nothing. Except maybe that drive-in. 

Anyway. Granite Hot Springs. We really debated on going because they are a ways out there, but we did not regret it. An absolutely amazingly beautiful drive out there. The pools themselves were a little algae-ridden. We met a nice couple our age that lives in Jackson & I blurted out that they should come visit us and they could use our airbnb at our house (which, by the way, has not even been posted). What was I thinking? Seriously no filter sometimes.  

Anyway, after a quick car change (obv) we stopped at these falls right by the hot springs...

Then headed to downtown Jackson.

 A nice Asian couple took this photo, naturally.

 Have I mentioned how much I love huckleberry shakes & this man?

 

Jackson wouldn't be Jackson without buying NOTHING but pretending you're interested by trying on all the cowboy hats. S is a trooperrrrr. 

Honeymoon ended with a trip to church with my Grandma (LOVE HER, she should feel honored she is the only person we felt comfortable seeing on our honeymoon, haha!)

I love me some road trippin' with this stud. Decided to drive from IF through central Idaho back to McCall. Second best decision of the week, second to marrying Samuel.

 

Drove through Crater's of the Moon N'tl Monument

 Samuel & I both laughed at this spontaneous pose I did. I have no idea where it came from.

 A view of the canyon entering the Sawtooth Mountains...YES please.

 and then FISH LAKE....

Still working on my foot pop. It needs a lot of work. Should I point the toe?