Sarah's Graduation

Thank you for waiting! Here is a video and some pictures of my graduation. I graduated on April 8th 2016 with a Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood/Special Education.

Restaurant Reviews

While in Salt Lake City, UT, we decided that we would not eat at any place that is also available where we live. This resulted in trying many new places to eat as well as those we have not been to in a long time.

This post is our reviews of all the places we went for lunch and dinner during our honeymoon.

Spanky's Deli    567 W 2600 S, Bountiful, UT 84010  5 stars

     This sandwich shop was comparable to any great sub place in Florida. Their meats were thick and piled high, their toppings were fresh, and their prices were reasonable. I  had a roast beef sandwich (with sprouts!) and Josh had a ham/turkey/roast beef sandwich. If you're in the area, this is a must-go place for lunch or getting sandwiches for a picnic somewhere else. 

Chipotle            135 N 500 W, West Bountiful, UT 84087  4 stars

     Many of our readers have gone to Chipotle before, but we had not gone in over a year. This shop was smaller than others we have been in, but still just as tasty. The prices were reasonable for the food, but don't go during rush time unless you want to wait behind people who can't make decisions even after looking at the menu for ten minutes.

The Cheesecake Factory       City Creek Center, 65 Regent St, Salt Lake City, UT 84111  3.5 stars

    The food was excellent, the service was fast, and there was a lot to choose from. The downsides of this restaurant were the steep prices, cramped and loud environment, and implied dress code. We expected the prices to be higher for this kind of place, but it was a lot of money to have lunch for just two people. This restaurant had large ceilings and was very open causing you to feel like you're in a herd and can't hear the person sitting right across from you. It was not a very intimate place to have lunch. Also, this location in the heart of businesses and near Temple Square was not very inviting for tourists. There was an understood dress code of business or church dress which made us, dressed in jeans and cargo pants, feel unwelcome. 

Mo' Bettah Steaks       5th South Plaza, 273 W 500 S #3, Bountiful, UT 84010  2 stars

     Do not go unless you want to be disappointed. This restaurant had great reviews online, but I guess people don't know what good food is. The meat was delicious, so if you just want some well cooked steak or chicken, this is the place to go. The rice was bland. The macaroni salad, which had raving reviews, was like eating cold Velveeta with carrots mixed in - not very good at all. The servers at the bar were college kids with a superiority complex. They were not very helpful and disregarded what you asked for. We were not pleased and would not visit again.

The Lion House     63 S Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84150  5 stars

     This was one of the most delicious places we ate. The food is served cafeteria style and the prices were a little steep, but we got a discount with our Connect Passes and only paid $7 for two meals. The meat was well seasoned and tender and the sides were mouthwatering and complimented the main dish. Their pastries were excellent, and we couldn't get enough of their rolls or chocolate cake. If you want a place to take your date, this is definitely a must try.

Johnny Rockets      50 S Main St, Salt Lake City, UT 84144 4 stars

      Located above City Creek Mall's food court, this 50s style diner brought back the comforts of home. I had a patty melt with pepper jack and Josh had a burger. They were both served with endless fries, great for hungry bellies. We also got milkshakes that were flavorful and a great end to our meal. The service was not very fast, but they allowed us to stay and chat with our family after we ate - they did not try to turn our table by pestering us. If you like burgers and you want to get full after a long day of walking, this is a great place to go.

Greek Souvlaki      404 E Broadway, Salt Lake City, UT 84111 4 stars

      Being from Florida, we have ate Greek food from real Greeks in Tarpon Springs, FL. We were a little wary about going to a Greek place in Utah, but to our surprise, their food was excellent. I had a lamb euro and Josh had chicken Souvlaki. The fries were crispy, the rice was tender, the meat was mouthwatering, and the soup was comforting. While the prices are a little high and their seating needed repairs, they are worth it if you want authentic Greek food and a filling meal.

Zeponie Pizza       Pages Lane Shopping Center, 1097 S Main St, Bountiful, UT 84010  2 stars

      They claim to have the best pizza in the city, but it may be because they don't have any competition. Their bread sticks were decent and the pizza was okay, but it was definitely not the best pizza we have had. The bread sticks were covered in oil and served with tart marinara sauce. Our meals did not come out at the same time. The pizza lacked flavor and freshness. The calzone was mostly cheese with under cooked pieces of meat and small pieces of pineapple. We were disappointed in the mediocre food and busy decor. 

Great Steak          50 S Main St, Salt Lake City, UT 84144  4 stars

      If you have never had the pleasure to get a hot sub from Great Steak, you are missing out. Located in the food court in City Creek Mall, this place will satisfy your desire for a filling and tasty meal. The food is cooked right in front of you and there are many options to pick your preferred meal. The bread held up to the meats and toppings and tasted good by itself. The portions are generous and the fries are crispy. When I went to a Great Steak many years ago, they had seasoning salt you could add on your fries and this location did not offer seasoning salt, but the fries were still satisfying. I had a pepper cheese steak and Josh had a buffalo chicken Philly, both with combo of fries and a drink for about eight bucks each. If you have a hard time deciding what to get at the food court, look no further than Great Steak for a great meal. 

Our Honeymoon/Spring Break

For spring break (April 13 - 17, 2015), we decided to go to Salt Lake City for our honeymoon as
I have never been there and we couldn't afford anything too big. Here are some pictures and our schedules for each day of our break.

Monday, April 13, 2015
Breakfast at R-Cafe in Rexburg, ID
Washed our car

Visited Rachel, Travis, and their baby Royle Hulse at their home in Pocatello, ID. Rachel was the missionary who re-activated me and became good friends with our family.

We had lunch at a sub shop in Bountiful, UT called "Spanky's."

Then we checked in at the Country Inn and Suites in Bountiful, UT.

We immediately got in their indoor pool and Jacuzzi to de-stress from driving.

We had dinner at Chipotle in Bountiful, UT.

Then we had to go to Wal-Mart in Certerville, UT because Josh forgot his suit at home.

After Wal-Mart, we took another swim, played with super soakers in the pool, and then went to bed.

Here is a picture of some pretty purple flowers we saw on a tree at Wal-Mart.

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

We had continental breakfast at the hotel.

We drove into Salt Lake and while there, we:

Got a tour of the LDS Conference Center

Here are some pictures of pretty tulips

Got a tour of from the top of the LDS Church Office Building

If you can see that silver dome in the distance, just behind that where the 

two mountains meet is the path where the Saints entered into the Salt Lake Valley. 

The fence behind the waterwheel used to be President Brigham Young's house's fence.

In front of the triangular building is where some Presidents of our church are buried.

The state capitol building on the hill is modeled after our nation's capitol building. 

The red house on the left is a mansion worth over a million dollars. 

Those hills in the background are what Brigham Young saw in a 

vision and  how he knew "this is the place."

That is the top of the conference center on the left middle of the page. It was seen in a vision to have trees on the roof and a large tower protruding from the top when the SLC temple was being built. 

Years later, President Hinckley had the conference center built with exactly that. 

A courtyard on the roof with trees and a large tower on top.

The Salt Lake City Temple in front. The Tabernacle in back.

 This was the tallest building around temple square, and
we got a good look at the whole city from here.

Went into the South Visitor's Center where we saw a cut out of the temple and toured pioneer history.

The view of the temple from inside the visitor's center.

Josh said I should take orders for prints and get money for this picture.

The temple spliced in half.

      The detail was amazing, even on the roofs and doorways!

Went into the Joseph Smith Memorial Building and saw the views from its top floor. 

 First floor foyer

   View of the temple from the side of the building with the restaurants on the top floor.

Visited the North Visitor's Center with the "Christos" statue and a display of ancient Jerusalem.

Went to City Creek Mall and ate lunch at the Cheesecake Factory.

Our lunches. I had "farfalle with chicken and roasted garlic," Joshua had the "Factory Burger".

The fountain was the most interesting part of City Creek, well, besides the people.

I loved the colors in the tiles in their bathrooms.. This is for future renovations.. ;)

We went to Yankee Candle, Fanz, and a game shop because those were the only stores 

we could afford anything in. I loved this beach display at Yankee Candle. 

After the mall, we went to 7-11 and got Slurpee. 

There are no 7-11s in Idaho, so it was a treat to get a Slurpee after over a year!

Then, we went back to the hotel and swam for awhile. I took a nap and then we had dinner at Mo'Bettah - a Hawaiian style restaurant. 

After dinner, we went to Centerville's Seagull bookstore, Target, and Wal-mart.

From Target, we got a beach ball and a suction cup ball with two plastic disks that attach to the hands to play with in the pool at night. At Wal-mart, since we are on vacation of course, we got snacks and sodas for the hotel room when we don't want to leave our room.

When we got back to the hotel, we played with the new pool toys for an hour or two and then headed to bed.

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

We had continental breakfast at the hotel.

We planned on going to Park City and touring the area, but we got snowed out overnight.

Instead, we got Connect Passes and did tours of buildings in Salt Lake City.

We first went to the Clark Planetarium at the Gateway Mall. There is free admission to the planetarium, but their movie tickets are sold separately. 

We used our Connect Passes to get tickets to two movies - one at the IMAX Theater and one at the Dome Theater. They were impressive films.

My favorite exhibit was the thermal imaging camera. 

They had hot and cold plates/imprints to put on your body and hold up to the camera.

 I have a cold rocket on my arm and Josh put a hot radioactive symbol on his wallet.

Josh's favorite exhibit was the tornado maker.

After the Clark Planetarium, we used our connect passes to get $20 off our meal at The Lion House.

I had salmon with mashed potatoes, yams, a roll, and chocolate cake (to share).

Josh had turkey with mashed potatoes, vegetables, a roll, 

and jello (since we are in Utah, of course).

We decided that we did not want to re-park our car, so we walked while it was snowing to The Leonardo, about four blocks away from the Lion House. Our Connect Passes gave us admission to the Leonardo, but we only had forty minutes to explore their museum until it closed. 

The Leonardo is what I would describe as an interactive museum where 

each exhibit has something to do within it. For example, there was a science lab 

where visitors could do a science experiment with an employee. There was also 

a circuit exhibit where visitors could use wires to complete circuits and make things 

move or turn on. We only wish we could have had more time there to really explore.

They had mesh-like plastic hanging from above the escalator which looked neat.

After the Leonardo, we walked back to City Creek mall and waited to meet up with Josh's sister in the warmth of the building. 

Here is a picture of the snow on the roof of the mall.

It was very wet and just kept falling.

We finally got to meet up with Cherryl, Josh's sister, and ate dinner together at Johnny Rockets.

Here is a picture of the Salt Lake City Temple at night.

We headed back to the hotel where we took a long soak in the Jacuzzi because it had been so cold today with the snow falling and walking around in it. Josh had forgotten to take his coat with him, so he was much more cold than I was today, but he stuck it out and did not complain once.

After the much needed Jacuzzi soak, we headed to bed.

Thursday, April 16, 2015

We had continental breakfast at the hotel.

Then, we got dressed to go to the LDS temple and complete an endowment session at 11:00. 

After the session selfies. 

We then walked around Temple Square for a few minutes and visited the Tabernacle.

LDS Tabernacle from the inside. This organ has more pipes 

than the one in the LDS Conference Center. 

Dying tulips from the snowfall yesterday.

Here are some pictures of our drive into the city.

The mountains look better now that there is snow on them.

Following the temple session, we ate at Greek Soulvaki and had a delicious lunch.

I had a lamb euro with white sauce, fries, and chicken lemon soup. 

Josh had a chicken/zucchini/onion skewer with fries, rice, and chicken lemon soup.

We then met up with Josh's childhood friends Matt Blackwelder and David Valverde at their apartment and hung out/chatted with them for a few hours. 

We drove home and decided that we would try a pizza place in Centerville, UT called Zeponie Pizza.

Joshua had a personal pizza, and I had a calzone.

My sister's birthday was yesterday and I called her then, but we did not get to talk long because of the snow. So, I called her after our dinner and talked with her about all the happenings so far. 

After the phone call, we headed to bed.

Friday, April 17, 2015

We had our final continental breakfast at the hotel.

While we had planned on swimming one last time, we decided to pack instead and go back to the planetarium one last time and shop at the Gateway Mall.

Here are some more pictures of the Clark Planetarium.

This pendulum swung back and forth in a straight line, but because the Earth 

is moving underneath us, it's trajectory moved and would to knock down 

pegs in a circle relative to the Earth's movement.

 You're supposed to put the planets in orbit so the Earth does not get hit, but Josh 

wanted to see how fast he could get a planet or comet to collide with the Earth. 

 Mars. AKA Rexburg, ID without snow.

 Planets to size scale, and yes that dot at the end is Pluto.

 This Rube Goldberg device was incredibly intricate and took up 

two floors in height and the ceiling. 

After the planetarium and the mall, we met up with Josh's friends Ann Valverde (David's mom) and her youngest son William. We ate at Great Steak in the food court in City Creek Mall and had good conversation for an hour or so. 

Afterwards, we got Slurpees again and headed back home to Rexburg. 

Here are a few pictures of our drive.

 Virginia!! Wait, I thought we were going back to Idaho!?

 The way the mountains seemed to lock you in and how it 

seemed you would drive right into them was pretty cool.

 Aaaah, a clean car to end our trip with all the bugs from the drive washed off. 

Overall, the trip was a success as we had a lot of fun exploring new places, spending time together, and visiting friends and family we had not seen in a while. It was great to get away from Rexburg for a week and enjoy Salt Lake City and all there is to do there. We had a great time together and hope you enjoyed the summary of our trip!