Sweet 23

Another year older...and wiser too? Hahaha, well on Sunday I turned the big 2-3. It was a lot of fun! Because my birthday was on a Sunday this year, my hubby and I celebrated on friday night at a ritzy restaurant in Logan called " Le Nonne." The atmosphere was romantic, the food was Italian and the atmosphere was superb. :) I loved how they turned an old Logan house into a yummy restaurant! If you're coming to Logan, UT I would definitely suggest it! I had some "hot pasta" that was so spicy, that it turned my lips red and made my nose run. It was bomb! Jared had a bolognese pasta that was cheesy and meaty and sooo decadent, but so delicious! After dinner, we came home and snuggled up to a movie. The perfect end to a perfect evening!

Saturday came around and the whole fam-damily came over to my mom and dad's to party. We put together little party bags for the kids, bought TONS of candy (I'm still trying to detox) ate lots of cupcakes, played lots of games, including: the Lolli-PoP game, a balloon relay race (hahaha....I wish I had some pictures of the kids popping them with their bums, so cute!) and a tricky bean-bag toss. It reminded me of games I'd play as a little kid at my little girl birthday parties. :) It brought back lots of fun memories!

Sunday came around, I woke up and my hubby was waiting with card in hand and a box on the bed. :) A good morning kiss was all I needed to satisfy. I love that boy more than anything! I especially love his creative-ness. He made me an adorable home-made card and somehow, from another singing card, took the music box thingy out and assembled it in his card, that he made! I opened it up and it sang "How sweet it is, to be loved by you!" Then, I opened the box and out comes TONS of chocolate! Yay! Then, to my surprise was a few pairs of skinny jeans! I hope they still fit after eating all of the chocolate!! Thank goodness for sharing! :)

It was a fun weekend! I love birthdays (except for the getting old part)...but who's counting? Up next is little Melody's birthday! She'll be six years old, on the sixth! She's growing so fast! Yay for May babies. :)

Farewell Boise

It's been an exciting, challenging, fun and crazy four month adventure living in Boise Idaho. Now we're packing up and saying good bye to this chapter in our lives and hello to the next! It's funny how we all think that we know pretty much how our lives will play out. We have a certain "print" in our minds, of how we think that our lives should be. Sometimes, we even get frustrated when things don't go as planned. Well, I'm learning how to embrace change and am realizing that it's all good!

These last few months, Jared and I have grown so much closer than we ever have in our, almost two years of marriage. It's also the first time that we've lived away from both of our families. We've missed them like crazy, but we have learned to grow on our own, with the help of the Lord. And it's been a great experience.

I remember a few months ago when our first car was having MAJOR problems and we had to walk 5 miles, and then some just to pick it up. I remember the excitement that we felt, when we realized that we wouldn't have to put up with that car anymore and were able to buy our next car with cash. I remember the discouragement my husband felt, when the company that he really wanted to apprentice with, called and told him that they wouldn't have any positions available for him when he finished school...but oh the joy, when later on that same day, we got a call from another company that said that they had a position available for him and he'd be able to start in the next few weeks! It was fun to walk through Cabelas (the coolest outdoor store in the WORLD) and dream of collecting a bunch of camping stuff, kayaks and griddles, tents and fishing poles and dream of the fun traditions that we want to make with our own kids, one day. :) I remember the time of walking through Babies R Us, looking at future baby items for our little angels, that will hopefully come to see us soon. :) This last weekend was fun, going to the Boise temple for the first time with Jared and doing temple work together, just the two of us and seeing all of the cute newlyweds, with sparkles in their eyes, on the road to starting their new adventures. I loved having dinner ready for him when he walked through the door, muddy and exhausted after a long day of school and being his little "cheerleader." Did we think that we'd be spending four months in a hotel? No...but it's been so much fun! Life is just full of surprises! And just like that good ole' Jodee Messina song, "You gotta role with the punches." :) So, that's what we're doing right now. Rollin' with the punches and ready for our next journey!

Life is a bit scary, when you're unsure of what is next....but when you put your faith in God and trust him to guide you, you know everything is gonna be alright. :)

Congratulations to my Bubba for finishing school and graduating on Friday! I'm so proud of my man! :)

My little boy's all grown up!

Friday March 12, 2010 my brother Daniel got married to his sweetheart, Stephanie. It was a nice day and a lot of fun! They married at 10:20 am, in the SLC temple and it was a beautiful ceremony.

Dan is an awesome big brother and closest to me in age, out of my siblings. I will admit, I felt a little melancholy the morning of his wedding. I had flashbacks of our childhood and the way that things used to be. He was the last one out of our family to get hitched and I just feel as if we're all grown up now and on the road to starting our own families and that things are never going to be the same. I understand life changes and for the better, but why does it have to happen so quickly? Isn't it funny that when we were little, we couldn't wait to get older and now that we're getting older we sometimes wish we were little again? Oh man, I sound like a mom already! If I feel this way right now about my brother, what will it be like when I start having my own kids?? Ahh! I'm such a hormonal woman right now! Excuse me.

I really am just so happy that he made that big and important step in his life and with the woman he loves so much! She's good to him and great for him and that's really all that matters. What is a life without love? I'll tell ya, it definitely wouldn't be a life worth living! I heard that quote somewhere... I'm not sure who it's by, but it's so, so true!

Now I can look forward to getting to know my new sister-in-law better and raising our kids together (in the future) and all the fun traditions and stuff that expanding the family brings. :)

Congratulations Danny Boy and Stephanie!! We love you and are so proud of you!

Poop in the pool, Family visits and Valentines

This post won't just be about poop in the pool, but I'm so disgusted about it that I figured it would be a good title. Anywho, my sissy and family came to visit Jared and I this weekend! They came on Friday night, and camped out in our hotel room until Saturday morning when they checked into their room for the weekend. My cute little nieces were so excited that we were all of us were having a "sleep over" together! Heather thought that the kids would get a little too loud for us during the middle of the night, because they couldn't sleep from all of their excitement..haha, but in all honesty, Jared and I miss all of those cute kids and their loud presence. We just laughed at their cute little voices until we were so tired, that we fell asleep. Saturday morning came, and around 6 in the morning Katie Lyn and Mellie were already awake and ready to go eat breakfast and go swimming! We of course, mooched off of the breakfast at the hotel...but since there was a "Krispy Kreme" down the street from us, we had to go there too! Can you say "sugar overload?" Heather's kids had never had gone before, so it was a special treat. Their cute little faces were pressed up against the glass, as they watched the donuts being made through the window. :) I asked Katie what she thought of Krispy Kreme donuts and this is what she said: " They are the most glorious donuts that I've ever had!" After the donut run, we decided to take Heather's family to the "Old Idaho State Penitentiary." The kids got bored and spooked pretty fast and decided that they would rather go to the mall. The mall in Boise is a two-story mall. The kids were amazed! :) We went to Build a bear and they picked out their own little stuffed animals, which was a good time. After that, we headed to See's Candies. Oooh how I love that place! Thanks to my sweety, I got my own box of chocolates for Valentine's Day, which I pretty much consumed the same day! My lips loved me...but now, my hips are paying for it! Haha...so we had a fun time at the mall and the kids were riding up and down the escalator like it was a ride at Disneyland. They were so happy! :) Haha...and the look on Matthew's face was priceless! The following day, we had a blast at the Boise State Zoo! There were slides and things for the kids to play on, and so many fun animals to look at! We packed a lunch and ate right outside of the Zoo. We brought bags of nasty bread too, and decided to feed the birds. Haha..the funniest thing was when Matthew was buddying up with Uncle Bubba (Jared) to chase the birds. But, when chasing became to tiring for him, he picked up a brownie from lunch and said "birdie like it?" My heart melts for that little boy..lol..he is so adorable! For dinner, we went to the "Goodwood" BBQ. It was delicious! I had some kind of Mexican salad, and I'd have to say...it's the best salad that I've had yet!
After consuming that huge dinner, the kids could not wait to go SWIMMING!! We were a little scared to try it out though, because the day before it had been shut down due to some kid pooping in the pool and they had to do a hard core cleaning. We geared up anyway, and had a blast! Monday morning however, we went to go swimming again before Heather and family had to check out and were in the pool for about 15 minutes. The first five minutes, there was another family with a bunch of little kids and one of them had to be about 2 years old, and wasn't wearing a swimming diaper or any kinds of diaper for that matter! We didn't think about it too hard..we just figured that if the kid had to, you know "do it's business," then, the parent would have taken him to go use the bathroom. Unfortunately, it didn't work like that. I'm thinking that the kid dropped a load, the dad possibly noticed, then left as fast as they could..because they jetted out of there all at once in what seemed to be a "hurry." We didn't think twice about it and everything was fine, until I had to go step into the little dookie at the bottom of the pool. I just remember feeling a "squish" between my toes and thinking to myself "please don't be what I think it is!" Sure enough...it was! Poop!!! At the bottom of the pool!!! Ahhh! The first time and last time I hope! It was nasty! I told Heather and Ryan what had happened and Heather was like a fire alarm, saying "everyone out of the pool!" Haha...it was kind of a funny moment now when I think about it, but not so funny then. I just hope those kids don't get sick from any "ecoli" or any other harmful bacteria...ew! The sickest thing, was that we were ALL swimming in it, under water, full- fledged swimming in it. I mean, that has happened before..where a public pool has been shut down due to some kid "doing their business" in the pool..but I've never been the victim before!! Ewww! Ok...I just had to throw that out there and get it off my chest. Lets just hope that NEVER happens again! lol..Parents, please make sure your kid has a swimming diaper or diaper on while in a public pool. Thank you. :)
The trip besides the poop in the pool was fantastic and it was a BLAST to see my sis, Ryan and kiddos again! :) I cried like a little baby as they drove away. But thank goodness I have a patient and loving hubby that let me cry in his chest and get his shirt all wet from tears. I'm so thankful for having a forever family. Even though we have to say good bye every once in a while, we know that we'll be together forever, and that's a good feeling. <3
Valentine's Day was awesome too! Jared is the sweetest, funniest and caring man I know, and did I mention FINE?.. and I'm so thankful that he's mine..haha! :) The Valentine's Day card that he made me was awesome and I'll admit, made me tear up a bit (in a good way). He knows that the way to my heart, isn't something always bought..but something made from his heart, and chocolate and he did both. :) Thank you baby! I became the luckiest girl in the world the day that I married you and every day together just keeps getting better! :)

Visiting the Old Idaho State Penitentiary

Man oh man! So this last weekend, Jared and I took a trip to one of Boise's historical sites "The Old Idaho Penitentiary." Since we're new to the area, we weren't quite sure what to do for fun on a Saturday...but we "Google-ed" and found this place. The reviews were awesome and many people explained it as historical and creepy. We couldn't wait!!

We arrived at the place and it immediately was nice and warm and weird to say "inviting" (since it was pouring outside and very cold). I told that to the man at the desk and he said..."well it won't be very cozy for very long." Ahh! It was then that I got chills up my spine and my husband and I looked at eachother, thinking "should we really do this?" And we did! In order to enter the jail grounds you have to open this huge bared door. We opened the door and walked into the jail yard. There were many different buildings all around us, a building for men, a building for women, a punishing chamber, solitary confinement, death row, and a drop room for the hangings that happened there. There was even a rose garden, where they hung prisoners before they built a drop room indoors. There weren't too many people taking the tour at the time we were there,which made the whole experience that more freaky.

We made our first stop in the male jail cells and looked through the bars. Many of them drew on the walls, smoked, gave eachother tattoos and played cards. Anything to make the time pass faster I guess. Looking at their toilets in their cells made me want to gag also. Maybe guys are a little stronger when it comes to accepting a dirty toilet, but I'll tell ya one thing, it grossed me out! After that, we walked to the other side of the yard and walked into the jail for the more dangerous criminals. I remember getting up close to take a picture inside one of the jail cells and just getting a sick feeling in my stomach. The place felt a little haunted (if you believe in that kind of stuff). So I took my picture and ran to Jared saying "wait for me!" Haha...I'm such a baby. As we were about to walk out of the building..we noticed that there were stairs that we were able to walk up (since most of the buildings stairs were blocked off). There was a sign "Death row and Drop room." We were curious, so we walked up the steps and looked into the room where they hung people. The walls were stained with something. I didn't really want to find out what it was though. There even was some historic facts on the walls of some of the men that were hung there. I couldn't stand it anymore, so we left that building. Up next was solitary confinement. Oh my! Those guy's cells were un-livable, I don't know how they did it! Those that were sent to solitary confinement were the ones that splashed their toilet buckets on the officers and slit the throats of some of the guards, the real out-of control ones. Just as I was about to take a picture of Jared in one of them...(because there was one that you could walk inside) my camera died! Perfect timing right? Maybe it was a good thing we couldn't take a picture of him in there though, there might have been something or someone "extra" in the picture (if you know what I mean).

The jail was opened and operating from 1870 to 1973. They built a larger facility for the prisoners in the 70's, so they just left this place to be a historical site. It was very interesting, creepy and a cool place to tour. I would suggest it for any of you that ever come and visit this area....but uh..you might want to leave the kids at home (just a suggestion).

Sweet dreams everyone! :)

Overdue Thanksgiving Post

Thanksgiving was a good time this year! Jared's dad and Brother Justin came to visit us and ate Thanksgiving dinner with us. After the BIG bird was eaten and we couldn't fit into our clothes anymore, we played some games all together as a family, such as Apples to Apples and my favorite, Guestures. It was a blast watching my mother trying act out "gangster" and my older bro, Eric guessing pimp and prostitute, as she blushed..HAHA! I LOVE this time of year where we can all be together and have a good time as always!! Some of the many things that I'm grateful for around this time of year are:

An amazing Hubby

the best Family in the world

Great friends

ChOcOlAtE

Our Heavenly Father

The gospel

Temples

Those who are fighting for our freedom

Puppies and cute animals

The mall

Decorations, and scrap booking memories

my mom's cooking skills

and the list goes on and on.....

Thanksgiving is the perfect holiday for us to realize how blessed we are and to be thankful for everything we have.

So following the day after Thanksgiving, Jared and I went down to the Hotel that Justin and Chuck were staying at to pick them up for breakfast and thought that they told us they were staying in room 310...but it turned out that they were in the next one down in room 312! Well, my hubby thinks that it would be funny to pull a scene from Tommy Boy and knock on the door and say "house keeping"...so I did in my most unattractive voice possible, and who answers the door? Not them! Some crazy lady with a Russian accent! Lol...I felt so dumb that I just kinda ran down the hall with my tail between my legs while Jared explained that we were sorry, but that we had the wrong room!!! Hahaha...oh what fun times we had!

This last Saturday, my family got into the Christmas mode and we went up to the mountains in Idaho and chopped us down a big tree! It was such a fun experience :) We even saw some crazy squirrels just like in the "Griswold's Christmas Vacation" movie. After chopping down our tree, we headed back to the car to eat some home made cinnimon rolls my mom had made and some yummy Stephen's hot cocoa! It was the perfect day. We did realize very fast however, that we will definitely need to buy some quality snow gear and clothing living out in the snow! Running shoes just don't cut it anymore when you're hiking through snow!

Decorating this 12 and a half foot tree was quite the experience! I've never had to use a ladder to decorate a tree before! But the finished product was oh so worth it :)

I'm so stoked for Christmas this year! Celebrating Christ's birth, watching the snow fall out the windows, cuddling up with Jared next to the fake fire, drinking hot cocoa, the yummy smells from Bath and Body Works and holiday food is the BEST! :)

I hope that you ALL have a fantastic Christmas!!

We're going to Boise ID! Lol...Where's a map?

For the past year, Jared and I have been sooo anxious for Jared to get accepted into this super awesome lineman college in ID (Northwest Lineman College). This past week, we just found out that he got accepted for Spring semester!! We're so stoked! Rocky Mountain Power (the company that he wants to work with and become a power lineman for) said: "if you get accepted into NLC and finish with flying colors, you will be able to have an excellent opportunity with our company." (or something like that) ;)

We feel at peace that things are starting to get kicked into gear with life and careers and such and to finally get out of "limbo." I'm excited for the adventure ahead of us. Although it will probably be a crazy time, with lots of hard work and lots of long hours and such, it will be so worth it! I'm so proud of my Bubba :)

Next up...babies?