The Shepperd's

New baby niece!

2011-12-29T21:35:00.000-08:00

This has been a great Christmas vacation. Robert and I spent Christmas with my brother and his wife (Ryan & Eden)-we had a great time and ate a ton. Robert and I also had an opportunity to secretly help bring Christmas to a family last minute this year-it was definitely meant to be and we had a blast doing it!

On the 27th Eden and Ryan had their baby girl- Samantha Ann Shipp!!! I was thrilled to have my Mom arrive (after me calling and switching her flight and shuttle as soon as Eden went into labor) maybe 1 hour before the baby was born! I was able to watch my first niece Kaitlyn be born (my brother John & his wife Michaela's baby) and so it was definitely special to watch my second niece be born nearly 10 years later on the dot! Childbirth definitely is a miracle and I was grateful to be a part of the experience. I can't get enough of this cute girl!!!

Grandma with her newest love

Right after her first bath!

I could hold her endlessly

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-12-29T21:16:00.000-08:00

This year Robert and I were able to go to Arizona for Thanksgiving to spend it with my family. We haven't ever been able to go for Thanksgiving so this was perfect that it all worked out. My Dad had recently had a hip replacement and my Mom was scheduled for a double foot surgery the day we were driving in. My Mom's foot surgery was a bit more extensive then originally thought and so she ended up having to be completely off her feet for at least 2 weeks-which meant she was not allowed to cook Thanksgiving dinner-which was the next day! Luckily, I watch the food network a lot so I was able to cook the dinner! I did have help from Robert and my Dad though-and I think it turned out pretty good. Robert and I sure had a blast seeing my family and had a great car ride as well (I love car rides with the husband!).

Relaxing

The spread

I love this pic-this is after the meal!

Halloween

2011-11-20T10:00:00.000-08:00

For Halloween this year my office dressed up as The Wizard of Oz crew. Every year all the Utah County offices have a costume contest....and we WON! I did show up to work, dressed in my scarecrow best (Robert's old work boots, DI pants and shirt, home made hat/head thing, and straw), only to find out no one else was dressed up. I guess they all were going to get dressed there-and then dress back into normal clothes after-woops :) At least my costume was well liked, even though for the day I was clunking around leaving a trail of straw everywhere!

Can't you see the resemblance? I mean, I guess I could've stretched first....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NFxmRWUO34

oh.....and we had a song....:)

Eden's Baby Shower

2011-11-19T10:01:00.000-08:00

I had a blast planning and doing Eden's baby shower with my Mom! Eden and Ryan's baby is going to be one well dressed, adorable girl.

I love my Mom.

My cousin Casey's red boots-I would like to have them!

Eden is going to be such a cute Mamma!!

All the food turned out so yummy

White chocolate drizzled popcorn with M&Ms-mmmmm

Game prizes!

AZ Trip

2011-11-18T18:42:00.000-08:00

Last month Eden and I took a quick trip to AZ to see my Dad (he just had hip surgery) and to pick up my Mom and bring her back to Utah for Eden's baby shower. It was very eventful, what with my car freaking out, us having to rent a car, me almost buying a new car, learning how to can peaches, going out to dinner, playing games, and just hanging out-all in about 36hours :).

Ziggy was always trying to lick me-so my Dad was being funny-I don't think Ziggy got it...

Ziggy loves my Dad-whenever we asked him about where Grandpa was, his tail wagged a lot :)

Funny story about the peaches-my Mom and I were talking on the phone a few weeks before this and we somehow got on the subject of canning, my Mom talked about how she always canned with her family. I mentioned that I didn't know how to can but it would be fun to learn how. When we got to Prescott my Mom had two huge boxes of peaches and all the materials to teach me how to can since I told her I reeeaaaally wanted to learn ;). It was actually tons of fun to stay up with Eden and my Mom doing it.

So it seems from my pictures that Eden was doing all the work....I promised we helped!

Steve told Ziggy he had to be very gentle with Eden because she was having a baby (Ziggy loves Eden and usually jumps all over her)-Ziggy totally got it and was super sweet and soft around her!

I sure do love my Dadio!

Right before my face was covered is slobber....yuck!

It's Friday Night

2011-09-30T19:59:00.000-07:00

So Robert and I had some dinner plans for tonight, then we both ended up working late, then Robert had to fight the BYU game traffic......so instead of going out-I decided I would make us dinner since we were starving--and by make dinner I mean I called Happy Sumo and gave them our regular order :)-Robert just loves how domestic I am.

We also had their tempura veggies-yum, they got scarfed so they are no longer in the picture...

Mmmm the sunset roll is my favorite--and don't judge me for the fork, the take out lady must have thought I was ordering this large amount of food for just me because we only got one set of chopsticks.......come to think of it, the last time we ordered the exact same thing they gave us three sets since it was so much food-I must have sounded extra hungry on the phone tonight I guess. Well, fork or not it was way yummy!

I love hanging out with Robert no matter what we do, but it's extra fun when we get take out sushi and eat it on the floor (I have no idea why we do this, we do have a table and chairs....and couches....).

Sealing!

2011-09-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

Last week Robert and I went to some good friend's sealing at the Salt Lake Temple, it was so great to be there with them, I loved her dress and shoes too!!

The best part though had to be my excellent navigation skills (really, who needs a Tom Tom when I'm around?); I easily directed us into what I was certain was a nice close parking garage.....we only had to walk 4 miles (well according to Robert) to get to the Temple from there-hey, who knew there are like two parking garages across the street from the Temple?? Only me apparently :)

Cody & Amanda-for time and all eternity

Favorite dessert!

2011-09-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

So I have found a new love....peaches and cream! A friend introduced it to me last week and I am now only craving this little dessert. Look how easy it is:

3 simple ingredients-peaches, honey (when I originally had this they sprinkled sugar on, but I like the honey even more!), and half & half

mmm pour on some honey to your sliced peaches

some delish half & half(this would probably be good with milk, and even better with cream....but I'll stick right in the middle-I'm just trying to make healthy choices you know:)

YUM-I'm loving this quick and tasty dessert!

Wildlife

2011-09-11T08:00:00.000-07:00

On our trip we saw lots of wildlife:

Lots of birds...duh

Whales! Oh....wait you can't see them either....same here-but apparently they are out there.

Seals, sea lions, and otters....oh my!

Elk heard(apparently the largest one??-that's what the signs told me)

Oh, what do we have here?

a big..

Momma whale!!!

So I am standing on a bridge over a river here-the whale and it's baby were supposedly trying to get away from killer whales (dang them) when the went up the river from the ocean-the baby got back to the ocean but the tide went down and the momma got stuck (she had been there for 3 months when we saw her!).....sadly she got beached and died 2 weeks ago:(

Trees of Mystery

2011-09-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

Trees of Mystery was a lot of fun-lots of neat looking and giant trees!

Everyone else was posing all mushy so we just had to join in:)

At the top of the mountain it was all foggy-but you could still see the coast right beyond those trees!

Gondola ride to the tree tops

Giant tree. Tiny Robert.

Fern Canyon

2011-09-09T12:00:00.000-07:00

Fern Canyon was my favorite place that we went! You drive through this small winding road deep in the forest until you reach it-it's right on the coast, and is more beautiful than any other place!

Green!!

Reminded me of Fern Gully.....

Banana slug.

Day 7, 4, 20?

2011-09-08T14:44:00.000-07:00

I don't even know what days these were anymore....and I don't care :) Here are more pics from the trip!

Cookout on the beach-we cooked up rockfish Justin and Robert had caught that day-yum!

A little un-nerving...
The locals said to go here-Yum-Birthday dinner! (Robert also surprised me with a turquoise bracelet)

Day 6 continued

2011-09-05T13:37:00.000-07:00

More Patrick's Point:

Michelle and I called this the Robert & Justin trip-mainly because we were taking so many pictures of them together.....

More Robert and Justin:)

Indian Ruins (These are replicas of course!)

The Main Attraction: Day 6

2011-09-05T10:51:00.000-07:00

After all that driving we were more than ready to get to Arcata. Here are some of he things I love most about this part of California and in particular Patrick's point:

The scenery, green everywhere!

All the fun hikes-there was always some great exploring to do.

The weather is perfect there-their record high temp ever was 79 degrees!

This guy-I got to spend every second with him!!!

Day 5

2011-09-02T12:00:00.000-07:00

On the fifth day we drove....alot. It was such a relief when we finally got closer to our destination, as we drove it was just tons of nothingness, then finally hills and big green trees and ocean! We did make a stop at a Bigfoot store, Justin claims he heard a big foot, and I found a big foot convention for us to go to...unfortunately we missed it (true story).

Day four, Part 2

2011-09-01T12:00:00.000-07:00

Disneyland was so fun it deserves two posts....and I have lots of pictures I want posted for my own viewing pleasure.

Day 4, part 1

2011-08-31T22:00:00.000-07:00

DISNEYLAND!

On the fourth day we woke up way too early and drove to meet Justin and Michelle and Michelle's sister Mandy at Disneyland! Mandy works there so she got us a great deal! We had sooo much fun together at Disneyland-I loved being there with Robert and our friends.

Best picture ever.....you better believe this was my idea:)

Trip continued

2011-08-30T21:53:00.000-07:00

Day Three:

We talked with the Fam, then drove off to Rancho Palisverda to my brother's new house.....it is on a hill right off the ocean! They have the best view, we spent the evening eating, talking, and enjoying a show put on by all the kids!

Trip of all trips

2011-08-30T21:41:00.001-07:00

This month Robert and I treated ourselves to a real vacation, we're talking a full 9.5 days away from work, Utah, and the everyday routine. We went with our good friends Michelle and Justin, we always laugh and talk a lot when we're together, and this trip was no different!

Here's the run down of the fabulous vacation I'm still dreaming about:

Day one-

We drove, and drove, into the night......until we reached Robert's family's house in Hemet, UT.

Day two-

I woke up sick-bleh, what kind of a start to a vaca is that?!? Robert came to my rescue as always, mixed me up some meds, and I slept for a good part of the day. Luckily I woke up feeling

100% better! I was even able to go out to lunch with Robert and a friend, find some cute shoes to buy, and enjoy some blueberry cheesecake my sweet mother in law made for my birthday!

Weekly Lunch Review

2011-07-29T12:45:00.000-07:00

Lunch this week with the girls was at El Mexsal, a little restaurant with Mexican and El Salvadorian influences. It's a small place off of Freedom and about 300 South in Provo, if you aren't looking you'd drive right past it.

I really liked this place, it was cheap and delicious-my perfect combination. We all got pupusas because that's what one of my friends goes there for-I got a queso one and a loroco (some sort of vegetable) one. They are only $1.80 each and they are kind of like a corn-meal soft taco thing filled with cheese, then you put this pickled cabbage and salsa on them. I got two this time but next time I'll just get one because I filled up on chips and salsa too (which means your whole lunch is like $3-if you get a drink like I do).

The verdict-they were so good! I can't wait to go back to this place, my favorite part-home made chips and salsa that are free and refillable!! It does take a few minutes(10-15) to get your food, but that didn't matter to me because I knew they were making everything right then...and I had plenty of chips and salsa to munch on.

Mmmmm-my all time favorite food-chips and salsa.

Food.

2011-07-26T11:04:00.001-07:00

I am loving my new job so much, the only thing is I have my own office while most of the other people work in the same one! In order to get some more interaction and time to chat (I got to visit with kids, families, and mentors all the time for work before and I miss it!) a couple co-workers and I have started going to lunch each week. We decided to do it once a week to be nice on our wallets and probably our waists too :) . Each week we choose somewhere fun and different. Here is a rundown of some of the places we have gone:

Indian Palace
This place was good and unique. It's right on Center St in Provo so we just walked on over. For lunch they have a buffet of different curries, naan bread, rice, fruit, rice pudding, and more. The food was really great and they have yummy fruit drinks too. THe atmosphere was a lot of fun as well. It was great to try food from another culture, I would say the prices are a little high at around $14, but that price is for all you can eat and there is a large selection, so it's not too bad.
Yum, I loved this place. We all went to this Robotics Camp up at Thanksgiving Point and so we thought it was the perfect time to coast on over to Highland to check this place out. While the prices are a little on the high end-yet still affordable for every once in awhile-the food and atmosphere are so fun! I got a Roasted Turkey Avocado sandwich with sweet potato fries. The sandwich was so good, it was full of herbs and had a really good lemon mayo on it! I also tried my friends Butternut Squash soup-mmmmm, it was a sweet soup, which was surprising and delicious. I can't wait to go back to this place and try more things from the menu(I'm eying a black bean ravioli). As a bonus all there products and food are organic and all natural!

Station 22

This cafe is also right on Center Street so I ventured over there today since I will be missing out on our lunch date this week due to a big work training I need to attend. I've been here once before but I only got fries then, which were really good. I'm trying to eat healthier though so this time I got their soup and salad bar. I grabbed their mango plum gazpacho with some lime crema and slivered almonds-cool, flavorful, and unique-yum, as well as a normal salad with lots of veggies. I really liked this place because it was just what I was craving, and I've always wanted to try good gazpacho, mainly because I love the food network and it seemed like something they would make on there! It was about $9 for soup, salad, and a drink-which again seems a little high for an every day lunch, but ok for a once in awhile lunch treat!

I love food so I can't wait to continue this lunch tradition each week.

Staff Night Out

2011-06-18T21:39:00.000-07:00

I was lucky enough to be able to take out all my staff for a bonding night this past week. We went to Tucanos to stuff ourselves, then went bowling at the new Provo Beach Resort (probably not the best thing to do when you are really full!). We all had a blast, I really enjoy the people I work with-they are such a great bunch. And if you ever get a chance to check out Provo Beach Resort you should-it has lots of fun games, the bowling is fun-despite the fact that the pins are held up by strings (weird!)-and the best part is that you can watch people wipe out on this wave rider thing they have-great fun!

You can't teach form like this.

Graduation

2011-06-18T21:17:00.000-07:00

Now that it's truly official I can write that I am GRADUATED! I'm so happy this day has come, some times it seemed to be impossibly far off, but now the day has come and past and I couldn't be more happy. My family and Robert's parents all came up to watch my graduation in April. It was so fun to have them here. We had a little get together with family and friends after the 8am ceremony-I loved the little get together, the walking is great and all, but the hanging out with family and friends is where it's at for me. I officially graduated with my Bachelors of Science Degree in Recreation Management and Youth Leadership with minors in Nonprofit Management and Contemporary Dance. I finished up my last class (my least favorite of any class I've taken at BYU....so glad it's over) two weeks ago and love the feeling of not having homework or exams looming over me. To top things off I got a full time position with 4-H as the Mentoring Program Director. It is surreal to get the job I wanted right at the perfect time. It's been a lot to learn, but I love going to work everyday-I feel like I am doing something worthwhile and it's not like work. I got a paper with a quote on it in one of my classes a long time ago and I've kept it on my desk ever since, it's something that I'm always working towards:

"A Master at the Art of Living makes no distinction between his work and his play, His labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his education and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues with excellence what he is about and leaves others to determine whether he is working or playing. He, himself, always knows he is doing both."
Elder Vaughn J. Featherstone
July 1995

Memories.

2011-03-13T21:21:00.001-07:00

I was looking through pictures this weekend and came across this one, I'm sure I've seen it many times-but I love it so much, I mean just look at Robert and I's faces....and my mom's!!! I love it, my mom is the best and this just shows how happy she was for me:)

Weekends.

2011-03-13T16:24:00.000-07:00

I love weekends so much. They are my time to play catch up on work and school, and prepare for the next week. In order for me to stay on top of everything I make lists and do a lot of organizing-the weekends are when I make sure things are done and are planned out to get done, etc. I also love weekends because I get to hang out with Robert for long periods of time. It is so nice to be able to just hang out, make food together, talk, laugh, and enjoy our time with each other. I am perfectly content just staying home all weekend (although I do love going out as well). This weekend has been pretty typical: we slept in Saturday, I did some work, then we watched episodes of Modern Family, cooked steaks and potatoes for dinner, then baked apple crisp for dessert. Saturday is usually our clean house day as well-it's so nice to have a really clean house to get us through the week-when we don't have much time to clean. Sunday we also slept in (church isn't until 2:30pm!), made breakfast-we always takes turns making Sunday breakfast, it's usually cinnamon rolls but today we did fried eggs and toast!. Then we watched a couple movies while I caught up on some homework. I can't wait until I can cut school out of the equation-5 weeks! Then I can have even more time on my weekends-and during the week, but for right now I am really enjoying my time and making every minute count.

Lesson learned.

2011-02-23T21:09:00.000-08:00

I usually love my dance classes. In one of them (improv) we were doing this exercise where we were to dance blindfolded. Now we had a partner to lead us around and make sure we didn't hit anyone or anything, and we started off by just walking around to get used to it. It was actually really interesting to not be able to see. My other senses really came to life and I could hear and feel things I don't normally notice-like the sound of feet walking and the slight rush of air as people walk past. Unfortunately...then came the part where we were supposed to dance, so I'm dancing for a few minutes and then I go to come up from being on the ground-and I come up fast and head first...and my head cracks something hard-I'm still unsure if it was the metal wall or bench, but oh my it hurt so much- and my head has a giant bump to prove it! I don't know where my partner was, but my head and teeth(they kind of slammed each other with the impact) are not happy about it! I'm happy though that I could make it through my test I had to take right after and that I was able to come home to a sweet husband to listen to my whining, and the 12 hours I slept last night helped too, although my head still hurts today...but I don't like to complain, just ask my husband.....well just take my word for it....yea don't ask him. Thanks for listening, and make sure to be careful the next time you dance blindfolded:)

Sweet.

2011-02-15T20:16:00.000-08:00

So today after Peter Pan rehearsal two sweet girls that I teach dance to and who are also in my program for work came and gave me this amazing little box, full of gourmet cupcakes that their mom makes! They are so sweet and these cupcakes are sooo good, and pretty! I've been watching a lot of cupcake wars lately so I'm excited to have some cupcakes like on the show...maybe I'll eat them while I watch the show :) mmmm.

Smile.

2011-02-14T19:47:00.000-08:00

I'm finding that I have a lot to smile about recently (well always really). I was lucky enough to have my mom come up to visit last weekend. I took her to the Carl Bloch exhibit-it was absolutely breathtaking seeing art like that in person, it is nothing like seeing prints and I would suggest that everyone goes to it! We also got to go spend the day in Logan with my grandparents. It was so special to get to just talk and be just us, I feel like I know my mom more than I ever have! She has always been my best friend so it was refreshing to see her if only for a few days.

This is one of five altarpieces on display and is amazing to see in person!

I have also really been enjoying finding beauty in my surroundings lately. Sunsets, ice falls (up Provo Canyon), my husband!, and more. I'm so happy to be able to be going for my dreams and to have a loving family and a loving husband to enjoy this life with.

Robert and I enjoyed an early Valentine's on Saturday. We went to a cute Thai place and enjoyed getting an arrangement of things-cream cheese crab wontons, yellow curry, pad thai, orange chicken-yum! We then made Better than Sex cake with some home made caramel-so delicious. We spent the rest of the day watching movies-it was great!

sigh.

2011-01-18T23:07:00.000-08:00

Today I managed to get my 21 credit hours and 2 semesters that I have left into 21 credit hrs (7 of which are my internship...which is my same job) and 1 semester (spring)! I had to do some talking and lots of paperwork, but it was worth it to get classes substituted and fit into the right places. Yes, it feels much more do-able now, and I can definitely graduate in April :) Oh let the countdown begin. ....and the old snow is melting away!

him.

2011-01-17T21:22:00.001-08:00

I love him <3 .....lots.

new year.

2011-01-17T11:56:00.000-08:00

With a bright new year also comes bright new ideas for big new life changing goals. For me, I feel that the best way to work on improving myself is to focus on setting small and frequent goals. I am very into writing to-do lists and so this method is perfect for me. Just setting small goals that I could put on a to-do list makes me feel like I can really complete the things I want to. Also, this way I don't feel like I have these huge things I have to fix and I can really enjoy life right now more. While reading the Ensign magazine this month I came across this quote that I feel fits right in with this small and frequent idea as well as my spiritual goals I have set:

Consistency is the Key
"Each family prayer, each episode of family scripture study, and each family home evening is a brushstroke on the canvas of our souls. No one event may appear to be very impressive or memorable. But just as the yellow and gold and brown strokes of paint complement each other and produce an impressive masterpiece, so our consistency in doing seemingly small things can lead to significant spiritual results. 'Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great' (D&C 64:33). Consistency is a key principle as we lay the foundation of a great work in our individual lives and as we become more diligent and concerned in our own homes."
-Elder David A. Bednar,"More Diligent and Concerned at Home," Liahona and Ensign, Nov. 2009, 19-20.

old snow.

2011-01-15T21:12:00.000-08:00

Eww. I HATE old snow.
New snow=beautiful, lovely, mesmerizing, cold.
Old snow=gross, ugly, annoying, yucky, cold.
*old snow not pictured due to it's ugliness*

My dancers.

2011-01-15T21:05:00.000-08:00

My little creative dancers did so well at their showcase! I really enjoyed teaching this semester, there is just something magical about teaching kids how to dance. They are at such a creative age and they all are such great movers! This semester I am choreographing for the school play so I don't get to teach creative dance-but it is so fun having the kids run up to me to say hi when they see me at school still!

Daily Grind

2011-01-11T21:08:00.000-08:00

The new year has brought me a lovely new semester full of lots of new classes, teachers, and classmates. This is weird for me because for the past couple years I have had the same teachers, been with the same classmates, and in the same buildings. Now that I have a couple of random classes to do I must venture out of my normal zone! I think I will live, although my new teachers are pretty boring compared to my Recreation Management teachers:) I am also adjusting to having 21 credit hours, but if it means graduating in April-it's no big deal! I am missing extra time already-I hate not being able to be with my husband and friends more....but four months is going to fly right by....right?

Christmas Vacation

2011-01-03T10:00:00.000-08:00

I love love love spending time with family and friends so these past couple of weeks have been great. The end of the semester left me with two whole weeks with only work, cleaning, and the new semester to worry about— I seriously felt like I had so much time on my hands without school and homework! Here are some of the highlights from the past couple weeks:

Christmas with just Robert and I: for the first time, in the four Christmases Robert and I have shared together, it was just us— we watched movies, ate food and went to visit his great grandparents and some other relatives. We also started some new Christmas tradition which made it even more special. I feel really spoiled this year with my ipod touch from Robert- but now I don’t have to go teach dance with my big cd case and cd player, I’m much more modern and hip now.

On Monday my Mom, Dad, Ryan, and Eden came up to visit. We love having my family up and are excited to have Ryan and Eden move here! Robert got to hang out with us Monday and Tuesday but then we left him for Logan to stay with Grandma and Grandpa Shipp. He is going to Colorado to visit friends and see the Broncos games as part of his Christmas!

We have spent a lot of time just visiting with my Grandma and Grandpa Shipp. I particularly enjoyed last night. My Mom did both my grandparents nails and then Eden and I gave my Grandma a foot massage while my mom gave one to Grandpa (the first he’s ever had according to him!). We massaged and talked for at least an hour. My Grandma told us about how she was born at home with the help of her Grandmother. The home was built into the mountain and at night they could hear mountain lions jump on the roof! I can’t even imagine!

Tonight we are enjoying each other’s company, eating, and enjoying being warm and inside and the snow continues to pile up outside. There is something very special and comforting about coming to grandma and grandpa’s home. I can always count on it to look the same, smell the same, and to enjoy the same things-like my Grandmother’s super soft hands, my Grandpa’s quick witted comments, and even Fredrico’s pizza.

So that's how they're going to play it...

2010-12-08T20:49:00.000-08:00

Update: as I was driving into my complex tonight I noticed that another apartment put lights up on their balcony....and they did a one-up and put them up on their windows too. So, I've got some work to do. I'm thinking this will be some good inspiration for becoming the best Christmas light decorator in the complex...it's good to have goals you know!

It's about time....

2010-12-06T22:23:00.000-08:00

Time time time, I swear it just goes faster and faster and faster. This is a good thing when it comes to the end of the semester though, next week can't get here soon enough! With all this madness called school (did my teachers conspire before they had a group project in every single class?) I have still had time to do some fun things in the past couple weeks:
1. I am the choreographer for the children's musical Peter Pan at the school I work at and I got to teach a dance workshop two days last week to prep the kids for auditions!
2. I went to go see Christmas Around The World at BYU this weekend. Bonus-I went to buy my ticket on the 1,000 row when this lady gave me her extra she was selling for free(I didn't have any cash so she just said "well here, Merry Christmas", Merry Christmas indeed!) and had me come sit with her whole family, who were so sweet by the way-they talked to me like I was a long time friend the whole time....and the show is much better on the 8th row when you're close enough to see faces:)
3. I've been preparing my dance class for their show this Thursday-very exciting!
4. My husband is such a stud, he has been extra sweet these past weeks while I've been a mad woman trying to get all my school and work done. He always looks after me and gives the best hugs, and kisses, and leaves the best notes, and makes me laugh...I think I have a major crush on him.
5. Christmas work party time-mine was this past week and it was fun to party with my co-workers...even though it was kind of just like we were working since we basically throw parties for work a lot of the time...am I bragging? oh well;)
6.Christmas decorations are up-husband put up sweet lights on our balcony (I'd like to point out that no other apartment in our complex has lights...wait, am I bragging again-oops) and Christmas music is on the radio-tis the season!
7. I just felt like going to seven...

Overloaded with goodness

2010-09-19T18:57:00.000-07:00

The slowness of summer is most definitely at an end for me! I now have so many this to fit into my weeks that I don't have the time to be lazy like I kind of did the last part of summer. For me this is a good thing though-I am so much more productive with my time when I have more to do, and I always feel better when I'm doing more. I am finally getting close to graduating with only this semester and next left....so I'm hoping to get to April as soon as possible! Until then, I have many things to keep me busy. I have lots and lots of school, researching for a professor, work, work (it counts as 2:)), teaching a dance class (yay), and getting to perform in the Teachers Concert. I'm so excited for all of these things!
The dance for the concert at BYU is so fun, I love hanging out with all the dancers and of course getting to dance more. Teaching my dance class is so fun as well. It is a creative dance class that is once a week with 16 kids(yikes) ages 8-10.....except for 2 six year olds that somehow got in:). The 6 year olds are so cute and small though I can't kick them out, they seriously say the cutest things. I'm trying to choreograph something fun for them to dance at a showcase in December so I hope I get creative soon! With work it seems there is always a new event or activity to plan or go to, but I love it because I feel like I'm continually learning new things as well as how to do my job better which is a great feeling. School is busy because I have never taken a full 18 credits before, but I'm handling it so far and hope to be able to the rest of the semester!
Robert is also super busy right now with his work and volleyball. City league has started again so he has practice a couple times a week and games every Thursday night. It's great for him to do something he loves especially with his long work hours right now (8-9pm-bleh) and I have fun watching him at his games!
I've also been trying out some new recipes which I love to do! I also love to have something new and yummy made when Robert gets home...especially because I'm hungry by 9pm:) and it's fun to at least eat together every night.
Whew...now I just need to remember to take some pictures to post!

Highland Fling

2010-08-08T14:16:00.000-07:00

This past weekend has sure been fun. Saturday morning I got to meet my friend Tori for breakfast. She had just finished being a counselor at EFY and had a couple hours before she had to leave to go home. Even though it was short it was great to get to just talk with her!

Later that day Robert and I went to the Highland Fling with our friends Kellie and Kevin. The festivities included listening to bands, walking around fun booths, and fireworks. We also had fun playing some volleyball and going to eat at Costa Vista. We had so much fun-it reminded me of the type of small town events that we used to have in Prescott!

All Because Two People Fell in Love

2010-08-06T17:57:00.000-07:00

My Mom and Dad celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary this week (August 3rd). It's hard to believe my parents have been together for that long! To me they seem to be the same age as since I can first remember. My Mom and Dad were planning a short one night getaway this weekend and they began reminiscing about their years together. My Mom told me that 10 years ago during their 30th anniversary we were having a really hard time financially. They scraped together some money though and went to Sonic to share a root beer float to celebrate their 30th. Then they drove up near thumb butte and watched the sunset. That night since all of us kids went to friend's houses, they decided to try to sleep out on our trampoline like us kids did so often-it didn't work out so well for their backs though!
I love this story so much and can just imagine my parents excited to be together sharing a root beer float. Even without money they were happy to be together, and here they are 10 years later able to look back on that time with fond memories. I feel so blessed that my parents are together and happy and I can't wait to celebrate mine and Robert's 40th wedding anniversary!

First comes marriage, then comes baby.....

2010-05-27T20:07:00.000-07:00

.....and we are not talking about us of course:)

Robert and I have been busy as usual but have found time for some important events in our friends lives as of late. Kelli and Kevin got married this past week and so we went to celebrate with them at their reception. It was so beautiful as were they!

This is our way of getting a picture with them without holding up the line:)

Here's Robert and I just hanging out on the week-end, one of our favorite things to do!
On Friday morning I got the news that Lauralee's beautiful new boy Carson was born!!!!
I got to spend the afternoon with her, Carson, and her mom/my Aunt Mariana. It was the best day, just holding baby Carson and talking with two of my favorite ladies! Carson is such a cutie, he has cute baby cheeks and lots of dark brown hair.
I can't wait for many more days of hanging out with this guy!

No need to alert the authorities....

2010-05-13T21:45:00.000-07:00

I don't even know where I've been lately! Oh wait yes I do.... In the past month I have finished one semester and begun another, done lots of work as well as volunteer work since I had so much free time:) I've never been able to swing spring classes in school and I wish I could've found a way to pay for them earlier! BYU is so relaxed in the summer, parking is a breeze, and the people are chill, plus the semesters are short! I've already presented 2 presentations in class and had some quizzes, before I know it the semester will be done and I will be free for a couple months! I'm really enjoying my classes right now-mainly my methods of teaching creative dance class. It's so much fun! Already I've been able to observe classes, help out with a show(they put me in charge of costumes, cutting slits and fixing some sewing things, ha....they don't know me that well-I'm sure no one could see any damage from the audience though), and learn a lot in class. I'm hoping to be teaching a class in the fall so this is getting me excited to be teaching dance! I also got a call about a month or 2 ago from the school that I'm over with my work, they heard that I dance and asked me to help choreograph for their production of Annie, of course I jumped at the chance and squeezed it in. It's been so fun working with the kids and coming up with dances. The musical is this weekend and I'm excited to go see it!
Today I realized just how tired I've been when I tool a 3hr nap on the job....luckily I was working from home today and could just do my work later, but still :) I'm looking forward doing a bit more with friends and Robert. I will start with a weekend of hanging with Lauralee before baby Carson comes, and I can't wait to find out what creme brulee pedicures are, yum!

So little time, so much fun.

2010-03-07T19:09:00.001-08:00

Another week has gone by and again we have jammed it full of entertaining things! First to start off with amongst all of our home cooking this week Robert and I tried out a no bake cheesecake recipe that was so simple and so good we are still salivating over it!
Yum-we also made homemade whip cream with vanilla, and I added raspberry preserves to mine!
Last Monday my work day extended into a Family Night Out activity we hosted at Seven Peaks Ice Arena. We invited all of the families in our program as well as all of the 4H families from the schools to ice skate. We ended up with a record turn out! Their were so many people there though that I spent the night running around as did all of my other co workers and so that's why I have zero pictures-I'm definitely not complaining though, I love it!

On Friday evening I had to work-which involved the BYU vs Utah gymnastics meet. It was so fun to get to see all of the kids and their mentors having fun while watching the meet. At the end we got to watch BYU's cheer leading squad perform their nationals routine, which was good despite some pretty shaky lifts, er holds, or whatever they're called!
Then on Saturday evening I had to work again-this time we went with all our kids and mentors to the Utah Flash game, they played the LA lakers. This was an entertaining game as well and the halftime show consisted of what seemed like a whole dance studio performance which was fun to watch!

Autumn(coworker) and I enjoying the game.

This Friday we doubled with newly engaged (yay!) Kellie and Kevin. We got some free tickets to the men's BYU vs Pepperdine volleyball game. It was so fun to go with them since they love volleyball as much as Robert (they all play on a city league together). For this picture we noticed that it was probably the worst angle but oh well, we weren't wanting to miss more of the game with picture redos :)!! After the game we enjoyed lots of Sushi at one of our favorites- Sakura.

On Saturday afternoon Robert took me on a surprise date. It was so fun to just hop in the car having no idea where we were going. We ended up going with Justin and Chelsey to Color me mine. They are very artistic!

Here's Robert and my coaster set we painted together, hopefully it turns out-either way it was a blast.
Today we made dinner for Justin's birthday-homemade fettuccine alfredo and garlic bread-yum, good thing I have dance everyday, although if we keep making things like this I may want to think about starting to run or something!! This evening we are just enjoying each others company while we watch the Oscars.
We expect that this week will be just as busy with work and play, but I doubt we'd want it any other way. It's so fun to have a best friend to do everything with, it really makes this busy life so fulfilling and fun!!!

Current Events for the week.

2010-02-21T16:15:00.000-08:00

This week has followed the trend of being super busy, but this week was also extra fun! This weekend started off on Thursday when Kellie and Lanae joined me for the BYU Courgarettes dance concert. I've been to a few dance concerts in my day and this is one of the best I've been to. The dancing was technically impressive and it was very entertaining. We had a great time talking in between dances and getting to hang out for the night.

Lanae Kellie and I

On Friday after a day of work Robert joined me at the 4H office to attend a Couples Cooking Class. He was sweet enough to join me so that I could hopefully gather some useful information to be used in our Family Night Out activities at work. Also with us were Jess and Bryce which made the class much more entertaining! It ended up being a fun class with some thoughtful information on relationships. The couple that taught the class were very sweet and genuine and it was fun to go and be reminded how to build your relationship with your spouse and work together to accomplish life goals. The main parts they focused on in correlation with the cooking were; you need to have a vision of what your life together will be or accomplish- this is like looking at a picture in a recipe so that you can see the final product, having all the right ingredients to make your recipe-or the traits needed to be a good spouse, following the directions in the recipe in order to get the final product-things to do together to accomplish your vision, and serving the meal was like keeping your relationship warm:). I liked that they said to keep your relationship warm rather than hot which is how popular media generally displays relationships. They said that when you are always looking for highs in relationships you may be disappointed because highs are generally followed by a low. Rather you should focus on the little everyday things which will make up the majority of your relationship, this way you are making sure your relationship is always warm. They obviously did a much better job of talking about this.... They also quoted the movie Up when the little boy is talking about he liked doing the "boring stuff" with his dad which I thought was so cute and really so true-I think that it's the little everyday things that Robert and I do that mean the most, like making dinner together and playing games. For the cooking part we actually made whole wheat waffles, I was a bit skeptical at first but it was fun and pretty tasty as well. They had a drawing at the end for some books and videos and I won the book Fanny's Dream-it is such a sweet story!

Here's Robert preparing to cut some apples for the appetizer, they asked if anyone wanted an apron and I think two people raised their hands...Robert was one:) He's always making things fun!

Here's the couple imparting their knowledge on us.

Robert made strawberry waffles with whip cream and buttermilk syrup, I made blueberry and banana waffles with whip cream and maple syrup-his were way better due to the buttermilk syrup!

On Saturday Robert and I were ready for a bit of a rest. We watched Up which is super cute, then we ended up watching some Olympics in the morning. We settled on watching men's curling, which seems like such an odd sport, but in fact was pretty entertaining to watch. Their is no doubt that it would take a lot of skill to do what those guys do! It was fun to get to cheer on USA as well. For lunch we got some In n Out which didn't disappoint :) After that we did a bit of shopping and then came home to play some games. We got this PS3 game Lego Indiana Jones(thanks to Doug and Jamie for introducing us) which is really fun to play together. We don't normally play too many video games(I pretty much never do) but this one is fun because it's Lego people which is funny, and it's really fun to do everything together in the game! That evening Robert went to play some volleyball at BYU while I did some grocery shopping and some work I had to catch up on. I would have gone to play with him but I know from experience that I'm not very good and when I go I get lost when everybody is telling me all these volleyball terms and I just stand there awkwardly :), plus the people that are playing are usually pretty competitive and I feel bad for bringing their game down, and I'd rather be playing sand volleyball, in the summer, outside, and I'd rather just stay home...
Now it's Sunday and we are home from Church just relaxing and recovering from the week(yesterday wasn't enough recovery apparently). Robert and I got set apart today at Church as members of the activities committee so we are excited to start planning some ward parties together!

Love is in the air

2010-02-16T18:53:00.001-08:00

This Valentines weekend proved to be the best to date(I'm sure I'll say that every year, but hey why not!) It so fun to have an extra reason to be all cute and mushy together so that's why I enjoy the valentines season:). On Friday morning my cute hubby called and announced that he had Monday off with me, so we quickly decided to leave town for Idaho to visit our good friends Doug and Jamie. We had been wanting to go visit and had just been talking about how much better it would be to go on a 3 day weekend so this worked out perfectly. Our first night we stuffed ourselves with delicious Craigo's pizza, rented and watched Couple's Retreat and played games all night, literally. The next morning we feasted on some waffles-thanks to Jamie's lovely cooking skills, and then decided it was time to brave the elements and venture outside-it's freezing in Idaho in case you didn't know! We decided on miniature golfing and laser tag after debating whether or not to build an igloo. These activities provided tons of fun though, we probably could've played laser tag all day. Once I got away from all the super young kids(they were surprisingly good, and found shooting me surprisingly fun!) it was fun to explore the set up they had.

That night we made some dinner and enjoyed another round of games-Robert and I are really into board games and things so this was a blast. We are even planning on expanding our collection with the video game Buzz that Doug and Jamie introduced us to this weekend. It's basically a video game show that has a wide range of topics for questions-so it was fun and I learned a lot.
On Sunday we dressed up and went to hear Elder Cook, one of the Twelve Apostles, speak at Doug and Jamie's stake conference. It was such a treat to hear his words along with his sweet wives on Valentines Day. They focused a lot on teaching your children good morals and having family home evening. They shared some fun stories as well and provided a lot of spiritual insight on the subject.Monday of course came too quickly. We got to go to lunch before leaving and I got to choose the place-Schlotzsky's Deli! This was my mom and I's favorite when I was growing up. We would always go and order the same thing to share. So when I returned home a couple years ago and found that it had closed down I was devastated and have been craving it ever since! It kind of made my day to have it again and it was just as good as I remembered.

Robert and I loved our Valentines weekend together. We not only loved the friends, food, and games, but we especially enjoyed getting away together. We're kind of crazy about each other and so the car rides are a fun time for us to just be together and talk. We rarely have the music up very loud because of our conversation which is great. In my family recreation class last semester I was taught that the key to preventing marital entropy is just 15 minutes of real conversation a day-so I figure having a four hour road trip conversation is a nice addition to that!

January

2010-02-16T18:38:00.001-08:00

After Christmas Robert went back to work and I had to stay to go to my American Humanics conference in Phoenix for my nonprofit management minor. I sure missed being away from Robert but the conference was a great experience. I learned a lot and I made friends from BYU as well as from many other Universities across the country.

It was funny because at every meal they served us iced tea and so the BYU tables never got to drink anything but water.

My little brother Matt is going to school in Scottsdale and so he drove over one night to hang out with me. We had a blast going to dinner and walking around an outdoor mall-where we found a giant ornament in a pond...

Ashley and her fiance joined Matt and I for dinner-it was so fun to see her and meet her boy!

December

2010-02-16T17:19:00.000-08:00

December was quite the whirlwind for us. Robert and I were super busy with work, school, and traveling for the holidays. We attending work parties for both our jobs, and a couple friend parties before school was even up for the semester. After finals and school were completed for me-phew-we took off for Prescott, AZ for some Christmas fun. Since I had slacked on getting pictures from November I have lots from December!

Here's Lanae and I at her husband's birthday party, and us with Carly.

Here's Lauralee, Lanae, and I at our friend Christmas Party at Lauralee's place.

We didn't take pictures until the end so Kristina and Aaron and their boys are missing from the picture. We all had a blast playing games, eating, and talking at the party.

Here is Robert, me, Janessa and Tim at Robert's work part.y

Robert joined me at one of my work activities at Soldier's Hollow. The kids all loved the tubing and my husband did just as much!

Here's my Dad and I being goofy.

My Mom and I striking a pose.

Me and Tabby's baby Tyler-my nephew. I seriously can't get enough of this sweet guy.

Robert and I on our way to play some golf on Christmas Day, a family tradition.

Everyone(well except Gina and Matt-he was working on Christmas!) was able to go on our annual Christmas Day golfing trip-Dad, Mom, Ryan, Steve, Chris, Robert, me, and Gina's sons Nick, and Curtis.

Robert joined me (he's taking the picture) at my friends house for a little Prescott reunion with some of my friends. Kellie, Adrian, me, Logan, (ok this girl is someone I don't know well and so therefore I don't know her name), and Tessa. It was so fun to get to catch up with everyone!!

My parents and I on Christmas Eve.

My love and I Christmas morning.

I just love this picture for all sorts of reasons! My Mom is opening a book about the Women of the Old Testament that my Dad got her. We did our Christmas celebration on Christmas Eve since Matt had to leave early Christmas morning for work.
Here's Tabby and Tyler opening some gifts.

Robert (he's taking the picture again) and I also got to hang out with a couple of my best friends Tierra and Alex.

These are a couple of pictures from our drive to Arizona. We ran into a huge snow storm that cause us to take another route and also had a couple hour delay from a huge accident involving I believe 20 cars-we felt very blessed for our safe travels. I thought it was ironic that someone had run into the accident ahead sign.

It was pretty amazing to see the work that they're doing to build the overpass over the hoover dam-it is such a huge bridge I have no idea how people build such amazing things!

November

2010-02-16T17:02:00.000-08:00

Time to catch up on my blogging because who wants an online journal with giant holes in it right!?! In November Robert and I were able to go to Hemet, CA to spend a few days with his side of the family for Thanksgiving. It was so fun to be able to hang out with the family as well as Robert's good friends. I love spending time with family and this was no different. Rob and Sheri are such fun parents and I feel right at home with my brother in-laws.

Also in November was a mentor training that I had been planning for the months leading up to it. It took a lot of work but I had tons of help and it turned out really well I think. I love all the mentors that have volunteered in my site. They are so much fun to be around and make my job even more of a party. Events included a picture scavenger hunt (hence the pyramid they formed) which we won :), comedy sports, some workshops, and lots of food.We're Making "W" for the name of my site-Westmore

Well I hope you're ready for this!

2009-11-11T20:27:00.000-08:00

Well let's start with the most recent and work backwards...cause that's how I uploaded my pictures! So HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Halloween is of course the best holiday-this year I got to do a lot of Halloween things with work which was so much fun! We had a pumkin carving contest and a carnival.
On Halloween Robert and I went to Chipotle for our free burritos, and then we went with some friends to drink some wassail(also know as deliciousness, yummy, or great apple cider) and watch a fun movie-it was great!

So guess who Robert and I dressed as for the occasion?

Mr. & Mrs. Smith of course! We decided to get name tags to make sure everyone knew who we were :) Even though we already look so much like the originals....

Chipotle get-ups.

Now on to our quick trip to Denver....

Our riding mates Chelsea and Justin....enjoying the back seat.....maybe too much....

Robert and I enjoying the drive....as much as a long ride to Denver can be enjoyed of course!

Obviously here we are going through a tunnel-we didn't want to risk missing the good luck so we held our breath!

Doug Jamie Robert and I at Tyler and Mckenzie's wedding-it was beautiful!
We loved getting to see Doug and Jamie if even for a short time!

And-
My parents came to visit because RYAN IS HOME!!! Here we are at the Logan Temple-I love this Temple! And I love my family :) They were here a full week-it was great to hang out with them in Logan, Sandy, and at our place in Orem.

I'm so excited Ryan is home, can you tell?
Robert and I even got to go with my family to Conference-it was a very special experience!

Robert and I got to go see Cirque de la Symphony in Salt Lake City-it was amazing!

Went to Wendover with Bryce and Jess to a Collective Soul concert-trips are always great with them!!

They were actually really good and I knew more songs than I thought!

Work Paaaarty

2009-08-31T19:30:00.000-07:00

I am always up for a fun party and I'd say this one didn't disappoint! Robert's work threw a super fun party for all it's employees. It was at Robert's boss' house(so gorgeous by the way, I totally scoped it out when I went inside to go to the bathroom). It was kind of circus themed, they had some fun games, a dunk tank, swimming, prizes-Robert won the first drawing(skull candy headphones)....and I won the second(Nordstroms giftcard-i won the better prize I'd say), and the most gourmet hotdog and burger layout I've ever seen! Also they had an old fashioned ice cream booth-oh my yum-the best ice cream ever. We had a great time!

Oh just me by some sweet balloons.

Robert took-I mean was given -some of these lollipops to go home with.

The waiters were all dressed up too.

Time to dunk the boss-man

Awww.

I EXPECT BIRTHDAY SONGS

2009-08-19T12:18:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to ME
August 10th I continued my climb to oldness by turning 22. Since Lauralee's birthday was August 7th and we share the same friends we decided to have a big birthday bash together. We rented out a tumble gym in south Provo and invited some friends. It's always super fun at the tumble gym, while I can't do anything cool I really enjoy watching others do fun things(it's amusing to watch me attempt anything....but I usually get up the courage towards the end). Lauralee brought a Nothing Bundt Cake....which are SO delicious, they have changed my life...seriously, I crave them all the time-yum-Thanks Lauralee!!!

Robert knows how much I adore sunflowers so he pulled over and picked me one:) I thought it was so cute.

Here's Lauralee and her adorable Camden; it always amazes me all the flips and turns and whatever she can do so easily, even after having this one!

Here's Macy-my cousin, Lauralee's sister, Camden, Lauralee, Me, and Lanae

Kayla, Me, and Kayla's friend(did I mention I'm really bad with names)

Brian and Robert having a little too much fun in the sumo suits if you ask me.

Funny story-all 9(Scotty is not pictured but came later w/his gray shirt) of the boys that came wore gray shirts, it was pretty funny.

A couple days after my birthday Robert used his friend Justin to surprise me with some sunflowers.

Since Kellie was working on my birthday(boo) she took me out yesterday. She gave me these beauties and a rad light up bouncy ball, took me to Jason's Deli, and then to 500 Days of Summer(great movie). It was super fun!
For my birthday Robert took me shopping, I've been wanting a summery yellow dress and I loved this one from Downeast, thanks hubby!!

"Work" Trip

2009-08-18T20:09:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know I have been working for 4H Mentoring for the past few months. It is an awesome job and I have really enjoyed it. I get to work with kids and plan activities, it's kind of like playing and getting paid. In the beginning of August I was lucky enough to go with my boss to a conference in Washington D.C. It was the Department of Education Power of Change Conference. For the most part the conference was ok, but there were some really great key note speakers, including a girl the was in the library at Columbine during the tragic shootings.

The great perk of this trip was that it was a chance for me to see Washington D.C.! Jessica and I along with her parents got to go on a night tour, take a water taxi to Alexandria, and explore National Harbor. I am so glad that I got this opportunity and could see all the great history of how the U.S. began and evolved. Another little bonus was that while riding the metro we got to see/ mostly hear the boys in front of us fight....a little scary.

Here is Jessica and I....I am sad because I now know what Gilligan felt like when he realized his 3hr tour was going to be a bit longer. Here's the story; we got tickets for a 3hr night tour that was to take place from 7-10pm. When we got to the bus loading station we found ourselves waiting an extra 20minutes past when we were supposed to leave. Apparently the tour place overbooked by quite a lot and had to rent a large bus at the last second....how they overbooked a whole extra bus load I don't know. So we get on our newly rented bus and finally take off, only to pull over as soon as we get into D.C. Upon looking around we couldn't really figure out why we were stopped. Our bus driver got out and proceeded to sit down next to a lady outside...leaving us all on the bus with no idea of what was going on. Our bus driver continued to flirt with this chick (see picture below). The people in the front of the bus finally told us that we were there to get our tour guide. After about 20 minutes this guy who had been outside on the phone gets on the bus and tells us that our tour guide is on his way from a neighboring city and will be there within 20 minutes due to traffic (sure sure). So.....I'd say about 40 minutes later after our bus driver was left by the lady he was obviously flirting with our tour guide arrived-woohoo. Well the good thing is that our tour guide was amazing and super knowledgeable and really made the tour extra special. We finally finished our tour a little after midnight :)

Since our tour was so late Obama must have been asleep....I'm sure he was sad that he missed meeting me.

Please note that it is VERY humid and muggy in D.C.-hence how I look...

At the harbor they were playing the movie Flipper outside, it was really neat and I guess they do it every week.

4th Of July Fun

2009-07-21T12:28:00.000-07:00

4th Of July

For the weekend of the 4th Robert and I, along with friends Justin and Danielle, went to Idaho. We stayed in Rexburg with our good friends Doug and Jamie who sadly left us to live there for school. We jammed a lot into the weekend, lots of junk food and soda were consumed by the boys, games were played, and old times were relived. On Friday night we went to Texas Roadhouse-so yum- and then the boys and girls split up to see different movies(boys to Transformers and girls to the Proposal-both good movies by the way....although I prefer the Proposal). On the 4th we went to snake river. There we jumped off a bridge-much funner and scarier that it sounds-and hung out by a neat waterfall area. Even though it was quick the trip was really fun and we loved hanging out with good friends!Jamie, me, and Danielle hanging on the bridge

Danielle and I after a LONG day of sun and funApparently Doug and I looked scared before jumping.....

Here's the river taking my shoe away....and Robert swimming after it....and Doug running after it...oops-i'll try to aim for the shore next time I toss my shoes off a bridge.

Here are a sampling of the many pictures I took of Robert and I trying to get a normal picture...My precious husband feels that normal is overrated and so these are the best....most normal I could get-gotta love him

Who's says blogging within 2 months of an event isn't timely?

2009-07-13T13:13:00.001-07:00

Hmm, did I forget to blog about my best friend's wedding!?! Well here is a timely...well to some like me...recap of Kellie and Butch Fay's wedding. On May 2nd Robert and I got to watch them be married for eternity in the Mount Timpanogos Temple. It was raining that week but luckily it cleared up enough during the day for some great pictures. All of my close friends, including myself, have had rainy wedding days so we consider it a sign of good luck! The day was really great and it ended with a fun reception at a beautiful golf course in Pleasant Grove. Kellie and Butch were lucky enough to then head off to Hawaii and Disney world for their honeymoon.What's a wedding without a good car trashing, compliments of the Groomsmen(the picture doesn't do justice, they went ALL out)

In the months before Kellie's wedding I got to plan her Bridal Shower and Bachelorette Party as her maid of honer. I love planning a fun party so this was right up my alley. Her shower was at her mother-in-laws and Kellie came away with what I believe is a full kitchen. For her Bachelorette party we went to Jump On It in Lindon, ate at our favorite-Costa Vida, and did some more partying at my place-of course there was somewhat of a dress code for the entire event.

Here's kellie at her Bridal shower with her Flirty apron I picked out and fun stuff attached to it.
My favorite of Kellie.

Here's kellie and I after I helped her rake in some cash during the money dance.

Me, Tori, and Trisha taking a picture break from doing what we do best (that's dancing for those of you who don't know)

Hmmm.

2009-06-26T20:12:00.000-07:00

So Robert and I were driving down the I-15 the other day and we see a couple on a motorcycle next to us, not really too out of the blue, right. Well a few moments later we look over and realize that the lady on the back......was reading a book!! That's right, she was just sitting on the back of the motorcycle going 80mph, reading a book she was holding with two hands. I couldn't believe it-she must be one seriously skilled reader.

One Year!?!

2009-06-09T15:54:00.000-07:00

Robert and I celebrated our one year anniversary this past weekend! Robert surprised me on Friday afternoon by telling me to pack my bags. He took me to The Park City Hotel, obviously in Park City. It was so nice-our room was absolutly amazing, we even had our own personal hot tub outside on our deck. We went to eat at Ruth's Chris which was super nice and very good-yum!! Luckily we celebrated early because Robert was a little under the weather on our actual annaversary on Sunday. Even though he didn't feel well we still tried out our saved wedding cake....not wuite as good as I remembered :). I cannot believe that a year had already past. The time is seriously going by so fast! I'm so happy that I'm married to Robert and I am so happy for all the wonderful memories we have so far, and for a lifetime more to look forward to.

SuperCross

2009-04-29T22:10:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday Robert and I went to SuperCross with Lanae, Jordan, Lauralee, Camden, and Dean. I was a bit skeptical about how fun it would be, but even with the cold it was pretty fun. Towards the end was the main event which was actually really entertaining to watch. We had some prime seats right where the finish line was and where the riders would do some tricks.

Sunday Drive

2009-04-05T18:56:00.001-07:00

Today after Conference Robert and I thought it would be nice to get out and enjoy the almost nice weather. We drove down to the lake and drove the loop of it, stopping a few times to get out and enjoy the scenery. It was so nice to see the nice clear water and enjoy some fresh air. We also came across this dog that had an absolute blast racing us-he was sooo fast too, we got up to 25 mph and he was still keeping ahead.

Goodbye Hair!

2009-04-05T18:50:00.000-07:00

Recently I have been a little sick of my long hair. I have to wear it up for dance everyday, as well as for work so I never even got to enjoy having it long. Lauralee cut and colored it for me a few days ago and I absolutely love it! It is so much easier to fix and wear-Thanks Lauralee for once again doing an amazing job!

New Addition

2009-04-05T18:25:00.000-07:00

I went to Costco with my cousin Lauralee a few weeks back to pick up some food. Since Costco thought it would be fun to try and make us late for the party at Lauralee's house by forgetting about our order, I decided to take a quick look around. I saw that they had the Temple pictures and was so excited I had to get one. I have been trying to find a good deal on a picture of the Bountiful Temple and I always seem to miss when they bring them to Costco. Luckily everything turned out, we were almost on time for the party, and I got this new picture!

Dancing and sickness

2009-03-02T15:55:00.000-08:00

A couple weekends ago my husband almost willingly went to the Cougarette's dance show with me. It was at the Covey Center for the Arts and was so fun to go to. I'm convinced that Robert liked it too! (he may tell you different but don't believe him :) ). I love going to see dance shows and have decided to take advantage of how many opportunities there are to see them here at BYU and in Provo. I don't know how many I can drag Robert too(I'm sure my gal pals will fill his place), but I'm determined to go more.

Also I have been just a little under the weather this past weekend. I had to go into work on Sunday which I don't like doing anyways and when I got home Robert had medicine and beautiful lilies waiting for me. It was so cute that I just had to gush a little about it. I didn't realize how good lilies smell either-yum!

Back to Business

2009-02-25T13:42:00.000-08:00

Well I have been a complete blog slacker lately! A lot has happened that I need to catch up on. Valentines day has come and past and it was so great. I spent the morning and afternoon at work which was very busy, but luckily I came home to a delicious dinner cooked by Robert. We didn't want to even try to go out that night so we ate, watched a couple movies, and exchanged gifts. Robert was so cute and got me a diamond heart necklace- I love it! It was such a nice relaxing first married Valentine's day together and I wouldn't have changed a thing. Since we were too tired to go out on Valentine's day Robert and I went for our usual drive up the canyon on Sunday. I love that drive and it was nice to see the snow before it left(hopefully for good too!). When we came back we went to see the deer by our house which is always fun, this time I finally got some pictures of them too.

2009-01-30T16:19:00.000-08:00

So I must admit that I have been in love with John and Kate Plus 8 for a while now. I tried to break away from it when Robert saw an episode and absolutely hated it....but then I decided to record it and have been watching it in my free time ever since! I think their kids are so cute and for some reason it is so fun to watch their adventurous life. I'm sure I should be trying to make my life more exciting instead of watching theirs....but what can I say, I like it.

Playing Catch Up

2009-01-28T20:37:00.000-08:00

So I have been slacking a bit on my blog and need to do some catching up. Robert and I were so glad to get out of the cold for a few days when we went to California for Christmas. It was so great to be with his family. Robert is the oldest of four boys so it was kind of fun to have some young kids around for Christmas(everyone's all grown up around my house). Robert and I agreed to fill stockings for each other this year and it turned out really fun. One funny story I have to tell is that Robert got me a couple of those fold out chairs (I had been complaining about not having them for all his flag football games)....well I noticed that they said junior on them Christmas day but figured I wouldn't say anything then. I went to check them out the next day, and upon setting them up I found that they were super tiny, short, and for small kids. It was so funny to show Robert the chairs he had got! Robert also surprised me with some cute things with some inside stories behind them. Overall it was a great Christmas and we're a little sad to be back in the cold. Now we are just working and going to school (even though Robert isn't in school he gets to help me with all my homework :) ). We feel a little out of touch with our friends since we're so busy and I can't wait for the semester to be over.....then it will be SUMMER and we will have plenty of time for our friends and each other!

More to celebrate

2008-12-21T15:39:00.000-08:00

Last night Robert and I went to Robert's work, Prosper's Christmas party. We rode up with Tim and Janessa and luckily didn't hit any snow. The party was at the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City. I love that hotel! It is so elegant and was decorated with proper festivity for Christmas :) The appetizers were probably the best part-sooo good. I think it's the first time I've been somewhere where they walk around with appetizer plates and you get to just graze around. The rest of the food was great too, including Grand America's delicous bread pudding-yum! We had a fun time talking with Robert's work buddies and listening to some success stories from using the Prosper programs. We also got to watch Chelsea Hightower dance which was a highlight for me! I love getting dressed up and going out during the holidays so I'm glad that we got to go to this!

Christmas Party!

2008-12-21T15:23:00.000-08:00

Last Friday some of our friends braved the snow(others were snowed in....so they say :) ) and got together for a Christmas party at Carly's house. We had fun just hanging out, eating, eating, and playing a little gift exchange game. I was so glad to see some of our good friends and a couple of their cute kids-they are all so cute and growing up way too fast! I wish we all lived in a neighborhood together so we could see each other more often.

How many months now?!?

2008-12-21T15:14:00.000-08:00

Robert and I have been married for just over six months now. We have no idea where all that time went! With school, work, and fun with friends the time has really flown by. It has been a great start for our life together and we are so excited for the year mark, and many more after that. We like to go for drives up the canyon a lot and so we celebrated by doing just that. I though it might be cool to get some pictures of our hands....but they didn't turn out to great, oh well! The canyon was beautiful and we had so much fun just talking and enjoying the ride. As you can see this was before all the coldness and snow!
And the picture of Robert and I is where Robert is showing his advanced driving skills....

Not as innocent as he looks...

2008-12-07T14:10:00.001-08:00

Sure he may look innocent...but be advised, he will get you when you least expect! Robert has recently re-discovered his favorite game-scaring me half to death!! He will hide in the closet at night(I hate that one), or in the hall, or will come up on the side of the bed during the night-in the dark, and always gets me! Everytime I get just as scared, no matter how many times he does it!!! I have decided to fight back though, yesterday I actually was successful in scaring him for once when I hid in the hallway :) I think I'm going to have to be creative to scare him again though...I'll have to keep you updated.

Momma's Girl

2008-11-23T12:11:00.000-08:00

I was so lucky to have my mom up this past weekend. My mom is seriously the nicest person you'll ever meet. I have been missing her so much so I was ecstatic to have her catch a ride up here for the weekend. My mom has always been my best friend and it is hard to go so long without seeing her. She even brought me some adorable things to decorate my apartment with! She knows that I have been looking everywhere for decorating items and she found exactly what I wanted-she is the best! We were able to get together with some family on Saturday morning to grab breakfast from Magelby's Fresh-the best french toast ever by the way-it was so fun to see everyone and visit for a while. (My mom is the cute lady on the far right of the bottom group pic!) Then Lauralee and Camden came with us to the BYU book store so we could grab some things Ryan wants us to send him in the Philippines. After that she came with me to a funeral, sadly the sweetest girl from my work past away after a car accident last week, I was glad that my mom was able to go with me for that. Even some of the people from my work that only met her once at my wedding already call my mom, mom. We got to go up to Logan on Sunday to visit my grandparents. They have a new dog and they are so cute with him!
My grandparents are doing so well for their age and are always so fun to be with. I always love being able to see family and visit. We watched Persuation and it was interesting that all they seemed to do was go around visiting family- I was a little bit jealous!
The time came for my mom to leave way too soon! I was so glad that I at least got a fantastic weekend with her, hopfully we will be able to work it out to see them soon!!

Park City Fun

2008-11-11T16:28:00.000-08:00

Josh, Sharon, Dean and Lauralee

Lanae and Jordon

This past weekend we went to Park City with some cousins and friends. We went and walked around the outlet mall, enjoying the chilly air....well some enjoyed while the wimps(me) froze. Then we went over to the Moose Grill, which Lauralee found online and looked really great......although when we called for reservations no one answered. We found out when we got there that it was because they were closed for remodeling! We deciding to go to a grill next door....after getting our drinks we were informed that they had practically nothing on the menu left so we deciding to go down to a local pizza place. The pizza ended up being great and we probably spent a lot less at least. Then we stopped by the Rocky Mountain Chocolate factory for a quick chocolate fix before heading home.

Here is Robert and I with Lauralee and Dean's cute baby Camden-and no we are not practicing family photos for anything in the near future!

Tricks and Treats

2008-11-03T20:49:00.000-08:00

Halloween is always so much fun. This year we got to have Doug and Jamie come down from Idaho to stay with us and hang out over Halloween. We started off the night with a little Rock Band, boy band vs. girl band, and the girls unfortunately lost, but I think it's due to the fact that the boys used to play for days on end while us girls sat and watched. After that we went up to Chipotle in Salt Lake City. For those of you who didn't know, Chipotle gives away free burritos on Halloween if you dress up like a burrito(all you need is a little tin foil). So we took advantage of this and went to two Chipotles :) After getting stuffed we headed over to Nightmare on 13th and enjoyed getting scared a couple times. It was another great Halloween and now on to Thanksgiving!

Here is Robert showing his love of taking pictures....

And one of the girls in burrito outfit number one...

Snow Already!?!

2008-10-12T15:47:00.000-07:00

So I am sad to say that it is here....winter. I'm so sad that fall was cut short this weekend with the first snowfall-at least the snow decided not to stay around! At least there are a couple of good things about winter being here-warm sweaters and hot chocolate, mmm.

Audrey Hepburn Beauty Tips

2008-10-07T11:23:00.000-07:00

So on my igoogle this comes up on my homepage every once in a while and I really like it!

Below is a wonderful poem, written by Audrey Hepburn when she was asked to share her "beauty tips." It was read at her funeral years later.
For attractive lips, speak words of kindness. For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people. For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry. For beautiful hair, let a child run their fingers through it once a day. For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone. People, even more than things have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone. Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms. As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands; one for helping yourself, and the other for helping others.

Wedding Fix

2008-09-12T15:59:00.000-07:00

Robert and I were able to go to our friend's wedding a couple weeks ago. Doug and Jamie got married in the Salt Lake Temple and it was so great to be there for the sealing! Robert and I were with them both on the first night they met(we were all playing games at Doug's apartment) as well as on their first date with them(we went to a haunted house in SLC). They are such a fun couple and are so extremely perfect for each other. It was so nice to be at someone else sealing. I was really able to listen to the sealer this time.
It was also nice to be at the wedding so I could get my wedding fix. I've been so used to living and breathing wedding planning that I have been missing it a little bit :) Although this wedding was a lot less stressful for me! With that said I need all the rest of the singles out there to give me more weddings to come to!!

Gambling, Cake, and Friends....Great combination!

2008-08-30T15:06:00.000-07:00

For my 21st birthday Robert took me to Wendover with a couple of our friends Bryce and Jess. We went and ate at the buffet, which was actually really good. We of course had to test out my gambling skills. I was hoping for some luck for my birthday but found that I am not too good at any type of gambling. I tried my luck at Roulette, Blackjack, and a couple slot machines before I lost all of my money. The most exciting part was getting my ID checked around 12:30am on my actual birthday.
Luckily luck was on Robert's side and he was able to win back what I lost and then some!
When we came back the next day Robert made me my favorite dinner, spaghetti! Then he made my favorite cake and we had some friends over to help us eat it. It was a great day and I am happy to be 21!
Yummmmm

Amberlyn, Lauralee and I

Time to backtrack......

2008-07-03T17:26:00.000-07:00

So I'm beginning to think that I don't blog as much as I should :). The night before our wedding Robert and I had our family and friends join us at Scera Park in Orem for a dinner.

We had pizza with salad and fruit and lots of other yummy food. It was so great for us to see our friends that had driven all the way from California and Arizona for our wedding. Robert also got to find out just how huge my family is. We ate, visited, played some games, and managed to get a few pictures in.

Dun Dun Da Dun

2008-06-20T15:34:00.000-07:00

On June 7th 2008 Robert and I were married for time and all eternity in the Bountiful, Utah Temple!!! We had such a great experience and are loving our new life together!! We were so happy to have so many friends and family with us on our big day.

The day started out rainy but by the time we got to the Temple the weather was absolutely perfect. We couldn't have been happier with how everything turned out!

And the moment you have all been waiting for......

2007-12-28T10:29:00.000-08:00

So this last week has been pretty crazy! Robert and I were able to go down to Arizona for Christmas with my family....it was so much fun! Robert fits in almost too well with my brothers! :) We had a wonderful time visiting with family and seeing the town all decorated for christmas. We also had a great time getting presents :) I got a digital camara and am so excited to begin taking mass amounts of pictures!!!! (this is a good thing for my blog) On Christmas day we got a call from my cousin in Provo saying that her baby might be coming early. We got back on Wednesday night and got to go see her new baby boy! He is 7lbs 2 ounces and was three weeks early! His name is Camden Marshall and we couldn't be happier for them!

Well last night(Thursday) Robert called and said he wanted to come over......he showed up at my door with a big bouquet of flowers! When he gave them to me I grabbed the card and saw a string of pearls, I pulled them out and Robert got down on his knee because there was a beautiful ring attached to the pearls!! So I obviously said yes and we couldn't be happier! We are planning on may and will keep everyone updated on the date!

My true colors :)

2007-12-07T15:57:00.000-08:00

This is probably the best thing I've ever seen!
http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1226833414

I was PITY tagged!

2007-11-21T09:36:00.000-08:00

A. The rules are posted at the beginning
B. Each player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves.
C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment letting them know that they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog for the rules/details.

1. I am in love with peanut butter.......I especially love the Peter Pan brand, creamy of course. It is best either by itself, on bananas, on chocolate, on bread, on pretzels, in a pb & j sandwich, or in a pb and banana sandwich :)

2. I love to dance. I was on a dance team in high school and got to go to New York to take classes and perform....it was TONS of fun. I am still dancing but not nearly as much.
3. I have five brothers. This is crazy to some and normal to others. This is the reason I dance, I needed to be set apart from the boys :) and dance was the one thing that they couldn't do! This also means that I should be tough....all those years of attempting to fight with my brothers...but nope, I am still a wimp.
4. I make sound effects when I talk. That's right.......you know you are jealous. I don't even know how to describe what I do......
5. I love the emo song....I say lines from it all the time.
6. I like to scare people....no I love to scare people. I even got to work at a haunted house this year.....it was great, although I think I enjoy scaring people more when they aren't expecting it.....I have been know to hide in closets or on stairwells.

The secret life of Provo......

2007-10-26T14:12:00.000-07:00

This past month has been pretty crazy.....but it has had it's fun moments! At the end of September Robert and I went on the moonlight lift ride up at Sundance. I love going on this! We went with my roommate and one of her friends and we pretty much laughed the whole way. Robert likes to talk to the people coming down the other side...it is hilarious :) His comments range from "Good night for a first kiss" to "Leave room for the holy ghost over there" .......maybe it's the way he says it but it was so funny at the time.

We also got to go to a masquerade party this past month up in South Jordan. I love dressing up and dancing so it was a blast!

The boys got pretty creative with making their own masks......I was lazy and just bought one :)

Oh Life is Rough

2007-10-11T16:11:00.000-07:00

Well I have been informed that I am LONG overdue for a new post.......so I thought I would update you on what I have been up to :)

<------- Fist I have been practicing for Warrier Ninja (you didn't think I was kidding did you!) This is me defying gravity.....I think it will come in handy.

I also am working at The Dreaded Grove in Springville (all of you should come!) This is my room-mate and I working on my scaring skills. ---------->

I am also working on my jumps......I think this will help me in school

And of course Kellie and I save lots of time for school work :) -------->

Not too sure what class this is for, but it looks like we did well.

This is me practicing being emo....sometimes life just seems so dark and bleak.......

And of course you have to have time to relax.

No longer a teenager!!!

2007-08-13T13:55:00.000-07:00

I just celebrated my 20th birthday this weekend and know that if I don't document it I will most likely be tormented by some that I will not name ..cough...ashley...:). The partying began at work on Thursday when the girls had a party for me...the fun consisted of really good fun and some singing! I took the day off on Friday and spent the day with some close girlfriends. We went to breakfast at Gandolfos (the best!), then we went to University mall and got pedicures, went shopping, and got our make-up done in Nordstroms.....it was all VERY fun and I think it's safe to say we came out looking much better than we did coming in! After going home and changing into our new outfits we met up with some more people and headed down to Salt Lake. We ate the best pizza ever at The Pie Pizzeria(you have to go there if you haven't!) Ate some really good cake that my roommate made, and went to see The Bourne Ultimatum. All in all it was one of the better birthdays I've had! On Saturday I drove to St George and met up with my Mom and two of my brothers. We went to lunch and did a little more shopping. Then on Sunday I got to drive my new present home(from myself ;) ), it is a 2000 red sunfire convertible and I'm pretty much in love with it!

Ninja Warrier

2007-06-13T14:32:00.000-07:00

Well I'm trying to get into this blogging thing and after this post you may see why I don't do this very often. I happened to spend last night watching probably one of the most entertaining shows since say.....American Gladiators. It's called Ninja Warrier and my friends and I came across it while we were bored and tring to find something to watch. It is an American Gladiator type show that is set in Japan, so it comes with subtitles and great news casters(I think that's what they would be called). It has ridiculous obstacle courses and is outside in the 100+ degree weather. It showed 100 people mostly from Japan....two twins from the US were on it.....and out of all these people only 4 made it to the end of the first course......and probably 90% of the people couldn't make it past the first obstacle. All I can say is that it was extremely entertaining watching the people attempt this course and ending falling into muddy water. The course actually looks pretty simple...but by all the people falling into the muddy water below...I guess it actually is not. So after last night I now have a new goal in life....I am going to become the next Ninja Warrier.

For Ashley

2007-06-08T10:11:00.000-07:00

I like so you think you can dance....it is good. I work with Ashley, she makes me write blogs.