Sunny Southern Utah

It is no secret that Steven and I have a 3 year plan. To have school loans paid and done with (or at least close) and to move or buy a vacation home in St. George. We love it there. It would be the perfect environment to raise our child (and future kidlets).

Things we love about it:

*The Warmth-some would say it is unbearable but I LOVE it.
*Golfing- there are great courses there and close by in Mesquite Nevada
*Sand Hollow- perfect for our 4 wheeling adventures and since there is a lake there you can always cool off!
*Canyons- Zions and Snow Canyon are so close. You could hike daily if you wanted. Or bike.
*Lack of snow-This year they received a few inches but that is very uncommon.
*Nevada- Mesquite and Las Vegas are not far.
*California-LA is about 4 hours from Vegas.
*Squid- he could sun bathe his little heart out!
*Gardening- the gardening season is much longer there. I could have fresh tomatoes much longer than I have here!

Southern Utah really is our perfect place. Here are some pictures from our trip this weekend. It was a blast!

 Seriously! 66F at 0930!

 The arcade in Mesquite Nevada.

 My super swollen feet caused by 90F weather.

 These nests are all over the place. This was one of many nests we found in this bush while we were hiking.

 Beautiful snow canyon.

Snow canyon before the sun went down.

Family Love

Can I start by saying....I'm the luckiest woman in the world? My in-laws and hubby painted my whole house (almost) all weekend while I was at work. Can you believe it? I can't. they are insane! Our house looks amazing. They did a great job! Who does that? Who comes to your house and paints it for you AND cooks dinner AND does the dishes???? My mother-in-law does.


Seriously luckiest person ever!

The Year of 5's

Wow. I was facebook stalking some friends and family today. I haven't done that in a while so I thought today would be a good time for it. Facebook stalking and Greys Anatomy re-runs on Lifetime. Sounds good doesn't it? Well during my stalking I realized SO many of my friends and family have 5 year olds. Their children are all turning five within months of each other. This must me the year of the 5's.

Just a strange occurrence with everyone on my FB.

Nativity::The Start of My Collections

I have wanted a nativity for a while. I never buy one because they are so expensive but last night my Mother-In-Law gave me a cute nativity that she made herself. Now that I have a cute nativity I kinda want to collect nativities. Some people collect snowmen and other santa's. I like to collect Willow Tree angel ornaments but I may have found another thing to collect!!! We'll see eh???

I love all things Christmas!

Temple Square

First off I just want to say congrats to Melissa! I know how much she wanted this baby!! I hope your 9 months are amazing and exciting!

So last night we went to Temple Square with my Brother and his cute little estrogen filled family. Sorry Josh! I really hope the next one is a boy for your sake!!! ;)

If you are around the SLC area you know that we were in a giant cloud. The fog was so bad we couldn't even see our neighbors out the back door. The fog made for a beautiful night at Temple Square with the lights and temple. Our camera died after only one picture so here are the only two pictures I have of the night.

I am so bummed I didn't get any pictures of Savy or Mae Mae. The girls were so cute! Mae was bundled up in blankies and Savy was in her 'rainbow bright' jam jams.

So as I said here are the only two pictures I have. . . . Poor quality...yes...but it was done with my iPhone.

Snow!

My favorite Christmas movie is White Christmas. I would watch it on my grandma's lap every Thanksgiving and then every day till New Years. Excessive I know but I LOVE THIS MOVIE. I had a crush on Bing Crosby. I thought he was a stud. Weird? Yes.  My favorite song from the movie is 'Snow'. It is when they are on the train on the way to Vermont with the 'sisters'.

Gets you in the mood for Christmas doesn't it? This is digging a little deep but maybe their deep need and search for snow in Vermont to save the Inn was where my deep love for the snow came from???

What is your favorite memory as a kid during the holiday's? Make a post about it and link me to it. Leave a comment too of course. I love to hear about others traditions.

17 Things I am Thankful For

I guess I am behind in the 'thankful' posts so I am going to catch up. 

1. I'm thankful for my super sexy lover (yes I mean my husband!)
2. I'm thankful for Squid-he fills our house with hair and fun. 
3. I'm thankful for cable TV. 
4. I'm thankful for my house. We worked really hard for it. 
5. I'm thankful for feminine hygiene products. (honestly what a life saver)
6. I'm thankful for my old yet reliable car.
7. I'm thankful for sunny mornings. 
8. I'm thankful for fun family memories. 
9. I'm thankful for hard work, it always teaches you a lesson. 
10. I'm thankful for pretty things. 
11. I'm thankful for my grandparents-they are the most amazing people
12. I'm thankful for fall leaves and all four seasons. (I grew up in CA. I didn't get the seasons)
13. I'm thankful for Target. 
14. I'm thankful for DVR. 
15. I'm thankful for the first snow fall of the season. 
16. I'm thankful for my nieces and newphews
17. I'm thankful for the blessings in my life-I don't think I deserve it half the time.

The Ultimate Example

These are my Grandparents. Bob and Janet. I love them.

I remember when I was little I was helping grandpa wash his car in the driveway and I got soap in my eye. He was so gentle and paid close attention to every tear I shed. He was so careful and let me cry as long as I needed. He just held me and let me spill my guts because getting soap in my eye was the worst thing to ever happen in my life EVER at that point.

Ever since I can remember I would lie across my grandmas lap at night to sleep. As I grew she still held me - my limbs would just dangle over the sides of her recliner.

This weekend my grandma fell and broke her hip. My invincible and perfect grandma was hurt. I dropped everything to go see her. She is more than a grandma to me. She is my best friend.

She knew before I did that I would marry Steven. She saw the love we had and said it was just like her and my grandpa.

This weekend was a giant slap in the face. It was a shocking realization that they will not be here forever and they can break. It kills me.

We lived with my grandparents for a while when I was young. They made a perfect home for my parents, me and my brother. I have a million memories at 2810 Westbranch Drive.

Grandpa has not left her side through this whole thing. Its an amazing example of love. I was blown away by the devotion and love they radiate.

Grandma is doing well and Grandpa is tired but doing well. I love them both and I am who I am because of them (and of course my parents).

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1.02.28

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!

Look what you created!!! What were you two thinking?? Just kidding. Love you Mom!

She is Almost Ready

My no-name kitty is almost ready. It feels like it is taking forever! She was born March 23rd so she is still really little. She can finally hop into the litter box on her own. I guess it takes a couple attempts at it and even sometimes a running start but she is litter trained! She is eating soft kitten food right now too! When I get her I will be mixing wet kitten food with the hard kitten food and then WHAM! She'll be ready! I can't wait to get her. I was totally crushed when Princess died. I never recovered from it and I doubt I ever will. I think I am still stuck in the denial stage. I still expect her to be at my parents house waiting for me, staring out the front door glaring at me for being gone so long but you could see excitement in her eyes because I was finally home to see her. So even though I have NO one excited for me to get my kitty and no one in the family will ever come over anymore I will finally (hopefully) have that void in my heart filled my new kitty.

Wish me luck!

Kitty Kat

I am getting closer and closer to Kitty time! She is finally jumping into the litter box (jumping because she is so tiny) and started normal kitty food. :) YAY!


P.S. Don't forget to vote on a kitty name! ---->

Jime Olsen Creation

This is our portrait compliments of Jime Olsen. He is super talented and an awesome dude. I love this portrait. I can't wait for him to do a family one someday (no kids in the near future, promise). So what do you think? It rocks right????

The Price of Not Having Children

$189.00 for 3 months. Yep life isn't fair for those who wish to wait to reproduce.

Moving Sucks

Yes we are moving again. This is the 3rd move in 3 years. Not only will it be our 3rd but we will be moving a 4th time and it will still be inside of 3 years. YUCK!

So here is the story....We moved to Provo so I could go to Nursing School. Since I am done (graduated) we are getting the H-E-double hockey stick out of here. So we got approved to buy a house and found a house we really like. So what did we do? We put an offer on it! YAY! Yeah not as exciting as you would think. Buying a house is a lot of nail biting and waiting. I hate it. So while we wait to hear back on the house we are moving into the in-laws basement. Steven works in Sandy and has been commuting from Provo for 2 years now. I got a job in West Jordan and the drive from Provo really sucks so this is our only option.

Luckily my in-laws rock. So that is my sob story I hope you enjoyed it. If you would like further detail on the house let me know. I really don't want to say too much though because we don't know if we got it yet and who knows how long that could take. :(

My 23rd Birthday

Us on the Alpine Coaster.

Random iPhone Pictures

Owls

Adulthood Slapped Me In The Face

“Humor helps us to think out of the box. The average child laughs about 400 times per day, the average adult laughs only 15 times per day. What happened to the other 385 laughs?” -- Unknown Author

Why does being an adult have to be so hard and so amazing all at the same time? Why do we need to have so much responsibility? When did monsters under the bed turn into bills in the mailbox? When did dreaming about my dream house turn into a split level in the ghetto?

Why does 'living the dream' have to be so hard?

I will never have the answers but I can gain insight and growth from these trials. Being an adult is hard because if it was easy you would take everything for granted. Responsibility is like a gold medal you earn. The more responsibility the more trials you have conquered. I still have monsters under my bed...they are called dust bunnies and the occasional trespassing spider. The bills in the mailbox can be just as scary as the worst monster I ever had under my bed as a child. My dream house will come with time. It is just going to take hard work and patience.

Even thought it doesn't feel like it sometimes, I am LIVING THE DREAM. I have the best husband in the whole world. He beats all the others HANDS DOWN. He is my best friend and my lover and that is the best combination ever. I have in-laws that I do not deserve and parents I could never replace. My grandma is one of the closest people in my life. She and my grandpa are the best examples. I have a small house that we can call home and you can feel the love the second you walk through the door. It may not look like anything special but it is to us. I have friends that have gone through one of the hardest times of my life with (nursing school).



I am living the dream....and I love it.

I am so SPOILED!

Like I said before my parents came into town. My mom had meetings all day so my Dad and Jack took me shopping. . . ALL DAY! It was so fun. I never new my Dad had such great taste. He picked everything out I just put the last okay on it (of course). He has me all decked out to ride, run, and swim...Hmmm maybe he wants me to keep working out and get back into the stuff I used to love...UM YEAH! How awesome and supportive is that!?!? I think he is amazing for doing this. I cried on the way home with Steven because It meant so much to me that he did this for me. Take a look at the great things he got me. I swear he picked it out!


This is my new suit and goggles. Jack wanted to get me goggles so those pink beauties are from him. He wanted me to get blue but I HAD to insist on the pink. (the blue was in the kids goggle section or I would have got them because HE picked them out...Jack rocks)


The pants are capris so they will be perfect for running and biking. Not only are they cute but very functional. They go from wet to dry in no time at all. They breath well but keep you warm in the winter when you go out. Dad thought the socks were cute. How could I say no...? They were really cute.



What looks best with a yellow and gray yoga top? A yellow sports bra duh!!! The jacket matches the pants and it is made of the same stuff. Awesome eh?


And this is my Jack Jack (little brother). He LOVED the new reclining couches. He got comfy immediately and then asked for chips and Cartoon Netwook. He was ready for the long haul.

I'm The Coolest

According to my awesome nephew Jackson 'Cassy is the coolest'. I am cooler than Mr. Rad, Grandma Con, and anyone else that attempts to battle my coolness. Jackson plays soccer and Mr. Rad and I went to one of his games. He TOTALLY gets the game too, it is so cool. I love this guy and I am so proud of him. I can't wait to see him play again this Saturday.