Brad and Darci Thorsted

Gratitude

2011-11-20T16:36:00.001-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I attended one of the Church's addiction recovery sessions as part of an assignment for my psych nursing class. I went because I had to and I left feeling more grateful for an assignment than I think I ever have. I listened to dozens of people, most of whom I would never have thought were recovering from an addiction, who were in various stages of their recovery talk about the ups and downs they had experienced. One man in particular discussed how he had had a particularly hard week and had sat in a lesson where he was asked to list things he was thankful for and he literally could not think of one thing. My heart ached for this man. He was in a such a low spot and was not even able to see all of the amazing things God has given him. It made me think about how easy it is to get caught up in life and not even realize the incredible blessings that are ours. So in an effort to remind myself of all that I have to be thankful for, here is a list of a few of those things:
- I am thankful for my sweet little sunbeams. I seriously love those kids so much! I am amazed each week when they say the prayers by themselves and they think of the sweetest things to say. They are such examples to me.
- I am thankful for lots of new experiences lately, for our new home, ward and neighbors. Lots of opportunities to learn and grow!
-I am thankful for an incredible family and especially that we were all able to get together last night to celebrate my mom's 60th birthday!
- I am thankful for a garage. Oh how I love not having to scrape off my car every morning!
- I am thankful for an incredible husband who risked life and limb to hang a picture for me this week!
- I am thankful for school and the blessing it has been in my life. I still seriously love what I am learning and feel so blessed to be doing what I am doing!
- I am thankful for my testimony and for the knowledge that I have. Especially to know of my savior and his sacrifice for me.

I know this list could go on and on. Hopefully it will remind me to have a more grateful heart all of the time.

Mi Casa

2011-09-20T16:26:00.000-06:00

We are now officially no longer residents of North Ogden, which is really weird for me.

We bought our new home in Layton back in August and moved in over the Labor Day weekend.
We are starting to get settled a little bit and we are absolutely loving it here. It is amazing to have so much space and we are also kind of loving not having neighbors on the other side of our walls. It was actually really sad for us to leave our little townhouse and all of our friends in the old nieghborhood, but it was time for a change and everything has worked out perfectly so far.

Don't you like it? We do!
The yard needs a little (more like a lot of) help, but that will have to wait until the spring!

We are just excited to have a yard and to be able to have a garden next year!

And this is my favorite part of the house. Seriously I never dreamed I would have this much counter space and cabinet space and I am loving it! Oh and also we are also really loving the idea of having a garage that is attached to our house. Whoever had the genius idea to that must be brilliant!

NY to UT

2011-07-05T20:06:00.000-06:00

I had a CRAZY week last week. Let me tell you about it:

My sister Jenny that lived in New York was planning on moving out here to Utah, she and her husband had planned on starting their cross-country drive on Saturday, June 25th, only due to an accident, my sister's husband Brett needed to stay in NY for a few more days. Well this meant that my poor sister and her 4 cute little kids were going to be stuck in an empty house for almost a week because everything had already been packed in the moving truck. Well after one day of that she decided that wasn't going to work so we had this brilliant idea that I should fly out to NY on Sunday and she and I and her kids could make the drive together. So that is what we did! It was seriously on such a whim that I just kept on telling Brad that I couldn't believe I was really doing this! But you better believe that I did it! I bought my ticket about 2:00 on saturday afternoon and Brad was driving me to the airport by 11:00 sunday morning! Talk about CRAZY!So I arrived in NY at 1:00 on monday morning and Jen and I had the van packed and we were ready to go by 11:00 that morning. We had one stop we had to make before we could get on our way though:

A trip to Build-A-Bear to get some "moving buddies" for the kids!

Do you see that cute little guy in the green? Yep that is my nephew Isaac and this was the first time I got to meet him! I am pretty sure that I am in love with that little guy!

Then we were officially on the road. Lucky for me, we had to cross the Hudson River to get onto Interstate 80- which would become our best friend for the next four days.

Oh, how I love that river, I still can't believe that I was in NY. Totally makes me want to go back and spend more time there again!

The first night we made it through NY, Pennsylvania, and just barely into Ohio before we decided to call it a night. Here is us having dinner at Burger King somewhere in western PA:

We were on the road bright and early the next morning and we seriously hauled that day! We went through Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and about halfway through Iowa. That means that we were in 4 different states in one day! The kids were seriously awesome! I did not think that we would make it as far as we did but they held up great. We stayed in Iowa City that night and found a hotel with a pool which was great to get some of the kids' energy out. Wednesday was another early morning for us. We made it through Iowa and all of Nebraska, which may not sound like we did as much that day as we did that day before but- holy cow- Nebraska is a big and boring state. If you don't believe me, just take a look for yourself:

I honestly don't think that I have ever seen so much flat. It was crazy to look out the window and be able to see all the way to horizon, no mountains or hills or even trees to block it.

I think the drive was starting to wear on all of us that day but we held up pretty good and actually made it to Cheyenne! Woot! It felt good to be in somewhat familiar territory.

Thank goodness for DVD players! It probably saved our life a couple of times! Definitely worth the investment!

On Thursday we only had about 8 hours of driving ahead of us so we decided to actually sleep in until 5:30am and stay for the continental breakfast at the hotel (which the kids loved- who would have thought!). We traveled through Wyoming and crossed the Utah border sometime around 2 Thursday afternoon. I have never been more excited to see a "Welcome to Utah" sign in my life! I also don't think that I ever realized just how pretty our mountains here are!

We made it to my moms house at 3:30 and it felt so good to be out of the car for good!

I also could not wait to see Brad! This was actually the first time that I have ever left him since we have been married. He has gone away a few times for scouts and things like that but I have never had to leave him. I am such a baby and totally started crying at the airport. But we made it through it and I was so happy to see him! He is such an awesome hubby for letting me go on this adventure!

3 and 0

2011-06-26T07:29:00.001-06:00

Yep! Thats right! Today is the "BIG" day for someone in our house and it is not me! My Brad is turning 30 today! I keep on reminding him how old he is and he doesn't much appreciate it. Oh well, he knows that I still love him even if he is old.

I threw a big surprise party for him last night and it was perfect! It was so much fun and it was awesome for Brad to see everyone there. Thanks to everyone that came and especially everyone that helped out! Here is a pic of the cake that I made for Brad. That thing took so many man hours, but I love how it turned out! I think he kind of liked it too!

I really just have to say that I love my Brad so much and seriously think that he is so amazing. He does so much to support me and help me. I am a very very lucky girl to have him. Love you Brad!

Happy 30th Birthday!

Official!

2011-06-26T07:21:00.001-06:00

So I took the biggest test of my life this week! I was so nervous to take it and even more nervous to find out if I passed. The week leading up to it was so stressful and I just kept on praying that I would be smart enough to pass. Well I was able to log in on Friday and find out the results. This is what I saw:

Grade: Passed

Oh my goodness, I was beyond excited and so relieved to see that. All of those prayer were answered! WOOHOO!

So what does this mean? It means that I passed my NCLEX for my LPN license! It means I am officially a nurse. It means that when people ask me what I do I no longer have to say that I am just a nursing student, I can say that I am a nurse! Oh wow! That feels SOOOOO good!

Message Received:

2011-06-13T16:58:00.000-06:00

Every morning for the past 4 years Brad wakes me up when he leaves for work so that I can pack his lunch for him and see him off. Now this is usually between 5:30 and 6:30 in the a.m. so I am usually really sleepy and not fully functional. Brad always is sure to tell me that he is grateful that I get up with him every morning but I think this morning he maybe would take his thanks back.

This is a gtalk message that I recieved from him this afternoon:

so...are you sure you still love me?

'cause i didn't get a coke in my lunchbox...

Apparently the sleep that I give up every morning to pack his lunch isn't worth quite as much as his Coke is everyday....

Its a good thing that I love him and I know that he really does love me more than his coke :)

The Evidence

2011-05-14T09:30:00.000-06:00

Last night (or I guess I should say this morning) around 12:30 whilst finishing up watching season 5 of 24 (yes we are a little slow), we saw an advertisement for some amazing looking ice cream bars. As soon as I saw them I really needed to have them.

So we may or may not have driven to the local wal- mart to get us some of those yummy looking bars. Brad was seriously so embarrassed when we were walking in there. But don't you worry, true to wal-mart form we were still some of the best dressed people in there even though we were totally in lounge clothes. And also true to wal-mart form, they did not have said bars that we wanted so badly. But don't you fear, we found something else to tide us over:

And these definitely did not dissapoint.

See:

We ate our fair share of those things while we watched Jack Bauer get taken by the Chinese!

Little Lexi

2011-01-16T12:30:00.000-07:00

Meet our newest niece, Lexi.

Our sister-in-law Marci had this cute little thing last Sunday and we finally got to meet her a couple nights ago. She really is such a beautiful baby and we are so excited for their little family.

Yay for little babies to hold!

Seriously?!

2011-01-06T16:03:00.001-07:00

Its been FOUR years since this happened?

(well technically four years and a few days... I am a little slow)

So we decided to celebrate by devouring some of this:

(30th Anniversary Cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory)

Yumm!

Here is a funny conversation we had the other night:

Me: I hate when you put all of the covers on my side of the bed

Brad: Well, you should be used to it by now, you have been dealing with it for years now.

Me: I haven't even known you for years

pause...

oh wait, I guess that we have been married "for years".

It doesn't really feel like that at all... Thats a good thing right?

Christmas Past

2010-12-17T12:53:00.001-07:00

You already know that I love this time of year and lately I have been thinking a lot about about past Christmas times. It is such a wonderful time of year full of so many happy memories!

I have been thinking about the Christmas that I spent in New York. I spent a good part of my weekends in December exploring the incredible sights of that city. There really is nothing more magical than Christmas time in New York City. If you don't believe me, just go watch Elf!

This time of year always brings so many fun emotions when I think about the Christmas that Brad and I spent more time counting down to December 28th then we spent counting down to the 25th. For some reason getting married was just a little more exciting that year than Christmas was.

And I can't help but think of Christmas time when I was growing up. I love how simple and magical it was. I kind of wish it could still be like that.

(I may not look like it, but I was seriously so excited for that little tutu. I probably wore it everyday for a long time!)

But this year I am trying to spend a little more time thinking about this Christmas:

Because that's really what it is all about. What an incredible thing to be celebrating! I am so grateful for the birth and life of Christ. I am so grateful to have a knowledge of his sacrifice for all of us and to know that he lives and loves all of us!

Merry Christmas to everyone!

Peppermint Anyone?

2010-12-14T16:51:00.001-07:00

I love love love this time of year! I also love to bake! And thanks to finals being over with I am actually able to enjoy both of those things! Lately I have been on sort of a peppermint kick. I think that I have decided that everything is better with a little peppermint extract and crushed peppermint sticks on top. So here is what I have been up to lately. (Since I am no longer a captive to maintaining sterile fields, memorizing side effects, or waking up at 3:30 in the a.m.)

Peppermint Swirl Cupcakes:

Homemade Candy Cane Oreos

Peppermint Bark

My sister and I got together yesterday and made 12 pans of this stuff! It is probably safe to say that we were on a peppermint high by the end of the day, but we had fun doing it... at least I did! And maybe if you are lucky you will get to try some of this stuff!

We will have to see what else is in store for this week! It just feels more festive in my house when I make something yummy! And it is always better with some fun Christmas tunes in the background! I just love this time of year! Yay for finally having time to enjoy it!

Cute Little Baby!

2010-10-11T13:37:00.001-06:00

Meet Claire Autumn

My sister Bethany gave birth to this sweet little thing on Oct. 7th. She is so darn cute and I just wish I could hold her all day long. She was nameless for a few days and so we kind of just got used to calling her baby, though I love the name they picked so I don't think it will be hard to get used to calling her Claire.

I couldn't resist posting this pic, I think that there were a lot of people very excited to meet this little girl!

I know your jealous!!!

2010-09-27T13:53:00.000-06:00

That you don't get to wear this styling outfit everyday:

and that you don't have this massive stack of massive books to decorate your front room:

I know I would be!

Yep- thats right my fist semester in the program is in full swing and it has completely taken over my life. I had my second week of clinicals today and I loved it. If only I didn't have so many tests!

Bryce Canyon

2010-08-17T14:53:00.007-06:00

A few weeks ago Brad and I were watching the news and they showed a picture of Bryce Canyon. I was so surprised when Brad said he had never been there, so we decided to plan a trip down there. It is so pretty down there and we both just absolutely loved it. The weather was perfect and we found a pretty good spot to camp, This was only the second time we have gone camping since we've been married so I was a little nervous. But it was a complete success! We had everything we needed, stayed warm and dry and we enjoyed some delicious s'mores! Here are some pics from our weekend! If you haven't been down there, I would definitely recommend it- it is gorgeous!

First stop at Bryce!

Our extra large, extra gooey, extra yummy s'mores!

Getting ready to hike through "Wall Street"

Brad in front of "Thor's Hammer"

On our way home...

Looking Forward...

2010-08-01T17:46:00.004-06:00

My sundays are filled with A LOT of free time, which gives me a lot of time to think. Today I have been thinking a lot about the things that I have coming up, some of them soon and others not so soon, to look forward to.

The cookie dough cheesecake that I am hoping to make sometime this week.

This Saturday when Brad will get home from camping with the scouts. He hasn't even left yet and I am already excited for him to get home!

Our little trip to Bryce Canyon in a couple weeks!

Not having to work on Saturdays. I only have 1 left!

Finally starting the Nursing program. This brings so many mixed emotions but I think excitement and extreme anxiety can basically sum it up.

A new calling. Don't know what it is yet but I keep on telling Brad that I am ready for one. I hate not having one, I feel like I am not really contributing.

Someday sitting by Brad in church. I don't really even remember what it was like to sit by him in Sacrament, but I am pretty sure that I liked it. Maybe someday I will get to like it again.

Someday being a mom. (Just to clarify, this is definitely NOT an announcement.)

Someday watching Brad be a dad. I love watching all the dads at church and seeing how they interact with their kids. It makes me very excited to see what Brad will be like.

Being able to go to this beatiful temple:

I seriously gasped when I first saw this picture. I think it is the most beautiful temple they have designed for a while. I can't wait to be able to go inside!

Reading over this list also makes me realize just how blessed I am to have these things to look forward to. I only have my Heavenly Father to thank for all of these things.

This is Historic!

2010-07-14T14:23:00.008-06:00

My mom was able to get all of us free tickets to the Paul McCartney Concert last night.

My response upon hearing this news was- Cool- free? Sure, I'll go. Brad however was much more excited for the oppurtunity.

The concert was actually lots of fun! He played lots of stuff from the Beatles, which for some reason I wasn't really expecting.

About halfway through the concert Brad turns to me and says, "This is historic, Darc!" I just laughed! I had no clue this was such a big deal.

We all had so much fun though! Thanks so much for planning a fun night mom!

Guess What!

2010-06-26T09:00:00.003-06:00

I am now married to a 29 year old!

(Our birthday eve celebration at Tucanos)

Happy Birthday Brad!

I love ya!

Take me out to the ball game

2010-06-04T10:10:00.003-06:00

We took these handsome little guys

to the Bee's game last friday.

I learned a few things that night:

Even little boys have big stomachs

Free clappers have endless possibilities of entertainment

9 year old boys have lots of energy

These guys are so much fun to be around

Okay I already knew that one but it was fun to be reminded!

We really had such a blast. This might just have to become a birthday tradition!

Wishing....

2010-04-02T12:27:00.015-06:00

I was in this beautiful place:

(Highland, New York)

Holding this new little bundle:

Isaac Ryan Young
(Our newest little nephew who is too far away)

...Maybe someday.

Woot Woot!

2010-03-07T09:21:00.004-07:00

Last night as Brad and I were coming home Brad decided to stop and get the mail. When he got back in the car he handed me an envelope addressed to me from Weber State University College of Health proffessions. Oh man, my heart just started pounding and I couldn't even open it. I convinced myself that it was going to say what I didn't want to hear and I just didn't think that I needed to read that rejection. Well Brad took the envelope from me and we sat in the car while he read it to me.... So what did it say?

Well it said this:

The Weber State University School of Nursing Admissions and Advancement Committee is pleased to inform you of your acceptance to the Nursing Program for fall semester!!!!!!!!!

Don't ask me what the rest of the letter says because at this point I was in freak out mode!
I am soooo excited and relieved! More than anything it just feels good to know what the next two years are going to be for us. Life has been revolving around whether or not I would get into the program and it is so good to know what we can plan for now.

So in honor of the Oscars tonight I would like to take this moment to thank those who helped me get to this point:

First, my incredible husband who has supported me through all of this and more importantly pushed me to keep going when I got too overwhelmed. Seriously I would not be at this point if it weren't for him.

Second, my parents who have always supported me and never laughed at my dreams. And who are going to continue waiting patiently for me to get done with school before they have more grandkids :)

Third, Brad's mom Karen who has been such a help and offered so much advice to me. I think she might get tired of my questions before the next two years are over!

And lastly but most importantly, My Heavenly Father who, really, I couldn't expect any of this to be happening without his help and guidance. I am so grateful for this incredible blessing and oppurtunity he has given me.

Here's to an exciting, long and probably a little rough next two years!

An Incredible Day

2010-02-24T08:23:00.002-07:00

This past weekend my family was able to have such a neat experience together. We woke up bright and early and all trecked down to the Mt. Timpanogas Temple (due to logistics this was the easiest temple for us). My mom is a convert to the Church and therefore has a lot of family names that need their temple work done including my grandparents and great-grandparents. So we started off doing the baptisms and ended of course with the sealings. Now obviously I am not going to go into a lot of detail, but it was seriously such an incredible experience. The spirit was SO strong there and it was so incredible to know that we were linking our family together like that. I have never done family names before and it definitely gave it much more meaning even though I never actually met any of those people besides my Grandma. After the sealings were done my mom was able to get sealed to her parents and it was just so amazing. The sealer that was with us was such a neat guy and offered some profound insight that I hope I will never forget. The spirit was so strong I just couldn't stop smiling (I'm not much of a crier but if I were I am sure that I would have been crying). It was also just so neat to be in the temple, especially the sealing room, with so much of my family. I am so grateful that we were able to have this experience together and even more than that I am so grateful to Heavenly Father that has blessed my family with a knowledge of the Gospel and that I have an amazing Mother who had the courage to get baptized. I am also so grateful for the power that is in the temple and the blessings that we are able to recieve there. We really are so blessed!

What do you get a guy for valentines day?!?

2010-02-15T18:32:00.005-07:00

Yep! I've struggled with this one for a few years now but this year I think I came up with a winner-

First I made up some of my own fortune: (thanks to this wonderful blog)

Inside I put clues about where I am taking Brad- they must have been pretty good clues because it only took two cookies to figure it out!
So in a few weeks we will be going to the Grizzlies vs. Thunder game. Yep, I am a pretty cool wife! I am willing to freeze my buns off to make Brad happy!

So what did Brad get me?

Just some of my very favorite flowers and I actually can enjoy them for more than a few days!

It was definitely a very successful Valentines day! Oh how I heart my Brad!

12.28.06

2009-12-28T11:59:00.004-07:00

Time really does FLY so fast and it seems so weird that it has already been 3 years since we got married. I decided to compile a list of some of the things that I have learned from being married to Brad for the past 3 years:

Everything is better with a coke- at least in Brad's world

There are actually meals to cook that don't consist of tomatoes and onions and I have become quite good at making them

The movie is not over until the credits stop rolling (you never know when they might throw an extra clip in the end)

There is nothing better than a late night cuddle on the couch

Sitting by myself in sacrament meeting isn't that bad

My favorite place to be is inside Brad's hug

Life is so much better when you have someone you love helping you along the way

Being married to your best friend really is the greatest happinnes!

Chop Chop!

2009-12-21T14:44:00.005-07:00

Here is the before:

(don't mind the lack of makeup in this one- it was a little early)

Here is the during:

Here is the after:

It took two years to grow it out and about 20 minutes to cut it off, but I love it! I am definitely a short hair person and that long hair totally tested my patience! I decided a while ago that I wanted to grow my hair out to donate it and have been waiting forever for it to be long enough and on Friday it finally was! I donated about 12 inches which is more than I thought I had. I am so glad to see it go- Brad was a little to attached to the long hair though so he's isn't too excited about the new do- but I am!

Thanksgiving Festivities

2009-12-02T14:57:00.004-07:00

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving break together. It is weird for Brad and I to get even one day off together but we somehow managed to have 3 in a row. I didn't really take many pictures except this one of our tree this year. This is what we did most of our day on Friday and I am very happy with how it turned out this year. I was able to go to the Nutcracker the day before thanksgiving with my mom, Bethany and her girls and it was so fun. Totally made it feel like Christmas! We spent Thanksgiving day with my family and had tons of fun. The food was so yummy- seriously, I don't normally like turkey, I usually just take a little bit. But this year it was so moist and flavorful I kept on wanting more. We had fun playing games together and probably played for a little too long. It's a good thing noone had to work in the morning. Brad and I also were able to go and get some shopping done as well as watch some movies and take some naps. Pretty much we just enjoyed relaxing together. I am so in love with this time of year. It is so good to have a reminder of how blessed we are and to have more oppurtunities to serve people. I can't get enough of all the Christmas music and decorations everywhere. I am almost done with my shopping which is exciting, I actually purposefully put off some of it because I really like the hussle and bussle of the season and I didn't want to miss out on it. I know, I am a nerd. I am also sure that when I am trying to hunt down a parking place at the mall I won't be so in love with that.

Howling good times!

2009-10-27T15:30:00.014-06:00

This weekend was my Mom's halloween party! This is probably the best family party we have all year. Its a super crazy night because there is so much going on but it is so fun how much everyone gets into it- kids and big kids.

So for your viewing pleasure and to make you all a little jealous that you weren't there (Jenny) here are some pics of the nights festivities:

Mom as Jesse from Toy Story, Dad as Ben (family joke), Brad and I as the coolest Cubs fans ever. Sydney, Joey and Ella as The Little Red Riding Hood characters with Bergen the baseball (he said he was a Cubs baseball) and Rachel and her girls all decked out.

I can't get enough of my Mom in her costume- she got so into it and looked so great! Isn't she a pretty cool Grandma!

Donuts on a string:

This is the best part of the night-

1- because you get to eat a donut (yum!)

2-because it is hillarious to watch everyone try and do it- especially Mom, Sarah and Beth.

3- because Brad and I totally dominate it! Woot Woot!

The Candy Bar Game:

This was a new game we played this year and it was so fun to watch the kids play- actually the best part was how into they all got.

Of course all of this was topped off with yummy food, lots of treats and some great Halloween tunes. It was definitely a fun night for everyone.

Too Cute!

2009-09-28T16:03:00.003-06:00

This little guy joined our family last week and I can't get enough of him! Brad's sister Michelle had Bridger on Thursday 9/24. We went and visited them on Friday and it made me so baby hungry (don't worry, I won't give in). He is so tiny and I could have held him all day. I even got Brad to hold him, he was so nervous but he did great and looked so cute with him...ah...one day!Welcome to the world buddy!

Farewell Summer

2009-09-02T18:46:00.006-06:00

Well- school has started which means that for us Summer is over. It went so fast this year and I hardly had any time to post. So I am making up for that now.

Although Chicago was definitely the highlight of our summer we did manage to get out and do a few other fun things, below is just a taste of the rest of our Summer!

Hike up Waterfall Canyon

On the 24th of July we (mostly me) decided it would be fun to go on a hike. It had been a long time since either of us had done this one so we thought it would be a good one. Brad is not much of a hiker and was not to thrilled about my idea but I think he had a lot more fun than he thought he would! We had perfect weather and it was so neat when we got to the top. The views were so worth it.

Peter Breinholt Concert

For us summer is not complete without a Peter Breinholt concert. We went to this concert at the beginning of August at the Sandy Ampitheater. It was an excellent show and it was so fun sit on the grass and cuddle in the blankets and just listen. (I know- we're nerds). He even did a little Michael Jackson tribute and it was so funny. We pretty much just laughed the whole way through it.

We celebrated SO many birthdays this Summer. You would think that with that many family get-togethers we would have managed to get some pics...but we didn't! So Happy Birthday to all you born during this sunny time of year: Rachel, Brett, Joey, Lynden, Chris, Marci, Jenny, Mazzy, Bethany, Colton and David!

And Speaking of family.... we thought it would be a good time to introduce a new member to our family.

Meet Vivian:

Or as we like to call her- Viv the Civ!

We decided it was time to part with the car that Brad had been driving and get something a little safer and more reliable. After much deliberation we settled on the Civic and we absolutely love it! I only wish I got to drive it more but since we bought it for Brad it is usually gone with him. But you better believe I drive it whenever I can, which is mainly on runs to the grocery store which I suddenly don't put off having to do!

The Windy City

2009-07-14T10:28:00.002-06:00

Okay so it took me a little longer to get this post up than I wanted to, there is just so much to write about. We had so much fun and kept ourselves very busy while we were in Chicago.

We arrived on Thursday afternoon and after the scariest cab ride of my life, we somehow managed to arrive at our hotel alive. We got checked in went up to our room and got settled. We didn't waste too much time- I was so ready to go exploring and we were both very hungry. So we walked around and eventually found our destination- Harry Caray's Steakhouse. Brad ordered the biggest steak I have ever seen and proceeded to eat it all except the one bite he shared with me. Then it was off for some serious shopping. We found H&M just a few blocks north of our hotel and it was so exciting to go- I love that store so much! The best part is that they were having a huge sale so I hit the jackpot! After that we went back to the hotel and crashed, I don't know why flying makes you so tired.

Our hotel, the wonderful H&M and our first Chicago dining experience

Friday morning we took a bus down to Muesem Campus and we were able to go to the Shedd Aquarium which was very cool! This was probably the part of our trip that I was most excited about. This place was huge and there was so much to look at. They had dolphins, belugas, sharks, penguins and just about anything else you can imagine. It was so much fun to see so many cool things, I wish that our pictures would have turned out but none of them really did. We did get some good pictures outside while we were eating lunch; the aquarium sits right on the lake and had some very pretty views. After the aquarium we headed to Adler Planetarium. We were both very excited for this but apparently we had too high of expectations. There really wasn't a whole lot to do there. We did go to a star show that was really cool, but other than that we were pretty disappointed with the planetarium. We went to the Weber Grill restaurant for dinner and it was so yummy. Everything is cooked on a charcoal grill and we had some very delicious hamburgers which made Brad a very happy boy!

Outside the aquarium, touching starfish in the "tide pool" and getting ready for our 4-D movie!

Saturday was the 4th and we were so excited to be spending it in Chicago. Most exciting was going to the Cubs game! We woke up and headed to the train station- this was our first trip on the subway/ "L" train and it was PACKED. Everyone getting on was heading to the game and Brad was pretty excited to be around so many cubs fans. We got to Wrigley walked around a few shops and picked out some cubs shirts and then we were off to find our seats. When we got our first glance of the field Brad just got this huge smile on his face- he was seriously like a little kid and I loved seeing him so excited to be there. We found our seats which were pretty high up but we actually had a really great view of the game. Brad took lots and lots of pictures of everything there. I went and got us both a hot dog for lunch while Brad enjoyed the game. We were told by everyone that we just had to try the hot dogs at Wrigley because they were the best. I am not a hot dog person and I did not particularly enjoy this one either but oh well, it is all part of the experience right? The cubs lost badly that day, final score was 11-2 for the brewers. The worst part was that we were seated by a bunch of drunken Brewer's fans who were cheering at all the wrong times. Even though they lost it was still very cool to be there for the fourth of July! We left Wrigley and did a little more shopping. We had decided to go to the Rainforest Cafe out there; we walked forever until we finally found it. It was definitely a cool atmosphere but we didn't really love the place, the service was awful and our food was not very good either so we tried to get out of there as fast as we could. We then raced up to Navy Pier for the fireworks. They started them a little early so it wasn't even quite dark when they went off so that was kind of a bummer. It was still so neat to see them on being shot out over the lake. We are so glad we were able to be there for the fourth and have that experience. I think a baseball game followed by some fireworks is the perfect way to spend the fourth!

First sight of the field, sporting our Cubs shirts, heading to the fireworks and downing our hot dogs!

Sunday was a pretty lazy day. We had thought about going to church but there weren't any close to downtown so we had loaded a few conference talks on our Ipod's and listened to those in our hotel. We decided this would be a good day to attend the Taste of Chicago which was in Millennium Park. The taste is a big food fair where all of the restaurants come in and set up booths and serve a few of the foods from their menus. You purchase tickets at the beginning and then turn in tickets for food. I tried some sweet potato hash browns, which weren't as good as I had expected. We also tried some rib sandwhiches and Brad has some carne-asada tacos. The best part was the dessert we chose. It was from Eli's cheesecake and it was a chocolate chip cheesecake put on a stick and dipped in chocolate and then covered in toffee, then it is frozen. So it was like eating a popsicle of sorts only it was pretty amazing. I think I am going to try to figure out how to make something like that. Well apparently we decided to try and leave the park at the same time that the rest of Chicago decided to come to the park and it was seriously chaos trying to get out. It became a human gridlock. We were seriously stuck in the middle of thousands of people and everyone was pushing against each other trying to go one way or another. It took us about 15 minutes to move the space of about two blocks. There were a couple of times that I seriously thought I was going to die, it was so claustrophobic. It was so hot and we were rubbing up against all of these hot, sticky, smelly bodies. All we wanted to do was go back to the hotel take a shower and hop in the pool so that is what we did followed by a much needed nap. Then we headed up town to the pizza place that everyone had told us to go to- Giardano's. All I have to say is YUMMMMM!!!! This was seriously some amazing pizza. It was so huge and so full of cheese and so good. I am not really a fan of the Chicago deep dish pizza you can get around here but this was the real stuff and it was so so so good.

A fountain at Millennium Park, at the taste, enjoying our cheesecake on a stick and our humongous, delicious Chicago- Style pizza!

Monday was a pretty full day- but we started it off with one of the best parts of our trip. We headed back up to Wrigley and we took a tour of the field. It was so neat to hear all of the history of that place and also all the random tidbits that they had to share with us. We went pretty much everywhere except the locker rooms because it was a game day but that was okay. We were able to sit in the bleachers, then up to the press box then down in the dugouts, and finally we went out on the field. It was just so cool to be there, Brad was totally soaking up every minute! After the tour we headed to the Field Museum, which is a natural history museum. We didn't spend tons of time there but I think you could easily spend a couple of days in that place. They had all sorts of interesting exhibits. We did walk through the Egyptian exhibit, I don't know why but I find that part of history so intriguing but I almost think I learned a little too much about the embalming process! This museum is also where they have the largest and most complete T-Rex skeleton, her name is Sue. She was so big. They had to make a model of her skull and put the real skull on display in a glass case because the real skull weighs 600 pounds and it is too heavy for the rest of her to support. I can't imagine how much she would have weighed alive- yikes! After that we had lunch at one of my very favorite places: Panera Bread. I love this place so much and one day we will get one in Utah- we have to- it is just soooo good. Then it was back down to Wrigley for our last Cubs game. We got down to Wrigley about an hour early to do a little more shopping and I noticed that in one of the shops there was a cubs game on. I asked Brad why it was on and after asking the cashier we found out that they ESPN decided to have them start the game an hour early. We were so bummed that we missed the beginning but we only missed about 10 minutes of the game so it was okay. This was a very fun game to be there for because we had a little better seats and also everyone around us was cubs fans (they were still drunken but at least they were cheering for the right team) and oh yeah- the Cubs actually won this game!!! Woot Woot! It was so exciting to be there for that and to see how into everyone was getting towards the end- so fun! Brad was VERY happy after this! They play a song in the stadium after the Cubs win and it was just fun to see everyone singing and dancing along. I put that song on our playlist so you all can imagine you were actually there.

The field from the press box, Brad posing in the press box, the dugout and heading to the field. Us on the field, Sue the dinosaur, Sue the dinosaur eating me, Brad enjoying his smuggled in Coke, Brad's shirt which deserves its own post after what I went through to get it and us down by the field after the win!

Tuesday was a pretty lazy day, we just sort of hung out in the morning. We went and walked around Navy Pier and I loved getting see the lighthouse. Then we headed to Grand Luxe café for lunch and did a little more shopping. We decided that we would go to Sears Tower even though it wasn't in our original plans. The week before we went out there they opened up these glass balconies at the top, so we thought it would be cool to go out on those. So we headed down to the tower and thanks to our city passes we got to bypass all the lines and went straight up to the top. It was pretty cool to see the city from up there. I was pretty nervous at first to go out on the balconies but it really wasn't that bad- it was actually really cool. Everything looked so small from up there. After Sear's tower we headed back to our hotel to get ready for our dinner. We had planned to go to a fancy dinner for our last night there. We ate at the Signature Room at 95^th in the John Hancock Center. So the restaurant was 95 stories high and it was so cool! We had some incredible views and it was so fun to be in such a fancy place. The waiter even put our napkins on our lap for us but I've never had anyone do that for me so I wasn't quite sure what he was doing- oh well! The food was really good. Brad decided to order the special of Filet mignon and king crab- lets just say we were a little surprised at how much his dinner was when we got the check, at least we can just laugh about it though- right? We also enjoyed a very delicious dessert that was just as pretty as it was good.

A shot of Navy Pier and the Chicago Lighthouse, on the glass balcony at Sears Tower, Brad with Mr. Obama. Us at our table at John Hancock, the view from our table and us all dressed up!

We really had such a great time on our trip. We had perfect weather and we just enjoyed being able to spend so much time together and experience so much together. Too bad we can't take vacations like this a little more often!

And we're off!

2009-07-01T21:32:00.003-06:00

That's right- it's finally here! We are heading to Chicago in the morning- at 10:55am to be exact. We are both so excited for a break. Brad is a little giddy tonight, I think he still can't believe he is going to a Cubs game- I am just excited for the shopping. We wish you all a very happy 4th! We will have lots of pics to post when we get back- I know you all will be dying to see them!

Birthday Boy

2009-06-26T09:21:00.003-06:00

This little stud is celebrating the big 2-8 today! Woot woot!

What an amazing guy he is and I just can't get enough of him!

He works so hard for our little family and sometimes he amazes me how he can just keep on going. He is so busy but always manages to find time for me even if it is me rambling on to him at midnight while we are both drifting to sleep.
I love you so much Brad and I am so glad that I have you!
Happy Birthday!

Recently..

2009-06-14T15:40:00.007-06:00

There hasn't been much to blog about lately, life is pretty usual, so I thought I would give a little update of what we have been up to during this first month of summer:

There's been a little of this:

Got this book for my birhday and finally have the time to read it. I love all of her books and I am especially enjoying this one!

A lot of this:

Brad and I love this series- we are nerds and we read together every night and we just finished the latest book in this series. If you liked Harry Potter you will love these- I promise!

Probably too much of this:

Brad got me a milkshake machine for my birthday and since then we have had lots of fun trying new flavors. This nights concoction- vanilla ice cream, caramel sauce and heath toffee bits- YUM! (just in case you are wondering- two straws is the only way to go with a milkshake!)

Some of these:

Cookies and cream cupcakes-I made these babies for a family party last week and they were a huge hit! I posted the recipe for them here if you would like to give them a try.

A little of these:

I potted these a few weeks ago and I am so proud that they are still alive- I wish I knew what kind of flowers they were but I threw the little thing away that said. I cannot wait until we have a house with a real yard so I can do more than just a pot.

And I invested in one of these:

I know- I'm a big spender! Really this thing has motivated me so much- It nice to know how far I am actually going on my runs and it is easier to push myself now- which is good due to all the treats that we like to eat lately.

Well- I hope everyone else is enjoying this beautiful rainy June!

My very talented sister

2009-05-19T09:36:00.003-06:00

On Friday night my family got to go down to Salt Lake to the Utah Arts Festival Gallery. While we totally enjoy art Brad and I definitely not super artsy people so this was a pretty new experience for us. My dear sister Rachel was selected a few months ago to be one of their featured artists down there. This was such an exciting thing for her. She is an amazing photographer- I have a link to her on the side. She put a lot of work into getting ready for the event and it totally paid off. All of her stuff looked so great up there. They had a reception on Friday night to go and meet all of the artists and it was so neat to see how many people came to support her! Her pictures will be on display there through the middle of June so if anyone is in the market for something new to hang on the wall you should go check it out for sure. You better hurry fast though because she already sold a piece on the first night. You can go to her website and purchase anything from there as well. Way to go Rach! We are so proud of you!

Some of her pics that were at the gallery- Seriously she is so talented!

Happy Mothers Day!

2009-05-10T14:47:00.008-06:00

To this beatfiul woman:

What an incredible, amazing person she is. I just love her so much and I am so grateful for her example and love. She has so much faith and is such an example of endurance and pushing through when times are tough. Love you Mom!

And these beautiful women:

Sarah who has overcome some incredible trials and is happier than I have ever seen her.

Bethany who is the queen of living out of boxes and still manages to be the queen of organization and never misses anything.

Rachel who has carried herself so gracefully over the past couple of months and who has shown more strength than I can imagine.

Jenny who must be the most patient mother and who sacrifices so much for her 3 cuties.

And these beautiful women:

Brad's mom is always so willing to help us whenever, wherever. We always know we can count on her for whatever we need.

Michelle who is the mother -to- be and we are so excited for her!

Sometimes the thought of one day becoming a mother is so overwhelming and it just seems like I still have so much to learn before I am ready for that. But I know that with these incredible woman in my life as examples I will make it there someday!

MS Walk 2009

2009-05-03T16:17:00.004-06:00

(I stole this pic from mom and dad's blog- thanks guys!)

This post is a little late but now that I am done with school for a while I actually have time for this. Last Saturday was the MS walk in Ogden. My family does the walk every year and it is a fun thing for us to get together for. This year it was a little wet and chilly but we made it through. It is just so fun to be able to walk and talk with everyone. We had our biggest team ever this year- thanks to our growing family! We have been so blessed that my dad's health has been so good and I know that it has a lot to do with the meds that are available to him (even though they are ridiculously expensive). So this event is so important to us to help raise money for more research to help people with MS! Thanks to everyone who walked with us and donated!

Happy Birthday Dad!!!

2009-04-24T17:33:00.002-06:00

(This picture is way old but it is one of my favorites- and yes I loved that outfit- hairbow and all!!)

So the best part about my birthday is that my dad's is the day after mine and so we always get to celebrate it together! My dad is really the most incredible man and I love him so much. He has such a love for his family and is really the most selfless person I know. He is always concerned about everyone around him no matter what is going on in his life. He has such an incredible strength and always has a positivie attitude- even during some not very easy times. I look up to him so much and I am just so grateful for all that he continues to do for us. Happy Birthday Dad! We love you!

Birthday Girl!

2009-04-23T13:39:00.001-06:00

Let’s face it….you all check the blog to catch up with Darc. So, I thought you should know how much I love and appreciate my cute wife, it being her birthday and all. Darci is about as amazing as it gets! Every day I wonder how in the world I ended up with someone who is so fun, so smart, so cut, so silly, so patient, so….well, just so special. Anyone who knows her watches for her beautiful smile, because it has super-powers. When Darc smiles, everything negative seems to go away. Keep smiling Darc!

I love you babe! Happy Birthday!

Easter Weekend

2009-04-15T18:46:00.002-06:00

Brad and I had a wonderful weekend. It was probably the most perfect weekend we have had in a long time. I had saturday off- which never happens. So we took advantage of this rare occurence by sleeping in and it felt wonderful! We were able to go to the temple in the morning and do sealings and it was the perfect way to start our day. Then we went out to breakfast at Jeremiah's (even though it was more like lunch time) and I just love that place! Then we ran a few errands together. It really was just so fun to be together during the day because it seriously never happens. Sunday was a beautiful day and we were able to spend most of it together. We had stake conference but it wasn't until 3:00 so we spent the morning hanging out and hunting for easter baskets :) Brad did have to go to the church for a few interviews but other than that we had a whole sunday together! (this also NEVER happens) Then we went to stake conference and I had to say the opening prayer! Holy cow I really thought that I was going to pee my pants up there or something. I was so scared and nervous and I was just glad when it was over with. We went to Brad's families for a yummy ham dinner and then to my sister Bethany's for some dessert and entertainment from her 3 kids who were all on a sugar high!

Really it was just such a good weekend and I am glad that it was so relaxed. I think it helped to have time to really think about what this weekend is all about and what an incredible blessing the atonement and ressurection are in our lives! We really are so blessed to have the gospel in our life.

So lucky!

2009-04-08T18:40:00.004-06:00

Do you ever have those times when you are just trying to get through life and then something suddenly hits you? Okay I know that we all do but I definitely had one of those moments this week. I won't go into the details but the past couple of months have been pretty rough for my family to say the least. I have spent so much time worrying about my parents and my siblings that a lot of other things have been getting ignored. Throw school on top of that and there is pretty much no time left for cooking or cleaning or time to spend with Brad. Well monday was a particularly stressful day for me and as I arrived home at 9:00pm from campus after taking a test I suddenly realized one of the most amazing things: I am married to the most incredible man. I am completely and utterly amazed at his love for me and all of the things that he does for me and for my family. He never complains about helping my parents out with something and he is so understanding if I have to spend the whole night studying. He has some new found talents of cooking and doing laundry and I am so grateful that he is willing to step up for me! He really is just the best and I cannot believe that I have him and I hate that it is so easy for me to take for granted the relationship we have. I know that this was a much needed realization for me and hopefully I will do better at remembering just how lucky I am to have him!

I love to see the temple!

2009-03-11T08:43:00.003-06:00

My mom got tickets for all of our family to go down to the Draper temple open house a couple months ago and yesterday was finally the day! It was such a neat experience and it was so fun to have the whole family with us. The temple was absolutely beautiful! Brad commented to me that it had a different feel - more of a homey(if thats a word) feel to it. I think that he is right. My little niece Ella was holding my hand most of the time and when we walked into the Celestial room I picked her up and pointed to the chandelier she just lit up and and stared at it and this was our following conversation:

Ella: it's so pretty in here
Me: it is- this is a very special room though, that is why it is so pretty

Ella: they did a very good job building this

Me: chuckle

I just love that little girl- it was so fun to see her and all of my nieces and nephews reactions. My niece, Mazzy was even able to come and it was just so cool to have so much of our family there together. There is such a neat feeling there already and it made me feel so blessed and so lucky to know that we have so many temples so close that we can go to them whenever we need that peace and comfort. We really are so blessed!

After the open house we all went to Five Guys burgers and fries for dinner, Rachel and Kaia met us there so we had quite the crew! I have heard a few people talk about this place so it was fun to go. (thanks ben) The burgers were good but the fries were awesome it is probably a good thing that there isn't one of those close by here because I would be eating way too many of those fries.

Thanks again Mom for planning such a fun night for everyone. And Jenny- can you pleeeeaassse move out here?!

Chicago!

2009-02-20T10:01:00.010-07:00

I mentioned in my last post that I have been a little stir crazy and really ready for an adventure. Well I finally got Brad on board with me and we are going to Chicago! Woohoo! I am so excited. We are going out the first week in July which means we will be there for the 4th of July! So we have a little while before we go but it is something that we are both looking forward to for sure! Brad is a huge Cubs fan and it worked out perfect because they are playing at home the whole time we are there! Brad is going to be like a little kid there- I am so excited for that! So if any of you have been there before we are definitely looking for suggestions for things to do, places to eat!

Here are some things we are looking forward to most:

Did I mention the Cubs?!

Musuem of Science and Industry

Water Tower Place mall! Can we say Shopping!

Reminiscing...

2009-02-09T14:25:00.004-07:00

So there hasn't been much exciting going on around here lately. I have mostly spent my days cooped up inside studying. This has left me itching for some sort of an adventure but that is not a possibility right now so instead I have been thinking a lot about a past adventure in my life.

Most everyone knows that I was able to live in NY for a while after high school. This was such an incredible experience for me and I am so glad that I took that oppurtunity in my life because I almost passed it up! I know that I grew so much out there. It really opened my eyes to the world because I was a pretty sheltered mormon girl before I left. My testimony was strengthened so much while I was out there- there were times that it was really hard to be away from family and friends so I had to rely on Heavenly Father a lot to get through it. It was also really neat to not be surrounded by mormons and to have some oppurtunities to share a little bit of the gospel with people out there.

Below I have posted a few pics of some of my favorite memories that I have from my time out there.

Me in Times Square- bet you can't guess why this is one of Brad's favorite pics of me:)

A couple of my freinds, Chritianna and Melissa and I randomly decided to drive up to boston for the weekend- this is us in front of the Boston Temple.

The view out of my bedroom window- the Hudson river and West Point Academy across the way. That was the most incredible view to wake up to every morning.

Me and my girls- Claire and Grace. This was on my last day out there so it was kind of a sad day. They are such cute girls and we had so much fun together.

By far the best part about being out there was being able to spend so much time with my sister Jenny and her family who live out there. She and I grew so close while I was out there and we were able to do so much together. It was so fun being able to spend so much time with her kids as well and I miss them so much. (notice how tan I am in this pic? thanks to having a pool I spent a lot of time in the sun and I think this is the tannest I have ever or will ever be)

These next four pics are of the last summer that I spent in NY. Brad and I had been dating for a few months when I went back out to ny for a couple of months. It was really hard to be away from him for so long but we got by thanks to phone calls and emails. Well one night I was sitting at home watching some tv and my doorbell rang. I almost didn't answer because it was late at night and I was the only one home. Finally I just decided to answer and it was my sister and her family and I couldn't figure out why she came to my house so late so I invite them in and as I am shutting the door Brad pops out from around the corner. He totally surprised me. I had no clue he was coming out. He had been planning it since I left and my parent, the family I lived with and my sister were all in on it. I don't know how he pulled it off but he did. Well we had such a fun weekend together and it was so fun to show him all around ny.

Outside the Manhattan Temple- we were able to go and do baptisms and it was really cool.

The Toys R Us in Times Square- it is huge and has all sorts of neat lego creations! Brad is posing in front of the Lego Statue of Liberty!

Brad and I in Central Park!

Us on the subway!

A Midwinter Feast

2009-01-18T14:59:00.005-07:00

Instead of getting all of us kids different gifts for christmas my parents decided they were going to plan a day to take us all out to a nice dinner. They printed off invitations inviting us to a "midwinter feast" where we could all go and enjoy visiting with each other and a good meal. So on friday we all met at the Garden Restaurant on the top of the Joseph Smith memorial building. The view up there is so incredible. It was a lot of fun to see everyone and fun to get dressed up for the event too! We way missed Jenny and her family and we were sad that they weren't there- I always say this but maybe one day! The food at the the Garden was good but the company that night was the best and I am so glad that we were all able to get together. Thanks again Mom and Dad!

This is a pic of Brad's steak he ordered I just thought that it looked so cool- I wish I could cook and make my food look that pretty. Those sticks in the potato are actually fried wontons!

A night on the town

2008-12-30T13:49:00.004-07:00

Since our anniversary was on Sunday, Brad decided to take yesterday off so we could go out and celebrate a little. It was really such a good day and I wish that we could have more days that were so carefree and relaxing. We were so lazy all morning and it was so nice. We decided we were going to head to salt lake to do a little shopping and to see the lights. So we hopped on the train and found ourselves at gateway. Brad and I love going to the planeterium there and are pretty much just big kids when we get in there. It is always so cool to see all of the different exhibits and we love looking at the store there (though we never buy anything:). We watched one of the star shows and besides a little motion sickness we really enjoyed it.

We thought we would see if we could find any after christmas deals that we couldn't pass up but there were hardly any temptations. So that meant it was dinnertime and after much deliberation we settled on Zteja's. The food was so yummy and we ate tons of it. Next was up to Temple Square to see the lights and it was so pretty there. There were a lot of different nativities out that I don't remember seeing before so it was kind of like a new experience. We finished off our night with some dessert and headed back to the train.

It was just such a good day for us and we were pretty proud of ourselves for doing all that we wanted to and catching the train when we wanted to- normally we cram too much and end up missing our train!

At the planetarium- outside the star theatre

Enjoying the lights on temple square

One of the nativities that I thought was neat- does it look like they are wearing hersheys kisses on their heads to anyone else?

Outside the JSMB

Blondie anyone?

Train ride home- we were tired and cold but still smiling!

Merry Christmas! (a little late)

2008-12-30T13:18:00.005-07:00

So I know I am a little late with this but we had left our camera at Brad's parents so we had to wait a little to be able to post about Christmas. We had such a good Christmas this year and I am sad that it is all over now. Oh well- there will be plenty more to come! On christmas eve we headed over to my parents for our swedish smorgasbord- as always the food was so yummy and we ate way too much. This year my dad organized a little christmas program- we have done it a few times before but this year was probably the best. Some of my nieces and my nephew performed songs and then my brother in law, Ben did a couple of numbers. It was a lot of fun! We had lots of fun just being with family.
Christmas morning was just us and we enjoyed sleeping in and then opening presents together. Brad was definitely very good to me this christmas. He always comes up with such good gifts and I am determined that one year I am going to outdo him!
We headed out to Brad's families for yummy Christmas dinner and somehow managed to not take any pictures there. The food was excellent so naturally we overate again. It was so good to see everyone and we had tons of fun playing games and just talking!

My cute niece Syndey playing the piano

Mazzy playing the recorder

Okay I am missing a pic- my nephew Joey played jingle bells on the trumpet for us but my picture did not turn out:(

Ben playing the trumpet- he is so good and it is so fun to hear him play

My cute mom and dad

So this one needs a little explanation- Chris gave Ben (who is a huge utes fan) a byu shirt- it was really funny and I dont think that Ben knew how he was supposed to respond!

Our tree on christmas morning!

Happy day to us!

2008-12-28T20:47:00.001-07:00

It seems so crazy that it has already been two years that we have been married but it has been so fun and I can't imagine my life any other way. Since our anniversary is on a sunday we are just spending the night at home relaxing together. We have both been looking forward to having time together after the crazy holidays. We were able to go down to the Bountiful temple last night and do some sealings there and it was such a neat experience. I am so grateful for the amazing blessing that we were able to recieve for our family we when were sealed there. I thought I would share with you some of my favorite pics from that day- it is always so fun to look back at them because it was just such an amazing day for us. I hope you enjoy!

2008-12-28T20:10:00.004-07:00

Proud Moment!

2008-12-14T13:14:00.004-07:00

So we did it! Well I guess I should say Brad did it. He finally graduated on friday and it was such an exciting thing for us. He really didn't want to walk at graduation but I made him because it is kind of a big deal and he totally deserved some recognition. I think that now he is glad he did because it made it more real for both of us. It felt like he had actually finished school not just another semester. The graduation itself was long and boring. One of the speakers spoke for seriously like 30 minutes but oh well they eventually got to giving the degrees to everyone! I am really bummed because I didn't even get a pic of Brad up there getting his degree because I was too dang excited and all I could think to do was cheer for my Brad! I really am so proud of him. He has worked SO hard. These last couple semesters have been really crazy for him with work and church stuff but we were looking at his transcript and these were two of his best semesters. He seriously amazes me and I am so grateful that he works so hard for our little family. We are also so grateful to our parents for the support that they have been. My sister Bethany even came with her 3 kids and sat through graduation- we are just so grateful for everyones suport! We really have the best family!

Brad's Sister Michelle also graduated on Friday. She got her degree in Elementary Education and I think she is going to be such a fun teacher! Congrats again Michelle- way to go!

My cute hubby!
Brad and his siter Michelle- way to go guys!

Another one bites the dust!!!

2008-12-09T08:21:00.003-07:00

So life is slowly starting to get back to normal here (whatever normal is?!). I took both of my finals yesterday and now I am done! yay! I don't really know how I did on them and it is so frustrating that I have to wait so long to find out, but oh well. My house has been out of control lately because we have both been so busy studying. I honestly can't even remember the last time I cooked a real meal or did more than the neccesities for laundry. Poor Brad has been so neglected but he has been so busy I don't think that he has even had time to notice:). He still has one more paper and one last exam and then he will be done for good- woot woot! He graduates in 3 days- i am so excited! So last night while he was studying I got to work on the house and I don't know if I have ever been so excited to clean my house. That is pretty sad but I am so grateful to be done and to have a little more time for the next couple of weeks. I am also so excited to be able to enjoy the Christmas season a little more. It hasn't really felt like christmas yet but now that I am done I think that I will be able to get a little more into it. Thank you for indulging me in my excitement a little, it just feels so good to be done and I have to celebrate it! I hope that everyone is having a very Merry Christmas season especially now that there is some snow:)

Happy December!

2008-12-01T10:00:00.006-07:00

So Carly had this on her blog and I thought it was way fun- I just really, really love this time of year!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? depends on what I am wrapping- I sort of go overkill on buying wrapping paper- I propbably have ten rolls of just christmas paper!
2. Real tree or Artificial? I always swore that I would never have an artificial tree but last year my sister gave us a really nice tree and it was free so that is what we use. It is acutally really pretty and at least we don't have to worry about watering it!
3. When do you put up the tree? We put it up the day after thanksgiving.
4. When do you take the tree down? usually on new years day or whenever I get around to it.
5. Do you like eggnog? Not really but I always think I have to drink some to be festive- as long as it has some 7up in it I can handle it.
6. Favorite gift received as a child? probably my american girl doll.
7. Hardest person to buy for? Brad's dad.
8. Easiest person to buy for? any of my sisters or my mom.
9. Do you have a nativity scene? yes- Brad got me the willow tree one when we were engaged and last year he got me the shepard animals- we will see if I get anything to go with it this year")

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? um- am I supposed to do that?
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I can't really think of one.
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Hands down it is Elf it is sort of a tradition for us to watch together- we both just laugh the whole time.
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?This year I was pretty proud of myself, I started in like october and I am pretty much done now.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Don't think so.
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Cardamom rolls, petit fors, potato sausage- my list could go on and on.
16. Lights on the tree? lots and lots of white ones!
17. Favorite Christmas song? Really I just love christmas music. My favorite cd's are peter breinholt, sarah mclachlan, james taylor and forgotten carols( i know, i'm a nerd but i grew up listening to it)
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay home
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? maybe- bet definitely not in order.
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Snowflake actually
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas eve at my mom's but everything else on christmas morning.
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Definitely finals and this year I am going to be very excited for tithing settlements to be over with too.
23. Favorite ornament theme or color? Snowflakes- I am sort of obsessed with snowflakes but brad is so cute because he is always finding all sorts of cute snowflake things for me.
24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? I think we always have a ham for christmas dinner but on christmas eve my mom does a swedish smorgasboard and it is definitely the favorite meal of the year!
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? I can't tell because then Brad would know and he has to figure it out on his own:)

Happy Birthday Mom!

2008-11-17T15:30:00.003-07:00

So today is my mom's birthday and I am so excited! I just love her so much and I love when we get to celebrate her birthday because she so deserves to be celebrated! My mom is such an incredible woman and I am always amazed by her strength. She has been through so much in her life and she has always stayed so strong. I am so grateful for the example that she has always been to me and for the way that she has always been there for me. She is seriously one of my best friends and I love being able to spend time with her. On friday we went down to Ikea and I had so much fun just being with her and talking to her. Sometimes I feel like I must talk her ear off but she never says anything. She is such a great listener. I really am just so grateful for the relationship that we have and for all that she does for me. She is always so patient to answer my sometimes daily questions about recipes or laundry or whatever. And she is always so willing to help wherever- like when she rushed down at 10:00 at night to help me clean up a half a gallon of paint:). I could really go on and on about how amazing of a woman she is and how grateful I am for her. I don't know what I would do without my wonderful mom. Happy Birthday Mom! I love you!

When green is all there is to be...

2008-11-11T08:49:00.005-07:00

So this one has been a long time coming. I have been wanting to paint our bedroom since we moved in but kept on putting it off for various reasons. Well a couple of weekends ago I had the whole weekend off and I just decided I was going to do it. So i went to Lowes and picked up the paint and everything I would need ( it felt like I was buying the whole store). I came home and got to work. So by Saturday things were going very smoothly Brad was helping me and we were almost done. So I went to get a little more paint and as I am doing so I knock the whole can of paint over and it sort of went flying down to the ground. Needless to say we had paint EVERYWHERE! It was all over the carpet, our bed, our armoire- everywhere. So I just start freaking out and Brad rushes over and we start cleaning it up. After a couple of minutes of what seemed like useless trying, Brad suggested that I call my mom and see if she had any ideas of how to clean it up. So I called her and my cute parents came down with cleaners and steamers and towels galore. We somehow managed to get it all out of the carpet so then it was just the furniture we had to worry about. We tried a couple of things but with no avail and I was resorting to the fact that I would probably have to repaint the furniture. Then my mom had this brilliant idea and she asked me if I had any magic erasers and I said YES! I bought those puppies when we very first got married but have never needed to use them. So I ran downstairs and grabbed them and what do you know- they took the paint right off of our armoire, so then we went to work on the bed and it totally cleaned it off. It was like a miracle. You can't even tell anything happened. Brad thinks we need to write a letter to Mr. Clean and tell him how incredible those things are.

So by the time we were finished dealing with that it was like 11:00 and so we decided to just be done for the night and then it was Sunday so we didn't paint and then our crazy week started all over again. So I just finished up painting this past weekend and Brad was so excited to have our room back. I am really happy with how it turned out. I just love color and it makes it so much cozier in there. (sorry i know that was really bad grammar!)

So here are some pics of the finished product.

See- no paint on the furniture!!!

Well that has been most of the excitement around here for us. We are both just REALLY looking forward to the end of the semester. Especially since this is Brad's last one! He graduates in 31 days- yippee!

Truly prophetic counsel...

2008-11-10T13:23:00.005-07:00

I have seen this on a couple other blogs and it is just such a testimony to me that we are truly led by prophets who are so aware of the things that we may have to face.
This is an excerpt from a talk given by Neal A. Maxwell on Oct. 10, 1978 but it just seems so fitting for today: (if you click on the title of this post it will link you to read this entire talk- which I would highly recommend)

"Make no mistake about it, brothers and sisters, in the months and years ahead, events are likely to require each member to decide whether or not he will follow the First Presidency. Members will find it more difficult to halt longer between two opinions. President Marion G. Romney said, many years ago, that he had 'never hesitated to follow the counsel of the Authorities of the Church even though it crossed my social, professional or political life.'"This is hard doctrine, but it is particularly vital doctrine in a society which is becoming more wicked. In short, brothers and sisters, not being ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ includes not being ashamed of the prophets of Jesus Christ.....concern over the institution of the family will be viewed as untrendy and unenlightened....Before the ultimate victory of the forces of righteousness, some skirmishes will be lost. Even in these, however, let us leave a record so that the choices are clear, letting others do as they will in the face of prophetic counsel. There will also be times, happily, when a minor defeat seems probable, but others will step forward, having been rallied to rightness by what we do. We will know the joy, on occasion, of having awakened a slumbering majority of the decent people of all races and creeds which was, till then, unconscious of itself. Jesus said that when the fig trees put forth their leaves, 'summer is nigh.' Thus warned that summer is upon us, let us not then complain of the heat."--- Elder Neal A. Maxwell

With everything going on right now it is so comforting to know that we are led by men of God and if we follow their counsel we will be led in the right direction.

Party it up!!!

2008-10-27T15:05:00.006-06:00

This weekend was full of halloween parties and we had such a blast! Friday night was our ward halloween party and it was so much fun. There was lots of chili and of course trunk or treating for the kids. It was fun to see everyone all dressed up even though not very many adults did dress up- i think we are going to have to work on that for next year:). Brad and I decided that we were going to dress up though so dressed up as a fairy and Brad wore this awful suit that he bought on his mission. It is seriously so ugly but he is pretty proud of it so he was excited to have an excuse to wear it. Everyone thought it was pretty cool and they were all disappointed when he didn't wear it to church on Sunday. Here are a couple pics from that night:

These are our good freinds Justin and Tina- they looked so great!

This is us all dressed up- I told you the suit was awful!

So then Saturday night was my mom's Halloween party. Our family does this every year but this was one of the best yet. Normally it is just the kids that get dressed up but this year we decided to have all of the grown-ups dress up to. I was sure how everyone was going to like it but it was so great! Everyone got really into it. The favorite was Bethany and Ben's costume. My mom looked so great in her witch costume and my dad went as Indianna Jones. It was just a lot of fun seeing everyone get so into it. Of course the kids all looked so cute too! We were super bummed that Rachel and Erik didn't make and as always we missed Jen's fam. Someday we will all be able to party together:)

Mom and Dad all dressed up- for some reason Mom could not stop laughing!

Beth and Ben- mostly it was just so weird to see Ben with Hair:)

All of us "grown-ups" Eating donuts on string- it is so funny to see how dorky you acutally look when you are doing this:)

I had to post this pic because this is the first batch of cupcakes Brad has ever baked and he was pretty proud of himself! They actually tasted pretty good!

Its definitely fall!

2008-10-06T13:26:00.003-06:00

This weekend was the first weekend that it felt like fall and I absolutely loved it. It finally got cold enough to pull out the sweaters- yay! I love sweater season so much! It rained and rained all weekend which makes me just want to bake cookies all day. Plus this weekend was general conference. I love conference weekend and since we have been married I love it even more because it means that Brad and I get to hang out all day- no meetings or nothing. Well Brad ended up getting us tickets for the sunday morning session of conference and we have been so excited to go, even though it meant waking up way early. So we woke up bright and early (but it really wasn't bright at all) And got ready. Since it was so cold outside I decided that I should probably wear nylons (I really hate wearing nylons). So I scrounged to find a pair with out runs and then I put them on and what do you know- as I am pulling them up I made a huge hole in them. So I quickly scrounge to find another pair and luckily I was able to find some and I put them on with no problems. Well so we get down to the conference center and after we sit down I look down at my leg and what do you know- I got a huge run in them that went like halfway up my leg. Grrrr I was so mad at those things- now I know why I don't like them. Besides that though we really had such a good time. The session of course was so good. It is always so neat to hear what the leaders have to say. We both really enjoyed it. My favorite part about going to conference is when the prophet walks in and everyone stands up. It is so reverent in there and the spirit is so strong. We are so lucky to be led by such an amazing man. Another neat thing was that there weren't hardly any protesters there at all. This was so different from other times that I have been and I started thinking that maybe Heavenly Father makes it rain on conference weekend so that the protesters won't want to be out there:) I really don't know but it was definitely nice! We had such a good time though and we were so grateful to have the oppurtunity to go.

Girls Night!

2008-09-30T08:09:00.006-06:00

So since this weekend was the Relief Society broadcast that meant that it was girls night! Me, my mom and my sisters Sarah and Bethany were all able to go to the broadcast together down at Bethany's stake center. I thought that the broadcast was really good and especially enjoyed President Uchtdorf's talk. So after the broadcast we headed out to dinner and decided that Mim's would be a good choice. It was crazy busy in there with lots of women from the conference as well as homecoming dance goers:) But it was so fun to be able to sit and talk, we don't get to go out as girls very often. I love my mom and all my sisters so much- we missed Rachel and Jenny but maybe one day we will all be able to get together!

Here is a pic of us at Mimi's:

Brad and I enjoyed the rest of our weekend though it was definitely crazy. We got to go down to Rachel's house on sunday for my niece Kaia's birthday and it was lots of fun. The guys all had fun playing washers (if i really knew what it was i would explain) and my neice Ella and I had tons of fun playing fairies together- we got to fly around the whole backyard:) It is just so nice to have a family that is so fun and that we enjoy spending so much time together. I just love it when we all get together!

One Fine Day!

2008-09-24T09:21:00.004-06:00

So I know that this is kind of cheesy but I have to do it, because it is a big deal to me. So you are just going to have to bear with me! Two years ago today Brad and I got engaged! I had been waiting for him to purpose for like a month but due to the fact that he designed my ring it took a little longer to get the ring than if we had just picked one out. I had been getting so impatient and was really starting to get worried that it was never going to happen. Then one Sunday afternoon when my family was getting together to celebrate my niece, Kaia's birthday, Brad decided that he was going to bring over some pinatas for the kids since this was a big thing they did on his mission. So he came over and the kids were all excited so we went out back and everyone decided that I should be the first one to hit the pinata but I thought that the kids should go first. Finally everyone convinced me to go so I did and when I broke the pinata open, I took off my blindfold and Brad was down on his knee with the ring and he asked me to marry him. Obviously I said yes, but it was such an overwhelming thing for me. Inside the pinata had been a bunch of confetti and a ring pop that he had covered in glitter since he didn't want to put the real ring in there! I had never imagined getting purposed to like that- I always thought it would be somewhere that we were all alone. But I am so glad that he did it like that now because my family was there and they all took some great pics!
Mostly I just had to post about this because I am so lucky to have Brad. He makes me so happy and he does so much for me all of the time. It is just so crazy how fast time flies because sometimes it doesn't seem like it was that long ago at all. But we have so much fun and I can't imagine being with anyone else. I am definitely very spoiled!

Crock Pot Thursdays!

2008-09-19T10:02:00.004-06:00

So probably the fact that we got five of these babies for our wedding should have clued me in to the fact that they are pretty amazing, but for whatever reason it has taken me almost 2 years to discover why so many people felt I should have one of these in my kitchen!
So since my school and work schedule is a little hectic and I usually don't get home until after six, I have been really struggling with making dinners because I am usually just not in the mood and way to hungry to make a big meal. So I had this brilliant idea to start using my crock pot more so that I could start my meal in the moring and by the time I get home in the evening Brad and I would have a yummy meal waiting for us!
So I have officially declared thursdays as Crock Pot Thursdays! That is the one day of the week that I have a little time in the morning and also that Brad or I are not having to rush off to a meeting in the evening- so we can actually enjoy our dinner!
I have been venturing out on a limb with some new recipes such as last nights Corn Chowder, but if any of you have some good easy crock pot recipes I would love to add some more recipes to our thursday night menu!

a little mid week pick me up!

2008-09-10T10:03:00.004-06:00

So Brad showed this to me a few days ago and I thought it was so fun! I love the real version of this song and thought she did a great job with this. I think it is so neat when "big famous" people take time out for the cute little kids! Enjoy!

a little "r and r"

2008-09-01T13:28:00.009-06:00

So I have already expressed my anguish over starting school and my fears over brad and I not really spending much time together this semester. So a few weeks ago I found out that I would have the whole labor day weekend off. So I talked brad into letting us go up to park city for a night. We left after I got off work friday night and got up to our hotel about 8:00pm. We checked into our hotel, but at this point I was absolutely starving so we didn't even go up to our room. We headed straight over to main street and found a steak house called Bandits. Brad of course got a steak and I got ribs. It was pretty good food- they had these grilled green beans that were amazing and I am now on quest to recreate them! So after dinner I was feeling much better so we walked around main street a little bit and we just happened to run into the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. Oh my heck I love that place. So we picked out a few chocolates- and then we noticed that they had rock candy. That stuff just brings back so many memories for me. My dad used to by it for us when we would go up there and it was the coolest thing to me. So we had to get some of that! Only I was a little dissapointed when I actually tasted mine because it was bubble gum flavor- I swear that when I was little pink was not bubble gum- oh well! So with our treasures in hand we headed back to our hotel. We were pretty happy when we got up there because our room was really nice. It had a full kitchen with granite counter tops and huge bathroom. The room was big enough that we didn't feel cramped and they had it decorated so nice that it didn't even feel like a hotel room it was really cozy!

The best part about our little trip was that we got to sleep in on saturday and just hang out. We didn't have anywhere that we needed to rush off to. We headed down to starbucks for some donuts and juice in the morning and then later on it was off to none other than the outlets! We found a few good deals up there but mostly it was just so fun to hang out and not have to worry about work or school or anything else. While strolling around the outlets we went into the Nike store because Brad was wanting to find some new basketball shoes. I was kind of bored and not really into looking at the shoes so I just started wandering and happened upon the section for really big footed men. I found this shoe that was a size 18! Holy cow a size 18! I was laughing so hard and I showed it brad and then we were both laughing so hard. This thing was huge! it was like the size of my arm! We took a pic with our feet too so you could see how big it was. It makes my foot look like a midget foot! Well that pretty much wrapped up our outlet shopping and so we then headed to quiznos for lunch and topped it all off with a cold stone waffle bowl!
Really we were both just so glad to have a nice break with no worries. We are definitely going to have to do it more often!

Here we go again...

2008-08-26T20:09:00.002-06:00

Remember those days when even though you weren't like super stoked to go back to school it was still kind of exciting? You got to see all of your friends after the summer break and plus you would get to buy some cute new outfits and show off your new hairstyles. That was always kind of exciting for me. Well those days are definitely gone...
Brad and I started back up with the fall semester this week and for some reason we are both really struggling. I cannot express to you how badly I am not looking forward to this. We are both taking a pretty heavy load and between that and work and our callings I don't know when we are even going to see each other let alone talk and actually do something fun. I just have to keep on telling myself it will all be worth it. We both keep on teasing each other that we are going to drop out- only sometimes I am not teasing. The only positive thing about this semester is that it might be Brad's last one- that is giving us both some hope.
Okay I am going to stop being a baby because I realize that most of you are in my same position or are passed it and you somehow managed to get through it. For now it just seems like a very long road for us. Oh well!

Pics from the weekend!

2008-08-18T09:49:00.004-06:00

All About Family

2008-08-18T09:36:00.004-06:00

This weekend was definitely another crazy one but it was all about family. Friday was an insane day- it was Sarah's wedding! The day was so crazy though. I was working on the cake all day and after rolling out all that fondant my arms are so buff. It was fun though because Jenny flew in early on friday morning and came down and helped me with the cake. It was so good to spend time with her and especially to see Owen- this was the first time I have seen him in real life and he is 18 months old! So things went pretty well with the cake and at about three in the afternoon Brad and I loaded it in the car and headed down to Bountiful. Sarah and Chris got married in his aunt's backyard and the view was incredible. They were really close to the temple so it was especially neat all lit up at night. The ceremony was really nice and I have never seen Sarah happier. They were both so excited. They had a little reception afterward and then headed off. Then it was clean up time for the rest of us! We all finally left there around 11 and we were all dead tired.
Saturday was more time spent with my family. Since Jenny was only going to be here for two days we all wanted to spend as much time with her and owen as we could. We had a family birthday party and we all just hung out and talked and it was so so good. It was such a fun night and I didn't want to leave because I don't know when I will see jen again. They are trying to sell their house so they can move out here so everyone keep your fingers crossed!

What a weekend!!!!

2008-08-11T11:17:00.014-06:00

Wow- so we had a very crazy weekend. We had two weddings to attend on saturday one of which I was making the wedding cake for. So friday night was spent with me in the kitchen- baking and frosting away- and Brad running to the wal-mart (which he is now officially boycotting). He was such a good man though to run all the errands for me. So I finished the cake around midnight and we both went to bed exhausted.

On Saturday morning we woke up bright and early because we had to be down to the Bountiful temple by 8:45 for Brad's freind Forrest's sealing. This was actually the first sealing that I have been to since we were married and I was excited that it was going to be in the same temple. Well when the lady came and got us so that we could get in the room I noticed that everyone was walking into the sealing room at the end of the hall and I got even more excited. It was in the exact same room that Brad and I were sealed in and it was just a really neat experience. The sealer was really good but he definitely kept it short. It was just so cool to be there and to feel the spirit so strong.

So then right after that we got in the car and headed to Layton for the wedding of a friend of mine from RC Willey. This is the wedding that i was making the cake for but they ate it at the luncheon afterward. It was so weird though to attend this wedding right after the sealing. It was such a different feeling there. They were married by this really old judge who said some of the funniest things. Mostly it just made me so grateful that Brad and I were married in the temple and for the knowledge that we have of eternal families.

So after the wedding we raced home to get the cake and then took it down to the luncheon which was at the Olive Garden in layton. All in all I was pretty happy with how the cake turned out except that it got a couple of bumps on the way down- oh well. Here are some pics for you guys:

So yesterday was a much needed relaxing day- well at least for me, brad was at meetings all day. I did get a new calling yesterday though and I am quite excited about it. I am the new Young Women's Secretary. I am definitely nervous but I think that it will be fun to get to know the girls! This week will probably be just as crazy though- my sisters wedding is on friday and I will be making the cake for that too! I am so excited though because Jenny is coming from New York for the wedding- we didn't think she would be but she surprised and will be flying in on thursday night- yeah!!!

Photo Tag...

2008-08-05T10:04:00.015-06:00

So Carly photo tagged me- the rules are to take a photo of each thing listed, no tidying up allowed. Here goes-

My kitchen sink- with my dying bamboo plant- I can't keep anything alive:(
My fridge- I am pretty sure that jello is like two weeks old so i think it is time for a cleaning!

My laundry room- we had to put pantry shelves in there too so it gets pretty cramped- maybe that is why i don't do laundry as much as I should :)
My favorite room- our living room. This is pretty much where we spend most of our time and the blue just makes it so cozy.
Our closet- really I have pretty much taken over and brad uses the closet in our spare bedroom- he is a good sport about it though!
Toilet- pretty much I just love my yellow bathroom, though the color doesn't look as cute in this pic.
My favorite shoes- they were the target special a few years ago but I still love them. If only I had more to wear them with.

My dream vacation: I would absolutely love to go to New Zealand- don't think it'll ever happen though.

Self portrait- this is the picture my neice Kaia drew for Brad and I on our wedding day- okay not exactly a self portrait but this is all you are getting!

I tag whoever wants to show their cute house!

Our life...

2008-07-13T15:15:00.002-06:00

So we really haven't had any fun and exciting events happen the past couple of weeks but I thought that I would just give a little update on our lives. I have been at my new job for almost a month now- which seems so crazy. I have been loving every minute of it though! I have learned so much and I think I am starting to pick it all up. It really is such a fun job though, I just get to look at all the pretty dresses and help brides pick one out. Pretty much I just play dress up all day and I love it!
Brad is still working at the print center for the church and he has really loved it. He works with some really good people out there and his boss loves him. He is always telling Brad that he is looking for an ever better position for him because he is so impressed with what Brad has already done. I am so glad that my husband is such a hard worker!
Well with my new job we thought that we were going to be able to see a lot more of each other and we were so excited. Well then we got a call from the stake president a couple weeks ago and Brad is now the first counselor in the bishopric. We were so overwhelmed at first but it is starting to sink in and we are getting used to it. Needless to say he is pretty much always at meetings- so much for having more time together! He really has enjoyed the calling so for though and I think that it will be a great experience for both of us. We have already seen so many blessings and I am so grateful that Brad is so willing to serve. I am starting to get used to sitting all by myself in sacrament and being home alone a lot. Thank goodness we don't have kids yet!
This weekend though I did get to spend some time with my best friend Kellie Joan and it was so so good. We went to our favorite restaurant downtown- Roosters. It was so good to talk to her and hang out with her. We don't get to see each other nearly as often as we would like so I soak it up when we do. Thanks Kells- love ya!

Happy Happy Birthday!

2008-06-26T22:02:00.011-06:00

Today is June 26th which means that it is Brad's birthday! I absolutely love birthdays especaially when it is Brad's because it means that I get to spoil him! I think that it was a good day for him. I didn't have to pack him lunch today because the guys at work were taking him to lunch, so he got a donut and animal crackers in his lunch box!!! After we both got home from work tonight we ate pulled pork sandwhiches and fries for dinner and then he got to open his presents!!! Then the part that I was most excited for was cake time! I spent all morning making him a Cubs cake and even though it didn't turn out quite like I wanted it too- it was still pretty cool!
Pretty much I was so excited for this day because I love him so much and he is such an incredible man. He is such a hard worker and is always so so good to me. He really just deserved a day to be spoiled!

Happy Birthday Brad!!!

Beginnings and ends...

2008-06-20T22:13:00.004-06:00

So today was a pretty exciting day for me. It was my last day of work at RC Willey!!! I found a new job a couple of weeks ago and have been counting down the days until today. Working at RC Willey was like working in the zoo somedays. I worked in customer service and there were days when I would come home so worn out from having customers yelling at me all day. And I am not even exaggerating. I even got yelled at really bad today because some lady was all upset about her barstools (it is amazing how worked up people get over their furniture). Everyone at work said that I was just going out with a bang!!! Needless to say Brad was pretty ready for me to have a new job as well!

There are two things that I will definitely miss about the job though: The people that I worked with and the discount! I made some really great friends there and I am sad that I will not be able to see them as often. And the discount was amazing- and to it I owe most of my furnishings and decorations in my house (and I blame it for the huge tv in my front room:( ). I was really sad to lose that little perk.

Now for the "beginning"- I went in for training for my new job last night. I am so excited for this job- probably more than any other job I have ever had. I am going to be working at Bridal Corner here in North Ogden. I love weddings and I really think that it will be such a fun job. It is definitely still going to be stressful, but it will be a different kind of stressful. I am so excited for this new oppurtunity and I am so grateful for a husband who is so supportive and just wants me to be happy! Love ya honey!

I will let you know how the new job goes once I get more familiar- hopefully I will catch on quick!!!

To Dad

2008-06-15T22:36:00.003-06:00

So seeing as today is father's day, I thought that it would be fitting to write this post about my dad. I pretty much just think that he is so incredible. He is such an example to me of patience and endurance and he has an incredible ability to be optimistic in every situation. He is one of the easiest people to talk to and he is always willing to listen to me and give me bits of advice! I love my dad so much and I can't imagine a better dad.

Happy Father's Day Dad!!!

I just had to put this one in because he looks so cute!

Congratulations!

2008-06-09T16:58:00.003-06:00

So today I am very excited because my sister Sarah got engaged this weekend! yeah! I am so very happy for her! As many of you probably know she went through a really rough divorce last year but I am so excited that she has found someone. They are a very cute couple! Chris is so good with Sarah and with her boys. And the boys absolutely love him. Yesterday Bergen (her youngest) kept on calling Brad Chris all night- and then one time he even called me Chris, I think he was very excited! They haven't set an official date yet but they are thinking sometime in August- so I think that we have some wedding planning to do! Yeah!!! Congratulations Sarah and Chris- we are very happy for you!

one

2008-06-08T14:17:00.003-06:00

So I thought that I would try this out. It seems like a fun way to keep in touch with everyone and I will try to be good at it!
Just to give you all an update on our lives thus far:
Brad and I are both in school and it definitely gets crazy at times, but Brad should be graduating this year so I am very excited about that. This past year he had an internship with the Church down in Salt Lake. It was a great experience for him and he was sad to have it end. He was able to find another job with the church working at the print center and so far has really enjoyed it and we are so grateful for that!
As for me I am working at RC Willey and just plugging along in school! Maybe one day I will be done!