sister's trip!

This weekend was the 1st Annual SISTER'S TRIP! My sister in laws and I went away for the weekend for some quality bonding time and it was AWESOME! WE HAD SO MUCH FUN!!

We decided to go to Park City and I'm so glad we did! We left Friday afternoon, stopped at Chick Fil a in Ogden, got stuck in some SUPER crappy traffic, and talked A LOT about giving birth. I tell you what...I think I'm going to buy all of my children. All this talk about pregnancy has REALLY deterred my desire to have kids...

ANYWHO! We finally got to Park City around 6:30. We checked into our hotel and decided to go sit in the hot tub before our movie started at 10. While we were in the hot tub it started to POUR! It was wild. None of us brought jackets so we stopped at the local Walmart to buy one. We also got some cheap candy for the movie along with a few other choice items. The Walmart in Park City is GHETTO!
This was our view from our hotel. Check out those black clouds coming in!



Ang was floating away...


This is what we were watching while we were sitting in the hot tub. I thought it was so cool how the dark clouds were on top and the light clouds were underneath it.


Beautiful sunset after the storm!

We went and saw The Proposal which was HILARIOUS! We were laughing to hard! There was a lady sitting behind us that would SCREAM when she started laughing really hard. Seriously. SCREAM. Next time I see you remember me to reenact it. I think I have it down pretty good now. OH! We also flirted our way into getting Angie into the movie for FREE! I only wish we would have started flirting earlier... Angie did buy us popcorn to make up for it. After the movie we stopped at McDonald's so Angie could eat again...

Saturday morning we slept in, which was awesome, ate breakfast and then went SHOPPING! We seriously shopped for 8 hours on Saturday. Sick, I know. But it was so fun and we got some great deals!
I forgot how beautiful Park City is! Look how cute we are in our bright colors!

A few of my favorite purchases were, but not limited to, some sparkly pink flip flops from Gap Kids, yes they are children shoes. I actually bought 2 pairs of children's shoes this weekend...for myself. Oh the joys of having small feet! I also got an awesome onesie for Shannon's baby, a new swimming suit for $5, and lots of other SWEET things. After shopping in Park City we had some lunch and then headed to Ogden for a little Target shopping spree where I got a new purse and dress from Target! I love them both! When I went to check out at Target I asked the creepy check out man for a discount on my bag. He told me he could only give me a 10% discount, I told him that was cool. Well he rang up my dress first and ended up giving me $8 off my dress! Way more than 10%, it was like 40%! I was pretty stoked about it. Then his computer froze...kind of funny!
Don't you love these?! I want to click my heels and say "There's no place like home."

I really want a shirt like this...Happy having a baby Shan! You'll get it when you have the baby so start pushing!

We finally decided to head back to Logan around 7:00 at night. We stopped in Brigham City so Angie could get her long awaited salad from Wingers. It was actually REALLY good. We had to wait about half an hour total for a salad from Winger's (we went through the drive through) and a Strawberry Limeade from Sonic. I think on any other given day it would have annoyed me that we had to wait so long but we were having so much fun I was totally okay with it.

We were all happy to be back to our men and children but we had such a good time!! We all went over budget in our shopping but it was totally worth it! I'm so grateful for my sister in laws and the fact that we all get along so well!

You may wonder what the boys did while we were gone?? Well they for sure didn't shower, they ate at Betos, worked on their movie, and had a SLEEP OVER with the dogs! I'm also very grateful that Daren and his brothers get along so well! I think they secretly never wanted the weekend to end so they wouldn't have to part!

I have the week off so I'm going to clean out my fridge/freezer, do some D.I. cleaning, and CELEBRATE THE FOURTH OF JULY!! It is seriously my favorite holiday and I plan on watching fireworks 3 nights in a row! That's right, 3 NIGHTS! WOOT!

i heart summer

Today was the first day in like a million years that it actually felt like SUMMER! I love summer!

Summer = Slip N' Slide fun

Last night we were over at Daren's parents house reupholstering the seats in the boat (which is almost done) when I was told that Angie and her kids were having a "POOL" PARTY today. I promptly invited myself.

This morning puppy and I went over, Slip N' Slide in hand, and we had a good time! The neighbor children came over and played while Angie and I got burned and played travel size games! It was so fun!


I love my dog. He would run with the kids to the slide and then stop when they hit the water. It was pretty funny.


Kayzen and Bear shared A LOT of food.




See what I mean? Kayzen is so giving...



MUST. GET. SIPPY CUP.


I love my little monkey! Those are cookies all over his shirt...and face...and head. So special.

Sometimes I love only working 2.5 hours a day in the summer, because I can bask in the sun and play with my little monkey, like today. However, my husband AND check book are usually not a fan of it....What's a girl to do?!

my little monkey

This week my sister-in-law, Angie, is at Girl's Camp. She sent her 2 older kids off to her mother-in-law's house, bless her heart. That just left Kayzen, my little monkey. She asked me to watch him yesterday and or course I said YES!

After I got off work I picked him up and away we went on our adventures!

We walked around Summerfest and collected lots of twigs, pine cones and grass.


We cuddled....


And then we took a nap.


We played outside in between rain storms.

We had a great time! He is such a happy kid! The only time he cried is when I made him stop peeling paint off of my walls...Go figure! Thanks monkey for playing with me! I love you!

being published!

HEY ALL!

Listen to this awesome news!

Yesterday I got an e-mail from my wedding photographer telling us that our wedding was going to be published in a magazine! She submitted a bunch of her weddings from the year and they chose us and another couple to be in it! The magazine is Latter Day Brides....or something like that. ANYWHO! We had to fill out this HUGE questionnaire about us and our wedding and what not. Our photographer said we will most likely be in the Fall/Winter magazine for this year. I am SO EXCITED! HELLO STARDOM!

We also got our wedding prints that we ordered yesterday! They turned out SO good. I went to Hobby Lobby today to look at frames for them. I got 2 5x7's, one of each of our families. I wanted to put them in separate frames but I couldn't find any that I liked AND had the thing on the back to hang them up. I found a frame that has 3 5x7 slots but I need to make sure I have enough room for it on my walls. I did, however, find a REALLY cute frame for our big 11x14 so I bought. I got home and went to put the picture in it and THERE WAS NOTHING TO HANG IT UP WITH! NOTHING! Not even an easel to put it on a table! I was annoyed with myself for not checking...I still am actually. So now I have to go get mounting stuff for it! I took a picture of the picture and frame. I think it turned out SO cute!

I started summer school with my little man on Monday, I guess that was yesterday, huh? We have a different teacher...and we are at a new school. It's going to be an interesting summer. The teacher is very strange. Maybe not strange but definitely an unique personality. I could watch him all day and be entertained by his mannerisms and whatnot.

I think that is all that new with us! Things have been pretty low key with us for the past week. THANK HEAVENS!

HAIL!

Yesterday I could hear the wind blowing and I knew it was getting ugly outside. And all of a sudden it sounded like a my house was going to collapse! I looked outside and it was HAILING! It was WILD! The hail only lasted about 3 minutes and then it rained for about 5 more. It was coming down SO hard! Poor puppy didn't know what to do. I don't think he's ever seen hail before.


Can you see all that water in the streets? There were huge puddles everywhere.

Look how big the hail was!

My flower bed :(

Good bye pretty flower. Please come back soon.

This was our garden after the storm. Some of the corn took a beating, as did the beans and tomatoes. Daren's dad said that tomato plants are pretty tough so I'm hoping they will pull through. We might have to re-plant some beans. Stupid hail.

celebrating!

We did lots o' celebrating this weekend!

Friday was our ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY! Can you believe it?! It went by SO fast. They say the first year is the hardest, if that is true then BRING IT ON! I look back on where we were in life this time last and where we are now and it is amazing to see the difference. All good, definitely all good! It has been an AMAZING year and I can't wait for the next 80!

I had the day off, since the last day of school for the regular year was on Thursday. Unfortunately, Daren had to work and there was NO way he could have taken it off. They have been SLAMMED this week and there have only been 2 service writers there, as opposed to 4. NO BUENO for Daren but BUENO for our bank account! ANYWHO! I worked in the yard a little bit and cleaned the house Friday morning. Luckily, Daren was able to sneak away for lunch. Puppy and I took him some mac and cheese, strawberries, some Wendy's chicken nuggets and HSM 3 fruit snacks. We went to the park and had a nice picnic...until it started to rain. After lunch I went back home and finished cleaning and getting ready. I was folding the laundry when I heard someone at the door. Who the H is that?! IT WAS DAREN!! His boss and the other service advisor told him he could leave early and they would hold the fort down. I was SO excited! We opened our presents and left earlier for dinner so we could beat the rush! We headed over to the Olive Garden and it was DELISH! After dinner we Redbox'd a movie, He's Just Not That Into You. It was pretty funny. I was not a fan of the whole affair issue though. Whatev!

Daren sent me flowers are work the day before. SO PRETTY and so thoughtful!

For our anniversary I got him Mall Cop, Son in Law, and Married with Children: Season Ten. Nothing says I love you like Al Bundy and Pauly Shore, right?! :)

Daren got me flowers, a gift card to Old Navy, and this super cute skirt!

My DELICIOUS orange drink! I ate most of the whipped cream before I even took one sip.


At dinner

YAY FOR US! I heart him!

Saturday we celebrated Providence's 100th Birthday....or was it 150th? I can't remember. Regardless it was a big deal and a lot of fun! They dedicated a Pioneer Monument by the Old Rock Church. They had a little program and President Packer came up and did the dedication. It was pretty sweet. We met some of Daren's family over there. After the dedication the kids had a bike parade, which we didn't see because nobody really knew where it started or ended. After the parade we went over to the park and hung out while the kids played on all inflatable stuff. I REALLY LOVE small town events. As Daren and I were waiting for the dedication to start we decided that we could live in Providence the rest of lives. It's so peaceful and the people are great! I've already found the house I want to live in. As soon as it goes up for sale IT'S MINE!

Waiting for the dedication to start

President Packer. Isn't he so cute?!

The Pioneer Monument that was dedicated.

In all of my 5 years at Utah State I ALWAYS wanted my picture with Big Blue and I never got it...until now! 2 years after I graduated I FINALLY got it! We saw him on our way to the fair. Bear did NOT like him. As soon as Big Blue put his around me Bear started FREAKING OUT! Seriously! It was kind of funny and I'm pretty sure Big Blue almost peed his pants.

I love my monkey!

After the celebrating we did some more yard work. Daren took apart of tractor....again. However this time I think we have completely fixed the problem! We'll find out next week! I have never seen a man so happy to mow a lawn than my husband. He plugs in his I POD and goes to town. Occasionally he'll break out the air guitar and rock and roll signs...while he's mowing. It's quite entertaining to watch him

Later than night we went to James and Susi's for a BBQ, got a snow cone, and then watched a movie with Jody and Lacey. They brought over Australia. It was pretty good, quite touching. Not touching enough to buy though. It was LONG! I thought it was going to end like 5 different times...

We went to my favorite snow cone place and I still think they are my fav. The ice is SO AMAZING! It doesn't ever get hard...not even at the very end of the snow cone when the ice usually clumps together. I had the Kiwi Banana and I must say I think it's my new favorite flavor. We only a few more to try until we make our final decision.

P.S. I've noticed that every snow cone shack we've been to has punch cards. I like it.

birthday parties and baby showers

Sorry for the delay of blogging. I was waiting for my brother to send me some pictures but he is being SLOW! SO I just decided to steal Shannon's and call them my own!

SO! What has been happening in our land of love?!

WELL!! Last weekend we had a busy one! It was my grandma's birthday! We threw her a party in the park! It was pretty fun actually. I asked her a couple of times how old she was and she gave me a different answer every time. She is sure a gem!
HA! I love my grandma's face in this picture. I made her take another one.



After the party I ran over to Target to get some things for my next party. I was really excited to go to Target because....well it's Target and I love Target. I pulled up and they are doing CONSTRUCTION! UGH! It was not a pleasant experience. Everything is crammed in one area. I couldn't peacefully look through clothes. I felt like I was the D.I. going through everything...not that there is anything wrong with the D.I....Even the purse selection was awful! I wanted to poke my eyes out by the time I left.

When I got home my dad and Daren were gone...they went to run ERRANDS! I thought it was so funny! I'm SO grateful that Daren loves my parents and feels comfortable hanging out with them! Daren and my dad hung out all night! I LOVE it!

ANYWHO! Saturday night we threw a baby shower for my B.F.F. SHANNON!! I guess I can't really say that I helped because I didn't plan anything. I did however bring chips...and 2 candy bars. It was SO fun! I love my Shan! And she is getting so fat! I love it! I must say that I probably gave her the best present out of anyone...
I made 3 onesies to reassure the baby I am her favorite.


Baby Miles fell asleep on me. Have you ever tried to eat a large sandwich with one hand? It's hard. I was tempted to use his head as a table...I love him.


Look how fat! I heart you Shan!




It was so weird to play baby games and not wedding games...I haven't quite made that transition yet...

After the shower a couple of us went out to Mama Marci's salon and had a bang trimming party! It was pretty ideal and my bangs are SO happy now. THE BANGS! Ellen anyone?! HA!

Would you like a snow cone update? OKAY! We went back to the Snowie where we got a free one, remember? We went on Friday night, which is also date night. They have a buy one, get one free special. It was ideal! They also had new flavors and specials! Daren got the "Firecracker" and it had POP ROCKS in it! Have you ever had a snow cone with pop rocks in it?! It is WILD! I definitely recommend it! I got the "Triple Bubblegum" which had a gumball surprise for me at the bottom. I was looking at some of the flavors and they are pretty intense. Included, but not limited to, are chocolate, wedding cake, and strawberry cheesecake. I'm not sure if I'm ready to take my snow cones to that level yet...Are you?

We finally got our new mirror for the truck and everything taken care of. I have to go in and pay my ticket on Monday. I talked to the judge and he told me I could get a plea in abeyance which basically means I pay an extra $25 and if I don't get any tickets for the next 6 months, my ticket will be dismissed and my insurance will never know about it. I had to call an attorney for Providence and he approved it within a day. I was pretty excited about that. My driving record is clean as of 2 months ago so another ticket would be NO BUENO! I was really concerned about my insurance being jacked up so hopefully this take care of that stress. I'll be driving like a grandma for the next 6 months!

And last but not least! We got a wedding present last night! One year later and they are still coming! WOOT! I was pretty excited about it! We got some cash, which we put in our snow cone fund, and one of those SKOOKIES! Good times!

P.S. Our ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY IS ON FRIDAY!! Can you guys believe that?! I can't!!

P.P.S. Mel, as soon as Jace sends me the pictures from the shower I'll post the ones of Lindsey! They are REALLY cute!