Thursday, November 29, 2012

1 Yr Baby!

So so crazy to think we have already been married a YEAR! Time has gone by seriously so fast. I cant believe its been a whole year. We had so much fun looking back on the day and remembering what we were doing at that exact time during our day. We were so lucky to have had amazing weather for our day. Although it was a little cold, it still didn't look like it was November! We had a really fun anniversary. We woke up and had a quick breakfast and went a bought ourselves a new computer! We love it! We then went straight up to the Cliffs Lodge and spent the day at the spa. Russ planned everything so I thought it was really sweet of him. Checking in at the Cliff Lodge, they give you a robe, slippers and send you on your way to the pool, hot tub, sauna, tea area with the most amazing views and comfy chairs. We were really lucky because for a good amount of time, we were the only ones out at the pool and hot tub!
Its so fun to be outdoors surrounded by these beautiful mountains, walking around in a robe and dipping in the hot tub! After, we went to dinner down town at Flemmings. It was a great anniversary! November 3, 2011
We came home, watched our wedding video and ate our leftover wedding cake. It was surprisingly delicious!!!!
I feel pretty darn lucky.

Monday, November 26, 2012

Halloween!

I had so much fun this year preparing for Halloween. Its just a fun time of year. I love the feeling in the air around fall. Its such a welcomed time after a hot summer. This year, I did a lot of baking around the holidays. I was recently called into young womens in our ward and love it! I made the YW witches fingers and had them over for hot chocolate and a firepit.
This year for Halloween, I didn't have as much time to prepare for a costume as I usually do. Thankfully, I had the trusty back up Minion. Last year, my friends and I made these Minions for Halloween. They are pretty much always a hit and Its so fun to see something you made from scratch! My mom was kind enough to store it in her basement since I don't have as much space. I went to get the costumes for me and my coworkers and forgot just how big they were. It was hilarious to watch people watch me drive. My head is literally against my window.
We won our Halloween costume contest at work. It was awesome!
I was so so proud of my mom this year for dressing up. It was fun to go shopping together and meet her early in the morning to do her make up. She looked awesome! She hate dressing up so it was kind of a big deal.
My nieces and nephew came and trick or treated at my work, How cute are they?!
I was holding my niece Millie, and she said, "Hey Bubba, Im a strawberry! But with a hat!"
When Russ and I were dating we would go to Halloween parties the night of Halloween. Last year we went to my parents house for their annual chili and apple cider. This year, I really wanted to hand out candy in my own little house. So I came straight home got my candy all ready and thought it would be fun to bake while I waited. I made some mummy cupcakes
I waited and waited, and no one ever came :( Dang trunk or treating!! So we ran down to the basement, pulled out an old costume and headed to my parents house.
Ugliest, most unflattering costumes ever huh? After looking at this picture it made me want to always obey the law for many reasons, but mostly so I wouldn't have to wear one of these ugly outfits. She had amazing food for dinner. I then made homemade donuts for the first time!

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

My little "Brace Face"

On 10-11-12 Russell finally bit the bullet and got braces. He has a long journey ahead with a painful jaw surgery scheduled for about a year into the braces to repair and bad/painful bite. But,he will have straight, white teeth at the end of it. Heck of a deal. They had to put bite blocks in his mouth which prevents him from biting completely down.
His favorite soup I make in the fall is Cha Chas Chicken Bean Chili, so when he got done I had a big pot ready for him...he couldn't even chew the beans- We had to put his bowl of soup in the Magic Bullet. Poor guy, he is going to be so skinny. There is always Jamba Juice...
You cant even hardly tell he has them on right? He said he is just now waiting for his voice to start cracking again.

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Weekend with the fam

I hate how easy it is to get behind on blogging.
Especially during this time of year when so many fun things are going on!
Russ spent most of fall hunting. Between him being gone hunting, and my busy season with work, we didn't see much of each other at all.
One weekend while he was out hunting, I went along with my family to Bear Lake for the last time of the season. I thought Labor Day weekend with Russ would have been the last time but I was pleasantly surprised we made one more family vacation of it.
And the weather was PERFECT! There was no one around and we did lots of fun things.
I rode up with my parents and met my brother and his family from Idaho in Bear Lake.
When I stepped out of the car, I noticed my sis in law Kami and I had the same hair, same earings, and same glasses. Good taste Kam ;)
My nieces and nephews all call me Bubba, until this dude came along. He calls me Bubby. I loved seeing him and having him run to me with arms open yelling, "Bubby!"
My sister and her family met up us up there shortly after. I love it when we can all get together. We played on Russ's longboard
Had some good old fashion Bear Lake Pizza
And had a movie night
The next morning and gathered the kids in my parents room and gave them all Mustaches. They thought it was hilarious. I told them they all needed to run out to the adults and yell, "We mustache to the beach!". It was so cute and I loved watching them all help each other and chose with mustache they wanted.
The water in Bear Lake is always freezing, but the toward the end of September its really cold. My siblings still swam in the lake but I stayed back with the kids and played in the sand. Sometimes, cold water just isn't worth it.
After the beach we had a friendly game of soccer. What a perfect field right? Mei, Oaks, Me, B and Cody played while the rest of the family cheered us on.
We worked up enough appetite for a picnic and a nap!
When you only have a couple of days, you need to pack them in with fun! We then headed to the pool. I have some seriously brave nieces and nephews. My job was to catch the wild ones that wanted to go down the slide but couldn't swim. They were going backwards, upside down....
I was at the bottom waiting for Oaks to come down when she stopped herself just before hitting the water. She then stood up on the bottom of the slide and did a standing flip into the water. She's nuts!
Mom and Kaysie
B, me, and all those crazy kids. I loved when I saw this picture, it looks like there is a random head coming out of the water.
That night, my mom popped some popcorn and had a big movie night with all her grandkids while the adults all went and played an indoor tennis tournament. The drive home the next day was incredible. The leaves were perfect and we were all eating a raspberry shake. Doesn't get much better than that! Plus, shortly after I got home, there was a hunter at my door! Who would have ever thought I would marry a hunter? I sure didn't!

Monday, October 29, 2012

1 yr of work-through the eye of an Iphone

I just got back from my last work trip of the year a couple of days ago! As much as I love to travel, I feel very ready to have a couple months break. Its been so hard being away from Russ so long. I am usually gone through the last part of the weekend through the middle of the week and he leaves right when I get home for hunting. I can count on my hands the times Ive seen him since September. But as I looked through my Iphone photos today I thought about all the fun trips I did this year for work, and all the amazing places I got to see that I wouldnt have otherwise. After 10 months of travel I went on a total of 14 trips, visited 10 different states, went to California 4 times, and gained 16 lbs from eating out breakfast lunch and dinner. A summary of my work year through pictures on my phone :)

January-
San Diego, California.
I loved this trip because I was able to meet up with my friend Emilie and take a water taxi to Coronado Island for garlic knots and pizza on the pier. (No pictures..sad)

March-
North Carolina-
I didnt get a picture here either! But my highlight was definitely when I played Petey Pablos "North Carolina" song and my co-workers werent pleased at all. "take your shirt off, twist it around your head just like a helicopter". I also enjoyed really yummy BBQ and the nicest people with the cutest accents.

April-
San Diego-
This trip was awesome because Russ came along. His friends drove down and hung out with us for a couple of days. Russ surfed every single day and we hung out and went to Sea Port Village and the beach!
May-
Michigan-
I ate the most delicious pizza ever and walked around Michigan State campus.

June-
Long Beach, California
I was training for Ragnar on this trip and remember after long days on my feet going straight to the gym to run afterwards. I ate yummy sushi on the pier and frozen yogurt.

July-
Hilton Head- South Carolina
Another fun trip because Russ came along! Probably my favorite trip of the year. I loved seeing the dolphins, swimming in the warm water, and I loved all the new people I met at the event! They were so nice! Plus, I was introduced to Grits and hush puppies.

Texas-
I loved going to Dallas because I was able to meet up with my other friend Jamie! She has the cutest little guy. It was fun to escape a couple times to have dinner with her and her nice husband. We also took a drive around downtown and got cupcakes.
I remember going to meet Jamie for dinner one night and it was 7:00 pm and still 100+ degrees. Texas in July= HOT.
I had 2 events in Texas over 2 weeks. So I spent two weeks in one of the hottest times of the year. The other event was 3 hrs outside of Dallas in a smaller town. It was cute, and I loved trying their local favorite- Kolache. It was a yummy little breakfast treat. (One of my favorite parts of my job is working with caterers from all over the country. I get to try to the food of each state and what they are famous for!) When I checked into my hotel room I had a lovely butterfly on my window.

Tennessee-
I was super bummed I didnt have enough time to check out Nashville. I was only 40 mins away but couldnt get the time to drive and explore. In Tennessee I ate my favorite sandwich joint Which Wich and enjoyed this sunset along with my buffalo chicken sandwich.
The one thing I remember about my time in Tennessee is the fiasco with Chick Fila. It was right around the time they had their stance with Gay rights or what not, and the there was a line forever long for people trying to show their support and eat at Chick Fila (which happened to be right next to my hotel). As I was making my way through the crowds an officer stopped me to tell me they had run out of food but here was a free coupon for a sandwich tomorrow. Awesome, I wasnt going to chick fila but Ill take it!

August-
Minnesota- MALL OF AMERICA.
I recently posted about that so I think thats enough said. Rode roller coasters, spent time with my cousin, and shopped shopped shopped.

September-
Ohio
I LOVED Ohio. Everything was so green, I loved all the farm land and most of all, I loved eating at a Mexican restaurant with Amish people! 4 lovely ladies walked in with their whole Amish attire and I thought it was great. I would love to tour their farms one day. I did get some delicious Amish peanut butter though.
Back to San Diego-
This may have been my second favorite trip. I loved the people I worked with, and had tons of fun exploring San Diego with them. We saw Lance Armstrong, dipped our feet in the ocean, hung out at Gas Lamp district, and walked down to Seal beach in Lo Jolla. Can you believe this palm tree picture?!

October-
Orange Beach- Alabama
This was nothing how I pictured Alabama. Nothing at all. I guess you could say I was pleasantly surprised! Highlight was definitely sitting out the balcony and watching dolphins every morning. Also, I realized the importance of applying sunscreen accurately. And yes, I still have those exact tan lines on my body today. Awesome.

Virginia-
I just got back from my last trip in Virginia and it was AWESOME. My highlight of this trip is when I walked up to the rental car company and found out I had forgotten to book a car with my flight. After they searched their lot high and low they told me they had great news! They found me a car. What they didnt tell me, was it literally struggled going above 35 mph and my carry on wouldnt even fit in the "trunk". It was awesome though. I drove around for 4 days and only spent $3 in gas.
When I got home from the airport from Alabama I had a surprise waiting me. It pretty much made my day. I usually drive myself to the airport so the fact that he was there, with flowers and a new rack for my car...it was pretty awesome!
But his thoughtfulness didnt stop there. He had to leave that night too and we were about to go another week without seeing each other. I was bummed. But when I got home and started unpacking...I noticed he had left me notes ALL over the house. There was one in the microwave, fridge, freezer, on my pillow, in the medicine cabinet, taped to Eckos collar, in the outside garbage can, in the dryer, on my computer... It was pretty awesome. I was finding them for days after he left them.
I especially liked the one in the outside garbage can and in Eckos dog food. I am a lucky girl. Its been a really fun year, but Im excited to be home for the holidays and hang out with my thoughtful man.