Christmas has come and gone...

Well, Christmas came and now it's gone. Sorry, we dont have more exciting pictures. Overall, our Christmas turned out pretty good. We spent time with our families and finally got to give all those presents that we have been dying to give. Now we have a whole year before we get to do it all over again. :)

New Polls

So me and Troy were talking about how lame we are when it comes to our TV watching. All we ever want to watch are King of Queens, Everybody Loves Raymond, and the Discovery Channel. Does this mean that we are boring and behind the times when it comes to the latest and greatest TV shows? Let's let you all decide...
Also, since it is the Christmas season, let's decide what we like most about Christmas, other than the true meaning, of course! :)

Pre-Christmas weekend

We had a really weekend with Scott and Lori and the girls. They came down to celebrate Christmas with us a week early since we will be staying in Salt Lake to spend Christmas with my family this year. It was such a great weekend, but it always seems to go too fast. Luckily they got here pretty early Friday night. We exchanged Christmas gifts and we definately got the better end of that deal. Scott and Lori always give the BEST gifts! This year they got us...So we spent the rest of the night eating ourselves sick and playing Guitar Hero III. Saturday the girls and Matt went to the CRAZY BUSY mall and the boys...well...they did whatever it is that they do. The highlight of that afternoon was definately my 4 PAIRS OF SHOES FOR ONLY $19 at Forever Young...Later that night we met my sisters' families for dinner at Sizzler and then met Troy's brothers at Temple Square to see the Christmas lights. It is always a highlight to spend the weekend with Scott's family since they are so much fun and we hardly get to see them. We always have tons of laughs and I am growing to like all of them more and more everytime I see them. Although I'm convinced that Marissa is possessed by the devil after seeing the fiery red eyes she has in every picture we took.

I just love my baby, Sariah

I am just minding my business working this morning and I hear noises from the living room that sounds like dogs playing. They arent supposed to play in the house so I walk in there to tell them NO and this is what I see....

I was wrapping Christmas presents last night and had left the stuff out in the living room. Apparently Sariah wanted to give wrapping a try. I couldnt be mad at her b/c she is just so darn cute! I really don't think there is a sweeter dog in the entire world.

Spending the weekend with Aunt Dawn Dawn and Uncle Troy

We had such a fun weekend, we got to spend alot of time with our nieces and nephews. We had a sleepover at our house on Friday night. Saturday we went sledding, decorated Christmas ornaments, and then Tutu and Aunt Helen came over and delivered Christmas presents to all of the kids. We really had a fun time with everyone and it was especially nice to spend quality time with my brother's girls, Coral and Rachel. We don't get to see them as much as the other kids in the family and it was so fun to get to interact with them and see their sweet personality. It was a long day Saturday full of the challenges of taking care of 4 kids when I am used to 0, but it was definately worth it. I have the best nieces and nephews in the entire world!

While we are on the subject...

...of solving mine and Troy's disagreements, I think you guys could definately help with this one so I have added another poll. Don't let me down...

What do you think?

I heard the name Parker a few days ago and I just really like it! Well, I like enough that I wrote it down so I wouldn't forget it. I happened to have written it on my notepad at work so I have been seeing it quite often over the past couple days and I just thought I would poll all of you to see what everyone else thinks. So, go ahead and vote! I think these polls are fun and they could be a fun way to settle some of mine and Troy's disagreements about stupid stuff from time to time, so maybe I will make a regular thing of it...who knows? Happy polling...

DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT PREGNANT.

Happy Anniversary

We had the best anniversary weekend! It started Friday night when I gave Troy his gift and he told me what we would be doing the next day. I gave Troy a DVD photo montage of our entire lives up until now. Thanks to my bro in law, Ryan and his MAC it looks like a professional video set to music and everything. I really appreciate all the hard work he put into it! And Troy surprised me with a day of skiing, a 60 minute massage, and a night at the Red Moose Lodge in Eden, UT. It was so much fun! I can finally say that I am a skiier now and I can't wait until the next time we are able to go again. My massage was absolutely wonderful! Troy thought it would fulfill my desire to have one, but now all it has done is make me want to get them ALL THE TIME!! The Lodge was really cool and it was so relaxing to just sit in the hot tub and take it easy for a night. We were both so sad for the day to end. I'm so lucky to have a husband who puts so much effort into planning fun things like that, I so excited for all of the anniversaries that we have ahead of us.

O Christmas Tree

Me and Troy finally got our Christmas tree decorated. We bought it on Monday and it has just been sitting sad and empty all week. Our living room is still a disaster from the Thanksgiving to Christmas decorations transition phase, but the tree turned out so beautiful and it is exactly the type of tree that we both love-just Traditional! :) And by the way Jenni and Amy, I didnt forget who I am, it is a REAL tree! Fire hazard?????......maybe I will understand when I have kids, but who knows?? I'm so excited for Christmas this year b/c this will be the first year me and Troy will have Christmas together in our own home. With all the craziness of getting married, moving, and spending the Holiday in Idaho last year, we didnt even decorate! On that same note, our anniversay is tomorrow and I can't wait to give Troy his present and to see what he has planned for me! :)

Happy Turkey Day!

Well, we just returned from our long 4 day weekend in Idaho. We really had a great Thanksgiving weekend, but I forgot my camera half the time we were there so I didnt get that many good pictures, darn it! We had alot of fun just hanging out with Troy's family shopping, relaxing, and laughing. I didn't really reflect on too many of the things I was thankful for other than the basics: Family, a wonderful husband, my faith, a beautiful home, and an abundance of things that I dont really need. However, after getting home and reflecting on my Thanksgiving I definately have a deep gratitude for my inlaws. I am really lucky to have a new family that makes me feel so welcome and that are so comfortable and fun to be around. You guys are all awesome! While I am on the subject of inlaws, I don't want to leave out my brother and sisters' spouses. I really lucked out with all of you and I love you all so much! And as cheesy as it sounds, I am also so grateful for our dogs. They bring so many smiles and laughs to us that you just can't help love them! I hope that you all had a great holiday and that we are mindful of at least one thing that we are so grateful for.

Viva Las Vegas!

I know it's been awhile, but I havent had a chance to update for awhile. The latest update is that I surprised Troy with a trip to Las Vegas this past weekend! I think that is the first time in my life I have kept such a big surprise a secret, I am so proud of myself! I bought tickets to see Jerry Seinfeld live at the Comedy Festival held at Caesar's Palace. It was a great show, he is so funny! The next best part of the weekend was riding the Big Shot on top of the Stratosphere! I can't believe I actually did it, it was the scariest thing I have done in my entire life, Troy was even scared. I am glad I was there with him, otherwise, I probably would have chickened out, but I couldn't be a wimp in front of him. :) It was great eating at In-N-Out Burger all weekend, too, but I dont think either one of us really have much of a desire to go back to Vegas for awhile. It just feels like such a disgusting place, full of immorality and vanity, I guess there is a reason it is called "Sin City". It was nice to go a quick road trip though and we look forward to another this weekend! Viva Las Boise!! :)

Our bathroom gets a face lift

Well, I finally got rid of our neon orange guest bathroom this weekend. It was a pain in the neck to do b/c it was such a small space, but it was time well spent! It really looks great! The pictures kind of make the green look different than it actually is, but it will kind of give you an idea of the drastic change. We both really like it and it is nice to not be blinded everytime you turn on the light in there. Here are some before and after pics.

Before...

After...

We had a great weekend

Friday night we went to see The Martian Child and it was really refreshing to go to movie where you didnt leave the theather being morally disgusted on some level. Alot of things could have been better about the movie, but it was really good overall and just a feel good all around. Me and Troy were both impressed. I would suggest it to anyone who is sick of all the garbage that is normally shown these days. I worked on Saturday while Troy worked in the yard and dog proofed our back fence. Then we did a little shopping at the mall and home depot. I finally got some paint to get rid of our neon orange bathroom. Sorry, Bekah! :) Sunday was just a relaxing day of church and dinner with our neighbors. Very relaxing weekend...

What a fun visit!

My Grandma and Aunt just left today after a 5 day visit. We had a lot of fun having them here, hopefully we kept them entertained and they didnt get too bored. I posted some pics from their stay. We had dinner at our house one night, Sam's birthday party, and a really fun Halloween party. It was a hoot having them here and catching up on everything that is going on back home.

Happy Halloween!

Ain't Life Grand...

So, we are still recovering from our roller coaster weekend that we went through this past weekend. One of the main events that contributed to the stress of the weekend was Ruger and Sariah's grand adventure. We came home from a wedding reception on Friday night to find out that Ruger and Sariah had escaped out of our back fence. They had figured out a hole earlier this week and I thought I fixed it good enough until Troy could fix it on Saturday, but that only stopped them for a day. So after realizing they were gone we went looking for them the best we could in the dark. We didnt find them and Saturday morning they hadnt come home yet. Of course this had to happen on the week that they pulled each other's name tags off while they were wrestling and we hadn't replaced them yet. So, of course, that was more reason for us to worry knowing that their fate rested in the hands of other people turning them into Animal Control. Troy went looking first thing and I went and printed 100 flyers to hang up, but of course, we couldn't hang them up because it rained all day. We tried calling the Animal Shelter, but they aren't open on the weekend so we had to wait it out all weekend before we knew if they were there. Troy ended up sending out an email to all the people in our neighborhood that we have from church and it turned out someone from our old ward found 2 dogs and turned them into Animal Control with the hopes that their owner would find them. So first thing Monday morning we went down there and sure enough Ruger and Sariah had spent the whole weekend in jail. After spending $300 dollars in fines and fees, we were able to take them home. After getting home, we had a hard time believing it was worth it because almost right away they went right back to the hole in the fence and tried to get free again. The little rascals! So now we have put the four wheeler in front of the fence to cover the hole and set up the dog kennel that they have to stay in while we are gone until Troy is able to permanently fix the fence. I got a good picture of them yesterday. Sariah was gazing out into the field dreaming of freedom I am sure, but she turned and looked at me right as I took the picture so you dont get the same effect, but it was still really funny. They are know tagged with name tags and Davis County tags with some heavy duty key chains that they shouldn't be able to pull off. Isn't it sad how much you can love an animal? As if we didn't have enough to stress about this weekend...

Will's baby blessing

Sunday was our new nephew, Will's, baby blessing. We went over to Jen and Pete's house afterwards for a light brunch and then just hung out for awhile. It was fun having ALL OF US there. I can't wait until Ganny and Linda come next weekend so we can all spend more time together.

Our trip is over!

We just got back from our week long vacation in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina and Savannah, Georgia. It was so perfect!!! It is so depressing being back home and at work. We spent most of the week riding bikes around the island, hanging out at the beach, playing tennis, and just relaxing. We saw 4 alligators while we were there and they seemed to just keep getting bigger and bigger each time. The last one we saw was pretty freaky!! We also went kayaking and saw tons of dolphins swimming around us. Two people saw sharks, but we missed that. Luckily they were small or I would have freaked out. I think my favorite part of the trip was riding bikes and not having to work! The weather was so perfect the entire week. It didnt rain at all even though it was forcasted to rain 3 days while we were there. We spent our last day there touring Savannah, which is probably my favorite city in the country. It is just so charming. It is hard to capture without going there yourself. Now that we are home, I am itching to start planning our next trip...

What a wonderful husband I have!

I just wanted to take a quick minute to express my gratitude for having a such an awesome husband! Earlier this week he surprised me with these beautiful flowers just to show me that he loves me. I have been thinking alot lately about how sad it is that so many people in this world are alone and they will never know what it is like to have someone to come home to at night and most importantly they will never know what it is like to have someone to love and be loved by. I feel guilty sometimes for being so lucky to know what it is like to be truly loved when there are so many people who don't have that comfort. So, thank you, Troy for loving me and for being someone that I actually want to come home to every night (Or in our case, someone that I want to come home to ME every night!). I wouldn't ever want anyone except you! I LOVE YOU!!! And thank you for the flowers! :)

Finished!

Well, our lives are almost back in order! We got the floor done and almost all of the baseboards put back up. We still have a few more things to finish, but we officially have our living room back. Since I took the pictures, we have gotten our couch and all our other furniture set back up so it is starting to feel like normal again, but it looks so much better! Between the new paint and floors it looks like a totally different house to us and we love it! I can't wait to get to get everything else done so we can relax.

Update

Hello Everyone! It's been awhile since I made a post so I figured I would update everyone even though we havent really had much going on. Let's see, Sunday evening we picked up Troy's dad and went over to my sister Amy's house in Bountiful for a last minute casual dinner. We had a lot of fun just relaxing outside and making Smore's. We wish Jen & Pete would have been there, but I'm sure they would have much rather been in Oregon on their vacation!! Troy finished our floors this week, the only thing left to do is put the baseboards back up. I will post some finished pics after he does that. They look so good! Troy really did a great job, it is hard to believe this was his first time! I really appreciate all the hard work he put into it! We are just loving our new car and trying to get our house back in order. Sorry, our lives aren't more exciting!

Our monthly dinner

We had our monthly girls night dinner with all of my old work buddies a couple of nights ago, but we changed it up a little this month. Instead of going out to dinner, we had a little potluck at Stef's new condo! Yay! It was super fun! I think we need to start doing more of these in the future!

Exciting News!

I just booked airline tickets for my wonderful grandma and my most favorite aunt in the whole world to come out and visit next month. I am so excited! I havent seen my grandma for 2 years and my aunt for 3 1/2 years. It will be so much fun to have them visit and to be here for Halloween. I can't wait!

We got a new car!

Me and Troy made kind of a big and unexpected decision yesterday, we bought a new car! Unfortunately, we probably won't be able to get it until next week though b/c they are cleaning it and fixing a few minor cosmetic things for us. It is so nice! It is a 2004 Toyota Highlander with 41,000 miles. It has all the extras except leather interior. We are really excited about it. It is funny b/c in the 7 years I have been in Utah, I have bought 6 new cars. Troy has made it clear that will stop with this car. This is our "family" car that we will have for a LONG time because it has the optional 3rd row seating. I can't wait until we get it, but it will be sad to see my Saturn go!

Our Labor Day weekend

We just got back from the funnest weekend we have had in a long time. Troy took Friday off last week so we could have an extra long weekend in Idaho with his family. We went up Thursday night and stayed at a Marriott in Boise and got up Friday morning to celebrate my birthday the same way we did last year when Troy proposed! We went to the park that he proposed at and out to breakfast at the Trolley House, the same place he took me last year after he proposed. After breakfast, we went to the Boise Temple and then off to the mall for a little shopping. Then we went camping with Troy's brother's family, Scott, Lori, Chantal, and Marissa. Troy's mom and her husband came, too. Oh yeah, and Chantal's boyfriend Matt. He was pretty much there just keep the rest of us from sleeping because of his snoring! We headed up to McCall Friday after everyone got off of work. We had so much fun! The weather was perfect the whole time and it was so relaxing! We spent the weekend shooting our bows, riding 4-wheelers, hunting a little, and just spending time together. We love spending time with Scott & Lori and the girls and with Mom & Pat. It really sucks that we can't see them more often. The funniest part of the weekend was Ruger sending everyone on a wild goose chase while me & Troy were gone. I can't believe he did that! :) The drive home yesterday was so depressing. We can't wait for more weekends like this one. Enjoy our pictures!

Painting

I decided that since our house was already a construction zone, that I would go ahead and paint while I didnt have to worry about taping baseboards and getting it on our new floor. Me and Troy both didnt really like the light purple that most of the walls were painted, so I painted over the light purple with a taupe. We left the plum wall the same, I love the new color! I didnt finish everything, but I got the living room done before Troy finishes the floor. I just have to paint into the dining room and down the hallway.

Before and After...