Mike & Andrea

Just in case you didn't get our Christmas Card....

2011-12-28T12:51:00.000-08:00

Best Christmas Gift EVER.

We are so grateful, and beyond excited.

P.S. If you didn't get this in the mail, don't feel bad. I didn't send out our cards till after Christmas, and we only got about half of our list tackled. Love you all!

Playing Catchup Part 2: Saying Goodbye to our First Apartment

2011-12-09T17:09:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, Mike and I moved from our very first apartment. I was a total basket case. (Luckily Mike likes the fact that I'm a very passionate person.) I honestly thought I was going to be fine through the whole process, but the night before the movers came to pick up our furniture, I found myself cleaning out the drawers in the kitchen just sobbing, and I ended up crying myself to sleep. I know that change is the only constant in our lives, and that it's good, but sometimes change is so hard. And sad. It's so bitter sweet to move on from a really good thing, even though you know the next phase will be just as good. You know what I mean?

Mike and I lived in our little shoebox apartment for the past year and a half, and to be honest, I've never been happier. When we found it, we knew it wasn't much (no dishwasher, no washer/dryer, TINY, etc) but it felt so, so right. After looking at about 30 places, we just KNEW this place was meant to be ours. And it was. We've met so many lifelong friends, grown so much as a couple, and seriously have had the time of our lives in that little old apartment. We knew that it was time to go and move on to other things, but it was really sad for me to leave it.

Some of my favorite memories in our little place:
- listening to our Haitian neighbor Quinten laugh through the walls
- hearing our neighbors Fabio and Bernarda listen to their spanish music
- Barbequing on our little grill on our front ~~porch~~ walkway
- having dessert parties with friends and sitting on the floor because it was so small and we didn't have enough seating for everyone
- summer nights walking through memory grove
- morning runs through the avenues
- sleeping on a blowup mattress in the family room in the summer next to the AC because our room was SO HOT!
- Mike's home-made ice-packs for me in our hot room
- trying to brush our teeth together in our tiny bathroom sink (one of us usually ended up in the kitchen while the other was in the bathroom)
- being so close in proximity to each other all of the time
- realizing that you don't need a lot of "things" to be truly happy- we both LOVED living minimally and having such a small space- learning that all we really need to be happy is each other
- our bright yellow wall that we painted randomly one saturday morning and all of the little art projects and decorating we did together there

And just for the fun of it, here are some photos of our first apartment (yes, it really is as small as it looks!)

this was actually taken the day we moved into our apt- pre curtains and decorations. I think it was the only day the bed ever got made:)

Yes, this was our closet. Poor mike had like 5 shirts hanging up is all!

Okay. Moving on. The moving part itself was sad, but now that we are all settled in, we are LOVING LOVING LOVING our new digs! (It's nice to move up in the world after all- as charming as a one bedroom apartment is, it's pretty cool to be in a house!)

Last winter, my grandma fell down the stairs in her home and broke her arm, shoulder, and leg. It was absolutely horrible. After surgeries, wheelchairs, and months of recovery, my grandparents decided that it was probably time to move to a place that didn't have stairs- somewhere where they could grow old comfortably (they are still really young). They bought a beautiful place in the avenues that fit the bill, but decided that they didn't want to sell their home. Several months ago, they approached Mike and I and asked us if we'd like to live there for the next few years or so. They were leaving the home fully furnished, and they just wanted someone to live there and take care of the property. Of course we were completely overjoyed and overcome with gratitude at this opportunity so we didn't hesitate to say yes! The great part, is that it's located just minutes from our apartment in the avenues- it's in a beautiful neighborhood up City Creek Canyon. We are literally a two minute drive from downtown, yet we live in a peaceful neighborhood and have a canyon as our backyard.

Mike and I don't really know what to do with all of this space, and we are really enjoying having a dishwasher, washer/dryer and garage! Man, we learned not to take for granted the simple things! Just to put things in perspective for you- our bedroom/ master closet is bigger than our old entire apartment! ha! So grateful for my wonderful, generous grandparents. They are some of the most amazing, most giving people that I know, and I am so proud to be their granddaughter. We love them so much.

Pictures to come!!

Playing Catchup Part 1: Fall Holidays

2011-12-08T20:44:00.000-08:00

I officially fail at blogging. I'm not even sure if anyone reads this anymore, and I know everyone is way over Halloween and other fall events, but for the sake of keeping some sort of history, I figured I should throw these on the blog.
Life has been crazy, filled with way more important things than keeping up this blog (or so I like to tell myself). Between Mike's crazy nursing schedule and work, my interior design classes and work (seriously, what was I thinking when I decided to go back to school?), church callings, a move, and other exciting events, it's been pretty crazy for the past few months. I'm going to try to do a few updating posts, so for now, here are a few pictures....

I love all holidays. Period. We had our annual murder mystery party with my family for Halloween, and had a blast. It was a 70's themed party. I had to dress us as a Super Model from the 70's, and Mike's character was a disturbed thriller novelist.

We probably spent an hour in the bathroom before the party trying to perfect the 70's feathered hair.... good thing I didn't peak in the 70's, because my hair was not having it.

My mom on the other hand? She was MADE for the 1970's! Look at that hair of hers! It took her right back to her junior high days at Clearfield junior and she rocked it all night long!

A picture of the boys in my family- before the other guests arrived.

Again, my hair was just gross.

It was a great night though!

We went to another big extended Halloween dress up party, and my sister and brother and I were without costumes. Last minute, we went into my parents basement and dug up our old CJH officer sweaters- bahahaha. Seriously, it was TWELVE years ago that I was in the 9th grade. DANG I'm old!

Mike's mom brought down one of his old halloween costumes a couple months ago, and he was THRILLED to dress up as a Ninja Turtle- ahahah

In October, we went up and stayed with my family at a condo in Park City over UEA...

Anyone who knows me well, knows that Thanksgiving is my very favorite holiday! This year, we had FOUR thanksgiving dinners to celebrate! First, Mike's parents came down and took us out for a Thanksgiving dinner the weekend before Thanksgiving (they also helped us move all weekend for which we were so grateful. More on our move to come.)

We hosted our second Thanksgiving dinner at our new place with some of our best friends, the Nielsen's and the Dalley's. The boys got this wild idea to deep fry a turkey (Dave actually bought a turkey fryer), and so we decided to make a Thanksgiving dinner out of it!

Dave with the turkey in all it's glory.

The boys geared up for the cold two hours in the backyard watching the turkey fry- wearing snow suits and coveralls. These guys are hilarious when they get together..

We opted to stay inside in the warm kitchen eating appetizers and testing our gravy making skills.

The Thanksgiving Feast.

I wish I would have taken a close-up of the deep fried turkey. Seriously, it was probably the tastiest turkey I've ever eaten. Absolutely delicious. I was a nervous wreck the boys were going to burn the house down, so once it was on the table and the deep fryer was turned off I could finally relax. It was worth the anxiety!

On Thanksgiving day we went to my aunt's house for a big extended family dinner. It was great!

Mike was the "baby whisperer" to little Wes, my cousin's brand new baby boy. Precious.

I wish I would have taken pictures of our last Thanksgiving dinner, at my parent's house with just my immediate family. It was great, but I am okay that Thanksgiving is a year away now- I don't think I could eat more green bean casserole if you paid me.

We have so much to be grateful for, and celebrating Thanksgiving is always a great time to reflect on all of the blessings God has given us. I'm so grateful for a wonderful husband, the gospel of Jesus Christ, amazing family, good friends, temples, education, trials that help us grow, a great neighborhood, God's timing in our lives, a beautiful home to live in, and all of the opportunities I'm constantly given. God is so good, and Mike and I feel so blessed. Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving too!

inspiring

2011-10-28T11:18:00.000-07:00

Okay, I've never even listened to a Hillary Weeks song before, but this video is pretty inspiring.

Totally made me cry at work.

Watch it.

The day Mike ran a Marathon

2011-10-22T13:39:00.000-07:00

One of the reasons I love Mike is the fact that he's all about trying new things.

He is ALWAYS progressing, and becoming a more well-rounded, interesting person.

He continually sets spiritual, physical & academic goals for himself, and works hard to achieve them.

It's pretty inspiring for me to watch.

Also, there is nothing he won't try.

Whether it's making a stained glass window, deciding to paint a HUGE chevron board for our house on a whim, teaching himself how to cook and surpassing me in many areas in the kitchen, or taking up a new sport. He continues to surprise and impress me.

A few months ago, Mike informed me that he'd decided he was going to run a marathon.

Of course I believed him, because if I've learned anything being married to this man, it's that nothing is impossible, and he is always true to his word.

A couple weekends ago, the marathon day came.

It was 40 degrees outside, and freezing.

Mike, being just as chill and laid back as ever, ran 26 miles like it was no big deal.

I'm such a proud wife.

4:00 a.m.- Pre-run picture

Some of us waiting at the finish line...

Coming around the last bend (sadly, this was no slc marathon... there were only about 200 people that showed up to run that morning so it wasn't too crowded)

sitting down for the first time...

After running 26 miles, he still looked amazingly refreshed.

Good job babe, I'm so proud of you!!

xoxo,

Our Latest Adventures with Food

2011-10-12T18:57:00.000-07:00

Life is busy.

Mike basically eats, sleeps, studies & spends his days at St. Mark's hospital. He is totally rocking nursing school- I am so proud of him!

I've been swamped working full time, doing my interior design program part time, & just got called to serve in the Relief Society Presidency in our church.

It's been chaotic to say the least.

Despite the crazy schedules, we still manage to find time to spend together. Mike studies his medical books while I work on design projects- and of course we somehow always find time to try new food! Here are some of our recent food adventures:

just had to throw this one in here- Mike's first day of clinicals last month

my mom, stacie and I canned 68 bottles of salsa last month- Mike and I have already gone through 4 bottles in 2 weeks. It's that incredible!

Cinnamon rolls on a Sunday afternoon

A few weeks ago, we went to the annual celebration that is put on by all of the church's in our neighborhood "A Celebration of Faith"- there are choirs from the LDS, Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist, and Episcopal Churches. We really appreciate living in such a diverse neighborhood, and love all of the undertones of faith represented in our area. This is one of our favorite yearly activities. My siblings and their spouses came along, and afterwards we hit up Gourmandise, a local bakery, for baklava.

One Saturday afternoon, Mike and I decided to drop everything and found ourselves at The Grand America enjoying an out of this world lunch.

I highly recommend their tomato melt. Best in the city by far.

Such a gorgeous atmosphere too.

Mike is a huge fan of their tri-tip grilled cheese.

(I wish I would have taken photos of the food- we gobbled it all up too fast though!)

The next weekend we found ourselves at the Taco cart on State Street & 8th South.

Holy Cow, this is the best food cart I've ever eaten at!!

Two tacos for $1.50. Can't beat that price, man! Everything is so delicious!! (don't let the atmosphere scare you away!)

Lastly, Mike made a HUGE all in one breakfast over General Conference Weekend... I'm still feeling the effects, but it was SO yummy! Stacie & Bennett brought home-made braided bread french toast with Magleby's syrup and my mom made a frozen peach slush. I'm still salivating over everything!

Big News!

2011-09-14T21:38:00.000-07:00

When I graduated from BYU four years ago, I walked away, content with my bachelors degree, with a firm resolve that I was done with formal education. I had put in my four years, and that was it. Period.

Oh how that 22 year old self of mine thought that she knew it all.

Over the past four years, I've learned a few things.

One of those things, is that life doesn't always turn out the way that you plan. In fact, usually it doesn't even come close! I've learned time and time again, that God's plan and vision for my life is a million times better than anything I could ever dream up on my own. He knows me, loves me, looks past my many weaknesses, and sees me for who and what I have the potential to become.

Over the past 6 months or so, I've been humbled into learning that part of the 'becoming' process is coming to terms with and accepting the fact that sometimes God's timetable for your life is much different than you had planned, expected or hoped for.

It can be frustrating. It can be heartbreaking. And it can leave you feeling broken.

But God is good.

Incredibly good.

And he always presents an alternative plan.

A couple months ago, on what felt like a "whim", I applied to an Interior Design Program.

And what do you know? I got in!!

Yesterday I went to my first day of school.

I couldn't stop smiling, even when I paid $130 for a text book.

I really am that happy.

And most of all, grateful for a loving God, and a supportive husband.

Jackson Hole Getaway

2011-09-10T07:11:00.000-07:00

Mike and I decided super last minute (we're talking late Thursday night before Labor day weekend) that we wanted to get out of town one last time before summer was officially over. We called Mike's parents, who are always up for an adventure, and with their expert help, planned a little getaway to Jackson Hole (okay, basically Carol planned the whole thing!) We got to Idaho Falls Friday night, and the fun began..

Dinner with Mike's parents

Sealings Saturday morning at the Idaho Falls Temple

Huckleberry pancakes at Smitty's

Saturday morning, on the way to Jackson Hole, we had to stop at the Square Ice Cream place for Huckleberry ice cream- see a theme here?

Isn't it cute? I almost didn't want to ruin my perfect square and eat it...

Once we got to Jackson Hole, we went to Teton Village and rode the Tram up the Mountain. 13,000 ft up, up, up.... this time I actually did okay with the whole height phobia thing!

The view from the top was pretty spectacular (even though it was a pretty muggy day).

Next, we started hiking down the mountain. The weather was perfect- mid 70's, and the sun was shining- we couldn't have asked for a better day!

Mike's dad, the character

Mike's parents are really into hiking- they put Mike and I to shame!

This tree had a huge hole in it. I almost got in but Mike told me there were probably mice and other animals in there, so I opted for the one leg in picture instead. You can tell I'm a little nervous my foot is going to get bit off!

We hiked over 3 miles down, then caught another tram to take us down the rest of the way. It was a beautiful hike, and we'd totally go do it again!

Afterwards, we spent some time in downtown Jackson hole. We shopped the cute local stores for a while, and went to dinner at a really good Mexican place.

I know this picture probably doesn't look it, but this was in fact very creepy to be this close to his face!

We were about to head home, when Mike took off into a store for a minute. He came back out and surprised me with Huckleberry chocolate and the Christmas ornament I'd been eying that afternoon! Can't wait to hang this on our tree this year!

We drove home through Rexburg, and swung by to see the Rexburg Temple.

It. is. gorgeous.

The next day we went to church, had dinner, then went to the cemetery to visit Mike's sister, Andrea's grave. She was 15 when she passed away unexpectedly, and Mike was only 4. Thanks Carol and Gary for telling us so many stories about her- we are excited to meet her someday.

Gary asked me if it was creepy to see my own name on a grave stone. I'm not going to lie- it was a little bit (mine will have an H in there so it will look a little different though :)

Next we swung by to see Mike's grandparents before we left town.

His Grandpa tells some of the funniest jokes I've ever heard.

We had a great Labor Day Weekend!!

On Tuesday, Sept 6th Mike and I decided to make a birthday cake in honor of his sister Andrea (it would have been her 35th birthday that day). We think this will be a fun tradition especially when we have kids so that we can tell them about their Aunt Andi.

the past two weeks, according to my camera

2011-09-04T21:09:00.000-07:00

My Sis-in-law Allie's Graduation from BYU- she's going to be the best Elementary School Teacher!

The day was only complete once I had stopped for chocolate cinnamon bears @ the bookstore.

How is he so much bigger/taller/stronger than me now?

My cousin Rebecca's Wedding- she and Jake met on their missions in Georgia! (love that)

She looked smashing and her dress was breathtaking.

Date to Park City- we shopped the outlets, ate pizza at Maxwell's, and saw the Help.

Mike started nursing school! These are seventeen of his books (he got 8 more).

No, I am not kidding.

After almost 2 years, Laura Walker (a best friend from college) and I finally got together for lunch!

It was so fun to catch up- I've missed you Laura! (thanks for the pic girl!)

Sleepovers on an air mattress directly in front of our air conditioning unit in the living room.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Our bedroom being 88 degrees at 11:30pm is one of those times.

Gorgeous flowers Mike sent to me at work for no reason at all. LOVE him!

More eating adventures with my mom...

Pago is definitely the hottest/freshest/coolest restaurant in Salt Lake right now.

GO! Right now! I wanted to literally lick my plate up.

P.S. Dilema. As you can see, my bangs are heinous right now. I am trying to decide whether to

A) Keep them straight.

B) Cut them swoopy

C) Grow them out.

Any thoughts/opinions/advice would be appreciated!

Newport Rhode Island & other Boston Adventures

2011-08-28T14:04:00.000-07:00

Boston Trip Continued...

Day 3:
Saturday morning we woke up to Brooke and Derek's delicious blueberry pancakes, then headed to Newport, Rhode Island! Can I just say, I would love to someday own a summer house next to the Vanderbilt's. We toured the Breakers, and Marble House, two AMAZING mansions that the Vanderbilt family built in the early 1900's that are out of this world.

Afterwards, we walked along the 'Cliff Walk', which was rated one of the top 3 most scenic walks in the world- that it was indeed! We went to the harbor and looked at all the fancy boats, ate dinner on main street and walked in and out of the shops strewn about. Such a fun, classy little town! Must go back.

Day 4:

After three days of perfect weather, we woke up to rain. We went to church with Brooke and Derek, and by the time we came home and ate some lunch, it was beautiful again! Blessings for church attendance! Derek is a HUGE reader, and knows a lot about Boston history, so we set out for our own private tour of Concord! We stopped at Ralph Waldo Emerson's house, Lousia May Alcott's, the battle at Bunker hill site, and Walden Pond.

I LOVED Walden pond. It was one of the prettiest places I've ever been. I was surprised because it was 1. Huge 2. People were swimming in it (if it wouldn't have been Sunday I would have so been there!) and 3. It was by no means remote at all (I swear the history teachers make up the part about it being secluded and completely away from humanity).

Afterwards we drove to see the Boston Temple, and the Auburn Cemetery for a spectacular view of the city. Later Derek and Mike made dinner for us- it was incredible (still want that recipe Brooke).

Day 5:
Monday morning Mike and I set out to Cambridge to go on a tour of Harvard! It's such a beautiful campus, and I felt really smart just walking around the grounds! Ha! We grabbed a quick lunch, then headed to Back Bay to meet up with Casey and Aubrey (Mike's brother and his wife). They were in town from Philadelphia for a CRNA conference. We were so excited to get to hang out with them! Mike went with Casey for a few hours to the conference while Aubrey and I took a little girl time to go shopping!

That evening we went to the harbor and ate the best Boston clam chowder, crab cakes, and Lobster right on the wharf! It was so delicious and fun to be with family!

Day 7:
Our last morning in Boston, we went and had a mean breakfast at the Paramount, walked around Beacon hill and the Boston Public Gardens, and did some last minute shopping on the famous Newbury Street. We love this city!

We had a great trip, but a horrible time getting home! After 16 hours of traveling, two delayed flights, and throwing up airport pizza all night, we were both anxious to get home to our own bed!

Thanks Brooke and Derek for being such amazing hosts! You're the BEST. Love you!

Boston.

2011-08-25T19:33:00.000-07:00

Mike and I love to travel together. One of our favorite things to do is create lists of places in the world we want to visit, and make plans for our future adventures! A few months ago, we decided to go to Boston this summer! Mike had never been there, and I hadn't been in 10 years, so we figured it was time for us to pay the city a visit. Also, the fact that my BFF Brooke and her husband Derek live there made it a no brainer (they also generously invited us to stay with them)! We were so excited, and after lots of planning, we set out on our trip a couple weeks ago!

We took a red eye from SLC to New York, then flew from New York to Boston. On our first flight, we had a devil baby the row ahead of us that screamed the entire way there (the kid's parents were the only two people on the plane that didn't seem to mind their baby was terrorizing the place). Mike and I both decided that maybe we need to enjoy this phase of life (no crying babies yet) a little more.

The next morning, Brooke picked us up to the airport, and we headed to Manchester, a cute beach town about 45 minutes away from Boston. Can I just say how much I love east coast beaches? They have such a different vibe than west coast beaches, and I must say I am such a fan. They are just so charming. We enjoyed the afternoon catching up on the beach, getting sunburned, and playing in the ocean. I was freaked out because I had just watched shark week the night before we left, and so I was a little paranoid of sharks! Luckily we didn't get eaten by sharks, but Mike did get attacked by a seagull. It was the craziest thing I've ever seen....we were sitting on the beach and Mike was getting ready to take a bite of his sandwich, when this seagull hit him in the head and grabbed his sandwich from him and flew away with it. FREAKY!! It looked like it could have been a scene straight from the Birds!

That night, Mike and I went to Fenway! It was such an amazing stadium, and we loved all of the die hard baseball fans! We got to see the Red Sox play the Indians (another team close to our hearts). We had a great time eating ballpark food and enjoying the ambiance of Fenway! Sadly, the Red Sox lost, but we still loved it!

DAY 2:
The next day, we met up with Elizabeth and Liam Jewell. We actually met on our honeymoon! We were dinner mates on the cruise we went on, and we've been friends ever since! They live in New Hampshire, and we were so thrilled that they were willing to take the day off and ride the train down to Boston to hang out with us!

We started the morning by walking the freedom trail (so interesting!), went on a duck tour (the bus took us around the city, and then the bus transforms into a boat and we sailed the Charles River), ate delicious Italian lunch in the South End, stood in line to get the famous canoli from Mike's pastries, and explored the city. We had so much fun!

Later that evening, Mike and I did some shopping, got pizza, and went to Shakespeare in the Park in the Boston Commons. It was such a fun, busy, action packed day! By the time we navigated our way back to Brooke and Derek's apartment our feet were so, so tired and we were pooped! (Now that means you are vacationing right!)

Thanks for meeting up with us Elizabeth and Liam! We loved seeing you guys- can't wait for you to visit us in Utah!

Summer, we love you. Please don't go.

2011-08-13T23:20:00.000-07:00

Mike and I both agreed the other day that this summer has been one of the funnest of our lives. We have loved our second summer living in the avenues, and we feel so blessed to have so many great friends and family members close by to spend our time with! Since Mike works 12 hour shifts at St. Mark's hospital, he gets four days off a week to play. I have a super flexible work schedule as well, and as a result we've had a lot of fun together over the past few months! We realized just the other day that our summer to-do list we made a few months ago is just about all checked off!

Here are some of the random things we've been up to, in addition to the stuff I've already blogged about.....

Delicious cookouts with friends up City Creek Canyon

Love these girls.

Since Mike has had so much free time this summer, he's become quite the grill master! We're talking at least 3 nights a week. Thankfully, our neighbors are supportive and trust us not to burn the whole building down.

I take that back. He's become the cooking master in general. I haven't had to make dinner in months!

We even learned how to make our own pasta!

Dinner with my grandparents- we love living seconds away from each other!

Mike and Ethan and Preston cleaned out a ditch for my dad for a little extra cash and they are still talking about how traumatizing it was...

Mike's first love (before I came into the picture) was dirt biking. Let's just say he was in heaven when he got a chance to hop on this bad boy.

An evening at the Bee's Baseball Game

Our little cafe rio picnic before the 24th of July Fireworks

We love us some Fireworks!

Mike and I signed up to run a 10k on the 24th, but sadly, I injured my knee and couldn't run it. I somehow convinced Bennett last minute to take my spot (he had only run twice in the past year or so)- they both did awesome!!

Stacie and I were the proud/groggy cheering section.

Trying to get all rodeo'd up!

The Ogden rodeo is so amazing- it's one of the best real rodeo's around.

More BBQs with friends

I can't even tell you how many evenings/afternoons have been spent on a blanket in the park next to our house with a deck of cards and a couple of books. Mike manages to spank me every time, but I still love it. This is what I live for!

Market Street Eggs Benedict = Best.Meal.Ever.

Mini-golfing at Cherry Hill

Enjoying all of the outdoor movies at the Capitol right by our house!

For the next two weeks, we'll be living it up while we can!!

Hope you're having a great summer too!

Sun Valley in Pictures

2011-07-29T14:26:00.000-07:00

We had such a great week up at Sun Valley! In addition to playing the david game, some of the highlights included:

- My favorite delicious Sun Valley restaurants

-Purchasing a cool globe at "The Gold Mine"- best.thrift.store.ever.

- Playing werewolf mafia until 2am in the dark

- My grandma shocking all of us by being Lady Gaga in the name game- I didn't know she even knew who Lady Gaga was!

- Me inheriting the new nickname "moose dung" (don't ask)

- Jumping in Red Fish Lake in FREEZING temperatures

- huckleberry shakes

- the annual Cherry spitting contest

- golfing, hiking, running, swimming, bowling

- The best Jim Spud potato I've ever eaten

- Cousin lunch with grandpa and grandma

- Games. Games. Games.

Mike and I were in charge of the family put-put golf tournament

I played horribly, but it was still fun- and beautiful!

The three winners from each division- looks like the Hymas girls need to step up our game

the whole family at the golf course

lots of swimming, catapulting, and tricks in the sun valley pool

lots of strikes at the sun valley bowling alley (it's literally shorter than other bowling alleys so I rock it there!)

Team Green.

Family cookout and field games at the park

the annual Cherry spitting contest

my husband sure knows how to spit. i am so proud. 2nd place overall!

the unveiling of the annual child family song (yes, we really do have a song- and it's awesome!)

the annual girl cousin breakfast at the bluebird cafe

the most glorious huckleberry shakes at Smiley's Cafe, on our way to Red Fish Lake

I love how Preston is kneeling in the middle. Mike asked him where his date was, and Ethan yelled from the car that he wasn't about to get in this picture..

the usual car situation- Mike can fall asleep instantly in the back seat of a car. It's so funny to watch.

a cold, cold day at Red Fish Lake

Us women were not about to subject ourselves to the misery of the waters......

so I acted as photographer instead! Mike, and my brothers all jumped in.....

the three of us decided we were missing out, so we put on our swimsuits and got ready.

when we jumped in, it was the coldest water I've ever swam in! Look at my face! Shock! Horror! HELP!

I only wish you could physically feel the temperature of that water...

the david became part of our family!

breakfast at Gretchen's

the lovely duckpond

Man, I love my family. And I adore our yearly Sun Valley trip.
Until next year........ Thanks grandpa!

the david saga continued

2011-07-29T13:54:00.000-07:00

*If you haven't read my previous post regarding the adventures with the david, you might want to skim over it quick or else this post won't make much sense.

On day two of our Sun Valley vacay, my parents were the somewhat embarrassed, somewhat sheepish (maybe somewhat secretly proud?) owners of the david. Since the david was found in their bedroom at 6am, they had to spend an hour in public with him by their sides. So naturally, they brought the david swimming with the whole family.

We weren't, and still aren't exactly sure what material our little miniature david was constructed of (I mean it was heavy, but crudely engineered). My dad wasn't about to get in the water with him for fear of public shame (a man swimming in a public swimming pool with a naked man statue just wouldn't look right), and we were okay with it since we didn't know if the david would self-destruct in chlorinated water. We were loving this game and weren't willing to risk losing the david prematurely.

And so, the david was placed to stand gaurd at the head of the pool on a little window ledge. There, he stood silently and watched us (and others might I add) as we swam.

Can you see the david? he's right by my ear...

We were having such a great time swimming and playing in the water that we almost forgot the david was even at the pool with us. Next thing we knew, we looked up, and a group of little girls (5-7 years old) had gotten out of the pool and were standing around the david oohhing and ahhhing. They were touching and poking at his naked body. We all froze in horror, not sure what to do.

I know. I'm sure we scarred them for life and their mothers all thought we were total perverts.

My dad jumped out of the pool, walked over to the david, and he being conscious that strangers (probably the little girl's mom's) were looking at him curiously, fumbled with the david, quickly wrapped him in a towel, and carried him out as fast as was humanly possible, cradled in his arms.

It was magic. The whole child family was busting up. I just wish I would have had my camera close to snap a picture.

That night, my dad was adamant that he was going to get rid of the david. He wasn't about to subject himself to the same embarrassment the next day. My sister Stacie wrote up a Timeline re-cap of Night 2 with the David, and it's too good not to post...

Night Two:

• 11:30 pm: Dad recruits son Ethan to sabotage other son, Alex by hiding the David behind a chair in his room.

• 12:00 am: David discovered by Alex and Allie

• 2:15 am: David is deposited in Mike and Andrea’s room. Mission almost failed by Mike waking up.

• 2:45 am: Mike and Andrea place the David on Bennett and Stacie’s nightstand. Clutter on nightstand creates an added challenge.

• 3:30 am: Bennett notices the David has been planted in their room. After two failed attempts of ditching the David in Alex and Allie and Mike and Andrea’s rooms they resort to Ethan and Preston, the easiest targets due to uncontrollable and violent snoring.

• 4:10 am: Ethan sends Preston on a mission to get rid of the David.

• 4:13 am: Almost the entire condo is woken up by Preston clomping up the stairs.

• 4:17 am: Bennett and Stacie, Mike and Andrea, and Alex and Allie all catch Preston in the act.

• 4:18 am: Preston delivers the package to mom and dad’s bedroom.

• 4:18 am: Preston keeps all those awake by walking downstairs.

• 4:20 am: Preston excitedly informs Ethan that the package has been delivered to mom and dad.

• 4:21 am: Ethan poignantly rebukes Preston for planting it on mom and dad two nights in a row.

• 4:21 am: Simultaneously, dad informs mom that they are the proud owners of the David.

• 4:26 am: Preston reawakens those who have slipped back into sleep by going back upstairs to retrieve the David.

• 4:26 am: Dad couldn’t help but hear Preston coming up the stairs and tucks David under the covers with him and mom.

• 4:27:22 am: Preston timidly opens mom and dad bedroom door.

• 4:27:29 am: Dad and mom pretend to wake up.

• 4:27:33 am: Preston shamefully apologizes that he gave them the David and confusedly scrambles to look for him, finding it nowhere, convinced someone else had taken it out of their room.

• 4:29:03 am: Preston reawakens those who have slipped back into sleep by going downstairs to his bedroom.

• 4:31 am: Preston makes camp on the loveseat in their bedroom to watch guard.

• 4:43 am: Dad flawlessly performs the booty scoot down the stairs.

• 4:44 am: Dad dumps David in Alex and Allie’s room using the book technique.

• 5:28 am: Preston falls asleep during his shift.

• 5:29 am: Alex wakes and attempts to give the David to Mike and Andrea. Fails.

• 5:31 am: Alex attempts to give the David to Bennett and Stacie. Fails.

• 5:33 am: Alex finds success while sneaking past the sleeping Preston, leaving him with David.

• 5:35 am: Alex severely stubs toe.

• 5:37-6:00 am: Preston with a characteristically loud approach tries to pawn off the David to each room in the condo, to no avail.

The david ended up joining Ethan and Preston at the big family cookout the next day.

sun valley meets the david

2011-07-20T22:07:00.000-07:00

We just got back from a week long vacation to my favorite place in the whole world- Sun Valley. Ever since I was a little kid, we've gone up to Sun Valley every single year with my grandparents, and all of my aunts, uncles and cousins on the Child side. I have so many wonderful memories of the place- learning to ice skate at the Sun Valley Ice Rink, getting my red shoes pecked by a swan at the duck pond, swimming with cousins, participating in the annual cherry spitting contest, bike riding through Ketchum, going fishing with my grandpa, and listening to James Taylor and John Denver.

The annual Sun Valley vacation is what my siblings and I look forward to most every summer. This year was no exception- all 35 of us (minus just a few missionaries and out-of-staters who couldn't make it sadly) headed up this year for the magic! (Thankfully Mike loves it now just as much as I do:)

stopping in Shoshone for the best soft serve ice cream ever

After a scenic four hour drive, we made it! First stop: Burger Grill. Best.Burgers.Ever.

That night, we had a big dinner, family night, and Minute to Win It Games with Everyone.

Everyone was put on one of four teams for the games and we all got matching hats!

I had to put a nylon with a baseball in the toe on my head and swing at, and knock over a bunch of coke cans. These are the weird things we love to do together!

Mike participated in the ball catching game with lint rollers.

This year my immediate family stayed in a different condo than normal. Since there are 10 of us now, we needed a big place. While this condo was spacious and there was a bedroom for everyone, it was definitely outdated. Along with furniture and decor that made us feel like we were in the 1970's, there were some crazy weird accessories around the house that we had some fun with. Stacie and Bennett came up a little later than the rest of us, and so we decided to 'decorate' their bedroom. After all, they had only been married about three weeks, so we wanted them to feel comfortable in a "honeymoon suite". This was all spurred on by my 16 year old brother, but the rest of us gladly participated and found weird things around the condo to include..... Enter the bedroom tour:

His & Hers nasty old bathrobes (wondering who would actually put these on their bodies?), Human Physiology and Essential Urology books for a little light reading, and best of all, a freaky cheap miniature version of 'The David', found on a book shelf in the living room.

I thought the scrabble letters were a romantic touch.

Bennett and Stacie laughed at our little display, but best of all, this formed a creepy game we played all week with the David. Every night, a couple started out with him. The goal of the game was to sneak the David into somebody's bedroom and leave it on a piece of furniture without waking them up. If you were trying to place the David and the recipients woke up, you had to move on to another bedroom and try again. The couple (Ethan and Preston were considered a couple since they shared a room) that ended up with the David in their bedroom at 6:00 a.m. lost the game, and were forced to carry around the David in public that day for at least an hour.

It. Was. Hilarious.

The first night, the David switched hands about half a dozen times. Nobody slept too well because everyone was either trying to place the David, or worrying about getting the David. Usually I'm a very heavy sleeper, and even I didn't sleep too soundly. Mike on the other hand, is the lightest sleeper in the world. We didn't get stuck with the David once because he woke up every time someone tried to sneak in our room. During the middle of the night I woke up to go to the bathroom and I was trying to find my phone to have a night light when Mike suddenly woke up and lunged at me from the bed screaming "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!". I almost peed my pants it scared me so bad and I screamed back in terror that it was me! His wife! And I didn't have the David!

Once we got that settled, and I visited the bathroom, we tried to go back to bed.

A couple hours later, around 5 a.m. we woke up to my brothers and dad running through the house. According to the teenage brothers, my dad cheated, but according to my dad, the David was rightfully Ethan and Preston's. Poor Preston tried to place it in everyone's room, but we were all wide awake at that point and he obviously did not succeed. Ethan yelled from the bottom floor of the condo for Preston to come down and bring the David because, "WE AREN'T DONE HERE!"

A few minutes later, Mike and I are almost back asleep, when we start hearing commotion outside. We popped our eyes open at the same time in disbelief and ran to the window, only to find Ethan scaling the fire escape with the David in tow. Seconds later he made it to the roof and started attempting to drop the David on my parent's balcony. Preston is standing 30 feet below, with his shirt off watching the whole thing, Ethan is basically yelling because he is not capable of talking quietly, and the neighbors are shutting their windows (after all, it's 5:30 a.m.- yes, I'm embarrassed that we were 'those people'). By this point my mom has now stuck her head out their sliding door and is telling Ethan to a) be quiet, to which he replies that "I can't- I'm into this mom!" and b) "Get off the roof and take the david with you because you're not giving it to me!"

It certainly was a sight to behold. Seriously, I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried.

Only with my family on vacation.

Despite my parent's best efforts, the David was sitting smugly in their room by 6:00 a.m. Stay tuned for my father's adventures with David at the swimming pool......

4th of July Weekend

2011-07-17T16:16:00.000-07:00

In my mind, nothing beats the 4th of July. It's pretty much my favorite holiday (second to Thanksgiving only). We spent the past two fourth of July's in Idaho Falls (they have an incredible firework show by the way), and so this year we decided to stay home to celebrate on our home turf. I hadn't been home for the 4th since before my mission (four summers ago!), and so I was so stoked to celebrate Utah style. I had been talking up all of the festivities to Mike for weeks.

Our weekend began Saturday morning with the annual Centerville 4th of July Parade. I realized pretty quickly that the Centerville 4th of July parade is pretty lame, but hey, it's tradition and our claim to fame throughout the year!

It was 95 degrees and blazing hot, and so we were thrilled to go check Raging Waters off of our Summer to-do list! Talk about ghetto, old, and rickety! We were there for about six hours and loved every second of it!

The next day, Mike and I had a little BBQ on our grill, then we went and watched an outdoor movie and ate 4th of July fruit tart!

On the actual 4th of July, I ran my first race in about ten years! Don't get too excited- it was just a 5k, but a fun one at that! Mike and I convinced the rest of my family to participate too. The race was in our neighborhood- and it was beautiful. It started at Popperton park, and went through the avenues on 11th, through City Creek Canyon and ended at the Salt Lake Capitol. What a great way to celebrate our glorious country!

I was very happy with the race- it was mostly downhill, the weather wasn't scorching yet, and I beat my goal time by 4.5 minutes! Everyone ran it in under 30 minutes- which was awesome!

Mike did amazing! He practically flew to the finish line! I took 4th place in my family (hence me wishing 4th place made the podium), which I was really happy with!

We enjoyed the rest of our holiday lounging around, saw 'Midnight in Paris', had a big BBQ, and went to Oakridge with my extended Hymas family for fireworks! It was a perfect weekend.

Mike has learned that dressing for holiday's is fun!

Happy Birthday America!

We love you!

Idaho Youdaho Road Trip

2011-07-07T21:33:00.000-07:00

A couple weekends ago Mike and I set out on a little road trip up to Idaho Falls to see Mike's parents! And you know what driving in the car with me for three hours means? I start to get pretty obnoxious with the camera.... poor Mike.

look at his face... he doesn't even humor me anymore by looking at the camera!

Idaho the beautiful. The clouds were phenomenal.

It just so happens that Kari, my sister-in-law, and her four kids are living in Idaho falls for the summer before they move to Ohio, so we were stoked to see them too! We miss having nieces and nephews that live close by! We made it safely Friday night, had dinner and then played games and hung out. Saturday morning Mike and I went running around the Greenbelt (where the actual Idaho falls are), then we all went to Clate's t-ball game.

the kid knows how to play ball

this is my favorite picture Mike took- oh to be 6 again playing t-ball and running the bases!

Afterwards, we made our way to the world-famous (or Idaho famous at least), Big Jud's. You don't understand how excited I was to try this place! Ever since Mike and I started dating over two years ago, he's talked and talked about how amazing their burgers are! The best part is that the restaurant is in this old podunk building that used to be a gas station that's in the middle of nowhere. I take that back- it's smack dab on a cow pasture in the middle of nowhere! Man vs. Food (one of our guilty pleasure tv shows) actually went to Big Jud's to attempt to finish their 1 pound cheeseburger a while back. We ordered one for the sake of trying it and it took up one whole plate! It was the biggest cheeseburger I'd ever seen. Sadly I was drooling too much to even think to take a picture, but it did not disappoint! It was juicy, not too greasy, and cooked to perfection. I can't wait to go back! I joked about eating the whole thing by myself, but it actually ended up feeding five of us! Maybe next time...

After stuffing our faces, we decided to go swimming! We drove up to Heise, this old water park nestled in the mountains of eastern Idaho next to the Snake River. It actually had natural hot pots there as well as normal water park stuff, which was so cool!

After we finished up at the water park, we had a picnic on the river, skipped rocks, and went home and crashed. Sunday we went to stake conference, had a bbq, played with nieces and nephews, and relaxed before heading home to Salt Lake.

Halle & Chloe

baby Thomas- I wanted to take this kid home!

Thanks Gary and Carol for a great weekend! We love you!

Stacie's Wedding Part 3

2011-07-05T22:54:00.000-07:00

Okay, I promise this is the last installment of the wedding for those of you who think all I'm ever going to write about anymore is Stacie's wedding day! She's my sister okay? Lay off people!

Where was I? Okay, on to the reception and all of the chaos that ensued...

The reception was held at a beautiful new place in Sugar House called Cucina Nassi. After freshening up, Mike and I were driving to the reception hall to get there in time for pictures when I got a call from my mom. She proceeds to inform me that my dad and two of my brothers (all of whom were dressed up in tuxes at the time) got into a minor car accident on their way to the reception.

Debaucle #1: Yes, my dad got into a car accident on the way to his daughter's wedding. Talk about a money pit, man!

Once my mom assured me that nobody was hurt, it actually became quite hilarious. You see, my dad doesn't pay attention when he drives (any family member will agree). In fact, I'm truly surprised that this hasn't happened before. As Ethan tells the story, they were just a few blocks away from Cucina Nassi when my dad turned to my brothers and made some joke about the party not starting yet because the three of them weren't there, and then BOOM..... they ran into the car in front of them at a stop light.

Luckily no one was hurt, there wasn't too much damage to either car, and my dad was a good sport about it. He was laughing about it five minutes later and didn't let it ruin his night.

scotty h. post car accident

Literally thirty seconds after I hang up with my mom, I get a phone call from Stacie. The conversation went like this:

Me: Hi Stace

Stacie: Hey, have you guys left yet?

Me: Yep, we are just a few minutes away- almost there. What's up?

Stacie: Weeeeeeellllllllllll...............we have a situation. Ummmmmm, Bennett lost his pants.

Debaucle #2: Yes, you read that correctly. Bennett, the groom, misplaced his pants.

The first thing I thought was 'Seriously? You already got busy at the hotel?' But it turns out, dear old Bennett, with the stress, excitement, and craziness of his wedding day, had left his tux pants in the dressing room at the temple after taking pictures. And now, minutes before he was supposed to be the focal point of more pictures, he was pantless.

Talk about a crazy predicament.

So, here's what happened next:

beware of teenage boy half naked

Desperate times call for desperate measures. As fate would have it, Bennett and my brother Ethan just happen to be about the same size. So, Ethan handed over his pants to Bennett for the sake of pictures, and ended up lounging around/worshiping his body in his white shirt, bow tie, and underpants for a good hour or so. Like any sixteen year old would, he loved having an excuse to hang out half naked.

Don't worry...my grandparents went to the temple, found the pants, and Bennett changed into his real pants (the ones that actually matched his tux) just minutes before guests arrived.

If you thought that was the end of outfit malfunctions, think again.

Debaucle #3: Lipstick meets my booty

Everyone had made it to the reception hall safely, the pant situation had been solved, and I thought the rest of the night was going to be smooth sailing. We started having fun with my camera.....

After snapping a few pictures, Allie stopped me dead in my tracks and told me that I had something on my butt.

Oh no.

Oh yesssssssss. At first we thought it was chocolate, but after my mom tasted it, she determined it to be plum lipstick of some sort.

First of all, I don't even own plum lipstick, so how in the world did it get on my bum? It remains a mystery to me still to this day, weeks later.

my back side.

Now, I know it wasn't my wedding day, and nobody was going to be paying attention to my bum besides my husband, but still, I'm not exactly comfortable walking around with spots on my booty, especially spots that could quite possibly cause people to believe that I am currently experiencing womanly problems and need a tampax. YIKES.

We scrubbed with club soda, hand soap, water, and Mike even ran to the store to grab a tide pen. To my dismay, nothing worked. The lipstick wouldn't budge, and I walked around all night with spots on my butt! Fun! As I was complaining about it, my little brother Preston assured me in all seriousness that nobody was going to look at my butt, and if anybody did they were a PERVERT anyway. Oh bless his fifteen year old heart for thinking that even glancing at a girl's bum is perverted. I hope he stays that way for at least five more years.

Anyway, the reception turned out to be a smashing success. After planning my wedding, and now Stacie's, I'm trying to convince my mother to start a wedding planning business because she would ROCK IT. She is so amazing and detail oriented! The venue was magical, flowers and decorations were classy and fresh, the band was awesome, the bride and groom looked amazing, and the italian food and gelato were delightful (it should have been- the owner hails straight from italy and owns one of the best italian restaurants in slc). It was a perfect party, and a perfect evening.

Congrats Bennito and Stace! Love you guys!

Stacie's Wedding Part 2

2011-07-03T16:28:00.000-07:00

The morning of Stacie's wedding, Mike and my brothers decided that in honor of Stacie's upcoming marriage they would go golfing (how thoughtful of them, right?). So, I being the worrier/control freak that I am, told Mike that I thought going golfing all morning under the hot sun was a foolish decision considering we had a major event packed wedding day to attend to. I didn't want him to be sun-burnt, grumpy, or tired and so naturally sleeping in that morning and making me breakfast (kidding, but not) was a much better idea. He didn't seem to think so, and in the end they went to the golf course at 6 am.

When I woke up I was bugged nobody was there to make me breakfast (kidding, but not), and so I decided to go on a run. (This is subject matter for an entire blog post in and of itself- bottom line: I've begun running again). I started on my normal run, thinking about how dumb my husband and brothers were for being outside all morning. They were going to be pooped by the end of the day and I wasn't going to feel sorry for them. I don't know if my ipod simply got the better of me, if the heat made me dillusional, or if I was overly emotional because my baby sister was getting married in four hours, but by the time I got back to my house I realized I had ran nearly seven miles. (Mind you, running seven miles might be a normal day occurrence for you, and if that is the case, I praise you. You are a better person than me. Considering the fact that a month and a half ago I ran 1.5 miles and literally told Mike I needed to go to the hospital because I was going to die from cardiac arrest may help you understand that running seven miles is IN NO WAY NORMAL FOR ME. ) In fact I started to wonder what the heck I'd been thinking when I had to hold onto the railing and limp up the stairs to get to my apartment. I was supposed to be wearing my beautiful new five inch camel heels all day, and the thought made me want to cry. I decided to go eat breakfast with my parents and help Stacie get ready for the wedding, and so I hobbled to my car and drove to my parents house.

Mike and my brothers met me there, and while I was already feeling the sorry effects of a long run, they had experienced a relaxing, rest full morning on the green. I'm pretty sure karma, or something evil like it was at work here because after all my nagging I was the one with the tired, broken down body. Go figure.

Anyway, the important thing was that Stacie and Bennett did it! They got married! And neither one of them were even nervous (something I cannot even remotely begin to understand- I was a nervous wreck on my wedding day. It's just who I am). It was a lovely ceremony, and the only thing that would have made it better is if I had worn waterproof mascara. I was a complete mess by the time it was over, and I had makeup dripping all over my face. Let me tell you, I looked like one HOT clown.

I was going to wait and post some of the professional photos-- but it's summer wedding season folks and that means a 4-6 week wait (those of us who tied the knot in the dead of winter certainly didn't have that problem now, did we?) In any case, here are some photos from the day!

waiting outside the temple

the sibs

the happy couple!

stunning, gorgeous, timeless, classy, and lovely all rolled into one tiny little package

aren't they perfect together or what?

brothers being goofy as always

parents and surrogate parents

After the photographer released us from picture duties, Mike and I decided to go to a nearby cafe for lunch to enjoy the cool air conditioner since it felt like an oven outside, and it was hot as hades in our apartment. Hello it's finally summer in Utah! This is how we looked/felt:

I realize the lighting is horrible and over-exposed, but the face says it all. I just want a full body massage and a popsicle. And maybe an ice water. Is that too much to ask?

Stay tuned for more (funny) wedding adventures!

Stacie's Wedding Part 1

2011-06-30T23:13:00.000-07:00

My little sister is a real life wife now. They're back from their honeymoon (they went to New York City, by the way), they no longer require "chaperons" around the clock to make sure they are keeping their hands to themselves, and she's even making her husband peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the morning before he goes to work. Isn't that cute? (Tonight I asked Mike if I was a bad wife because usually when he leaves for work in the morning I'm completely incoherent and dead to the world. I realized that I've never once made him a peanut butter sandwich to take to work. He assured me that I have other good qualities- sandwich making just doesn't happen to be one of them. Maybe someday.)

Anyways. As usual, I have about 5,000 pictures from Bennett and Stacie's wedding (if you think that is an exaggeration you are wrong), and wanted to get some of these up on this here blog for documentation purposes. So I might be lousy at keeping a journal lately, so I figure this is the next best thing.

Okay, so the night before Stacie and Bennett got married, his family hosted a beautiful wedding dinner at the Joseph Smith building. It was intimate, classy, and best of all, I had a love affair with the food! I was slightly nervous because I had a small 'speech' to give later on in the program and so I kept shoveling the food in to keep me distracted. (I know what you're thinking- you LOVE hearing yourself talk, especially in front of large groups of people... how could YOU be nervous? Well, once I get in front of the microphone I'm in my element, but beforehand I'm a bundle of nerves. Trust me, every two weeks when I teach relief society it's the same scenario. It's a great way to instantly lose a few pounds.)

lone ranger #1

lone ranger #2 (I tried to get them to pose as a 'couple' for me, but as usual I got the stink eye

They're thinking, "Sweet, in less than 24 hours we'll be married and no longer have to put up with all of these annoying "chaperons"!

We have a tradition in my family, that when one of us gets married, the siblings give a gift to the person getting married and their (almost) spouse. It's not meant to be a roast, but it's supposed to be light, humorous, and fun. Bennett's siblings and my brothers and I came bearing gifts that night, and we each gave a short little ditty to talk about our gift.

I told a few stories about Stacie not trusting me because I've been known to play practical jokes on her since we were kids. Example A. One time while attempting to pour ice water on her while she was showering, my plan failed miserably when the shower curtain came slamming down. Next thing we know she, fully naked, and I, fully clothed, are tangled in the shower curtain with hot water running all over us. (she wasn't too happy about this one) Example B. One night I hid in the fetal position in her closet for 45 minutes while I waited for her to come home. I then proceeded to scratch on her closet door after she got in bed and scared the pants off her. She ended up sprinting to my parent's room screaming that there was a man in her closet, and pretty soon my dad showed up in his underwear ready to attack. That was fun!
I digress....
Anyway, I then related the fact that at first when I told Stacie I had met her future husband she did not trust me, and swore she'd never go out with this guy (can you blame her after all the years of torment?) But alas, I was right, and knew it all along. Just so they never forget who was responsible for bringing them together, I decided for my gift, I would give them one of their first pieces of artwork for their apartment! So I gave them a copy of my MISSION CALL! I even framed it so that they could put it up right away on their wall! They better or else! (Maybe I'll get some professional head shots done so that they can tack that up next to my mission call- or better yet, they could make a whole shrine to me!)

So I've got to tell you about my skirt. I fell in love with it a couple months ago at anthropology. I tried it on longingly, but in the end decided against it because it was 150 bones. Skip ahead to the day before the wedding dinner. I went to anthropology and was at the counter buying a different skirt, when my mom walked up with the floral blue (originally 150 bones skirt) and said "isn't this cute?" Turns out, there was only one skirt left in the store, and it happened to be MY EXACT SIZE. Oh, and guess how much it was? THIRTY NINE DOLLARS. Yeeee-ha! Bless the heavens above! Can't beat saving $110 bucks on a skirt! Like I've always said- Never buy anything for full price at anthropology, because three weeks later it'll be on sale!

Stay tuned for pictures and wedding stories that will make you pee your pants! (well, i almost did!)

temples and barbeques are two of my favorite things

2011-06-28T21:11:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago my sister Stacie got to go to the Salt Lake Temple for the first time. In our faith, being able to go to the temple is a privilege, a blessing, and a holy experience that we plan, prepare, and look forward to from the time we are young. It is in the temple that we make covenants, or sacred promises with God, and learn more about the plan that he has for us. I love going to the temple because it is a sanctuary from the world where I can ponder on the meaning of life, experience peace and quiet, find answers to prayers, and most importantly, feel God's love for me.

Here is a video I love that explains more about temples and why they are important to our faith:

Being in the temple that day with Mike, Stacie & Bennett, Alex & Allie, my parents, grandparents, and some aunts and uncles was really great. It was a wonderful day, and a great reminder for me that God is constantly blessing me more than I deserve. God is so good.

Afterwards my parents had a big BBQ at their house with our family and Bennett's (my sister's now husband!) family. I love any excuse I can get to enjoy a good burger! Here are some of the photos I got....

my Hymas grandparents, Bennett & Stace

Allie & Alex, Pres & Mike

Ethan texting high school women

Dad doin what he does best at the grill

my grandma Joan and Darlene- so lucky to have them in my life!

Bennett's grandpa & my grandpa Sheldon becoming friends

cute grandpa hymas

when i try to get mike to pose for pictures he likes to pull weird stuff- like licking my face

comfort food

2011-06-27T21:46:00.000-07:00

When life gives you lemons.....
It's nice to have a mom that lives 10 minutes away that will literally drop everything to come and have a good cry with you, tell you everything is going to be just fine, and take you out to lunch. We've always believed that a delicious meal can do wonders on improving the way the world looks.

It sure did. Thanks mom. By the way, if you're in SLC, please go to The Tin Angel and order the Chicken and Cambozola Baguette or the Bresaola on Ciabbata- to die for.

Girl's Trip

2011-06-23T20:27:00.000-07:00

A couple weekends ago my mom, Stacie, Allie and I decided to go on a little girl's trip to celebrate Stacie's upcoming wedding! Stace and Bennett would be getting married just 10 days later, so we wanted to have one last horrah with her as a single lady!
We settled on going to our favorite place in the whole world- Sun Valley, because we wouldn't feel any pressure to sight see (because we've been there a million times), and we could get in some quality relaxation!
We left Thursday afternoon, and stopped in Hailey at the best italian restaurant known to man (seriously almost as good as the real stuff in Italy), Da Vinci's.

Afterwards we continued the drive to Sun Valley, and checked into the lodge and stayed up late talking, laughing, and watching youtube videos of the Bachelorette. Ha! It was actually the very first time Mike and I have ever spent a night apart, and we were both sad! We missed each other a lot, but I had a great time with my mom and sisters. I realized I am so grateful that leaving my husband home for few nights is tough and we don't like being away from each other!

Friday morning, we woke up and went running, went to breakfast, took a dip in the pool, got pedicures at the spa (well some of us- Allie and Stacie were less than thrilled with the service so my mom and I opted out when our turn came along). Later we found ourselves eating sandwiches at the duck pond, reading our books, and playing cards for hours.

Ducks were all over the place- so pretty!

That night, we got all gussied up and went to the Ram for dinner. It was my very first time there, and we had the most amazing meal ever. Seriously, I had the best steak of my life- I was in heaven!

Later that night we ordered the best room service hot chocolate from Gretchen's and watched a chick flick! (Something our men usually don't appreciate quite like we do!)

Saturday morning, we woke up, went on a walk around Sun Valley, and crashed at the pool. It was a little cool outside, and so we ended up laying out wrapped up in towels reading our books! ( I finished one and a half novels on our little four day excursion- it was so nice!)

That afternoon, we went to lunch, and spent time walking through shops in Ketchum. It was so fun not to have a schedule we had to stick to and to feel so carefree all day. Later, we went to the Sun Valley Opera house and saw "Sun Valley Serenade", an old movie about Sun Valley that plays for free every day at 4:30. You'd think after years and years of going to Sun Valley, we would have seen it, but it was a first for all of us! It was darling and hilarious, and I want to take Mike to see it.

Then we took about a billion pictures on my camera of the ugliest faces we could muster. I don't know why this is so entertaining to us, but it always is. Here are a few of my favorites (please don't hate me for posting these you guys):

I look like I have elephant skin. SCARY.

This one just cracks me up.

Allie attempting to have a double chin.

Stacie being goofy. love this one.

After we laughed ourselves to tears, we freshened up and went to Rico's for dinner- they have the most delicious pizza ever!

Because yes, we might be obsessed with food, we went out for dessert afterwards and got monstrous ice cream sundaes.

We had planned on grabbing breakfast quick Sunday morning before we headed home, but since we had eaten ourselves sick all weekend, we opted to just hit the road instead. We made it home in good time, and it was wonderful to see Mike again!

I'm so grateful for my mom, my sister, and my sister-in-law- I had so much fun and can't wait to do it again! Thanks again mom for everything, you're the best! Love you guys!

oh what a difference two years can make

2011-06-12T17:43:00.000-07:00

Two years ago today, my life improved one billion x ten

On June 12th, 2009, Mike and I experienced a lot of firsts together:

first date.

first hand-holding session.

first kiss.

The funny thing is that I was still calling him "Elder Bergeson".

And trying to shake his hand.

Six months to the day later, we got married.

And life has been joyous ever since.

Mike, thanks for asking me out and falling in love with me despite my extreme post-mission awkwardness. You're the best thing that ever happened to me.

xoxo

June 2009 (a couple weeks after we started dating)

Birthday Weekend

2011-06-12T17:16:00.000-07:00

After a couple of weeks, the shock has set in, and I'm happy to report that I'm comfortable and content with my new age. Twenty-six is going to be a great year. I can feel it.
Here's a re-cap of this year's birthday: It just so happened that this year (along with most years), my birthday fell over Memorial Day Weekend. I decided to take an additional day off work to kick off the festivities! Friday morning, Gary and Carol (my in-laws) came to town, and took Mike and I to Market Street Grill for breakfast to celebrate. The eggs benedict there are just about the closest thing to heaven, so if you ever get a chance, GO. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture, but it was so nice of them to make room for me during their crazy week.
Next, Mike and I went over to say goodbye to our nieces and nephews. Adam (Mike's oldest brother) just finished up residency at the U, and now they are off to Ohio to do a fellowship. We have LOVED living so close to Adam & Kari and their kids, and are sad we will now be the only Bergeson's in the state of Utah (and basically on the west coast for that matter). When Mike and I started dating these kids were just little, and it's been so fun to be an aunt and watch them grow up over the past couple of years.

Me, Clate, Halle, Mike, and Chloe

Their little baby brother Thomas is just about the cutest baby alive. I'm going to miss this kid!

After saying our goodbyes, we went to the temple, attended a friend's wedding reception, and then Mike took me out. We went to my favorite gourmet pizza place for dinner, then saw "Water for Elephants". Have you seen it? It was good, but heavier and deeper than I was anticipating. If you're like me, and think it's just going to be a cute, light movie about elephants, think again. We both enjoyed it though.

The next morning, (my actual birthday), Mike and I woke up and decided to go for a run. About a mile and a half into it, I started getting these really weird pains in my stomach. I kept pushing through, until finally, I ended up collapsing onto someone's lawn. Bad omen on my 26th birthday, or what? Seconds later I was throwing up all over their grass. YIKES. Even Mike, who works at a hospital and is very level-headed when it comes to medical matters (un-like me), was freaking out and saying he thought he should take me to the ER. He was ready to flag down a car to take us home, while I was begging him to STOP- I wasn't about to throw up in a poor passerby's car. Luckily, the pain subsided quickly, and we were able to walk home. I'm still not sure what happened, but I didn't let it get in the way of celebrating.

Mike fixed me his famous all-in-one breakfast, and then let me open my presents. I was definitely impressed- this husband of mine has some great taste! (please ignore my creeeeeeper face in this photo- trying to show off the purse he picked out for me)

My favorite present however, had to be the video he made! He put together pictures of us since we started dating to some of our favorite songs- it was priceless and I was sobbing like a baby. He's a gem.

Later that afternoon, my mom and Stacie came and picked me up and we spent the day getting manicures and shopping!

Here's my little handy man husband- if anything is broken or needs to be fixed, Mike is the man for the job. He seriously spent so much time that day fixing my new watch for me- isn't he cute?

That night, we had a little birthday party at my parent's house. Thanks mom, you're the best.

Here's to another fabulous year!

Twenty Six.

2011-06-03T11:54:00.000-07:00

Last week I turned twenty six. Before I post pictures and document the fun things we did all weekend and how much I love my husband and family...... I thought I'd tell you all how I'm really feeling right now!!

Yes, I am FREAKING OUT.

I wrote about it on my RC Willey Room to Talk Blog, but thought it was appropriate to share:

http://www.rcwilley.com/blogs/Room-To-Talk/34/2011/6/3057/Twenty-Six-and-Scared-Stiff.jsp

Please tell me I'm not crazy!!!!!

Happy 50th Birthday Dad!

2011-06-02T13:17:00.000-07:00

My pops turned 50, YES 50 this past May. He was partying hard in Argentina the day of his actual birthday, and so we drew out the birthday festivities and celebrated properly once he was home and jet lag had worn off a little bit.

We may have gotten a bit carried away with the balloons. Mike's lips hurt for like three days afterwards. (The picture really doesn't do it justice.)

My mom's friend Lori makes amazing cakes for all occasions, and so my mom commissioned her to make a crazy 50 years old cake! It was the cutest thing ever!

Here is the front..... a beautiful path leading up to the age of 50.

And here is a shot of the back of the cake.... RIP. The poor guy is falling off a cliff to his death!

This was the most creative cake I'd ever seen!

I want my kiddies to look like this!

We had a great night eating my mom's delicious lasagna, and celebrating my father by going around the room and telling the funniest stories we knew about him. It was absolutely hilarious and by the end of the night we were in some serious pain from laughing so hard. That dad of mine is a pretty funny guy.

Three generations of Hymas'

Love you popperoni! Here's to many more great birthdays!

Post Script: Just a couple weekends ago we finally were able to go Go-Kart Racing as a family (part of my dad's birthday present). My mom rented out a go-kart racing facility and the race was on! It was so fun! And scary- the boys in my family are nuts, including my dare devil husband.

I do have to brag for just a second because I won out of all the women drivers! Woo hoo!

Happy Belated Mothers Day!

2011-05-23T21:36:00.000-07:00

I know Mother's Day was a couple weeks ago, but I wanted to publicly tell my mother how grateful I am for her in my life. It's really hard to put into words the respect, admiration, and love that I feel for her. We have a special bond that runs so so deep, that it's difficult to explain. Over the past twenty six years she has taught me so much, mostly by her quiet example. She's shown me the importance of putting people first, serving everyone around you, supporting your husband, sacrificing for your children, standing up for what you believe in, and loving the Savior and his gospel. She's taught me that I can do hard things, to dream big, and to find the joy in living every single day. She is the kindest, most giving, loving, beautiful, positive, strong, generous woman I know. In my eyes, she is pretty perfect. I hope that I can be just like her some day.

"All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother."

- Abraham Lincoln

This year, I am also very grateful for my wonderful mother-in-law, Carol. Carol is kind, strong, non-judgmental, loving and will do anything for her family. I am so thankful for the way that she has welcomed me into her family, and become such a good friend over the past year and a half. Mostly though, I will forever be grateful to Carol for raising such a perfect son. I thank my lucky stars every. single. day for Mike, and I know that a huge part of the reason he is so kind, gentle, humble, patient, forgiving, and loving is because of the way his mother raised him. Thank you Carol, from the very bottom of my heart.

This year for Mother's Day, Mike made me breakfast, and surprised me with some new perfume. I felt a little weird being celebrated since I'm not a mother yet, but that just shows how thoughtful, and kind he is. I cannot wait until we are blessed to be parents someday, and we are so anxious and excited to bring children into this world that we can love, teach and raise together.

After a beautiful church service we went to my parent's house and my siblings and I made dinner for my mom.

To all mothers out there, thanks for all that you do! Your job is difficult, but so important.

Our trip to Moab!

2011-05-19T14:48:00.000-07:00

Mike's parents are hiking enthusiasts (they put Mike and I to shame), adventure seekers, and pro's at traveling Southern Utah.... so we were thrilled when they invited us to go to Moab with them a few weeks ago! They knew that I had never, in all of my years living in Utah, been to Moab, and so they were excited to show me the ropes! We had such a great trip, and besides Mike and Gary getting WAY too close to the edge of a cliff for Carol and I's comfort, and Mike forgetting to pack his meds and pants (this was actually pretty funny) everything went off without a hitch.

After leaving cold cold SLC, we slowly made our to mildly warmer weather. Sadly, weather remained in the 60's for the whole weekend. We were a little disappointed it wasn't warmer, but it was a nice break from reality! After getting to Moab Friday afternoon, we checked into our hotel, then went to a dutch oven dinner/ riverboat cruise. The dinner, prepared and served by cowboys, was absolutely delicious. Afterwards we boarded the boat and set off for a light show cruise! Once it got dark, they had a very old fashioned light show on the beautiful red rocks. It was fun, but you can tell by the picture that it was FREEZING. We felt like we were on a sleigh ride in the dead of winter with the wind whipping and water blowing. It was very memorable, to say the least. I literally had 4 blankets on my body, and I was still cold! Afterwards, they had hot chocolate waiting for us, so it was all good.

The next morning, we got ready for the day and set out to Arches National Park. I couldn't believe how beautiful everything was. I have had the opportunity to travel to many different places in the world, and I was absolutely amazed at the beauty and wonder of the great state that we live in! No wonder people travel from all over the world to see this!

We packed lunches, and spent most of the day exploring in the park. We did several hikes that were off the beaten path (thanks to Carol and Gary), and enjoyed the weather. Don't let the sunshine fool you though- I still had 5, yes 5 layers on!

Our cute tour guides

These arches were so beautiful! It was such a testament to me of the power of God and his many creations!

I'm not sure why we took this picture... probably because the tree was dead?

Carol and I had just hiked down from the top. For me, who is deathly afraid of heights, this was a major feat!

We hiked up the mountain directly across from Delicate Arch. Once we got to the end of the trail, we decided to keep going and do some exploring. Out of nowhere, we approached this HUGE cliff. Gary and Mike were like hanging over the edge and Carol and I were FREAKING OUT. Luckily our crazy husbands didn't fall to their death. Like father, like son. Finally I ventured out a little bit to take a picture. It was scary!

The picture really doesn't do this justice- you should have seen the drop directly behind us!

Boys being boys...

After hiking and exploring all day, we were beat. We ate dinner at a pizza joint in town, then we drove up the canyon to stay the night at The Red Cliff's Lodge. We had our own cabin right on the river with a sweet balcony. It was absolutely breathtaking!

That night, Mike attempted to teach me how to skip rocks on the river, we watched footage of the Royal Wedding and, and we ventured up to the lodge for dessert. They were having a wedding party that night, but Mike and I still managed to sneak into the restaurant in our pajamas for a cowboy brownie. If you are going to Moab anytime soon, I cannot recommend this place enough! It even has its own winery- which didn't do much for us in the way of drinking- but it provided a beautiful, charming atmosphere! We only wish we would have been warm enough to try out the hot tub... I wasn't about to take off my 5 layers, even if it meant getting into hot water.

The next morning we got up and went to church, then drove home. Thanks so much Gary and Carol! We had such a great time, and can't wait to do it again! You're the best and we love you!

Cousin Billy's Wedding Day

2011-04-28T20:18:00.000-07:00

My cousin Billy got married last weekend! After years of looking for Mrs. Right and dating just about every female in Provo... he finally found the perfect girl! Esther is a darling little southern belle that is so friendly, outgoing, witty, and best of all she knows how to put Billy in his place. They were married in the Salt Lake Temple, and had a beautiful luncheon and reception later that evening. We had a great day spending time with all of my Hymas side extended family. Here are some of the many pictures from the day... (out of all the pictures I took, I sadly didn't get one of the bride and groom. You'll just have to trust that they looked amazing!)

Waiting on the temple grounds for Billy and Esther to come out

My cute dad. I can't tell you how many pictures I've snapped of him like this on the phone

Mom, Allie, and cousin Jill

Hello, cute husband

My dad and cute cousin Abbie from Kentucky, sister of the groom

My dad's twin (almost) brother Rob (father of the groom) and Mike

Mama and Popperoni

Getting ready to eat us some delicious steaks at the luncheon

Stacie and Benny boy

My little brother Preston. This kid is freaking cool and has a style all his own. Love this boy.

Ali #1 and Ali #2

Happy Birthday Mike!

2011-04-25T20:18:00.000-07:00

Some of you may not know this, but I am quite a bit older than Mike. Two years and eleven months to be exact. Before Mike, I had always dated older guys, and had never really even considered dating someone younger than me. When Mike and I started dating I figured it would just be a fling because I was a lot older than him, but I was really surprised that the age difference wasn't weird at all. Turns out I love being married to a younger man, and I recommend it to everyone for a myriad of reasons! An elderly lady put it best when she said, "Marrying younger is the best way to go! That way, you won't be a widow for too long!" I'm banking on that. Since women traditionally live 3 years longer than men, I figure we'll probably die around the same time. (Not till I'm 95 and he's 92 though).

Anyways, I always forget about the age difference thing because A) Mike looks older than me, B) Mike acts older than me (Everyone that knows him will attest to the fact that he has always been a wise old soul), and C) Everyone thinks Mike is older than me! However, I always love when his birthday rolls around because it means now I'm only 2 years older than him instead of 3. Too bad I can't stay 25 forever.

This past Wednesday, Mike turned the ripe old age of 23! We started out the morning by going to Kneaders and eating their incredible french toast for breakfast....

Next, we went home and I let Mike open one of his presents. (I decided to throw together a mini-shrine to Mike the night before at 12:30 am)

I gave him a golf club driver he's been eying since last summer... he was seriously as giddy as a schoolboy, and immediately left to hit up the driving range while I went to work for a few hours.

That afternoon, we went to a movie and ate ourselves sick with popcorn and candy.

(he was good to cooperate and let me take a picture)

Next, we went to Happy Sumo and dined on crab cakes and sushi. Can you tell we like to celebrate with food? I promise we do have more hobbies besides eating.

Afterwards, we came home and opened the rest of his presents, then had a few of our friends over for cake and ice cream!

Happy Birthday Mike- Love you!

My husband is freaking cool

2011-04-23T07:58:00.000-07:00

One of the things that I love about Mike is that he is never afraid to try new things, and is always acquiring new hobbies. One night last fall I suggested that we go on a run together outside. Mike played sports all growing up and is super athletic, and so I was shocked to learn that that night was honestly the first time he'd ever been running! That first night we didn't get too far because neither of us were in the best of shape, but six months later, I can still barely run 3 miles, and Mike ran the Salt Lake City half marathon last weekend!

Standing at the finish line was the coolest experience. My mom and I were crying watching all of the different types/sizes/shapes of people cross the finish line. It was so inspiring.

Watching Mike approach the finish line! He was just a few minutes away from his goal time, so he was pretty happy (especially this being his first race ever). I'm so proud of him!

Look how great he looks after running 13 miles!

I made a couple of cheesy posters that my brothers held up as he was finishing the race.. and yes, I made him pose by them.

Mike's parents drove down from Idaho to see the race, and our little nephew Clate came too.

My parents and little brothers came as well to cheer him on.

When it started raining, my mom and I were both glad we were prepared with umbrellas.

I've decided I'm going to go hang out at the finish line of this race every year. It ends at the Gateway, and it was an incredible venue, and inspired me to accomplish my goals, even if they seem hard. I'm so proud of Mike! The crazy part is, one week later, he's already signed up to run a Marathon this fall. Crazy husband I have- I'll be at the finish line again crying like a baby.

March Madness Update

2011-04-19T14:59:00.000-07:00

Despite the freezing weather that stuck around all through the month of March, we had a lot of fun. Between fun dates with Stacie and Bennett and our Canyon Road friends, we really enjoyed watching the NCAA championship! I was sad BYU didn't make it to the end, but we had a great time cheering for the Cougars and loved the excuse it gave us to party with friends and family all month. We also took a fun trip up to a condo in Park City with my family, but I was as sick as a dog and didn't take any pictures.

The best part of March for us though was that Mike not only got accepted to Nursing school, but got a full scholarship to boot! We are so excited, because this is a huge step towards his final goal of becoming a nurse anesthesiologist. I'm so proud of my smart, hard working, and goal oriented husband! (He'll be so embarrassed if he ever decides to read our blog.... ha!)

Here are just a few pictures from the month:

Dinner with Stacie and Bennett at Arella's

This is how Mike and I end up rolling on Sunday nights. Very classy.

Cheering for Jimmer!

My poor Grandma broke her leg, shoulder, and arm... but that didn't stop her from cheering on the Cougs!

Dinner w/ Grandpa and Grandma Hymas

Celebrating my Mom's 47th Birthday... I only hope I look as amazing as she does in 21 years!

Mike and Dave watching Butler and UConn in the Final NCAA game. They were sure if they wore my sunglasses it would be good luck for Butler. Guess not....

Dinner with Dave & Mckell at our beloved Cheesecake Factory

little sissy's gettin married

2011-03-14T19:10:00.000-07:00

The Ohio Cleveland Mission has been good to my family.

Not only did I get lucky and meet my husband on my mission, but I met my sister's future husband too!

Bennett and I became good friends serving in the same district for a long time, and I always joked with him that he was going to marry my littler sister. He would just laugh, and say, "Right, Sister Hymas".

Well, last spring after Bennett got home from his mission, he asked about little sissy.

And that's when Mike and I decided to do a little matchmaking.

And it just so happened to work out perfectly.

They fell madly in love.

And last weekend they got engaged!

We couldn't be happier, and I'd be lying if I said we weren't super proud of our set up skills.

We can't wait until they tie the knot in June!

Congrats guys!

painting, waffles, and card games

2011-03-03T21:14:00.000-08:00

As with any other holiday, we celebrated Valentine's day over the course of a whole week! As part of our love day festivities, Mike picked me up from work one day and took me to Michael's to pick out paints. When we got home, I found this little art gallery he had created so that we could go to town on our own canvas!

We had been wanting to do this for a while now, and it turned out to be one of the funnest art projects we've ever done together! Throwing paint at the wall was so awesome!

Here is the finished product. We love it! Mostly because we did it together to celebrate our love! I think it looks much cooler in real life so come on over!

Here are a few pictures of us as of late....

Eating Italian gelato at our favorite spot on 9th and 9th

My little housewife husband. Seriously, I hit the jackpot when I married Mike, for a multitude of reasons, one of them being the fact that he is an excellent chef. He cooks these amazing gourmet dinners all the time, for which I am so grateful. Now I just need to get him a manly apron so he doesn't have to wear all of my girl ones. I came home from work one day and found him wearing this floral apron and had a good laugh...

As I mentioned in my last post, we've been hitting up Jazz games lately, thanks to all of the tickets my parents gave Mike for Christmas this past year. Mike wears his Jazz shirt for the both of us...

We like to stay cultured. For every sporting event we attend, we go to something else that is artistic. Last week we went to the play Hairspray at the new Legacy Centerpointe Theater.

One rainy Saturday morning a couple of weeks ago, we decided to forget running errands, forget doing laundry, and forget doing everything responsible. We dropped everything, and set for an adventure. First we ended up at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts. They had an amazing modern art and photography exhibit that we loved!

After the museum, we stopped at the downtown D.I. Mike prefers other thrift stores to the D.I. because the smells bother him, but there are always gems to be found. I got some suweeeeet vintage blouses for eight bucks. I was so proud of my finds. After shopping, we decided to try this Belgian Waffle place we've been dying to try. The frites and waffles did not disappoint! In fact, we've already been back for more!

YUMMY!!!

Afterwards, we went to the grocery store and picked up the ingredients to make one of our favorite Italian dishes. We went home, curled up on the couch and read, made dinner together, and enjoyed a relaxing evening at home. The best.

Speaking of staying in, the other night we decided to turn off our phones, computers, etc and stay home and play card games. Just the two of us. We literally played for hours and hours and laughed all night. If you like playing card games, call us! We're in!

One of his many other skills is shuffling. Don't even get me started....

11 Things that Are Making Winter Bearable Around these Parts.....

2011-02-20T17:45:00.000-08:00

1. New gym memberships! We both set goals to get into better shape this year. Mike is training for a half marathon in April (I'm still sitting on the fence as to whether I'm going to do it) and a triathlon this summer..... regardless of my decision, we are both getting into better shape!
2. Knitting Class every Wednesday night at East High with my mom! Who knew I'd love purling so much?
3. Randomly deciding to paint our kitchen goldish yellow one Saturday morning. Grateful that Mike puts up with and supports my spontaneous decorating decisions, and that he prefers taping to rolling.
4. Thursday night Church Basketball games. Mike gets to play ball, and I get to chat with girlfriends.
5. Hatch's Chocolates---- conveniently located just two blocks from our home. I'm pretty sure I'm single handedly keeping them in business with all of the frozen hot chocolates I've been getting.
6. Surprise bouquets of flowers and chocolate cinnamon bears from my cute husband for no reason.
7. Purchasing an incredible vintage mustard yellow ottoman for our living room.
8. Exploring thrift stores by our house on Saturday afternoons with Mike.
9. Our brand new little nephew, Thomas. Holding him as much as possible.... it's making me more keen on the idea of having my own babies someday.
10. Constantly planning warm weather vacations.
11. Going to Jazz games... Mike is proud that I finally know who Deron Williams is.

Hope you are surviving in this yucky weather!

Catching Up.... the end of 2010

2011-01-10T21:35:00.000-08:00

Alright, since it's the beginning of a new year, I wanted to catch up and document the last couple of months of 2010 on our blog. Please forgive the fact that I'm reverting to the past a little.

Going back to late October.....At the end of our trip back to Ohio, my parents had to fly back home, but Mike and I had four more days without work or school. So, naturally, we kept on vacationing. We rented a car in Ohio, and drove through Pennsylvania up to Niagra Falls in New York. The drive was absolutely beautiful. The leaves were in peak season.

We got to Niagra Falls, and the downside was that it was freezing and POURING rain. The upside, was that this visit was much different from the last time I went to Niagra Falls with my family. Instead of getting caught in a sea of Asian tourists on their summer holiday, we basically had the place to ourselves.

Gearing up at the Cave of the Winds..... we got some HOT ponchos!

They aren't kidding when they say cave of the WINDS.

After we had our fill of Niagra Falls, we hopped in our little car and started driving again. After a horrible experience with a power-hungry border patrol man, we finally made it into Canada! Next stop: Toronto! I've always wanted to go to Toronto, so we figured this trip was the perfect time!

As far as cities go, it reminded me of a smaller, more commuter-like New York. The buildings were much less unique though- they all looked the same. We got there, checked into our Hotel, finally took showers, and headed to Yongue Street (the Times Square-like area of the city), and grabbed dinner at an incredible steak house.

The next day, we embarked on our own walking tour of the city, with our first stop being the CN Tower. This is one of the most famous attractions in Toronto. It stands at 1,815 ft tall, and was the tallest free standing structure in the world until 2007, when the Burj Khalifia was built in Dubai. Although not the tallest anymore, it continues to be classified as one of the Seven Modern Wonders of the World. It's the skinny needle-like building behind Mike in this picture.

Somehow Mike convinced me to ride up to the top with him in the glass elevator. You might not know this, but I am TERRIFIED of heights. Seriously, my legs get all shaky, my heart starts racing, my palms get sweaty, and I want to pee my pants. You'd think that I would just stay away from tall structures and be happy. WRONG. The problem is that whenever I travel, there always seems to be a tall structure to conquer. And I'm too stubborn to sit an adventure out. So, while my friends all enjoyed the top of the Eiffel Tower, I was just praying a gust of wind wouldn't knock us over. When I walked across the rope bridges in the African Rain Forest, climbed to the top of the Duomo in Italy, and sat at the top of Chitzen Itza in Mexico I was sure I was going to die. Heck, I even lived in New York, and only went to the top of the Empire State building once. Just to say that I did.
Anway... you get the point. I had to summon all the courage I possessed, to get to the top. Here was our view:

Once we were at the top, the real fun, or terror, began. If riding a glass elevator to the top of a skinny needle shaped building, and standing on a little observation deck towering over the city isn't scary enough, it turns out there is a GLASS FLOOR you can stand on. Yes, this 'floor', or 2" thick sheet of glass, is the only thing between you and the ground 1,212 feet below. And no, I'm not kidding. I could not believe it. It even took Mike, who normally isn't afraid of anything, a minute or two to get the guts to go stand on the thing. I told him there was no way I was stepping onto that death trap, but the longer I stood there watching people walk out onto the ledge, the more I realized that I needed to do it. When else in my life was I going to trek to the CN Tower in Toronto? I quickly made friends with a woman who looked as scared as I was. After 20 minutes, we finally worked up the courage to walk out. Mike had to coax me. You can tell by the look on my face I'm still not so sure about this...... and just for the record, I dashed out to get a picture then scrambled back to the safe floor.

Then I realized that the picture didn't even show what was below the glass, so I braced myself and ran out again for another photo opp. I wanted proof, baby! Please take notice of the fact that my hands are holding onto my knees because they were trembling like crazy. Look at the ground below!

I was so proud of myself. I conquered my fear of heights, if even for a split second! To celebrate my victory, we went and dined at a delicious Indian Restaurant. Please excuse Mike's creeper facial expression. It's the only picture I had.

Next, we took advantage of the many glorious shopping options that aren't available to us in our dear Salt Lake City for a few hours, then we traveled to the old Casa Loma Castle. It was built by a wealthy financier in the early 1900's, and we got to walk through all 98 rooms.

We snuck off and did a little exploring, and found this little attic room. It was a beautiful view of Toronto.

This was the conclusion to a wonderful trip! We went to bed early that night, and caught our flight out the next morning. We had such a fantastic time!

For some reason I really love Halloween, probably because it's kind of a kick off to the next two months chuck full of holidays and family traditions. This year, we went to a couple different family dress-up parties. My mom and I dressed up as my dear old Great Grandmother Viola, and her daughter Helen. They were the funniest, cutest old ladies ever, may they rest in peace.

Mike dressed up as Gaston from Beauty and the Beast. I had to beg him to wear tight leggings to make the costume more believable. Secretly, I think he liked it (even though he added the shawl around his middle at the last minute!)

We also attended a murder mystery dinner. I was Maria the maid (can you tell I overloaded on Bronzer?), and Mike was a feeble old security guard. Mike shocked everyone with his acting skills- he was the murderer in the end and nobody suspected it!

November was a great month. The weather was uncharacteristically wonderful!

Enjoying a BYU football game with my Grandpa in his 50 yard line, 10th row seats! My kind of game!

Thanksgiving always has, and always will be my absolute favorite holiday. I adore it so much. This year we spent the holiday with my family, at my parent's house. We had over 35 guests. Mike started fooling around folding napkins, and they turned out so good that he got assigned to fold all 35 of them! I had no idea I married such an artistic, inventive napkin folder!

On December 12, we celebrated our 1st Year Anniversary of Marriage!!

In some ways it feels like yesterday that we officially started our lives together, but at the same time, I can't remember what life was like without him. Marrying Mike is still the best decision I ever made. He is the best husband a girl could ever ask for. He compliments me in every, way shape and form, and I love him with all my heart. This past year has been hilarious, wonderful, adventurous, and love-filled. I can't wait for the rest of our lives together!

In celebration of our first anniversary, we started the morning by going to a Sub-for Santa Shopping Day through my work...

Then we grabbed breakfast at Lamb's Grill

Later that afternoon, we went to the Polar Express Symphony at Abravanel Hall. It was so great!

That evening we ate dinner at Ruth's Chris, and then Mike surprised me with a night stay in a suite at the downtown Marriott, where we had our wedding dinner last year! It was beautiful! The best part of the night, however, is when Mike gave me my present- a gorgeous Amish Nativity set that he searched high and low for! I've collected Nativity Set's since I was a little girl, and this one was so significant because we met in Amish Country, and visited there together again this past fall. I'm still tearing up in the picture, but you get the idea.

Then I gave Mike his gift, a book I compiled with hundreds of pictures documenting our first year of marriage together!

Happy One Year, Mike! Love you!

After our anniversary came all of the fun Christmas festivities!!! Last year with planning our wedding, getting married, going on our honeymoon, and moving into our first place during December we didn't get to just sit back and relax and enjoy the holidays! This year was so fun to have the whole month to celebrate! One night, my parents showed up on our porch with a basket full of presents- my mom put together the cutest 12 Days of Christmas for us- each present highlighting old traditions that I grew up with at Christmastime, or new ones to start since our family is getting bigger! It was SO fun opening up such meaningful presents everyday! Thanks so much Mom!!

One of our "presents" was a carriage ride around Temple Square, dinner at the Blue Lemon, and the John Schmidt Christmas Concert! Such a fun night!

Christmas Eve at my Grandpa and Grandma Hymas' big annual family party

That night my mom gave us matching pajama pants that she made!

Mike was scheduled to work on Christmas, but got a phone call at 5am telling him he didn't have to go into the hospital! It was a Christmas miracle! It was so nice to spend Christmas morning with him!! He had to go in to work for a few hours later in the afternoon, which was nothing compared to what we had planned on! It was the best Christmas ever!!

There were a lot of great surprises, but one of my favorite Christmas presents was a cookbook my mom published with all of her recipes!

The next day, we drove up to Idaho to spend a few days with Mike's family. Two of his brother's and their families flew in from Philadelphia and New Jersey, and it was so fun to see everyone. Sadly, I didn't take a single picture up there, but we had a great time sledding, going to movies, playing ping pong tournaments, and eating great food!

2010 was the best year of my life so far..... Here's to another great year!!

Happy New Year!

just in case I didn't have your address.....

2010-12-20T11:17:00.000-08:00

Congratulations Brooke & Derek!

2010-11-12T12:45:00.000-08:00

Brooke and I met our sophomore years of college, when we were assigned as random roommates on BYU's study abroad program in London. We became the best of friends in our little South Kensington flat that semester, and we've had many adventures all over the world since!

I'm happy to announce that Brooke and Derek got hitched a few weekends ago! After 6 years of on/off dating, I'd say it was about time! Their wedding announcement, which is the most unique I've ever seen, tells their story. I love it because it's so them...the only thing it doesn't say is, "Andrea said they'd get married all along." Yes, I called it back in 2005. Best friends always know.

B & D both live in Boston, but flew to Utah, so that they could be married where she grew up! Secretly I was a little disappointed the wedding wasn't back east, since that would have given us a good excuse to go on another trip.... but it turned out to be simply lovely...

Introducing Mr. & Mrs. Christensen! What a striking couple!

BFF Megan flew in from Seattle for the big day!

They had a beautiful, intimate, cozy celebration up at Sundance that evening. The leaves were electric, the food was incredible, and the night was magic....such a classy event!

This picture makes me laugh.... you couldn't get two different sized couples if you tried. Mike & I are going to have some short little muffins someday..

My favorite part was at the end of the evening when a huge band of bagpipers showed up unexpectedly! Brooke LOVES bagpipes, and her parents had hired them as a surprise! It was so fun-- the dancing was awesome!

Congratulations Brooke & Derek! WE love you and are so excited for you!!

Our trip back to Ohio!!

2010-11-02T22:11:00.000-07:00

From 2007- 2009, I served as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Cleveland, Ohio Mission. In addition to proselyting, I had the opportunity to work at the Kirtland Historic Church history sites, where many of our church's earliest spiritual outpourings occurred. I have been blessed beyond measure as a result of my decision to serve a mission. I can honestly say that everything good in my life at this point is a result of that experience. Not a day goes by that I don't think back to my precious time in Ohio.

And to think I was the girl who never wanted to serve a mission.

I was 22 years old. After working hard at BYU, I had just graduated from their Advertising/Marketing program. Ever since I was young I'd dreamed of living and working in New York City. I landed an internship there with an agency, and packed my bags, thinking I'd never return. At the end of the summer I had several job opportunities, some of which were in New York. I was dating a lot. I was in the exact position I wanted to be, but after weighing my options, nothing really felt right. Confused, I decided to move back home for a month or so to figure out which job to take, which city to live in, and what to do with my life. After many frustrating weeks of contemplation, I finally decided I needed to figure out what God wanted for me. Almost immediately after softening my heart, I realized I needed to go on a mission. I had a spiritual experience that is far too personal to expound on in a blog, but it had such a powerful effect on me that within a week I had turned in my mission papers. A few months passed. On December 12th, 2007 I entered the mtc. I left behind career opportunities, a boyfriend, and life as I knew it. I thought it was going to be a sacrifice, but it turned out to be far from that. I was blessed in more ways than I could have ever comprehended. God is so good.

My mission changed me in so many ways. It made me a better person. It elevated my life perspective. It helped me to refocus my priorities. It changed my goals. I learned what it meant to see people as children of God. I came to know and love Jesus Christ and I came to see the blessings of his atonement in my life in meaningful ways. My testimony of the Book of Mormon, the Bible, living prophets, and the power of God in my life was strengthened immeasurably.

One of the greatest blessings I received as a result of serving a mission, was meeting my husband Mike. When we first met, we were both focused on being missionaries, and sharing the gospel with the people of Ohio. It wasn't until we were both home from our missions, when we randomly became re acquainted one day, that we learned that we had much more in common than a love for missionary work. We dated, fell in love, and got married seven months later. Life has been wonderful ever since.

One of the things I love about our marriage is that we both have a love for missionary work, our missions, and the great state of Ohio! A few weeks ago my wonderful parents took Mike and I back to Ohio for a week! Neither one of us had been back since our missions, and so it was beyond exciting!

The trip met all of our expectations. We had such a great time. We might have served in the same mission, but Mike and I had VERY different experiences. I served in Amish Country, the Church history sites, and for the most part really nice area's. The majority of Mike's mission was spent in the ghetto in downtown Cleveland. We spent time in area's we each served in, visited members, recent converts & old friends, toured the Church History sites, and spent time doing touristy things as well....

Right before we landed in Ohio... seconds after this picture was taken I was crying! So excited to be back!!

Walking through one of Mike's area's in downtown Cleveland

"You can't visit Ohio without going to the Football Hall of Fame"- or so Mike and my dad tell me.....

Hymas family favorite: The Bronco's!!

Enjoying Amish country- especially the pastries, cheese & baskets

Burton, one of the cities in the country I served in had cute scarecrows all over the town square!

Churning apple butter at the Burton "Apple Butter Festival"

The view from the manor we stayed in the first few nights.... this picture doesn't do the beautiful autumn leaves justice. It was breathtaking!

The Revelation Room in the Johnson Farm in Hiram, Ohio. This is where the 76th section of the Doctrine & Covenants was received by the Prophet Joseph Smith regarding life after death. There was an amazing spirit there, as always.

Standing on the front steps of the Johnson Farm. The prophet Joseph Smith was tarred and feathered one night when he lived here. His friends and family stayed up all night scraping the tar off his bloody, bruised body. The next morning he preached on these steps a sermon on forgiveness.

Visiting Harold & Lori Harvey, one of my very favorite recent converts in Brunswick. (We missed you Sister Knecht!)

The Newel K. Whitney store, in Kirtland. This is the store that Joseph Smith and Emma lived in for 1.5 years in Kirtland. Inside are the School of the Prophets and the Translation Rooms. About 17 Revelations found in the Doctrine & Covenants were received here by the prophet in the 1830's. One whole year of my mission was spent here at the Kirtland sites! Part of my heart will always be here.

The Butterfield's, the site directors and my second parents in Ohio, had me give the tour to my family with Sister Kingston. After a year and a half surprisingly a lot of it came right back! I cried through the whole thing!

Inside the Newel K. Whitney Store

The Hyrum Smith House in Kirtland! This is where I lived for about 8 months while I lived in Kirtland!

The beautiful Kirtland Temple, the first temple built by our church in this last dispensation. It no longer operates as a functioning temple, but it's still sacred.

This is hands down the coolest cemetery I've ever visited. It was thousands of acres, and one of the streets in it was called "Millionaire Row", where dozens of famous millionaires are buried, culminating with John D. Rockefeller himself! Here is his granite obalisk..

Tradition has it that if you put a dime on Rockefeller's grave you'll be rich! Here's to hoping this will bring on the cash flow!

Dinner with Ron and Diane Pepin, Mike's second parents in Ohio. We sat at our table for 4 hours, and I don't think any of us have ever laughed harder! Come visit us soon Ron and Diane!

An afternoon at the famous Westside Market in Cleveland

Nothing beats polish dogs, fudge, and apple fritters from the stands at the WSM

Cleveland: known for the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame.... we didn't go to the actual museum because we've heard it's a huge let down. We did snag this picture in front of our hotel though.

The Glidden House, the cutest hotel ever

We took a trolley ride in downtown Cleveland. Not as quaint as a San Fran Trolley, but fascinating nonetheless!

It was so wonderful to be back in Ohio with 3 of the people that I love the very most in this world. I loved being able to share my mission with my parents, who lived through my mission with me via letters, and also my sweet husband. It was really neat for me to meet many of the people Mike touched, and to visit the area's that he served in as well.

Thank you so much Mom and Dad! This was an amazing trip that neither one of us will ever forget! Mike and I love you so much and are so grateful for you in our lives! You're the best!

Love you,

Ang

Some pictures I quite like....

2010-10-18T18:50:00.000-07:00

I finally loaded pictures onto my computer after a couple of lazy months. Here are some of my favorites....

We love each other...

Only in Wyoming on the way to Grandpa's ranch can you find an assortment of fake mustaches at the grocery store.... I think Mike and my little brother Ethan look like pervies

Here's what I would look like as a creeper boy.... Mike is very thankful he doesn't have to wake up to this every morning.

I married an incredible shot!

My cute Grandpa, the avid fly fisherman

My other cute Grandpa surprised us all when he hopped down at the piano and started playing the other night! All this time I never knew!

Street fair at the avenues.... I pounded down this horchata in 30 seconds. AMAZING!

the dew tour. mike will never step onto another motorcycle if i can help it.. SCARY!

My newest tattoo, thanks to allergy testing. Turns out after 62 pricks (painful pricks at that), I have a mild allergy to horses and dust mites. Good thing I didn't marry a cattle rancher.

Allie's Birthday Dinner in my parent's backyard

This is one of the cutest pictures I've ever seen. Thanks for being a great sister-in-law Allie! Love you!

Summer Wrap Up

2010-09-21T18:15:00.001-07:00

Forgive me for not blogging for a few months, but this Summer was way to great to find time to blog! Mike and I LOVE living in the avenues, and we've been having adventure after adventure lately. We stayed busy working, studying (Mike), going on bike rides, Thursday night movies at the Capitol, Farmers Market every Saturday, perfecting our golf game (Mike), teaching Relief Society (Ang), vacationing with family, swimming at the Tennis Club, taking tons of pictures with our new camera, and exploring Salt Lake!

Here are a few of the hundreds of pictures we've taken.....

Riding my new bike for the very first time!

Saturday morning bike ride on Legacy Parkway

Go Team USA!

4th of July Weekend at Mike's Parent's in Idaho Falls. Complete with the 2nd best firework show in the nation!

Dinner with Grandma & Grandpa Hymas

Annual Child Family Trip to Sun Valley- complete with our matching t-shirts

The whole gang...

My mom and I before the big tourney

Lunch with Grandma & Grandpa Child

The whole Hymas clan at the annual Cherry Spitting Contest

Fireworks on the 24th of July

Deer Valley Summer Concert Series

The cookie that cost a freaking fortune..... it was worth it.

Re-finishing and painting several pieces of furniture led to several pain fights

I prefer chocolate... Mike is happy with his bubble gum

Summer movies with little sissy

BFF Chelsea's Wedding

Thanks Grandma

2010-06-13T20:28:00.000-07:00

I got my hair cut this past weekend. Really short.

This time I was emotionally prepared.

My grandma saw my new do and said, "You look like a Chinese girl!"

What???

Ummm..... Thank you??

I've been told I look like a lot of things, but Asian is a first.

Maybe it's a good excuse to take a trip to China.

Hi.

2010-06-02T17:04:00.000-07:00

Okay as you can tell, our personal blog hasn't exactly been a priority lately. Maybe it's me, but after sitting at a desk, staring at a computer, and getting paid to blog all day long.... coming home and hunkering down with my trusty mac just doesn't sound so appealing. Sorry. I'd rather hang out with husband.

I was thinking about journaling today and realized that I'm failing in all aspects to document life as I know it right now. I have every intention of pulling out my journal sometime soon... but this just seemed like an easier, quicker method. I apologize for using the whole list format again... you get what you get though. Maybe it will inspire me to want to blog more. This is for you, Brooke.

1. We got a new baby, named Nikki. We love her.

2. We celebrated Mike's birthday! We went to the Bees Game and I made him pot roast for dinner, per his request. (Who wants pot roast for their birthday?)

3. We went on a vacation to San Francisco! We ATE. We TOURED. We SHOPPED. We CONQUERED.

Complete with Bike Riding in Golden Gate Park.....

Enjoying public Transit....

Alcatraz.....

A Giants game at AT&T Park....(don't mind my bangs... I told Mike we can never live in SF because the weather doesn't cooperate with my unruly hair)

Delicious Crab.......

Wicked!!

Chinatown......

Typical San Fran Weather......

More delicious food......

Making it this close to the Golden Gate Bridge......(then giving up because we were starving)

And of course sundaes at Ghirardelli Square!

4. We moved to a darling apartment in the Avenues, right next to Memory Grove!

And I went from having a closet this size....

To this size.......

and we LOVE it.

5. We celebrated MY birthday!

Complete with a huge family birthday party my mom threw.. and surprises all weekend from my cute husband.

That's all for now. Life is good.