Saturday, December 31, 2011

2011

I have been having the best time over the holidays. But it's getting to be that time when normal life needs to start up again. I'm sad to see it go but I'm excited for what 2012 has in store for me! It's definitely going to be a great new year. I can't believe it's already 2012. The dreaded 2012 ;)
I still remember the whole Y2K scare like it was yesterday! Good times, good times.
With that being said this is just a few things to look back on the year.

Dave returned from his 2nd deployment

Kyson turned 2 and Dave and I both turned 24

Went to concerts and discovered the drive in theater

Celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary

We bought a brand new truck

and went through knee surgery.

Vacationed!!

Tried new things.

Spent a lot of time in the water

moved to Utah..

Went to a Barrett Jackson car show

Cheered on the Rangers :)

Learned to let loose..
..and made new friends.

Found love (again)

and played in Vegas... a lot!

Obviously a lot was left out but c'mon... That would be a ton of pictures!!
It's been a great year with it's up's and down's. I'm looking forward to a new year and I'm welcoming 2012 with open arms and a smiling face!

My new years resolution?
To learn a second language!!

Wish me luck :)


Friday, December 30, 2011

Viva Las Vegas

Monday was my brother in law's birthday so we celebrated in style. We took him to Vegas for the day! It was so much fun being able to go back to Vegas just to hang out. It's never a dull moment in Vegas!! :) The weather was great, the food was good, and we were surrounded by awesome people.


It was a great day!
'Nuff said :)

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Merry Christmas

My nieces and nephews woke us up at around 7:00 Christmas morning. We had to go wake Kyson up.. He loves his sleep! A tradition we've had since before I was born is this... When my three oldest siblings were little, before my brother and I were born, my parents had a hard time deciding who got to open the first present (our Christmas mornings are very organized) so my dad grabbed the closest thing he saw, which was a little plastic pink pig and he hid it. Whoever found it got to open their stockings first and open the first present under the tree. It's a tradition that stuck and its something we still do every Christmas morning. It has absolutely nothing to do with Christmas but its something we look forward to every year!
Doesn't my man look so good in the mornings?!

We got up and did stockings and since Christmas was on a Sunday we all got ready and went to Church. Dave's mom just loves every excuse she can get to get Dave into his blues so that's what he wore. We went to her Church then went straight to my parents church where my mom was in charge of the Christmas program. It was so good!

After Church we came home and went to town on our presents!! Can I just say Christmas is so much funner with your own kids? I just love spoiling Kyson and seeing his little face light up :)
But of course Dave went over board with spoiling me! But it wasn't always like this for us. We definitely know what being humble is and going without! Our first Christmas together as a married couple we were flat broke. Not a dime to our name. We had a 4 foot tree with about 5 ornaments on it. It was a sad little tree but its all we had. All I got for Christmas that year was a car battery since mine died the day before and Dave got nothing. We did have a small (very small) ham dinner. And even though we had nothing we were just happy to be together. We've come a long way since then and are able to go all out but we still keep in mind the true meaning of CHRISTmas!!


Every year we try to get each other a toy. Since Dave and I are kids at heart :)
This year we got each other Nerf Guns and its been a ginormous battle since Christmas..
It's been so fun! Ha!!

Playing with Dave's Sniper Rifle and attacking my family!

We played all day long! It was the first time ever that my entire family was together for Christmas so we took advantage!

We danced, built trains, played with toys, played games, and played with lego's.. I'm a pro at building things!
It was one of the best Christmas's I've ever had. I'm so glad I was able to spend it in St George with my family! I hope everyone had a great Christmas :)


Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Christmas Eve traditions

For Christmas Eve the hubs and I drove up to Cedar City to meet his family for breakfast. Longest drive we've ever made just to eat breakfast! We went to the Ihop there and had the best Ihop breakfast I've ever had. Cliche' right? But I love me some pancakes!! It was so fun catching up with his grandparents! Who just got home from a mission in New York City. After breakfast we drove around and I got to see the houses Dave lived in. So fun! We played in the snow then drove back to St George.
 
 
We went over to the in laws house to open up presents with them. We got the most comfiest robes ever! And a few other things.
My family has a few traditions that we do every Christmas Eve. Since my mom doesn't want to be slaving away in the kitchen we've ordered pizza every Christmas Eve since before I can remember. After we stuff our faces full of grease we all sit in front of the T.V. and watch 'It's A Wonderful Life', love that movie!! When we were little my Dad would read Twas The Night Before Christmas then we would be sent off to bed. This year he read to the Grand kids.

I love Christmas Eve at my parents house!
:)

Friday, December 23, 2011

we locked our love

 Today I'm talking about everyone's favorite topic.. Love!
I saw this on another blogger's facebook page and just couldn't help but pass it along. It really hit home for me. If you've been following my blog for a while you'll know that Dave and I have been having some serious relationship problems and have gone down the road of divorce. We decided that divorce just wasn't an option and we are currently on the mend. It was a big decision and we have already seen some major changes in our marriage and things have never been better! This article talks about things that we went through and are overcoming and I thought it would be great to share.


I heard a story today from a woman who has been married for well over 30 years. She talked about how the first few years of her marriage were really hard, especially after the birth of their first child. She said that she went through a period of unhappiness where she felt a lot of hurt and anger towards her husband. She even said that the thought of leaving her husband crossed her mind more than once.
Her story really touched me and brought me to tears. I would be lying if I said I never thought about ending my marriage. Even though I have only been married for two-and-a-half years, they have still not been easy ones. Days full of school, work, and child rearing, as well as a heaping dose of financial struggles lead to high, emotional stress. And sometimes the easiest solution is to get angry and blame one another.
But what the woman that I met today and my own personal experiences taught me is that although marriage is hard, there is a greater abundance of love on the other side. We just have to choose to love more!
About 40-50% of marriages end in divorce in the United States. Utah’s average for divorce is slightly higher than that. Most divorces occur within the first 5 years of marriage with the main reasons being “lack of commitment,” “unrealistic expectations,” “too much arguing,” and “lack of preparation. On average, in 75% of divorced couples at least one partner had regrets about the decision to divorce one year after breakup.
Marriage is not like rotten fruit that you throw away once it goes bad. In a national survey, two out of three unhappily married couples who decided to stay together reported being very happy or happy five years later. And those who were the unhappiest improved the most! Over 75% of individuals who reported being miserable in their marriage but stuck it out said they were now happy in their marriage. This shows that couples who may be experiencing unhappiness have the possibility of overcoming their challenges and becoming happier later.
I do want to point out that in the marriages that reported greater satisfaction and happiness in their marriage later on did not have violence and abuse in their relationship. 77% of the couples that divorced and 85% of the couples that stayed together never had an argument that resulted in physical abuse.
Of the couples that were surveyed, most of the common reasons for divorce were said to be “solvable irritations” meaning there were problems in the marriage that needed to be better communicated (See Couple Talks post for common miscommunication topics). Also, half of couples that did divorce came from low-conflict relationships meaning their differences and disappointments probably could be addressed and the relationship repaired. Instead, these divorces resulted from other problems like unrealistic expectations or not knowing how to work out their differences effectively.
If you have seen the movie “17 Again” you can see a perfect example of a couple who realizes that their lack of communication has sent them in completely opposite directions with their lives. But when they are able to try harder and remember the reasons they married, they were able to overcome their differences and stay together.
Studies have also shown that many reasons for divorce are usually caused by outside factors—losing a job, health problems, death of a family member—and the outside stress eventually goes away. Couples who are patient and persevere through difficult times can find happiness again. Sometimes the relationship can feel “sucky” for a while, but the marriage can still be sound.
One person who was interviewed in a survey regarding their relationship said, “We both had to look at ourselves…We started trying. We didn’t just wait for things to happen. We scheduled things for ourselves. Not just routine, routine, routine. Every Saturday we had to do something for ourselves.”
The woman I met had a similar ending as well. She said that although she felt discouraged and unhappy in her relationship, she decided she needed to try harder to show love in her marriage. Once she started purposely putting forth an effort, she started to appreciate her husband more and found the happiness she had been missing.
I know for me personally it took a lot of personal work and heart-to-heart discussions for me to come back from wanting to call it quits. Last year, my husband and I also attended couple’s counseling for 4 months which helped us understand and overcome some (not all) of our differences. I can tell you now that our marriage has never been better but I know it took a lot of work.
The issues and decisions regarding divorce are very personal. Each situation is different. And I’m not here to tell you divorce is wrong and it should never happen. But it should also be carefully considered.
If possible, it is important to take the necessary steps to try and resolve issues before thinking divorce is the only option. It is not the only option. There are usually other ways to find happiness in your marriage again.
The Utah Commission on Marriage has some wonderful tools to help you decide if you should get a divorce. The Crossroads of Divorce handbook is an informational and interactive guide to help you evaluate your own marriage and carefully, thoughtfully consider the direction you should go.
I also want to reiterate that if you are in a situation where abuse (physical, emotional, or verbal) is prevalent, you need to get help and get safe and may need to get out of the relationship.
But if you are in a marriage in which you are disappointed with your relationship and have thought about leaving your spouse, I encourage you to get the necessary individual or couple help you need before making your ultimate decision. There is a good chance you can find happiness with your spouse again, if you are willing to work at it.

I loved this story/experience and really took it to heart. Dave and I have given ourselves another start to our marriage. Its slowly but surely getting back to normal and even getting better and better. So we went and did Lovelocks.


What is a Love lock?


Its a one time lock that doesn't have a key. It originated in China and has spread all over the world. Couples lock their love forever! Dave and I said our pledge then locked our love and it was so cute!!

Our pledge to each other:

"We pledge to each other..
to be loving friends and partners,
to respect and appreciate one another,
to cherish and support
each other's uniqueness.

We promise to share
our future hopes and dreams
as our Lovelocks together."

Then we locked our love! :)


Hearts Together Love Forever


Thursday, December 22, 2011

Christmas Fun!!

Last year I spent Christmas without Dave. He was deployed over sea's and wasn't able to be with us. So this year we're really going crazy! We were able to make Gingerbread Houses with his Mom and little brother. I've never made one before so it was a lot of fun. Dave and I made one together and he got really into it! It took us two days to make!! It was so much fun spending time with them and not to mention taking advantage of their piano ;) I can't believe how much I still remember.. Man oh man have I missed playing!

Does Dave's smile really surprise you?! :)

The finished product includes:
a tree
a graham cracker path
Christmas tree
an archway
and a peppermint sidewalk!

What can I say? I married an architectural genius!
A sexy one :)

 We think we deserve an award :)

My man was trying to be a good photographer...

After our Gingerbread Houses were complete and I had my piano fix we headed over to the Temple for the Christmas lights and Nativity. Can I just say how much I love it?? So pretty!

I love this time of the year! Minus the cold weather.. Unless I'm snowboarding :)

Merry Christmas!!

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

ugly sweater party

While I was in Texas Dave had his squadron Christmas party. It was our first ugly sweater party and we started preparing weeks in advance. We looked everywhere for an ugly sweater and couldn't find any kind of Christmas sweater anywhere. So we made our own!

Items we used for Dave's ugly sweater:
A women's V neck sweater
Tinsel
tree ornaments
bows
battery powered lights
hot glue gun

It was epic!
Are you digging his chest hair? Ha!!

We got a lot of compliments and laughs with this sweater. And the best part, we won a $50 prize for it!! We played games, ate the yummiest dinner, and had a mouth watering dessert. We ate so much we got tummy aches :)

The guys (our competition)

It was so fun meeting new people, making new friends, and getting to know Dave's co workers a little bit more!

Friday, December 9, 2011

Worst Day EVER

I flew out to Texas for two of my best friends weddings!  Congratulations Chelse and Amber :)
Flying to Texas was hands down the worst experience of my life!! The morning I flew out I had a layover in Salt Lake City. The one morning out of every morning of the year that Salt Lake has hurricane like weather.. I'm talking 80 mph winds people! Very rare for Salt Lake. But at 6:15 am I jumped on the plane anyways. What an awkward flight it was.. A guy I dated and his wife sat right behind me haha

We made that short flight and the whole time I was talking to the guy next to me. Turns out I went to high school with his kids! Anyways all was going well and I thought to myself that the winds weren't bad at all.. And then we started our desent into the Salt Lake Valley!!

Holy Crap!!

Our plane was going all over the place.. Up and down, side to side.. Bags were being thrown all over the place and people were screaming! It was like a scene from a movie!! The landing gear was down and we were so close to land but the winds were just too bad.. The Pilots put up the landing gear and we started getting further and further from the ground. As we circled back around to attempt to land again the winds seriously got twice as bad. It felt like the plane was getting thrown around like a leaf in a tornado! I have never clenched onto something as hard as I was clenching onto my seat. My hands went completely numb from holding on so tight and I was literally telling myself to breathe! I got so sick to my stomach which is weird for me since I never get motion sickness! People were freaking out all around me!! I was looking around and noticed that there weren't any other planes in the sky... If you've ever been to the Salt Lake Airport you'll know that never happens. It's a very busy airport! I was panicking! But... after an hour of trying to land in the awful wind we finally landed. I could not wait to touch land again. Glorious land!! And an hour later I was back on another plane taking off.. And it was just as bad taking off as it was landing! I hope I never have to experience turbulence like that again!! WORST. DAY. EVER! Apparently the word about Salt Lake's winds spread fast becuase when I landed in Dallas everyone was talking about it! I should make a T-shirt that says..

"I survived the Salt Lake winds"

hahaha
Anyways I'm so thankful that I'm still alive after that Ha! I'm having a great time in Texas and don't worry Taylor I still love flying ;)


A sneak peak of Chelse's wedding..

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

North Dakota trip part 2

After our yummy yummy in my tummy Thanksgiving dinner we went to the movie theater and had a private showing of Breaking Dawn!! Talk about being spoiled :) It was a good movie, although I thought there was going to be more to it... Oh well I'll still be buying it haha!

Our Breaking Dawn experience!

Growing up I never had the 'real Christmas tree' experience. My parents are all about the artificial tree's. This year I got to pick out my very first tree. I loved it! Walking around trying to find the perfect tree. And I found it and decorated it :)


Did I mention how cold it was there?!


While we had the entire family together we had to do family pictures. Since my mother in law is also a hairstylist we went down to her adorable salon and we cut everyone's hair! Seriously look how cute this place is..

 Cute right? This salon holds the keys to my heart.. haha :)

Main Street at dark.

The next day we did family pictures.. I'm pretty sure we chose the coldest day of the year to do them... It was miserably cold!!

Group hug!

Not all of them turned out good...

The grand kids were freezing.. and it showed!

After pictures we went and had lunch/dinner before I got back on the plane to go home.

That's Dave for ya.. eating the unhealthiest thing on the menu!

It was so incredibly hard to say goodbye again. I didn't want to leave!! But I had to :(

The kissing under the mistletoe picture :)

The one thing I had to keep me busy was an amazing book! Seriously one of my all time favorites. It's 619 pages of pure awesome! 

 Read it!!
It was one of the best Thanksgivings I've ever had.
I can't wait until Christmas when they are both with me in Utah!