New Look

I haven't worn glasses since I got contacts my junior year of high school. 

I decided to get a pair when I went to get an eye exam so I could get more contacts.

It's a little different wearing glasses again, but I like the look of them and hopefully they don't make me look too nerdy!

What do you think?!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Stuffed Oreos

Another successful pinterest recipe update!  We had a BBQ on Sunday with our friends Bryan & Natalie and Bryan's brother Daniel and his family.  It was a perfect opportunity to try out something new.  I saw these Chocolate Chip Cookie Stuffed Oreos on pinterest and immediately wanted to make them.  I loved that I had pretty much all the ingredients except the Oreos.  I would definitely recommend putting about a 1/2 Tbsp. of cookie dough on top of the Oreo because anything more than that really will spill over.  I put the cream side Oreo on top of the cookie immediately like it says, but mine didn't melt like in the pictures.  Either way, they were delicious and devoured very quickly by everyone. 

P.S. I just got a free package of Oreos at a school conference I went to and I just might make these again; they were that good.

House Visitors #2

We had our second house visitors just this last week.  Our friends Bryan & Natalie (with their 10 month old son, Max) came to visit while also visiting other friends and family.  They actually arrived while we were still at Lake Powell and I am glad that they were busy with things to do so they wouldn't be bored.

Both parties were a little nervous about how Madeline & Max would react with one another, but there was nothing to worry about.  Max loved Maddie and would laugh/squeal and smile every time he saw her.  Maddie was great and would put up with Max being around her all the time.  Madeline likes playing with the blinds and I almost got a picture of her and Max looking out the window together, but of course, they both move too fast and the opportunity never presented itself again.  Bummer.

I didn't get any pictures except for this one, which actually sums up what happened a lot of the time they were here. 

Thanks Bryan & Natalie for being such great guests!  You're welcome anytime.  We enjoyed having you!

Year of the Weddings

These next two months will be full of brides, grooms, wedding receptions, love and happiness.  Four of my friends from the old single ward I was in are getting married and I couldn't be more happy for them.  I was the first one out of our little group to get married two years ago.  I am just so excited for my friends to have finally found their special someone.  Two of them are getting married in September, one week apart and the other two are getting married in October, one day apart.

We had a little get together not too long ago to celebrate everyone's engagement.  It was fun to see everyone and reconnect.  I wish them luck in finishing their preparations for their wedding.  I can't wait to celebrate with them!

Scott & James getting cozy on the couch.

 James' self-portrait picture he takes before taking any other picture.  It's a little overexposed.

All the ladies! Brooke, Joni, Liz, me & Nichole

This one is overexposed too, but that beach ball in the corner had just hit Nichole in the head.  Scott had too much fun with the beach ball that night.

Diamonds are a girls best friend!

 Group shot! Brooke & Liz's fiance's were not available for the picture.

Lake Powell

Scott & I were fortunate enough to be able to take a little vacation this summer thanks to Rebecca and her family.  We were invited to join them down at Lake Powell.  Rebecca's family has a time share with a houseboat down there and they were nice to tell Rebecca she could invite some people.  We can't thank her and her family enough for allowing us to come down and hang out with them on their family vacation.  Scott & I had a blast as it was our first time there.  On the way home, we decided to make a Top 10 and Not Top 10 (courtesy of ESPN) list of our time at Lake Powell.

Not Top 10 at Lake Powell

10.  Started losing water where we were at—about 4 inches of water in 2 ½ days

9.  It was a little hard to sleep the first two nights.  It was just a bunch of little things like sharing a twin mattress, the weather being warm at night & waking up when the sun came up (we were sleeping outside).

This is where we slept.

 8. With so much stuff, it was amazing we only left one thing behind.  I tried so hard the entire time to keep all of our stuff together.  Luckily, the thing we left behind was just a small, individual cooler that we hardly use.

7. Poor Greg (Rebecca's brother) knocked himself completely out after he face planted in the water wake boarding.  

6. We had to wait about an hour and a half for the rest of Rebecca's family to arrive.  It was no big deal except that it had started to get cloudy and windy so dust was flying everywhere.

5. One of the kid's sleeping bag (Annika's?) fell off the houseboat and into the water one night.  It was rescued the next day, but it was pretty funny to hear that had happened.

4. I lost my favorite pair of running shorts.  We were out wakeboarding and on the way back, they just flew off the back of the boat!  Luckily I had another pair to wear the rest of the time, but they were my favorite.

Goodbye favorite blue running shorts!

 3. When we arrived, it was discovered that something was wrong with the generator and it needed to be fixed before we could leave the marina.  So, we did not leave until Monday afternoon.  We did get in some good jet skiing time while waiting though.

2. I had is what we guessed a nasty bug bite.  I did have this before we went to Lake Powell, but it continued to get worse while we were there, so my leg was definitely something that was noticed by everybody.

I drew on it to see if it got bigger.

1. Poor Annika fell off a counter on the houseboat onto her arm and mostly likely got a green stick fracture.  Luckily she was still able to play in the water, but poor girl had to worry about a cast and a hurt arm the whole time.

The counter Annika fell off of.

Top 10 at Lake Powell

10. The scenery was beautiful and we were able to experience a houseboat for the first time.

9. We had an endless supply of food. There was so much to eat for each meal and there were plenty of snacks.

8. At night, we saw a ton of bats flying around the houseboat eating up the bugs.

7. There was plenty of game playing.  Here are a few of what was played: Settlers of Catan (Scott's favorite...I think he played it about 5-6 times), Skip-Bo, Golf (with Skip-Bo cards), Nerts, Scum, Oh Shoot, Ladder Ball, & a version of Charades/Telephone.

Thanks Rebecca for the picture!

 6. Meeting and getting to know Rebecca's family was a lot of fun.  They were very nice and willing to take Scott & I out on the boat whenever we wanted.

5. Rebecca, Scott & I (with two kids) took a paddle boat to a little ledge not far from the houseboat.  It was the closest thing we could find to a cliff to jump off of.  It was fun & the kids loved it.

Sharlynne was fearless!

Yes, I still plug my nose.

Scott doing a flip.

Gracie jumping off.

4. Rebecca got the idea to pull this blow up chair behind a jet ski with Sharlynne & Taren riding.  The kids didn't weigh enough though and the chair would sink the faster Rebecca went.  So, we switched and I rode on it.  It was actually a lot of fun, but it made my arms so sore.  Rebecca's sis-in-law Amanda caught a picture of me riding it!

3. I had a ton of fun taking out the jet skis.  The kids loved getting rides as well, so they would ask any adult that seemed willing to take them out.  I took Sharlynne out and she drove pretty much the whole time.  Anytime I would try to take over, she got mad and took control back.  It was pretty funny. (I'm sad we didn't get any pictures with the jet skis)

2. Wake boarding was so much fun!  Scott & I asked to go out every day and Rebecca's family was so nice to take us.  It was Scott's first time wake boarding and he did so good!  I had been a couple of times before and it was fun to go again.  We both enjoyed it a lot.

1. Scott did not get a sunburn!  With us being in the sun quite often and Scott's skin tone, it is a miracle that he did not get burned.  He was very good at putting on sunscreen all the time.

Lather up!

Going to Lake Powell was a great way to end the summer before school and our busy life starts back up.

Two Wonderful Years

:Warning: Long Post Ahead:

This second year of marriage has been more than amazing and Scott & I have been greatly blessed with all that has happened.  I can't believe how much different this second year has been compared to the first.  Here are some things that happened during our 2nd year of marriage:

1. I started this blog.  At first I thought that blogs were only for people who have children, but I am so glad that I started one.  It is great to have something to look back on to remember all the good and bad times.  What I love, is that this year definitely had more good times than bad.

2. I started to become more creative with cooking.  Scott was very supportive with this and I've actually found some good recipes that Scott loves.  Luckily, he doesn't make fun of me too much for being on pinterest all the time. :)

 3. We ran our first Turkey Trot run together.

4. I did a 24 days of Christmas for Scott.  It was fun to do something nice for him for 24 days and it allowed us to do some fun activities to celebrate the season.

5. We did so great financially that I was able to get a new phone, computer & camera.

6. Scott graduated from school with his associates in nursing in December.  Because of that, he was able to get the job he has now, which has been such a blessing for us.

7. Scott & I were both able to pass our big tests for our careers!

8. We were able to go to the Festival of Colors together for the first time.

9. We went down to California to celebrate my sister getting married.

10. We ran a marathon together (my first & Scott's second).

11. We bought our first house.

12. Scott was able to meet the prophet, Thomas S. Monson.

13. We got another kitty, Madeline.

14. We were able to go on a vacation to Lake Powell (a place we had both never been to).

To celebrate, we went to the Jordan River Temple (the one we got married in) & had a picnic on the grounds before we went in.  Also, I brought my computer & we watched our wedding video.  We then went out for frozen yogurt later and packed for our vacation to Lake Powell.

Beautiful flowers Scott surprised me with!

 

 

What a stinker!

His is all fruit & mine is all candy.

I can't believe that I am here right now...starting on the 3rd year of marriage with the man I love.  I can't thank God enough for bringing him into my life; for he is exactly what I've been needing to help my life make sense.  I can't wait to watch our love and life grow more and more.  Happy Anniversary!