Mid-September Thoughts

Weirdly, I feel like this semester has been going for ages, yet I can't believe September is already half over. Like what? Didn't we just start this? Anyway, I'm NOT one of those girls who goes ga ga over fall. I actually really hate fall. It's cold and windy and all those "pretty leaves" get mashed into a pile at the bottom of the stairwell. It's dark in the mornings when I go to work (and sit there for 2 hours because WHO NEEDS SMOOTHIES AT 7 AM) and dark again at like 6. So, yeah. Not too pumped to say goodbye to summer because I adore summer and fall is meh.

This is from Thanksgiving last year since I don't have a current fall picture.

This is also one of my most favorite regular pictures of Scott and I.

That porch is just our place, you know?

Scott and I bought another car last week. When we bought our Accord in May we knew we would be back to the dealership very soon. It's not my favorite thing in the world having to buy two cars so close together but it was fun to go through the excitement of getting a new car again. And it was also cool to see our savings plan actually work. We made a pretty tough goal to save X amount of dollars in 3 months for a down payment and we DID IT! So go us.

Scott really wanted the Accord and so this time it was my turn to pick. I wanted a family-ish car because that seemed like the most sense since we're hoping to start our family in the next few years. I had been researching and was sort of bummed that we probably couldn't afford the type of car I was wanting but lo and behold I found something perfect for us. Kind of.

The dealer we went to has their whole inventory online and I was checking it about 3 times a month. Lately I haven't been checking very regularly but the other day I had a feeling to get on their website. I found a 2011 Ford Escape that was in our price range so I started reading about them. The more I read the more excited I was and I sent Scott to go look because I was sitting in class at the time. He said he liked it and after I got home from school I went to look at it and we decided we would put a deposit on it to hold it for the next day when we could go sign together. We went back the next day to finalize everything and ended up seeing another one in the lot that was better in every single way than the one we were originally going to buy. We changed our minds at the last minute (the workers were so very nice and patient with us) and ended up with a shiny black 2012 with only 19,000 miles on it. It's so beautiful and I love it so much. It was a crazy couple of days but it was all worth it. And now I have a mom car that belongs to me and not my parents ;)

Guess who doesn't have a picture?

Google one cause I definitely don't want to go out in the rain to take one

Ziggy is doing well. I don't know how I ever lived without him cause he just makes my life so happy. I love coming home and having him by the door meowing at me. He probably just wants food but I still love to see him. I lay on the floor for an hour and pet him and he doesn't run away. It's the best.

Scott and I are also doing well. Scott got a promotion at his job a couple months ago and it's been an adjustment. He is now an operations manager and he's liking it so far. He's definitely more stressed than he was before as a trainer but he enjoys being in charge of people. But he's on salary now so he works long days and doesn't get overtime which is a real bummer. SAY NO TO SALARY!!!

Other than that everything else is the same as it's always been. I feel like I need to write more so I can go back and read it in the future but I'm just so lazy. And none of these things seem important, so there's that. Also this picture is from the last day of summer school when I had to present what I had been working so hard on all semester. Woop.

DFTBA

Ziggy Cat

Meet my favorite kitty, Ziggy :)

So, a little back sorry. Of course ;) We have been living in the same basement apartment for our entire marriage. Scott's uncle is our landlord and he's very good to us. So good to us, in fact, that he revoked his previous rule of "you get a cat you give me a $500 cleaning deposit" and GAVE us a cat. Like what?! He texted Scott a couple weeks ago asking if we wanted a cat and we were like is this a joke?! I guess they had taken Ziggy in for a friend but he wasn't getting along well with the other cat, dog, and babies that also live in the house. They figured he would probably be happier in a more chill environment so they offered him to us. After petting him for 2 minutes I decided I wanted him and we brought Ziggy home. (Read: carried him through the yard and down the stairwell to our apartment) 

I'm going to be perfectly honest, I've never had a pet and they've never really been appealing to me. Hair, poop, buying food, not being able to run away on vacation whenever you want... The list goes on. And our first night with him was rough. He pawed at our door and meowed until he got in and then climbed all over us at 2 am. And then we shut him out of our bedroom and he promptly threw up in the hallway on the carpet. I told Scott I would do one more day and he was going back. Silly Kara.

After a few days of coming home to his sweet face and petting him endlessly I fell in love with the dang cat and now I couldn't be happier. I have learned to live with the fur and only vacuum twice a week now instead of every day. That's a huge accomplishment, trust me. Also he's not allowed in our bedroom unless we're there too and I laid down a fleece blanket at the foot of our bed for him to sleep on so he doesn't ruin our expensive comforter. We are slowly finding balance in life. He's a sweet cat and I really, really love him. 

Bonuses! He's pretty old (12) so he's not super hyper and he loves to lay down wherever you are. You can pet him for hours and all he does is purr. Also he's litter box trained and hasn't had any accidents yet. AND he's already been declawed so I don't have to deal with getting scratched all the time. We opted not to change his name because he's been Ziggy his whole life and it seemed dumb to change it now. When he lays on his side he crosses his little paws and it's the cutest thing I've ever seen. I have no idea how I lived so many years of my life without this little guy! :)

DFTBA

It Came and Went

When I was contemplating summer school ALL I heard from people was "the time is going to pass whether you're in school or not, so you might as well get some credits". Yeah. Easy for them to say. They didn't have to waste sunshiny days inside doing homework. But, I signed up (and PAID FOR IT. I PAID ACTUAL MONEY TO BE MISERABLE FOR 3 MONTHS) and took 3 classes.

In an attempt to free up July so I could work more hours when my boss got married, I signed up for a 5.5 week class called intercultural communication. It was 3 hours every Tuesday and Thursday morning. That class was KILLER. It was super hard to keep up with all the reading and homework. I ended up getting an A- though and I was so happy when it was over. As hard as it was, it was nice to be done so fast. By June 24th I had completed one third of my summer school workload. Happy happy happy.

My next class was COMM 5515, usable web design. I had taken the two other web design classes from the same teacher the previous year and thought this class would be a cake walk. It was once a week for 3 hours on Wednesday nights and she's the kind of teacher who usually let us out early. WRONG. It went until 9 EVERY TIME and was always so long and boring (read: I wasn't smart enough to understand what was happening so I was bored out of my mind). It started off  pretty rocky trying to adjust working with my group members. After being in 5510 with two girls I absolutely adored it was a hard change working with 3 people 100% different than me. But,we got through it and ended up being the best group in the class. Our final presentation is tomorrow night and I can't wait to never have a job in web design EVER. I was a little hopeful the first two semesters but after this class, no way no way no way.

I had one online class called modern family. It was super interesting and not too hard. Every week I read 2 chapters of stuff I was actually interested in, took a quiz, and participated in a discussion with 5 other ladies. In addition there was a midterm and a final (that I'm procrastinating taking..). It wasn't bad at all and I learned a lot. It was my first ever online class and I was very satisfied with it. I wouldn't want all of my classes to be online, but I liked being able to choose when I did my work and not have to leave my couch. I will definitely be taking more online classes in the future!

So, to sum things up, it was hard. It was hard having to worry about homework and not be able to go on vacation or do fun things. I had to miss Corps Encore for my stupid web design class and that was sucky. But, like everyone said, the time passed and I got 9 credits out of it. I have just TWO MORE semesters until I never have to write another paper or take another test or pay thousands of dollars to cry and be anxious. I can't wait.

Pros:
10 weeks instead of the usual 15 weeks
My 5.5 week class was early but the sun was always up so it didn't feel as early
Don't have to walk through snow
More laid back atmosphere
Less people on campus, less people on trains

Cons:
Can't go anywhere
Less weeks = bigger workload each week
HOT walking to class
Homework in the summer. :(
Less classes offered, limited schedules
No break between semesters. I will have done 6 consecutive semesters by the time I graduate

I mean, I don't know if I would ever do it again but I'm VERY glad I don't even have to make that choice. Also Scott did summer semester as well. I don't know if that made things better or worse, but we suffered together and it was nice.

Okay byeee I promise I'll write about something more interesting another day. I just felt like I needed to write this so I could remember it one day :)

DFTBA

My BFF Elise

Continuing on with sentimental things, my best friend comes home tomorrow after serving 18 months in Arizona. Not even joking.

In late February of 2013 Elise called me and we chatted like we normally did. She lived in Provo at the time and was too far to meet in person at 9:00 at night. All of a sudden she said to me, "Kara, I think we need to think about going on missions." I was sort of shocked for a minute. I certainly wasn't ready for that and my anxiety immediately kicked in. I never felt like serving a mission was right for me so I sort of just blew it off. But, deep down inside I knew she was going to do it. I knew she had been thinking about it and was ready to start the process. I knew soon my best friend would be very far away from me.

She started her papers and her mom took her shopping. It was all coming so quickly and it was crazy! Then some things happened, the paperwork wasn't coming along like it was supposed to, and she was delayed for 4 months. She was absolutely heartbroken and almost gave up completely. For her, the timing was everything. She wanted to leave in August and now she wouldn't even be able to apply until August. But she stuck with it and kept going. That took incredible faith on her part. 

In May Scott came home and we started dating and Elise was confident she was going to serve. Together we prepared for very different things but ultimately it was the temple. We were nervous and excited together for what our futures held. On September 19, 2013 she received her call to Scottsdale, Arizona and the next day Scott asked me to marry him. Again, different but equally exciting. Her report date was December 18th and we knew for sure that I would be getting married without her. That was hard.

Ever since we were little we dreamed of our weddings and of course, both of us being there. Elise loves weddings more than any girl I know. Her #1 goal in life was always to get married and I think she's got her whole wedding all planned out. I know it was hard for her knowing she was going to miss my special day. But, I told her I wouldn't want her anywhere else except for serving a mission. We both cried a bunch and spent as much time together as we could before she left. I helped her pack her suitcases and organize her things. I am so grateful for that, even though it was hard to let her go.

We promised to write every week and we did it. EVERY. WEEK. I heard from her and she heard from me. I know it has helped our friendship grow and I am so grateful we have done what we can to maintain the relationship we have. Her last email to me made me cry a whole bunch and her testimony is incredible. I want to share a little part, the part I love most. This is Elise in her most honest form-

"Kara, I cannot tell you in words how thankful I am for your commitment in writing me these emails every week. It has meant the whole worlds to me and I am so thankful that we will have these memories to look back on for years to come! I know that I missed some very important days of your life, including the most important day, but I know that our friendship has been made stronger since I have been gone. I want you to know that the only reason I knowingly chose to miss those important things is because I love my Savior so much and I had a desire to serve Him."

 If you aren't immediately jealous of me for having THIS PERSON to call my best friend, I am so sorry for you. She's amazing and I can't wait to have her back here with me. 18 months has been much too long. If you wanna see some cute pictures of us click here. It's the goodbye post I couldn't bear to write. So, you get this story now instead of then. I have seriously missed her so much.

DFTBA

Two Years

I've been feeling pretty sentimental the last couple weeks because my Timehop has been full of emotional things. Scott leaving on his mission 4 years ago, coming home 2 years ago, and planning for Alaska 1 year ago. June is a happy month and I'm so glad it's June! As I've been reading statuses from "this day in history" I can't help but just want to cry. I can feel all those same feelings again and it makes my heart pound. I have loved Scott since he was 17. I won't deny that. I was totally obsessed might have dreamed of our future together and still don't believe it's actually happening.

Right before he left we had a band council party celebrating the new council with the old one. I was so excited (and nervous) to be president and I knew Scott would have advice. For some reason he was at the party and ended up driving me home. It wasn't anything super special until we got to my driveway and we just sat there. I talked about my nerves for the coming year and he told me about never really having a "best friend". He said so many things I had never even considered being concerns of his. It really felt like I was talking to him for the very first time. And funny enough, there was a song that described exactly how I was feeling.

"We're smiling but we're close to tears, even after all these years, we just now got the feeling that we're meeting for the first time."

I posted that on my Facebook later that day and it came up on my Timehop a few days ago. It struck me and I felt everything all over again. I've always known that Scott was special. I really didn't understand why, but he was just different to me. I cared about him so much. I still do, obviously, but I'm glad I can look back at those times and realize that the friendship we had was so, so special. I wish we could go back to those days sometimes. I wish we could be young and free again without tuition and rent and a car payment. But, this stage is fun too and I'm grateful for it.

Today marks two years since the first time I saw my boy as a returned missionary. I could not believe he was actually back again. I missed him terribly and it felt so good to hug him again. But, things were different. He was so much more serious and ready to finally love me ;) We walked around Jordan Landing at 10:00 at night because that's when I got off work. He held my hand and talked and talked and talked. It was nice to finally feel like "his girl". There weren't 300 other babes I had to fight off anymore. It was just me and him and that was it. It was definitely worth the wait.

I am so glad to have had the last two years with Scott. We've had so many fun times together and I am looking forward to more. He's the best and I love him so much. I don't know where I would be without my little muffin :)

Our first picture together on our second date :)

DFTBA

MAY!

So many things have happened in the last month. I've been meaning to write them down but I'm just the worst. Anyway, here's a few pictures and even more words :)

-Spring semester is over! I ended up with a stupid 3.9 and I don't really wanna talk about it. A couple of my classes were pretty hard and I was grateful to see them go. Also, Scott and I evaluated our lives and decided to go to summer school. He'll have his associates in August and I'll have my bachelors in May 2016. I could not be happier.

-We went on a quick trip to St. George to see one of our good friends from high school get married! That morning at 8 Scott's cousin got married in the Salt Lake temple so after the sealing we drove home, changed, bought some more snacks, and picked up our two friends. We made it to Provo before we needed a lunch break. Upon eating Lorna realized she didn't pack a shirt, tie, or belt for Braden so we headed to Ross and shopped with 800,000 other people.

Wedding #1 :)

After a million hours of driving we made it to St. George and had about an hour to get ready. I wasted a bunch of time trying to put my hair in a bun and gave up 20 minutes before we had to leave. I jumped in the shower (washed my hair!) and got completely ready in time. It was the most amazing thing I've ever done.

After days and days of searching my closet for the perfect outfit for the wedding Scott let me get a new dress.

He even took me to 5 different stores to look.

He's the real MVP.

Geremy's wedding was at the most beautiful place. It was so good to see him and he was really happy! We chatted, ate, and danced and enjoyed the night. After we got back to our hotel we really wanted to go to the hot tub but it was closed. The nice lady at the front desk told us if we were quiet we could go. We were so pumped only to find out that it was more of a luke-warm tub than a hot tub. Basically it was too cold outside to deal so we just went to bed. Everything else about our hotel was fab though!

I'm very sorry about the terrible quality but LOOK HOW HAPPY GER IS :')

The next day we drove around town and went to see the temple. I was super bummed we hadn't planned to actually go in the temple because when we got there that's all I wanted to do. But, we enjoyed the visitors center and walking through the grounds. It was a beautiful day and we had lunch at the most delicious Pizza Factory. We wanted to go to Dixie Rock but it was closed off due to the Iron Man race going on... so we settled for the museum featuring 150 years of wedding dresses. It was actually really cool! After that we decided it was time to head home. We hadn't been on the road very long when Scott got pulled over for speeding. Thankfully they let him off with a warning. I was grateful we didn't get a ticket but having to drive the speed limit the rest of the way made for a VERY long trip. Don't speed, kids.

One of my favorites!

I love the old temples.

-On May 5th we had updated pictures of us done by Ashley Ziegler Photography! That deserves a whole post all on it's own but I just had to mention it real quick. I had such a good time and I absolutely love our pictures! Ashley gets 10 high fives from me!

Total heart eye emoji

-The next day on May 6th Scott had sinus surgery. Oh, how fun that was. I was a nervous wreck but everything turned out fine. He recovered very well and hasn't had any problems so far. After surgery we went and stayed at his grandparents house because it was empty and quiet (they were out of town) and it was so nice to just chill (read: watch 100 episodes of Catfish because CABLE!) and play with the cats for a couple days! His post-op is tomorrow so hopefully they find that everything is healing normal. I am so glad he's feeling better :)

I took 2 hours for them to finally take him back into surgery so we watched Cutthroat Kitchen and discussed finances. Very fun.

Simba being beautiful <3

-On May 11th we bought our very first car! It was a crazy stressful day but we ended up pretty happy with what we got. It's a 2012 Honda Accord and it's sooo nice. We've been working and saving for a long time and it feels good to own something so pretty. It was good practice for next time... cause yeah we have to buy another car in few months. Pray for us.

I would go back to this sketchy car lot in a heartbeat!

-On May 14th Elder Simpson came home from serving two years in Ohio! Scott hadn't seen his brother in FOUR years and it was a sweet reunion. It has been fun having my friend home again!

-May 19th Scott and I both started our summer classes. It has been so crappy. I hate never seeing Scott and when I do see him we both have homework to do. It's so sad and I can't wait for this to be over. ONE MORE YEAR.

-Memorial weekend we went with my parents and sister to decorate graves. We do it every year and Scott had never been before. He had a good time learning a little about our family history and seeing where my parents grew up. That night we got both of our families together and had a fire. S'mores are #1. 

Phew. I think that's most of what happened the last month. It's been crazy busy but very fun! I have a happy life and I'm thankful for all the great people in it.

ALSO.

MY BEST FRIEND, LIKE ACTUAL BEST FRIEND IN THE WHOLE WORLD, IS COMING HOME IN 12 DAYS. TWELVE DAYS. GUYS.

I can't wait to hug her. It's been too long. 

DFTBA

Happy Spring!

We had a pretty mild winter this year but that doesn't make actual spring any less exciting. It's finally April and this semester is just flying by. In 6 weeks my brother in law will be home and then a few weeks after that my best friend will be home! Yay for missionaries but even more yay for returned missionaries! I can't wait to see both of them again so soon!

Anyway, on Tuesday to celebrate the beginning of spring I went to Temple Square with my brother and his wife and their precious little baby. Kyle and I met up after class and rode the train to Courthouse where Natalie picked us up. We headed to the temple and ended up accidentally parking under the conference center where they charge $10 if you are not there to attend the temple. Well, Natalie wasn't having that so she ended up getting herself a parking token from the front desk of the temple. She's such a funny gal :) We walked around and took some pictures! The flowers were so pretty and I was so happy to be there! 

Secret picture of the best little family!!!

 Me and my little nephew Wolife :)

I just love him so much

We wore him right out ;)

Me and my "sort of making fun of fashion bloggers" pose

Then we went to Noodles and Co. for the last day of their BOGO and then to Baskin Robins to enjoy $1.31 ice cream. It was a day full of great deals and lots of fun! Unfortunately I had to go back to school after our little adventure but I was a lot happier sitting through 3 hours of class knowing I just got to hold my favorite little nephew! :)

Get out there and enjoy the springtime!

DFTBA

Love Your Choice

It's no secret that life is hard. It's so easy to look at others and wish that you had their hair, clothes, shoes, talent.... the list goes on. I am definitely guilty of this. I wish so badly that I could change my hair to be thicker, my calves to be thinner, my face to be less round, my skin to be tanner, my torso to be longer... it never stops. Well, I guess it stops somewhere.

Of all the things I am jealous of other people for, the ONE THING I am completely satisfied with is my husband. I don't know how many people can honestly say that. I mean, really.

Every day I am amazed by him. Not even just in an "I am blinded by love" sort of way, but just as a person in general. I've known Scott for a while and I've been stalking observing him since we became friends. He's different than everyone I know. He looks out for me constantly. He always thinks of something nice he can do for me and others too. He works so hard every single day and I don't know how he does it. He has always amazed me and continues to do so each day. I could never dream up a better man to spend my life with. He's not perfect, but he is so wonderful. 

Of all the things I wish I could change, I am grateful to report that my husband is not one of them. The choice I made to marry him is the best one I have made yet. He is absolutely everything I could have ever dreamed of in a spouse and in a best friend. 

On a scale from 1 to 10 I love him 1,000. 

photo credit

23 Never Looked So Good

Scott's 23rd birthday was on Sunday so of course we celebrated all weekend long! We had made a few previous plans and basically all of them went out the window a few days before the weekend. But don't worry- we still had a great time!

First, a little back story. A few months ago Scott mentioned that he wanted to get a Wii for his birthday so we were planning on getting one. However, I didn't know that the Wii had changed so much and that the new Wii U was basically nothing like the old Wii and was so dang expensive. I was on the fence about it so Friday I went in to work and consulted with my boss who knows a lot about video games. I asked him a million questions and he convinced me to get the latest and greatest Wii U and even agreed to go with me to buy it. After work we headed over to Game Stop and he helped me get what I needed. I rushed home and then to Walmart for wrapping supplies... and more presents. Whoops.

Please appreciate how cute these are because boys just don't

When he got home from work we ordered Domino's and went to pick it up (because the $2 delivery charge + tip is way too much for my cheap self. And we live sooo close it's stupid not go get it yourself). I gave him his first present (Big Hero 6!) and we watched it while we ate. About halfway through the movie I decided I couldn't wait to give him the Wii U and after the movie ended I gave him a bag with a controller wrapped inside. He opened it up and was like DOES THIS MEAN WE ARE GETTING A WII?! And I chuckled and went into our bedroom and brought out the big box. I knew if he had seen it he would have known so I kept it hidden until right before he opened it. Let's just say he was very, very happy. We stayed up until 1:00 playing Super Mario 3D world.

I don't have my own picture so this is Google's best. 

Anyway, it seriously is the coolest. The main controller is this game pad and it is huge! It has its own screen with all sorts of random features. All additional players use regular controllers and the games are just so stellar. But! There is an option to go back to the regular Wii menu so you can play all the old games and whatnot on it. It's the best of both worlds and it totally rocks!

Saturday we slept in and played games all morning. We ate waffles and eventually got up to go get ready for the day. We ran a few errands and then met up with his family. We went bowling and had a great time! I did better than I ever have before so that was fun! When our 3 games were done we headed to Texas Roadhouse and enjoyed lots and lots of food!

A nice blurry picture from bowling :)

Sunday was Scott's actual birthday but it was pretty low-key. He had a meeting so we had our fun fancy breakfast when he got home from that. We ditched our own ward because Katie (WHO IS ON A PLANE TO CHILE AS WE SPEAK!) had her farewell and we were not about to miss that! After her church we went to my parents house for dinner with my family because my grandparents were in town, We had a nice meal and a good chat and of course I loved seeing little Ben :)

Because matching is cool ;)

It was such a nice weekend and it was a lot of fun. I am so, so happy to have this man by my side. He makes my life so much more wonderful and I can't imagine being without him. Happiest of birthdays, Scotty :)

DFTBA

Baby Benny Is Here!

GUYS GUYS GUYS!!! I'm an aunt!!!!

Clear back on the 24th of July my brother called me from Colorado and told me that the littlest Winter was currently the size of a blueberry. I was stoked. I've been (sort of) patiently waiting his arrival since then. I wanted the baby to be a girl so so so badly and still secretly hoped he would come out a girl even after they had their ultrasound... but alas, the doctor was right and Benny is indeed a little boy. It's okay- Chantel and I had fun buying all of the cute little boy clothes and accessories we could find ;)

He came early Saturday morning and it was a surprise to everyone! He wasn't due until March 10th and Natalie was hoping it would be later than that so she wouldn't have to go back and finish out the school year at the end of her maternity leave, but babies just do what they want I guess ;) Friday night Kyle and Natalie were at the Jordan River temple and when they were walking out her water broke! (I guess since he couldn't wait two more weeks he at least waited until the session was over haha) They went home and packed up all their things and headed to the hospital.

I, of course, had no idea any of this was going on. I went to bed pretty early but at 11:30 I suddenly woke up and thought to check my phone. My mom had texted me and said "did you hear the news" and I was like whaaa? Suddenly a rush of text messages came in from all of my siblings and I was so excited! I kept waking up every hour to check my phone and I got NOTHING all night long. At 7:30 Kaylee told me all the details and I was so sad I missed it. I was also super bummed that no one told me anything :( Again, a rush of text messages poured in from the whole night with all the updates and whatnot. Stupid iPhone. Anyway, he was born at 2:19 am and was happy and healthy.

Scott and I got up and headed to the hospital to meet up with my family. When we walked in Kaylee was holding him and he was the most perfect teeny tiny little thing. He was all swaddled up and wearing a little hat. I just stared at him and eventually got to hold him. It was definitely scary! I haven't been around very many babies and especially not any newborns. But, he was so still and quiet and just perfect. He is five pounds and six ounces and 18 and a half inches long. I love him so, so much! I can't wait for him to grow so I can play with him and tell him how cute he is! Benjamin will do great things in his life, I just know it.

I already miss him so much.

He's the sweetest little babe.

DFTBA

365 + 2

I could never, ever find the right words to describe how amazing this last year has been. But, I would be ungrateful if I didn't try.

Scott and I were sealed in the Jordan River Temple on February 15, 2014 and it was such an excellent day. Our wedding was perfect for us and I loved every minute of it. But, The 364 days that followed were even better than our one special day.

I've known Scott for about 8 years, and really well for almost 6. He has been one of my best friends and has stood by me through a lot. I never knew he would be my husband one day. I always hoped, but I never knew. Scott is a person I wish everyone could have. I know a lot of girls married to people like Scott. I see how happy they are and I'm grateful because I know I have that too.

After Scott and I started dating, I learned a lot more about him than I ever knew. I thought I knew him before- nope. As we spent more and more time together, I fell even more deeply in love. I've always been in love with him. He's always made my heart pound and my cheeks red. He's always given me fluttery, nervous feelings of excitement. But, when we started dating, that love turned into so much more. I started to care for him even more deeply. Everything I did was for him. Some people might think it's ridiculous to tie yourself down to one person at the age of 19, but I was happy to do it. I knew my life would never feel complete until I was sharing it with someone who wanted to be with me just as badly.

Scott and I dated for nine months before we got married. That was probably way too long, but that's what we did. By the time we moved in together, it felt like our lives were already combined. The transition into marriage was not difficult in the slightest. Sure, communication wasn't perfect, and it still isn't, but I've never, ever thought to myself "oh what have I gotten myself in to?" I really believe that the time we spent preparing to be married was precious. It was necessary. I am grateful for every single night we had to say goodbye at the door because it makes me appreciate crawling into bed with him so much more.

Marriage is about learning. I'm definitely no expert, but I can say that my husband has taught me a lot. And in turn, I've taught him how to eat vegetables and save money. We build each other up. I think it's awesome. I want someone that challenges me and continually makes me want to be better. Not just for him, but for myself.

I have loved this last year so much. I can't believe how fast the time went. I really, really don't know where I would be without Scott. I've said it before and I'll say it again, he saved my life and I could never thank him enough for it. I appreciate that he pushes me to stay in school and get my homework done. I love that he encourages me to go out and make friends. I admire that he works so hard every single day to build up our savings accounts for the future. I know I can rely on him. I can't wait to see what our second year of marriage is like.

I love you, Scotty :)

Weekend Getaway!

Earlier this year Scott and I started to talk about what we were going to do for Valentine's Day and our anniversary. We discussed St. George and then decided it would be too hard for me to get four days in a row off of work so we sort of dropped the idea of going anywhere. Well, the semester began and I got super depressed so we decided we would go stay at the Little America and relax for a few days- basically exactly what we did for our honeymoon last year. I was stoked! I've been looking forward to our trip for several weeks!

Friday night we had planned to do laundry and pack so we met up at home after work. Scott surprised me with red roses and chocolate :)

Saturday morning was Valentine's day and we woke up pretty early and gave each other our presents. I got him a Utes shirt and a Nike hoodie and a card. I also wrote him 14 letters (one for each day from the 1st to the 14th) of reasons why I love him and he read the last one. He wrote me the cutest poem and gave me a little stuffed dog. He also surprised me with a ring! We had gone shopping about a week before because I wanted to pick out a few for him to choose from so that I could still be surprised but also get what I want... cause, ya know... Anyway when I opened the box I was so happy and said "YOU GOT ME THE ONE I WANTED!" and he was like "I know." I loved all three rings I picked out, but I secretly hoped I would get the ruby. Scott is such a little gem ;)

 

I absolutely love it!

We got ready and headed to Chick Fizzle for some breakfast on our way to the zoo! Neither of us had been there in forever and it was super fun! We got there a little before 10 (an hour after open) and we got a chance to see almost all of the animals active before it got too warm and crowded. I loved the lions! And teaching Scott about what makes a grizzly bear a grizzly bear. My dad would have been so proud ;)

 

By the time we left there were at least 5,000 people standing in line at the gate

 

Inside the bird room!

 

They had written Valentiney things in honey on the glass so that the bears would come over to see the people! This one was licking so much! It was adorable.

We paid (WAY TOO MUCH) to ride the train (SERIOUSLY IT'S SO LAME IT SHOULD BE FREE) and then went to the gift shop to sit down for a while. We walked around the whole zoo one more time and by 2 there were just way too many (very sweet and adorable) children to really enjoy anything. Also everything was asleep. We went to Jimmy John's for lunch and then Target for new swimming suits. We checked in to the hotel and immediately went swimming!

 

The stupid train that doesn't even take you around the zoo >:/

 

This was BEFORE we knew where the train was taking us

  

Lions sleep 20 hours a day so we were lucky to see them moving around before the left one decided it was nap time

 

They were doing tricks with the baby elephant and it was so cute! Watching them eat and drink is really neat!

We had a nice dinner at the Coffee Shop downstairs and enjoyed a bottle of sparkling cider. They were pretty busy and it was getting late, so our waitress forgot about us for like 45 minutes. We just chatted and she finally came back with the check. She was a sweet old lady :) We watched the NBA All Star Saturday events and really enjoyed the slam dunk contest. I'm happy we were able to have actual TV to watch it because otherwise we wouldn't have!

 

Hallway selfie on our way to dinner :)

Sunday was our (FIRST!) anniversary and we slept in a little bit and Scott surprised me with more jewelry. He's such a little punk. He got me a necklace and earrings to go with my ring so that I would have a whole matching set :) I gave him a watch and then later we bought him some new shoes. I wish I would have known he was going to spoil me so much! I would have tried to stop him given him more stuff. Oh whale, he's still sweet :)

 

I love it soooo much!

Also I don't have a picture of the earrings but I'm sure you can imagine yourself some ruby studs ;)

We had breakfast at Village Inn and went swimming some more. We napped and watched a couple movies and lots of episodes of Friends. It was a pretty low key day and I loved it. We watched our wedding video that was made by Scott's grandma and uncle. It's definitely not fancy but it's such a sweet keepsake. I had no idea anything would ever come of all the video grandma shot of our wedding day but I'm so glad it did! It's so fun to see everyone and remember the perfect day :) Maybe one day we'll watch the uncut version (it's like 3 hours long!) but for now the edited version makes me so happy.

I decided that I wanted to take Scott to Cheesecake Factory for our anniversary dinner so we headed off to City Creek. Since it was Sunday we didn't see much of it but we did have a short wait time and that's more important than anything. I wanted to get cheesecake SO BAD but we were just too full. :( We're definitely going back soon!

So,quick story... Scott loves to give money to sign-holders. It drives me nuts because I'm a terrible person I feel like they are just lying, so going downtown with him is not my favorite. Anyway, we had some leftover bread (cause their bread is BOMB) in a takeout box and we were sitting on the train riding back to Courthouse. A guy came up to us and started telling us his story and asking for money or food, but I knew Scott didn't have any cash so it would be up to me if we helped him or not. I was thinking, "hey, I'm never ever going to eat this bread so I might as well give it to someone who might" and I handed him the bag. I told him it was just bread but he still looked really happy. He ran away and ate it and Scott was very proud of me. It was so not a big deal but it did make me feel better than just giving random strangers $5 bills. So yay for our waiter for giving us way too much bread :)

Monday we had to check out and I was so bummed. I always hate leaving! But at least this time coming home wasn't so bad because we were already moved in to our apartment, unlike last year. We drove up by the U and ate lunch at The Pie. It was so heavenly! Then we headed for home and dropped off our stuff and went to the dollar theater by our house to see Big Hero 6. It was SUCH a cute movie! We went home and then watched more movies/TV and played some card games for the rest of the night. It was such a perfect weekend and I loved celebrating our first year of marriage. I sure am thankful for my sweet Scotty :)

 

I told him to smile cute and this is what I got. Whatever.

 As hard as it was to come home, I really love having our own little apartment to live in.

Also, Meet the Robinsons <3

DFTBA