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

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

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 :)

Keepsakes

If you know anything about me, you know I love to save literally everything. If it is even remotely important, I stash it somewhere and stumble upon it years later when I'm cleaning out my car/wallet/nightstand and smile and then continue holding on to it. Maybe it's a problem... who knows. My very first grown up temple recommend was no exception- I really wanted to keep it. I had worked hard for it and it had the signatures of two men who mean a lot to me. Plus it's a cool keepsake for my wedding album. But, the policy exists that when you are issued a new temple recommend, the old one is turned into your stake president and destroyed. I'm sure it's for security purposes, but I hoped they would bend the rules for me just this once.
A couple months ago I went to get a new recommend because I wanted it to be from my current stake and have my new name on it. As I sat and waited for one of the members of the stake presidency, I thought about how I would go about asking if I could keep my old recommend. I figured it was a dumb idea because I knew the rule, but I just wanted it so bad. Then I realized that it doesn't matter if I keep my first recommend because I'm always going to have one. Sure, they might change the design of the paper or make them a different size, but I'm always going to have a temple recommend. I never have to be without it and I can hold it dear to me.
I went in to my interview and handed my old recommend to President Peterson. I mumbled "I sure wish I could keep it..." After taking a long look at it he said, "I sure wish I could let you keep it." And then I said "It's okay, because I know I'll always have one." It felt good. It feels good knowing I'm worthy to carry around my recommend and be in the House of the Lord.
I had the opportunity to go through the temple for the very first time a year ago yesterday. It was a sweet day and I'm so grateful for that experience and the blessing that have come from that decision. I'm grateful for Scott for sticking by my side and helping me prepare for the most important thing in my whole life. I'm grateful for President Chappell for pushing me and making me work so hard to get my first recommend. It truly made a difference. I love the temple and I am so grateful to be surrounded by so many beautiful castles.

If I had seen this picture five (or even two!) years ago I wouldn't have believed it. 

Seriously, #lifegoals

DFTBA

You Make My Dreams Come True

You know those pictures of your grandparents

where they are sitting on the porch 

in chairs holding hands,

just like this one?

Last October we took this picture

so that when we are old

our grandchildren could have a picture of us 

just like that.

We want to look back at this picture and

think of all the wonderful things that

we have done together.

I already look back at this and

think about what has happened

in almost a year.

I could never say enough times

how grateful I am for a man 

who makes my dreams come true

every. single. day.

I don't feel like I have given up

anything to be married.

I still get to go to college,

pursue my career,

spend time with my family,

and be lazy sometimes.

I don't have to give up on my dreams.

Scott is only here to help me accomplish them.

And even better, I get to

come home to the most handsome man,

eat, sleep, and live with a companion,

plan for the future with one constant in mind,

and laugh and cry and play

with my best friend

every. single. day.

I love him so much.

I could never, ever

say that enough.

Why I Loved My Wedding

Scott and I have been married for five months TODAY. I can hardly believe it. It seems like it has flown by yet I feel like we've been here forever. I've been thinking a lot about our wedding day and the time leading up to it. I've been thinking a lot about our sealing ceremony and our reception as I have attended several of those for our friends this summer. I can't help but envy those who have beautiful flowers in their wedding pictures. We got married in February where everything was deader than dead. It wasn't even beautifully snow-covered. Just dead. I can't help but envy those who have perfect little decorations that probably took hours to make. I can't help but envy how beautiful some brides look. I wish I would have taken more time getting ready and making myself look good. But truthfully, I didn't HAVE the time. I was literally doing homework two days before our wedding. I had a huge project due Wednesday and I had to get it done before the wedding or it never would have happened.
I sometimes regret not waiting until the "normal" time of year to have a wedding. I hated having to go back to school just a few days after we were married. And then still having two months of school left. It sucked, I tell you.
But honestly, I loved our wedding. I loved loved loved it. I can't tell you one single thing that wasn't perfect about it. (Except of course...all the dead everything.) We got engaged on September 20th and we had already picked our date... February 15th. The only thing special about it is that it was President's Day weekend so we had an extra day off of school. We later realized it was also the day after Valentine's Day. Oops.
The next morning was a Saturday and we were off to Magnolia Grove to book our reception. I couldn't wait another minute. I had to have my wedding there. I mean, it's gorgeous. Scott called and booked the temple. We planned our sealing for the perfect time of 11 am. After that day I felt like nothing else mattered. We had our temple and reception center booked. Everything else were just minor details.
It wasn't super hard to plan because I already knew what I wanted for our wedding. (I'm going to be so creepishly honest right now..) I have had a crazy obsession crush on Scott for most of my life since I met him. Before he left on his mission we sort of talked about maybe one day having a life together. It was nothing serious and it was nothing that kept me from living my life. But man, I sure did mentally plan out our entire wedding for quite a while after he left. So really, I had already done all the specific planning. Turns out it wasn't such a waste of time after all ;)
I believe in formal weddings. I believe in tuxedos and veils and roses and matching bridesmaid dresses and wedding lines. These are things that are dying away and that kills me. You get ONE day in your life to be fancy. Embrace it! I'm happy people were nice and let me have what I wanted. While it was pretty simple, it was so beautiful. I loved it.
Everything ran so smoothly and our families didn't have to spend all night cleaning up after us. That is something I'm very thankful for. I'm also thankful that we were the only people having a wedding at the time. I know this may sound selfish and terrible but I loved all the attention. I loved that almost everyone we invited came. We sent out over 400 announcements and got a huge turn out. I loved feeling important and loved. It was so nice to see people I haven't seen in ages. And to meet (literally everyone) who knows and loves my husband. It was a very special day. I wouldn't trade it for anything. And I wouldn't trade my wonderful husband for anything.

Happy five months to my sweet boy.

I love him with all my heart.

DFTBA

Photo Credit

Date Week

Because Jamba was moving all last week, I worked 8-5 and had every night off. For the first time ever. For a whole week. It was a rare occasion and Scott and I wanted to make the most of it!

Monday we just stayed home and enjoyed a delicious meal of stuffed peppers and watched way too many episodes of Secret Life. This is when we decided we weren't going to spend the rest of the week sitting on the couch.

The bae enjoying his cookies and milk

Tuesday we went to dinner at Zupas and I got Scott to give pesto a second chance. (He loved it) Then we drove down Redwood until we stumbled upon Nicklecade. I had never been before and it was super fun! Then we got sundaes at Arctic Circle.

Getting him to make a normal face is harder than you think

#selfie

This is what roughly 200 tickets will get you at Nickelcade

We clearly got our $10 worth

Wednesday we went "ballroom dancing". Scott is a Young Men's leader and attends mutual every Wednesday night. They were having a combined activity with a man from BYU's BDC and Scott invited me to come. The guy taught us a few different dances and I did pretty okay. I'm not really a dancer so it was nice to do something new! After we went to the Taylorsville library to check the place out and get some books. And I didn't take any pictures because I'm a bad blogger blah blah blah...

Thursday night Scott met up with me after I got off work and we got pedicures at the nail place next to the new Jamba. Scott actually enjoyed it a lot. He asked me so many times why more guys don't get pedicures. I think he's right. They're amazing!

Excuse my "I just moved for 8 hours" look

Friday Scott had work off and he got to come to work with me! He was such a good helper. It was nice to have him there! He gets along really well with the staff and we laughed a lot. I had to go to a work meeting that night so we didn't get to do anything fun, but it was nice to spend the day together. Again, with the bad blogger thing...

I loved date week so much. It seems like we're always so busy trying to fit everything in and we don't have nearly the time we would like to spend together. This week has been so much harder because we went back to our regular schedule.

Well, kind of.

Sunday night (as in five days ago) we were sitting around the fire at my parents house talking about places we could go for a summer vacation/honeymoon. My sister-in-law suggested that we go on a cruise. I kind of laughed because cruises are expensive and we probably couldn't pull it off this summer anyway. But, she found a super great deal for a cruise leaving THIS SUNDAY. We came home and realistically talked about it and decided that if Scott could get work off we could go. He texted me a 8 am and said he got the time off and that we should book it. I panicked and went to my parents house again and asked for help booking everything. It all happened so fast! But! We're going to Alaska. THIS SUNDAY. I can't wait to finally have a real honeymoon vacation since we couldn't miss school in February. It's going to be great. Yay for summer and yay for spontaneous vacations. I'm so so so excited. 

So this week has been filled with packing and planning and shopping and all sorts of things. It's been crazy and our apartment is a mess but I can't wait to get away and be with my cute husband. We deserve it. And we are SO ready for a vacation!

DFTBA

Ode to Jamba

Jamba Juice Jordan Landing

My second home

my sweetest friend

I can't believe

this is the end

All those times

you saved my life

You even saw me

become a wife

You watched me grow

You watched me cry

You even watched me

date a really terrible guy

You gave me money

And lots of it

I kinda wish 

I hadn't spent most of it on... crap

You've seen the spills, 

the cuts, and slips

You know our deepest, 

darkest secrets

You've made me friends

both young and old

You've showed me how 

to be more bold

You ruined two pairs

of my favorite shoes

You taught me how 

to deal with youth

I know it's hard

to say goodbye

But I'll see you soon

right next to Best Buy

We're moving on Monday

and it's kind of sad

But a brand new store

will make everyone glad

I love you, Jamba

with all my heart

I'll never forget 

what it was like to start

Working for you 

has been so fun

I cannot wait until 

this new chapter has begun

I Love My Mom

Since Mother's Day is Sunday I wanted (like the rest of the world) to share why my mom is an awesome mom and why she's the best mom on the planet. Because my mom really is the best mom on the planet.

For almost thirty years my mom has been a mother. She has taken care of four children and sent three off into adulthood so far. Since moving out three months ago, I've appreciated my mom so much more than ever before. Not because I learned that I can't live without my mom, but that I can. 

Every day I am thankful that my mom taught me how to cook, clean, and most importantly shop. She taught me the importance of making my bed daily. I never once made it a habit at home, but now that I have my own house, I see why it's important. I make our bed every day and it makes the whole house seem happier. Scott and I eat dinner together every night because she set that example for me. I love making her recipes and remembering her tips and tricks when I cook in my own kitchen. And I can't forget to be thankful she taught me how to live on a budget. Making a shopping list and sicking to it helps me not go crazy at the store. I love her for that. I wouldn't be able to do it without her.

My mom has so much faith. I can't even begin to write all the stories of times she has prayed and been helped because of her faith. I used to see her wake up early to read scriptures or conference talks before going to work. I always wondered how she stayed so happy and positive throughout the stresses of life and I didn't understand it until I followed her example. Taking time for spiritual things helps keep everything in perspective. 

My mom is the hardest working mother I know. Ever since I was little she went to work every day and never complained about it. She went from being a kindergarten teacher to the headmaster of Challenger's Salt Lake campus. I admire her for standing out and moving up and proving to me that hard work will pay off.

My mom is the sweetest, most loving person. When you think of a "mom" you think of my mom. She's the one that comes into your room at night when you have bad dreams. She's the one who lets you cry about people who are mean. She's the one who will always make you feel better when you are sick. I've had friends tell me that my mom is really nice. My mom IS really nice. You can always find her doing something good for someone else. She's just that kind of person.

My mom has always made sure that my siblings and I have everything we've ever needed. She loves and supports us in everything we do. I will never forget when my mom was sitting in the pouring rain to watch one of my marching band competitions. Even though she had seen our show a million times, she wouldn't miss a performance. I appreciate her so much for always building me up.

I appreciate her for giving us a good father. I love my dad! As great as my mom is, her and my dad as a team is even better. She always knew the kind of man she wanted to marry and have a family with. She stuck to her standards and gave us a wonderful dad. 

I just love my mom. I could go on and on about her. I hope one day I can be as great of a mother as she is! I'm glad that my mom has taught me everything I've needed to grow up and move out and be a good wife for Scott. She turns every minute into a teaching lesson. She just wants to know she's doing all she can to make sure her children turn out to be good people.
Even though I live on my own now, I still love to go back home and see my mom. I still have questions and concerns about life and she's always there with an answer. I'm glad that even though I can live without my mom, I don't have to. Because no matter what, she will always be my mom and she will always have something to teach me.

I love you, mom! Thanks for everything you do!

And if you feel like crying, go watch this.
Seriously. It's amazing.

Don't You Quit

Remember this? It seems like a thousand years ago to me.
But it was ONE year ago... roughly.
It was a recap post of miserable April.
April 2013 was easily the worst month of my entire human life.
I really, truly hit rock bottom.
It was probably so bad because I didn't know in just two short months I would be living this super fantastic moment:

Our first second date.

Cause I was too scared to ask for a picture on the first.

Ha, I should have just asked. 

Accompanied with this wonderful blog post.

I never dreamed I would be living this in five months: 

This in ten:

And this in twelve:

General Conference cuddles

:)

The point is, you should never give up because you have no idea what is going to come next. Life is FULL of amazing blessings and second chances. I know I say this a lot, but I never thought I would be where I am today. I honestly didn't think I would ACTUALLY marry Scott Simpson. I didn't think I would ACTUALLY be able to finally get my hands on a temple recommend after going so long without one. I didn't think I would ACTUALLY pick a major and stick to it. I didn't think I would ACTUALLY move out of my parent's house and survive. 

But hey, it happened. I made it happen. I worked my little tail off and look where it got me. I'm dang proud of myself. I'm dang happy with where I've gone in the last year. I wish I could go back to my little self and say, "Self! You hang in there! It's all gonna be alright!" 

Either way, I'm okay now. I'm doing okay. And that's what matters. :)

DFTBA