Happy Turkey Day

Just a little somethin' to make you gobble!

Favorites

Because how can you NOT love Taylor Swift?

And this dude, cuz he's a hottie and I love him!

This Weekend:

I get to see these guys,


And these guys,


And this:


And I can't wait! It's going to be a great weekend!

My Weekend in Burley...

...consisted of three wonderful things!

Thing # 1: Crazy Family

I went to Burley with my mom for a family reunion on my mom's side of the family! We left Friday after work and spent two nights at my Aunt Becky's house with my of my crazy aunts and uncles! I had a great time (I was the only niece hanging out at night) and I feel like I was really able to connect with my aunts and my uncles as well! We had some great discussions and even though they are loud and crazy, I am really grateful to belong to such a wonderful family! I did take a lot of pictures, but I don't have any with me in them yet, so as they begin to appear on blogs, I'll throw some up here...

Thing # 2: Long Lost Friends Mentors Family

When I was 11 years old, I had the BEST teachers (Merrie Miss/Sunday School) in the world! I have so many fond memories of them (except for the deer meat incident which caused me, to this day, to never eat red meat again), and I have always felt so grateful that I got to know them. They used to tease me that when they had a baby girl they were going to name her after me, but it turns out, they weren't teasing. They really did. It touches me and flatters me and I want them to know (because I know now that they check my blog) that I have the same affection for them. We lost touch a few years after Nate & I got married and a few months back we realized (through blogging) that they lived by my cousin! I was able to visit with them this weekend and had such a great time! It really made my weekend! (And Julie, if you're reading this, I'll get you copies of these pictures... but they probably won't come until I send your Christmas Card! Love you guys!)




Thing # 3: Pictures... what else?

My adorable cousin Brittany is also an aspiring photographer and it turns out that Burley is a photographer's heaven! There are so many awesome locations! We went out for a bit (a short bit because it was FREEZING) to shoot a few pictures of each other! I had a great time with her and I look forward to shooting with her in the future! I'll fancy up some of the photos and throw them on my photo blog later this week, but here is one of the two of us! And for the record, she has the cutest accessories in the world!!


It was a good weekend and I am grateful that I was able to go!

Chinese Dinner

One our favorite dishes to cook are egg rolls! They take quite a while to make, so when we make them, we tend to go a little crazy! We got together with Nate's family about a week ago to have our Chinese Dinner before Carl & Lynnette head off to New York (because we only do it once a year)! It was tasty as always and we had a great time!

"Chinese Dinner"

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Dating Memories

For some reason I cannot fall asleep tonight! Nate is in bed, snoring away, and my mind just won't shut off! I decided to put a picture for each year we have been together on the side of the blog, and it got me thinking back to our High School dating days!

Most of you know that we have been together since 10th grade! We dated only each other from the time we were 15.5 to, well, now! :) We have had a whole lot of fun together over the past 14 years! Some of my favorite memories include:

- holding hands under pillows at my house so that my parents wouldn't see
- after dating for a while and saying the three little words, we used "BRAT" as code for "I Love You" so that we could say it no matter who was around
- "the cow lies in the hay" and "you have my whole pie" - coded messages that are meant for only Nate & I
- Bryce Canyon & Zions with Nate's family over Spring Break


- going to Nate's soccer games! He looked so hot in his soccer uniform!
- dancing to "Hotel California" at an after game dance, looking into Nate's eyes, and knowing that he was the one that I was meant to be with
- making Gingerbread Houses for Christmas Dance
- our ice cream fight at Macey's, that we have on video, that Nate started
- snuggling through "Tommy Boy" at Lisa's 16th Birthday Party at Anniversary Inn
- snuggling through lots of movies while hanging out at Anniversary Inn (one of my good friend's parents owned the inn while we were in High School - we hung out there a lot)


- Senior Lagoon Day
- our Graduation Trip to Biloxi, Mississippi with Jess & Phuc and sweet little Tyson, including the pickles at Mary Mahoneys
- Dancing on "our" undeveloped hill on Cliffside to "Somebody," and then being proposed to
- "Lizard Breath He-Man Lover" & "Purple Headed Cootie Girl" (don't ask)
- my promise ring that Nate brought back for me from his Band Trip our Senior Year
- hauling our luggage from the London Airport to Kings Cross Train Station in London, specifically the huge stair well that our suitcases pulled us down
- hanging out on our deck in Oregon after the rest of Nate's family went to bed


- the first time Nate held my hand! I was sitting on his lap in the back of April's Geo Metro - we had crowded way too many people in... neither one of us minded
- our first awkward kiss - Merlin Olsen Park, in the sprinklers
- our first real kiss - Merlin Olsen Park, in the sprinklers - for some reason we thought that was a good place for kissing
- "falling asleep" to virtually every movie that we watched while we were dating
- my family reunion at Beaver Mountain - for some reason we thought it would be fun to sing show tunes at the crack of dawn
- many, many trips to stay with Amanda & Obeta in Salt Lake
- our experience with "gangstas" after a school dance - it still kind of freaks me out


These memories are the tip of the iceberg! There are so many more, but it is midnight and my eyes are drooping, so I'll leave you all with these.

And to Nate, the love of my life, the one that I knew at the age of 15 that I wanted to be with forever - I love you! I love that we have so many memories and stories - and pictures to prove them :) You truly are my best friend and I can't imagine sharing a life with anyone but you!

Impromptu Halloween Celebrations

Since our Halloween plans were foiled by Wyoming (yes, I'm blaming the State), we ended up celebrating Halloween here in town!

We attended and thoroughly enjoyed a showing of "Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant" with Brynn & Eric, and then we ended up grabbing some lunch at the always tasty Iron Gate!



Later that evening we donned our costumes and headed up to Nate's parents house to spend a little time with his family! We had promised our nephews in CO that we would get dressed up, and we spent so much time thinking of the perfect costumes, so we had to put them on for a bit!!



After trick or treating with the kids, we headed over to the Duts where we got to see the Wilkies, eat yummy chocolate cake, relax and have a good time, as usual! We hope you all had an enjoyable holiday as well!

Our Almost Trip to Colorado

Last Friday we got all packed up, stocked up on goodies and headed out! Our intentions were to make it to Colorado Springs to see our sweet nephew get baptized, celebrate Halloween, and enjoy some time with my sisters and their families!

We made great time to Rock Springs! The roads were clear, the skies were cloudy but not producing any rain or snow, but we were directed off of I-80 because it was closed! We ended up spending the next four hours in delirious denial! The roads between Rock Springs and Fort Collins were frozen over! It wasn't snowing, but it was super cold, and they wouldn't thaw! We hung out at Wal-Mart, ate some breakfast at I-HOP, took a little tour of Rock Springs, walked around their not so big mall, and put off making our decision on whether or not to turn around and come home...

After calling the Interstate Hotline numerous times, the road opening kept getting pushed back and in the end, we decided to cut our losses and turn around. We were grateful that we were only three hours into the drive, but we were both bummin' pretty hard. We were sad that we didn't get to make it to Dev's baptism and that we didn't get to hang out with them - but we are grateful that we were able to recognize that we needed to turn around and not try to continue on. We made it back to Logan in good time and, despite the disappointment, managed to have a good weekend and enjoy our time together!

So, in lieu of exciting pictures of our fabulous time in Colorado, here are some pictures of our delirious denial in Rock Springs!!


And to Devin: We love you and we are so proud of you and for the your decision to get baptized!! We are sorry that we couldn't spend the day with you!! Love you buddy!