Summer, summer, summer.

I don't think I've posted anything since the beginning of summer. So, here's a quick update of all that's happened thus far.

*Harry Potter marathon with one of our good friends who hadn't seen them
*Fourth of July at the lake with friends and family
*night climbing at Momentum
*All-night movie nights
*our first garden with tomatoes, basil, rosemary... yum!
*swimming
*little sister Mary got her mission call, spanish-speaking in Idaho!
*Family temple trip for Mary's first time!
*Shooting with the boys (Matt and Matt) I shot my first AR! (not a bad shot either)
*Delicious dinner parties
*Our good friends had their first baby!

So far our summer has been full of fun, but also relaxing at the same time. I'm sure we'll have plenty more fun before the summer is over, I can't wait to see what other fun things we dream up! Hope the rest of you are having amazing summers as well!

I'm a cheap date

I really enjoy cheap (or free) dates. I actually have more fun on cheap dates than I do on fancy shmancy dates-- they're more fun for me. Last night Matt and I went on a cheap date, that was actually a group date with some of our good friends. The Schmidt's, the Van Duren's and ourselves grabbed some grub, some blankets, some camp chairs and picnicked on the grass in front of First Utah Bank on the corner of 1300 S. and State St. I know how it sounds... sitting on the corner of State St... but honest, there were no shenanigans involved. It was all in the name of catching the Salt Lake Bees Fireworks show for free. We chatted, laughed, played some games and finally got to enjoy the fireworks from a free, comfy and uncrowded seat. All in all I'd say it was a great night. :)

Sometimes I wish we knew everything... almost.

There are some mysteries in life, better left a mystery I know. But there are something's,(specific things yes, but you'll excuse me for not sharing them, I'm not really ready to blab it all over the internet) that I wish we knew for certain. I've been so overcome with emotion lately when I research and study the "things" I'm talking about that I feel like... well I don't have anything clever to compare myself to at these points in my life so let's just call it "silly". And other times I feel incredibly annoyed. Like when certain people ask (what they think is a harmless) question yet they have no clue about the stress and "ideas" that question plants in your brain. Then they tell you not to worry, except that is SO much easier said than done. The problem is that I don't feel like there's is anything to worry about until people who think they know better open their mouths and start spouting off! And OBVIOUSLY you can tell by this post that I'm worried. So to come full circle with this post, I wish I already knew the outcome of this situation so I wouldn't have to worry. Anyway, thanks for listening to me rant about the unknown. At least it didn't waste more than like, 5 minutes of your time. :)

Stuff, stuff and more stuff...

It's been awhile. If I had written this blog post a week ago Monday it would have turned out much differently than it's going too. It probably would have read something like this... "BLAH!". I've been stressed lately, but that's nothing new really. I'm always stressed. For proof you can see this previous post. Matt and I are happy. We just had a house warming party, and now that that's over I'm A LOT less stressed, haha. In all seriousness though, it was REALLY fun, and it was so great to see so many people come celebrate with us! Thanks to those of you who read me, and who came! We love you. :)  I also made quite a few things (recipes) I found on Pinterest and now I feel pretty accomplished. ;)  Anyway, what I really wanted to write about in this post is just the sense of peace I've had lately. I had been so stressed, and just so irritable that I new I needed to do something. My mom and I went to the Temple last Tuesday and it had been awhile since I'd been. Wow. I really need to make going a habit. I just prayed to Heavenly Father to please help me be more patient, less stressed and more proactive in changing the things I want changed. I've realized that I need to remember to be more grateful for the things I do have, and not worry about the things I don't have, or the things I can't change. I've felt incredibly grateful for my sweet hubs more than anything lately. He's just the best. But I'm also grateful for my friends, my family, my job, Matt's job, a roof and warm home. Just everything. Cars, heaters, sunlight, clouds, rain and all kinds of stuff (literally everything, gosh... maybe I'm manic...jk). Other than feeling incredibly grateful for everything, and planning then executing a party (the first at our house) not much has been going on. But I will ask, if you haven't already seen (on Facebook) Matt is applying for a new position at work that comes with a raise and hopefully better hours. Please pray for him. That he will at least be able to get an interview and that he will interview well. After that it's in the Lord's hands. Thanks to all of you who have stuck around and continue to read my scatterbrained, non-cohesive, and irregular blog posts. I appreciate it! Til next time...

More life.

What's been going on with us lately you ask? Well, I'll tell you. Not.a.whole.lot. Slowly I'm getting organized. And I'm really enjoying decorating. Matt and I have been working, and being lazy a lot. The last two weekends we have just spent with each other, doing our own thing. Two weekends ago, we spent the whole weekend at home watching movies. This last weekend we rented movies, wandered around Trolley Square and City Creek and took pictures. Don't get me wrong, I love everyone in my life, and I love spending time with them, but it's been really nice not to have to rush around, and to just be with Matt. It also helps that since we have a house now, Matt enjoys, and can completely justify shopping with me. :D  YAY!

January always marks one of my favorite times of the year, the time of year when the University of Utah gymnasts start competing! I started going with my parents to the meets back in middle school because the schools used to give the students free general admission family tickets. We stopped going for a while in high school because the family passes were harder to come by, and then a few years ago I found some and we started going with our buds, Matt and Jenn. It's been tradition ever since! We love our RED ROCKS! During the season there is about 5 or 6 meets, and we get in for free so it's a fun FREE date night. And it's lots of fun. It doesn't get much better than a free date night with great friends!

Other than that, life has been normal. Nothing else terribly exciting, but life sure is GOOD. I'm so thankful for my friends, and my family. I truly have been blessed with the most amazing people in my life. Thank you all for putting up with me!

Life

Gosh, it's been awhile. Matt and I have been swept away with life lately. For those who don't know, we bought a house. After having our closing date pushed back twice, we finally closed on Dec. 15. Then we spent almost 3 weeks painting and getting the house ready for us to move into. I'm grateful we lived with my parents so we didn't have to rush to move in. The house still needs a lot of work to get it into the shape I WANT, but it's livable for now. Pictures will be coming soon, when I finally get all the clutter put away into its rightful place. Probably we will have some type of house-warming party, also when I get a little more organized. I still can't believe we actually bought a house, it will probably hit me when we make our first mortgage payment in February. EEEP! I was nervous about buying a home because well, my current job is only good for about 2 more years, if that, and what if Matt gets laid off from Ebay? We haven't actually heard anything of the sort, and as far as we know, his job is safe. But there is always uncertainty, we thought his job was safe at Comcast too, and it wasn't. I guess that's life though isn't it? Nothing is ever certain. That's where faith comes in. Faith that no matter what happens, it happens for a reason and everything will be okay. Without faith, we'd still be living with my parents (it really wasn't that bad, but we had to move on and get on with our lives sometime right?). Without faith, we'd be sitting around wishing we had the opportunities we have now. Sometimes you have to put the "what if's" aside and just live life. Anyway, this is just what's been on my mind lately and I felt I needed to write it down. Til we meet again, when my house is organized... more... tata! :)

Matt's 29th Birthday Celebratorium

This year I decided to surprise Matt with a party for his birthday. This is the first time I've thrown a successful surprise party where the person is actually surprised. It was so much fun! We all had a blast and Matt was truly touched that so many people would come celebrate him. For those of you that missed out, you missed out on a great party! So, here's some pictures for you to view.

Me and the birthday boy, gosh I love him!

Lydia, Jenn, Me and Kelly at the cornmaze, thanks for coming girls!

We broke the rules... haha

Me, Mary, my mom and Hayley.

All of us minus Kelly who's taking the photos, and those of our friends that had to leave early.

Spooky birthday cupcakes.

All in all it was a great night, and a special shout out to all who helped make it so! Thanks to Jenn and Matt for the use of their time, and their home! Thanks to Brian and Kel for helping set up decorations, thanks to my mom, dad and sister Hayley for helping with food, and the cupcakes!