Golden Birthday

I turned 25 on July 25th. For some inexplicable reason, 25 seems like a landmark age to me. It's kind of a big deal, I suppose. As a teenager, I remember thinking, hypothetically, "By the time I'm 25, x, y or z." You know, like I should be accomplished and have stuff to show for myself by now? Haha. . . I definitely DO think I've done some pretty neat things so far in my life and so I decided to throw myself a golden birthday party to celebrate the big day. JD was my right-hand man through it all. I sent out invitations, reserved a pavilion at a park, made gold frosted cupcakes, assembled gold centerpieces, and even bought & altered a gold-toed boot piñata. Talk about a party ;)

It was stressful to have the party outside when the weather forecast was expected to be gloomy. I was so anxious! However, everything went off without a hitch (thanks, in big part, to my family who was in town from Texas). Thank you to everyone who came to help me celebrate! To me, it was a magical evening of good conversation, good friends, and good food. All the makings of a good birthday.

Our Weekend

Our friends Brad and Abby are in town from California! We have missed them so much since they moved away at the start of the year. We've spent most of the holiday weekend hanging out at the pool, playing games, and watching fireworks (like last year). We went to Provo for July 4th and sat outside the Stadium of Fire. Tenley was an angel baby and loved the fireworks again. Hope ya'll had a fabulous fun-filled weekend!

Taylorsville Dayzz

JD and I have been playing a "game" recently where we've tried to tell the other person every thing we know about them (we mostly do this when we are riding in the car and are bored of the radio. . .) Obviously, we know each other pretty well, but it's kind of fun and surprising to hear what the other person comes up with. Some things are basics: you wear this size shoe, this size shirt, this size hat.  You like this food, but hate that one. Other things are more deep: this was a spiritual experience you had as a teenager, this was something you wish you could do again, this was a time you were hurt by a friend. 

I like telling JD what I know about him and listening to him add on about the different stories of his life.   One iconic event of his youth that I had yet to experience was the magic of Taylorsville Dayzz (if you're wondering about the "zz" at the end of days, as I was. . . they apparently did that to match up with the Utah Ja"zz"). JD grew up in Taylorsville, where they put on a killer firework show every year. Last weekend, JD planned a BBQ with some of his high school friends and we met up to go to the big show. 

My Vote for Babies.

There are a lot of new parents in the recreation therapy department where I work. One co-worker had a baby about a month before me; another had her son the day after me; my male co-worker announced his wife was pregnant shortly after we did; I just finished covering for my boss while she was on maternity leave; and the PRN we just hired has a 14-month-old. Whew! Babies! Other people often joke "there must be something in our water." Needless to say, we spend a lot of time offering advice, sharing tips, and exchanging stories. It's definitely been nice to have this little support group as I've transitioned into motherhood. 

Christmas concerts.

JD's been working like a maniac lately, so I've had a lot of free time in the evenings. One way I've helped pass the time is attending our neighbors' choir concerts. I've been to two so far this week and loved every second of them (Well, during the first one, Tenley girl was a little pill bug. . . so maybe not so much every second). I really do think the sounds and songs of Christmas are one of the best parts about this season. What's your favorite holiday carol?

23rd Birthday

I had another birthday at the end of July (already?!) Some of our sweet friends, the Skousens, had us and the Williams over for a little dinner celebration. I didn't have a crazy party or receive any extravagant gifts, but it was wonderful to share in the simple delight of friendship. So grateful for good people and good food and the gift of knowing I am loved.

Sweet summertime.

No doubt about it. . . it's summertime! We've been riding bikes, feeding horses, going to parades, attending baseball games, watching fireworks, eating watermelon, stopping at taco stands, and soaking in the sun. I'm 27 weeks pregnant and definitely have the baby belly to prove it! I feel our precious girl squirming around all the time now and just absolutely love it. Weird (and wonderful!) to think we'll have a little one with us this time next summer.

We fed some veggies to the horses in our neighborhood.

We went to the Orem Owls baseball game last week.

So happy to spend time with these sweet ladies!

Tacos at Lehi Days festival.

July 4th Fireworks!

Idaho Trip

Last week, JD and I took a little road trip to Idaho for my friend Angela's wedding in Teton. We also made a slight detour to visit our friends in Boise. It was a lot of driving in a few days, but we sure loved seeing our good friends and spending time together in a new state. 

Crossing the border.

 Yummy restaurant in downtown Boise.

 We miss this cute family!

Zoo Boise on Friday. 

 Shoshone Falls in Twin Falls, ID

 Double rainbow at the falls (!!)

 Peaceful time together in the Idaho Falls LDS temple.

San Antonio friends. Look at that pretty bride!

 Gorgeous Idaho sunset. Love this man.

Angela's wedding ceremony and reception was held at the cutest barn in a small Idaho town. She did such a good job decorating with vintage books, dried flowers, romantic pictures, and rustic accents. The whole place had a dreamy feel to it. So happy she found someone to make her so happy!

The Last Few Weeks

JD and I have done a lot of fun things in the last few weeks!

 Here's a re-cap of what we've been up to:

Dinner at Jared and Karen's with Bryce and Sheree. These guys were JD's good friends in high school and we got together because Bryce just accepted a job offer in Louisiana and they'll be moving soon. It was nice to visit and catch up with them.

Dinner at Chick-fil-A. We were trying so hard to not spend money on eating out in May, but I had been talking about Chick-fil-A for weeks. . . so we gave in. Worth it!

Tyler and Mikella's Wedding. JD's little brother got married over Memorial Day weekend. We were both in the wedding party and loved sharing in their celebration.

JD's mom's side of the family at the reception. It had rained most of the day, so it was pretty chilly. . . but the backyard was absolutely lovely!

It started raining hailing during their wedding dance. While everyone rushed to get the tables and chairs and stereo equipment under cover, these lovebirds shared their romantic moment in the rain. Rain on your wedding day is supposed to be good luck, right? :)

NBA on television. We've been watching a lot of basketball lately. JD has been cheering against the Spurs (only because he's bitter they swept the Jazz) and I've been teasing him by wearing my San Antonio apparel sometimes. I'm not as committed to the Spurs as I probably should be and wouldn't mind if OKC won (gasp!) because it would make JD happy. 

Park City with the newlyweds. Tyler and Mikella stayed in a condo up in Park City for their honeymoon. We went up later in the week for dinner and games. We played games until like two in the morning and spent the night up there.

Tiffanie's graduation. JD's little sister, Tiffanie, graduated from Layton High School. We are super proud of her and are so excited for what's in store in her life.

Camping with the Weeks and Leues. We planned to go camping with these guys, but ran into issues when we tried to find a camp spot. It didn't end up working out as we planned, but we had a bonfire anyway and spent the evening playing games and visiting.

Fishing with the Williams family. Camping didn't work out, but JD still really wanted to go fishing. We invited the family we live with and JD taught all their kids how to fish. I sat out in the sun and helped cook breakfast in the morning. We were up in the mountains for a few hours, but JD was the only one who ended up catching a fish. Still, it was pretty special to see JD's sweet interactions with those kiddos.

Dinner and dominoes with friends. Cory and Sean and Jeremy and Stefanie came over for dinner on Saturday night. We enjoyed delicious food and played dominoes. Love spending time with these guys!

We are blessed with such good friends and family and are trying to enjoy the sweet time we have together before our little one joins the family. We know we'll miss these days!

Double dancing.

On Wednesday, we went on a spontaneous double date with Jada and Kyle and country danced the night away. JD's all about twisting and spinning me in partner dances, but I'm more of a line dance girl. Either way, you better believe JD and I are putting our cowboy boots to good use! 

Not my news.

So it's not really my news at all, but something big happened recently! My friends from high school, Taylor and Alisha, got engaged. Wahoo! They've been dating literally as long as I've known them and I'm so excited for their marriage. I've been stalking their pictures on Facebook and thinking about them tons lately. The magic happened in New York City, where Tiffany moved earlier this year. My heart aches a little thinking about Taylor, Alisha, Trey, and Tiffany celebrating together so far away. I miss their friendship and sometimes wish the passage of time and growing up didn't mean separating ways and moving on. So, sweet friends, we haven't talked in months and I don't know all the details of your lives, but I'm thrilled for this next step and I'm sending loads of warm wishes your way. Love and miss all of you!

Sushi and football.

On Friday night, we watched the BYU game at home with our friends Brad and Abby. They love sushi like JD does, so we pulled our table into the living room and rolled our own during the game (JD helped me make chicken, carrot, and cabbage wontons because I'm not such a big sushi fan). Luckily, BYU came up with the win due to an exciting fourth quarter finish. Gosh, I love me some college football!

It's all about the climb.

Last weekend, we went backpacking (!!) to Lake Mary near Brighton Ski Resort with our friends, Jordan and Sara. It's only a mile up, but sure feels like a heck of a lot longer when you have all you need to "rough it" over night on your back.

On the way up, we found a mountain waterfall (so beautiful!) and a momma moose with her baby (so scary!) The little moose family was just feet off the trail we were hiking, so we had to venture off a bit and find a new route to Lake Mary.

We might've illegally scaled a fence and crossed the dam, ignoring the "no trespassing" signs everywhere. (Not my idea, I assure you). But, man oh man, was the view worth it at the top!

We set up camp in a little cove of trees perfect for our pair of tents. In the morning, we did a day hike to Lake Catherine, a few more miles up the mountain. Jordan and JD braved the cold, buggy waters and got in for a swim. Sara and I sat on a rock and drowned ourselves in bugspray.

I have to admit- it was beyond gorgeous. The mountains were breathtaking. The wildflowers were bright and beautiful. The animals were fascinating. We fed little chipmunks the almonds from our trailmix; we got closer to a moose than I ever imagined I would and were dumbfounded by its gigantic head, ears, and body; we were mesmerized by a bluebird circling our camp. I had to stop a lot of times (especially going up!) because I was winded and needed water, but I also had to stop periodically just to take it all in.

We were all exhausted by day two, but agreed that sometimes it's so nice to just get away for a bit and enjoy the outdoors.

Thank you, lovebug, for introducing me to a world I never knew. Thank you for ignoring the complaints that started before I ever stepped foot on the mountain and reminding me on the way up that it'd be worth it at the top. Oh, and Dad? I was listening to you singing Miley Cyrus in my head all the way up: "There's always gonna be another mountain. I'm always gonna wanna make it move, always gonna be an uphill battle. Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose. Ain't about how fast I get there. Ain't about what's waitin' on the other side. . .It's the climb. Keep on movin, keep climbin, keep the faith baby. It's all about, it's all about the cliiiimb."

Don't worry. . . we'll go again. Eventually. . .

Sweet baby girl.

Kylie had baby Evalyn early this morning. I'm so excited for her little family and can't believe she's a momma! When I found out this morning on Facebook, I couldn't resist the urge to put a page together for my scrapbook. I can't wait to see pictures of her little one!

Birthdays.

Yesterday was my 22nd birthday. JD spoiled me with breakfast in bed, gifts, lunch at Fuddruckers, pedicures, and dinner at Brick Oven. Birthdays are always a time of contemplation for me: Am I living my best life? Am I living the way I want to? Am I doing good in the world? How can I make this year better than last?

It blows my mind I've lived on the earth for twenty-two years. I haven't always been the best at recording my life. . . in fact, I can't even remember what I did for my birthday before age 16. I know one year in middle school I had a girly sleepover when my mom was out of town and decorated my room with streamers. And one time when I was really little I had a party by a big lake and got a Barbie from my Papa's family friend. But I was thinking yesterday about birthdays and it makes me sad I can't remember that far back. 

Here's what I can remember:  

On my 16th birthday, I had five of my friends from school over for a shaving cream war on our trampoline and we stomped around my neighborhood in our swimsuits and barefeet. One of the most memorable, for sure.

 

On my 17th birthday, I went downtown to San Antonio and ate at Hard Rock Cafe with Tiffany, Taylor, Alisha, and Gaby. (My scrapbook at home has the pictures, but my computer apparently doesn't).

On my 18th birthday, I was up at BYU and my new dorm friends, Paige and Alli, made me a pink cake and sang to me in the lobby of our hall.

On my 19th birthday, I celebrated by going to a breakfast cafe with three of my best friends, Angela, Kamera, and Holli. My mom served us cake on rose plates. Oh, and JD sent me flowers. :)

On my 20th birthday, I sat at home with my family and they sang me the birthday song. I skyped JD and dreamed of our wedding 20 days away.

On my 21st birthday, we lived in Washington DC and our friends, Jordan and Brittany, planned a surprise party with JD.

 On my 22nd birthday, I got my toenails painted red and bought a bright purple dress.