Valentine DIY

I don't have very many hobbies, but one of my favorites is doing crafts. Since Chad and I moved into this house, I have had more of a desire to decorate. Every holiday, I love to make a banner for my fireplace. Since Valentine's Day is just around the corner, and I had the day off of work because of MLK day, I decided I would dedicate my day to crafts.

I started on Pinterest to get a few ideas. I am always amazed by all the creativity people have. It always makes me want to try everything! But since I don't have a huge budget, I try to not get carried away and stay simple and make my own things. I went to Pebbles In My Pocket (my favorite scrapbooking store) and picked up some paper and a few supplies. After a few hours of putting things together, I finally finished. I am quite happy with how it turned out! 

Car Show

Every year, my family has a tradition of going to the car show at the Auto Expo in Sandy. I always look forward to it in January. Chad and I went to my parents house at 11 am. We rode with them and Sean to the Cheesecake Factory at the Fashion Place mall in Murray to meet up with Ryan, Christine and their family, and Ryan's family.

I love the Cheesecake Factory. The restaurant is so pretty and the food is delicious. I was craving a big, juicy burger and fries. My burger was delightful, it definitely filled my craving. It was fun to be with everyone.

After lunch we headed to the car show. The car show is awesome because there are many different types of cars that you can get in and look at the cool features in the interior. I enjoyed many cars this year. Subaru, Audi and Mercedes had some really nice cars, but my all time favorite car this year was the 2013 mini cooper. I have never been a huge fan of mini coopers, but for some reason, I LOVE the 2013. It's so cute and it looks like a fun car to drive!

We stayed at the car show for a couple hours, then headed back to my parents house. My mom ordered pizza and we watched Karate Kid. I love spending time with the family, they really are the best!

Life has been kind of crazy since the new year. Chad and I are both enrolled at UVU so we are staying busy with our classes. We are both taking online classes, so it's nice to take the classes on our own schedule and pace. We are also in the process of looking for a home to buy. I feel like I have lived on the internet the past few days working with realtors and searching for homes. I am so excited for when we find the perfect home for us. It will be nice to move into our own place! 

Date Night

I am always anxious to get off work on Friday's because it's date night! We decided to use one of our gift cards that my parents gave us for Christmas. We went to La Jolla Groves, one of our favorite restaurants in the Riverwoods. Since we had a gift card, we decided to order expensive meals since we didn't have to pay for it. Chad ordered a delicious steak and potatoes, and I had beef tenderloin and vegetables. La Jolla Groves never ceases to disappoint us. Our service and meal was amazing!

After dinner, we walked through the shops at the Riverwoods and enjoyed a cold night under the lights.  We went into the Provo Beach resort and played a few arcade games. We won 1100 tickets! We rock at Wheel of Fortune!

Later, the Duffy's invited us over to hang out. We decided to go to IHOP for some dessert. We love hanging out with the Duffy's, they are great friends!

New Year = New Hair

I love Saturdays. I usually have no plans, so it's the day to do whatever I want. This last Saturday, I woke up and decided it was time for a change. Change in my hair. I decided I needed a haircut, but I didn't want to cut more than an inch (since I have been trying to grow out my hair since high school!) So instead, I decided to get an ombre! I absolutely loved my hairstylist at Suggestions Salon, she did an amazing job!

NYE

New Years Eve was quite an eventful day. My siblings were in town for Sean's farewell, and so my mom hosted a party. We went up to the their house at 6 pm. Being 20 years old and married, you'd think I would hang out with Chad and the adults, but every time my family gets together, I always find myself painting my nieces nails and playing with the dolls in the basement. My goal is to become "the favorite aunt".

Sophia loves to take pictures with my phone. Here is one of her masterpieces :)

We ordered Chinese food and ate around 9 pm. The food didn't set well in my stomach so I laid on the couch. A few minutes later, I found myself hovering over the toilet with my face in the bowl. After flushing my dinner down the toilet, I made my way back to the couch with an upset stomach.

The night went on and my stomach got worse. I couldn't keep anything down, and I mean anything! I would eat a cracker, and I would end up sprinting to the toilet. I was hoping this would end, but it didn't. I was sad to miss out on all the activities with the family :( At 11:59 pm, as my family gathered around the tv watching the countdown in New York, I barely made it in the room to see the ball drop. I had been talking all day (before I started throwing up) about a New Years kiss. Chad was a sweetheart and still kissed me and my sour breath.

I went back to the couch and stayed there the entire night. It was obvious I had caught a bug because I was throwing up multiple times an hour. Chad was by my side the entire night. I am so grateful that I married such a sweet and loving man. At 2 am, my sweet parents, went to the store and bought some nausea medication to help calm my stomach. I eventually was able to fall asleep, and so Chad got a blanket and slept by my side.


By 8 am,  I had thrown up 18 times. I didn't think it was possible to throw up that much in under 12 hours. I was so weak and dehydrated, that we decided we needed to go to the insta care. After a blood and urinary test, it was decided that I have the stomach flu :( My nausea was so bad that they gave me a prescription and a shot in the gluteus maximus to help calm the dizziness.... ouch!!

It hasn't been the best way to bring in the new year, but it can only get better from here. 2012 was such an amazing year (especially getting engaged and married to Chad), but I am so excited to see what 2013 has in store for us :)

Sean's Farewell

Sean recently received a letter from the church that said since the church has had an outpouring of missionaries entering into the MTC since they changed the age of missionaries, they would have to move his departure date a month back. So, instead of leaving on 1/3/13, he now leaves 2/13/13. A week ago, he gave his farewell talk in church. There were many friends and family members that came to support. He did an amazing job!

After sacrament meeting, everyone went back to my parents house for lunch. We had 70 people there! I didn't think our house could hold that many people! It was such a great afternoon with the family. I am excited for Sean to teach in the Phillipines. It will be sad to have him gone, but he is going to be an amazing missionary!

It's pretty rare to have all my sisters together, so whenever we are, I always have to get a picture. I love them so much. They are all such examples to me. Left to right: Stephanie, Me, Amy and Christine.

I often find Chad trimming my split ends. He is such a great husband :)