Tuesday Confessions

I have seen people do confessions on a couple blogs and I thought it was fun to read their lists.  Since I am waiting for Cam to finish his game so we can go to bed, I thought I'd give it a whirl.  So here goes nothin'.  

1. I don't think I have eaten a thing with any source of nutritional value in the last 48 hours. My diet has consisted of chocolates, buttered/salted popcorn, chocolate covered popcorn, french fries, pizza and Dr. Pepper.  You know its bad when I am actually craving healthy foods.  

2. I don't like the term Hubby at all.  Don't take offense if you use it, that is totally your choice, but as for me, I will never use hubby, hubs, husby, hubster or anything like that.

3. Although I would love to be, I am not a routine person.  However, my morning routine is strictly the same almost every day.  This is especially important in my showering routine.  Also, I cannot blow dry my hair right after getting out of the shower, it has to air dry for a few minutes before.  During these few minutes, I start, but don't finish my make up.  Once I am done blow drying, I finish my make up and then straighten my hair.    

4.  I absolutely hate raisins.  I think they are so disgusting and even though I hardly pass up anything sweet, I won't eat sweets with raisins.  However, I love raisin bran and in that case, the more raisins the better.

5.  I would definitely rather be cold than hot.  Being hot makes me grumpy.

6. I talk to my puppy like he is a person.  

7.  I absolutely have to say "I love you" to end a phone conversation to anyone in my family, but especially Cam.

8.  I could read about cooking tips and tricks all day.  In fact, I have a couple cook books that are filled with such information and I could read them like a novel.

9. I love old buildings.  I love older homes, churches, and especially European castles. They are so charming and filled with so much character.

10.  I love pretty packages.  I definitely believe in the phrase "presentation is everything".  I happily (and sometimes unhappily) stress about how the things I bake and the gifts I give are going to be packaged or presented.  I really appreciate how things are displayed and put almost as much effort into how something looks as how it tastes. 

So there you have it...10 random facts that I'm sure you were dying to know.  I thought it would be harder to think of things, but it was actually quite easy and fun.  Hopefully you will see a post about our Christmas sooner than later, as soon as I upload the pictures :)   

Fire Burnin'

When we bought our house, my favorite part of it was instantly the fireplace.  I adore fireplaces and always wanted one in my house someday.   My grandma has a closed fireplace and she uses it all the time, I believe that is where my love for fireplaces came from.

Since we moved in our house in the spring, we haven't ever had a fire. So you can bet as soon as the weather showed signs of getting cooler I had plans of having a fire.  The chance finally came and I loved it even more than I thought I thought I would.  Here are some pictures of the event.

My (super cute) personal fire builder

So cozy!

I just love the warm, cozy glow it puts on the room

Hercules loved it, he just laid there and watched it all night.

I can't wait to do it more often.  Bring on the holidays!

to...two...too...

Two years have passed since we became Mr. and Mrs. George.  I have one thing to say about the second year of marriage...it went by twice as fast as the first.  I really feel like I just wrote about our first anniversary and here we are again.  The other thing I could say about the second year is that it was twice as good as the first too!

To celebrate we stayed at Little America and it was sooo much fun.  I have always wanted to stay there and we were not disappointed.  The room was huge and beautiful,  the service was awesome, and the pool and hot tub were so nice.  It is now one of my favorite hotels.  

We started our day visiting our new "niece" Quinn.  We had seen her right after she was born the day before, but I couldn't stay away and it wasn't hard to convince Cam to take a trip back to the hospital in the morning before going to the hotel.  We just love her (and her parents of course) and loved being able to see and hold her again. 

After peeling ourselves away from Quinn we headed to the hotel and lounged in our room watching football (mostly Cam) and reading (mostly me)  We took a dip in the hot tub and ate dinner at the Roof.  On a side note, during the hour or so we were eating, we had two couples get engaged and those were only the ones we saw.  I wonder how many times that happens in a night.  Anyway, we had such a fun time.  Its funny because I was super excited to lounge in our room and go to dinner, and those were so much fun.  But, I think swimming in the morning before we went home was almost the funnest part.  We were laughing and playing in the pool and it reminded me of our dating days.  I loved it.  

I told Cam that I would not object if we made The Little America and The Roof our tradition every year.  It was perfect.  Thanks Babe for such a fun weekend and thanks even more for another fabulous year!

Dancing for the King

Last year I was given the opportunity to teach a couple dance classes as the studio I used to take at.  I was so excited to put on my dance shoes after hanging them up for a couple years.  I taught two classes, the eleven/twelve year olds, and seven/eight year olds.  I loved getting to know those cute girls and being able to see them learn and progress throughout the year. 

(Eleven/Twelve--"Smooth Criminal")

(Seven/Eight--"Rockin' Robin")

Our theme for the spring recital was "A Tribute to the King of Pop" so all the dances were to Michael Jackson songs.  I personally love his music and think he was an amazing artist so I was especially excited!  The other reason I loved it was because I was that we, as teachers, were able to perform in the finale which was "Thriller".  I forgot just how much I love the thrill of performing and I loved every second!  Even though it was a pretty short section that we performed, I couldn't help but be pretty nervous backstage as I waited to go on.  It was really fun to be able to perform with my sisters and sister-in-law, it was quite the family affair :)  Here are a few more pictures of the occasion. 

Sisters!

They have some serious moves! It was so fun watching and cheering for them!

And of course, what would a post be without a picture of this handsome fella?

It was so fun knowing he was in the audience :)

Pretty freaky huh?

Tim McGraw

When we heard Mr. McGraw would be making a visit to Utah a few months ago, we quickly picked up some tickets and looked forward to it for what seemed like forever.  
I was really excited to hear Lady Antebellum, but we ran into some uber bad traffic on the way and ended up missing them completely.  It took us a whopping 2 hours to get to the venue.  I'm surprised that any of us had hair by the time we arrived, but we made it just in time for Tim and quickly forgot about the commute. 
My favorite part of the concert may have been when Tim pulled a little girl up on stage and danced with her while singing "Tiny Dancer". Talk about melting your heart!
Cam loves any excuse to dress up and considering the event, I shouldn't have been surprised with what he came up with.  Much to my dismay, the handlebar mustache made a comeback.  Even though I hate it more than anything, I have to admit that it was quite fitting for the occasion and Cam blended in quite nicely with the crowd.  He won't believe me, but I ended up thinking that it was really funny...especially because he shaved it off first thing the next morning :)

Wrinkles

Most people fear the day they will find them, but this little guy pulls them off quite nicely.  In fact, for him, the more the better.

This is Hercules, but we call him Herc.  He is the newest resident at our house we just adore him.  Cam has always wanted an English Bulldog.  I wasn't always so thrilled about it, I just didn't think they were all that adorable. You see, I am used to tall sleek hunting dogs and English Bulldogs couldn't be more opposite.

But, over time I warmed up to their squished faces and stocky bodies and now we have this cute guy as our little buddy and we just love his adorable face.

As soon as I even showed signs of changing my mind about English Bulldogs, Cam jumped at the chance to start looking for one.  There were two that we were debating between, but Herc won  and now, lucky for us, he is ours to keep. 

I was quite surprised when Cam went and picked him up earlier than I thought he would be available.  He brought Herc to his softball game where I was to meet him there later.  I was quite confused when his Aunt was holding Herc, but I thought it was just a dog that was his identical twin.  I fell for the trick hook, line and sinker and before they told me that it was in fact my puppy, I was utterly amazed that at how much "her" puppy looked like ours.  I can be quite gullible sometimes.

Having animals around is not a new experience for either Cam nor I, but this is a first for both of us as far as training and being the sole caretaker of one.  We have really enjoyed it.  Don't get me wrong, we don't love his constant chewing of our furniture, rugs and most annoyingly our feet. And cleaning up accidents is not on our lists of favorites either, but since he is as cute as can be its hard to stay upset for long. 

Anyway, before I start sounding like one of those crazy cat ladies, I will just leave you with this cute picture. 

Look at those paws!

I shouldn't be surprised

On our way home from our date tonight Cam suggested a movie before bed.

I agreed 

I took 2 minutes to let the dog out, change to pajamas and take a potty break. 

I swear it couldn't have been more than two minutes. 

I'm ready for the movie... but where is Cam? 

Asleep on the couch.

Sound asleep

Still fully dressed right down to his shoes. 

How that boy can fall asleep in the blink of an eye is beyond me.   

Its just as well, we need to go to bed anyways.

So, I'm not bothered at all, just laughing because

I shouldn't be surprised.

Makin' a comeback

It has felt like we have been gone from our little blog for a long time.  We haven't had internet at home since we moved and it has felt like forever!  I have written a couple of posts while on other computers but didn't post them due to not being able to add pics and we all know how much more enjoyable pictures make reading :) So for all (maybe 2 or 3) of you that read this blog, you can look forward to hearing more from us now! 

It feels good to be back :)

Looking Back

Memorial Day weekend was quite the memorable time 2 years ago. So I thought I would write it down for my sake and if you want to hear about our first kiss then keep on reading.

Cam and I had been spending oodles of time together for about a month and I was loving every second of it.  However, we had yet to do any smooching.  I was suprisingly not very worried about it, I was having so much fun and loved that we didn't just spend our time kissing. I liked that we were developing a strong foundation of friendship.  Don't get me wrong, I knew we were definitely more than friends (it may have taken me a little bit to actually get it through my head that he could actually be interested in me like that) but I knew.  So needless to say, I hadn't given it a ton of thought, nor did I worry about reasons why he hadn't kissed me yet. I just knew it would happen in its own due time.

On the Friday of Memorial Day weekend, we went to his sister and brother-in-law's house for dinner and to play games.  We ended up having and interesting conversation that made me laugh and made Cam laugh but made him squirm a little :)  The conclusion of the conversation was that Cam was basically being a wimp (remember he had just returned from his mission) and that I would basically either need to initiate it, or be patient...but that it could take a long time.  It may sound like that would have been awkward to talk about, but it really was funny and it wasn't awkward in the least.  

Fast forward to the drive home and not suprisingly that conversation got brought up again.  I teased him for being wimpy and kind of laid down the law (in a humorous way of course) that I would not make the first move.  He teased that he could wait forever then and that as long as we could cuddle and I would tickle his arm (he LOVES that), he could wait for months and that at some point he could guarantee that I would break down and make the first move.  Well, I wasn't going to have any of that :)  I said that I hadn't worried about it, but what girl doesn't want the guy she is falling in love with to kiss her?  So I decided to put a little pressure on him.  I told him that I would not tickle his arm or cuddle with him until he kissed me.  He laughed and couldn't believe I would put that kind of pressure on him.  But I was determined to stay strong and hold my ground.

We pulled up to my house and he tried to trick me into tickling his arm while we talked and I refused.  After a small debate, I agreed to tickle his arm with the (very) strict understanding that he would kiss me after 10 minutes and true to his word, he held his end of the agreement. 

The kiss was great for the first couple seconds, but I started to get weirded out when there was absolutely no movement at all.  It was like a peck on the lips that lasted for what seemed like 5 minutes.  "What in the world is going on?"  I thought.  Even though it was probably only 10 seconds it felt like forever and totally not normal.   Thoughts like "he can't be this bad at kissing" and "did he forget how to kiss over the past 2 years" flashed though my mind.  I tried to pull away but he wouldn't let me so I had no choice, but to open my eyes slightly to see what was going on.  I shouldn't have been suprised to see him wide-eyed staring at me trying to weird me out and just waiting to see how long it would take me to open my eyes.  I immediately started laughing and pushed him away.  Who does that? I shouldn't have even been surprised that he would pull a stunt like that.  It was hilarious!

Finally after we stopped laughing, he actually kissed me for real.  It sounds cheesy, but it was the best kiss I had EVER had.  I remember wondering if it was just the slightly awkward way I was turned in the car and the fact that the center console was there that made it so it was hard to breathe, that had never happened to me before. But since that feeling was the same every other time we kissed after that, I realized why my breath really was taken away that night. 

Obviously, our first kiss story isn't the romantic, movie scene kiss, but to me, it is better.  It kind of illustrates our entire relationship.  We laugh a lot, we have fun and we don't let ourselves take everything too seriously.  That just doesn't work for us. 

Last Night

Last night I was feeling a little bothered

Bothered about some things that have been bothering quite a bit lately

Things that I really don't need to be bothered about at all

But I was.

Cam could see that I was bothered

 He always can

No matter how hard I try to hide it

So he asked

I didn't want to say

But he always knows how to get me to talk

I expressed concern

He listened

And then he did what he does best

He made everything that I was worried about not so bad anymore

He made it all go away

He told me all the reasons I shouldn't worry about it

And all the ways he would help if my worries came true

He always knows what I need to hear

I felt so much better

And then he made me strawberry milk

And I was one happy girl again

He is my favorite

Easter Weekend

Easter/Conference weekend was a lot of fun.  I always enjoy Conference and getting to listen to our Prophet and other leaders of the Church speak.  It really is such a priviledge.  Saturday morning I woke up earlier than Cam (surprise surprise :)) and made breakfast burritos before the first session.  Not to toot my own horn or anything, but they were delicious and better yet Cam loved them.  He asked if I could wake up every day and make them for him, so I suppose they were a hit. 

Cam went for a bike ride later in the day and I picked up the house and got ready for girls night with my mom and sisters.  We made a cute spring topiary and then went to H.M.S. Pinafore (a play) that my grandpa was in.  I love going to plays, it is something I have done since I was a little girl because my grandpa is very involved with Rodger's Memorial Theater and has been in numerous shows.  I loved getting dressed up and going, I always felt so grown up.  I also loved the music and of course the romance which was usually a common theme.  While I sat at the show I made a promise that I would always make a point to carry on the tradition with my little girls.  I'm really excited for that. 

For Easter, I put together a basket for Cam. Obviously we don't have kids for me to spoil, and I also can't help doing fun things for Cam so I always take advatage of an excuse to do something fun and different.  I filled his basket with simple things that were needed and useful but also fun.  He got some new flip flops for Florida, a bag thing for his bike and then one funny thing.  I got him these window crayons for the shower.  I saw the idea on a blog where the writer and her husband leave notes in the shower for each other and I thought it was a really cute idea so I stuck those in with his other gifts.  And of course he got a bunch of candy which was a really bad idea because I think I ate more of it than he did.  Not a good thing when you are in a weight loss competition.  Oh well :).  I also sent him on an Easter egg hunt.  To mix it up a little, I found a cute idea on that same blog so I put little notes in the eggs along with the candy.  The notes said things like "You are an eggs-ceptional husband" or "My life with you is eggs-traordinary" and so on. It made it fun and he liked the added touch.  

That afternoon, Cam rode his bike up to Layton for our family party with the George's.  We watched the afternoon session and had dinner.  It was a lot of fun.

The weekend was really relaxing and so fun.  Like I said, I love Easter and Conference and putting the two together really makes it especially fantastic.  Hopefully all of you had a fantastic weekend as well. 

I apologize...

...for the boring pictureless posts.  Our computer got sick....really sick so I can only blog on other computers, which as you can imagine, don't have our pictures on them.  Sad story. 

So thanks for enduring all my boring writing and I promise to make it up once the computer starts feeling better.  I'm excited to show you pictures of our new (to us) house.  Its really cute...at least I think so. And really that's all that matter right? But I really think you will agree :)  

Thanks again for sticking around!

Happy Birthday

Okay so this memory monday isn't a very distant memory, but since I slacked and didn't write about it then, I will now. 

Cam's Birthday was a couple weeks ago.  I stress a lot about what to get and do and how to make him feel special.  He doesn't really care too much about his birthday and I think that is weird.  I think birthdays are such fun holidays because they are yours.  All the other holidays you have to share, but birthdays are your very own...unless of course you share which is very common in our families. 

Anywho, the day (March 11th) came and unfortunately it landed on a Thursday which meant I had to work late.  The one good thing was that I could do something for him before work because I started later.  I decided to put together a candy jar for his desk filled with his favorite treats.  He always teases me that I always eat all the treats before he can get to them and I hate to admit it, but it is usually true.  So I thought it would be perfect to give him some for his desk, that way I couldn't get to them first. 

I bought all the goods, put it together and drove out to his work.  I wanted to see him, but wanted to surprise him so after I got there and put it in the car, I called him and made up a story about leaving something in the car and asked him to go make sure it was in there because I wanted to make sure I didn't lose it. Blah, blah, blah. He bought it 100% and I was pleased.  I never get anything past him so I was especially excited. 

I waited forever and almost left because I was going to be late for work when he finally came out.  I watched him peek in the window looking for the "lost" item and was happy to see he was excited to see his surprise.  I caught him as he was turning to go back inside to get his keys so he could retrieve his gift. 

It was a very small and insignificant surprise, but I'm pretty sure it made him happy to be able to see me in the middle of the day and he loved the treats. After some quick birthday hugs and kisses, I left to pick up his gifts and head to work.

It was my lucky day because our schedule did not fill up to the scheduled time so I was off at a decent hour to be able to go to dinner.  He wanted me to choose and I wanted to do something a little more special than a regular date so I made reservations at Rodizio Grill.  He figured it out as we were driving there and was excited about it.  Thankfully I was able to wake him up from his nap when I got home, I almost thought he was going to sleep right through his birthday party. 

Dinner was fantastic and we got super full and headed home to open gifts and watch a movie.  He never helped me out by telling me what he wanted, he is pretty unselfish like that.  Its very sweet, but makes gift buying kind of difficult.  I bought him tickets to the Daughtry concert which he is super excited about and he also got a memory foam mattress topper for our bed.  Funny that both gifts will be enjoyed by me as well, but I promise that was not why I bought them, just an added bonus. 

I was very happy that he was surprised by and loved his gifts.  We put the tickets on the fridge to look forward to and immediately put the mattress topper on our bed.  Let me tell you...it. is. heavenly.  Ironically, though, we didn't even sleep on it that night, we ended up falling asleep on the couch almost the entire night.  We were pretty dissappointed when we woke up the next morning, but we have enjoyed it very much since then.

So Happy Birthday (late) to the very best husband I could have ever wished for. I hope you know how much I love you because it is a whole bunch.

Newlyweds

I've been a slacker the past couple of Mondays so I'm trying do better this week.  For my memory monday post this week, I have just a short and vague memory to share.  It actually is more like an overall memory instead of a specific one...maybe that's confusing, sorry.  Anyway, on with it.

Like every other couple, we found ourselves pretty much inseparable as we dated, fell in love and were engaged.  And as mentioned before, I absolutely hated going home at night.  Not that I didn't love my family or have a great home, I just did want to be anywhere where Cam wasn't.  So needless to say, I was really looking forward to being able to live together. 

Our Honeymoon was my dream come true because we spent every moment together.  I remember dreading having to go to work the Monday after we came home.  The thought of leaving was quite depressing. Cam was searching for a new job at the time since his previous one was just seasonal so he spent the day working on finding new employment while I headed to see my friends at work.  At the time I couldn't have loved my job more so I was excited to see my friends again and tell them all about our grand honeymoon.  I was happy and glowing with the newlywed love all while missing my new husband.  I just remember thinking all day about going home and I couldn't wait.

I don't remember specifics, but I think that I had the chance to go home for lunch since we just lived down the street from the office.  The short visit was a good pick-me-up to get through the rest of the day.  The rest of the afternoon all I could think about was getting home.  As I pulled into the parking lot and walked up the stairs to my door all I remember was how excited I was just to be home and to get to spend all evening with Cam.  It honestly felt like Christmas morning except it was bright, sunny and warm. 

I know it sounds really cheesy and maybe a little childish, but I loved how excited I was.  I loved the fact that I didn't have to go home to my separate house and wait to see him until we figured out our plans for the rest of the evening.  I loved that I could go home and fix dinner and hang out, just us, for the rest of the night. The excited feelings I had were just how I imagined I would feel and I couldn't have been more pleased. 

Its funny, I thought that maybe those feelings of excitement as I came home every night would fade as time went on and the thought of that kind of worried me.   Of course at times they are stronger than others, but I can honestly say that the thought of seeing Cam every night gives me those same butterflies.  I get excited when I see that he is already home when I get there and I don't have to wait any longer. And I also love when I get home before him and I can get our house in order and start dinner before he comes home.  Its so fun to anticipate his arrival and I also really love that we both show our excitement when we see each other.  Most times a huge hug and a bunch of kisses are exchanged at the door.  Its easily my favorite part of the day :) 

Pantry Rat

Late Sunday night we were wrapping up our great conversation with Cam's sister Kylee.  All was quiet in the house when I heard a strange sound coming from pantry area.  I quickly shushed (is that even a word?) them and directed their attention to it.  We all agreed it had to be a rat.  I kid you not, it sounded exactly like a massive rat was going to town on the package of oreos behind the pantry doors and I was freaking. out.

After some closer investigation we were pretty much convinced we were right.  Cam and Kylee quietly crept near the pantry which is also close the bathroom door and flipped on the light.  We were surprised to hear that the light did not scare away the little thief.  We then started wondering if we could be wrong. 
Cam popped his head in the bathroom and found the source of the munching sound: An innocent piece of plastic rubbing against the plastic trash can as the air from the vent moved it around.  We laughed. Hard.
Needless to say, I was very relieved...but I could have sworn that it was a rat. I was even still a little hesitant to open the pantry door.  But I did, just so I could stop worrying about it. 
Thankfully all the oreos were intact. 

Recipe Exchange

I think we can all agree that we all run out of ideas for dinner.  In an effort to make it easier, I along with a couple friends have decided to exchange recipes to give us a better variety.  I'm got really excited about this and got started early and then before I had them all typed up, my computer got a nasty virus and lost all of my work.  So I'm trying to get it all put back together and thought it couldn't hurt to open it up to anyone else that would like to participate!  The more the merrier right?  Wouldn't it be so nice to have tons of tried and true recipes to choose from? So join in! Its fun and super easy! 
What you need to do: 

1. Comment below to let me know you are interested. Include your e-mail address.
2. Collect at least 10-15 recipes that you love. (Less than 10 is fine, but the more recipes the better.)
3. Type them up

I will make a list of all those who are interested along with their email addresses.  I will send you an email with the list of all those who you need to send your recipes to.

Then you will have an inbox full of new delicious recipes to choose from. It will make that decision of what to make for dinner so much easier. 

I really hope a lot of you want to join in, and like I said feel free to tell anyone else about it and just let me know their e-mail address so I can add it to the list!  Also, don't stress about getting a bunch of fancy recipes, the easier the better.  Don't get me wrong, I love to cook,  but after work, the last thing I want to do is spend hours in the kitchen so, quick and easy recipes are perfect!

Oh and I forgot to tell you...I will be doing the exchange on Wednesday March 31st so start collecting!

Yep...Again

This past weekend we moved into our house (more on that later).  Seeing my track record, I was glad to see that it was seemingly impossible to lock myself out due to the fact that our front door only has a dead bolt which must be locked from the outside.  Gone were the days of that dreadful realization that I cannot enter my own home and being at the mercy of the one with the keys or better yet the window....or so I thought. 

The former owner of the home only gave us one key and we have yet to make a copy.  I wasn't too worried about it because we just figured that until we got it done I could just go out the back door and leave it unlocked so I would have a way to get in before Cam got home.  This worked great for the first two days. 

Yesterday, I got home in enough time to quickly change my clothes before heading off to teach dance.  I happily walked to the back door, loving the fact that it was a beautiful day and I was off work.  That feeling was quickly replaced by that ever so familiar pit in my stomach as I went to turn the doorknob, only to find it wouldn't.  "Wow, this is getting really ridiculous" I thought.  However, I have obviously become accustom to the situation and didn't worry too much.  I called Cam to see when he could get home and of course he laughed at my misfortune. I couldn't blame him, I was laughing at myself. He said he would hurry and in the meantime I would try to find another way in. 

I evaluated a few possible entrances and found that my kitchen window was unlocked.  I was having deja vu of my last kitchen window entrance and I was glad that this one would be much easier.  The window big and low.  No need for an extra large box of tide, and definitely not as many cars.  I did, however, wonder what the neighbors would think, but what can you do, right?

The screen was a little difficult, but I'm experienced now and had no doubt I could take care of myself.  I slipped the screen out, opened the window, pulled the blinds and gingerly stepped in.  Much better than the whole "slamming my ribs and flailing my legs" bit that I performed before. 

I would like to say these days are over, that this will be the last time I have to be faced with this situation, but I'm 99% sure it won't be.  I suppose I have just discovered a hidden talent and now am developing it quite quickly.  All I have to say, is its a good thing I have no intention of using this talent to get into anyone elses house, because if I did, you should all be scared.  I've got skills :)

Trampoline

 Cam's parents have a trampoline in the ground in the backyard.  It quickly became one of our favorite places while we were dating.  I know what you are thinking and I promise that we didn't just go out there for a make-out session. :) Sometimes yes, kissing was involved. We were falling in love what do you expect! But we more enjoyed having a quiet place to cuddle while we talked about anything and everything. 

The first time Cam took me out there we had been spending the Sunday evening with his family and even though it wasn't said, we both wanted some alone time.  Cam took the initiative to take me out there and I was happy to follow.  We talked about the future and skipped around the subject of financial stability if by chance we did decide to take the plunge and other related topics. We talked about a lot of other things but  nothing concrete or final was decided, but we were moving toward marriage and I was thrilled. 

We spent many of those summer evenings on the tramp and it quickly became my favorite part of our nights.  I loved the fact that Cam wanted be able to be just us.  I think that was one of the first things I fell in love with.  He always made time for us to be together and to spend quality time.  I loved just talking and having quality conversations so that we could get to know each other in a way that we could find out how much we loved each other. 

Since it was usually late by the time we headed out there, more often than not we would fall asleep while talking.  We quickly learned to set an alarm so I could get home at a decent hour.  I developed a very hateful relationship with that alarm and dreaded the sound of it.  I hated the pit in my stomach that came at the very thought of having to go home and because the alarm signaled that time, I hated it. So. Bad. 

One of the times we fell asleep, the alarm did not go off...or maybe I just snoozed it too many times, but regardless, we didn't wake up until 4:15 am.  Terrible I know, but even worse is the fact that my dad wakes up for work at 4:30 and, well you can imagine how happy he would be if I wasn't home when he left?  So I fratically woke Cam up, quickly said good bye and HURRIED home.  (Good thing I only lived 30 seconds away.)  I tried to come up with a plan as I drove home.  I came from the other side of the street so I wouldn't have to drive past, turned off my headlights, parked on the road, and snuck in the garage door.  I was pretty successful and just as my head hit the pillow, I heard my dad's alarm go off.  Close one. 

I thought I was home free until my mom came in while I was getting ready for work and asked what time I got in and proceeded to tell me that someone had broken into my dad and brother's truck that night and she wondered if I saw anything out of place when I came home.  Seriously of all nights!  I reluctantly told her the truth and endured her small lecture and then told her I hadn't seen anything. Then i quickly begged her not to tell my dad.  Unfortunately, the word got to my dad and we both got another small lecture at our softball game the next day.  Luckily he was good natured about it and mostly teased us, but we knew we had to not ever let it happen again and we didn't. 

Like I said before, I absolutely HATED having to go home. On more than one occasion I said that when we were married, I wanted to come and sleep out on the tramp all night just because that is what I always wished I could do.  So we did just that.  Last year we chose a night and after our friends left our apartment after hanging out, we grabbed our sleeping bags and headed down to Cam's parents house.  They didn't know we were planning on it and we didn't tell them we had arrived because it was after midnight by the time we got there.  So they were surprised to see our car the next morning and even more surprised to find us sleeping on the tramp. 

We have recently decided to make it a tradition to spend one summer night each year camping out on the trampoline.  I just can't wait for it to get warm enough so we can!

Tis the Season

I have decided to name this time of year Birthday Season for our family.  It seems as though we couldn't fit any more birthdays in from the end of February through the middle of March.  Here is the line up:

Today (February 25) is my little sister Marissa's birthday

March 1st: My mom

March 2nd: Our new nephew Max!! so excited for this! (Bri will be induced that day!)

March 8th: Both (yes both) of our Dads

March 10th: Our nephew Jace

March 11th: Cameron's 

Not to mention 3 of Cam's best friends have birthdays in March as well! (and I hope I'm not forgetting anyone)

Can you believe that?  I think that maybe we should not have our kids in March because I'm afraid we will go broke every year!  It is a really fun time though because of all the parties and get togethers, it makes the tail end of winter so much more enjoyable!

So here's to a bunch of Happy Birthdays soon to come!

Our First Date

For our first "Memory Monday" post, I thought I would write about our first date. 

Cam came home from his mission in March of 2008 and we had only talked briefly at church and exchanged phone numbers.  I think that he texted me later that night to see if I was going to ward prayer and then he texted me the next day to see if I wanted to go to the Joseph Smith movie (classic return missionary date right?) I unfortunately had to take a test in my class so I declined and  was flattered but honestly didn't think that much about it. 

A couple weeks later we ran into each other at the ward temple day and talked briefly.  I remember feeling self conscious because we had done baptisms and my hair was wet and I had no make-up on.  We again spoke briefly and again I didn't think that much about it.

The next day I got another text from him while I was at work and that's when we really started talking.  Since I was at work, we couldn't talk on the phone, but we did have quite the conversation and I found myself getting excited about each response.  After almost a whole day of texting, I, very uncharacteristically, asked if we were ever going to do something...a.k.a. was he going to ask me out.  Again, very unlike me.  I could tell he was a little taken surprised by my being so forward, but asked what I was doing that weekend.  I had already agreed to a blind date on Saturday, so I told him I was available on Friday.  Being a little nosy, he asked why I couldn't do it on Saturday and I, not wanting to lie told him about my date.  So we agreed on bowling and I couldn't wait. 

I was so excited all day on Friday.  I was hanging out with my friend Brynne and I remember telling her how excited I was about it.  I couldn't decide if it was because we were friends before and I knew how fun he was, or what it was, but I liked it and thought about it all day.

After carefully getting ready and deciding to wear my new cute jacked and my favorite "worn out" jeans, I waited for what seemed like forever for him to pick me up (he was a little late). My Dad asked where I was going.  The detail as to whether it was an actual date or not were a little fuzzy and not wanting to assume too much,  I told him I was going to hang out with Cam.  My dad loves to tease and he also knew Cam really well because of the fact that we were in the same ward.  He started to tell me that he heard Cam was training to be a cage fighter and I, of course, just laughed and said that it didn't matter because we were just hanging out. ...little did I know :)

Finally he came to pick  me up looking so cute in his plaid shorts and a cream quicksilver jacket and from the moment I opened the door until the time he brought me home, I was laughing.  I remember thinking "you better stop laughing at everything or he is going to think you are weird" but I couldn't stop and I'm pretty sure he liked that I thought he was so funny. 

It sounds weird, but the first part of our date we went to get a Jamba Juice and a balloon for his best friend's step mom.  I know, strange, but Cam is just relaxed like that and decided to include it because he wanted to take her something because she was just like a mom to him and I guess didn't want to put off our date until later so that was the beginning of our night. 

We then decided on Winger's for dinner, which I had only been once before, but it is now one of our favorite.  Conversation was easy and fun and I enjoyed every minute.  We then finished up with bowling at Orchard Lanes.  I remember sitting there while he was taking his turn and thinking two things.

One: "This is really fun, I would love to spend more time with him" and Two: "Wow, he has a really cute rear end" :)  Two very important things wouldn't you say? It was pretty late by the time we were done so he took me home after that.  

Even if it wasn't clear before as to the status of that night, it became a date because he paid for all of it.  And it must have gone well because aside from the date I had already set for the next night, neither one of us went out with anyone else from that point on.  We also spent almost every day texting during work and then hanging out after.  Dating was so fun.  Short, but fun :) and I will be writing more about those times in the future.  But as for now, that is how this whole thing got started.         

Not Again!

Let me just say that I have never locked my keys in the car or ran out of gas (even though I have been known to run it on fumes), but for some reason I have quite the history of locking myself out of our apartment.  It has happened at least four times in the year and four months we have lived there and those aren't even counting the times I was able to save myself by using our hide-a-key.  Terrible, I know!

Need a laugh? Just keep reading...

Exhibit A: Cam and I had the opportunity to go to a Christmas concert at the conference center with our great friends. It was a snowy and very cold Sunday morning and since we rode with them, we had no reason to grab the keys, right?  Both thought the other had and when we got home and our friends had already driven off, we discovered our dilemma.  Not only that, but our landlord was still in church and would be for a while. We also tried all windows, but to avail.  So we got to spend some quality time with our neighbors and avoided freezing to death until we could be saved. Thanks again to the Furlongs for being so hospitable!

Exhibit B: My friend Whitney and I, being the dedicated runners we once were, set out on our scheduled run on a hot summer day.  Meanwhile our husband were headed out to West Valley for a softball game and we were to meet them there when we finished. Not thinking twice, I left my keys at home (why would I need them while running, right?) and again discovered my misfortune upon our return.  Unable to find our landlord at home, we took matters into our own hands and discovered that we could make a great team at breaking into homes through the windows.  Using her skills and muscles Whitney was able to somehow lift me up and  push me through our kitchen window.  It took a little time, thinking, strength and a whole bunch of laughs but we made it.  Where was the hide-a-key then, you ask? Right on the kitchen table under the window by which we entered...left there from a couple days before when I had used it in a time of need. Perfect.

Exhibit C: I spent a Saturday morning enjoying some great crafting at our ward's Super Saturday.  My friend Britanna was kind enough to give me a ride.  So again, why take my keys?  Cam had gone to play football and upon returning home with my new creations, I found myself once again locked out.  And better yet...without my cell phone.  No one else in our complex was home and with just my luck, neither was my landlord.  Not knowing when Cam would be home, and guessing it would quite a while, I left my crafts on the porch with a nice little note asking my football playing husband to please come pick me up at the fabric store when he got home. (A pad of paper and pen, that I remembered, but not my keys, oh my) So I set out on my mile long walk and enjoyed some sun and exercise.  I took my time at the fabric store and hoping Cam would show up soon.  After an hour and a half with no sign of him, I shamelessly asked to use a phone and tried to call him twice with no answer.  I left a short message, paid for my supplies and headed back again.  On my way back I spoke to an old bishop, gave some kids some directions, and saw a cute friend's new apartment.  Pretty eventful huh? I returned home to find my crafts and note, right where I had left them. Nice.  So after trying my landlord again, not finding him home, having the Elder's Quorum President offer to let me borrow their car and declining graciously, I finally found the landlord in the backyard of the other complex.  I have a feeling he knew what I needed when I approached and was kind enough to quickly let me in.  I immediately called my dear husband wondering how long he could play football for, trying not to get upset. He told me he had been at his brother's house and had been since they finished with football an hour and a half ago. He kindly told me he had tried to call several times and left messages.  So much for the note.

And last but not least:  Tuesday after work I came home only to grab a couple things so I could run errands.  Walking out with all of my needed items, I approached the car searching for my keys and you guessed it, they were right where I left them. Inside. With my phone.  Are you kidding me?  This time, there was no way I was going to even try to find my landlord.  I have my pride, ya know, and I wasn't about to swallow it.  Cam wouldn't be home for a while and I needed to go, so using the same technique Whitney and I used before, I began to attempt yet another break-in.  Come to find out, it is MUCH easier with two people. However, I was determined.  Luckily the window was not locked and the screen was easy to remove, I just needed something to stand on. The bush below the window was not only getting in the way, but it wouldn't hold me up.  Dang that holiday weight! Luckily I had just bought a new and very huge box of Tide detergent and after carrying that massive thing upstairs from the laundry room, I was much closer to my goal.  On a side note, let me just remind you that I live on Orchard Drive and it was the busiest time of the day, therefore, I had quite the audience.  So much for my pride right?  So there I stood on the box I could feel it starting to buckle under the pressure. Again, dang that holiday weight. Trying to hurry, I found a  fairly good break of passing cars and I used my non-existant arm muscles to somehow launched myself in.  Now when I say launched I really mean, slammed my ribs into the brick windowseal and flailed my legs around until I could wiggle myself the rest of the way in. What a sight!  The good thing is, is that I didn't have to swallow my pride by asking my landlord for help. I guess I should of thought of the countless cars that would pass as I made my most ungraceful entrance.  Oh well. 
To top it off, I returned after completing my errands to find that I had not only left the door unlocked, but wide, wide open.  Seriously? I just had to laugh. 

   

Memories

Conversations between Cam and I are often about memories we have of different parts of our life together as well as apart.  Though it hasn't been long, we have been able to make some really fun memories together.  I have never been a good journal keeper or a creative scrapbooker and it dissapoints me to think of all the things we haven't documented.  I often think about things that I want to write on our blog about the past, but for some reason feel weird writing about it because it was so long ago and seems misfit among our posts of current activites.  So, I have come up with a plan and a goal.  Mondays are now what I will call "Memory Monday" as cheesy as it sounds, it gives me a set time to do it which will motivate me to sit down and write.  Also this way, I feel like these posts have a place where they belong.  I'm excited to start this new project.  These posts are really for us so that we remember the things we have done so they will most likely be long, with hardly any pictures which will probably seem boring to everyone except us, but I am completely okay with that because I am giving those fading memories a place and that is the most important thing, right?   

Spandex

Do you feel as though your life would be incomplete if you didn't have one of these in your wardrobe?:

Cam saw a similar thing while watching ESPN and simply HAD to have one to wear while working at the Jazz games.  Not wanting to disappoint him, I agreed to put my little sewing skills to good use.  Making up the pattern was a slight challenge,  and the zipper almost won our battle but I survived and at the end I stood triumphant.  And best of all he was happy which made it all worth it.  So thanks mom and dad for all those sewing lessons you paid for...they made it all possible!  

And just in case you didn't see enough, here are a few more model shots...enjoy!

Goal

I'm good at saying "I love you".  I am not so good at showing "I love you".  As of late I have realized how much I need to work on it.  So in the spirit of Valentines day, I will be working on my new goal. Every day.  He deserves it.  A lot.

Our Merry Little Christmas (Finally)

Christmas this year was no less than perfect. In the afternoon/evening of Christmas Eve, Cam and I cuddled on the couch and drank hot chocolate while we watched the first part of "The Grinch". It was a fun way to get into the Christmas spirit. We spent Christmas Eve night with Cam's family and had our second annual Pajama exchange and I have to say we made out really nicely! Thanks Adam and Jen! It is really fun to watch everyone open their pajamas and to see how everyone chooses perfect ones for their person, they each fit everyone's personalities so well. After everyone opens them, we all changed and then we had hot chocolate and gave his dad his Christmas/Birthday gift. We are all going to Florida for his 50th in April and decided to let him know now so we don't spill the beans and so he can arrange with work. Amber did a great job with the creative way we presented it. Here is Cam and I in our new PJ's!

Cute huh?

When we came home, we straightened up from our preparation messes and then watched a little of something on TV and fell asleep on the couch.

I woke up earlier than Cam and couldn't wait any longer to give him his presents so I tried to wake him up. It took a few tries, but I was finally successful. Cam suggested that before we open presents that we listen to some Christmas music and cuddle a little longer...I was anxious for gifts but agreed. Then after a few songs, we were ready...except for Cam wanted to say a prayer first. I am so grateful for a husband who remembers the true meaning of the season and made sure that we take time to thank our Heavenly Father for giving us the reason for our celebrations. The rest of the day was perfect and I know it was because we started it the way we did.

I gave Cam some new shoes, a couple shirts, and a bat bag. For his main gift I am planning a weekend getaway so he will have to wait for that. To tell him about it, I made up this flyer that I made to look like he had won the getaway. It was fun to put together and I have to say I was pleased with the results. He even asked me if he really had won it because it looked pretty legit :) I am especially excited because we are going with friends for that weekend, Whitney and Britanna did the same thing for John and Kevin so it will be so fun!

I have to admit I knew exactly what I was getting for Christmas only because I picked it out :) However, I was probably even more excited to get it because I knew what it was. Cam got me a wedding band to go with my ring and I absolutely love it! When we got married I didn't care to have a wedding band, but decided recently that I changed my mind. Cam was already planning on getting it for me, but then I sorta spoiled it by telling him that a wedding band is all I wanted. So instead of waiting to pick it out after he told me on Christmas, we were able to go pick it out and have it all sized and ready for Christmas day. I absolutely love it! I keep looking down and admiring it. It almost feels like when we first got engaged again :)

We got to spend a little time together for the morning and had a really festive and elaborate breakfast of leftover pizza.

The rest of the day we spent time with our families who spoiled us rotten. It was kind of funny because both of our parents had the fantastic idea of getting us a barbeque grill for Christmas. So....we have his and hers grills haha I was so worried because I didn't want to hurt either one of their feelings by telling them that we were going to take it back, but my parents are in need of one any way so they are going to keep the one they gave us and then we will choose something different. So it worked out pretty well and of course neither one of them were offended about us maybe taking theirs back, I was just a little too stressed about it. We are so grateful for their thoughtfulness and generosity. It kinda makes for a funny story don't ya think?

We kinda went back and forth between my parents, both sides of grandparents and Cam's parents all day. It makes for a crazy fun day and we really enjoyed it and loved spending time with everyone.

We got home late and again fell asleep on the couch...in fact, we didn't sleep in our bed once this weekend and I love that. Granted it isn't the most comfortable, but like I have said before, there is something about sleeping on the couch that we love.

We hope all of you had as wonderful of a Christmas as we did. It is always such a fun time of year, it is hard to see it go, but we are looking forward to the new year and all the exciting things awaiting us!

XOXO

I absolutely LOVE Valentines day. Not necessarily the day itself, even though I love that too, but mostly all the decorations. I just adore all of the red and pink. I can hardly wait to make heart shaped sugar cookies and decorate them with pink frosting and cute sprinkles. I just love sugar cookies with sprinkles. I'm getting excited just thinking about it. And I just love having an excuse to decorate with all that pink!

Good Thing She Was Sedated

I am definitely not the person that gets up in enough time to sit at my kitchen table and read the paper while eating my breakfast. Instead I am pouring my cereal in a cup when I am already late and eating it during my 25 minute commute praying I don't spill and quickly brushing my teeth when I arrive. This morning was not unlike any other. Except for one thing.

As I walked my patient into the x-ray room, my friend/ co-worker started giggling quietly as she pointed to her shirt while looking at mine. I thought she was realizing that we wore matching colors, which isn't uncommon, until I looked down and saw a big white foamy stripe down the front of my dark purple scrub top. I couldn't help but start laughing as I wiped it off with my finger. I quickly rinsed off my hand while trying to unsuccessfully to hide my giggling. The only saving grace was that my patient was in the beginning stages of sedation and more than likely she won't remember the results of my uncontrolled drooling incident. Unfortunately the rest of my patients were not.

Did I mention that it didn't go away with just the wipe of my finger...or the scrubbing of a wet paper towel...or the scrubbing of a discinfectant wipe...or the scrubbing of another wet paper towel with soap on it? Oh no,it was very very resilient so I had to proudly wear a semi-faded white stripe of dried toothpaste drool down my top for the rest of the day. Haha nice.