The last of 2012

ummm... am i the only one who feels like 2012 flew by? the heck?

does this happen more frequently the older you get??

the last couple months of every year are always the best, lets get real.

Birthday, halloween, anniversary, thanksgiving, christmas, and new years all packed into three CONSECUTIVE months. 

And people wonder why i get so grouchy after new years..

all the fun is over!

Steven took me on a quite the adventure for our first anniversary! We trekked up to Park City for a little shopping and dining, then stayed at this gorgeous SWISS resort in Midvale. Love me some Swiss.

...and then we got to have massive eclairs and gelato for breakfast. score.

I just can't believe how much our lives changed in one year! Growing up, years were an eternity long. I remember every Christmas night while falling asleep, i'd get all choked up and depressed because I had to wait ANOTHER 365 days to have Christmas again. 

And now, things move at the speed of light.

Is there no happy medium???

It's ok. We have so many fun plans for 2013, and i'm glad time is flying. 

because that only means i don't have to wait long, right? :)

Golden Birthday

Well folks, it's finally happened. I'm an old fart.

over the hill. past my prime. it's all downhill from here.

im so estatic.

all that comes next is wrinkles, baby pooch, bodacious love handles, and age spots... right?

can i even still shop at forever 21???

so many things to ponder.

 Thank goodness it was the best birthday yet.

Because lets be honest, I for real celebrated all month.

On Saturday I got to go shopping, and then my parental units were kind enough to spoil both Steven and I. We went to our favvvorite chinese place and I convinced Steven to go see the Scarlet Pimperel. And guess what.... success! we found a play he actually LIKED.

who'da thought that would ever happen?

I'm just sad he missed out seeing Viewmont's version.

It was the best play they'd ever done, hands down.

it's been over a year and im still obsessed.

Sunday was spent relaxing then hanging out with my family and wayy over indulging in all things delicious.

 Calories don't count on birthdays, don't cha know?

And i made pumpkin cookies for the 13th time.

yes, they are that amazing.

I spent my birthday morning sleeping in and cuddling puppies in bed.

Oh and totes catching up on Once Upon A Time. Of course.

Steven got back from work and took me out to lunch at that new place called "Johnny Rockets."

It was pretty spendid. And very adorable.

The rest of the day i dragged him to all around town to all the places he didn't want to go.

My birthday is probably the ONLY day i could get him to go into Hobby Lobby with me.

and then he convinced me to finally pierce my ears. life changes happening over here!!

i loved having the long weekend. but then i had to come back to this.

it's just a taste of what my life has been life.

choas.

i promise i haven't died. yet.

but if i keep working ten hour days it just might do me in.

we have to find creative ways to not go insane.

our little baby bean is totally adorable, right??

but man, is she sassssy!

it's hard to believe such a little body can have such a big attitude.

we love our little spaz ball.

Bittersweet

This last week has been the pits. Just plain awful. We had to make a decision I swore I'd never make. And it was harder then I ever could have anticipated.

Y'all know we love our puppy babies. But for the past couple months due to schedule and job changes, it was making it really hard on them. Particularly Graham. Big dogs just don't do we'll in apartments we've decided. He was happy, but we both knew he could be happier. Steven tried to convince me to let him find a new family for graham. I was so mad, and said there was no way.

A few weeks went by and I started feeling like maybe he was right. That maybe there was another family who would be better for our big boy. We put him up for adoption, and not a half hour later a lady called about him.

She told us how her family had just lost their lab, and they felt a huge hole in their family. Talking to her we found out they have a huge fenced in yard and 5 boys from 3 to 15. And most importantly, they all loved dogs.

A few of the boys and their dad came to meet graham. Graham acted like they were his new best friends. The boys already loved him. They all felt like this was the dog for them. So they took him.

And I bawled all weekend.

The mom has been texting me this week. Sending pictures, telling me the things he's been up too, and continually thanking me for giving them the best dog ever. It's made it a lot easier. I know we made the right choice for all of us. Graham is having the time of his life.

It's like a wise old wizard once said, "sometimes we must make the choice between what is right, and what is easy."

It would have been easy to just keep him, and not worry about anything. But we love him too much for that.

Today the mom texted me this:
"Just FYI: My 5 year old in his prayer this morning said "thank you for Graham cracker to come to our family". He also said "Graham is better than washing my hands"... In referring to how he licks his hands clean... Just thought id share :)"

As hard as it was, we know he is happy. And being spoiled to death :)

a formal apology

I would like to issue a formal apology to all my family and friends for my disappearance over the summer. For all the planned swim parties, double dates, lunch, shopping trips, game nights, projects and everything else that got continually put off and then just... didn't happen.

I started a new job at the beginning of the summer, just hoping for a fun change and something I could stick with for a few years. And needless to say, it's been so much more demanding than I ever anticipated.

HOWEVER, it can be pretty entertaining....

This is Betty Peek-a-Booty, Booty Betty for short. I won't waste time explaining why. She is our favorite regular. She like to yell at us across the store, tell herself how good she'd look in this or that, loudly proclaim to the other customers how cute she finds everything... and of course, stay thirty minutes past closing. She's a delight, that Betty.

Last week our sister and nieces came into town from Virginia, and as always, it just is never long enough. Aren't they adorable?? Gah. Steven and I agree that if our offspring are HALF as cute as them... we'll be lucky ducks.

One time, I decided to shake things up. So Steven bleached a chunk of my hair. And that's how we roll. Maybe next time we'll buzz a mohawk into Steven's head.

Also, favorite thing said in primary today...

Steven: "So the three wisemen brought gifts to Jesus. Gold, myrrh, and... what's the last one? Starts with an 'F'."
"FOOTBALL!"
"No, it's something that smells really good."
"Febreeze? Fragrance??"
"Starts like Fr.."
"FRANCE!"
"Franken..."
"FRANKENSTEIN"
"No... frankincense..."
"oh."

Seriously, primary is where it's at.

And no post is complete without.... dog pictures!!!! YES!!! i know you all secretly love them. i mean, who wouldn't?

a day off

Thank goodness for days off work. Especially ones we BOTH have off. Because um, they are the best.

Our cute sister is in town with her kids for a whole week! Sometimes I forget how fun being an aunt is! You get to spoil them rotten, then hand them back when they are stinky or tired. It's pretty much the coolest gig ever.

We decided (or rather, i persuaded) to drive down to Pleasant Grove's "Strawberry Days" Festival. It ended up just be a major teenager hangout. Didn't even kinda hold a candle to Bountiful's Pioneer Day Festival. But we got Costa Vida for dinner and frozen yogurt, so it was totally worth it. 

(Right, Steven?)

Why can't it be summer always??

summer changes

Well hey. it's been awhile. 

With summer came many changes. And luckily for us, they were pretty dang good ones.

I started a new job, and so far it's been crazy hectic but I sure love being busy. It's barely leaving me enough time to cook dinner, do laundry, go to the gym, and keep up on The Bachelorette! So obviously priorities have been made, and dinner and laundry have been cancelled for a while. I know, what would Steven ever do without me??

We've been out boating every chance we get, and oh my is it a blast! We only have about two more weeks till FLAMING GORGE. As in a week long boating trip. Heaven.

Our puppies are loving the sunny weather, especially when we take them to play with the other dogs at the park.

We had a super fun and relaxing fathers day weekend. Lots of board games, cook-outs, and sunburns. But isn't that what it's all about? That, and fathers. I sure do have an amazing dad, grandpa's, and father-in-law... and of course baby daddy :)

Steven isn't a father yet, by any technical terms at least. But i can already tell, he's gonna be the best daddy ever. Until then, I think we have our hands full. 

hope you had a fun father's day honey-buns! love you like cuhrazy.

i have a syndrome

Last weekend, Steven and i ventured into downtown SLC wanting to get some Cheesecake Factory in our bellies. Only problem was, so was everyone else. We got there around 6:30, and basically the wait was 2 years long.
not really. but still.
Luckily it was delicious, though i'm not sure if i'd say it was completely worth the wait.

I've decided i have a serious problem. A disease, if you will.

Let's call it the "Bad-Haircut-Syndrome."

I wait and wait and wait till my hair resembles a lions mane to get it cut... trying to put off the unavoidable as long as possible.

But no matter how much i try, i always give in and make my way to the salon.

It starts off by me showing them a picture of what i want it to look like.

They act like they got it down, and pull out the scissors.

they start snipping away, and half way through say something along the lines of,

"is that was you were thinking?" or "is it looking ok?"

...and this is where my illness kicks in.

no matter how completely OPPOSITE of what i wanted it is...

i bite my lip, nod my head, and say "yes, that's perfect"

*forehead-smack*

so on they carry, along their merrily scissior happy way, until my hair is so absolutely abborhent i can't even look in the mirror.

no, i'm not exaggerating.

They finish, i pay the $20 and then race home before anyone can see.

It always leads to me standing in front of the mirror with scissors, trying to salvage whatever hair i have left. Desperately trying to coax my hair into some manageable state.

I know, it's all my fault. How hard would it be to tell them no, that's not right or what i want?

But no, I'm too dang nice i guess. I just don't want to hurt anyones feelings!

So here i sit. With botched bangs and unever layers.

feeling pretty ridiculous.

which i deserve, i suppose.

celebrating

Steven and i got pretty dang spoiled last weekend. His parents took us out to tepanayaki.

Yes, the tepanyaki.

Basically the best restaurant on the planet. And as such, is saved for very special occasions.

This time, we were celebrating Papa Collins landing a big head-honcho job, horray!

It was a very rejoiceful weekend. For Papa Collins, and the Japanese steak. Yummmm..

Graham has decided to jump into a light-speed growth spurt. He has probably quadrupled in size since we got him. It's insane.

Flynn's hair is finally growing back, which means he doesn't look like a naked mole-rat anymore. *praises*