easter fun

Right before Easter, Tim and I went to the Mesa Temple Easter Pageant.

As we were walking to our seats, we saw a girl that Tim grew up with.  She was with her husband and her baby.  After the initial pleasantries, the following exchange took place about her baby:

Me: Oh how old is he?
Tim's friend: She is 10 months.
Me: Oh haha sorry, bald babies, you know...

I then looked down to see that "he" was wearing a dress with little purple flowers all over it.

I sure know how to make a good impression on the right people, let me tell you.

In other news, we decorated some eggs for Easter with Tim's sister, Melissa:

Marriage has really helped us to mature, as you can see:

If you look carefully, you will see that one of the eggs says "your mom," thanks to Tim.

And this egg was my pride and joy:

My endless wit astounds even me.

Special Mention: We also spent some time with Tim's sister, Brigette, and her family [even though we weren't invited...Brigette].  Brigette's daughter, Chloee, made the pageant even more exciting with her insightful commentary about chickens, donkeys, and death.

christmas catch-up

I know some of these pictures are a little behind [ok, a lot behind], but I thought I'd show you some pictures from Christmastime.

My new niece, Brynn, and me during our visit to Yuma.

Tim's parents.  We were taking pictures for their Christmas cards and...

...Tim decided he wanted in on the fun.  

[We didn't send this out in our Christmas cards.  In fact, we didn't send any Christmas cards at all.  Bad, bad wife.]

My grandma's dog, Cody.  I love all 130 pounds of him to pieces.

This is Casey.  He is my baby.  

[And that picture should give you some kind of indication of what our Christmas was like: messy, fun, and very early.  Even Casey was tuckered out.]

This is in my grandma's backyard.  

[And I mostly like this picture because Cody decided to be part of it.]

My beautiful family.  [Where Tim and I are the short ones.]

Tim's sister Melissa and me chillin' in the massage chairs in Brookstone at Chandler Mall.

Melissa and Kiley.  

[Kiley is a new niece, too.  What the.  I went from having no nieces and nephews to having over 20, I think.  And some of them are my age!  Gotta love big families.]

And there you have it.  Christmas Catch-up.

new years

December 31st, 2011 at 11:59pm until January 1, 2012 at 12:00am didn't really feel any different.  I mean, don't get me wrong, there was a great [and I do mean great] kiss involved, but my life didn't really feel different.

However, if I'd known at the beginning of 2011 that my life would have been changed so drastically as to have been married for almost five months by the end of 2011, I might have peed my pants.

Heck, Tim and I had only been dating for 2 1/2 months.

And despite the fact that Tim knew by the end of the first month of dating that he wanted to marry me, it took me another seven months to figure out what I wanted.

But figure it out I did, and it was the best decision I've ever made.  And it's been the best year of my life.

Ok, enough with the mushy gushy.

This New Years Eve, we decided to stay home and drink Welch's Sparkling Grape Juice together.

Best decision ever.  [You know...second to...getting married...ahem.]

There may have also been socks-that-felt-like-fluffy-clouds and Bones involved.

Oh and QT.  [A night just isn't a good time without a QT run.]

That's right.  We had QT and Sparkling Grape Juice.

This picture is a result of my failure to properly set the 10 second self-timer:

Makes me giggle every time.  ["I've got two pina coladas...one for each hand..."]

On New Years Day, we ate these:

Which I discovered, last New Years hanging out with Tim's family, are not just a singing group.  [And thank goodness they're not, because they're extremely tasty and are believed to bring luck for the New Year.  Win-win.]

I've got lots of other adventures to catch you up on, but lest I overload you with pictures, I think I'd better stop there for now.

Don't you worry, I'm [slowly] regaining motivation.

date night

Date night is pretty much my favorite night.  Like, ever.

I get to hang out with my best friend for an entire evening without worrying about homework or studying or school.

And Tim is a pretty creative date-planner so that makes it even more fun.

For example, last Friday, we decided to go get hot chocolate and drive around and look at Christmas lights.

Simple, right?

But so, so fun.

[Except I lied.  I didn't get hot chocolate.  I got Caramel Apple Spice.  But Tim got hot chocolate.  So really I only half-lied.]

 There's this street in Mesa that goes all out on their Christmas lights.  And it's pretty awesome.  

[At least I think it's in Mesa.  I wasn't driving, so I wasn't really paying attention.]

 Love him.  

Too bad this picture is so blurry.  [My bad.]

 I hope our kids get his eyes.

 I took way too many pictures to post on here, but I thought I'd post some of my favorites.

 I decided that the candy decorations are some of my favorites.  

[Which is not, of course, a reflection of what I eat a good majority of my day.]
[No really.]

 [Candyyyyy.]

 Caramel Apple Spice.

White Hot Chocolate.

It's the simple things in life, you know?

p.s.  For any of you who might have started following me on Pinterest, I express my deepest apologies.  I haven't even gotten back on since that first time.  And I had no idea what I was doing then, so...it might be kind of a disappointment.  But I haven't completely given up.  [Yet.]

christmas décor

Ok, kids.

I think we've finally put up all of our Christmas decorations.  [And by "our" Christmas decorations, I mean Christmas decorations my mom gave/lent to me because she either has too many or just isn't as into decorating anymore or is just being entirely too generous.]

Wanna see?

 That couch was mine and Tim's first purchase together.  Fifty bones off Craigslist, yo!

 O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree...

 Ok, I know this one looks pretty much like the last, but you couldn't really see the lights in the last one, and this one is blurry, so I figured posting both was the best of both worlds.  #don'tjudgeme

 My mom's old nativity set.  I feel so lucky to have it.

 I think my favorite part of this is the candy cane candles.  [Say that five times fast.]

[No really, go ahead.  I dare you.]

 I know, still blurry.  Alas.

My aunt got me these cute cupcake ornaments.  I especially love that they sparkle.

 Most of our furniture is furniture my grandma left to me.  Thinking about that makes me tear up a little.  

Yeah, I'm gonna do something a little different with that wall space on the left.  Just not quite sure what yet. 

These are salt and pepper shakers that have been around as long as I can remember. 

So, umm...I've been in love with Mickey and Minnie for as long as I can remember.  When I was a little girl, I was obsessed with my pink Minnie bedspread.  [At least these aren't pink, right?]

My grandma made this wreath. 

As a kid, these were my absolute favorite decorations.  I think I just loved that they fit inside each other. 

And a cheesy picture for the road.

'tis the season

I'm feeling a little tenderhearted today.

Not completely sure why.

Maybe because I'm really tired.

Maybe because of friends who are struggling.

Maybe because I had one of my last classes today and everyone in my group was being all sentimental and mushy-gushy.

Maybe because I feel extremely blessed.

Maybe because I'm almost done with the semester.

Maybe because it's almost Christmas.

Or maybe it's a combination of all of those things.

On an unrelated note, taking Tim to Costco is like taking a six-year-old to Disneyland.  His eyes light up and he wants to go up and down every aisle and eat every sample.  He also liked that they put all of our purchased items in this box:

making it appear as though we were buying an entire box of jerky treats for a dog that we don't have.

And he also really, really liked this ginormous jar of pickles we bought for $3:

In all fairness to Tim, this picture doesn't really do it justice.

Can't you just picture it...sitting around the Christmas tree, drinking hot chocolate, and...eating pickles?

Alas.

Happy December y'all!

christmas trees

Nothing beats a real Christmas tree.  The way they smell, the way they look...simply enchanting.

Which is why Tim and I bought a fake tree last night.

Wait...what?

Ok, here's the story.

Tim and I had been planning for weeks to buy a real Christmas tree right after Thanksgiving.  We'd imagined where we'd put it and how it would smell and how it would look with all the twinkling lights on it.

Last night, we finally got the chance to go get one.  As we were on our way out the door, our neighbor casually asked us what we were up to.

"Oh, we're just gonna go get a Christmas tree!"

"A fake one or a real one?"

"A real one."

"Oh yeah, we got real ones up until this year, too.  Then last year, we were decorating our tree and a Brown Recluse spider bit me.  I waited a couple of days to go to the hospital, and by the time I did, they said if I'd waited any longer, they would have had to amputate my leg.  But I only had to stay in the hospital for a couple of days."

I almost peed my pants.

My eyes were probably as wide as baseballs.

After we got in our car, Tim and I started squealing at each other.  [No manly noises for Tim where spiders are concerned.]

"Uhh...maybe we should get a fake tree."

"Yeah that sounds like a good idea."

Which is how we ended up with a fake tree from Walmart.

Don't worry, it looks enchanting, too.

And I'm sure the pine air fresheners we're gonna buy will smell just like a real tree and I won't even notice the difference.

[Or so I tell myself.]

thankful

Hello there kiddos!

Everyone is talking about things they are thankful for [it is that time of the year, you know], so I thought I'd jump on the thanksgiving bandwagon.

Today I am thankful...

via

...that I am not in high school anymore.

Random?  Possibly.  True?  Definitely.

My high school days were some of the most insecure that I can remember.

I spent so many days worrying about what people thought of me - worrying that my hair looked ok or if my clothes made me look fat or why someone didn't talk to me that day.

Now to be honest, I still worry about those things sometimes.  But it's not a pervasive, think-about-it-all-the-freakin-time kind of worry.

I have come to love myself for who I am.  I feel confident in my own skin.

Do you know what helped me the most?

Gaining a knowledge that I am a daughter of a very loving Heavenly Father who values me and is very involved in my life.

I knew that in high school, but I don't think it had really entered into my heart yet.  And now I know it with my whole heart.

Like I said, I still have those days or those moments of insecurity.

But it only takes me a second to remember who I am.

And don't you forget, either.  

Heavenly Father loves you.  You are important.  You are special.  You are worth it.

Thank goodness there is life after high school, eh?