Moved.

I'm so disappointed in my lack of pictures over the last month. I have done very little in the way of documenting lately. BUT I have successfully moved, unpacked, and adjusted a little bit to this new city of Lehi. Poor JD. . . this is what most of his spring break looked like:

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! 

A Date!

Our lives have been pretty hectic the last two weeks because I've been training for my new job (my first official one as a recreation therapist!!)  We still share one car, so we've been playing tetris with our schedules (my part-time job at  New Haven + my new job in West Jordan + his classes at UVU + his job in Provo + his job shadowing appointments in Payson + our job at the storage units in Spanish Fork. . .) Needless to say, JD has gotten pretty good at working the bus system and we are so grateful for our kind neighbors who've helped us out when the timing of things hasn't quite worked out. I've pulled close to 120 hours the last two weeks between my two jobs and I'm pooped! But we did go out last week for Valentine's Day and the three year anniversary of our engagement!

Matinee movie to see The Vow. Dinner at Gloria's Little Italy in Provo and dessert at The Chocolate in Orem.  It was the perfect night out on the town and I was so grateful for the little break together during this hectic month!

Sushi Party for Abby

Last Wednesday, our dear friend Abby had a birthday. On Friday, we spent the afternoon helping her prep for her big sushi party. JD made a big bowl of fried rice and helped prepare the sticky rice for the guests to make sushi rolls when they arrived. We cut veggies, meat, and other toppings (uh, fillings?). While JD was busy doing his thing, Abby and I also made a type of sushi I actually like. . . candy sushi! We made rice krispy treats and let them harden. Then we cut them into strips and wrapped gummy worms in the middle and rolled them up like sushi. Finally, we bundled them in fruit roll-ups and cut them into little bites. Most precious treat ever! The party turned out to be a roaring success and JD taught oodles of people how to wrap their own sushi. I ate up the fried rice and might have had more than my fair helping of candy sushi. We're so glad Abby was born and loved helping her celebrate her big day!

  

 

Project Life: January.

I've been scrapbooking for a long time. I think I started at the end of middle school, maybe start of high school?  Either way, documenting and recording my life through pictures and words has been a big part of my daily happenings for many years. Lately, I've been in a bit of a scrapbook funk because I haven't felt very creative or innovative with my pages. I don't like to spend a lot of money on supplies (those embellishments add up so quickly!) and I've let months slip by without printing my pictures. I decided to try something else in 2012. Project Life, created by Becky Higgins, has been just the change I was looking for. You basically order a box set of journaling cards, filler cards, and label numbers and organize your pictures with their stories. I've added some ribbons, stamps, and brads to my album that didn't come in the set because I'm a creature of habit and I like the extra flair. . . but it really is just a very basic approach to storytelling that any one could do. I just print out my pictures at the end of the week and put together a page or two over the weekend. It's easy. No pressure.  And I love it. This might be one of my favorite albums so far. 

Title Page: Fourth of July Picture, summer 2010; Family picture 2011; Grocery picture, Dec 2011

Week 1: New Year's Day at New Haven, Girls' night with my friends, dinner date at Goodwood, we spent the weekend helping Brad and Abby move.

Week 2: Taking girls out on fun passes, romantic lunch in the middle of the week, breakfast date, Lindsey's arrival to Utah.

Week 2, the weekend: Happy visit with Jocelyn, dinner at Red Robin, first married sleepover at Brad and Abby's new place, Stephen got married.

Week 2, the weekend, part 2: Sunday dinner at the Skousens, Tammy's wedding, talks in church about the power of kindness.

Week 3: Double date with Ty and Lindsey to Nickel City and our day on Temple Square. 

Week 4 insert: The circus!

Week 4: We bought a new iron, Tuesday Temple date, Zupa's for family night.

I haven't set any hard rules for myself like a picture every day or only one layout per week. This type of album can be whatever you want it to be.  In Becky's words, just cultivate a good life and record it!

Come one, come all!

The circus! The circus! We went to the circus! The Jordan World Circus came into town and we splurged on one of the most entertaining dates ever. I had never been to a circus before and everything about it was just magical. From the flame-jugglers to the scary motorists in a steel cage ball, every act kept my heart racing. There were trapeze artists and tight-rope walkers and aerial silk performers. There were all kinds of crazy feats of agility and balance. There were flames and knives and hula hoops. There were high-flying dogs and big black bears and tigers. And elephants! Oh, I loved the elephants. 

There was a ringmaster and dancers and lots of sequins. There were lights and candy and music. And per JD's insistence, there were overpriced Dip-N-Dots, too. And a soft pretzel. And a Dr. Pepper.

The whole night was bloody brilliant. (Guess who's been watching a lot of Harry Potter lately...?) But seriously, it was fantastic. It was entertaining and exciting and worth every penny. I just loved it!

Lindsey Lou visits Utah

My little sister, Lindsey, has been in town for the last week. She took her "college visit" days off of school and came to tour BYU, stay with her friend in the dorms, and see a little more of Utah. We loved getting to visit and spend time with her. Before we took her to the Salt Lake airport yesterday, we walked around Temple Square, watched a few videos, took a couple pictures, and ate lunch together at The Lion House Pantry. Yum. So good to have you, Lindsey Lou!