vacation thoughts

Hi. I'm in California.
Turns out 3 theme parks in 3 days, plus walking downtown LA, will wear you out.
We already know this from my previous Disneyland/world posts. I'm kind of a baby when it comes to park stamina.
Personally, I feel like I've done an incredible job this time around. Bri's opinion on the matter might differ, but you'll never know that.

It all boils down to this, the first trip out of good old Utah with the husband has been fantastic. Tramtastic, even.
In the case that one of you isn't following me on FB, I'll give you a run down.

Day 1: Universal Studios just the O'Gwins while Bri is at work.
Dinner as a fam bam, and some hot tubbin.

Day 2: Disneyland with the whole gang, plus Bri's cute roommate Bethany.

Day 3: Six Flags; Magic Mountain, with the 3 of us. Downtown LA to see the Chinese and Kodak Theater's.

And because I am too tired to write well, some fun facts...

- I've sent back 2 orders of food so far. Not embarrassing at all.
- It is stinkin' stinkin' hot. oh man. so hot.
- I am burnt to a crisp.
- The first night here we discovered the air mattress we brought has a hole.
- Consequently, Zane attempted to build, and sleep in a hammock on the balcony.
(so sad I didn't get a picture of this.)
- And not surprisingly, we ended up sharing a twin air mattress. best night's sleep ever...
- I blacked out multiple times at Magic Mountain. Oooh yeah, totally awesome.
-I am the WORST backseat driver. Learning something new everyday.
- Zane and I have officially been married 4 months.
- I don't like big cities. Though fun to visit, I look forward to coming home to my quite little life.
- I think I've grown myself a butt.

Oh, you've already seen these?

 It's possible I will write again. 

Using complete sentences, and no Instagram collages if we're lucky. 

If not, let me just say, it's been real fun. 

I am so grateful to Bri, my cute parents, and cuter husband for making this little trip possible.
Life is good. 

something different

Monday Zane and I had a little date night for Family Home Evening.
It included seeing The Lucky One, and eating some delicious chinese at my favorite restaurant Shoots.

That night my chocolate dipped fortune read this...

And at 8 o'clock tonight, Zane and I are off to California to visit the sister.
So it turns out we're the lucky ones, eh eh? get it?

Happy Early Weekend!

bye-bye bri

This has been a weeks of weeks. Much too busy for my taste, and much too emotional for Zane's, and anyone else who had the pleasure of interacting with me.

Work managed to be rather busy, and painfully slow, at the same time.
It was the last week of school before finals, meaning punishment for all my procrastination.
My sister leaves for her internship in California tomorrow, thus my hand-crafted [and extremely thoughtful] gift had to be finished today.
And the cherry on top, my special lady time of the month making me cry 4 times a day over the stress of it all. I also may have shed a few tears because of replies to text messages being too slow, and wrong pizza toppings.

In the end, I pulled it all off.
Homework assignments are turned in, and Bri's book of Love Letters is completed.

Essentially, I had a bunch of Bri's friends, and family, write her a letter as a goodbye gift before she left for Conan. [She's interning at the Conan O'Brian show, I know, she's totally cool.]
After sucking up all of my crafty juices, and destroying my home, I finally compiled them into a scrapbook-like gift.

My home has looked like this for days.

The letters look a little something like this. 

She loved it!  

Tears were shed, not from me for the first time in weeks. Though I cried many touched tears while working on the project. 

It turned out pretty perfect, if I do say so myself. 

I really want to thank everyone who took the time to write something for Bri. So many sweet words were said, and there was never a more deserving person. 

It meant so much to me, and even more to Bri. So a HUGE thank you to anyone and everyone who contributed.

I love my sister very much, and will surely miss having her around this summer. 

She's an essential piece to the family puzzle, and it won't be the same without her.

Thank goodness the week is over. 

I'm looking forward to enjoying some sun, love, emotional stability, and maybe a bit of sanity.

On this rainy Tuesday

I'm grateful for all the good men in my life. Especially my sweet husband, and awesome dad.

If you're loving the men in your life, can I get a     "what, what!"       *raising the roof*

at this exact moment

I feel like this woman is speaking to me.
Honestly, whenever I take the time to read her thoughts they speak to me.
Sometimes I feel daunted by the lengthy-ness of posts, but always leave feeling inspired.
She speaks truth, and I figure we all could use at least a little of that rarity.

Today I read this:

"comparison. always, always comparison. comparison isn't just the thief of joy, it is the thief of the present moment and the slippery slope to what feels awfully akin to insanity."




She's good. 

memory lane strikes again

A friend of mine at work is in love, and we have been discussing how in the world he can bring up the marriage conversation. Such a scary topic in a relationship headed in said direction.

Zane and I danced around the "M" word for about a month.
Little phrases and words implying a mutual future. Dates planned months ahead of time. I have a journal entry for every occasion Zane inched towards the big M.

I tried to pinpoint the moment Marriage became a spoken topic, so I could help my friend move his own process along, but could not.

I asked Zane if he remembered, he didn't even hesitate.

I came to visit him at work, took a seat on his lap, and said "I want to marry you. Just wanted to say it out loud."

And marry we did. 3 months later.

Thank goodness someone said it. 

Sometimes I wonder where that blunt and brave girl went. 

I haven't seen her in the mirror lately. 

my tis said something kind of dumb

The following is a true story.


My mom is mocking me for even bothering to put $130.00 shoes in my Nordstrom's online bag. Making it very clear she will NEVER spend that much money on a pair of heels. A girl can dream.
 "That's against our religion", My dad says jokingly.

And then Bri pipes in "Is it really?"... everyone looks at her, thinking she cannot be serious (she is),
We continue to stare, "What? I didn't watch ALL of conference."

This story is currently in the process of being quoted, and re-quoted within the family. It gets me every time.

I sure do love my mom

My cute mom teaches 1st grade, so most week days she is very busy and very tired.
This week is her spring break, the perfect time to steal a little quality time with a teacher.
It also happened to be the perfect day for a spring mother-daughter date.
It's days like these when I remember, out of all the places I could be on this little planet, I ended up right where I belong. In my imperfect but wonderful family, with my selfless mom.

A selfless mom who, every now and then, takes me to get a pedicure, and buys me a dress or two.

Don't stare at this picture too long, or you might realize my big toes are chubby and my other toes are curved. Not to mention, the spring pink I chose looks a little too much like Pepto Bismol. 

But, feel free to notice my adorable sandals. 

Mother-Daughter dates are the best of dates, and mom's are just the best.

Happy Easter

The bunny visited us a little early, due to the fact that I am a snoop.
A package arrived Friday afternoon while Zane was at work, and I figured I would find out was inside eventually. So I opened it.

Surprise! It was a present for me.
My cute husband remembered my favorite childhood memory I had only mentioned once. Sometimes he can be quite the thoughtful one.

So because I ruined his surprise, it only seemed fair we both woke up Sunday morning with no presents. 

I had a little more time to make mine look cutesy. 

Saturday we had our annual Easter egg hunt with all the cousins I have a small obsession with. Naturally the get together led to picture overload. I will try to control myself and only post my absolute favorites. 

My sister mentioned on her blog that the theme she noticed in all the pictures I took was all the father-daughter love. Though that may be true, I noticed a different theme...

Anyone else see the theme here? or is it just the baby hunger talkin'?

Hope your Easter was filled with love, family, and lots of goodies. 

the view outside my kitchen window

Anyone else obsessed with all the blossoms?

I had to get a couple pictures before they disappear,

 wishing they'd stay for summer. 

Titanic

Yesterday I enjoyed another little gift from the hubs.
Titanic 3D.  They gave out "collectable" glasses, as well as posters. Too great.

I realized I have never before seen the full, unedited version of this classic film.
Thus, I got to see Kate Winslet's boobies for the first time in 3D. Truly did not know I had been missing that little detail my whole life, and am sure I would have survived without that "artistic" touch. I did make it through the scene without giggling like a 4 year old, or gasping like a grandma, unlike many other fellow viewers.
I'm so mature sometimes.
I also managed to get away with not shedding a tear, just some watery eyes. A miracle really.
Zane, on the other hand, was not so tough. In fact the movie got Zane in what I call, Mushy Mood.  For me, "Mushy Mood" is a common, and openly admitted, consequence of watching chick flicks. But this was the first time I'd seen the cheesy love portrayals work their magic on the husband, and I was happy to get extra kisses, and I love you's, on the way to the car.
He is such a tender.

Today, if you were wondering, I woke up early and went to Pilates, just to discover the candy we smuggled into the theatre still in my purse. Thus, I had a lunch of Mike and Ike's, Skittles, and Rolos.
It's a good life.

Fun.

Sometimes I type starting sentence, after starting sentence, in attempt to write something cute, or witty; I'd even settle for grammatically correct.

Somedays, like today, it just doesn't come to me. 

So lets skip the pleasantries and jump to talking about the funnest concert in the world. Fun. 

The tickets were a Valentines gift from Zane, so we have been looking forward to it for too long. 

I needed a night out to remind me I'm not a completely boring married person. I like to tell myself Zane and I are one of those cool married couples, who go to cool concerts and other super cool activities. So we're still hip with the single kids, even though we go to bed at 10.

Regardless of our social status, the concert was awesome. He [Nate, the lead singer] is a musical genius. Not to mention, he really lights up a stage. He is one of those rockstars, who just obviously loves being a rockstar, and consequently makes you want to be a rockstar. 

If you ever have the chance, I suggest you look into seeing him live. It's a guaranteed good time. 

waitin in line, in the wind. lookin good. 

The super cool couple.

mosh pit kisses

matching in our Fun merch. 

It was a fun night, pun intended. 

The concert, mixed with the uplifting messages of General Conference, made a perfect weekend. 

an empty corner

What a silly little old dresser corner. 

I think it needs books and deodorant bottles on it to hide the scratches, and scuffs. Don't you?

PS. My husband is one amazing man. Happy 3 months to us. 

the media

Finally saw The Hunger Games last night with the husband, as a reward for ROCKING our biology exam.
I thoroughly enjoyed it. Even though it gave me violent nightmares of my husband being stabbed. It's fine.

Do you know what else I enjoyed, Sarah's Key.
If you haven't netflixed that ish, you need to. And if you believe in reading before seeing, as I do, then you definitely need to pick up the book first. Equally amazing.

Speaking of reading, before seeing. I made the husband buy me "The Lucky One" so I could read it before the movies comes out. It was then I realized I truly am my mothers daughter, because after page 1 I realized I had already read this book. And I don't mean, "every Nicholas Sparks book is the same" already read it, but literally turned these exact pages before. 

19 is too young to be loosing my mind. 

Though in my defense, I have read a lot of books. 

But my next movie adventure, that I am not afraid to admit I am extremely excited about, is Titanic 3D! Thanks to my tender husband who remembered my obsession. We do already have out tickets, and at least one of us is looking forward to it. 

Anyone else read, or see, anything worth repeating?

depressing

Everyday I listen to the same radio show for the 15 minute drive to work. During this morning's 15 minute listen, they announced all the professions that have high depression and suicide rates. An uplifting way to start my day.
They consisted of, everything.
health care
social work
doctors
dentists
sales
the entertainment industry
"office jobs"
and education.

Top 3 happiest careers,
engineer
architect
surveyor

What in the world is a surveyor? Regardless, I think that's where I might find myself a future.

Cheers to everyone in the bottom 3 choices.
Everybody else, we better hit the gym to release some endorphins or something.

home again

Although I was sure the universe wouldn't let me have my weekend get away, it did.
Not without a few hiccups though, of course.

Zane wasn't feeling so hot the day before we we're set to leave. He visited the doc and it turned out he had bronchitis. awesome.
Obviously my first thought was, poor poor hubby. But visions of my time in the sun crumbling around me quickly followed. I am so selfless.
Being the champ he is, Zane pulled it together and we managed to leave Friday as planned.

After we had arrived in St. George, and we went to bed that night I had a nightmare that I woke up the next morning, all swimsuited up, when everyone started laughing at me. It was pouring rain. I dropped to the floor and cried. I obviously have issues.

Saturday morning the sun was shinning, and I spent 4 hours soaking it up. Mission accomplished.

Soon after coming inside, I began to develop my own bronchitis symptoms. Zane and I made rather pathetic vacation buddies. I am not afraid to admit we both do a pretty terrible job of putting on a brave face, and a rather fantastic job of whining. Lots. Everyone loves us.

I did pull it together long enough to give slack lining an honest try. I wasn't half bad at it actually. I thought I had found me a new, oh lets be real, my only talent.
Until I slipped and slammed my ribcage on the line, completely knocking the wind out of me for the first time since I was 10 years old. pure panic. not to mention slightly embarrassing. But seriously, I was certain, in those 15 seconds, that I would never breathe again.
Turns out I lived. Miracles.
And that is how my dream of becoming a professional slack liner lived and died.

Such a good group of guys. 

some slack lining shots. 

sure do love him. note: I do not wear this outfit everyday. It just happens to be appearing in all my latest blog posts. I promise I shower and do my laundry.

Overall, the weekend was a success. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family, and that my husband has such impressive, good friends. I am constantly surrounded by uplifting people.
As always, I am most grateful for Zane. I got lucky, there is no other explanation.

a date with the sun

Spring break has come and gone. Where I spent all of my time doing basically nothing with the hubster, while watching others instagram their adventures in the sun. 

Don't get me wrong, relaxing with the husband is actually one of my favorite ways to pass the time, but I am desperate for some time laying by the pool in the sun. desperate. 

I managed to have a bit of mental breakdown on Friday because I am so vitamin D deficient. It came to tears unfortunately, hysterical tears, on the way to dinner with Zane. 

He had zero idea what to do with me. 

Who would? it was a bit of a joke, except that I was completely serious. 

Good news. I will be in St. George this weekend, before anyone's forced to institutionalize me. 

Sporting my new suit to boot. 

Brought to you by Nordstrom online shopping. 

Anyone else thinking swimsuit season snuck up on them a little too quickly?? I'm afraid my swimsuit body is a bit behind the sunshine. pfff, typical. 

Happy sun bathing everyone!

St. Patricks

We are festive. 

awareness

I didn't want to watch this at first.
I knew I would cry, and I did in the first 2 seconds.

It makes me wish I could go back to high school and do something different.
Been nicer, reached out to more kids, went out of my way to make others feel included.

Be nice. 

my true love

The sun is out, and that means Yogurtland is making a comeback.

I couldn't be happier. 

It's heaven in a bowl. 

If you're wondering what this delicious combination is, as you should be, 

I'll tell you. 

Plain Tart, mixed with Blueberry Tart, strawberries, banana's, and some blackberries. Top it off with crushed graham cracker, and some condensed milk.

Fruity enough that you don't feel guilty, sugary enough that you probably should.

I am confident is it the best combination ever. 

Zane unfortunately doesn't agree. He doesn't care too much for Yo-land. He also doesn't care too much for peanut-butter. Psycho. 

If he didn't agree to let me eat my yogurt, and my peanut-butter baked goods, I'm afraid we would be headed towards divorce. 

But he does, so the love remains. 

Cheers to a selfless husband, and spring weather treats.