Shout Out To My Man

A few weeks ago, I was talking to some friends and a few of them mentioned how annoyed they get when people post those "obnoxious" facebook statuses about how great their boyfriends/husbands are and how they are just "rubbing their perfect relationships in our faces". In my head I was thinking, "Okay, nobody has a perfect relationship, and what's wrong with being happy and writing about it?" 

 Sorry if this offends anyone, but I would much rather read a post like that than some of the other things people decide to put on facebook. But this post is not about facebook, it's about choosing to see the good in your spouse and working for a happy marriage and not making fun of others for doing so. And today I read this post from an old college friend's blog and decided to jump on the love train...for lack of a better analogy :) So if you are one of those people who get bugged when people brag about their husbands, please stop reading now. Because the following are just a few of the things that I absolutely adore about mine.

• Brandon is funny. He makes me laugh every single day. I can't even begin to express how much that means to me. 
• He motivates me. And he does it in a nice, not-naggy sort of way, which is exactly how I need to be motivated.
• He sets a good example.
• He is really nice to animals.
• He makes me feel smart, meaning he values my opinion and advice.
• He tells me that I'm beautiful, and what girl doesn't need that every once in a while?
• He has the best smile. And eyes. 
• He is a hard worker.
• He is a kind person. 

And I'll stop there so I don't get too "obnoxious". But in my opinion, the world could use a little more positive thinking. So take it or leave it. 

This little mighty mouse firefighter doll ended up costing like $20 at our town's annual carnival, but I was having so much fun popping balloons with those darts that B didn't mind one bit.

Mini Update

Nursing school is hard. Probably one of the hardest things I have ever done. I study  A LOT and it feels like I'm never quite on top of things. I get mini anxiety attacks daily when I go to class, and I learn new things all the time which is fun. I'm making some friends and "learning how to work" as my dad would put it. I really hope I can stick this out.

Lacey is a fast learner.

 My dog is nuts. She has a new playmate who she loves...or hates...we're not quite sure. His name is Dobby and he is just precious. He prances everywhere he goes and shakes his little booty when he gets excited. I mean really shakes it. It's pretty awesome. When they play together, Lacey makes these high-pitched monkey sounds that get super annoying super fast.

She hates swimming!

My husband is amazing. He does so much for me and is always trying to improve, whether it's helping around the house more or working out more or doing better in school. He keeps me motivated in school too, which I love. I'm so grateful to have him on my side through this whole life thing. Plus, he makes me laugh every day.  

Babe sprained his ankle. Luckily we know a great doctor (my dad...if that needed to be clarified)!

Monopoly and candy! Such a fun date night.

And that's a little chunk of our life lately. Busy but we still make time for fun, as we should.  Tara Rider, over and out.

The Big Move

Well, we made it to Texas! We spent our last night in Utah at Brandon's parent's house. I cannot express enough how much I love that family. They are so fun and the BEST in-laws a girl could ask for. We could not have moved out this smoothly without them. For real. After a tearful goodbye the next morning, we were off. 

It was a long 2-day drive that I have made quite a few times before, but this time it was extra fun. Probably because I got to sit in the front seat the whole time and I got to pick where and when we stopped and what we got to eat. But probably more so because it was our first long road trip together and we really loved talking, laughing and playing with the atlas we almost didn’t bring. It was great to have two whole days where we just got to hang out and be together.  Plus Lacey is a fun little road trip companion.

Hole in the rock—we wanted to go in, but we stopped a little bit early and we would have had to get back on the highway for 15 seconds and zip in real quick. That or hike through this sketchy looking field full of rattlesnakes with our baby to get to the entrance. Still cool though.

The picture does not do this rainbow justice. It looked like it was on fire. So cool.

We hit some bad weather on our first night, so we decided to stop a little sooner than planned in Albuquerque because it was so dark and rainy and unfamiliar. We’re not complainers though.

Olive Garden plus cable TV equals happy Riders. Also my husband is hot.

There’s something great about only hating the last four hours of a 48 hour drive because you just like the people you’re with. And the only reason you hated those last four hours was because it was late and you were tired and the car was dumb and you just wanted to be there already.  

Finally made it!

The Times, They Are A-Changin'

The last time I blogged, it was just after my amazing birthday and Brandon and I still had the whole summer ahead of us. We had certain landmarks in our future that felt so far away that all of our planning and talking about the big things ahead had kind of a leisurely tone and we didn't really have to think super hard about the future. We had a rough plan hammered out though--move to Texas at the end of the summer so that I can live at home and go to nursing school, while B works and goes to school as well. Easy peasy right? It seemed that way. But let me tell you, the actual arriving at that decision was anything BUT easy peasy! There were major pros and cons to both staying in Utah and moving to Texas, and we would seriously go back and forth about it weekly, sometimes daily. We each had our own personal reasons for staying/going and we could also see things working out in both states. The hardest part for me was knowing that whatever we chose to do would be great and we would also both be sacrificing things either way, whether big or small. It got so exhausting trying to decide, but when we finally decided to take it to the temple, we both came out with a strong feeling of peace and comfort in knowing that Texas would be a good fit for us for the next few years (Anyone wanting to know more about Mormons, please feel free to visit mormon.org, or ask me anything you like.). So we had our decision made, which was such a great feeling.

One of this summer's landmarks was my family's trip to Florida, which was super fun. I'll post about that later. 

After the Pirates of the Caribbean ride :)

We both knew that once we got back from FL, it was really going to be no time at all until August 6th, our moving day. So we are now in the process of playing Pack, Store, or Chuck, the funnest moving game ever. Saturday we played in the bowflex room/office/Lacey's bedroom. Then we took a Wendy's break and played in the kitchen. I cannot wait to be done packing, but it feels like it will never end! I'll tell you what though, seeing all of our stuff in boxes and watching that date creep closer and closer on the calendar is starting to make this whole thing very real. Summer's basically over. All of our landmarks have passed. Next week we will be in Texas. There's really no turning back now! And I'll admit we are both a little scared to jump into a whole new life together, but the key word there is together. It is so comforting to know that no matter what we choose to do with our lives, and no matter what obstacles get thrown our way, we'll always have each other. I could not do this without my best friend, and I'm forever grateful that he has my back. Always. Let's do this! 

Happy Birthday to ME!

So Brandon and I started the tradition of going on awesome birthday dates back when we were dating, and now it's something we both really look forward to each year. But it can be a little intimidating because we both try to set the bar super high, like for his birthday last year, we went indoor skydiving. It was amazing. And a few months before that, he took me scuba diving in a geothermal crater down in Midway. Also amazing. 

I was incredibly spoiled this year. Brandon took me to the zoo where we saw these little beauties! The man totally gets me. I loved it!

We could have fed the giraffes, but it cost an extra $100.00.
(which I happily spent later that day)

Waiting for the elephant show. They love popcorn. Who knew?!

Say "cheesy!"

Then we took a walk around a beautiful park by the zoo. I was thinking it was dinner and then home, but Brandon surprised me by oh-so-casually bringing up the fact that we were close to City Creek Center, the newest biggest fanciest mall in Utah, and why don't we go check it out? I lit up like a Christmas tree. You see, Brandon hates shopping. I, on the other hand, most certainly do not. So this was a big deal for us. Needless to say, we spent the next few hours re-vamping my wardrobe. It was fantastic. 

Our delicious dinner at the Blue Lemon at City Creek Center 

 It was a perfect day. Not just because I got to see exotic animals, eat delicious food, and buy adorable clothes all in one day. It was mostly because we were both just so happy to be hanging out, and I could tell Brandon loves to make me smile. We both genuinely enjoy being together and doing things for each other, and I don't think that's going to change any time soon. Thanks for an amazing birthday yet again babe. Home run.

Enjoying the Moment

I love my little family. I love that my husband likes to hike and that we live so close to these beautiful mountains, and I love that our puppy is such a good little hiker too. Last week we took a spontaneous trip to the Grotto, a cute little hike to a waterfall down in Payson, UT.

Lacey was scared to cross the bridge.

So Pretty!

Our little hiker

Love him!

We all had a great day, and I love that we are able to just pick up and head out wherever and whenever we want to. I have a feeling that life won't be like this forever, so I'm  just glad we're enjoying it now. 

Fear, Hatred, and Unexpected Mercy

I had a near death experience last week. This occurred mid-afternoon when I was in the middle of my (somewhat) daily chore routine. 

I was washing a load of towels when I saw this:

Just crawling around in the washing machine, nbd.

And then I was all...

So, I did what anyone would do in that situation. I proceeded to throw bleach on him. It was the closest weapon I could find, and they were old towels anyway. But the washer was almost full, so there was a nice little lake for him to crawl into to wash off. Yeah, didn't know wasps could breathe under water. But this little guy just strutted down in there like "Oh, you're pouring bleach on me? Watch this!" I was furious. So I said to myself, "Fine. I'll just put you through the spin cycle a couple times and see how you like that!" 

About 40 minutes later, I loaded all of the towels into the dryer, and each towel got a good shake to dislodge Waspy's dead carcass. But he was nowhere to be found. I lifted up the very last towel and there he was...ALIVE!!! Not just alive, but crawling around like a madman. Or madbug. Or whatever. I freaked out, slammed the lid closed, and decided to wait for my trusty husband to come home to dispose of it. 

I tried to go about my day, but the thought of that little creature making himself at home in my washing machine kept nagging at me. And what if he got out somehow?! After checking on him three or four times, I decided enough was enough, and I was going to extricate him. Trying to kill him obviously wouldn't work, so I settled for the next best thing. Trapping him under a cup so Brandon could remove him when he got home. 

It took some tricky maneuvering, but I was somehow able to contain him on the counter under a nice clear tumbler with a very heavy book on top so I could keep an eye on him. Victory. Except he kept buzzing around in there and trying to get out. I watched him for a few minutes (from a safe distance), during which time I had the chance to think about the whole situation. Here was this teeny wasp (except he really was one of the fatter wasps I've seen) who had just survived toxic chemical exposure,  attempted drowning, and apparent suffocation (at this point he was laying on his back after significantly decreased activity). 

I had a sudden, albeit unexpected respect for the guy. If he can take all that in one day, the least I could do was to let him have a shot at whatever life he had ahead of him. So I decided to set him free, if he was still alive. Turns out he was still very much alive, and he flew off into the sunset after being furiously shaken from the piece of paper that was separating the two of us. 

And thus ends my battle with Waspy The Indestructible. I learned a lot and I believe it has made me stronger in the end. Hopefully he thinks twice before entering another person's home again.