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. 

My Man Loves Me

Hy handsome husband loves me,

and this is why: 

You may be thinking "Dang, that is one EMPTY fridge!" But don't worry, Wednesday is grocery day :) You may also be attempting to figure out why this sad little fridge is in any way indicative of my husband's love for me. Allow me to explain. 

Last night, Brandon left to play basketball at the church around 9. He usually doesn't get home till around 11 on Tuesdays, so I settled in for some lazy time watching 16 And Pregnant, which I would not be caught dead watching with him around. I'm even a little embarrassed to admit that I was watching it now. But that's beside the point. Lacey was keeping me company on the couch, when about 30 minutes into the show, I felt something warm and wet creep it's way onto my foot. Yeah, it was definitely pee. She was just...peeing! Just right there on the couch cushion! Our curtain even got a good dose of it too!

 I was instantly furious (which could have been brought on by the ridiculously obnoxious people on the show I was watching), threw Lacey into her kennel, and proceeded to storm around the house looking for cleaning supplies. I stripped the couch, took down the curtain and threw them in the washer, only to find out that we were completely out of detergent. Awesome. It was then that I realized that we were also out of hand soap, dish soap, toilet paper, food for us, and food for puppy. All at the same time! Also, it was my night to do the dishes and of course I hadn't started. It was the perfect storm. So naturally, I called Brandon to "ask him to bring home detergent". In other words, to complain about our messy house, which was as much my fault as it was his. He said sorry, that he should have taken Lacey out before he left, and that he would try to remember the laundry soap when he came home. 

Then I moped around, forced myself to clean the kitchen, washed the cushion and curtain in water, and went to bed. When I got up around 11:00 to let Brandon in, he gave me a big hug, a kiss, and a pint of milk. He said he went to Kmart for the detergent but they were already closed, so he went to the gas station to get me some milk. His words were "Sorry I couldn't get the detergent babe, but I at least wanted to make sure you could eat breakfast in the morning." So glad my man knows that my mood is almost always directly affected by how much food is in my belly. Especially in the mornings. 

This story might sound trivial, but I think the seemingly trivial things in life are the things most worth remembering. I love that Brandon thought to do something nice for me when I was having a "rough" night. I also love that he just walked in the door holding Gain and a fresh bag of dog food for our baby. Ladies, it pays to go for the nice guys. 

I Love You Mom

I know this is late, but since when do I do anything on time? I just wanted to give my mom a little shout out in lieu of Mother's Day. My wonderful mom has been there for me since day one. I can call her anytime I want to laugh, cry, or just talk about nothing. She is the best cook I know, which I always took for granted, and she always does her best to make sure her kids are happy. I know she always has and always will love me, even though I've been far less than the perfect daughter. She taught me how to be honest, to forgive and forget, and to learn from my mistakes, and not to short change myself. She also taught me to NEVER use margarine on an english muffin! Among so many other things that I am so grateful for. She's the best mom I could ask for and even though she may not do everything perfectly, she is definitely the perfect mom for me. Thanks for showing me how to be a grown up, how to have a good sense of humor, how to serve others, and how to make killer spaghetti sauce. Love you mom! 

A Thought For a Wednesday

Today I am feeling very blessed. I have a loving husband, a nice home, and great opportunities for the future. I have a wonderful family and friends who love me, and an adorable puppy. I have too many blessings to count, and I am so grateful for my life and the chance I have to live it with those I love. I hope that I will continue to remember my blessings and live my life in a way that reflects the love I have been shown by both those around me and by my Heavenly Father. I've just been getting reminders lately that life on this earth is fleeting and that I should be cherishing the daily laughs, smiles, hugs, kisses, and good things around me instead of stressing and focusing on the negative. Because honestly, life is too short to do anything but just that. 

And Done With Year One!

If you're jumping in here, head on back to the previous post, where I will be recapping our entire first year of marriage. 

Then we went indoor skydiving for Brandon's birthday.

Then we found out that Lacey is terrified of balloons.

Buffalo Wild Wings for B's Bday 

And here we are at Cafe Rio for our anniversary lunch.  

Happy One Year to us! It was an amazing year and we can't wait for more!

And Then He Proposed And Then We Got Married!

I'm finding it harder and harder to recap our first year on this blog, mostly because every day something new and different is happening but I feel like I can't blog about it until I have covered everything up until this point, so I will attempt to bring us up to speed with one super post. Deep breath, and here we go.

4/30/2011- We were sealed for time and all eternity in the Mount Timpanogos Temple 

Then we went on an awesome honeymoon to San Diego.

Then we went down to Texas for our 2nd reception

Then we moved to Spanish Fork and convinced our landlord to let us have this little angel :)

We named her Lacey

Then Lacey broke her leg :(

But don't worry, she didn't let it stop her from being a puppy!

Then it was Halloween

Then it was Christmas

The last little bit will be added on the next post.

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