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.

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! 

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. 

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.

. 

Happy Birthday Brandon Part 1

For Brandon's birthday last year, I wanted to do something really fun and special. Little did I know that I was setting a SUPER high standard for awesome birthday dates in the future, but I don't think that's a bad thing at all, do you? I had recently learned that he really liked penguins so I surprised him by taking him to the aquarium. They have "Penguin Encounters" where you get to sit in a room and they let the penguins come in and hang out and nibble at your shoes (if they want to). It was so fun!

We got super legit VIP passes and B let me have number 5, because I'm OCD like that :)

We also got awesome jackets

After we got all suited up, the penguins came in!

(I should have warned you, this is a very pic-heavy post!)

We had a blast with our new friends, and then went to check out the rest of the aquarium.

This was our best attempt at getting me in a picture with a (living) shark.

So we found one that couldn't swim away!Love that he did this pose for me :)

And thus ends part 1 of Brandon's birthday 2011. You won't want to miss part 2, trust me!

It's A Love Story

For those who are interested, and for future posterity, the following is a recount of Brandon's and my meeting, falling in love, and the first year of marriage. It's probably going to take some time and a few posts, but I really think it's important to remember where you came from to know where you're going :) Plus it's fun to go back to those times!

I've decided to start at the first day of art class, where we met. I came in late, of course, and walked way too far into the classroom looking for a seat and everyone was staring at me. I was looking around for a seat in the back, by itself, far away from people, because I generally don't like making small talk and pretending to be nice when really it's too dang early to be in school anyway and I hadn't even showered yet, but no dice. I was about to say "screw it, I'll take art next semester...in the afternoon." when I turned around and there was an empty seat between two boys, one of which had a very striking smile and was gesturing to the seat next to him giving me a thumbs up. I immediately regretted the not showering decision, took my seat for the next semester, and turned the charm on. I decided that from then on, I would dress extra cute on Mondays Wednesdays and Fridays.

Well, needless to say, we both bombed that class because we were too busy playing games on our phones and shamelessly flirting with each other to pay attention to our professor(which was actually a TV screen...like he wasn't even in the building, so come on). Even our first date involved skipping art to go to IHOP. A couple weeks into the class, we decided that we were so bored and kind of hungry, so I suggested IHOP, which was just down the road, and Brandon immediately stood up and waited patiently for me to put all my stuff in my backpack. Except he was actually really embarrassed and felt like he was standing up for like ten minutes. I'll admit I could have gone faster, but it was funny to watch him squirm :) So we hopped into our matching gold toyota camrys and drove away (yeah, we noticed the first day that our cars were identical, so pretty much our fate was sealed). I'm still smiling thinking about our waitress saying "it's okay, he can get dinner" as we were both arguing over who would be paying the check. He used that line to land a second date with yours truly and the rest, as they say, is history...which will be documented shortly.

Playing Ketchup

I just can't decide if I want to give background information on the past year or just dive right into now and catch up as I go, so I might just do both. I was looking at some old wedding plans and I found a description of Brandon's proposal to me. I was so giddy, I love it. And I can honestly say he still makes me this happy :)

Brandon took me to the "Magic Water Tower" where we had our first kiss. He brought hot chocolate and a blanket and we watched the sun set--or attempted to, it was too dang cold and windy! He set up the self-timer on his camera and we were goofing around, trying to get a good picture. As he was setting up, yet again, he ran back to me and started to pose for the picture. Then he said "wait." He got down on one knee, switched knees because it kind of hurt, pulled out my dream ring, looked up at me and said "Tara, will you marry me?" I said yes like 500 times and we kept hugging and looking at each other, and hugging and kissing and laughing. It felt so amazing to know that we really were going to be together forever. Then we called and told my parents, went back to his house and told his family. Then went to Olive Garden and ate WAY too much food, but it's okay because we're getting MARRIED!!!

<3