He Has Returned With Honor

Tuesday was a very special day for me and my family.  That was the day that Zach came home from his mission.  This is also the first time in 3 1/2 years that everyone in the family has been here in Utah.  It is so great!

His plane landed around 11:45a.m.  Of course everyone was so anxious to see him again and be able to hug him.  Once we saw the missionaries coming down the escalators on the other side of security we all started cheering.  (Us and the other families that were there waiting for their missionaries.)  And of course we were all in tears.  Tears of joy naturally.  Even Zach was crying from happiness.  He got to see Kenlee, who was beyond excited about him coming home.  She wouldn't stop talking about it for weeks.  And Zach got to meet Tyson too.  Tyson was a little unsure of him at first, but he warmed up to Zach very quickly.  Once we said our Hellos and Welcome Homes we were off to Clinton to continue the rest of our very exciting day.  Chris and I were lucky enough to have him ride in our car on the way back to my mom's house.  It was like he was never gone.  We laughed, filled him in on life, and he told us things about Argentina.  When we got to my mom's house he started to unpack some things and we had some lunch.  For the next few hours it was just a time for people to stop by and see him and welcome him home. 

She loves her Uncle Zachy

And then. . .

Later on that night Ami, Ryan, Kenlee, and I made a little trip to the doctor.  Kenlee was outside playing basketball with Jake and next thing I know he is carrying her inside as blood is running down her face.  The amazing thing though is that she wasn't crying.  She was mostly annoyed that Jake brought her inside and ruined her fun.  What had happened is the latch on the gate came down on her head.  Doesn't sound too severe, but I think the 2 staples in her head would prove different.  Kenlee is a very brave and tough little squirt.  At the doctor's office she didn't cry once.  I was very proud of her because she is stronger than I would have been in that situation.

Kenlee's staples

All around it was a great day full of happiness and family.  I can't wait for more time spent with Zach and the many many memories we will make together.  

I will have more pictures up and posted about this great day soon. 

Documenting Success

I made a decision last week to what I thought was going to be a good idea and the start of some serious motivation.  I decided to start taking pictures of myself every week to document the my weight loss.  I thought it was a good idea at least until I saw the picture.  It was bleak and very discouraging.  But I am going to try it out for a month or so.  I think that if I can see the progress in a picture then I will continue to stay motivated to lose weight.  Plus, I look really bad in the pictures, so not wanting to look like that anymore is good motivation as well.  To protect you and your beautiful eyes, I will not be posting my progress for you to see.  Not yet anyway.  I will post the first picture and the final picture when I have reached my goal.  Wish me luck!

The Best {Almost} 4 Years of my Life

I went on my first date with Chris on September 19, 2008.  He drove all the way from Provo to go on a date with me.  He was funny, nice, and charming.  He wasn't trying to win me over, (mostly because he already did that), that is just who he is.  I never felt like he was pretending to like the same things as me or over compensating for other parts of his life.  We had a really good time together and laughed almost the entire night.  There was an instant connection. I knew the after that night that he was the person I was going to spend forever with.  We just hit it off and never looked back.  The first date went so well that we went on our second date the next night.  Our third date I drove to Provo.  We went to dinner and then just drove around and Chris took me on a tour of his life.  After the tour we parked on a street kind of close to his house and looked at the stars, listened to music, and just talked.  We did nothing, and I loved it.  He told me later that it was after that date that he knew he wanted to marry me.  The distance was hard to deal with sometimes, but we made it work and we saw each other 3 or 4 times a week.

We had an incredible time dating each other.  We laughed and smiled all of the time.  We loved being in each other's company, and I was always so sad when I wasn't with him.  I know that everyone probably says this, but I feel like we have a perfect relationship.  

We had our first kiss October 7, 2008.  (I don't have a picture of that obviously, but here is one from around that time.)   

He told me that he loved me January 1, 2009

We were engaged March 13, 2009  

And married for time and all eternity in the Timpanogos temple on June 27, 2009 

The last {almost} 4 years of my life have been amazing.  There is not one thing that I would change about them.  Chris is the best thing that has happened to me in my life.  I don't know what I would have done without him.  Things have never been better between the two of us.

Here's to the next {4 years + FOREVER}.  May each day be as amazing as the last!

The Start of an Amazing Summer.

May is going to start off with a bang.  This Saturday my nephew is getting baptized.  I can't believe that he is already 8.  Time has flown by with that kid.  The 10th - 14th Chris and I get to spend time with Scott (That is Chris' brother.)  That is going to be a really fun weekend.  We always enjoy our time with Scott.  The 14th is my sisters birthday.  On the 15th, Zachy gets home from his mission.  2 years down and only 13 days to go.  On the 17th , I get everything cemented in my mouth for my braces.  Let the 2 years begin for that adventure.  And on the 27th , is Zach's homecoming talk.  We are just busy little bees in May.

The we have June.  So far there is not a ton happening that month, but I get the feeling that it is not going to be open for very long.  We have my other nephews birthday on the 1st and one on the 14th .  Our friends Bret and Kendra are moving to Alaska the 2nd week in June.  Chris and I are going to go to California the 8th-11th.  We are going to go and visit Liz and Michael and spend an amazing 4 days with them.  We cannot wait for that super fun trip.  The 11th is my birthday!!  The 23rd is my mom's birthday.  The 27th is our 3 year Anniversary.  So I guess after listing everything, it is pretty packed.  We'll see how it all turns out.

We are just busy busy the next two months.  I am looking forward to all of the fun things that are making up this wonderful year of 2012.  I think the rest of the year is going to be pretty amazing.

P.S. If anyone wants to spend anytime with us, it looks like you'll have to call us and schedule something in advance.