2012 is just around the corner. There is only 9 days left of 2011, and I am ready for it to be over. I haven't had a bad 2011, it has actually been the exact opposite. 2011 has been one of the best years I have had in a really long time, but 2012 has more to offer me and I am ready for those things to happen. Here is my list of some of the reasons why I can't wait to start next year.
1. As I have mentioned before, we are going to Costa Rica in February, and so I am really excited about that trip and cannot wait for it to get here. There are only 48 days left until we leave!! But who's counting right? It is going to be the trip of a lifetime, and once that trip is over, I am going to start saving up so slowly for our next big adventure. We're thinking maybe Spain or Portugal.
2. Chris will have owned his own business for over 2 years. That's not a big deal for most people, but for us it is. Since he is self-employed he needs to have 2 years of tax returns before we can apply for loans for a house. We will have 2 years of tax returns in April! That means that we can start applying for loans and hopefully move into a cute little starter home next summer or fall.
3. Zach comes home from his mission in May. We think it is going to be the Wednesday after Mother's Day. That is one thing that I am really excited for as well. Not seeing him for 2 years has been killer, but it has been worth it.
4. I will have lost all the weight that I am working really hard to lose. I have already lost 20 pounds since August. That is an accomplishment that I am really proud of. I am looking forward to losing the rest of it and getting back to my pre-wedding weight.
The rest of 2012 is a wonderful mystery that I cannot wait to discover and solve. I have the right attitude about the unknown, and I am hoping that helps make 2012 just as fantastic, or even better, than 2011 was.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Friday, December 16, 2011
Best Friends For Life
This post is going to be about a subject that is very near to my heart. Thinking about writing about this subject is getting me teary eyed. Sounds cheesy I know, but that's how much this topic means to me. December 12, 2007 was the first day of a wonderful friendship and relationship. For those of you that don't know, that is the day that my niece Kenlee was born. Coming into this world was rough for her, my sister had to have an emergency C-Section after being in labor for 30 hours.
While she has been growing up our bond and relationship has only gotten stronger and more solid. It is one relationship that I hope continues for the rest of our lives. When she was about 4 months old I noticed that when I was around her, she would try to copy and mimic every noise and face that I made. She couldn't do them most of the time, but she sure tried. As she got older, she started to copy me more and more. Noises, faces, movement, walking. She wanted to do everything that I did, and I was okay with that.
Now being 4 years old, she still tries to copy me with things that I do, but she is now her own person, and does her own crazy things. Kenlee with always ask and wait so patiently for the the first and third Sundays of every month. Those are days that she lives for. Those are the Sunday's that Chris and I go up to Clinton and have Sunday dinner with the family. When it is time for us to leave, she becomes heart broken and cries 80% of the time. She breaks my heart every time. But I am happy to see that she still loves me so much.
I want the relationship with her to last forever. When she is 14 I want her to be able to call me and tell me how annoying her parents are being, or about a boy that she likes at school. I want her to be able to come to me with any problem and be able to tell me anything. With the way that things are going between us now, I have no doubt in my mind that we will be anything but best friends. She will always hold a special place in my heart. A place that will never be able to filled by anything or anyone else besides her.
While she has been growing up our bond and relationship has only gotten stronger and more solid. It is one relationship that I hope continues for the rest of our lives. When she was about 4 months old I noticed that when I was around her, she would try to copy and mimic every noise and face that I made. She couldn't do them most of the time, but she sure tried. As she got older, she started to copy me more and more. Noises, faces, movement, walking. She wanted to do everything that I did, and I was okay with that.
Now being 4 years old, she still tries to copy me with things that I do, but she is now her own person, and does her own crazy things. Kenlee with always ask and wait so patiently for the the first and third Sundays of every month. Those are days that she lives for. Those are the Sunday's that Chris and I go up to Clinton and have Sunday dinner with the family. When it is time for us to leave, she becomes heart broken and cries 80% of the time. She breaks my heart every time. But I am happy to see that she still loves me so much.
I want the relationship with her to last forever. When she is 14 I want her to be able to call me and tell me how annoying her parents are being, or about a boy that she likes at school. I want her to be able to come to me with any problem and be able to tell me anything. With the way that things are going between us now, I have no doubt in my mind that we will be anything but best friends. She will always hold a special place in my heart. A place that will never be able to filled by anything or anyone else besides her.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Tis the Season for Wanting Change
For the last little while I have wanting a big change in my life. I have wanted to move out of state. I think that it would be a huge growing experience for me and it would teach me a lot of the world outside of the Utah bubble. I am 24 years old, and I have only lived as far north as Logan, and only as far south as Provo. That is a total of 2 hours apart from each other, and only 1 hour in each direction from where I grew up. I want a different landscape and a different area to live in for this part of my life. I want to experience life, the people, and the church outside of Utah. I have heard many wonderful things about all of those things, and I want to experience those things for myself. I feel like I am not living up to my full adult potential because I am not exposed to different and new things during this time of my life.
Going to Italy was a huge eye opening experience for me because I did not realize that there was a huge world out there that I did not understand or know about. I want to explore more of that and live in a culture that is foreign to me. Now that we're going to Costa Rica in February, it will open up a new window of knowledge into my life that I have been longing for since we left Italy 2 1/2 years ago. I would love to move to a different country, but I could not do that to my family or Chris' family.
Sure, it would be a scary change, but it is something that I think that I would be able to handle right now. There are a few things that are stopping me from moving Chris and I to another state. First thing, our families. As I expressed earlier, I don't think that our families would appreciate the move. They would be sad that they don't get to see us as often as they would like. Second, finances. We are looking into buying a house in the next year or so, and for us to pick up and move would not be a very smart money move on our part. We need to stay put if we want to take the next adult step and buy a house.
So I guess we'll stay put. Provo is a wonderful city, and I am so happy and so blessed to be close to family and the people that I love.
Going to Italy was a huge eye opening experience for me because I did not realize that there was a huge world out there that I did not understand or know about. I want to explore more of that and live in a culture that is foreign to me. Now that we're going to Costa Rica in February, it will open up a new window of knowledge into my life that I have been longing for since we left Italy 2 1/2 years ago. I would love to move to a different country, but I could not do that to my family or Chris' family.
Sure, it would be a scary change, but it is something that I think that I would be able to handle right now. There are a few things that are stopping me from moving Chris and I to another state. First thing, our families. As I expressed earlier, I don't think that our families would appreciate the move. They would be sad that they don't get to see us as often as they would like. Second, finances. We are looking into buying a house in the next year or so, and for us to pick up and move would not be a very smart money move on our part. We need to stay put if we want to take the next adult step and buy a house.
So I guess we'll stay put. Provo is a wonderful city, and I am so happy and so blessed to be close to family and the people that I love.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
I Want to Give Many Thanks
Chris has told me many stories of the people in Brazil. They have next to nothing, but they are always so happy and they count their blessings that they do have. People in a lot of places take advantage of the luxuries that we have and get to experience. I constantly hear things from people like, "I don't have a smart phone and I want one." or "I want a bigger and better ______ (fill in the blank)." After hearing how people in Brazil, (and I am sure other countries), live it has really opened my eyes to what is really important in my life. It also makes me realize that I have so much to be thankful for.
I really am very blessed with the life that I have. I have wonderful, loving, and supportive husband. I am so thankful for Chris and the many amazing things that he does for us. I am very blessed to have him in my life and that I get to spend forever with him. I was married in the temple, and because of that I am sealed to my husband and future kids forever. I am also grateful for my family, both the Allan's and the Gardner's. They both have done so much for me and I am forever grateful for that. They have helped mold me to be the person that I am today. I love them all so much. I live in a time when the gospel is very strong. I have roof over my head, and food in my stomach. What more could I ask for?? So thank you to everyone in my life. Thank you for the examples that you have been in my life and know that I think about and love everyone of you.
I hope that everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving and that they truly take time to ponder about the things that they are thankful for. I know that I will.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Thanksgiving Point with the Fam
Last Saturday was a very great day. My family came down to Provo, and we went to the Thanksgiving Point Museum of Ancient Life. (Basically, it was a dinosaur museum). It was really cool to see and go to. Thanksgiving Point has the most complete skeletons of anywhere in the world. We had a really great time together as a family. Kenlee had a blast and is still talking about all of the cool things that she saw. There were also somethings there that I was amazed to see. For example, they had a fossilized rose. It was so beautiful and stunning to me. Chris said that he had only ever seen one in pictures. He was even taken back by the awesomeness of it.
They has a lot of different kinds of full dinosaurs there too. It was hard for me to grasp the size of some of them. The "long neck", I don't know the actual name of them, was massive. It was easily 100 feet from head to tip of the tail. There was also a full skeleton of 2 Tyrannosaurus Rex. They were pretty huge too.
They did have a lot of really fun things for kids to do as well. It took us 2 1/2 hours to get through the exhibit, and the kids did not get bored either. They planned the layout very well. Just when I thought that Kenlee was going to start getting a little bored from not having anything stimulating to do, they had a kids play station or a kids hands-on activity that they could do. I am sure that parents are very grateful for that.
All in all, it was a wonderful day, and Chris and I hope to go again, just the two of us on a date. Yes, it's that cool that you can go with out children and you won't look weird for doing it. I do recommend however, that if you have children, to go to this wonderfully enjoyable place. Your kids will think that you're the coolest parents ever. Like I said though, you don't have to have children to go. If you don't have children, I recommend that you still go and see the great museum and everything that they have to offer while you are there. I promise you won't regret it.
They has a lot of different kinds of full dinosaurs there too. It was hard for me to grasp the size of some of them. The "long neck", I don't know the actual name of them, was massive. It was easily 100 feet from head to tip of the tail. There was also a full skeleton of 2 Tyrannosaurus Rex. They were pretty huge too.
They did have a lot of really fun things for kids to do as well. It took us 2 1/2 hours to get through the exhibit, and the kids did not get bored either. They planned the layout very well. Just when I thought that Kenlee was going to start getting a little bored from not having anything stimulating to do, they had a kids play station or a kids hands-on activity that they could do. I am sure that parents are very grateful for that.
All in all, it was a wonderful day, and Chris and I hope to go again, just the two of us on a date. Yes, it's that cool that you can go with out children and you won't look weird for doing it. I do recommend however, that if you have children, to go to this wonderfully enjoyable place. Your kids will think that you're the coolest parents ever. Like I said though, you don't have to have children to go. If you don't have children, I recommend that you still go and see the great museum and everything that they have to offer while you are there. I promise you won't regret it.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Really Parents?? Really??
Having the wonderful job that I have in an optometrist's office has a lot of really great benefits. For example, I get to have a free eye exam done every year, I get glasses and contacts at a hugely discounted price, and I work for an amazing doctor who lets me work really good hours. That being said, there are only a few things about my job that drive me crazy, but the one that gets to me the most are the parents that let their kids run around and yell while they are in our little office.
Really parents?? Really?? I guess for some reason they think that it's cute when their kids are yelling and fighting so loudly that people cannot hold a conversation with me about their exam. I guarantee that they are the only ones that find that obnoxiousness endearing. Everyone else thinks that the parents need to teach their children some manners. There is no need for your 4 year old and 5 year old to try on every single pair of glasses that we own just because they want to. The glasses are not here for you to play with, they are here for people to buy. And no one is going to want to buy a frame when 800 kids have tried it on and messed with it. Also, if you have 6 kids, you don't need to bring the whole family to your appointment with you. Leave the kids at home with dad and come alone. 6 kids in the office is way to hard to handle. When I see that many kids walking in with their parents it almost makes me want to cry because I know that they are not going to be leaving any time soon. When they finally leave 45 minutes later, they give me the gift of a headache. Thanks kids!! No, thank you parents!
Moral of the story. . . Put duct tape over your kids mouths before you bring them in. That way I don't have to listen to them.
This post may have seemed a little harsh, and I am sorry if it offended anyone. I had a pretty kid filled day at work today, so it was fresh on my mind and I needed to vent. Thanks for listening friends.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Paradise is Waiting.
First, I want to say Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband. His birthday was October 28, and I hope that it was amazing for him.
Yesterday I did something amazing! I bought our plane tickets to Costa Rica. I have been planning and saving up for this trip for almost a year and a half, and it is finally starting to feel real. Chris and I are going to Costa Rica in February. We'll be gone for 2 weeks in the middle of winter, and it's Going. To. Be. Awesome.
As I just said, I have been planning this trip for a long time, so I have done my research on everything. We chose to go in February because it is the dry season. If we went during the wet season we would get rained out all day everyday. I made sure to figure out where the best location was going to be for us to stay, and make sure to find the best cost. I was able to keep the cost fairly low for us, mostly because nothing is as expensive as I thought it was going to be. We are going to stay on the Caribbean side of the country. Most people stay on the Pacific side, so that part is always busy and filled with tourists. The Caribbean side is much less explored and therefore more awesome. There are no major hotels or resorts, only small hotels and bungalows. The hotel that we are staying at is about a 4 1/2 hour bus ride from San Jose. It is called Pachamama Caribe, and in the city of Punta Uva. There are only 4 houses and bungalows that are a part of the grounds of the hotel. It is right in the middle of the rain forest, and so the wildlife is everywhere and very active. We could sit on the hammocks on our porch and see a large variety of birds and monkeys. It sounds incredible. We are very excited about the seclusion and privacy that we are going to have during our stay.
While we are there we will go zip-lining, snorkeling, hiking in the various national parks and nature preserves, and relax on the beautiful beach that is only a 4 minute walk from our hotel. We will make sure to take lots and lots of pictures. The only thing I have left to do is get into beach/vacation shape. Good thing I have 3 months to get that taken care of.
We cannot wait for February to get here, and it feels like it is not going to come quick enough. I know that it is going to get here sooner than I think, and we are going to have the time of our lives. I am very happy that I have such a wonderful husband that is willing to travel with me and support me in the silly things that I set my mind to. What would I do with out him?
Yesterday I did something amazing! I bought our plane tickets to Costa Rica. I have been planning and saving up for this trip for almost a year and a half, and it is finally starting to feel real. Chris and I are going to Costa Rica in February. We'll be gone for 2 weeks in the middle of winter, and it's Going. To. Be. Awesome.
As I just said, I have been planning this trip for a long time, so I have done my research on everything. We chose to go in February because it is the dry season. If we went during the wet season we would get rained out all day everyday. I made sure to figure out where the best location was going to be for us to stay, and make sure to find the best cost. I was able to keep the cost fairly low for us, mostly because nothing is as expensive as I thought it was going to be. We are going to stay on the Caribbean side of the country. Most people stay on the Pacific side, so that part is always busy and filled with tourists. The Caribbean side is much less explored and therefore more awesome. There are no major hotels or resorts, only small hotels and bungalows. The hotel that we are staying at is about a 4 1/2 hour bus ride from San Jose. It is called Pachamama Caribe, and in the city of Punta Uva. There are only 4 houses and bungalows that are a part of the grounds of the hotel. It is right in the middle of the rain forest, and so the wildlife is everywhere and very active. We could sit on the hammocks on our porch and see a large variety of birds and monkeys. It sounds incredible. We are very excited about the seclusion and privacy that we are going to have during our stay.
While we are there we will go zip-lining, snorkeling, hiking in the various national parks and nature preserves, and relax on the beautiful beach that is only a 4 minute walk from our hotel. We will make sure to take lots and lots of pictures. The only thing I have left to do is get into beach/vacation shape. Good thing I have 3 months to get that taken care of.
We cannot wait for February to get here, and it feels like it is not going to come quick enough. I know that it is going to get here sooner than I think, and we are going to have the time of our lives. I am very happy that I have such a wonderful husband that is willing to travel with me and support me in the silly things that I set my mind to. What would I do with out him?
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