Snowfall and a Celebrity

This week has been great we had our first snowfall:

We woke up to about 6 inches, isn't that crazy? Well it's expected for Rexburg, but still. B thought we would be a good husband and get up early and shovel the walk and get all the snow off of my car. In the process of looking for the light in my car he open the sunroof instead! HA! When he came in from shoveling he was ticked, and I couldn't help but laugh! It's ok, I'm sure Pearl needed a good white wash inside too. The roads were so bad that morning, but thankfully the snow is already melting.
B became famous...per Beehive Credit Union:

Look at how cute he is! Too bad we didn't get any monetary compension. I think I'll be his manager!

We carved our first pumpkin together! Isn't it sppooookkkyy?

We had Sarah and Jake, Clint and Tenille over for FHE and we carved pumpkins. This isn't as hardcore as Clint's, but I still like it! Don't mind it's special eye!
This week was tiring but we also managed to get ourselves to the temple, and play volleyball on a intermural team with Mariah which was so fun! I can't believe we are coming up on our last week in October. Holy moly! I'm excited for the holidays though, and I have a house I can finally decorate. Here's to a great weekend, and a Saturday where I have NOTHING planned and I am so happy about it!

Pure Joy

If there is one picture to explain my happiness of today it would be this one:

I just love it so much. The rest of my wedding pictures are almost done and I cannot wait to see them, but she posted this one for me to see and I can't get over it. It's like all the people I love most in one picture, and of course being silly! The only people I can't see are Mariah and Kenzie, but I'm sure in the real photo they are there! Most of all I love my mom's face, she is expressing exactly how I felt that day! Love it! It's sometimes hard to capture pure joy, but I think this picture is perfect!

My weekend was great. B was gone for half of it so when he got home late Saturday night I was more than thrilled. I had a girls night with my co-workers and it was B's mom's birthday yesterday so we played games Saturday night (which I won both times we played) and dinner and cake on Sunday. We had a lot of fun.

B and I tried watching Hocus Pocus, it is that time afterall, but we are old married people and fell asleep watching it. Good thing I've seen it enough times :) I'm totally ready for the holidays though, I may or may not be listening to Christmas music on this drizzly day while doing some Christmas work.

Oh and yesterday B got a new calling at church... he's going to be teaching Sunday School to the 15 year old's. I'm sure he'll be asking me to make treats on a regular basis... oh joy!

The Tough Mudder!

I can’t believe another weekend has come and gone. I feel bad, we’ve only been to our ward like once, and I’m afraid they are going to think we are inactive or something. Just busy going places… This weekend was for B though, he ran in the Tough Mudder. Ok, first of all nothing can prepare you for what this “race” (if that’s what you want to call it) and what it is all about. O.M.Gee…. It’s just insane. B was in a foul mood all week because of it. He so didn’t want to run it, but he had already committed himself to do it so I wouldn’t let him back out of it. He really hadn’t even been training for it because he hurt his back pretty bad in our car accident, then the wedding and then all of the sudden BAM time for the race. B’s two best friends in high school talked him into running it and I still can’t believe he agreed to do it. Straight up crazy.

We left late Friday night because I had to work and B had to finish up his homework for the weekend. Hyrum and Emma were in town for her brother’s birthday so we got to see them for like half an hour. Love them! That baby Grace is quite possibly the cutest baby girl out there! B and I were so tired driving to Utah, I had a hard time keeping my eyes open. We didn’t get there until close to midnight. We stayed with B’s BFF from high school Tyson. They live in Saratoga Springs and it’s so beautiful out there! I don’t think B was fully prepared for the next day because he didn’t sleep very well. I could tell he was so nervous!

The boys left earlier than we did, and it was FREEZING! Wow, there was even snow on the mountains, so I knew we were going to freeze and we weren’t the ones getting wet! It cost $40 to just watch B, and even the spectators had to sign a release form so this is hard core. Candice (Tyson’s wife) and I marked out our path of watching the boys compete! We got there just in time to see B just into the Artic Enema aka an obstacle full of ice water that you have to swim in. I would have quit right there! We didn’t see them until mile 2 and they seemed in good spirits then! We waited another hour and half until we saw them again, by then I could tell it was hard. It was half way over and B was struggling because his calves were cramping. I just kept telling him he couldn’t quit and to keep going! There’s no way I could have done that! The hardest obstacle we saw was the one posted in the video below, 8 hills of water and mud! I have no idea how they didn’t freeze to death! I really thought after that, it would be over and B would quit but he kept going… They all did! I was totally impressed! We didn’t see them for another mile or so and by then I could tell B was just ready to be done, but they weren’t quitting now! The final obstacle was running through the wires that had 10,000 volt electricity running through them. Crazy! They all finished though, 5 hours after they started! I’m so proud of B, a HUGE accomplishment and totally something he’ll always remember! Especially because he had the flu Monday and Tuesday! Way to husband!! Don’t worry I cheered, and froze to death… but in the end I was so happy for them! If you want to see a list of all the obstacles B endured, or check out official pictures go to toughmudder.com

B said this water so FREEZING!

This is a long video, but he said this obstacle was one of the toughest!

Jumping!

Half way there!

Love his face, he did it!

Doing the Boa Constrictor, honestly I would have died from claustrophobia!

Crossing the finish line!

They did it! Way to go boys!

Conference and Yellowstone...

I had seriously a great weekend! My parents, Maddie, and her BF Fletcher came up this weekend to visit us! It was a lot of fun, but we were sure busy! My parents arrived late Thursday night, and I was so tired I really didn’t get to spend a lot of time with them, but it was so great to have them here, at my house! How delightful!

Friday I got off work early and headed home to my mom faithfully chopping tomatoes for some homemade canned salsa. OMG. I love that stuff. I helped her out of course, with the chopping and then just caught up with her and Maddie and all of the Parma gossip per usual. My mom and I took a trip to Porters because well, it’s only the best craft store! Plus all of their Halloween stuff was half off, so hello! A good time with my mom per usual. That night we all went out to eat at Craigos and it was fun, since it is a buffet we had to get every time of pizza and then my mom would just take a bite of each. Family style for sure! It was fun though, and then we came home and watched some BYU football and finished canning our salsa.

 Ry enjoying Craigos!

Saturday we woke up and watched a little bit of conference (how great is the lowering of the mission age), and then piled up in the Denali and made our way to Yellowstone. It was a bit cold outside already when we left, but you know Yellowstone is the top of the mountains so it was freezing, but the sun was shining and it was beautiful up there. The fall is totally a different sort of place up there. We saw buffalo and elk, and still a lot of dumb tourists who get way too close to wild animals. B even got warned (by another tourist) that if he continued to call the female elk he would get a $500 harassing fine. HA! We thought that was super funny. Mariah kept us entertained with her stories of things she found on the internet (people check out the Illuminati, Mariah swears it’s real), and B had some great stories of when he used to work up there. B was also introduced to the Blaylock family road trip games and singing, lots of singing. I think he thought we were sort of weird because my mom raised us on all of these crazy songs, but now I think he has come around. It was a super fun day, and we even had a picnic (even if I couldn’t feel my fingers)! Old Faithful was a delight, and at the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone we met a strange man, who never really quite told us why he perched on the edge of the cliff. It was good to make our way home and just relax.

 All the kids loaded up!

 These are my favorite part about Yellowstone...

 Freezing cold Old Faithful!

Mariah... weirdo!

 Oh hey!

 The infamous "Elk"

 The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

 Maddie and Fletcher

My adorable husband!

Guess where we are?!

I love this picture, just missing the brothers and sisters-in-law

Look at that water!

My amazing mom and dad

Sunday was conference and the morning session was just great! I loved Elder Holland’s talk. I mean I always do, but his talk was soul stirring. I mean I actually felt different about life after he got done talking. So good. B made steak for the family then it was time to say goodbye. Ugh, I wish we really did live closer, because I miss my family so much. They make me laugh! Until another 6 months, what a FABULOUS conference weekend!

First "Real" Kiss...

Do you ever have those moments where you just know you’ll remember that time forever? Like you are instantly creating that memory and saving it for later? Well that moment happened to be a year ago today. The first time B actually kissed me and it meant something. You know we had kissed prior but to him well it wasn’t the same. So you know these days sometimes people kiss for fun, or hormones or whatever. Sometimes though you kiss because it’s the only proper way to tell that person how you feel. The story is actually quite great, and I love how it all happened, but I’ve never really documented it, so I thought today it would be perfect to do so!

Last September and October were pretty rough for us, considering B was figuring out life and his feelings for me and I had already done that a while ago! So it was the weekend and B decided that he was going to go to Lava Hot Springs with his roommates and other girls and it would be better if I didn’t come. OK so he wasn’t rude about it, he just didn’t invite me. I knew they were going, and my feelings were hurt but I figured if we were just going to be friends this is how life would be. It was hard, but I spent time with friends that night and shopped and I actually felt like I could handle our situation.

The next day I got dressed up in my new outfit and decided to just drop by for a lost cookie sheet that I purposely left there or something (seriously that’s a stalker move, but it saved me numerous times for needing an excuse to talk). Wouldn’t you know that B was excited to see me! I totally played up shopping and acted like him going someplace without me was no big deal (even though I was freaking out inside). Our relationship was just so confusing that I never knew what to expect or even do, it was always just random. So we were just sitting there talking when he just kissed me, mid-sentence. I was just so shocked I didn’t know what to say, to which B apologized and said “I don’t know what happened just then, I’m sorry.” I laughed, and didn’t know if I should address it or just act like nothing happened. I just acted like nothing happened, but inside I was freaking out, butterflies, the whole works. Another minute went by and he interrupted me again with another kiss, to which he apologized again and then said “I’m sorry I just can’t help it, I want to kiss you.” Then well from there more kissing ensued. I just couldn’t believe it, and I think he couldn’t either. It definitely wasn’t planned. Well then I just left, to go watch another boy play football. HAHA! The funniest part about the whole story is B conveniently also showed up at the football game too… but that was totally planned (even if he still denies it to this day). We didn’t kiss either until a couple weeks later, but I knew that this time his kiss meant something to him too.

I guess the whole reason why I always want to remember this memory is because of the way I felt when he kissed me. I instantly created that memory of knowing how it feels to kiss someone you love so much, the butterflies, the feeling of time standing still for that brief second; you know all that incredibly mushy stuff. Do you want to know the crazy thing? I still get that feeling when he kisses me now, and he’s my husband…

Birthday/Honeymoon Weekend!

My birthday came and went this year, but it was so much fun!

Since B and I really never got a honeymoon because he started school like 4 days after we got married, we decided to turn my birthday weekend into a honeymoon too. Thanks to Jenn (she gave us a two night hotel stay for our wedding gift) we spent the weekend in Salt Lake City, Utah. I know nothing exotic or anything but we had a really great time. We stayed downtown right next to the Temple and it was awesome. We were right in the middle of everything! Friday night we went to the new City Creek Mall which is connected to our hotel, and that was great. They have a mini fountain show which was created by the same people who did the Bellagio Fountains in Las Vegas, so I sort of felt like we went there! HA! We just walked around and shopped a little. It’s a great mall, and we loved people watching too! We ate at Olive Garden and just walked around downtown, we were pretty tired by the end of Friday night! Oh I forgot to mention before we left B gave me my presents early. He’s funny because he went shopping for them Thursday afternoon so of course all night he just kept asking if I wanted them. He has the hardest time keeping a surprise, but he did great! He lasted until Friday afternoon! He did however surprise me, and even made me cry! He’s a good husband!

So he got me houndstooth heels (picked out all by himself, right size too), Diet Dr. Pepper, iTunes Gift Card, Peanut Butter M&Ms, and a Coach Purse (also picked out all by himself). LOVE!

At City Creek, in front of the fountains!

Oohh fire!

Anyway, Saturday for my birthday I picked that we go to Lagoon. So we slept in and then I took B to Kneaders for breakfast because their French toast is amazing! Then we headed out! I loved it! I had a lot of fun, even if B did get sick after riding too many rides at once (he still thinks he is 16 and can handle it), so of course we had to slow down the ride riding for a little while and just walked around. It was fun, and I had an amazing time! We even got western pictures taken (which I’ll have to post later), and saw some crazy people! Even in Utah I’m amazed at what people wear out in public. Why would you wear a mini skirt to a theme park? With high heels?! Smh! Anyway, we spent a good 8 hours there and were done and tired, plus B wasn’t feeling too great bless his heart, so we headed back into town. We went swimming and relaxed in the hot tub, ok here’s another pet peeve of mine. The hot tub is NOT for children to jump in to, have swim in, that’s why there is a HUGE pool. The hot tub is to relax, not find sunken buried treasure. I was annoyed. We left and decided to go to Tucano’s for my birthday dinner. So good, I love that place. I just had all the sushi and meat I wanted. I think B just drank as much lemonade as he possible could! By then our feet hurt and we were so full!

B and I on the sky tram thing at Lagoon!

B getting ready to get some more whiplash!

Sunday we slept in until we had to check out, which was glorious and then made our way to The Pancake House (best breakfast food ever) and then headed up to Park City. B had never been and I have just been to the outlets so we took a ride up there. It was beautiful this time of year, with the leaves and the weather was perfect. It reminded me a lot of Jackson Hole actually. We got some chocolate and looked at overpriced souvenirs. Then we made the trek to the outlets were I think I wore B out shopping. We did some mild damage but it was so fun, we found lots of great deals, and I even got my husband a semi new wardrobe! I love having a boy to dress now (even though he’s still not a fan of mustard yellow, hello its FALL)! I think we spent the most time in the Nike Outlet, a boy’s dream! By then it was time to head home, and we stopped for some more sushi on our way home (can’t you tell its my favorite). We even got a discount so cheap and yummy is a win win! We jammed out to old school CD’s and even had time to talk to the kids on our way home.

It was seriously one of my top 5 weekends ever! Birthday, and alone time was exactly what I wanted. Thanks again to Jenn for the hotel, without her we wouldn’t have been able to have the fun we did! I have a feeling 28 will be great (hey I rhymed)!