A lot of fun changes in February/March

Josh and I finally moved into our new place! Buying our first place together was so exciting. I am so glad Josh knew what he was doing. I just watched him sign millions of documents and nodded by head when needed. Trust Josh to get it done.

Our favorite part was unloading all of our stuff and reopening wedding gifts we were given a year ago. We have forgotten how much we were given. It was like we had just gotten married all over again. We could final settle down and get situated in one place. I am so glad we had the chance to live in different states over the summer; I am even more glad we now have a place to call home!

Josh and I were not patient and decided to try and move all of our stuff on our own. We did it in 2 days.

You never realize how much stuff you actually have. Josh looks really stoked....doing his best to picture where everything is going to go.

We moved in and got right to work. I always pictured moving everything in and having a fully furnished house in a matter of a week. Well reality hit me! We are now a month into the house and the walls are still empty. I soon realized it takes longer to get situated than I thought. I must not be very patient. I was ready to divide and conquer and unload everything the night we got there.

Josh quickly became obsessed with home depot. We made the basement a painting pad. This was a hutch that his aunt had when she was little. I thought it would be a fun project.

Josh went all out at home depot. We have had a ton of fun painting furniture....until its not perfect and Josh feels the need to start over or coat it 4 more times. He did an amazing job though and worked really hard. He is the best! Professional spray painter....score :) Ps did anyone know there are a million different shades of white. What a PAIN!  

So anyways, the bed we had coming was pushed back a week so the first couple of nights in our new place we slept on an awesome blow up air mattress. It would stay full of air for a solid 3 hours then in the middle of the night your toosh would be touching the floor. We would pump it back up and then wake up to the same problem. Any sleeping condition would suffice because knowing I was under my own roof was so exciting. I couldn't help but notice Josh had a huge hatchet above our air mattress. I picked it up and moved it to the dresser. Later that night it was back above our bed. I looked at Josh and had to ask whether he was planning on killing me ha. Josh was feeling the pressure of being the man of the house. He was now responsible of both of us. Our townhouse was one of the first ones built. I think he started to worry that workers would find their way in. Who knows! Either way, you have to admit that is was pretty precious of him. 

A few days later he texted me mentioning he had a surprise for me....I came home to him holding a brand new gun. hahaha well alrighty then! You would think we lived in the hood. We both agreed it was a good time to buy a gun. You never know when the world is going to run out of food storage and everyone will be going after one another. ;)

Being in our own place has been really special. We love it and already feel right at home. I have learned to be patient and piece it together little by little. Here is a sneak peek. 

HOME. SWEET. HOME

Unloading has been pretty interesting. Josh and I split our master closet and still had way too many clothes we needed to find a place for. We have 2 extra bedrooms. The simple solution was that Josh chose one and I chose the other. We have now filled both those closets as well. Our floral couches turned out better than we thought. Thank you Nana and Poppy for passing them along. 

Our first weekend in our new house we got the privilege of babysitting Josh's 3 nephews. They slept over at our place. 

I took them to a dance concert to watch my sister and they were the best sports.

 This kid can eat popcorn.

 We watched Bambi in our pj's. Best line of the night was when they asked where all of our toys were. Uh We have forks and knifes you could run around with??

 They ate breakfast on our cardboard box (still haven't finished our kitchen table)

Good sports. They love pancakes!

Still trying to figure out what Kole thought was so funny. The milk in his cup only spilled on the couch twice.

For Valentines day Josh surprised me and finished our table! I am obsessed with the color gray. I made breakfast and cut french toast into a heart with scissors. I thought I was pretty clever. Josh bought me a wallet I have been dying to have. I still haven't figured out how he knew what I wanted. He knows me way too well! Later that night, Josh got reservations at Naked fish for dinner and we went to Nelson's custard for dessert.

 My first craft that I was actually proud of. Thanks to Olivia for the idea. I made a BE MINE valentine.

For Valentines day Josh also wrote me this lovely note. 

I couldn't help but die laughing. I am obsessed with the movie Pitch Perfect. He went to go buy it for me and it was SOLD out everywhere. So he made this informing me that I will be getting it soon. According to his drawing he thinks that is how I feel when I watch it. He also included good lines from the movie. Such an artist ha. 

I made Josh a quilt for Valentines because his other blanket was old and haggard. I had never quilted anything before in my life but with the help of his mom and sisters it was a success. Before this blanket I would have not been able to even sew a hole in pants....actually I still wonder If I'd be able to do that. 

The next day we headed to St. George on a couples trip. We went down to see the Parade of Homes.

 

Took me a while to warm up to the idea of fully embracing a dog. It was so small I couldn't help but fall in love. This does not mean I will be getting one. My dad always said growing up the reason we didn't have a dog was because we had Jensen. I have never been much of pet lover. Josh on the other hand wants one really bad. Not just a dog but a beast. We will see who wins that argument.

 I was loving this baby sling. Thought I would try it out. 

The next weekend I go to watch my sister perform her last time as a Cougarette. She did an incredible job and lit up the stage. Her smile is contagious and her grace if effortless. 

Before the show Friday night all of the past Cougarettes they I danced with went to dinner. Every single one of them was pregnant; except Jamyn, Mal and I. More pictures coming soon. 

So proud of this one!

I have been traveling quite a bit for work. In February I did an event in Palm Springs..

Me trying to strategize how I am going to successfully ship 22 boxes

Leaving on a jet plane

 What most of my nights consisted of...alphabetizing name tags

 I was just happy it was sunny!

 Josh James through a private party one of the nights in a sweet house

My next event was in Texas...I'm still trying to figure out why Texas is such a coveted place

Dinner with the parentals and our signature Dirty Diet Cokes

Josh and I celebrated our anniversary a day early because I had to fly out to Texas for work. It was a disaster!! My mom told me I would look back one day and laugh and she was right. We planned to go to the temple that morning and get massages in the afternoon. We got to the draper temple and we barely missed the session time. We did inititories instead so we wouldn't miss our massages. Well the line was SOOO long. Josh waited for me afterwards in the celestial room for 20 minutes. We planned to meet there and once I got there he was nowhere to be found. Long story short, when I would walk out to find him he walked in. The matron kept telling us we missed each other. Josh had changed into his street clothes and then when the lady told him I was in room he quickly changed back and by the time he got there I had left. 

Finally I gave up and waited outside the temple. Josh found me crying and wondered what was wrong. I told him that being there along made me realize what it would feel like to go to Heaven and not have anyone waiting there for you. haha Bless my heart. 

Next on the agenda we showed up for the massages that I booked through Groupon and it was a SCAM well not really but it was an absolute JOKE. It was inside a ghetto gym and nobody was there. We waited for 45 min and someone else was still in their appointment.  We left and went to dinner that night and tried to laugh about how everything that could have gone wrong went wrong. It was a day we won't ever forget. Im glad I have a husband who can make me laugh. 

The next weekend we decided to go to St. George to really celebrate for our anniversary. We played in Vegas and went to Swig twice a day. It was a great weekend! I can't believe how fast time flies. I love that boy more than anything!

Went to the BYU game and did Red Mango with our friends

Awkward moments we can all relate to

I have been meaning to share my thoughts on awkward things that happen to every one of us. Everytime they happen I can't help but laugh to myself. I think its time to share some things that we can all relate to. (at least I can)

• Those moments when you and one other person are walking down a hall coming towards each other. You look down, then up, down then up until you are in passing and look at them to say "Hi". Heaven forbid we stare at them the entire way. That would just be weird. It would feel like we were about to have a match off out while we stared into each others soul. It's also one of those situations where, as human beings, we try to prove that they don't need to look down and we can endure that long awkward walk towards eachother with anybody else around. Sometimes we say something ridiculous to kill the silence. As we walk away you can't help but think, "I'm an idiot."
• The best is when you say to someone, "Hey, how are you? Good!" and the other person is saying it at the same time as you continue to walk passed one another. Wow, that wasn't rehearsed. I'm guilty of this so now I try to throw people off as we are both saying, "Hey, how are you?" I throw in "TERRIBLE" ha sucker. Their response of course is the typical "good" and then they are taken back by the fact that the rehearsed response we all do didn't play out the way they thought. 
• Bathrooms. How many times have we been in the bathroom stall with someone in the stall next to us and begin to strategize how we were going to go about not making it awkward. The times that you need to go, you wait and wait and wait until they flush the toilet and then do your thing as fast as you can. haha All you can do is pray its over by the time the flushing stops. If not you just giggle to yourself and the other person is immediately feeling awkward for you. Another scenario is if you were the only one in the bathroom feeling lucky you don't have to strategize and then that dreadful moment of someone walking in happens. You just have to sit and wait until they finish their business and leave. You know in your head that the other person knows exactly what you are doing. Have we not all been on both sides of these situations? 
• Singing in your car. You jam out by yourself and then see that someone driving next to you is laughing. You have two choices, to turn your head and keep driving or play into it and start jamming out even more as you point to them and smile. Sometimes just to avoid that situation at all I just put my phone up to my ear and sing. Genius. Now people will just think you are on the phone talking. I'm still waiting for the day when I pocked dial someone.
• That time when someone you know has something in their teeth. You feel awkward for them and begin to hope that someone else will tell them so you don't have to. One thing I have learned that works is to ask that person if you have anything in your teeth, they check, then ask the same question. Well folks, there is your green light to tell them. I still can't understand why as human beings we can't just yell across the table, "Hey, you have something in your teeth." Unfortunately, that can't happen because you worry everyone else will look at you and think you are a mean person. ha Interestingly enough, my husband Josh tells me that our family has a tendency to call people out. I never realized we did it as a family until he pointed it out and I started watching for those moments. We totally do! ha woops.
• That day when someone is talking to you and you need the conversation to end because of somewhere else you need to go. They keep talking and you try to be silent in hopes that they will catch on. Now it wouldn't be awkward if they did catch on but they don't. You present a fake smile and nod your head to give them a clue that its time to keep walking. 
• The moments at dinner with friends when you and one other person go to grab the last slice of bread at the same time. "Oh you take it, NO you, no seriously I don't even want it, Are you sure? yeah for sure it's all you."

Cancun

Josh and I just experienced paradise on earth. This summer Josh got a certain amount of sales that gave us an all paid trip to Cancun. We went with his work and had a group of 35 of us. I had never been to Cancun before so I was thrilled. The best part was that we stayed at an all inclusive resort. Now most people dream of money growing on trees. I on the other hand have always dreamed of eating whatever I want, whenever I want, and for FREE. I couldn't believe how nice it was to order everything and anything and just be able to walk away. Oddly enough I drank most of my calories. Virgin pina coladas, margaritas, and cokes.

We hung out at the beach everyday and played sand volleyball. 

Got alot of sun!

Sadi and I ate fish tacos with a pina colada just about everyday

Josh and his 2 other boyfriends. ;) These 3 are one of a kind. They group text each other everyday and go to lunch for hours. The day after we got back from the trip Josh said he was going to lunch with Trav. (middle) I said. "Its a good thing because its almost been a whole day since you've seen him."  Just a heads up for whoever marries Dan (on the left) you marry all of them. These boys are all hilarious. They say one word and they all start crying laughing. Im glad they all understand each other so well. ha cause most of the time Sadi and I just stare at each other clueless.

We enjoyed a private dinner by the beach with everyone he worked with. The dinner was a "surprise". I still don't know what it was but Josh told me not to ask. 

These girls are so much fun

Josh pulling a nice face while we drink away

We watched some football games and played cards. One night we played mafia with everyone which was way fun. It's Josh's favorite game. Everytime I narrate the game and someone points to kill Josh I have to say no because I feel so bad for him ha. I guess you get killed because you are to good at the game. Sorry babe

Every night the hotel put on a free show. The first night was a circus show. The second they came on stage I looked at Josh and said it was going to be a disaster. A couple more minutes into it and I completely changed my mind. I was way impressed. The tricks were amazing, the dancing however...eeek. The other show we went to was Michael Jackson. The star of the show looked exactly like him and was an unreal dancer. I was shocked how well he imitated him. 

Now for a story you will never believe. A group of us went to a club called Cocobongo. We were told it was something you had to do if you were in Cancun. His boss mentioned that people danced from the ceiling, kind of like Cirque du Soleil. It was 60 dollars a person which seemed like a complete rip off.  We walked in and it was packed. There was a huge stage and screen. They would play the best music with videos on the screen and everyone would dance. After about 4 songs they would then put on a show. They reenacted Beyonce, Lady gaga, Usher, Spider man, Guns n Roses, and many more. These people perfomed on stage and then people would bungee from the ceiling doing tricks. Its hard to describe unless you were there to see it for yourself. It really was like a Vegas show but maybe even better.

Everyone at the club had nice form fitting tube top dresses on. You can imagine how well we stood out. Modest is hottest. Sadi and I had fun dancing on the stage.

We ate out one night at a great taco joint. Roaming around the flea market was pretty fun too. I have to walk around with my head down because I feel so awkward saying no to these people.

Sad to have left this place but so happy to have been there with such great friends.

First Christmas married

I love December....Josh and I enjoyed a lot of parties with our friends and many family gatherings.

One of the traditions in Josh's family is to get everyone together and play bingo.

 Meet Oliva (Josh's niece) She has the most bubbly personality and is a hoot to be around

Santa comes to this party to give all the children gifts. I was shocked when Santa called me up to sit on his lap. Josh had guilty written all over his face. I guess it was my initiation into the family.

I look thrilled

Santa read a list of all the naughty/good things I have done. Here were some of the naughty things I guess I do:

• Change too many times in the morning
• Don't eat the ends of my food
• Left my room messy that day

Josh and I laughed after because he was kneeling up front with his camera filming me on Santa's lap. Growing up its usually your parents that are up front catching memorable moments and writing a list of what you want Santa to bring you. This year it was my husband and it was a neat moment for me. It was one of the moments that you sit back and think how neat it is that he is now my family. He went out and bought my gift and wrapped it for Santa. Tender!

We got to go to The Nutcracker this year with our friends Jake and Tasia. I have not seen it since I was really little. I was in the Nutcracker for a couple of years growing up and Tasia got to play the role of Clara. We got our husbands to agree to take us. Jake said he would rather gone to a demolition derby. ha

Dinner at one of my favorite places. Settebellos!

Before I get to Christmas eve and Christmas, Let me quickly take you back to when I was shopping for Josh's Christmas presents. If Josh wants something he goes out and buys it. That's fine with me until times like this when I can never figure out what to get him. One day he mentioned that he wanted some new golf wedges. I jumped to it as quickly as I could so he would not go out and get them. I took a shot in the dark and bought one I thought he would like off ebay. Who knew winning the bid could be so exhilarating. I knew I had got a great deal. I was a month ahead of the game and feeling like I was the best wife ever. A couple weeks later Josh pulled out his laptop and showed me the wedges he has been dying to get.....awkward pause by me when I realized they were not the ones I got him. 

First thing I did was sell them on ebay for more money. (bonus) I spent an hour of Thanksgiving bidding on the ones he really wanted. Whenever he asked where I disappeared to I just had to act like I was doing things for my mom. Anyways I won that bid and was flying high. I was so excited thinking that he was going to get exactly what he wanted for Christmas. 

A week after that Josh and I went to Vegas for fun and he walked into a golf store. Little did I know that in that moment my whole demeanor was about to change. Josh spotted the RTX 2012 wedges and  decided he wanted those ones instead. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I wanted to throw in the towel and tell him he was the most indecisive human on earth. I swallowed my tongue and held my head down low. To end this sad, long, dramatic story he ended up talking with friends and doing research on all the different wedges he liked. I overheard him saying he wanted the ones that I got him instead. PHEW. I was able to keep it a surprise and lucked out that he changed his mind. Word of advice is NEVER buy anyone a present a month in advance. Too stressful.

CHRISTMAS EVE

We spent with Josh's family and ate dinner. I made chicken roll ups with his mom which were delightful. I feel so lucky to have married into such a fun, loving family. For the Nativity Josh and volunteered ourselves to play the wise men. 

CHRISTMAS DAY

Josh and I woke up at 6 am and went to my parents house. We were able to skype with Isabelle that morning! It was one of the best parts to my Christmas. She looked stunning and full of light. It was so neat to see her and talk to her face to face. Olivia and I started singing Christmas songs to her and then the whole family chimed in. We started laughing until I looked on the screen and saw tears streaming down Isabelle's face. Once we realized how sad she was that she couldn't be with us we all began to sob. Talk about depressing. My eyes fill up just thinking about it. She is such an amazing example to us and I am so proud of her service. She only has 9 months left!

Later we watched my siblings open their presents and experience Christmas with them. We got ready and went to my grandparents house with my dads side for german pancackes and opening presents. 

It didn't stop there...after we enjoyed ourselves for a couple of hours we ran to Josh's parents house for brunch. 

It was so fun to see all of his little nieces and nephews open their presents from Grandpa and Grandma. Christmas is so special when you see how excited kids get. It brings all of the magic back to life. We ate ourselves sick and took alot of naps. 

At 7pm that night we met back up with my family to go see Les Miserable in theatre. If you haven't seen that show GO! The end is my favorite part and the most touching. While we were in the theatre you could hear everyone sniffling. Tears were about to come down my face until I heard the chinese chick two rows behind us start convulsing and whimpering louder than anything I've ever heard. It took everything I had to not start laughing. She did not hold back and let it all out. I felt like someone had died. That poor girl was on a date and I am afraid after her dramatic episode it will be her last. 

Finally it was time for Josh and I to exchange presents we had bought one another. He LOVED his clubs and wouldn't put them down. Josh went above and beyond for me, as always. I love how he pays attention to things I say I want. It was such a fun Christmas! One of our favorite parts of Christmas was knowing that in just 2 weeks we would be moving into our new Townhouse! Merry Christmas to us.

December wore us out.