A year...

A year of Netflix binge watching, Richfield weekend getaways, and Tuesday dollar movie nights. 52 weeks of of ridiculous arguments, Saturday shopping trips, and scary movie marathons. 365 days of nights that end too soon, days that go too fast, and falling more and more in love.

A year that I wouldn't want spent with anyone but you.

Tea cup painting

Sorry for the silence lately, but can I just say how busy life is! Kendrick and I have had plans nonstop, and I miss the days of going home after work, pulling on sweats, and watching Netflix while I snack on anything that's in an arms reach away.

This past weekend was fun, eventful, and you guessed it- busy. On Saturday, Kendrick and I went to breakfast at a cute little cafe called Eggs in the City. Afterwards, we ran some errands, and then made our way to my parents house so I could actually get ready for the day. We then met Harmony and Jeff at Rocky Mountain Raceways for a free dinner (thanks dad!) and the opportunity to potentially lose our hearing.

We ended up leaving the raceways early because.. well there's only so much to see when it's just cars going around and around. And around. But we were perfectly fine with heading out- because we had much better plans ahead. Kendrick took me to Color Me Mine! It's this cute little place where you pick out a piece or pottery (mugs, piggy banks, bowls, etc) and then you paint it! It was probably the funnest date we have ever been on! I think I could sit and paint tea cups all day, it's so relaxing.

The cup turned out darling- I painted it teal green with a white inside. Then I hand painted little pink flowers all inside the cup, with a gold ring around the rim. I can't wait to see how it turns out!

I must say, I do feel entirely lucky that my fiance' took me to do something as unmanly as tea cup painting...and you'll never hear me complain about that!

All that I have ever really wanted

The wedding festivities have officially begun- I had my very first wedding shower last weekend! On Friday, Kendrick and I both got off work at 3, and then met up with my mom. After a quick Einsteins bagel stop, and we were on the road to Richfield! 

I love how well my mom and Kendrick get along. They are able to joke around and laugh,  and I'm seeing the beginning of great mother and son-in-law relationship. While we were on the road, Kendrick looked back at my mom to see her hand sewing something that looked like his pillow case. "Are you sewing my pillowcase?" he asked her. She laughed and let him know that she was just hemming her pants, which were the exact same color as his pillow case. However, with the idea now in her head and thirty minutes later, she presented Kendrick with his pillow case- now with "Kendrick" stitched into the side with a little pink heart above the "i". It was pretty much the funniest thing ever, and I'm just happy my mom found something to keep herself busy on that car ride. 

We arrived in Richfield around 6:00, and the shower started at 6:30! I am so grateful that Kendrick came to the shower with me- I think the only people that I knew there were his parents and my mom. But I was able to meet some of the kindest and sweetest people, and was overwhelmed with their generosity and support! I have the sweetest future in-laws who arranged the whole thing!

The shower took place in a gorgeous garden behind the cutest house! For food, there were tasty hors d' oeuvres and Italian sodas- so delicious! The turn out was pretty great, considering there was a wedding reception going on in Richfield the same night. But most people were nice enough to stop by on their way to that.

Out of all the gifts that we received, my favorite was the set of cupcake tins- 3 different sizes! I can now successful make mini cupcakes or cupcakes the size of my head, which is all that I have ever really wanted.

(P.s. I just had to share these photos because they still make me laugh. While attempting to take a cute picture with Kendrick, he decided to let out some gas. Lucky enough for us, my reaction was caught on film.)

Two day getaway

Sadly, our Bear Lake trip has officially come to an end, but what a fun little getaway it was! Yesterday, we woke up to some fantastic French toast sticks (courtesy of Aaron, Nicole, and Chris), and then went to the swimming pool. It was a little too cold for my taste, but I was able to warm up with some intense chicken fights with the family. Kendrick and I didn't win any of them, so the following neck and back pains lead him to immediately regret participating.

After swimming, we grabbed some burgers and shakes at one of Bear Lake's fifty-five burger and shake joints. I ordered a simple cheeseburger, which proved to be a terrible idea as I didn't feel all that great the rest of the night.

Boating was next on the agenda, and to no surprise, that was a total blast. Kendrick showed off his wake boarding skills, and Jeff was a pro on the water skis. As for everyone else, we enjoyed intense tubing wars. Towards the last twenty minutes, clouds started rolling in and the wind dropped in temperature. I couldn't wait to get back to shore! As we approached the shore line, we realized that we were on the complete opposite side of the lake! Another uncomfortable ten minutes, and we were finally back on the right beach.

That night was relaxing, as we all enjoyed hamburgers (once again, bad idea), and played a few rounds of Scategories. Tired, aching, and slightly bruised from the lake, we were all in bed by 10:30.

Sunday morning was a busy one, as delicious stuffed French toast was made (courtesy of Harmony, Jeff, and Kendrick), and everyone starting to pack up. After the incredible breakfast, some went to play tennis, while other went through the many shops around Garden City. We all met up around noon for some Bear Lake Pizza and then shaved ice. After a quick stop at the park for some baseball and family pictures, we were headed back to Salt Lake. I have never been so drained after a 2 day vacation!

Two years down

This weekend has been great so far! I took work off yesterday and today, making this a wonderful 4 day weekend.

I spent the day cleaning my parents house yesterday, and then that night we went to a Bees game for Kendrick's work. Seeing that Kendrick and I used to work at the same place (and met there) it was so much fun to see all of my old co workers. And I definitely didn't mind showing them all my beautiful ring… ;)

We slept at Kendrick's grandmas house because we had to wake up early the next day for Aaron's graduation in Idaho! After meeting up with Chris, we got on the road. It wasn't too bad of a ride, only about 2 and a half hours.

I've officially decided that graduations should only include passing out diplomas. All the motivational speeches and high school reunion type videos- overrated. If it weren't for some snacks and Kendrick's iPad, I may not have survived.

But in all seriousness, I am so proud of my older brother for all that he's accomplished. He has been such a strong example of persistence and having the drive to get to where he wants to in life, despite the sacrifices required. Moving to Idaho for two years, being away from Nicole and Zoey for weeks at a time, and 712 days of constant studying couldn't have been easy, but he had the drive and the passion to do it, and so he did it. Also kudos to my fantastic sister-in-law Nicole! Her support, love, and motivation that she has given Aaron has been nothing short of amazing and I know a large chunk of his success is due to her.

Congratulations, Airhead and Nikki Lynn!

The biggest failure of all fails

Can you believe that it's already August? Absolutely crazy talk, if you ask me. Today was seriously such a blast! Kendrick and I slept at my parents last night. I love when we sleep at my parents house- it allows us to have an “unofficial” sleepover, and to see each other in the morning (even if we can't sleep next to each other, but hey, I'll take what I can get). Saturday morning was a slow and lazy start for us. We laid around watching the Princess Bride, and then slowly got ready for the day.

We then went to Utah Lake to meet up with Kendrick's friend Brett and his fiancé Hannah to go wave running. Once the jet skis were on the lake, Kendrick and I slowly got onto the wave runner… And it immediately tipped over. As Hannah and Brett laughed at us, we quickly got out of the water and back onto the jet ski.. To have it tip over again. At this point Kendrick was getting a little frustrated and told me that I needed to balance my weight better with his (I'm only 100 pounds, there was only so much that I could do!) so we got back on… And it tipped over again. At this point Hannah and Brett were practically dying. And then finally, with a ridiculous amount of concentration used to get on a jet ski, we finally made it on. And then Hannah and Brett tipped over on theirs. Karma? I think so.

We drove the two jet skis out on the lake, but noticed that ours wasn't going nearly as fast as the other. After looking at it a bit longer, we realized the engine was flooded. With one jet ski bobbing helplessly in the water, we took turns riding the second one.

Kendrick literally drove that thing like a maniac, which mainly freaked me out only because of how unsteady those things were. With each sharp turn, we went flying off into the lake. At first, I was terrified, but then I realized that wiping out was actually more fun than riding them normally! (However the unsightly amount of bruises on my legs seem to disagree).

Once we were done riding them, we weren't able to see Hannah and Brett anywhere. We headed back to the dock to find them seated next to the police boat. Long story short- neither of the jet skis were registered and their fire extinguishers were expired. After a brief lecture, the cop handed Brett a ticket (they were his dads). At this point of the day we realized that our wave running trip had turned into nothing more than one big fat ridiculous fail.