one year down...

that's right! Kendrick and I made it to our one year anniversary on September 26th! honestly, I don't know why I just phrased it like that, because let's be real, Kendrick is just about the easiest person to be married to.

we spent the morning at the Salt Lake temple, reminiscing the perfect morning that we had there exactly a year ago. whenever I think back to my wedding day, I am flooded with emotions. I envision the precious time Kendrick and I had alone together in the celestial room before our sealing, or kneeling across from him in the ceremony, or hearing the words that we were sealed for eternity... I feel nothing but peace and love from those memories. that was such a special day for me, and what I felt in each and every one of those moments, I know I will never forget.

the plan was to do some sealings that morning, but due to the women's conference being held that weekend, the Salt Lake temple was closing within a half an hour from the time we arrived. we decided to grab some breakfast at the Lion House pantry (in honor of our wedding luncheon that was held there). sadly, we weren't craving any of the lunch items that were being served, but they did offer us some hot and delicious rolls (and they were also free- win, win).

after breakfast, we headed over to the Legacy Court apartment complexes in Midvale to put down a security deposit on our new place. earlier that week, I had received a call from the office manager letting me know that an apartment would be opening up within a week (we were on a waiting list for one in November). it was super nerve wracking to bump up our move-in date so far in advance, but Kendrick and I both felt good about the decision to move sooner than later. we were thrilled to find out that our unit was on the third floor, and compared with all of the others that we've looked at during our extensive apartment hunt, this unit was actually pretty nice!

I wish I could say that the remainder of our anniversary was spent doing something exciting, adventurous, or even romantic, but to be honest, it was spent at home packing. we were headed out to California the next day and our move-in date for our new apartment was the day we came home. from our trip. if that's not a lot of packing, I just don't know what is.

happy one year anniversary, Kendrick! I mean it when I say you're the best thing that has ever happened to me. you've taught me more about love, patience, and selflessness in this past year than I could have learned in a lifetime. I am so excited to spend the rest of eternity by your side, learning, growing, and watching every single one of our dreams come true.

I love you!

summer nights the lightning strikes so close to our house, all the lights go out. I will sing your favorite song along with all the raindrops falling down. and I will dance with you, till the sky turns blue. I will spend my whole life through, falling more in love with you.

here's to 24...

to say that my birthday weekend was amazing would be an understatement. Kendrick made sure that the weekend was extra special, and he completely spoiled me! married-birthdays really are the best.

I got off work early on Friday and came home to Kendrick and a stack of beautifully wrapper presents. with it being my birthday weekend, I was allowed to open one of them, of course. we decided on the largest one (because I had maybe sorta bought it myself...)... a beautiful new Kate Spade bag! after cleaning up the house a bit, we were off to dinner.

Kendrick and I had eaten at Cheesecake Factory with his parents a few months back, and since then, I could not get the orange chicken that I had out of my head! so naturally, I picked the Cheesecake Factory for my birthday dinner.  in retrospect, for what we spent, I would have probably picked somewhere else. the wait for our table was over an hour long, and my chicken ended up being pretty dry (and Kendrick wasn't too impressed with his fish and chips either). and to top it off, the Cheesecake Factory doesn't even offer free cheesecake for birthdays! what is this?!

we walked around City Creek for a little while, until we decided to call it a night. I'd like to say that we stayed up, doing exciting birthday things... but we were both out by 10 o'clock.

the next morning started early- it was my birthday! I was 24! Kendrick brought all of my presents in the room, and let me open them in bed. I'm telling you... for having such a manly husband, he picked me out some really, really pretty things.

 (candle and bowl from anthropolgie, jewelry box from target, day planner from lilly pulitzer)

we got ready for the day, and headed to a crepe place called Greenhouse Effect Coffee and Crepes (crepes are one of my favorite foods, so Kendrick found this place for my celebratory birthday breakfast). it was a really neat place with outdoor seating underneath a beautiful vine covered pergola. I ordered the strawberries and cream crepe with a hot chocolate and Kendrick settled on the ham, cheese, and egg breakfast crepe. both were delicious!

the next few hours were spent apartment hunting. obviously, not the most fun of birthday activities, but Saturdays are really the only days that allow enough time to do that. however, the birthday gods must have been smiling on us that day, because we were able to find and apply for the perfect place in a prime location. crossing our fingers it works out!

for dinner, we met up with Harmony and Jeff at Rocky Mountain Raceways (tickets courtesy of my dad). it wasn't exactly the best dinner, but you really can't beat free. we watched the races for about 20 minutes before making other plans to see a movie with our friends Colin and Sara. we ended up seeing a new scary movie called The Visit, and it was pretty freaky- even Kendrick yelled out in the theater at a particularly jumpy part.

on sunday, my parents threw a birthday dinner for me and Danny, and Kendrick's sweet parents drove up to attend. we had hamburgers, corn on the cob, peach cobbler, and a heap of brownies in place of a birthday cake... in honor of me. because, how else would you honor me?

it was such a great birthday and I am beyond grateful for my family, friends, and cute husband that made it that way. here's to 24!

we didn't know...

Kendrick and I wanted to do something different for labor day (and when I say different, I mean we weren't planning on staying home watching Netflix). it didn't take long for Kendrick to stumble upon the brilliant idea of touring Timpanogos Cave! going on a little adventure sounded like the perfect solution to both of us.

labor day ending up being absolutely beautiful and we were thrilled that we'd be spending a majority of the day outside, enjoying the weather. Kendrick spent the morning playing golf with his dad and brother, and I had fun sleeping in, watching One Tree Hill, and having breakfast with my family. once twelve 'o clock hit, Kendrick was home and we were on the road to Timpanogos.

in retrospect, going the Provo/Sundance route was significantly longer than American Fork canyon, but in our defense... we didn't even know that American Fork Canyon existed, and that it connected to Sundance. with this little detour, we ending up being thirty minutes late to our cave tour. the nice lady at the front desk explained to us that we could join a later group, and after writing a big scary "LATE" on both our tickets (she made sure to highlight it as well), she told us we should start hiking up the trail to the cave, to ensure that we would be on time for the 3:30 group.

for starters, Kendrick and I were both completely unaware that there was a "hike" in order to get to the cave. I remember when Kendrick first threw the idea of Timpanogos cave at me, he mentioned a "short dirt road", which he honestly thought it was! neither of us are hikers, and I can say that neither of us were ready for the 1.5 hour, three mile hike up the mountain.. we were so not ready.

this was about five minutes into the hike- we got this!

1/2 of the way there... trying to keep positive.

but in all honesty- it was fun! it was a challenge and definitely took some team work (switching off who carried the backpack every twenty-minutes), but when we finally got to the top- we were darn proud!

the cave tour was super cool, and super cold. while we weren't prepared for the hike, we were prepared for the temperature drop in the cave, and each brought a couple of warm jackets. we saw all kinds of funky stalagmites, and my favorite were the ones that you could put a flashlight up to, and the whole thing would glow. the variety of textures that you see on cave walls completely astounded me, and they are all referred to as different types of food, like "cave bacon", or "cave popcorn". whoever named them was super, super hungry.

this giant stalagmite is called the "heart of Timpanogos", as it really does look like a heart hanging down!

the hike back down the mountain was a breeze, and we even jogged about one-third of it. my favorite was jogging past people who were panting and wheezing as they made their way up the mountain, because we looked super die-hard, and little did they know that we were practically crawling up that mountain only an hour ago.

I already can't wait for the next adventure with my best friend, even if it leaves my bum feeling bruised and sore the next morning like this one did.... (TMI?)

probably.

life lessons

Kendrick's car has been pretty sick lately... in fact, I believe we've taken it to the shop at least three times in the past three months in hopes that it will finally just get better (yes, we refer to our car as a member of the family, move along).

to our dismay, it started acting up again on tuesday after work. every time we started it up, or it was in idle, it would start shaking uncontrollably. so, we did what we had to do, and dropped it off at Big O Tires that night (it was after hours), and hid the key in the rain gutter.

the next morning, Kendrick called the shop to explain the problem, and to let them know the key's sneaky hiding place. around noon on Wednesday, he received a phone call letting him know that that repair was only going to cost $150. honestly, this in itself was such a huge relief. granted, it's not fun to spend any money on car repairs, but we both were expecting something in the $800 range.

we stopped by Big O after work to retrieve our not-so-trusty 4-Runner, and to pay the bill. we had a nice chat with the mechanic, received some helpful information on an upcoming tire sale, and then Kendrick was off to his new and improved car. what he didn't expect when he opened the car door was to see the stereo system completely ripped out, and the middle dashboard utterly mangled. we also weren't counting on our brand new air mattress, expensive roadside assistant kit, and a few other items to be missing. yep, our car got broken into.

the owner of Big O Tires was very helpful and extremely apologetic. he quickly called the mechanic, who explained that the stereo was ripped out when he got to the car that morning, and he figured Kendrick was just in the process of replacing it. so, obviously we put two and two together, and realized that the car had been broken into the night we dropped it off.

we filed a police report (for insurance reasons), and the manager pulled the footage from his security camera which displayed this horrid truth- we hadn't even locked the doors when we dropped it off. yeah, the thief walked right in.

having your property broken into, vandalized, and stolen isn't fun. actually, it downright sucks. but with the way things have been going with cars lately, we knew we had to shake it off and view the bright side of things.

• the unlocked car avoided any and all window bashing-  broken windows are a pain to get fixed
• nothing of incredibly high value was taken. Kendrick and I are prone to leaving things in the car for weeks. we just recently got back from a Bear Lake trip, and for the first time ever, we actually cleared out all of our things when we got back. this included our DSLR camera, clothing, blankets, and at one point of the trip I was keeping my wedding ring in a empty pill canister in the middle console. I don't even want to think about what would have happened if that was still in the car.
• our deductible for this kind of thing is $100, so our out-of-pocket costs for the repair will be capped at that
• the whole car could have been stolen. I mean, let's not forget, we left the key in a rain gutter in a sketchy area in Kearns. Yeah, we're lucky the car was even there the next morning. (I can just imagine Kendrick calling Big O that morning about his car, and them being like... what car?)
• we finally got around to cleaning Kendrick's car! we've honestly been meaning to do this for months and months and months, and the car has gotten to the point where it was pretty disgusting. having it broken into and destroyed motivated us to wash it, wipe down everything, and vacuum and shampoo the rugs that night.
• we realized how blessed we were. hey, things could have been so much worse!

and for a couple of life lessons...

• don't leave your car overnight at an auto-repair shop. leave a few minutes early for work the next morning, and drop it off then.
• ...and for heaven's sake, lock your doors.

bear lake

one of Kendrick's aunts owns a cabin by Bear Lake, so it is his family's tradition to all go up there every other year. Lucky for us- this was that year! kendrick and I were able to take Thursday and Friday off work, and headed down Thursday afternoon. the drive down was beautiful- I always forget just how stunning Logan canyon is!

once we were in Garden City, we had some pizza with the family, and enjoyed catching up with all of the cousins. later that night, we retreated to the cabin where we all chatted until bed time. 

the next morning started super early, like 9 o'clock early...which I realize isn't all that early, but for a vacation, it was early. we headed out to the lake, which was quite chilly, so rather than waiting for it to warm up, we decided to join Kendrick's dad in taking one of the jet skis into town (it was having trouble starting up). after dropping the jet ski off at the shop, Paul ended up treating us both to lunch. I decided on a Dole Whip and some Buffalo Chicken won tons, and they were quite possibly the best thing I have ever eaten... or at least in the top five.

once noon hit, the sun was shining and we were back and out on the lake. utah has been incredibly smokey due to some wild fires in neighboring states, which in turn made the lake a pale shade of teal, instead of it's familiar deep blue color. also, you couldn't even see the other side of the lake with all the smoke in the air, which made taking the jet skis out even more thrilling as we drove out into the foggy abyss. kendrick even mustered up the courage to try out his family's kayak.. it's safe to say he didn't get very far.

for dinner, we decided that we had to try out this place, because crepes are just something I will never say no to. it ended up being one of the best ideas we've ever had, and I will never forget those gigantic, mouthwatering, creamy raspberry crepes. 

our second day on the lake was a completely different story. just like the first day, it was chilly and the water was icy. however, the main difference about this day was that it didn't warm up, at all. the entire day was gray, windy, and cold. Kendrick and I decided to brace the ice-water lake for a quick jet ski ride, but that probably lasted 1.36 minutes... if even that.

our friends Marcus and Lonnie met up with us around eleven, and we all ended up heading to the hot springs just down the street. fifteen minutes of sitting in hot water was all we needed to thaw out, and we were ready to take on the rest of the day (smelling very much like sulfur).

the last night in Bear Lake was game night with Kendrick's family. kendrick's aunt Joleen is literally the queen of games, and she has quite the reputation for thinking up the most creative things to play. we ended up playing a live version of Clue, and I had the honor of playing Ms. Scarlet. we were all scattered throughout the house, along with weapons, and different clues. All of the lights were turned out, and everyone made there way around with flashlights, gathering all of the clues that were spread out. it was honestly so much fun!

we left Bear Lake Sunday morning, and couldn't resist stopping by this pretty place on the way home. this was my first time seeing this temple up close, and it quickly made its way to the top of my favorite list (behind the Salt Lake temple, of course). while we stared at the temple Kendrick said, "I just don't know how you can look at this and not feeling something." and it's true, the peace and love you feel looking at them is undeniable. I love temples!

only two more years until we get to do this all over again...and I can hardly wait! hoping for a little more sun next time- and a lot less smoke. ;)

house-sitting

we spent the past week house-sitting (and James-sitting) while Kendrick's parents drove out to Chicago for their business. it was such a nice get-away, and their food is definitely an improvement from what we are used to eating at our own house! I wish I could say that we took advantage of our week in beautiful Bountiful, but most of our evenings were spent watching The Office and Impractical Jokers on the huge projector in their basement.

however, we did manage to get out of the house on Saturday morning to attend the temple. it was such a gorgeous day, and starting the morning off with that made my weekend a million times better. after the temple, we headed out to the Station Park outlets for a little retail therapy- my favorite!

kendrick's parents came back Saturday evening, and we had so much fun hearing about their amazing road trip and the experiences they had. they were able to stop at a handful of church sites, including Adam-Ondi- Ahman, Liberty Jail, and Carthage Jail.

during our stay, we also uncovered an album full of Kendrick's baby pictures, and after seeing how cute he was as a baby... let's just say it was terrible birth control. I mean, just look at those round eyes!

happy...

things have been going awesome for me and Kendrick, and to put it simply, all I can really say is that we are happy. we are keeping busy with work and school, accomplishing goals, and spending a lot of time with our families.

last Thursday, I got an exciting text from Aaron letting me know that Nicole was in pre-labor, and they needed us over there pronto to stay with Zoey. if there is one thing that I will never say "no" to, it's watching that little girl. she is always the easiest to watch, and we have so much fun with her! I'm certain the feeling is mutual, as every time we watch her, she just stares at Kendrick with a big grin on her face, laughing at every single thing he does (laughing with him or at him, we'll never know).

we already had plans that night with our friends Sara and Colin, but they are troopers and agreed to come over to my brother's house instead. they ended up staying until about midnight and we had a blast playing games and eating pizza. they are both such great people- I love new friends!

it was decided that we were going to spend Friday night at Kendrick's parents house, but made a quick stop on the way at the University of Utah hospital to meet our new little niece, Myla. she was absolutely darling, and surprisingly looked a lot like the newborn version of Zoey. we stayed for about an hour, and I had plenty of time to hold that beautiful baby girl (Kendrick had to repeatedly look at me and say "no", as he knew all too well that I was thinking "let's have one!")

 (just kidding, so not ready).

once we were at Kendrick's parents house, we decided on a quick scooter ride, as his family wasn't home yet. bountiful keeps on proving to me just how gorgeous of a place it is, and it was particularly pretty that night as we drove along the hills, getting a spectacular view of the valley. however, it was all fun and games until the scooter decided it had enough and ba-booom- there we were on the side of the road, miles from home, with a scooter that wouldn't start back up.

kendrick hopped off and checked to make sure is wasn't out of gas, which it wasn't, so he placed a call to his dad while repeatedly trying to start it. I sat on the curb and picked at some weeds that were poking through the asphalt, so I guess you can say we both stayed productive. after about ten minutes, with Kendrick's parents still far away and the scooter still not starting, we were greeted by the friendly older man that lived across the street. he asked if we needed help, took a look at the scooter for us, and then helped us wheel it across the street into the safety of his own driveway. we all came to the conclusion that the scooter probably just needed to cool off, so the sweet man invited us into his home, where he lead us to his amazing theater room and offered us drinks and an assortment of candy (aka my heaven). kendrick and I were absolutely blown away by this man's kindness, and we had such a great time chatting with him about his beautiful home, large family, and the mission he served with his wife years ago. this experience made me realize just how rare kindness like that is these days, and this was one act of kindness that neither of us will ever forget.

after about thirty minutes of watching America's Got Talent with our new friend, Kendrick ran outside to see if the scooter would start- and it did! we both said goodbye to our wonderful host, thanking him profusely, and then were on our merry way back home. when we arrived at the house, Kendrick's parents and brother were finally there with a couple of fierce looking jet skis. we spent the remainder of the night grabbing dinner, chatting, and discussing our impromptu jet-skiing plans for the very next day.

saturday started early (like 6:30 AM early), but it was all in the name of some savvy deal-finding at some awesome Bountiful yard sales. kendrick had left at about the same time to play tennis with my brothers, so it was just me, James, and his parents. I had such a blast going from sale to sale, grabbing great finds for practically nothing. in the end, I scored 3 dvd's, a set of gold silverware, a ceramic gold box-type thing (still have no idea what I am going to use it for, but it was pretty and $3, sooo...), a beautiful jar, and two gold frames (one is super large with a gorgeous ornate frame that I plan on turning into a mirror). and your guess for all of this? don't guess too high, because it was all only $10. yeah, I definitely plan on doing that again (the 6:30 AM thing and all).

the entire afternoon was spent on Echo Lake, jet skiing and having the time of our life. the jet skiis that Kendrick's parents had purchased were super high quality, and we were able to take incredibly sharp turns without tipping over once! as soon as three o'clock rolled in, we were both exhausted, burnt, and I had a particularly mean cut on my toe, so we were ready to call it good and get home to the shower.

our last plan for that evening was dinner at Rocky Mountain Races (my dad gets free tickets from work and he's always been so sweet to share them). while I'm not one to enjoy watching a race car go around, and around, and around, we certainly don't mind free dinner. however, this time we decided to see what the fuss was all about, and stayed to watch the races. after about an hour, Kendrick was getting really into it and turned to me and said "I think I have found my crowd", in which I quickly grabbed his hand and got us out of there real fast.

(if you've ever been to Rocky Mountain Raceways, and have seen the people that attend those races... you'd surely understand where I am coming from, I guarantee it.) (no offense to them, I'm sure they're great people... all of them)

did I mention we are just happy?