Married, woot.

oh how we love married life.
Everyone told us when we were engaged that, "being engaged sucks..."
We loved being engaged.
But being married is much better than being engaged.
Other than work and approaching finals, life is bliss.
I wake up each morning to the best husband ever- um pretty sure life couldn't get any better.

19 days.
but who's counting?

We finally found an apt. woot.
it's in the basement of an older couple.
They are so cute.
and love Austin and I.
So they lowered rent (as a wedding gift, ha)
and we like Obama- why? you may ask.
We can stay on our parents health insurance for 4 more years.
booyah.
We are so blessed.
...

true love.

We are so happy to be getting married, can't you tell?!
No but seriously, I'm so excited I can't really handle it.
yup. I'm the luckiest girl in the world-
I'm so glad the weekend is almost here, and hurrah for conference. I could use a good spiritual energy drink now and again.

Here are some of our engagement pictures. well just the corny ones. (you'll have to wait for our wedding to see the good ones, actually I'm just too lazy to upload them)
I was way not excited for our engagements because they are always so cheesy and when we get wedding invites in the mail I usually make fun of the picture (sad, ha).

First off we have the choker... got to love it.

Then the classic peek around the tree and look at each other.
Ok, so I really do like this one.

And this one was just for you mom... (our photographer thought we were so weird, ha)
only 51 days and counting...

WOOT!

Japan!

I'm engaged! to my very best friend and I couldn't be happier. more pictures to come of Japan...

weekends

they come and go so dang fast.
friday Zupas and The Majestic
saturday quilted and consumed 5000 calories of muddy buddies. yum.
sunday family ward (It was a good change)
and
monday real life begins again. Where does the time go?

In just 8 days I have to move back home.
and commute back to work/school
But... In 10 days I get to spend a whole week in Japan with Austin and his family.
I just love this boy.

Pretty soon school starts again.
Secretly I am a little bit excited inside.
Nerdy, huh.
I like going to class and staying busy
but I'm not excited to be ultra stressed about tests and grades.
I'm excited to go buy sweet new school supplies and pack my backpack.
and use my crazy cool calculator in my sweet math and physics classes-
doesn't that sound exciting? ha.

barbershop

Last week we went to our Condo in McCall.
It was crazy fun.
We went on this beautiful bike ride and ended up here...

Yesterday I cut Austin's 'mop'


I was scared to death...
and had no idea what I was doing,
so I pulled out the bowl, ha.

not too bad, eh?

procrastination...

It's 12:17 and tomorrow is cleaning checks. I've cleaned everything except my room, but I'm exhausted- so here I am blogging instead...
Today I made Chicken Pot Pie.
You may ask since when do you eat anything other than oatmeal? ha
Well, I've got to start being normal- and cooking real food.
It was weight watchers pot pie, but nobody needs to know that.

Preston came over too, and Alex (Austin's brother) and Cole (Preston's roommate).
Love these boys.

friday night loneliness

So this is my oh please gag me post...
But I couldn't help myself.
Austin is gone for 4 days.
I miss him a lot. a lot a lot.
He's in Arkansas. I should have flown out.
I'm ready for him to come home.
They say that, 'distance makes the heart grow fonder,'
well my heart was fond enough without him leaving... ha.
On memorial day we hiked to Stewart Falls,
It was way fun.
He carried me across the creek so my shoes wouldn't get wet.
What would I do without this boy?
Probably read my book, and prepare a Relief Society lesson.
Yes, that's what I'll be doing this Friday night.
I hope your weekend is filled with more excitement than mine, ha.

Memorial Day

Tomorrow is Memorial Day.
Thank goodness for PTO. woot.
I wish that I could go and visit my grandparents graves.
So this is in honor of them and what little bit I know about them.
Phyllis Summers, an amazing mother, wife, and grandmother.
Although I don't remember her well, I do know one thing... that she raised the best mom in the entire world.
What a daunting task, right?
She was very funny, extremely spunky, and energetic.
She'd prance around the house and call it exercise. Now that's my kind of Grandma.
She was a crazy canner from beets and beans to raspberries and unidentifiable foods. ha
I'm glad she taught my mother this amazing skill and I hope my mother will teach me so that I can teach my daughters.
She was always a very hard worker, after Grandpa had a heart attack at a very young age she was required to work and provide. What amazing strength and diligence.
Elmer Summers, I never knew. But I'm extremely honored to be named after him.
I know that he was a wonderful husband and father. My mom loved her dad and still talks about him to this day. He was very generous and would give the shirt off his back to help another. He loved his wife and made sure that she was respected by their children. I'm excited to be able to meet him again one day. I feel like we are already best friends.

Yesterday Austin and I went to Ikea and Gardner Village.
I forgot how huge Ikea is, and how long it takes to get out once you are in.
and as always I heart Gardner Village, it's the cutest place.
I bought a couple embroidery things that I'm going to work on.
My hours at work got cut a little, so now I have time to do stuff in the morning.
I think I'll run another marathon. (most people don't make that decision on a whim, but why not right?! ha)
Austin is going to Arkansas this weekend. I was going to fly out for the weekend but I can't really afford to take work off.
This weekend will most definitely be filled with chick flicks (Dear John, P.S I love you, The Notebook, Bride Wars, Sleepless in Seattle, 27 dresses, Princess Diaries...) and shopping, with my favorite little sister (and best friend).

Happy Sunday and Memorial Day

summer lovin'

it's been so long.
Life is so wonderful.
I love this boy an awful awful lot.
I'm officially a math education major. woot.
talk about nerdy. i'm cool with it though, no worries.
I get to meet Austin's mom this week, she's coming from Japan.
Yikes, let's hope she likes me...

Finally Finals

Finals are here.
I hate them.
I have neglected school work hard core.
yikes.
I can't wait until it's over.
Please pray for me.
That's all---

oh and I still love this boy.
in case you were wondering.
we're going fishing this summer,
and on bike rides, and indexing,
and hiking, and more fishing,
and picnicking, and a little more fishing.
just 3 more days. 4 more finals.
can't wait.

twenty one.

I am freaking 21 years old in 2 minutes.
Yikes. ha- I am so old
I thought for sure I would go on a mission-
but that idea has been put on hold...
Life is so so wonderful I can't complain about a thing.
(other than my toenail fell off today)- sorry TMI.
I'm training for another marathon and they don't like that idea---
so they just fall off as they please.
We celebrated my birthday on Sunday with the whole fam.

Austin and I went to General Conference in Salt Lake it was super fun-
then came home and he met the whole fam- even Tif, Josh, Madeline and Moira (over skype).
I'm sure he was overwhelmed- even though he said he wasn't.
He's taking me out for my birthday because mom's going to Indiana and dad has bishopric stuff. woot.

I totally wear dresses at least 4 or 5/7 days a week. So guess what I got 4 new dresses! whoo whoo. I was super excited. and I got the NOTEBOOK! best movie evah.

I am so glad Steph and the Cobster could come over!
I have the best best mom ever. Isn't she the cutest thing you have ever seen?! I hope I grow up to be just like her.

The gang... I just love that my fam is totally out of control- I was a little nervous to bring Austin over but he survived. He got the warning on the way out though ha.

Alayna helped me open all of my presents- what would I do without her? Isn't she is the cutest thing ever!
21 wow. another year older. hopefully wiser too. this has been a very rewarding year. I've loved being 20. i hope 21 is even better!

amazed

tonight I am sick.
and can't sleep.
I'm at the parent's house in my amazing, comfortable bed.
Because they are the only people I want when I am sick.
As I lay here thinking- I realized how blessed I truly am.
and how ungrateful I tend to be.
I'm forever grateful for the Savior.
Easter is one of my favorite times of the year.
and my birthday is next week too! whoo whoo. I have the best bday ever--- april 6. (beat that!) ha.
I am so grateful that conference is coming!
I am beyond excited, my spirit feels a little homesick-
during conference the veil seems so thin and the Savior so near.
As I lay here thinking about how sick I feel and how miserable I am I decided to look up Elder Holland's Easter talk from April 09 conference. "None Were with Him."
Tears came to my eyes as I watched the mormon messages video on this talk.
Seriously take 4 minutes to watch it! It will get you in the Easter season way quick.

"None Were with Him"

As I thought about the struggles and trials that I have gone through in my life (as each of us have) these words struck me

"The Father briefly withdrew from Jesus the comfort of His Spirit, the support of His personal presence. It was required; indeed it was central to the significance of the Atonement, that this perfect Son who had never spoken ill nor done wrong nor touched an unclean thing had to know how the rest of humankind—us, all of us—would feel when we did commit such sins."

Elder Holland continues, "Brothers and sisters, one of the great consolations of this Easter season is that because Jesus walked such a long, lonely path utterly alone, we do not have to do so. His solitary journey brought great company for our little version of that path—the merciful care of our Father in Heaven, the unfailing companionship of this Beloved Son, the consummate gift of the Holy Ghost, angels in heaven, family members on both sides of the veil, prophets and apostles, teachers, leaders, friends. All of these and more have been given as companions for our mortal journey because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the Restoration of His gospel. Trumpeted from the summit of Calvary is the truth that we will never be left alone nor unaided, even if sometimes we may feel that we are. Truly the Redeemer of us all said, “I will not leave you comfortless. [My Father and] I will come to you [and abide with you]."

I am so grateful. I know that the Savior loves me. cares about me. He knows me- even though the world doesn't. and that is all that matters. He is truly and honestly my very best friend.

Austin got us tickets for conference from his bishop in Arkansas. I am so glad- I love going to conference!

spring break

First of all I just love this pic.
Kalster is really my bff and this pic shows it all.

We had so much fun in NY.
So many stories and memories.
Missing flight. Forgetting Cell phone.
Getting pulled over. Neon Trees.
Neck Pillows and tray tables.
Crazy taxi driver--- literally "taken".
Subways. China Town. Crazy bag ladies.
Little Italy. H&M. Gap. Macys. The Miracle Worker.
Wicked Lottery. Bargaining. Pictures.
Naked men in Central Park. The Met.
Strand bookstore. Pickpocketers and more...

Here is a pic of the boy... Megs and I had a pancake night when we first moved in (I totally had a crush on him then too, as you can tell). He came into the kitchen and talked to me as I made pancakes and that's where it all began- well kinda (we'd gone out before this).
Anyway- probably still like him a lot.
He makes me sincerely smile. and laugh. a lot.
I love how his arm fits perfectly around me.
or his hand in mine.
- side note. I have always been totally anti PDA. generally it makes me sick. Anyway we were sitting talking to his roommates and he just grabbed my hand. whoa. big move for me. but it was good. now i like when he does that. Anyway
I love walking with this kid and just talking about whatever comes to mind.
and how he listens. and how he cares.
I'm grateful for what he has taught me about men.
and that he honors his priesthood.
we are going to the festival of colors this weekend. woot.
we are going to conference together. i love conference.
I got a new calling this week.
1st counselor in R.S.
humbled? yes.
nervous? more than you'll know.
excited? yeah. now I have an excuse to make new friends!
more updates to come. but as for now I must write a paper that's due tomorrow...
I don't want to go back to school- summer please come quick!

Spring Fever

Something about the warm weather
Something about coming out of work and it's still light outside
Something about this boy
Something about frank sinatra. michael buble. nat king cole.
Something about knowing New York is a mere 3 days away.
Something about running 4 miles in 29 minutes.
Something about the Neon Trees concert.
Something about the dollar movie
Something about this boy...
makes me want to shout for joy.
shout for spring.

ok so... maybe this boy is more than a crush.
I think I may have just done kinda bad on my calculus test :(
because last night and the night before and tonight someone else occupied my time...
what the heck is happening. nobody has ever gotten in the way of school.
not good... haha. but i love it. and so does he.

today he extended his apartment contract through the summer.
he's staying for good. he said it was right- then we laughed.

cheesy cheesy. but true.
twitterpation i suppose

Another week come and gone.

I heart Wednesdays.
Mostly because it's produce day at Buy Low market.
and I go way early in the morning. with all the old people.

today I cried. not because I was stressed or anxious, sad or depressed.
But because I felt bad for someone. I want to help her but I don't know how.
I hope that I can be the friend that she needs.

today I cried. from laughing so hard. This man at work totally came in wearing bright orange basketball shorts with a red plaid button up shirt, white socks and black tennis shoes. When he left I couldn't contain myself. poor guy.

today I shouted "woot" way too many times. because I kept getting calculus problems right!
you'd shout too if you finally understood triple integrals and jacobian transformations. ha

today I was grateful. because it was the first time in a couple days that I haven't eaten cabbage soup for dinner. (I bought one cabbage at buy low a couple weeks ago and I have been eating cabbage ever since, the stupid thing has lasted me forever).

today my mind was filled with just little thoughts of {crush} ... haha. but that probably isn't good because I need to be focused! but {crush} probably makes me happy. especially when I find out he decided he is going to stay in utah for the summer instead of moving home (back east), which was his previous plan. whoo whoo.

I hope you had a wonderful Wednesday too!

p.s I just found this picture. funny story. we were in the Indianapolis airport at freaking 5:00 am. And guess what the fire alarm went off for like 5 minutes. My mom and dad just decided to put their earphones in... not connected to an ipod or anything. they looked kinda nerdy but I love them anyways. (note they guy in the background (left) haha).

best day ever.

wow. I have not blogged forever! Anyway I won't attempt to catch up because that would just mean epic long posts. But I will say this... I love love love life right now.
Today- best day ever.
A. Buylow market on Wednesday mornings are my favorite time of the week. I bought an eggplant today. what the heck am I going to do with it? It was so beautiful I just had to have it though.
B. Passed cleaning checks. woot. all week I prayed that I would and I did. yeesssss.
C. Preston saved me from this "creeper" at school today. what would I do without him?
D. Someone (my parents) sent me a diet sprite through the credit union drive up today. for cute. love them.
E. Had delicious cabbage soup for dinner.
F. Crocheted while watching American Idol.
F. Red alert. so best part of my day... I was just sitting at the table and there was a knock at the door. I didn't even turn around because my roommate answered it, then I looked back because it was silent and... yes my major crush was standing in the doorway. Ah man. life's good... pretty much this kid is amazing and I think about him a lot, we are going snowboarding this weekend woot.

How was your Wednesday?

monumental moments of the week.

I bought my very first pineapple today! I love buy-low market. 2 lbs of delicious pineapple for only $1. woot. I had to document this monumental moment in my life. I don't even know how to cut it... yikes.

Monumental moment #2. I changed a diaper... what is this world coming to? I needed calculus III help and that was the stipulation I guess you gotta do what you gotta do. I love little Benson, isn't he just presh?

Note the flower on my shirt... want one? well I made it and... I think I am going to start selling them! why? because I am a poor poor college student. yikes. So this is the story... Coby (the brother-in-law) and I were sitting on the couch and he said, "you should sell those (pointing to my flower) ..." and I thought for a minute, then I was like... "yeah, I should." Any who he knows someone who sells stuff like this in a little boutique (which I might end up doing) and online. So yeah...

They are so fun to pin on your shirt, in your hair, or on a purse.
Here is a better view of that other flower...
I also have a couple fern bags. made out of gunny sacks with a hand sewn label. totally organic, earthy and trendy.


If you're interested (or someone you know) in making a future purchase, let me know (even if you're a blog stocker...)- woot. thanks.

i am so blessed.
that is pretty much all i wanted to say.

Since the beginning of the year I have written in a journal each day the ways I have seen the Lord's hand in my life that day. wow. it has truly opened my eyes.
everyone should do it.
and although i'm not sure the direction my life is going to take
in the next few months...
the Lord is watching out for me.
things will work out, they always do
and that is exactly why i love the gospel.
it is true.
and i am grateful for it.
and I want to shout it for all to hear!
woot.

i miss home a teensy bit now and again.
not too much though ;)
tonight i just need a tight squeeze from the pops.
and i miss the mom. my bff whom i tell absolutely everything.

p.s every time I go on a date i take a picture of a couple outfits and text them to her- she still helps me decide what to wear... what would i do without her?

on a completely different note- I heart this apt. of boys we play a game called "Bang!" nightly and we leg wrestle.
good times.
(p.s I won this kid)
--probably because i have birthing hips that dominate.
at least they are good for something. right?

p-town

i live in provo now. aka the land of zoobies.
i ate sushi tonight. first time.
also realized i am a total clean freak.
my ears are ringing and i've partied pretty hard core 4 nights in a row.
what is this place doing to me?

yay for little baby benson. i love the chimp so much already.
if i didn't work i would probably live up there.

So I've been thinking about this little old lady that comes into the bank- bless her heart. I seriously want to hug her every time she comes in. Each time I help her she thanks and thanks me for smiling at her. She always says it is exactly what she needed- then bids me good day. Other than being absolutely adorable she is so classy and old fashioned (in a good way). She always signs her name Mrs. Lawrence Williams i changed the name to protect her innocence but you get the picture. I just love it. When I get married I am totally going to sign my name Mrs. some boys name here it's so classy. Whenever Grandma sends a card to mom she addresses it Mrs. Perry Stewart- I used to think it was weird, now I think it's awesome. Anyways, sometimes I think I was born in the wrong century- I want to be old fashioned. People were way more respectful, kind, genuine, trustworthy, hardworking... I am going to be like that. why not? right.

I survived living on my own again. day 1. dinner did not consist of oatmeal- shocker huh. I had to take a pic because I knew mother would be proud. turkey burger and veggies. dee-lish. p.s I just watched Julie and Julia, cutest movie ever. I kinda feel a close connection to them- probably just the name thing, but still.

This picture is "i'm surviving without mother hen." But I do miss her deeply-
I had kinda forgot I had freckles until looking at this pic and now they are screaming-hello- just in time for church tomorrow... thanks guys. not. ha