Forever & Always: 2016

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

The Best Season and The Best News.... :)

Happy Fall Ya'll!

We kicked off the fall season right with a lovely drive up the canyon with my twin sister, Ashley, her husband, Jonathan, and my adorable nephew, Leo. It was so much fun and the leaves were stunning! Leo loved being outdoors, but I think he still loves Tyler more. :) He's obsessed with his Uncle Tyler and Uncle Christian. I guess I need to start slipping him some more treats... :)

Last month Tyler's family had some changes - his brother, Matthew, got married so we went up for their wedding and that same weekend, his other brother, Joshua, had his mission farewell. They came down after that and we got to take Joshua to the MTC. I'm so excited for him and know he will do great out in Ohio!

Elder Bake - just missing Brandon, Juli, Matthew, and Kaylee :(

And last but definitely not least, the best part of this blog post - Tyler and I are expecting a baby come March 2017! It seems like everyone and their dog is expecting right now, but we are happy to join the club! :)

Hopefully you can tell from the pumpkin color what gender it is - my dad couldn't figure it out as he said it came through as white on his phone. haha so if you're having that problem, it's a boy. I'm terrified but excited! And Tyler can hardly wait! We feel so blessed and are looking forward to the holiday seasons ahead.

Summer Memories

I can't believe it's been 4 months since I've last written here! Time just goes by so darn fast. Before you know it, Christmas will be here (I may or may not have already started listening to Christmas music...).

Tyler and I had such a great summer that was full of fun and memories. We bought a new (used) crossover and we could hardly wait to take it with us on all our adventures! These included:
1. Camping!
2. Hiking
3. Baseball game
4. Family Reunions

Tyler's twin brother, Brandon, and his wife, Juli came to visit us before they moved to Texas. We had such a fun time with them and enjoyed hiking to the hot springs up Spanish Fork Canyon.The wild flowers had just begun to bloom and it was perfect weather.

We also went on a sibling camping trip this year which was a blast! We had so much fun staying up late playing games and eating junk food :) Heather and Christian were there too but they always seem to avoid the camera...! I wish we would have remembered to take a group picture. Heather and Christian have now moved to Kansas and Trevor has moved to DC so we won't be able to hang out as siblings anymore. It makes me so sad to see our family spreading out! :(

Our new used car! First camping trip!

Cutest nephew EVER

This boy loves his mommy!

Tyler and I went to his first baseball game with Heather and Christian! We had a blast watching the Salt Lake Bees :)

Tyler and I also went up to my Aunt's property at Sour Dough Ranch. I have gone there ever since I was little and have so many fond memories of this place. I love spending time up there with my Aunt, Uncle, and Grandma. We went four wheeling, roasted smore's, and even got to see some moose! The wild flowers were in full bloom and it was GORGEOUS. Tyler did a "man" craft with my uncle and carved/made himself a leather wallet! It turned out so cool. We also went with my Aunt and Uncle to their town's Fourth of July parade.

The rest of the summer was filled with Tyler taking the GRE again and completing another round of PT applications. Tyler's already heard back from one school and received an interview so we're hopeful that his application is much stronger this year!

And now my favorite season is already here! Wahoo! On to cooler weather, colorful leaves, and the smell of pumpkin spice everywhere. :)

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Slice of Paradise

Take me back. Take me back to roller coasters and Hogwarts. Take me back to lazy days, relaxing on white sand near crystal-clear, turquoise water, Take me back to endless ice cream and fireworks at sea. Take me back to snorkeling with exotic fish, sting rays, and star fish. Take me back to virgin daiquiris and sunshine....

Needless to say, I am definitely suffering from withdrawals from my vacation in Florida and The Bahamas. We had such a fabulous time vacationing with my family last week! Be prepared for picture OVERLOAD! Between all of us, we took over 1000 pictures. :) Don't worry, I'm not posting them all here... :D

The first day in Florida we went to Blue Springs State Park. The water was crystal clear and looked so inviting! But a gator had been spotted that morning so we couldn't swim! Blue Springs Park is a breeding ground for manatees during December-March and these creatures can be seen by the hundreds. We didn't think we'd get to see any since it was May, but we got lucky and one came swimming in! It was so neat! We also spotted a big turtle from the road so of course, I had to stop and take a picture with it. :)

The second day was spent at Seaworld. We had a blast riding all the roller coasters and seeing all the animals! My favorites were the sea turtles and flamingos!

On the third day we went to Universal and spent most of our time in Harry Potter World. For those who have never been and claim any ounce of HP Fandom, this is a MUST. I was blown away! There was such much detail in every single aspect. It was a truly magical experience.

The rest of the time we were on a 3-day Disney cruise in The Bahamas. This is also another must for everyone at some point in their life. I recommend this for everyone at any age! The food was incredible and the pools and water slide on the boat were so much fun! The shows were also fabulous and they played Disney music non-stop! :) The rooms also had a porthole above the bed with a live camera feed outside so it felt like you had a room with a view! It was so fun to wake up in the morning and turn it on to see where we were ported!

Our first port stop was in Nassau. We went to a private resort and it was everything you would imagine at the beach - right down to the beachy beds! We enjoyed relaxing and drinking virgin daiquiris all day long...sigh.

Our second port stop was Disney's private island called Castaway Cay. What a beautiful place complete with adult and family beaches, a water park, biking, hiking, and more! The beaches were pristine and the water was stunning! We spent hours snorkeling around and saw so much wildlife. This was the pure definition of paradise.

The last day of our trip we went to a town called Saint Augustine. This is the oldest town in the USA. There was so much history in this cute little town. We took a trolley tour all over the town. After that some decided to tour an old battle fort and the rest of us stopped at a tiny little shop that had the most delicious milkshakes. Yum!

The flight home was a somber one and we were sad to leave our week of paradise. Add that to our missing luggage that decided to take a detour to San Salvador for a few days, you could say it was hard to come back to reality. We can hardly wait until our next vacation!

BLUE SPRINGS STATE PARK