NYE

Our holidays this year have been a lot of fun but very busy. I'm glad Gav & I took some time on New Years Eve to go on our own date before joining friends and family. After a quick trip to Red Robin, we bundled up and rented skates.

At about 10800 S and Redwood Road in South Jordan, UT, you will find a complex that holds the Pie Pizzeria. Behind "The Pie" you can rent ice skates for $2 and skate around the little outdoor rink right there. It's cute. Try it out sometime.

After being with all my cousins for while, we hung out with Gavin's family. 

Everyone played with $3 and 3 dice. Roll a 1, pass a dollar to the right; roll a 2, a dollar goes in the pot; roll a 3 and pass a dollar to the left; 4,5,6, you are safe. If you have the last dollar and roll a safe number, you win.

We won.

Christmas Card

We'll send out a real card one year, I promise. Until then...

Moab

Lucky me I have a job where I get to take teenage girls and their families to explore Moab for a few days. That place is amazing and I am dying to go back already. By the end of the three days camping, everyone was saying how bad they wanted a hot shower and clean clothes. By the end of my three days I was just wanting to stay longer and explore more and live in the wild forever. Pictures don't do the beauty justice. 

Me at our campground

 God did a mighty fine job creating this earth!

 Sand dune arch was probably my favorite. The sand was so soft and beachy, but red. And we all climbed up on top of this thing!

 I love that it just looks like someone dumped a bunch of paint buckets down the side of the wall. This was the Morning Glory Hike and it was gorgeous!

 Unfortunately this last picture is blurry, but look hard and you can see some petroglyphs. This was SO COOL!!!! This Indian art was so interesting, I could have stared at it for hours. It was just along the side of the road.

I'll let you know when Gav & I go back together. I sure hope it's sometime soon!

SoJo Half Marathon

"It was either this or fat camp"
We did it! It was hard and 3 days later we still have trouble walking. I would recommend training thoroughly before attempting a half marathon. My time was somewhere around 2:20, Gav got under 2 hours. My only goal was to run the whole time, and even though I was slow, I made it and don't feel the need to do it again!

 

Also, thanks to everyone who supported A runner in the race. Your honking and signs and cheers helped us all! 
*held by a husband* Run faster, I left the kids at home!
*held by some kids* and you thought this was a good idea 4 months ago
*held by some friends* run like Channing Tatum is at the finish line... shirtless!
*held by some boys* your feet hurt because you're kicking butt!
*held by some girls* you look so skinny!

Stewart Falls

Easy enough hike that I didn't feel guilty doing it on a Sunday. You can't ask for better scenery than what this place has to offer in the fall. Words don't describe.

Also I've wanted this picture for a while. Gavin is a great sport!

I'd say fall's treating us alright so far :)

bucket list update

football games

hike a colored canyon

spicy candles

buy something plaid

luke bryan in concert

have fun with our nephew

Stewart falls hike: 4 miles round trip, easy. Drive up Provo canyon, after the tunnel, make the left turn towards Sundance. Pass Sundance and park by the ampitheater in the Timpanogos parking lot in Aspen grove. Take the trail just north of the restrooms. You should see a sign about 25 yards into the hike.

Luke Bryan

The two most attractive men in this world are, in this order, Gavin Scott and Luke Byran. I JUMPED on the opportunity to go to the Luke Bryan concert with Gavin's siblings. I love going to concerts with friends to dance and sing along and have fun and act drunk without drinking but Gavin's family members are more reserved than my friends & I so I was a little nervous about going to a concert with them. I started having some anxiety about it on the way there so I said a prayer asking for help to have fun and be able to do what I wanted without caring what others thought of me. Prayer answered.
Starting with, I was the only one in our group who wanted to wait in line to try and win backstage passes, so it took a minute, but I worked up the confidence to do my own thing and guess what- it paid off! I won a backstage pass to meet the openers- Florida Georgia Line (but I know them as Tyler and Brian now haha).

The rest of the night went just as good. I was dancing and singing the whole time... by myself... but I enjoyed it! It was dark enough and loud enough and the crowd there was big enough that I could do whatever wanted without making a scene. OK except maybe I made a little scene during his song "Shake It", but besides that I would do it all over again. It was so fun acting confident and a little silly. I would do it all over again!

 The girls. I was already feelin' it.

 I swear. My husband is the only person in this world who wears fan gear, jeans, and tennis shoes to a country concert.

...and the whole group!

Have fun dancing to this song

Pinterest

Pins I've attempted lately...

Top: original pin. Bottom: My attempt. Review: Really good but really rich. Serve in portions half this size!  http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/peanut-butter-pie-recipe/

Top: original pin. Bottom: My attempt. Review: Gav actually helped a lot with these- measuring the windows and cutting the styrofoam. He's a champ! The benefit of them is that you can pick out the exact fabric and exact measurements you want. The not-so-great is it's not actually much cheaper than store bought curtains, and it's time consuming.
http://learnandgo.wordpress.com/2011/01/24/diy-window-cornicevalence/

Starting to Fall

Every year it's like a break-up. Summer ends and fall comes. This year though, I've accepted it early; I am summered out this time around (which I never thought I'd say) and am moving on. Here's our seasonal bucket list:

Pumpkin flavored everything, Half marathon, football games, pick-your-own orchard, glittery holiday crafts, look at the stars, build a fire, go on a hike in a colored canyon, spicy candles, jump in a leaf pile, buy something plaid, visit some hot springs, corn maze or haunted house, carve a pumpkin, make a trip to Wendover, see Luke Bryan in concert, and have fun with our coming soon nephew!
We are always open to new ideas so feel free to share! and everyone's invited.

P.S. enjoy this inspiration picture with me

Baby Shower

A few weeks ago (I'm a late blogger) we got to throw my sister-in-law a baby shower. You guys!!  We are going to be an aunt and uncle! Gavin is probably more excited than I am- every store we shop at he has to look at the baby boy section. Talking to Ashley about shower plans she really liked the idea of a superhero theme so that's what we tried to decided to go with.

I think it all came together well.
Also, we've been thinking about what we could call our nephew besides Ryker. We love the name but have decided we need to come up with something more affectionate. We've narrowed it down to 10. Let us know which one you like the best! 

1. Rynomite
2. Ry of the Tiger
3. Rykosaurus
4. Rybot
5. Rykee RyRy
6. Gavin Jr.
7. R-Tan
8. R-Tizzle
9. Ryty Tyty
10. Ryker-T

Law of the Harvest

They do the work, we get the benefits, right?  The people we are renting from have a fantastic garden. We have more honeydew and cantaloupe than we can handle!

Also, my mom ended up with a 15 lb zucchini so I had to take advantage and whip up some tried and true zucchini cake...

Preheat oven to 350, then mix all together:

1/2 c butter       1 t baking powder

1/2 c oil          2 cups finely grated zucchini

1 3/4 c sugar      2 1/2 c flour

2 eggs             5 T cocoa

1 T vanilla        1/2 t cinnamon

1/2 c buttermilk   1 t salt

1 t baking soda

 

sprinkle topping: 3/4 c milk chocolate chips, 3/4 c brown sugar, 3/4 c finely chopped pecans (optional).

 

Pour into greased, not floured, 9x13

bake @ 350 for 30-40 min

Bear Lake

Last weekend went something like this...

Boating. Tubing. Skiing. Shakes. Games. Bunk Beds. Minnetonka Caves. Bike Riding. Sore Muscles. Maddox. It was fun!

And I was obviously born to slalom ski. Here's my first time up!

Weekend Thoughts & Activities

All the wedding details I've been sharing were so fun and exciting. Planning the reception was great and everything turned out perfect. But let's be honest- the reason for it all was much more significant than any of the decorations. The most important part of the wedding was that Gav & I were sealed together under God, and yes, that is reason to celebrate. 

We were able to re-celebrate all of it in Park City this last weekend. The 16th was our actual anniversary. We both worked and I was a little stressed getting our feet out the door but we were able to make it to the Deer Valley Chateaux (thanks Groupon!) in time to enjoy Historic Park City, pizza, and the hot tub. We also ate our anniversary cake that had been in my mom's freezer for the past year. Yummy!

Saturday we waited in line for the Alpine Coaster but by the time we made it to the top of the line there was lightning so we had to come back and do the coaster Sunday. Fun nonetheless. We headed to the outlets instead where I bought a J Crew Sweater that I can't wait to wear and a little Nike tank.

Along with our Groupon we got a 3 course dinner at the hotel. It was rich people food. We had never eaten a meal worth so much money and we weren't quite sure what to do with it. That was an adventure in and of itself. We later spent more time in the Hot Tub where strangers tend to open up and we watched How to Lose a Guy in 10 days and our first episode of Catfish. That show scared me.
Anyways, being with Gav on our anniversary made me think about all the reasons I love him. A lot of them are the same reasons I loved him when we were married: he's funny, he's sweet, strong spiritually. But a few of the reasons are already different. The biggest thing I have been thinking about is just how supportive he is. Whether it's me being on a crazy pill (birth control SUCKS) or wanting to do a pinterest project or go on an 18 mile hike, he is happy and fun and patient enough to help me out with it all, despite his busy schedule. I really don't understand how I lucked out getting him! Love you Gav! 

A Few More Wedding Details

Top left: A wreath my neighbors made with coffee filters
Center pic: Guest book and flower arrangement
Top left: This typewriter was my grandpa's (who I never met)
Middle left: Stenciled burlap gumball bags-thanks sister!
Middle right: Doily found on KSL; birds collected from neighbors
Bottom left: My teapot collection; wood my uncle cut
Bottom right: Beautiful food arrangement

The cake was something I actually didn't care too much about and a lady who worked for my dad said she wanted to do it, so I was like "sure". I had no idea it would turn out so beautiful!

Above you will see my favorite decoration of all- friends and family who were married before us. We've had so many great examples to follow.

Leave it to my mom to throw it all together! Obviously I have great family, friends, and neighbors that helped everything come together as well.

Cake: Scarlet
Food: Utah Celebrations Catering
Photography: Deone Thornton

Flowers

Said I'd post more wedding pictures! I never did when the wedding actually happened so what better time to put them up than around our anniversary?  
Let's talk about the flowers. 

First of all, I love flowers! While planning the wedding I read in a few places to make a priority list: what you care about most to least and what you want to spend the most to least money on. Flowers and photography were my top two. Green = Gavin's favorite Color; Pink = My favorite color. Pink & green wedding = little kid watermelon ish. Yellow seemed to tone that down a bit so our colors were yellow and green with hints of pink.

My bouquet. It was so much prettier than I expected it to be! The broach on my bouquet was actually my 'something old' because it was my great grandma's. Come to find out, the person who ended up arranging my bouquet was a distant relative of mine who was close to my great grandma. It was fun to add that sentimental part to the day.

The bridesmaids and groomsmen had mini versions of the bride & groom flowers. Enjoy a few more floral pictures... 

...and come back later for more details.

Happy August!

This month is our 1 year anniversary! There have been ups and downs this last year but mostly ups and I'd say Gavin and I make a pretty good married couple. 

Probably the best part of our wedding was who we shared it with. Our wedding party was fantastic and so were all our guests. I still can't believe how many people came out to support our families. We were so grateful for everyone who showed their love that day!

August 16th is our official day but I love reminiscing and I loved our wedding so expect pictures all month! I haven't even gotten to the flowers and decorations yet!

Shoot the Tube!

We've checked another thing off the summer bucket list and have officially shot the tube! The video below was not made by us, but by one of my heroes whom we are just as cool as because we did the same thing... right?

The group:

WHAT IT IS: A large drainage pipe carries a creek out of Parley's canyon. Bring pool toys and flotation devices to the top of the tube. Kind, creative people, have nailed road signs and logs to the top of the tube so that you can dam it up. Let the water build, make some friends to release the water, and enjoy the 200 yard homemade waterslide!

Top of Timpanogos

It's an 18 mile trek from the Timpanooke campground (American Fork Canyon) to the top of the mountain and back.  We took the challenge either in honor of Pioneer Day or because we all had the day off. We started at midnight so that we could get to the top by sunrise. The top was FREEZING and beautiful. My favorite part of the hike is the meadow full of wildflowers of all colors. I loved it! And we saw a porcupine!

Getting there: Drive up American Fork Canyon and stay on UT-92E (Alpine Loop Road) until you come to Timpooneke Rd. Turn right on this road and find a place to park. The trailhead is clearly marked. This hike took up about 9 hours but that's because I was trying to keep up with my long-legged brother; it usually takes 10-12. The top of the mountain is usually really cold, so pack appropriately. 

The hike is fairly easy if you are from Utah and used to the altitude. The last mile up is all switchbacks and that can be extremely difficult, but that's only a small portion of the hike. Also, trust me on this: it is much easier to get down the mountain the same way you came up, opposed to trying to slide down the glacier. 

Alpine Rock Slide

This place is on every summer bucket list I've ever made. I love the backyard feel to this hike not to mention it is beautiful and fun... especially when you slide down the waterfall!

Only visit this place in July or August. The water is freezing. Before July the water is too high and after August it may not be warm enough outside to make up for the cold water.

Directions:
Take the Alpine/Highland Exit 284 off of I-15 and head East for a while. Turn left (north) on Alpine Highway. If you are coming from the south, take an American Fork exit and head north on 100 East, this road turns into Alpine Highway. Turn left (west) on Fort Canyon Road. This road eventually turns into one-lane. Find somewhere to park by the No Trespassing sign. Apparently it isn't trespassing. The path forks a few times, but whenever it does, choose the way that leads you UP the mountain. Walk until the road ends then go left and the water fall should be about 30 yards up. If you don't go left, you will cross a stream and come to the popular bike jump.