Randy and I have made a few drives up the different canyons to see many fall leaves. It’s been absolutely wonderful, and we’ve snapped a few pictures too. I love fall SO much and my house permanently smells like pumpkin spice and I spend the evenings cuddled up in blankets in front of our fireplace. In so many ways it’s just a dream come true! Just LOOK at those colors!

Friday, Randy and I went to Farmington to take some photos for a wedding reception, which was super fun! It was busy and crazy and we still have a ton of editing to do, but hopefully they turned out great.

Saturday we went for a drive with my family, and then helped my sister get all dressed up for the Homecoming dance! She was SO beautiful and had a really fun time. It always makes me think of when Randy and I went to our senior Homecoming dance and how special that night was.

Sunday was a bit of a sad day, we went to our old ward for the last time and taught our Sunday School kids for the last time. They are the sweetest goofballs ever and we are going to miss them like CRAZY. We’re excited about our new place, but leaving those sweet kids was really sad! Luckily we’re still close and they’ve already announced they’re coming over to our house for a party, so maybe we’ll still see them hahaha.

Sunday night we went to our friend’s house for dinner and had a blast chatting and laughing with them. Things are so happy and content right now, and I wouldn’t change a thing about this wonderful fall we’re having.

We had a busy and wonderful conference weekend!

We kicked off the day on Friday by doing laundry, and I got to go to dinner with some of my closest friends from HS. It was awesome to get together and catch up over dinner, hear all about what we were all up to and laugh about old times. I hadn’t realized how much I needed it!

Randy went and saw a movie with his brother so the rest of my night was full of relaxing and Netflix movies – exactly what I needed after a busy two days of writing conferences for work!

Saturday we woke up early and had some breakfast before heading to Kaysville for conference weekend! We loved hanging out with family and watching conference. My mom had treats with the name of every apostle and First Presidency member, and when they spoke we got to open that treat! It was a fun way to make conference even more exciting. We spent time with Randy’s family making sushi and watching more sessions. During the Priesthood session my mom and I did some shopping and we ate late night nachos.

Sunday was wonderful and filled with even more family! We ate a delicious lunch and went on a walk, saw my grandparents, and then went back to Randy’s for some time with our niece. It was truly a wonderful weekend.

And conference. Can I just…WOW.

Every single talk impacted me and was so beautiful. I left there with a million things running in my mind of what to start doing, who to start being, and just this peace that my life is on the course it is supposed to be. It was seriously one of the most inspirational conferences I’ve ever listened to, and several of those sweet talks brought me to tears thinking “How did he know I needed to hear that?”

Life is messy and feels uncontrollable sometimes. But as we have faith and trust not in our own ability, but in God and His ability to help us, we’ll be OK. Everything won’t be easy, but it will always work out.

I was also struck with how important it is to remember that each of the apostles are speaking about what Heavenly Father wants them to. They work and pray SO HARD to know exactly what they are supposed to say. No, these are men and they aren’t perfect. But when they are sharing revelation over the pulpit, it’s God’s words. I sustain these men and believe and follow what they tell me. And if for some crazy reason something they say is wrong, I know that God will look on my heart and see that I tried to follow His servants. And that’s what He has commanded me to do.

Sunday after family time we saw our friends for a bit and it was fun to say hey to everyone! We are so lucky to have family and friends that we get to spend so much time with.

I’m just feeling so blessed and lucky and inspired today. The tragedy that happened in Las Vegas has made me sick, but I am so grateful I heard messages of hope and love before it. There is always hope, there is a God who loves us and has a plan. Horrible people will have to answer for what they have done, and God will make everything right. I’m praying for those who were affected and for everyone in Las Vegas today.

Randy and I have had a crazy few weeks as we have been moving to a new apartment! It’s a cute basement apartment with a lot more space, in a better neighborhood, so we’re pretty stoked. It was a really crazy few days as we slowly moved everything over, then had our families come be ROCK STARS and get the big stuff and help us clean our apartment until it was spotless (THANK YOU!)

Randy was the serious trooper here, going up and down the stairs of our current place a million times with a million boxes and being the best. I’m seriously so lucky to have him.

Pictures/a tour of the new place to come!

This weekend we also got to spend time with family for my cousin’s mission farewell, and watch Bethany perform in the high school Night of Shakespeare. She killed it, of course, and it’s sad to think this is her senior year and we will only get to go to a few more performances to see her!

I also got to listen to the General Women’s Session of Conference and it was absolutely wonderful. Full of so much inspiration and happiness, it was truly beautiful to hear.

Hopefully now that we are all moved, things will settle down and we’ll get to do some fun things coming up! Fall is in full swing and I’m ready for pumpkin spice everything and drives up the canyon to look at leaves!

Happy Monday!

This weekend was super fun as we got together with family to celebrate my birthday! My dad had been out of town last weekend, so we just went and sadly watched the BYU vs. Utah football game and that was it.

This weekend, we went to the State Fair on Friday night with friends, which was a BLAST! We ate deep fried cookie dough and watched our friends try to vanquish a Churro Dog (a churro in a donut with ice cream and whipped cream and sprinkles. It was crazy.) We saw the animals and played games, and just had a blast.

Saturday we went to Kaysville bright and early, had lunch with Randy’s family, and then had dinner with my parents. It was a really relaxed and fun day to just hang out with our families! Sunday we were back in Kaysville for my official birthday dinner (thanks for making my favorites mom!) and cake!

I am just spoiled rotten and have the best family and friends in the world. Now here’s to all of them helping Randy and I move here in the next few days! (EEEEEK.)

A new found love for photography (even though we aren’t good at it yet.)

So many books (listened to in the car and read in my bed.)

Some hiccups of uncertainty about my career, my passions, my hobbies, our future.

Being pulled out of that confusion with the help of egg-free cookie dough, a loving husband, and lots of literature.

Prayers of pleading that strengthened my faith and trust.

Nights of Netflix and movies (some new, mostly reruns.)

3 jobs that all felt different (but all paid the bills.)

Landing somewhere that makes me happy.

Lots of Sunday School lessons and teasing our kids.

Baking and cooking and cleaning and crafting.

Great holiday time with lots of family.

Disneyland adventures.

Life-changing experiences in Japan.

Loving on a new niece and nephew (and the niece we already had, too).

A summer of adventures with friends and family and the great outdoors.

Lots of excitement for the year ahead.

The day I turned 24 was an insanely magical day.

Here’s how it went.

I woke up early and was too excited! SO Randy being the sweetheart that he is, woke up and we opened presents! Randy was tooooo good to me, and got me 2 Taylor Swift albums on vinyl (which he actually gave me for ‘birthday eve’) a subscription to the Magnolia Journal (that I was DYING for) some darling clothes, and the most BEAUTIFUL Tiffany Necklace that I’m just in love with. Don’t worry, video to come!

After that, we were off to Kneaders for breakfast which was delightful. Randy also spoiled me with the big inflatable birthday number balloons I had been wanting, so we took some pictures with those. We listened to our records and relaxed (I didn’t have to go to work, HECK YES. Also I should mention my sweet work friends got me a birthday flan when we were at a company lunch the day before. How nice!)

After a bit Randy and I were off again, first on a run to Target and then to the mall to shop! Both were super fun. Then, off to the aquarium we went! The aquarium was SO AMAZING. We got to feed penguins! They were absolutely darling and we had the best time. They waddled right up to us, at least a dozen of them, and stood on our feet and checked us out with their beaks, ate fish out of our hands and ran around like crazies. It was seriously one of the coolest things we have done! Then we wandered the aquarium and saw a bunch of amazing animals and fish, touched the manta rays and star fish, saw the jaguars and a bunch of other things.

Then it was downtown to buy some birthday macaroons and have dinner at Eva, which was delicious as always. We got the Brussels sprouts (my favorite thing there in the world), steak bruschetta (which was also bombbb) shrimp and hominy, takashita fried chicken with amazing rice, and lamb meatballs. We finished the dinner with a cinnamon chocolate cake which was SUPER good. Everything at Eva is amazing, I highly recommend it!

We then went off to City Creek to wander and shop. We happened to walk into a store and they announced they were having a raffle and we could enter to win. I entered, and then before I knew it I had WON a $100 gift card!! It was SO cool!

I blew out macaroon candles and enjoyed the rest of the weekend (even though BYU lost, sadly.)

It was truly an extremely magical birthday, and I wouldn’t change a single thing about it. 23 was a hard year for me in a lot of ways, figuring out my career and my passions and where our future was headed. But I have a feeling 24 is going to be amazing. I can’t wait to see what adventures are ahead!

Randy and I had a super fun weekend, kicked off Friday night with a big game night with friends. We have an awesome group of friends and it’s so fun to get together and just be goofy!

Saturday we woke up bright and early to go to Top Golf to celebrate Beth’s birthday! Bethany is so wonderful and fun, 17 is going to be a great year! She’s so kind and good at EVERYTHING. The girl can sing and act like NOBODY’S business and is amazing at sports, school, and anything else you can think of. Happy birthday dear!

After Top Golf (and some injectable donuts from there. they are SO delicious) we played some games, and then it was off to In n’ Out for some amazing burgers. Followed by presents and cake and more games. It was an all-around awesome night.

Saturday we also FaceTimed with Candace because it was her actual birthday! We had a party a while ago before they moved, but we had to celebrate the actual day as well. She was so sweet and fun, we just adore that little girl. Randy is so insanely smitten and every time we FaceTime, she immediately asks to talk to Randy. Then she proceeds to laugh and laugh and laugh and spin, and then say ickimasho, which is Japanese for “let’s go” that Randy taught her once on a walk. It’s CRAZY that she remembers how to say it and says it almost every time Randy is on the phone. It’s SO cute!

Sunday we went to church and taught, then headed back to Farmington to celebrate Randy’s dad’s birthday with dinner and cake! We had a blast chatting and laughing and silly videos and talking about Sam, who we all miss like crazy.

Monday, unfortunately I actually had to go into work. We just completed a huge merger and a few people were needed to communicate with the rest of the organization who is located around the world, and didn’t have the day off. I didn’t mind though, Randy had some homework and ran some errands and I get to pick another day to take off! It was a wonderful weekend celebrating our favorite people!

This weekend was awesome, but also very sad.

Friday, Randy and I went up to Kaysville for some family time. We played with cousins and our niece and nephew until they had to go to bed. Then we played games with the adults and laughed like crazy!

Saturday was busy and full of fun! We celebrated our niece Candace’s 2nd birthday before they left to California. It was SO fun to see her open a ton of presents and be so excited about her “Elsa cake.” When asked, she would tell us that it was “Elsa’s birthday” and that it was also her birthday. We watched the BYU game and soaked in the time we had left.

That night, Randy and I went over to his parents house to hang out. But first, we had to say goodbye.

We were both in TEARS. We absolutely loved having Candace, Thomas, my brother Ben and his wife Kim in Utah for the summer. They are off to California where my brother starts work at a law firm in September. We are going to miss them like CRAZY but we are so excited for the adventure they have ahead. California is closer than Boston so that’s a plus!

Saturday night we went and got gelato with Randy’s family which was SO good and so fun!

Sunday, we got to listen to my sister sing in church which was a blast, she is extremely talented and I love watching her perform!

Then it was home to our church, and then a very relaxed afternoon, which we desperately needed.

All in all, it’s been a great summer and it’s sad to see it go. But I love fall, I love September and I’m getting super excited for Christmas already!

Last Wednesday, we dropped off Randy’s brother at the MTC so he could serve a 2 year mission in Tokyo, Japan. Sam and I always joked and teased each other, I often told him he was the little brother I never wanted, but it was so sad to say goodbye! Sending off missionaries is hard, it gave me so many flashbacks to saying goodbye to Randy, but I’m so excited for Sam and I know he’s going to kill it!

Wednesday night after we dropped Sam off we had family pictures with my family, which was a blast! Amber Bird is absolutely amazing and I can’t wait to see how they turn out!

Friday night we had friends over for curry and games which is always super fun. Saturday we went to Kaysville (like always) to do laundry and visit with family. That night was the ROCKET SUMMER concert, which is the concert that Randy looks forward to all year. We stopped and had dinner at Manoli’s (it was on a list of the best restaurants in every state as Utah’s best restaurant. It was good, but not the best restaurant. Not even close in my opinion.)

Then it was off to the concert where we ran into old friends, sang our guts out, and had the absolute best time. It’s so awesome to go to a concert where you know the music will be clean, the singer will be amazing, and the people will be awesome. What a fun time! Can’t wait until he comes back to Utah!

Sunday we had all our current and past Sunday School kids over for games and treats and it was SO much fun! We love all those munchkins and have been so lucky to teach Sunday School for almost two years. They are just the sweetest kids and I feel so blessed to get to be with them every Sunday!

Yesterday Randy started class and is OFFICIALLY in the Accounting Program at the U! I am so insanely proud and excited for all the adventures he has ahead.

That’s my major update on all things happening, we’re so happy and lucky and I’m ready for fall! Bring on the pumpkin spice.

Happy Tuesday!

This summer has been one of seeing friends and catching up, with weddings and reunions, we’ve had the chance to see quite a few people.

Many of us are on the cusp of a new adventure, grad school and kids, etc. While we’ve been talking to these friends, a phrase came up a few times that made me stop and think.

“It’ll be the best thing for you and your marriage to do….X, Y or Z.”

Now, let me clarify. These comments came from darling, well-meaning friends. Some of them had been told this by other friends or family and were merely repeating it.

But it got me thinking.

Do I give this kind of advice too liberally?

For me, and my situation, falling in love in high school was the best thing for me. Not serving a mission was the best thing for me. Getting engaged quickly, and married young was the best thing for me. Graduating college in 3 years was the best thing for me. Getting a job and earning money right away, instead of staying for my Master’s Degree was the best thing for me, and my marriage.

But those don’t apply to everyone.

I’ve heard so many people say “Go away to go to school, it’ll be the best thing for your marriage.” Or, “Live outside the country if you can, it’ll be the best thing for your marriage.” Or, “Wait at least 3 years to have kids..” and even “Have kids right away…”

Hearing those kinds of comments have made me totally re-evaluate my life, which isn’t a bad thing. I’ve taken a look at where we are and where we’re headed and thought about what these people had to say. But every time, I’ve come back to what really will be best for me and my marriage, and gone with that. Sometimes it does follow the advice and suggestion of others, often it doesn’t.

For some people, getting married young is the best possible thing that could happen to them. For others, it’s not even a good thing. For some, living far away and having to rely on each other in that way is the best possible thing. For others, myself included, figuring out the family balance and learning to rely on each other in that way has been the best possible thing.

I guess the point is, it’s great to give advice from your perspective, to share your experiences. But blanket statements about certain things being “the very best you can do” mostly aren’t true. We don’t know what the best possible thing for another person or their family will be. Sometimes we have a hunch, and sometimes that hunch will be right. Sometimes you’ll be utterly correct. But sometimes, you won’t be.

So for me, I’m deciding to spend a little more time saying things like “Everyone’s different, for us being married young was great, though,” instead of “Getting married young is the best thing for you.”

Just some food for thought.