Floating The Teton River

This weekend we had an awesome time in Idaho with my family doing our annual fishing trip! My grandpa has been floating the Teton river ever since he was little, and it’s so awesome for our family to go and hear all the stories and catch loads of fish!

We drove up with Liv and Matt on Friday and jammed to Hamilton (my current obsession. if you haven’t listened to it, stop reading this and go listen to it now.) We then stopped at Reed’s for ice cream once we were in Idaho Falls which is seriously my favorite ice cream EVER!

We woke up super early on Saturday to drive to the river which is in Driggs (sorta).

It took us about 8 hours to float the whole thing, Randy and I each caught about 12 fish and that was about the number that everyone else caught, except for my sister and my grandpa who landed probably 20 fish each!

#nofilter. that’s how beautiful it is up here.

We also saw a bull moose from a distance, and then a mama moose and two calves not 100 feet from our boat! They were in the river to drink, and were smack in between the two boats that we had for fishing! We had to wait it out until the mama decided to leave because moose are SCARY and will charge you if you get too close. It was a pretty intense 10 minutes of our two boats on either side of this giant moose, trying to make some noise but not make her mad!

It was really windy so Randy got his workout in paddling against the wind so we didn’t float upstream.

We went to Texas Roadhouse that night with our family and my aunt and uncle’s family. This is the crazy thing, as we were walking out of the restaurant I turned and saw a guy falling towards the floor, and I heard him choking. Everyone in the restaurant was either silent or panicking saying “Call 911! Call 911! He’s choking!” My sister is a CNA and my dad used to be an EMT so both of them rushed forward when the family of the guy who was choking didn’t know how to perform the Heimlich Maneuver. My sister got the guy to talk a little which was good because it meant his airway wasn’t totally blocked. My dad then performed the Heimlich and eventually got the guy to spit out the food. It was SO crazy! We were all a little shaken up but it ended up OK and the guy was fine! It was so lucky that we were there!

Sunday we drove back home, ate some of the fish we caught and visited with my family a little more before heading home for some Muddy Buddies and Boggle with Caleb and Nannette.

It was really a crazy busy weekend but a very fun one, and the weekend of fishing on the Teton is one I always look forward to.

Cute Bridal Shower

Hello! So I haven’t blogged in about 30 years. Since the 4th of July which means I’m a horrible person. It’s been two whole weeks since I have blogged and I’m feeling pretty awful!

So let’s play a huge game of catching up and go over some of the things really quickly!

I helped throw my sister a fun bridal shower with her friends and it was a blast! I’m super sad we forgot to get a picture with everyone, but it was so wonderful!

We had all of Liv’s favorite treats for the shower; chocolate chip cookies, donuts, fruit, milk (in adorable milk bottles from Target) and we had the wonderful Lexie Faith do the adorable place cards, and she killed it! Seriously, go check her out, she was fantastic.

We also had a table of takeaway gifts of lipstick and kisses to help Liv “Kiss The Single Life Goodbye” We also had the girls put on some lipstick and kiss a piece of paper and sign their name, and we’ll get it framed for Liv to always have a cute reminder of her closest friends right before she got married!

We also did Liv’s bridals that night which was super fun. She had her makeup done by the FANTASTIC Madelynne Noelle who is absolutely amazing. Guys, she was in a car accident and still made it to our house in time to get Liv all dolled up and beautiful for her photos! She’s seriously the best. I also got to film Liv and Matt’s first look and formal video and I’m super excited to show you all how it turned out!

Randy and I also got to go to an Orem Owlz baseball game last weekend, which was a blast! We have Pass of all Passes from Seven Peaks so we get in for free, and it was a great way to spend a summer night. Randy always teases me about being nostalgic and sentimental about summer, and he’s totally right, I’m a sucker for fun summer nights and summer activities!

4th Of July

This long weekend was SO needed and chalk full of fun!

Friday Randy and I popped by Seven Peaks again after work – getting those passes was a great idea! We loved going down the crazy slides and racing and just having a blast.

Saturday Randy and I woke up and he went running, and then we went on hike! I had been needing some nature time and it was so perfect to get to the river and just listen and sit. Since I’m working full time and Randy is in school again, we don’t get to spend anywhere near as much time as I’d like doing outdoorsy, summery things. Plus our summer is super busy, so it was so nice to just go on a hike! We drove up to Kaysville on Saturday night to see Singin’ in the Rain performed by the city. They did such a good job, special shout out to our good friend Tyler who KILLED it as the diction coach. Thanks for getting us tickets dear Tyler:)

Sunday we taught Sunday School and visited with a new couple in our ward for a while, before napping and cooking lunch. We then went right back to Kaysville to start celebrating the 4th! We had dinner with Randy’s family which was delicious as always. Then off to my parents house where we played endless games of Rook and ate apple pie.

The 4th started with delicious breakfast and the 4th of July Parade with a bunch of my little cousins. The parade is always super fun, my sister was in it with the Davis Lacrosse team which was awesome, and it’s just such a hometown fun event. We then went and had a barbecue with my family which was awesome! Then it was off to the Low’s for some cake and video games haha. Then over to our friend’s house for a squad BBQ (I think we ate like 3 hamburgers that day!)

Then off to the Kaysville fireworks for some more hometown, family, and America love.

A lot of crazy and scary things are happening in this country. The 4th of July was such an important reminder that we’re all on the same team. We all are a part of this amazing country, we all live in place that people fight and give their lives for, we are all putting in the work to make it a safe and wonderful place. I am so blessed to live in this land, to have grown up in a small town in a free country, and for all the things that it means to be an American.

Home of the free, land of the brave.

This is my “Please one more picture” face

I love America! 

Weekend Shennanigans

Here’s the deets of a busy weekend:

Friday we went to dinner with our wonderful neighbor Charlotte, she’s the best!

Saturday we slept in, cleaned our house a bit, and headed to Provo for some quality time with Rebecca, some shopping for bridesmaid clothes, and then Seven Peaks for a water filled afternoon.

We went to Joe’s Crab Shack with some friends and then watched a movie with them Saturday evening.

Sunday was church and teaching, a long walk, and homemade curry with some of our other friends (courtesy of Chef Randy).

Summer is hard when you work full-time. Randy has a summer class right now on top of work, and my goal is to always do summery, fun things with our spare time, but it’s hard! So I’m considering us very lucky to have gotten to play so much this weekend! 

Father’s Day

My dad was out of town this weekend, so we celebrated Father’s Day last weekend. My brother also got to fly in and it was fun to hang out with him, and for him to get to see his little girl and wife!

Guys, my dad is awesome. He has overcome a lot in his life, and has always been so loving and caring. He has taught me so many things that have helped me be who I am. I honestly don’t know what I would do without my dad. He believes in me, he shows so much love to my mom, he supports all of us, provides for our family, cracks jokes, teaches, and testifies. Thank you so much Daddy!

Randy and I spent the weekend having dinner with friends, hitting up Boondocks, seeing Finding Dory (thanks Dad!) which was AMAZING. I highly recommend it. If someone tells you it’s not good, they’re wrong. It’s more serious than Finding Nemo but the new characters add some awesome humor. Seriously, it’s probably my second favorite Disney sequel, right next to Toy Story.

Sunday, Randy and I had the chance to have Father’s Day dinner with his family. It was a delicious amount of ribs, rolls, asparagus and bacon, and of course, PIE.

Randy is seriously incredible. I’m so lucky that he’s going to be the father of my children one day. He’s the best part of my life and I just love him more than anything!

Disneyland 2016

Don’t mind this GIGANTIC post of all the fun things we did while we were in Disneyland. Sometimes this blog is more like a journal, and this is one of those times. I want to remember every detail and be able to look back and reminisce, so you’re just going to have to bear with me!
Monday:
Monday consisted of waking up at 3:00 AM to get ready, pack the last few things, and head out! I drove in the dark and listened to music and books while Randy slept. We stopped at 8 AM in Saint George for some Chic-Fil-A, and it felt like we had only been on the road for 10 minutes. Next time we have a road trip I’m totally going to wake up early and drive again, it made the drive go by so fast! Randy and I then took turns driving for the next little bit until we got to California! We walked into the Grand Californian Hotel which is absolutely gorgeous. Our room wasn’t ready yet, so we met up with Randy’s parents and younger brothers and grabbed a sandwich in Downtown Disney, and then Randy and I shopped and just mused about how fun it was to be in Disneyland together! We got checked in, went to dinner at Tangaroa Terrace, and Randy and I crashed early so we could gear up for the next day at Disneyland
Tuesday:
We woke up early and had breakfast, and rushed right out for Magic Morning at Disneyland! We seriously went on all the big rides within the first 4 hours! We established a pattern for our days at Disneyland and California adventure; get in at around 7:15, ride everything because there were short lines until around 11:30, have lunch, go home and get our strength back, then head back to the park. We ate at Randy’s favorite restaurant Rancho Del Zocalo so he was in heaven! We had a blast riding a ton of stuff in Disneyland, then we got to see the Paint The Night parade which was so wonderful, and then the fireworks. The fireworks on Main Street were INCREDIBLE! Real snow falling during Frozen songs, the whole nine yards. I’ve seen Disney fireworks a time or two, and this one was out of this world. We also found out today that Randy was most like the character Mickey Mouse, Sam is most like Scar, and I’m most like the Queen of Hearts. So that’s good to know!
Wednesday:
We spent the morning at California Adventure and pretty much rode every single ride, got to have some hot cocoa at the Ghiradelli factory, went to the Plaza in Disneyland for lunch, saw the Frozen show after BARELY getting tickets, oh and we met Stich. Randy’s favorite moment was when we went to see the show “It’s Tough To Be A Bug” and a little girl behind us hadn’t ever seen the show, and was so scared! The show squirts water and sprays air at you and the poor girl behind us didn’t know whether to laugh or cry the whole time! The Frozen show in my opinion wasn’t as good as Aladdin, but the set and technology used was absolutely incredible. Really high quality and very professional. This was another jam-packed day that was way too fun. At the hotel we had a full working kitchen, so we got to have breakfast and dinners at the hotel. We grilled up steak one night and had spaghetti the other. While we waited in line we played a charade and guessing game similar to “Heads Up” and were acting out random stuff, quoting Disney and Star Wars characters, and just laughing. Randy also performed magic tricks that made us all laugh.
Thursday:
We went back to Disneyland for the morning and got on the last few rides that we hadn’t been on, and rode all our favorites again. Over the three days in Disneyland I ate a TON of Dole Whip and bought some souvenirs for my family and friends. For lunch on Thursday we got to go to the Blue Bayou, which was so fun and delicious. Randy had the Monte Cristo which he has been dreaming about for FOREVER! After hitting our favorite rides as much as possible, we all went back and got our stuff from the hotel, and while the Low’s set off for Hollywood, Randy and I set off for our second hotel in Anaheim. We grabbed some Panda Express and watched the fireworks from our hotel room, which was fun.
Friday:
Friday Randy and I woke up early to drive from Anaheim to Hollywood. We checked out and started the 45 minute drive. It went by really quickly and we got to Universal Studios a little before our early entrance. We rushed right to Harry Potter World and got on the ride immediately, which was so awesome! Harry Potter World is so cool and it was so fun to use Randy’s dad’s interactive wand to make things move, see all the castles up in the skyline, and go to the joke shop. We rode all the rides at Universal including the Mummy, Jurassic Park, Transformers, the Simpsons, and we did the Hollywood lot tour. We all agreed that the projection rides with screens made us a little sick! The Hollywood tour was really cool, it was so awesome to see the huge sound stages and outdoor sets that look like entire cities. We went back to Harry Potter World for lunch and had a frozen butterbeer, which is my absolute favorite. At about 3:00 we had done all the things at Universal, and so we parted ways with Randy’s family as they got ready for their flight, and Randy and I got ready for our drive home. Our drive was INCREDIBLY long on the way home, it took us two hours to drive the first 50 miles. We were not super happy about that! But we finally got to our hotel in Las Vegas and crashed for the night, after finding some late night pho, of course.
Saturday:
Saturday we got up and made our way into the city for a couple hours. We love wandering around the giant and expensive hotels, gawking at the price of suits and shoes. We had lunch and had a sing along dance party drive home. Road trips have never been as fun as they are with Randy!
HUGE thank you to the Lows who made sure we had the best time and gave us the chance to go to Disneyland with them! It was SO fun to hang out with the family and we had an absolute blast. Until next time, Disney!
It’s hard to see, but this is the snow!!



The beloved monte cristo

#clbloggerbash

We are home from our trip, which means I need to get blogging! Here’s a quick catch up of the #clbloggerbash that Randy and I went to over Memorial Day Weekend:

The wonderful Charissa Lee Photo threw this lovely bash, and we were lucky enough to get to have her and the amazing Kallie Cordon take photos! Lexie Faith did the amazing place cards and Randy and I got lucky to win some more in a giveaway! White Lily Lane did the darling flower crowns and they turned out so cute! Meeting all the fun bloggers was a dream, you can visit my Instagram to follow all of them! Randy was so awesome and came even though he was the only guy there! Because we want to build up our blog as a duo, he wanted to be a part of the partying and fun too!

Literally every picture she snagged of Randy was a dream.

1st Anniversary

So much blogging to do and catch up on! Randy and I had a much needed weekend getaway for our anniversary, and it was so wonderful. So here’s a lil update on it all!

Friday we went and saw my cute niece and sister in law who are in town from Boston! It was so awesome to get to spend time with them!

Saturday, after a fun morning, we had the opportunity to head to the #clbloggerbash downtown. It was SO wonderful to meet some fellow bloggers, take lots of cute pictures, eat yummy snacks and more! Charissa Thatcher was our lovely host along with a ton of other vendors! (Don’t worry I’ll do a whole post on this bash once I get some more photos! Until then, take a sneak peek!) I was so lucky to have Randy come along, for those of you who don’t know Randy and I are working towards building the blog and our brand together! Some very exciting things ahead.




Charissa is magic behind a camera folks. I mean, come on! Look at the photo she snagged of us!


It was fun to go to this event with Maddy. It was a little awkward having me there, but you could tell Maddy was very much in her element. It was a blast.

We got some beautiful flower crowns courtesy of White Lily Lane, and Randy was just so jealous he had to try it on.

Randy and I decided to spend our anniversary weekend at the Little America hotel, where we spent a day of our honeymoon. So after the blogger bash we ran and got some sushi dinner, then back to the hotel for swimming and movies – and a fireworks show right from our window! (The Bees were playing and there were fireworks for Memorial Day, but it kind of felt like it was also just for us!)

Sunday Randy and I went to Temple Square and spent most of the day there, sitting by the Christus and watching some of the videos in the visitor centers that we normally don’t take the time to see. It was really wonderful!

We spent a bit of time this weekend walking around temple square in the visitor centers. I’ve been so many times, but I’m always so amazed at everything that went into that incredible building. It took 40 years to finish the temple and the saints sacrificed everything to build it. As I hear all the stories about the Salt Lake City Temple, my appreciation for the building grows. 

While I was a missionary in Japan, I often saw the Salt Lake City Temple in videos and pictures. It became a symbol of home to me. I’ve always lived in Utah and I’ve gone to the temple many times of my life. I’m so happy that Maddy and I decided to get married in this temple, because now the temple represents much more than my home. It’s always become a representation of my marriage. I want my marriage to be like this temple. I’ll sacrifice all that I have to build it up because I know what the end result will be.


Also there were peonies so it was wonderful.


Breakfast at the Little America is PRIME.

We also took some artsy shots because, why not!

       

One of Randy’s anniversary gifts was a new suit, and doesn’t he look absolutely AMAZING?? I was sa-wooning.




Randy spoiled me absolutely rotten with a Tiffany bracelet. We’ve been day-dream shopping at Tiffany’s since high school, so this gift was really meaningful and so beautiful. 

I got Randy a polaroid camera and we are already having so much fun with it! I also got him a little something else…but that’s just going to have to wait to be posted about! 

I don’t know why, but I’ve always wanted a polaroid camera. I think polaroids are so cool! There is no filters. You never really know how they will turn out. They are really just raw images. Maddy knows me really well and surprised me with this camera. I never really told her that it’s what I wanted, but it was a perfect gift.



Today was spent at the zoo, one of our favorite dates from high school and an activity we did in San Diego on our honeymoon. It was so much fun to hang out with the animals and with each other all day. Randy and I have both been crazy busy lately so this getaway couldn’t have come at a better time! We have some other vacations this summer, but this is one of the only ones we have planned where we will get to be just alone together. We were so lucky to be able to spend the long weekend just with each other, doing things that we love, unplugging from social media and the stress of everyday life for a bit, etc. 

We were so excited to go into the zoo. She looks really good in sunglasses. 

Today we took a bite of our year-old wedding cake that the reception venue saved only a chunk of. Let’s just say we should’ve had them serve it that night! But Randy did make a delicious drink for us! We grabbed sparkling strawberry daiquiri (no alcohol don’t worry!) and Randy rimmed the glass with strawberry juice and sugar, and we floated some strawberries inside. It was so yummy!

Just a little more sappiness and then I’ll be done, promise.

This first year of marriage has tested me in ways I didn’t expect. It has been hard work in ways I didn’t see coming, and things I was worried about have come easily. I have never been more vulnerable, raw, and open in my life. And I wouldn’t trust my heart and soul with anyone else. Randy is truly my everything, my best friend, my love and my life. Without him I don’t think I’m really me anymore. He gets me in ways that nobody else does, or ever will. He let’s me be myself while also pushing me to be the best version of myself. We’ve had a year of fighting and laughing, sad tears and happy tears, temple dates, cooking dinner in our kitchen, showing each other pointless videos and memes, serious discussions, lots of prayers, shopping, reading, writing, making music, traveling near and far, reminiscing over old times and making lots of new memories. I could go on and on. The point is that marrying Randy one year ago today was the best decision I have, or ever will, make.

I love you Randy Low! Happy Anniversary!

I waited a really long time to finally marry Maddy, and it was hard waiting all that time. I always thought that once we were married things would get easier. In some ways I was right. Marriage is easy. You are with your best friend all the time and you laugh and smile every time you wake up and go to sleep. It’s a great happy cycle. However, marriage can be hard. We’ve really experienced a lot of difficulties and trials, but being married has made all those things better. Everything I’ve experienced in the last year has made me grow. We’ve grown together. I intend for us to keep growing. I’m learning so much about Maddy and myself and It blows me away that I keep falling more and more in love with her. She’s the most thoughtful person I know and I’m so lucky to be her husband.

Happy Anniversary Sweetheart.

Forever and Always yours. 

Shop Sevan – The Jen Ruffle Blouse

Guys! Shop Sevan sent me their new Jen Ruffle Blouse and it is seriously ADORABLE! It’s perfect for a work day, or a rainy Sunday! I’m super obsessed with their shirts, skirts, and dresses. They are high quality material, they ship super fast, and they actually fit a normal sized person! It’s kind of amazing.

So because I’m so obsessed, they’re giving you 20% off! Just type in the code TWENTY at checkout.

Let me know what you all end up ordering!

Happy Sunday everyone!

Engagements and Mother’s Day

Oh hey, these cuties are engaged! I’m so happy for Liv and Matt, they are seriously so perfect for each other. Matt is such an awesome guy, and I’m so excited to have him as a brother-in-law! Watch out world – the Reid’s are going to take over someday! 
Friday we had an awesome time with Courtney and Tommy watching the game, chatting, laughing, and making THE BEST DESSERT OF ALL TIME. It involves Ruby Snap cookie dough and Ben and Jerry ice cream coming together to make the best ice cream sandwich in the universe. 
Saturday we went to Thanksgiving Pointe with the family as part of our Mother’s Day gift to our mom. It was such a blast to walk around the gardens even though all the tulips had been destroyed by hail. We have been going to Thanksgiving point about a dozen times per spring/summer since I was little. It’s so fun to go back even though we are older and see the beautiful things, chat and take pictures, play with all the little kid stuff at the museum, and run around in the kid’s garden playing tag. My family pretty much rocks. 

Randy and I then got to go see the Rocket Summer in concert! We did the meet and greet before the show and Randy got to meet his music idol! Bryce is SO nice and did an acoustic set at the meet and greet which was amazing. Then the show was absolutely killer! The concert was one of the best concerts I have ever been to! Bryce had so much energy, played every single instrument, did a loop, jumped into the crowd with confetti and then crowd surfed. Basically it was amazing.

And now a moment for my mom. My mom is my best friend. She is my confidant, my teacher, the person I bounce ideas off of, my go to, and so much more. I didn’t know that I could be as close to my mom as I am, and I’m so very lucky. She is everything that I hope one day to be. Mom, thank you for being the person that I look up to. Thank you for loving me every second, even when I was hard to like. You are truly an inspiration to me in so many ways, and I am so lucky to be your daughter.

Happy Monday all!