cutting down our own christmas tree.

One of our favorite things to do in Quincy at Thanksgiving time is cut down our own Christmas tree to bring home with us. There is something so classic feeling about going out in the forest, hunting, and cutting down your own tree. It really kicks off the Christmas season right for us!

Although I am cooped up in bed with a nasty cold, we are going to try and set it up tonight. Oh, how I love Christmas time…just not being sick while I want to be decorating and drinking hot cocoa!

Thanksgiving in Quincy.

I can't express how much I love this little town and my family who lives there. I have so so so much to be grateful for. Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving as well!

a list of some of the things we experienced this year...

(Portrait by Birds of Ashmae)

In our one year of marriage we:

Moved in to our first apartment together downtown.

We tried out iFly and did lots of Flowriding.

We had a gnome Christmas party at our cabin in Midway.

We celebrated our first Christmas together as a married couple.

Josh got two guns.

We took many, many walks downtown.

We have experienced my good and bad cooking experiments. 

We celebrated New Years Eve at our apartment with friends and never got all the confetti off of the ground.

We got our wedding photos and reminissed on that wonderful day.

We did some skiing.

We started going to the gym together, then stopped shortly after.

We spent my 22nd birthday in San Diego.

We enjoyed a ski day together in celebration of Valentines day.

Josh spoiled me on actual Valentines day. 

We took pictures with some photographers as a couple.

We took a little Vegas getaway. 

We attended a million dollar movies.

We had a lot of friends get married and join the club.

My mom took us skiing for HER birthday.

My sister Chelsea and her family moved to Utah.

We discovered my many allergies.

We explored a lot of new restaurants and spent too much time at Hatch Family Chocolates.

I chopped my hair off.

We bought our first house.

Josh graduated with his MBA in Financial Planning.

I got an internship, then job with an advertising agency.

We honeymooned in South Africa!

We planted our first garden.

We enjoyed Lake Powell a few times.

We took friends boating.

We stopped eating sweets.

We went camping with friends.

We became parents to the cutest doggie in the world.

Tow of my sisters had babies.

We went to the Oakley rodeo.

We had a BBQ in Provo with Josh's old roommates and their wives for the Fourth.

Josh discovered Molca (now Hector's).

We scootered with friends to Lone Star.

I made a head board.

Josh grew his hair really long.

We went to Quincy for a family reunion.

Josh turned 29!

We went to Lagoon.

We went four-wheeling and had pictures taken for an advertisement.

We went to Hebgen Lake.

We went to Josh's 10 year High School reunion in CA.

We went to Mary Poppins.

We painted a room together in our house.

We bought another house to flip.

I learned to be a little more crafty.

We went to Thriller.

Josh went on a boys trip to St. George to bike.

We held a Halloween party at our house.

We laughed A LOT.

We learned A LOT. 

We fell MORE in love.

And much much much more.

This year has been so amazing. Of course there have been ups and downs and we have had to go through some trials, but we feel so blessed everyday to wake up next to each other and go about conquering the world together.

Can't wait for a million more!!

our one year anniversary celebration.

This morning Josh and I woke up to go about our normal day after spending a couple days together MIA. We debated staying up at Stein Erikson Lodge (where we stayed after we got married last year), but instead decided to stay at Hotel Monaco and enjoy the area where we lived together for six months after we got married. Josh and I will always have a special place in our heart for downtown SLC. 

We loved spending time together with no distractions eating at some of our favorite places, sleeping in, going to the Leonardo museum, shopping, going to a movie, taking trax, and simply enjoying each other's company. 

We feel so blessed to have such an amazing marriage and friendship. We were talking about how people say the first year is the hardest and if that's true, this should be a breeze! We have had the most amazing year of our lives. It is so fun to continually grow and learn more about each other. We really take pride in working together as a team to make things excellent. Of course marriage is something you work at and we believe that it really just takes two selfless people trying constantly to make the other person happy. I am so grateful to have Josh. I don't know how I got so lucky, but he is definitely my soul mate. 

celebrating the best year of our lives.

After Josh gets done taking his CFP exam today, we are off on a little stay-cation downtown at the Hotel Monaco for a couple nights to celebrate one year of bliss. We plan to relax, eat good food, and enjoy every moment together without distractions. I can't wait to have him all to myself, especially after the last few months of studying. After our little get-away, we leave for one of our favorite places in the world: Quincy, California for Thanksgiving. This should be a pretty good week!

Josh, there isn't a better husband in the world. I can't believe tomorrow at this time last year we were getting ready to be married! I knew I was making a great decision, but I had no idea just HOW amazing it really would be. I have never been happier in my life! Thank you for being so perfect for me.

sneaky little nora girl.

We never let Nora on the couch and she knows it's off limits. I got distracted reading an email the other night and looked over to find THIS right next to me. She was so still and quiet and wouldn't even look at me. It was too cute to move her, so I had to catch a couple pictures first. Oh and by the way, this dog loves watching TV. She will get mesmerized by the screen and jumps up right next to it if any dogs appear. 

se vende.

Here are a few pictures of Josh and my first investment house. I really wish I had before photos…duh! Anyway, we moved into our house about 4-5 months ago with the idea of remodeling the kitchen and a couple other spaces. Instead, we took our remodel money and bought another home to flip out in Taylorsville. It was a very quick and simple process…everything was basically hired out. We wanted to just do simple changes that would make a big difference and get it back on the market. We feel so blessed that it worked out so well and we have a buyer who looks very promising. 

We are definitely going to do this again soon and next time I want to be more involved in the design process, since I won't be as busy. This was a great learning experience and we are happy to have our feet wet. Now I'm crossing my fingers that everything goes through and the house closes in a week or two so I can start my kitchen! Wahoo!

cook and swap.

Last week my mom decided to get us girls (who live in town) together to cook dinners. We brought the ingredients, enough for our three families, and got to work. It was fun to cook together and has been so nice to have the meals all ready to go in my refrigerator! 

lately in pictures.

already over it.

Last week I gave in to Nielsen's Frozen Custard. It was the first sweet I had in 6 months. It tasted so good, don't get me wrong, but left me with quite the belly ache. 

What I like the most about the outcome of my no sweets thing, is that it changed my lifestyle. I no longer even notice the candy isle at the gas station or am tempted to eat random junk just because it's in front of me. There are so many alternatives that make my body feel so much better! 

I feel like this has really stuck and I hope I continue to be strong! For me, it is a much much better way to live.

11 days until one year of marriage.

I'm thinking a engagement/wedding/reception recap is in order soon, like my sister did here. There were so many details that I don't want to forget! It was certainly the best decision I have ever made.

we like to go to breakfast on saturdays. i had to introduce josh to blue plate. of course.

Nora the protector

Yesterday morning I decided to take Nora to the dog park to let her run around. We go to the Tanner Park one, so it is basically a hiking trail. Usually Josh and I go together and Nora runs wild. This time, since it was just her and I, she wouldn't leave my sight. She would run ahead, look back at me and wait until I caught up with her. I felt like she was protecting me, since I was alone. She was being so sweet…it just made me love her more. She is the best dog. We seriously lucked out. 

Halloween Party

Josh and I decided to host a Halloween party at our house this year. We loved seeing all the creative costumes our friends came up with. 

I didn't do a good job of taking pictures of the food and decorations, but thank you to everyone who brought cute Halloween inspired appetizer. Everyone seemed to have a blast playing the classic games such as pin the wart on the witch, candy corn toss, bobbing for apples, and donuts on a string. 

We love our friends and it was fun to mix both Josh's and mine. Everyone was so sweet.