one year older and wiser, too!

One of my favorite things about Ben is that he puts up with my love of birthdays and cake and buying presents even though that's not his thing. And he doesn't mind when I have to make sure that the wrapping paper matches the sprinkles on the cake, or even when I sing the birthday song to him in a fake opera voice. He's one of my favorite people to celebrate and he's patient with me when I get a bit carried away. ;)

(Long side note: Before we even started dating, a group of us in our singles ward got together on Sunday nights to watch a movie from the Star Wars series. Mostly because I had never seen all of the movies, and especially not in order. (Gasp! The horror.) It was around November/December - a time when the stores were filled with festive M&M's, some of which Ben had never tried before. One night he and I made a late night grocery store run to get different kinds of M&M's and we ended up sharing some coconut M&M's and some mint M&M's. Now, whenever I see the little coconut or mint candies I think of Ben and associate the two with dating him.)

Thanks for being born, Ben! :)

21 things i learned (and re-learned) during my 21st year of life.

Thanks to family and friends for making me feel like a million bucks yesterday! I had my hesitations about leaving 21 behind, but we're one day in and so far so good. ;)

21 things I learned (and re-learned) during my 21st year of life

It's okay to spend Friday night at home with no plans.

Getting laid off is no fun.

I can be in a hospital/around blood and not pass out.

Pray, pray, pray.

Cooking is actually fun.

Baking is even more fun.

Don't do business with people you know well.

Doing new things is good for you.

Traveling with your spouse is awesome.

Clothes and makeup don't bring happiness, but they kinda really do at the same time.

People like it when you remember small details they've mentioned.

The best things in life take a lot of work.

Choose good landlords.

Teaching a Primary class can be really frustrating and rewarding.

Sometimes you just need some froyo.

Date nights are the best nights.

Things will always work out.

Spontaneous plans make way better stories.

Peanut butter is delicious.

Stand by what you believe in and don't let others convince you otherwise.

Take a deep breath and start over.

U T A H // Part 2

We met up with our cousin who is currently an EFY counselor at BYU and got to chat with her for a bit. :)

Hiked to Donut Falls up Big Cottonwood Canyon (I'd highly recommend it for all ages and activity levels).  It was beautiful and so great to be back in nature!

We spent our Family Home Evening out at the driving range.

One of the things we did on Ben's birthday was hike up Timpanooke Trail to the waterfall.  It was definitely a harder hike than Donut Falls, but relatively, not too steep of a trail.  The views were great and we even came across some snow that hadn't yet melted!

Ben requested Funfetti cake with homemade chocolate frosting for his birthday treat, and it was surprisingly ten times better than it sounds!  Also, how fun are those birthday candles? :)

Our week in numbers

Movies watched: 4

Cafe Rio trips: 2

Late nights: 7

Pictures taken: 100+

Birthdays celebrated: 2

We loved getting away from the city for a bit and especially loved spending time with family.

Until next time, Utah!

twenty-six years young.

Happy birthday to my favorite!
You deserve to be celebrated everyday. :)

camping, utah, and such.

I've had pictures from the last month that I've been meaning to post, but life gets busy.  :)  Now commencing, Operation Blog Catch-Up.

Our friends, Braden and Whitney, invited us to go camping about a month ago.  Of course we had to jump on that opportunity since we had never been camping together before, and I had been dying for some s'mores.  We drove about 2 hours south of St. Louis and ended up camping next to the prettiest little river.  We set up the tents, got our s'mores fix, and stayed up too late talking around the campfire.

We spent the next day playing in and climbing over all the pools and rocks (as you can see Ben and Braden doing so in the left picture), and swimming in the river.  Admittedly, it was the first time I stopped and realized that I actually think Missouri has some beautiful spots.   It felt like I was emotionally cheating on Utah...aaaand then we drove back to St. Louis and my heart was recommitted to Utah.

Birthdays are best when you get to request special cakes and summer night walks.  (Also, turning 21 doesn't mean much when you're Mormon. #youngwildandfree #butnotsowild.)

It was probably a good thing that my heart finally settled on Utah after our camping trip, seeing as we flew out to Utah the next week.  We went for my best friend's wedding, a family reunion in Idaho, and just to spend time with my family.  It was fabulous! (Minus having a dead camera battery and no charger for the whole trip.)

I stole this group picture off of Facebook from a stranger.  It's whatever.  Also, I'd like to point out that this is probably the first time I've ever looked semi-tan in a picture.  Can we all just soak it in for a minute?  Okay, thanks.

(Note:  This steakhouse is the coolest place ever.  They bring your meat out to you on a hot stone and you cook your meat as you cut off pieces!  Food and entertainment. :)

We look like babies in this picture, but what can you expect after spending all day at the pool in the hot sun? :)

Until next time, Utah!

happy birthday to my best friend!

Happy birthday {yesterday} to this guy!!!  We started the day off right with doughnuts for breakfast and ended it with some Better Than Anything cake, so we pretty much had (still have?) sugar coursing through our veins.

Love you, Ben!  

three-one-nine.

John Allred concert at school. Cookies from Chad. Sonic drinks in the car. Hugging the tree in the commons area at school. In Cody's living room. Celebratory BYU cakes after getting accepted. Birthday balloons for David. Photo board at Maggie Moo's. Outdoor symphony at Thanksgiving Point (I couldn't get the photo to center. Sorry :)). Sonic drinks. Picture drawn without hands. Senior grad night. Better Than Anything cake. Earthfest/Train concert. High school graduation. Crafting to get through mono. The Summer of Love van. Mel's awkward Christmas sweaters party. Taking Trax to Temple Square. Temple Square statues. Sitting around the firepit at Hayley's. Taking the bus to Provo. Water balloon fight. Senior grad night. First day at BYU.

Floating the Provo River. Temple Square. Photos with Bayli. Proposals. The waterslide in Alpine.  Flowers. Trampoline sleepovers. More pictures with Bayli. Mel's house. Festival of Colors. Getting locked out of the truck. Parker's farewell. The pantry. Mustaches for July 4th. Lehi Rodeo. BYU Talent Show. BYU football game. California. California. Disneyland. Provo temple. Lauren's concert. Yogurtland. Relief Society. Sparks for Lizzy's birthday.

There are some people who instantly draw you in with their funny personality, sarcasm, and love for life.  And this girl did that for me.

:)

Happiest of happy birthdays to you!

birthdays galore.

In my family, June is birthday month.  We are given the great privilege of celebrating 5 birthdays (+ Father's Day!) within a short period of three weeks.  It's really great... by the end of "birthday month," no one wants cake and ice cream anymore, and the thought of singing the birthday song is nauseating. (Kidding. It's great.)  So let me show you what went down in our family during "birthday month" . . .

Brother #2 and his vanilla tres leches cake.

B and his vanilla cake of fire.

(We were all given Hawaiian leis to wear, courtesy of the sister.)

Momma and her chocolate tres leches cake.

(Dad really likes to celebrate...?)

Yours Truly and a homemade/bought chocolate fudge cake.

Dad and his birthday salsa & chips.