"First, you take the graham. You stick the chocolate on the graham. Then, you roast the mallow."

I've never been a camper. In fact, this is the second time that Ben and I have been camping in our three years of marriage. (The first time was with friends almost two years ago!) After putting our apartment up on Airbnb and having someone book a stay, we needed to find something to do for the weekend. We kicked around the idea of going on a short getaway, but decided to head to a close-by state park to pitch a tent, roast some s'mores, and camp out with friends.

My favorite thing about this past weekend was getting out of the city! I can't tell you how nice it was to get away from people and busy streets, and it was especially nice to get away from the sirens that go by our place all night long. The only sounds we heard were crickets and a few drunk guys one campsite over. ;)

Can't wait to go camping again!

fam bam in STL.

The best thing about moving away from family is when they come to visit! We were lucky enough to have my parents and brothers hang out in St. Louis for a few days last week and it was a fabulous excuse to use up a few vacation days and eat a few too many calories! We're so lucky that people take the time to come visit us in the hood. (Kidding. It's great and we like St. Louis. :)

^^Brothers are goobers.^^

Since they got in super late Sunday night, we took our sweet time easing into Monday. But. Once we got going, we couldn't be stopped. We saw the Old Courthouse, the Arch, stopped for burgers and fries, walked along The Loop, ate good meat for dinner, and ended up walking almost 20,000 steps that day. Tuesday we braved the rainstorm and explored the Science Center, flew in the simulators, filled up on pizza, and played at the City Museum for a few hours. Sadly, they left us at the end of the day to head to the next stop on their RV tour and Ben and I had to get back to real life. ;)

Come back! We miss you guys!

this was a "first" for us.

 

It amazes me that after a few years of marriage, you can still have "firsts." You know what I mean by "firsts," right? First car purchase, first real job, first fight (haha), first Christmas together, first anniversary, and so on and so on. This weekend was our first trip away together (besides our honeymoon) in our 2 1/2 years of marriage - because our families live far away, we use all of our vacation time to go out to Denver or Salt Lake City any chance we get. The opportunity for a quick little weekend getaway to Branson, MO presented itself and we were all too eager to jump on it.

The weather recently in St. Louis has been fall-like, so naturally, I packed us sweaters and pants and socks. Since Mother Nature clearly has a mind of her own, she decided to throw us a curve ball this past weekend and bring back the 90 degree & 80% humidity weather. Thus, sweaty faces and frizzy hair. 

The red and yellow trees made up for it all. As did the perfect little lake and marina.

We knew going down that we didn't want to check out any of the shows and we definitely didn't want to have a schedule, so we didn't plan a single thing. We went for walks, we ate good food, we got a malt shake to share from an old-fashioned candy counter, we sat outside under the stars and talked, we explored the town a bit, we read, and we slept well without the noise of the city in the background. It was perfect and relaxing to get away from all responsibilities!

Definitely already planning our next little getaway. :)

Word of advice: go to Branson during the fall and you won't be disappointed.

Also, try the twice baked potatoes at the Chateau Grille.

catching the fever.

I've never been much of a football or basketball fan. However, soccer and baseball? That's a whole different field. (Get it? Field, haha.) And by "whole different field," I mean that I don't get as bored watching them as I do football and basketball.

St. Louis is a huge, huge baseball town. There are Cardinals flags and signs plastered around the city and surrounding areas, and it's impossible to go to any store without seeing Cardinals merchandise near the checkout. At work, people wear their Cardinals shirts/sweatshirts/socks/ties/hats/earrings/anything red on game days and I can guarantee that if you have a two minute conversation with a stranger in the elevator, the Cardinals will somehow pop up. It's impossible to avoid the fever. Already, Ben has become quite the Cardinals fanatic; he diligently watches all of the games, has attended quite a few already this season, and he even has a shirt. ;)

This week they had a "Mormon Night at the Cardinals" - meaning we got really cheap tickets and sat by 200 missionaries who were having the time of their lives. Ben and I split a cherry snowcone (red, of course), kicked up our feet, and enjoyed a night under the stars with friends watching some baseball.

Go Cards!

4th of July & Visitors!

Ben and I had been looking forward to the 4th for quite a while this year. First, his parents were planning on coming out to visit (we all know how much I love visitors :)! Second, America + red, white, and blue + time off of work! All of that good stuff.

I'm happy to report that this past weekend did not disappoint. We busted out our patriotic colors, went gallivanting around the city, and enjoyed some great firework displays. America, we sure do love you.

 

^^Old Courthouse downtown and the Arch in the background^^

^^The Old Courthouse gets dressed up with flags each 4th of July and it's so fun to go see!^^

 ^^My cute in-laws & Ben and I. (Side note: the Arch is so big that sometimes it's hard to get the whole thing in pictures!)^^

^^Thomas Jefferson. My very favorite part of the Missouri History Museum.^^

^^Watched fireworks from the top of a parking garage by our apartment with this cute guy. One of those moments in life that you want to bottle up and save for for the future. :)^^

^^A room in the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis. (Learned that there are 41.5 million tiles in the basilica! Crazy!)^^

^^The crowd at Fair St. Louis waiting for The Fray concert and fireworks. SO. Many. People. This picture doesn't even do it justice.^^

Not pictured:

a million other activities and places, fun restaurants, and the many miles we walked around the city

We sure love our family & our country!

unexpected discoveries about Missouri.

I have no clue where this picture was taken because I didn't take it.  And it looks more like Illinois than Missouri, haha.

My mom and I were talking a few weeks ago about St. Louis.  I told her that sometimes I have these moments where I'll be walking to my car after class, or driving on the freeway after going grocery shopping, where I think Oh my gosh.  I live in St. Louis...I live in Missouri.  And not that I consider it a bad thing!  I just never imagined that I'd be living in Missouri one day.  In fact, if you had asked me a few years ago where St. Louis is and what's there, I would've had to stop and think for a minute or two.

I knew St. Louis was in the Midwest/Northwest somewhere, but I definitely didn't know it's right on the Mississippi River.

I wasn't expecting extremely humid summers and so many rainy days.  I also wasn't expecting so little snow in the winter.

I didn't realize that St. Louis has socio-economic and racial diversity.

I thought Missouri was going to look an awful lot like Kansas--flat, brown, and empty.  (It's actually hilly, green, and has a lot to offer.)

I didn't know that there are so many "big" cities within 4 hours from here (Nashville, Memphis, Kansas City, Louisville, and Indianapolis), and even more 5-6 hours away (Lexington, Cincinnati, Chicago, Oklahoma City, Little Rock, and Des Moines).

I wasn't expecting so many drivers that go 5 mph below the speed limit and never use their blinkers. ;)

I didn't know that I would enjoy being in a small ward as much as I do.  So many service opportunities and chances to teach investigators with the missionaries have come my way, that I feel so blessed!

I really love that there are so many new things to explore and discover nearby, and it makes me excited to figure out over the next few years where we'll end up next!  It sure keeps life exciting. :)

quaint and picturesque.

Since moving to St. Louis, I've heard a lot of people from work and church gush about how cute historic St. Charles is and how it's the perfect little area to walk around.  So for the past 21 months it's been on my list of things I want to do here in the area, and yesterday I finally got a chance to check it out!  From the outdoor patio restaurants to the old fashioned candy stores, it was quaint and picturesque in every aspect.  My fresh raspberry ice cream wasn't too shabby either. ;)

hanging out with dinosaurs.

This past weekend, we spent our Friday night exploring the St. Louis Science Center.  I guess every first Friday of the month they have a bunch of vendors/businesses(?) come and set up booths, they have speakers come, there's a stand-up comedy group that performs, and they show a free movie in their huuuuuuge theater.  It was pretty great.  And free, so that made it even better. ;)  I'm proud to say that I've now seen Back to the Future (typical movie that would be shown at a science center, right?) and we just might be on the hunt to track down parts 2 and 3.

Plus, we got a picture with some dinosaurs.

#ourweekendwasbetterthanyours

I joke, I joke.

i'm ready for a snowstorm.

Remember this post about how Missouri is not like Utah?  Well, I'd like to add the fact that it rains way, way more than it snows here.  I think it snowed three times last winter, and each time it was just a dusting.  However, it pours and pours and then turns to ice.  I really love the rain, but sometimes I just need a good strong snowstorm to get me in the mood for the holidays!  With everyone's photos on Facebook and Instagram over the past few weeks of snow, I'm getting jealous and homesick!  I had to look through my photos from Christmas last year when Ben and I were in Utah; the boys went out to play in the snow, and I sipped on hot chocolate in my sweats and slippers while laughing at them from inside.  Those kind of memories are my favorite.

this post really makes zero sense.

Although our weekend was packed, we managed to squeak in a Sunday walk around the Arch grounds and along the riverfront.  Please notice that small white dot in the bottom left corner of the last picture.  That is a guy fishing.  I don't know why that's relevant or why I felt the need to share.

In other news...

My current job ends on Friday.

My new job starts on Monday!

We put another offer in on a house.

My friend made samoa brownies this weekend that were amazing.

BYU won the football game.  Soundly.

I finally got some BBQ from this famous place.

And lastly, the sky put on a pretty great show.

I'd say it was a pretty good weekend.

This was taken on the freeway (while Ben was driving!) at 60 mph, so don't judge the photo.  Just admire the sunbeams. :)

Congrats on almost making it through Monday!

celebrations call for cupcakes. (and apparently alliteration.)

Happy one year of being in St. Louis to us!

it is sweet.

One of my favorite things about living in Missouri is being asked about Utah and Mormons when I tell people where I'm from.  A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of being the first Mormon my hairstylist had ever met. ;) We talked about the fundamental truths of the gospel, temples, and even more specifically, sealings.  As I was telling her about how we believe in being married for time and eternity, she got goosebumps all over and had tears in her eyes.

"That's so sweet!" she kept saying over and over.

And I couldn't help but emphatically agree with her.  It is sweet.  And such a blessing.

Click on a topic to learn more:  Mormonism, temples, sealings

volunteer opportunities are the best.

A school for immigrant children--many of which are displaced war refugees--had their back-to-school event this weekend here in St. Louis.  Our church group went to help with registration, handing out backpacks, providing lunches, and just to help curb the chaos.  It was so wonderful to talk to all of the kids and watch waves of euphoria wash over them when they were handed a brand new backpack or even a snowcone! The girl above giving the camera a peace sign told me that I was "sooooo lucky" to have been born in America.  And you know what?  

She's completely right and I needed the reminder. :)

we went to court.

On Saturday we {finally} walked two blocks down from our apartment to visit the Old Courthouse--turned museum--where one of the most important cases ever tried in the U.S. took place.  The whole building was awesome!  And check out just how huuuuuge that flag is!

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!