Less than 24 hours...

In less than 24 hours I will be HERE...
Nashville... with my dearest and most adorable friends! We are going to have so much fun! I just wanted to share my excitement with you! Have a great Memorial Day weekend - know I will!

Girls Weekend

I can't believe I haven't posted about this yet...

My youngest sister was called to sing in the choir at the general Young Women's conference in SLC. What an amazing experience for her - and for us that got to go watch and listen. All the girls in the choir looked so beautiful in their pinks and yellows (I found the picture above on the internet). I loved seeing the Young Women colors proudly displayed outside (and inside) the conference center, welcoming the youth and their leaders and mothers. It was such a spiritual and moving evening. When the new prophet, Pres. Thomas S. Monson, and his counselors entered the building and we all stood there the most most beautiful and comforting spirit entered with them. The messages that were shared that night really touched my heart and the music was absolutely beautiful. We didn't want to leave the building when it was over. We just lingered and let all the warm fuzzies envelop our bodies. It was a very special night. I am so proud of Holly for living such a righteous life, that she was called to be a part of such an incredible program.

Mom was a babe and got us a hotel room at the Marriott so we could change after the conference and continue with our adventures! She is such a great mom! I don't know what happened to the picture I took of all our treats in our hotel room. I may have mentioned this before but mom always packs treats when we go on a little vacation or road trip, no matter how long we'll be gone. I don't have one memory of us staying in a hotel that doesn't include crackers and that canned cheese whiz, peachies and licorice! Love it! After we changed out of dresses and pigged out on sugar we walked to PF Changs for dinner! I LOVE LOVE this place!! We ended our night by renting a movie in our hotel room! It was perfect! I couldn't ask for a better mom or better sisters. We have so much fun together and I love every minute I get to spend with them. It was a great night...the next morning we ate too much at the fantastic breakfast buffet at the hotel then slowly made our way home. I can't wait for our next outing!

Cute and Cuddley

I completely forgot I had these pictures on my computer! A little while back my sisters-in-law, their kids and I went to Baby Animal Days. It was so fun and I'm a grown up (sometimes). Aren't this little hairy pigs above so cute! I didn't think pigs could be cute!
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The little bunnies were adorable so we all liked holding them. I felt bad for them being mauled and handled by so many kids though! When I was younger my friend and I would walk home from elementary school and stop at the "bunny man's" house. He had a cage of bunnies in his front yard and would let us climb in and sit and play with all the bunnies. We hated the white ones with pink eye! Creepy!

I think Ady is a little unsure about holding the bunny here. She was so excited to see all the animals though!

The little chicks were so adorable too! I didn't hold one of them though, they kind of creep me out a little. Their little legs feel funny on your hands. The kids were happy to hold them though. Again, I felt a little bad for the baby chicks being held and squeezed be so many kids.

There were so many other animals you could pet and mingle with there too...some that I had never even heard of! It was a fun day out! I'm sure happy I married into a family that made me an Aunt! It's so fun having nieces and nephews!

Princess Daisy

Once upon a time there was a princess...

Daisy is our little princess and she is so spoiled! She also thinks she's human sometimes (see photo above - no I did NOT pose this). When Brian gets up in the morning for work he lets Daisy in our room and she lays with me until I get up. More often than not she crawls under the covers then up to Brians pillow (or sometimes shares mine with me) and sleeps there for a good hour or more! It's as if she doesn't get a good nights rest on her own doggy bed...she has to use ours. It is so funny to me! Sometimes she'll lay there until I am putting on my shoes and about to go out the door. She is so not a mornng dog!

This is exactly how I feel in the mornings... "No, not morning already! Just 5 more minutes.'

Isn't she adorable! She's my real life teddy bear (dog)! Love her!

Yippee, I got tagged...

Silly I know, but I was excited to get tagged. This is my first time being tagged and I can't believe how special I feel right now! Love it! Thanks Laura!

What is his name? Brian

How long have we been together? Almost 3 years total

How long did you date? 10 months

Who said "I love you" first? He did. We were talking about Valentine's and how some people need Valentines to say "I love you." He said he didn't and he loved mme (sigh).

Who is taller? Brian. I love it too because I can wear fancy tall shoes!

Who can sing better? Neither of us are real singers. I only hear Brian on a RARE occation. I'll just say I am because I like to sing along to the radio...when I'm alone I sing like I'm an American Idol! ;)

Who is smarter? We are both smart in different areas so together we can talk about so many things and learn a lot from each other. We compliment each other well, I think anyway!

Who does the laundry? I do. Brian helps fold. I have so many silly specific washing instructions for all my clothes that I'd have to make a list for Brian (don't dry the red shirt, hang the jeans, only try the green shirt half way then hang it....etc. i'm kind of a nerd)

Who does the dishes? I usually do and I really don't mind. I'm the kind of person who like to clean up as I cook so I can enjoy the meal without a sink full of dishes.

Who pays the bills? I pay the bills, maybe that's because I work at a bank? I love being in charge of the money!

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Brian - but he tells me the even though we each have half the bed, he thinks mine is right in the middle and his on the edges? Can't be true! I swear I stay on my side.

Who cooks dinner? We take turns. Brian cooks on Tuesdays and I love it! I'm not a Betty Crocker so I don't cook every night. It isn't unusual for us to have cold cereal for dinner.

Who drives? Brian does. I don't think he cares for my driving. I think I'm a GREAT driver!

Who kissed who first? We both agree that our first kiss was kind of an accident. We were at a movie and I leaned over to tell him something and he was RIGHT THERE. It caught us both off guard and we were so close we just broke the awkwardness by a sweet kiss.

Who proposed? Brian did. He is so sweet!

Who is more stubborn? I think we are equal in stubborness!

Who is more sensitive? Me, by a long shot.

Who has more siblings? I have 4 siblings, Brian has 3. He has more neices and nephews though! I am the only one married in my family.

Who wears the pants? I know I've used the word "equal" a lot, but I feel like we really do share the responsibilites and make decisions together. I don't feel like either really "wears the pants" but when one of us wants something, we usually fight for it!

That was fun! Thanks!

Sleeping in Seattle

SEATTLELast weekend Brian and I went on a little vacation to Seattle, WA. I LOVED this city! We flew in late Friday night and had all day Saturday, Sunday and Monday then flew home Tuesday morning. We really only spent one day in downtown Seattle and the rest of the time we cruised the beautiful country in a rental car. I could have spent a few more days in downtown Seattle because there was SO much to see and do.

Saturday we went on a land & water tour of the city in a "duck!" It was a blast and a great was to see the city and Lake Union. I love learning little tidbits about places! This helped us get an idea of where things were located too and we made a list of things to see and do as we cruised. We had seafood on the pier, went to the Seattle Aquarim and walked around.... Pikes Market (see below). I LOVED Pikes Market! All the fresh produce, fun shops and fresh fish. It was fun watching them throw fish there too.

The next day we took our rental car for a cruise and headed up to a place called Everett to go on a whale watching adventure. The weather was a bit dreary but we didn't get rained on. The whale watching was real fun and we made a few friends too! I'd like to go back one day and see the Orca whales when they are migrating.

(This is right by where we got on the boat to go whale watching. I thought it was neat, all the sail boats docked)

After our whale watching adventure we headed up to the Skagit Valley Tulip festival. These photos do NOT even do it justice! It was AMAZING! Tulips and daffodils as far as the eye could see! The colors were so vibrant too. It was so beautiful and I just smiled as we walked around. It was fun seeing so many different people of all races and ages enjoying the beauty and trying to capture it on film.

The next day we did some driving and we went to Mt. Rainer. It was still covered in several feet of snow and so were some of the roads so we didn't get to0 far or get to see too much of the mountian. We took our time driving through lots of fun little towns with old barns, big fields, beautiful yards, little shops...it was so fun. We stopped at Snoqualmie Falls and then at a fun little diner for dinner before heading back to the city. It was by far our most beautiful drive and I didn't have my camera! Actually, I had the camera but left the battery charging in hotel. I was so mad. So, you'll just have to try and paint you own picture of the lush, green, thick, beautiful country.

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I am SO thankful we had the opportunity to travel to Seattle. I think that it is amazing that we are able to just catch a plane or drive to where ever we want (money permitting of course) and see the world! There are so many more places I'd love to explore and I hope to make it to all those places one day. I feel so blessed to be able to experience so many things and be surrounded by such beauty! I especially love that I have such a great husband to share all this with and go on adventures with. I love life!