Some more stuff I do while Jeff studies!

Dollar Store Scarecrow!

The vase is from Jeff proposed but the flowers are also Dollar Store!

We have a few fake squash things hidden around the condo now!

I finally did something with my wedding bouquet!

This little guy brings some excitement to the window over the stairs!

Fall leaves! Also Dollar Store.

Flowers in a birdcage and some color!

We're trying to add a citrus smell and not waste peels after juicing/ dehydrating.

More peels and flowers!

I Make Things!

I always wished I had more time to make things! And now I do! For a little bit until things pick up...

Here are some things I've made:

Dehydrated fruit! So all I had to do was cut it up and put it in but I'm excited to eat it with granola and stuff!!

Even the cutting it up wasn't hard because we have a corer/ slicer and it was AWESOME! I could use it on the apples, pears, and plums!!

We also have a juicer!! It makes yummy juice and spits out the pulp...

Which I used to make apple cinnamon muffins!!!

Jeff wondered if we could make applesauce and so I took him up on the challenge and BEHOLD!! Apple cinnamon sauce!!

Last night we had the sisters over and I made noodles with veggies and shrimp and homemade Fettuccine Alfredo!! It turned out great!!!

This one isn't edible but I made a dollar store wreath!! It does have fake grapes on it but... They're fake...

This s my first attempt at homemade bread! It turned out funky looking but yummy!! Next time the goal is to make it look as good as it tastes :)

This isn't really homemade as much as just awesome. I got us these little dishes that you put tortillas in and then stick them in the oven for like 5 minutes and they become tortilla bowls! We had veggie chicken salad in them and it was really good!!

Hopefully there will be more to come soon!!

Running a 5k!

The funny thing about being married is that you have someone there to help you stick to your goals.

Which means if you make a goal out loud... they will make sure you stick with it... even if one day you decide you don't want that goal anymore... because you're lazy...

I had decided that I want to get in shape. Jeff loves the idea of being healthy because it means your body will last longer! You can have good quality of life and you can have it when you're young and old! I like that idea... until I'm tired and lazy!

I told Jeff I wanted to run more and I started a couch to 5k program! It's been great! It pushes you but takes things one bit at a time so after 8 weeks you're running 35 minutes without stopping. A few weeks in Jeff came to me with a 5k that was happening at his school for research on the early detection of cancer. Just like most people, I've seen the effects of cancer of all kinds and was completely happy at the idea of contributing the money! And then there was the 5k...

The app I use!

This race fell 6 weeks into my 8 week 5k program so I knew I wasn't ready. For most people this is no big deal but those who know me well know that I have NEVER been into running! Short sprints at the most and that's mainly if something scary is coming after me (like a bee). In those cases I suddenly have the power too move at great speeds until said flying piece of nasty has ceased to follow me. But if there is no danger then there is no magical power!

So my goal for is 5k was not speed but endurance! I just wanted to not stop along the way! And after some mental games, some music and most importantly, some encouragement from my incredible husband, I did it! I didn't stop the entire time and while I was going at a pretty leisurely pace I finished it in 31 minutes and 8 seconds!

Here's to having husbands who make you stick to your goals! Now the goal is to get a faster 5k :)

Crag's Crest!

Jeff's parents took us on a great hike where you go up over a crest and have a beautiful view on both sides!

Jeff's parents grabbing a selfie!

Photos courtesy of Jeff!

Let it Begin!!

I'm married!!!

And to such a handsome guy!!

The wedding was BEAUTIFUL!! I had heard so many horror stories about wedding days and I just wanted things to go smoothly!! And they did!! The day was beautiful from the weather to the ceremony and we loved every minute of it! Seeing friends and family come to support us was so great!

Then there was an awesome honeymoon! The pictures are having a hard time posting but I'll get some figured out! 

We went and saw Penn and Teller, which was super funny, and Blue Man Group, which was also funny but SUPER WEIRD and Cirque de Soliel, which was especially cool because it was Michael Jackson themed!

PENN AND TELLER

BLUE MAN GROUP

CIRQUE DE SOLIEL

We also had a great time at The Aquarium and a beautiful Titanic Museum before heading down to the Grand Canyon (pictures to come)!!

And then the craziness set in! We went straight to Jeff's parent's house so he could do a two week rotation at a local clinic! His parents have been so nice to let us stay with them! For the weekend, the wanted to get out and enjoy the good weather:

So we went to Glenwood Springs!

And rode THIS!!

We did some cave exploring, some ziplining and some ice cream eating!

Then we finally had a few days in Denver so we went and saw John Legend at the Red Rocks Amphitheater!

It was rainy but NOT COLD so that was a miracle!!

Then we went back to Grand Junction for our open house which was BEAUTIFUL (pictures to come)!

From which I hopped in my parents car and went and met this adorable baby!

Baby Kaia Jewel Birch, born August 12, 2014

She burps, gurgles, growls and hiccups! It was so fun to spend the week with her!

Then I jumped on a plane back to Denver and woke up at 3 the next morning to hike my first 14er!

Mt. Bierstadt- almost kicked my butt but I kicked back and made it to the top! Probably only because Jeff was there to drag me along!

Then on Sunday it was back in the car and back to Grand Junction for our last two week stint here! 

Things have been CRAZY but awesome! And it's just getting started!!!!!!!!

He Liked It So He Went And Put A Ring On It!!!

The proposal post!!!

I've been meaning to post this for a while but things have been a little busy with some wedding planning!!

So on April 25th the most incredible person I've ever met got down on one knee and asked me to be his forever!! It was a pretty busy day since it was my dad's birthday, the day I walked and received my diploma, the day I sold my apartment contract, and the day I got the prettiest piece of jewelry I've ever owned!

This was that morning, before I knew what a treat I was in for!!

So after getting the diploma and enjoying some time with my parents and siblings, Jeff said he had a plan for the rest of the evening. If you read the post before this than you know that Jeff and I met and went on a date in 2009. Well, Jeff's plan for that night was to retrace our steps and go on our first date again! 

In 2009, Jeff picked me up at my apartment at University Villa and we made our way over to the planetarium. I remember just chatting while we waited in line and thinking "hmmmm, this date is going a lot smoother than the usual first date." Jeff was easy to talk to, laugh with and be around in general (and let's get real, easy to look at!). Which is more than can be said for most first dates! Unfortunately, in 2014, the planetarium was closed so we just wandered around and took some pictures on the old Polaroid he'd bought!

We then stopped by Fat Cats (just like in 2009) and then grabbed malts at "The Malt Shop"!

We had so much fun, even more fun than the first time we went on this date! But in 2014, instead of taking me home, we hopped back in the car and Jeff just started driving! We drove over to a park next to Utah Lake (we started dating after a conversation on the edge of Utah Lake) and when we pulled up I could see little flickering lights a little ways away. We got out and walked over to find some blankets set out, rose peddles everywhere and jars with little candles in them! We sat down, chatted, laughed and wrapped up in blankets since it was a little cold and windy and just enjoyed the view. Then Jeff said he had a gift for me!

And he pulled out this book! It turns the had been up until about 3 most nights that week putting this book together with pictures and quotes in chronological order from our time dating. We put in the pictures that we had taken earlier so that we would have pictures from our "first date," and it turned out that that's why we needed to reenact it! 

These are just a few pictures from the book and we had an awesome time looking back on all the fun we've had!

Then I got to this page:

And I was like "UMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!??????"

And then turned the page to find this picture!

And then I was about to turn to the next page when Jeff TOOK THE BOOK FROM ME!! 

But he made up for it by saying a lot of very nice things, standing up, getting on one knee and asking me if I would marry him!!!!!!!!!!

I very quickly and excitedly said "YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" and we hugged, kissed, and starts celebrating when he said "wait, you said 'yes' right?" And I said 

YES, I SAID YES!!!! YES YES YES YES YES YES YES, I SAID YES!!!!!!!!!!

As it turns out, Jeff had taken the book because the next page said "She Said Yes!!!" but he had to make sure everything went according to plan before he could let me see that page :)

And it did!!! So we filled those pages with pictures of us celebrating!!!!!!!

As of now these are the last pages in the book but we now have ETERNITY to fill in the rest of the pages!! I can't believe how lucky I am so be able to create memories with someone so kind, smart, caring, dedicated, hardworking, funny, and dang handsome :) I have won the jackpot!!!!!

AUGUST 2nd is the day!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!