Day 16

My happy things for yesterday!

-worked a 8 hour day! $$ baby.
-made tacos and used elk burger...hahaha it was actually good. I seasoned it so much that it covered up the taste :)
-I ate my very first kerianne's raspberry/ mango snow cone! It literally melted in my mouth. You will see me there again fo sho. :)
-I got to cuddle with our friends dog for like an hour.
-Tanner and I went on a walk and had  a good chat

Only 2 more days of happy things! They better be good :)

Day 15

My 5 happy things for yesterday:

-Tanner and I helped our family plant our family garden!

-I had a good conversation with my mom

-I went on a nice walk and enjoyed the sunshine

-Made beef ribs for the first time and they were to die for

-gave resumes to about 10 dental offices

I watched this video the other day and I fell in love with it!

copy and paste in a new tab:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/andrewgauthier/surprise-people-with-strangers-first-impressions

What a good reminder for all of us that we need to not be so critical of ourselves.

hahaha. don't you love this happy face? I sure do.

Days 10-14! Memorial Day Weekend

What a wonderful 3 day weekend huh? I know Tanner and I sure enjoyed it- and it was a much needed break for us.

My happy things for the past 4 days:
- Tanner made me 2 super yummy meals!
- I played volleyball for hours! It felt so good.
- We spent a night in Tanner's parents trailer and read scary bear stories.
- We hung out with friends and family for memorial day and had a bbbblllllassssstttt.
- Tanner and I had some really good conversations.
- I finished all my 200 hours for dental assisting! woohoo!
- I rode down a zipline! I love the thrill of being really high above the air and going super fast.
- We went on a fore wheeling ride and looked at the beautiful Tetons. Man- they are gorgeous!
- Tanner and I ate ice-cream bars. they were beyond delicious.
- We played a game with our friends and laughed our heads off.
-We taught our 12-13 years old Sunday school class and they actually attempted at listening to us for once :)
-I will be working every Saturday as a dental assistant!
-I laughed harder than I have in a long time. There's some funny people in this world haha
-I slept in on memorial day.
-My brother came into town and made a surprise visit with his kids at our apartment.
-I moved some boxes to my parents house...our new home for a year! :)
-We had a BBQ with amazing food
-I got some natural vitamin D and finally have some color in my face.

This past weekend was a great one. Amidst all the annoying things that happened, I just have to remember all these happy things that happened. There really is good in our lives- we just need to recognize it.

I also had the time to reflect and honor those that diligently serve our country in military service. I thought of my dear Grandpa Rollie who served in Korea. It really takes sacrifice and diligence to serve this country and to WANT to make the sacrifices that are made each and every day. I honor all those that served and continue to serve for our country. May we never take our country for granted!

Day 9!

My 5 happy things for yesterday!

-Tanner and I went to our nephews pancake birthday dinner! We also went to our other nephews preschool graduation.

-hung out with our friends till wee hours in the morning again :)

-I did impressions on somebody at work for bleach trays and the material went down his shirt. hahahaha. was pretty funny. 

-I got a 96 on a dental exam!

-I finished a lot of homework

Smile :) It's the weekend.

Day 8

My 5 happy things for yesterday:

-I got about 15 super black tar spots out of my carpet and I'll tell you what...I did a really good job hahaha because you can hardly tell the carpet was pitch black. Yeah pretty proud of myself.
-We played a hilarious game with friends and laughed our guts off till way too late.
-I pressure cooked pork ribs for the first time and they about made us drool they were so good.
-I took an exam for dental school and got a 98! WOOT!
-We (I mean Tanner...) replaced our pickups fuel pump and it works again! grateful for a husband that's quite the handyman.

I saw this thing on Facebook and I just had to take it since my motto right now is all about happiness.
It was a quiz on Facebook called, "What is your happy word?" I thought it was going to be really cheesy like most of them are but it was actually spot on!

Your Happy Word Is

HOPE

You refuse to give up on anyone, including yourself. You see the best in others. You think happiness should be shared. You spread your message of optimism as much as possible. You will keep believing when everyone else has stopped. You think good will always prevail in the end. You believe if we trusted each other more, the world would be a better place. All we need is a little hope.

I LOVE this! because I feel like it explains me really well. 

Day 7

My 5 happy things for yesterday:

-Worked at Strobels and succesfully took x-rays

-found a new song and listened to it over and over singing my brains out

-I folded 3 loads of laundry

-We ate costa vida for dinner and it was AMAZING

-packed away all our winter clothes!

What are your happy things in life?!

I saw this today and loved it.

Happy Things days 3-6

Well what a wonderful weekend! Tanner and I went camping Thursday night-Sun morning with some of his family, and had a ball! I'm just going to share 10 happy things for the past 4 days :)

-Went camping with people I love for 3 days.
-I listened to more Disney music!
-Tan and I fit all our gear into our cute little Honda Accord. boom baby!
-Had stake conference.
-Didn't have to work for 3 days ;)
-cleaned my house spic and span
-learned about rock chucks haha
-sat around the campfire and told scary stories
-ran away from a skunk!
-listened to the trickling rain on my tent with my love :)

What a good weekend! I'll post some pics and more about it later.

"My Happy Things Day 2"

My 5 happy things for yesterday.

1. I exercised in the morning!

2. My mom visited me at work.

3. I might've gotten a job as a dental assistant!

4. My husband called me a cyclopse. hahaha.

5. Tan and I were in bed at 10 and sang songs to each other for like 30 minutes :)

Life is good.

Well, I will be out of town this weekend so I'll catch up when I get back!

My Happy Things Challenge

Before I talk about the challenge, I want to share an experience I had last night actually. Last week I felt very strongly that I needed to go visiting teaching. I haven't done it very consistently since we've been married. I've gone-but not every month like I know I should.  So I coordinated with my visiting teaching partner to visit our 2 girls. My heart was in it- but I was nervous what I was going to talk about and share.  So, without me asking, my visiting teaching partner picked the talk from Elder Uchtdorf from this last conference- titled "Grateful in Any Circumstance." I read it a little bit before we left, and I kept praying on my way over there that God would help me know what to say- and that I would have the spirit with me. I was really nervous because the past month I've had a hard time being grateful in my circumstance.

We visited our first girl, and my partner taught her. I was trying to hold back my tears the whole time. The spirit was really strong- testifying to me that what my partner was teaching was true- and it was exactly what I needed to hear. It was weird- but it was what I needed at that time, in that apartment, with 2 girls I had just barely met. It's interesting what God knows we need in our lives, and how he so gracefully puts them in our lives at the right time. Right then and there- my testimony was strengthened a little bit from my dear visiting teaching partner. Throughout the lesson, my throat choked up several times and I kept holding back my tears as best that I could. Until the girl we were teaching asked, "So you're pregnant aren't you?" I immediately lost it. Not because I was mad that she asked that, but because I knew I needed to let my emotions out and talk about it. I told her that I was, but that I had a miscarriage a month ago. I continued on talking about how the last month has been the hardest month of my life- and how this talk by Elder Uchtdorf was EXACTLY what I needed to hear. I testified to the 2 girls that being grateful during times of trial is hard- but right then- I KNEW. I felt that what I was saying was true- and that God needed me not only to hear it, but to share it.

There's a part from the talk that just hit me like a brick. Here it is:

Being Grateful for Things
But some might say, “What do I have to be grateful for when my world is falling apart?”

Perhaps focusing on what we are grateful for is the wrong approach. It is difficult to develop a spirit of gratitude if our thankfulness is only proportional to the number of blessings we can count. True, it is important to frequently “count our blessings”—and anyone who has tried this knows there are many—but I don’t believe the Lord expects us to be less thankful in times of trial than in times of abundance and ease. In fact, most of the scriptural references do not speak of gratitude for things but rather suggest an overall spirit or attitude of gratitude.

It is easy to be grateful for things when life seems to be going our way. But what then of those times when what we wish for seems to be far out of reach?

Could I suggest that we see gratitude as a disposition, a way of life that stands independent of our current situation? In other words, I’m suggesting that instead of being thankful for things, we focus on being thankful in our circumstances—whatever they may be.

There is an old story of a waiter who asked a customer whether he had enjoyed the meal. The guest replied that everything was fine, but it would have been better if they had served more bread. The next day, when the man returned, the waiter doubled the amount of bread, giving him four slices instead of two, but still the man was not happy. The next day, the waiter doubled the bread again, without success.

On the fourth day, the waiter was really determined to make the man happy. And so he took a nine-foot-long (3-m) loaf of bread, cut it in half, and with a smile, served that to the customer. The waiter could scarcely wait for the man’s reaction.

After the meal, the man looked up and said, “Good as always. But I see you’re back to giving only two slices of bread.”

Here's the link to the whole talk- it is SO good. 
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/04/grateful-in-any-circumstances?lang=eng#watch=video

I just love the story he shared about the waiter who was determined to make the man happy. He tried and tried so hard, but the man was never satisfied. I've learned the past month that it's all about attitude and being grateful for what you DO have. As much as I hate to admit that- it's true. WE are the ones that choose how we react to things. WE are the ones that choose if something is going to upset us or not. WE are the ones that choose happiness. And it's all about our attitude and gratitude.


Ok- so on to the challenge.

YOU CAN'T RELY ON OTHER PEOPLE TO MAKE YOU HAPPY!! YOU CONTROL YOUR OWN HAPPINESS!

This has been my motto lately. Because it's something that we all have to come to terms with at some point.
 I challenged our visiting teaching girls to find at least 1 thing every day for the rest of May that makes them happy. So... I'm going to take on the same challenge and find 5 "happy things" that happen to me every day.

For the rest of May- I want to do this. And anyone else reading this- please please PLEASE do it with me! I think anyone can benefit from this- and what's better than doing it with other people?  I know for me, positive thinking trumps negative thinking, so let's challenge ourselves and do it.
Since there's 17 days left until June, let's see how the next 17 days of "happy things" goes.

So what I'm going to do is post on my blog every day my 5 "happy things." Then- under the post anyone and everyone that wants to can post their 5 happy things that happened for that day.
Share my blog with anyone and everyone. Maybe your friend is having a bad day. Maybe your dog. haha. Maybe your spouse. Your grandma, you, seriously...anyone.

Let's see how many people we can get involved in this eh?

My 5 "happy things" yesterday:
- I went visiting teaching- and felt amazing afterwards.
- I successfully made a delicious meal for dinner last night.
- I listened to the disney channel on pandora and sang my heart out.
- I slept in until 8 am!
- I got a back massage from the hub.

Feel free to post your "happy things" that happened yesterday in this post! I'll be writing another post tonight for my "happy things" that happened today.

Let's get crackin!!

Happy Mothers Day!

What a wonderful day.
I woke up with a very relaxing massage from my main man. :)
Then he made me breakfast...

hahahaha a snickers candybar. yep. that's tan for ya.
He made muffins after that. :)

Bear World was having a deal for mothers-where they get in free!! So we wanted to take every advantage of that! They had the cutest little bear cubs. I seriously want one as a pet. There was probably like 5 of them- and they were just playin with each other. it was so cute.

We went through the driving part of bear world 3 times. We couldn't get enough of all the bears! We counted like over 20! It was nuts. This bear in particular was charging towards our car. haha. The guides there said to not stop because if you do, the bears will climb on your car. How funny would that be!

There was several grizzlies, but most of them were brown bears.

I had some time to reflect on my little Tuff Man. I am SO SO grateful for the knowledge that I have that I'll see him again! I can't wait for the day when I can raise him, and Tanner and I can hold him and see him again. Thanks Tuff for choosing me as your mom!! I love you!

Ever since delivering Tuff, I've gained more of an appreciation for my dear mom. What a sacrifice it is to bring children into this world and raise them and teach them the important principles of the gospel, and raise them the best you know how. I owe it to her for everything- for helping me CTR throughout my life, for being the person I talked to ALL the time, for crying with me, and most importantly, for laughing with me. There were many a times growing up that we'd have dance parties and laugh until we about peed our pants. I love this woman. This picture kills me every single time!

                                                               HAHA love you mom!

I am also so incredibly grateful for the mother-in-law that I have. I got really lucky there. She is always looking out for others, and has such a contagious laugh that I love! I also owe it to her for raising the son that she did- I will never be bored with her son :) Thanks mama stace- love you!

Happiness

These hit me like a brick today.

I think sometimes we get caught up in the things that we DON'T have in life- but really there are good things too! We just need to remember that :)

ARIZONA!!!!

Yes. So I took a much needed break and went to Arizona for 4 days. IT WAS SO FUN! I owe it to my sis and her hubby for everything. I think it was a nice break for both Ash and I.
So a little pre-story. I wanted to surprise Ash and go down to Arizona for her birthday. Well, we were talking on the phone and I got a LITTLE excited and blew it. I was quite annoyed. But...then we were able to plan better so I guess it was a good thing :)

I got there Sunday night on April 27. The plane ride was fun- I love flying and looking at all the puffy clouds. Sometimes I just want to jump on them. haha.

                                I mean look at these. Wouldn't they be the best trampoline ever?

Anyway- the heat when I got off the plane was the best thing ever. I was longing for that. I got to Ash and Ethan's house and it was so pretty!  They made a delicious dinner- which Ethan burnt haha but it was still yummy. This is what Ashley does when she cuts onions hahaha. I was dying.

                              A little playtime with Mr. Beau. He's the cutest little thing ever.

Ash and I went on a nice long walk in the WARM nighttime- and had a nice chat.
We created a bucket list of all the things we wanted to do- we had a ball coming up with things. I'll show the list later.

Next day, Monday, we got up early and went to the ZOO!!! It was hot. but so fun. We were there for 5 hours!!! Wyatt loved it. Here's some pics:

                                                        this noodle cracked me up. haha.

 this cheetah kept making weird noises. there were so many people around his cage that I think he got overwhelmed. he was making grunting noises. No one was really sure what was going on.

                                                          cute wyatt. I just love him.

                                                                       cutie pies.

After the zoo we came home and relaxed for a bit then went to the POOL!!! I didn't get any pics unfortunately but it was so fun. you can never go wrong with a pool in my opinion.
Later that night we went....


Drum roll please.....



SCORPION HUNTING!!! Yeah that's right. it was SO COOL! I actually loved it. Apparently their skeletons are transparent, and they are nocturnal so they only come out at night. And you can only see them if you shine a black light on them. So....we went searching on brick walls by the pool, in their backyard, anywhere. They like to sneak in and out of the cracks so once you shine the black light on them you have to hurry and smash them. haha. So we brought a hammer with us, and we found a total of 8. I enjoyed smashing them against the walls :)

 
Here's a pic of one. It was really quite interesting.
Before bed, Wyatt and I made ash a b-day card and decorated the house with fun b-day stuff.
Eth, Ash and I stayed up talking and eventually went to bed pretty late haha.

Next day, April 29! ASH's BDAY!
Wyatt, Beau and I woke up Ashley up and crawled into bed with her. Look at these adorable bed-head faces. Love them.


 

They've got the cheesiest grins. I absolutely love it.

Eth and I had the whole day planned- it was driving Ashley nuts. That's why we did it. She hates not knowing what's going on. :)

So we started off by going to Kneaders for breakfast. yummmm. Ash got a free cupcake. She wanted to see how many free things she could get on her b-day so there was #1 :)
Then Eth and I thought it would be fun to go to the arcade. because who doesn't love the arcade??  We spent quite a bit but it was totally worth it. Ash and I did this fun dancing game haha- so fun.  Here's some pics:

wyatt and i playing deal or no deal.

Oh yeah I almost forgot- so we all left the house matching so we wouldn't lose each other. Wyatt and Beau were completely matching with cut-off shirts and basketball shorts. cuteness.

After the arcade, we went to the... MALL!!!
Here's some pics:

                                                                  All of us matching :)

K these boots were the cutest things ever! and we found out that a 92 year old man hand makes them.

We walked through rainforest cafe. Wyatt was in heaven! K we stumbled upon this creepy tree lady. who talked. hahahahaha.

                                                     Wyatt lovin his massive frog hat.

One of the reasons I wanted to go to AZ was to convince/make Ashley get her ears pierced. haha. she's always wanted to do it but couldn't the guts up to do it. So...that was my b-day gift to her was pierced ears. I told her I had a surprise for her, we walked into Claire's and her face just dropped. Eth and I weren't about to let her leave without getting them pierced! no way. She kept chickening out- until she found a pair of earrings that caught her eye- then she was hooked.
Here's some pics: she was pretty nervous it was cracking me up.

So this was her while the lady was prepping to pierce them.

I thought she was going to have a heart-attack. Ethan and I were dying of laughter.

But she did it....and she loved it. Check out this sweet video. copy and paste the link to watch it. It's worth it.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10154109287035527&l=3815181999229995151

I'm glad we convinced her to do it. I think she's glad too whatdya think?

                                                             Look at those beauties in her ears.

We went into a Disney store and these cute ladies gave Ashley the birthday crown and a happy birthday pin. Oh yeah they also sang to her! It was priceless.

We kept walking around the mall and Ash and I bought sunglasses, and some other random birthday things.

For din-din we took her to.....OLIVE GARDEN!!! yum. it was divine.
Look at this cuteness.

We went home and were all exhausted. But...of course we stayed up again talking :)
It was a good day.

Next day, the 30th, we meant to get up early but we were so exhausted we alll slept in. including the kiddos haha. Ash and I went to a temple session in the newly dedicated Gilbert temple!

Very pretty. I loved all the palm trees around the temple.

Then we came home and went to the pool again. This is the only pic i got. I think Beau was freezing. Wyatt and I enjoyed playing catch with a mini volleyball.

Wyatt had preschool so we picked him up after it was done and went on a bikeride/roller blade ride. Ash was on roller blades and me and Wyatt on bikes. Wyatt took me to the park to show me all the BB guns he collects. Apparently you can find several BB's in the sand at the playground. I didn't get a pic but Wyatt had 2 baby jars full of them!

For dinner we went to RED ROBIN!

 Wyatt is so hilarious. The whole time I was there he did the funniest things! He's definitely his mothers child.

                                                              Cute pic of eth and wyatt.

Man I got spoiled going out to dinner like every night!
We visited Ethan's grandma nana, and talked with her for quite a while. Eth showed me around the house he grew up in- we visited with his brother and grandma for a while- nice people.

So since it was my last night there....we attempted staying up. Ash and I eventually fell asleep on the floor- and eth went to bed. Pretty sure we fell asleep while we were all talking. we were exhausted! Had too much fun :)

Thurs morning we slept in a bit and I got to play with my cute little beau beau. I couldn't get enough of his cheesy smiles!

Wyatt had a field trip for his preschool class. GOING TO THE GROCERY STORE! We all had to wear hats so we wouldn't get germs in any of the food. They even made Beau wear a hair net..it was hilarious.

Everyone in Wyatt's class had to wear a hat- wyatt's was the best by far.

                                                      hahaha look at his goofy pose.

I love him to pieces.

We marked on our bucket list everything that we did. I was surprised with how many things we did in just 4 short days!

We'll have to check off the rest next time I go down there :)

To sum up the trip, I made this collage to sum up my loves. Cheesy nephews, a awesome sister, a rad brother in law, and the temple. Nothing is better than family, laughs, and the gospel. I had SUCH a great trip- and can't wait to go down there again! Thanks Eth and Ash!

                           
Ash and I were joking about selfie's and how ridiculous they are- so of course I had to take one on the plane and send it to her.

Funny story to end: I sat in the wrong seat on the plane ride home. Yeah- not sure how that happened but I screwed up like 3 people's seats! hahaha.

See ya Arizona- till next time :)