Antelope Island 3-6-17

I don’t really like myself in pictures. I hardly (if ever) take selfies and am not the biggest fan of group photos. However, one thing I do like is taking pictures with Chad. When we get the opportunity to take pictures, it is so much fun and I feel as if we are newly engaged again. We were so lucky to adventure to the Great Salt Lake with the ultra-talented (and stunning!) Alexis Foust! This was our second time shooting with Alexis and not only is she a talented photographer, she also is a wonderful person to be with. Alexis is one of those people that when you first meet her, you feel like you’re going to be best friends for the rest of your life. She remembers things about you that most would forget seconds after meeting you. She is truly one-of-a-kind.

What’s a typical session with Alexis like? For starters, she will work with you to pick a location or studio that fits your style. She understands that everyone has their own style and tastes and will tailor each session to her clients’ individual taste. If you take a look at her blog, you will see that each session is unique. She really wants you to feel satisfied with your session. This last session I could not figure out what to wear. I asked friends and family which option looked best but I still was worried. So what did I do? I messaged Alexis! She was a huge help! I feel like if you were to do this with other photographers they would be annoyed, but Alexis was so happy to help! She LOVES what she does and wants to help in any way she can.

When you meet for your session, Alexis will be there with the biggest smile, ready to go! She understands that each couple, family, etc. has a unique dynamic. Taking pictures with her will feel natural and the photos will mirror that. Honestly, expect lots of laughs with her! It’s only been two days and I’m already feeling withdrawals! Spending time with Alexis is so much fun! I seriously love her! After your session with her, you’ll be feeling the same way. But good thing she is on top of things and you’ll hear back from her soon! In a matter of days, she will have your gallery ready which is amazing because many photographers will have you waiting weeks to get them (which can suck because *suspenseful*). Working with Alexis is such a fun experience and you’ll love it. Alexis (you sweet baby angel😉) Thank you for everything! I can’t wait to work with you again! Lunch date soon? Xoxo

It would be a shame if I didn’t give a shout out to Haley Bateman. Even though I wasn’t directly working with her, she was killing it! This session was different because Haley was taking video of Alexis taking pictures of us. I didn’t have experience working with a videographer before, but I was SO impressed with Haley. She was a blast! We had lots of laughs together and I had to immediately follower her on Instagram, and I am so glad I did. Guys… go check her page out! Her stuff is amazing! If you’re looking for a videographer, I would book with her! Thanks for all the laughs and fun Haley! You’re crazy talented and I hope we get a chance to get together again! (Alexis will be posting the video on her website soon.)

These ladies both are incredibly talented! You’ll love working with them and love your images and video even more! Check out their pages and give them some love!

Photographer: Alexis Foust http://alexisfoustphoto.com/

Videographer: Haley Bateman https://vimeo.com/haleybrooke

This Session:

Location- Antelope Island

Dress: Roolee

Boots: Lucky Brand

Shirt & Pants: American Eagle

Shoes: Old Navy

Are You Still There?

A long, long time ago, I started a blog. I've had an on again off again relationship with this blog. I'll be very faithful and post every week or two and then I won't post for let's say.... over a year. Oh wait, it has been longer than a year! Time sure does fly. I'll give an update on what's happened for the last year. We moved from our favorite place in the entire world--Logan, UT to a familiar place, SLC. I chopped off 9 inches of my hair, our car was rear-ended, Chad started his first year of law school and is doing well with that. I am working full-time and being the 'sugar-momma' while we get through these next couple years. Chad graduated with his Bachelor's Degree from USU in business and I got my Associates in science as a pausing point for my education. We went to Oregon, California, and had smaller adventures in Utah and Idaho. We celebrated holidays, our birthdays, and a second year of marriage. We've gone through some confusion with our future (what we wanted to do for our careers, where we wanted to live, etc.), but we have also been happy, laughing, and waiting for what the Lord has in store for us next. I plan on writing about each of these experiences in separate blog posts, but just in case I don't post on here for another year or so, at least you got an update!;)

One Year

I can't believe its been a year since Chad and I were married! This year has gone by SO fast! It's true that time flies when you're having fun. We've had lots of laughs and fun times together and life is so much better with him. I am so grateful that we had the opportunity to get sealed in the temple. Knowing that we get to be together forever is the best thing ever. Happy anniversary!

         (Special thanks to Krystal Atkinson Photography for taking such BEAUTIFUL pictures!)

b l e s s e d

Okay everyone, let's get real about life. It isn't easy, there are so many things that can get you down, it sometimes doesn't work out how you thought it would, and there is always some kind of plot twist in the mix. Even though there is a lot of stuff that can get you down, there is so much to be grateful for! Lately I've been bugged that no matter how hard I try to make things work out perfectly, something almost always has to go wrong. Life can be tough some times, but it doesn't mean you can't be happy. ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING.

(me and my cute mama)

Let's get real here. Have you ever had a day when people just do little things that really bug you? Do you ever have those days where it seems that one bad thing after another keeps happening or you just feel that stuff keeps piling on top of you and you're unable to handle it any longer? Sometimes those days happen on a weekly basis! Life is rough. However, it doesn't mean it isn't doable. Sometimes I just feel so sorry for myself and then I realize that I'm an idiot for doing so. There are lots of other people that have rough stuff happen to them and they still remain optimistic. Take my mom for example. This lady has Chron's and other crazy health problems but is one of the happiest people I know. Every time I come home to visit, she greets me with the most gorgeous smile wanting to know how I am doing. She is awesome. I'll call her up during the week to see how she is doing, and even when she is hurting and battling some other kind of sickness, she always says, "I'm just fine!" It amazes me. She is truly remarkable and I love her a lot. The thing that makes my mom so wonderful is her attitude, smile, and her ability to radiate happiness. I love her and want to grow to become like her! She knows that by being positive, life is a whole lot easier.

Just remember, when a bad day just seems to be getting worse, ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING. Keep going, keep smiling, don't stop looking for the sunshine! Remember how incredibly blessed you are for being able to live in such a wonderful world. When you start loving life, it can't help but love you back.

xoxo

janitor

When you ask somebody their occupation and they reply with "custodian", there is usually a cringe, a pause and then a dash of sympathy. Nobody wants to clean up after other people. Being a janitor isn't a 'respected' job. It's not practicing law or medicine-- it isn't a dirty job that gets congratulated like being a CNA or something like that. Let's face it, janitorial work is field of work that nobody wants to do and hopes that they never have to. Well guess what, folks? I AM A JANITOR. (I feel like this is kind of an alcoholic anonymous thingy :) ) I work for the university and help prepare venues for events. I'm technically Event Operations, but I basically do cleaning similar to what a janitor or custodian would do. The people I work with are phenomenal, my supervisors ROCK, and this has definitely been one of my favorite jobs so far. I'm not planning on being a janitor for the rest of my life. It isn't my life calling, but as of right now it is a really good, steady job that I actually enjoy. I'm not saying that I like to clean up after lazy slobs, but my job has given me a lot of experiences that have proven very helpful in my day to day life. I'm learning SO many skills that I will use for a lifetime.

This is kind of a weird post, right? I promise I'm going somewhere with this. But before I get to my main point I want to tell a story:

So a few weeks ago I was at one of the venues we provide just making sure that things were going well for this one group that rented the place. I was there to check that the bathrooms were stocked and also to be there in case there was an emergency. So the event goes smoothly, and then it is time for the clean-up group to come in and clean the venue. I'm waiting for the group to come together and this woman comes up to me and snarkily asks if I am the 'janitor'. I said yes and asked her if I could help her with something and she told me that there was a popcorn spill that she really wanted to get on top of. I told her to sit tight because there were rules and directions that I needed to go over, and let's just say that after that moment, everything went downhill. I'm not exactly sure why these people were so frustrated; they knew what they were supposed to do, but from that moment on they called me a janitor like it was some kind of insult. It honestly made me feel awful. It was a rough night and I was already feeling super down from a crazy, stressful week. I didn't know these people personally, and what they said shouldn't have bothered me, but it did. They were making assumptions based on my job and judged me for it. It honestly sucked. I came home to my hubs and he had to talk me up and tell me a million times that what they said didn't matter, that I would most likely never see them again, and people that you don't know don't matter. It was what I needed to hear then. 

It wasn't until the next day that I remembered an awesome blogger Al Carraway. She is an amazing example of "don't judge a book by its cover". This thought hit me like a brick. IT MADE SENSE! These people were judging me because they didn't know me! They don't know all of the things that I've done, they don't know the stresses and hardships that I have dealt with or am currently dealing with. They don't know who I was or what I want to become. They don't know me. 

How many times have you judged someone you don't know? I know I have wrongfully judged people. Most of us have. We are continually making maps of people, trying our best to make sense of who they are, but many times our assumptions are wrong. We are all human, we are all children of a loving Heavenly Father. We all have the ability to be nice, so why not do it? 

I guess what I'm trying to say is that we shouldn't judge people. Don't treat someone badly because of their work, religion, beliefs, or just because you can. You never know who is having a rough time, so just be nice. It's always fun to be the person that brightens somebody else's day. 

xoxo  

General Statements

*DISCLAIMER*

This post may or may not be about marriage... again.

I find it hilarious that everyone is deciding to blog about why they aren't wearing leggings, or why they are happy they didn't get married young. It seems that everyone has an opinion and no matter what it is, they are right and if anybody thinks otherwise, then they are uneducated or inept.

So today I was scrolling through my Facebook feed, and I came across an article that my old dance teacher posted that said something along the lines of "What parents are teaching their daughters wrong... blah blah bad parenting..." I agreed with a lot of it. Seriously, we should start teaching young girls to be independent. I loved that it said to teach your daughter to have an opinion, to go to school and gain a quality education, to not dress in a certain way just to grab a boy's attention, and even some small things like not eating your feelings, then it came to one "rule" that I absolutely despise, "Don't allow your daughter to get married young".

What. The. Blank.

#1- AGAIN with the not getting married young thing? I seriously thought we were done with this.

#2- ALLOW? Since when do you allow your ADULT daughter to do something? There is this thing called independence that you aren't letting your daughter to have and practice if you are not allowing her to make her own decisions. 

I've been thinking about blogging about this topic for quite some time now, but every time I do I always convince myself that I don't want to be one of those fanatical bloggers who write about topics like this so passionately that people who have an opposing opinion don't dare to say anything because they are afraid of the blogger and their faithful followers' backlash. However, I am very passionate about this subject and want to show a different side of it.

I got married when I was 19. That is really young. I didn't even finish my first year of college before I met, dated, and was engaged to my husband. Everyone looked at me weird when I went wedding dress shopping. Many people I encountered seemed doubtful of my relationship lasting. It honestly hurt when a lot of people who I thought were my closest friends didn't support my decision. I knew the risks (I even took a marriage and family university course that explained them extensively), but whenever I thought about not having my husband in my life, I knew I would regret that decision forever. 

My parents were very supportive of my decision. They loved Chad the minute they met him, but they never forced me one way or another. They said that this had to be MY decision. Everyone else decided to give their opinion on what I should do with my life. Some of my friends said that I should date Chad longer, others said that I should get married fast, Some people thought that I should break up with him and travel or "discover" myself, but every time somebody gave me their opinion, I didn't want to listen. My parents encouraged me to think about the commitment I was about to make and to make sure I was ready. They didn't think that I needed to travel, or wait to figure out who I was to make my decision. I knew I loved Chad and that we would be able to balance each other out and make a healthy relationship work.

I don't know why people think you need to figure out who you are in order to get married. That is the biggest joke ever. People change. I feel like I have changed a lot over the last year. I'm not the same person I was when I first came to college and I don't think I will be the same person in five years. I became very comfortable with who I was my junior year of high school, but for some reason I felt like I didn't know who I was and I couldn't wait to "discover" myself in college. The whole act of "discovering" oneself seemed so interesting and that once I achieved it that all of my problems would be solved and I could live happily ever after.. ladeedahh whatever. THIS CONFUSED ME SO MUCH. I came to college, and for the first half of the fall semester I kept trying to discover who I was but it only made things more difficult. I just kept thinking that I was supposed to be an entirely different person,but what I really learned is that you don't need to figure out who you are or become a new person, you need to be comfortable and confident with yourself and then other things will fall into place.

What bothers me most is that people say "you shouldn't get married young" instead of "wait until you are ready to get married". There are some very good reasons for a person to not get married young. Some don't feel ready to have a serious relationship, others are not ready for the commitment and responsibilities. You need to be ready to make important decisions and have a mature relationship. Life is rough and marriage just adds more responsibility to it, but it doesn't mean it can't be a wonderful and joyful experience. MARRIAGE ROCKS. However, if you are not ready for marriage and what it entails, wait a little bit longer.

Even at our wedding receptions, people seemed to doubt that we would last very long. I remember receiving several comments that doubted our maturity and ability to make a relationship work. At the reception in Boise, I remember one man asking me my age. I thought to myself, "Oh no, not another comment on how young I am, or a lecture about making a relationship work takes a lot of effort." Instead this guy had the HUGEST smile on his face and said to Chad and me, "That's so great! You two get to grow together. You both are going to have a lot of adventures and get to enjoy each other when you are still young. You two aren't completely set in your own individual lifestyles and it makes it easier to blend them together. You'll love growing closer as you grow older." Bam. That was exactly what I needed to hear. Somebody who knew that you could have a successful relationship even if you married young.

I guess what I'm trying to say overall is that there is no 'right' age to get married at. Some people find their sweetheart in grade school, some find them their first year out of the house, and others might not find them until later in life. Whenever you find the person who makes you better, happier, person, that is the right time. Don't wait to get married because other people think you should, but don't rush into things if it doesn't feel right. Make sure it is YOU making the decision.

xoxo

I love love!

Valentine's Day this year was super fun thanks to my handsome guy. We were able to sleep in super late, binge watch Netflix and Disney movies, eat at the cutest and tastiest place (The Crepery), and spend the whole day together. It was g r a n d . I loved it! But I want to dedicate this post to tell the WHOLE WIDE WORLD about how much I love Chad. He is awesome. He makes me laugh. We have different personalities that bring out the best in each other. He makes life so much more fun! I'm so happy we had a clumsy first kiss on Valentine's Day a year ago, because now we are together forever and it feels so good. Love you babe!

xoxo

.20.

Twenty years old doesn't feel that different, but boy is it g r a n d. Chad did an AMAZING job making my birthday unforgettable. I love spending time with him-- I try to spend as much time as possible with him throughout my day. For my birthday, he skipped his afternoon class to eat lunch and spend time with me, and during that time he got me the cutest surprise a girl could ask for. HE RENTED A PUPPY FOR ME! Okay, if there is one thing that you should know about me, it is my incredibly, everlasting, joyful, serendipitous, some other huge-A words, LOVE for puppies. They are so cute and so fun and make life a million times better. This puppy was so darn cute and definitely made my day so bright! 

That's not all folks. So when you are a poor college student, you don't really get a lot of protein/ red meat in your diet. The struggle can be so real. To help fight this struggle, we decided to go to Texas Roadhouse for my birthday dinner because steak. That's why. It had been sooooooo incredddiiibbllyyy long since we last had red meat, and this dinner was heaven sent. Amen. Later that night we decided to make cake and have a couple of my closest gal pals come over to our apartment. It was a lovely evening and I really enjoyed spending it with my cute hubs and some of the loveliest ladies in the world. 

Overall my birthday was super stellar and just g r a n d. Twenty is going to be a good year. 

xoxo

Catching up

Holy guacamole.. it has been such a crazy past few months! The holidays are always crazy for my family and there is always something to do. This was the first year I didn't spend Thanksgiving in SLC. This year, Chad and I went up to Boise to spend the holiday with his family. It was really nice. I've loved getting to know my in-laws better and although things were different from what I was used to, it was still really wonderful. I loved getting to spend time with two of his sisters. There are a lot of great ladies in his family :).

Christmas was super crazy!! But isn't it always? Chad and I traveled to SLC to spend it with my side of the family. We had our whole entire family together, which doesn't happen very often, but it was still a blast. We had all the grandkiddos there so you can probably imagine how crazy that was. On Christmas Eve we had our huge family party with all of my aunts, uncles and cousins, and then we woke up bright and early on Christmas Day to open all of the fun presents that Santa brought for us. The only downer over the break is that all of the kids got sick, then almost all of the adults got sick. It was no bueno. But other than that, it was a complete success.

Now I feel like I can write about what has been going on this month! So, Chad and I have started a new semester. This semester is going to be pretty easy for me, but Chad decided to take 17.. yes that is seventeen... credits! I think he is crazy but I know he's going to be just fine. I also got a job! I work for the university during events and such. It's a pretty good job and the people I work with are fantastic! It's seriously a blast. We also went to a wedding for my friend Marissa. It was fabulous! She looked so stinking gorgeous and they were so happy and love was in the air and holy cow it was just g r a n d !

So that is pretty much it. I'll probably post some pictures from the wedding soonish and get working on a better post because not gonna lie.. this one was pretty lame.. and I am NOT a lame person who writes lame posts... except for this time...

xoxo

happy halloween, beaches

So... I thought our costumes this year were quite adorable, but I'm a little biased because I made them. Yeah man, that's right.. I MADE THEM. To be honest though, I only had to make three things, but I still technically made them. Here's the story. Chad and I really wanted to be Curious George and the man in the yellow hat for Halloween this year, but we were having the hardest time finding yellow pants and I had no idea where I would find a grown lady monkey costume.. so that was pretty much a complete bust. So for the next few days we Pinterested and Googled for cute couple costumes and most of them were weird and others were slutty and.. I just won't go into details. We finally narrowed it down to three and went with the easiest (but still cute) one-- Mickey and Minnie. 

Here is the low-down on the DIY. If anybody needs a last minute costume, this would be a quick, cute and easy one. The tutu was really easy. I bought rolls of tulle and an elastic waistband from Hobby Lobby, cut the tulle into strips about 18" long, folded them in half and did the weird loopy knot thing around the waistband. I wanted my tutu to be really big, so I scooted the knots really close together to make it full and fun. Bam.. alliteration. Any-who, The ears were surprisingly easy to make too. I just traced a cup on foam sheets (About three times for each ear), stacked them and then hot glued them together and onto a headband. For the bow, I just sort of free-handed and hot glued it onto my ears. 

Just a close up of our faces...

We went to two.. count it 1,2, DOS parties this year! It's like we are really popular or something! But not really.. One was a family party my mom's side throws every year and the other was a smallish get together with a bunch of people from our apartment complex. Both were super fun and all I gotta say is that this year's Halloween was a success. 

Have a happy November and thanks for reading!

xoxo