Road trippin'

In case you didn't know, we are in Virginia for the summer! What a crazy adventure so far. We drove across the country for 3 days and are now in such a completely different place. If you were wondering, this is what Colorado looks like in a town called Steamboat springs - i know, cute right?!

As we were driving through Kansas i couldn't help but say "There's no place like home!" and truely mean it. The east coast is so different than the west.

On our way, we stopped at the Liberty jail where Joseph Smith (First prophet of the LDS church) was held for i believe 5 months in the dead of winter. We were able to go on a tour of this rebuild jail.

The walls of the jail were a total of 4 feet thick with wood, piled rocks, and the outside wall. Joseph smith (seen writing on the left) and the four other men were imprissoned because they would not renounce their religion. There was no proof that they had done anything wrong, yet the judges would not let them go. It was dark, freezing cold, and the windows were about 2" x 8". One night a guard left both doors unlocked because he did not believe that they were guilty, and the guard left for the night. Thanks to that one softened soul, Joseph Smith and the men were able to escape and as a result down the road, the Salt Lake Valley was settled and the Church spread across the nation. Liberty jail was a neat experience.

St. Louis was our site to see... well, we didn't stop but you didn't really have to.

This is the famous arch that you can go up an elevator in. It is HUGE! I wish i would have taken a picture with buildings in it so that you could compare how much taller than the skyscrapers it is. Seriously huge!

And this is me in front of the Virginia welcome center... they have these in almost every state. Random but cool, they have free maps and cookies :)

I've got to get back to work so next post will be more about virginia! Woot Woot :)

Moab

A couple weekends ago we went on a fun trip to Moab with our fun friends the Powers. It was a blast! From camping right outside the national arches park, hiking, and seeing jeeps crawl up huge rocks to enjoying a yummy shake from the local burger joint. Check out some of our fun picutres!

The powers setting up our tent - day 1

Me on the jeep hike being all sweaty

My cute hubby watching the Jeeps

What a fun trip in beautiful Utah

Blessed

I find that i need constant reminders of how blessed i am. My mom used to put little notes around the house with cute inspirational quotes like:

"Think it, want it, dream it... then it's real"

-Joseph and the amazing

technicolor dream coat

Unlike my best girl friend, i have a hard time dealing with change. Always have. It is scary to me not to have a plan. I am such a planner - making lists sometimes down to the hour. A day where i don't have anything planned is super rare. With our trip to Virginia right around the corner and my little heart panicking about the change ahead, i thought it would be a good idea to share what i am grateful for today. So here it goes.

1. Sunsets

2. My family

3. Peanut butter cups

4. That i am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day saints

5. Snuggling

6. A husband who helps with the house, makes me laugh, keeps me safe, is a worthy priesthood holder, and always kisses me goodnight.

7. smiles

7. trips to the gym with my fun girl friend

9. my ability to see, smell, talk, and walk

10. car rides on sunday afternoons

11. the smell of freshly cut grass

12. watercolor painting

13. the ocean and warm sun

14. peaches

15. laughing

16. those "you had to be there" moments

17. car markers... britton you'll get this one :)

18. flowers

19. fresh fruit

20. amusement parks

21. mini hand sanitizers

22. the beautiful state we live in - yes i am looking at the mountains

23. holidays

24. sparkly things

25. sleeping in

Take a moment and list a few things you are thankful for.. i promise it will make you smile :)

Danger for the College Student

I seriously don't know why colleges even offer 7:30am classes.

When signing up for the semester you think, "sure, why not? Then i'll be able to get all my classes done in the morning!".

The first month is great, you have motivation and the class seems interesting...

and then BOOM!

That little thing called sleep deprivation takes over. Your body

REFUSES

to wake up to your alarm at 5:45 am and even though your mind knows better, you lay there like a log. Not only is missing class a bad thing, you end up feeling great when you wake up and that is worse cause then when that 7:30 class comes around again you remember that wonderful feeling of being well rested.

DANGER FOR A COLLEGE STUDENT!

I have found that the only way to be successful in school is to deprive yourself of sleep, common sense, social life, and add as much stress to your life as possible - cause if the administration thinks we can then we've gotta have what it takes to get the grade. So this morning apart from my body throwing a temper tantrum, i woke up to that 5:45am alarm, threw on some clothes, and went to my 7:30am class...

was it worth it - i guess, do i wish i could sleep in - you bet!

I can't wait till this semester is over.

On the plus side, the crazy utah weather has gone back to looking like spring after a random snow storm ten minutes ago and the flowers are poping up!

All You Need is a Bigger House!

I'm sure many of you reading this post thought I'd be writing about our tiny apartment and wanting a bigger house... fooled you! Today's post is inspired from my management teacher and the lecture this morning. This lady is such a nice person, she actually understands the stress and pressure of college life and as a result is willing to make her class as easy as possible for us students. Today was her last lecture so that we would have the rest of the month to study for the final. She had a slide with a picture of a pile of bricks, small house, and a huge mansion. She said that soon we will be graduating and the key to our success is to dream big. After making the point that we had been the pile of bricks and are now hoping to be the small house, she said, "All you need is a bigger house!".

This little Asian lady explained in her thick accent, in order to get far in life you need to dream big. How true is that! The words of my father echoed in my head. He always pushed my brother and i to dream big and outside the box. I smiled as she repeated herself... all you need is a bigger house! So I'd like to share my little reminder moment with all who is reading my blog, dream big!

Married Life

My hubby and i have been married now for 19 days and counting! Through all the packing and unpacking loads of cars and late nights putting together bathroom cabinets that seem to have a billion pieces, we have grown even closer than we thought possible. We live in a tiny two room (well three if you count the laundry room) apartment that is as big as some peoples kitchens - and we LOVE IT :) Our relatives must think we are crazy as they come visit our tiny hole in the wall (literally) but for us it is all we need. Lately i have been experimenting with recipies! Let me just say thank you mom for all your hard work! I have never appreciated my mom's lasagna (tonight's recipe experiment) so much in my life. How does she make it look so easy? Must be a mom thing huh? I have also tried quiche, spaghetti, twice baked potatoes, lemon chicken (ya not so good... easy on the spices), and Corbin made us pancakes one morning and mac n cheese another night. He is the best husband in the world! Not only does he make me feel like the most important person in the world, he also helps with the dishes(voluntarily i might add), helps me with laundry and cleaning the house, and is a champ bringing home the bacon. I love him!