Short week.

It was a bittersweet weekend. We had to say goodbye to our dear friend Devin Shepherd, who joined the coast guard. He left for boot camp today. His wife Chianne is staying in Utah for the next 8 weeks, then he comes back for 5 days. After that they leave together to go to a coast somewhere and start their new life. I'm hoping sometime during the 5 days he's back we'll get some Killer Bunnies in and maybe a grand adventure to top it all off. Chianne and I have been close friends over the past few years. We've had each other to lean on through several stages of life. We worked together, lived together, been on road trips, we were in each other's weddings and she's been my hair dresser basically since I've known her. It'll be hard to say goodbye more permanently in the next couple months, but that's how it is, so you just have to keep your chin up. I'm excited for them and pray that God will protect them and ultimately use them to build His kingdom where ever they end up. If we want to read more about their journey visit DevinandChianne.blogspot.com.
The remainder of the weekend was spent relearning how to rollerblade, but this time with a dog pulling me around, not as easy as Caesar makes it look. Also got a bit of cleaning done, groceries and relaxation.
I'm obsessed with a show on Sunday nights called, "Undercover Boss". Since Caleb and I don't have tv we went to my parents and watched it. We all sat on the couch watching a CEO of a major corporation get down on our level and see what we do everyday, while Lucy and Trickr run around like hooligans. Some how that fascinates me. It was a good way to end the weekend.
I'm excited for this week because its a short week! Caleb's birthday is on Friday and we're gonna take the day off and I'm stoked to celebrate with drinks and friends. It'll be nice to have a weekend full of family and celebration, especially for my darling husband. He is such an amazing leader and man and I'm so thankful God brought us together.

I'm ready for sun and warmth. These dreary days can pass us by.

no more gray please.

I LOVE this wallpaper. Its so gorgeous. And of course you should definitely own a typewriter if you have this wallpaper. Something like this could really brighten up a room. hmmm, ideas ideas!
Today I've been daydreaming about taking a short road trip to see a show, hopefully The Temper Trap, but I'm kind of open to whatever. I think spring being around the corner is making me antsy and going on a road trip right before the weather starts turning good seems like the best solution. Winter is pretty much over, or I don't really care about acknowledging it anymore, either way, its time to get out of here and see some new scenery, even if its a quick romp.

"Soldier on, soldier on, keep your heart close to the ground."

no reason really

So I decided I'm not gonna wear mascara for awhile. I feel like mascara is ruining my eyelashes. Probably the most logical thing to do is to start using makeup remover, instead of letting my lashes get crusty. But out of laziness and lack of knowledge I'll just quit mascara for an undecided amount of time and hopefully feel better about myself after awhile, just to start the cycle again. So here's to going naturale for no reason.

Winter Camping

It's a little late, but here is our weekend adventure winter camping! This was a surprise trip for Caleb and Ben, we did fairly well keeping it secret, but its difficult to pack a whole car with camping gear and them not start getting some clues. None the less, this trip was so much fun, and honestly it's the warmest I've been while sleeping in a tent camping, of course Cyn and I brought literally every blanket in our houses. We went up Spanish Fork Canyon, to Diamond campgrounds. The dogs had such a blast, Lucy definitely made some friends, BIG friends at that. It was so good to see them be able to just run free, because no one was up there, except some boy scouts building an igloo. So if you have a chance I really suggest trying winter camping, it helped me to embrace winter so much more and realize winter doesn't have to stop the fun and adventures. And no BUGS. Thats a really nice bonus. Only a few sites are open though, so make sure to research and see were you can go! Here are some pictures of our trip!

Lucy worn out after playing hard!

Boy scout igloo. We had to check it out.


Cyn making delicious breakfast of biscuits, cheese, bacon, eggs and green onions made in the dutch oven.

Nooka and Lucy got along so well!
Lots of hot yummy drinks to keep warm!



Walking to the hot springs, which we thought was 3

miles away, and found out it was 6 miles just to get up there.

Yeah, we didn't make it. But it was still a great walk! We probably

walked 6.5 miles or so.

This is definitely gonna be a tradition, try it out! Its a blast.

birthdays

Happy Birthday to our friend Shaun yesterday! We had a great time celebrating at a friend's house in springville last night!

The birthday boy!
Lucy even partook of the celebration!
Caleb and his balloons
I absolutely LOVED how colorful the home cake was!

Greeting of the month

me-"What a beautiful house! I love those pictures on the wall".
man I'm meeting Jason- "Thank you, my grandkids drew those.....You're probably thinking I'm too young for grandkids. I married my best friend's mom."
me- "oh okay. Good."

February 2nd

Romans 15:13 I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

I love this promise. I love that our hope can only be in God. Nothing else can fill us up and keep us running in confidence then the fact that God is our only source of true hope. I've been realizing lately that God is my only joy. No circumstance can control that, or should control that. Hard things have been happening around me. Things I never imagined or thought I would ever have to see, but I have the most joy and a deeper confident hope then I have had in the past years. It seems when true pain seeps into your soul is when true joy can actually grow. I'm not talking about happiness, because its definitely not always happy, but joy. A peace, a knowing of who God is, a God in control. Slowly God takes pieces of my heart and gently tells me, nothing will make you happy. Nothing will make you feel more fulfilled, only I can do that. Then God does show me beauty that is literally all around me, but I could only see that when I had my eyes on my lover and the wonderful grace He has bestowed on me.

House a home

I know I'm very behind with movies, but I finally saw Julie and Julia. That is such a beautiful movie, inspiring and funny. I loved both of their relationships with their husbands. Such a picture of understanding, perseverance, patience, and deep love. Also, the food looked so DELICIOUS. I just wanted to take a bite out of that movie. Its so good to know, even when you work 40 hours a week, and have other responsibilities, no matter where you are in life, just do something. I mean, why not. My latest excitement it making my house a welcoming, warm home. Especially for Caleb and I, but so when people come they feel comfortable. I keep trying to find more projects to brighten and deepen the joy in our home. Of course, its mostly up to Caleb and I to be good hosts, but I feel having it brightened with decorations and colors make a house a home. I'm very excited to learn by trial and error. I found some fun treasure at DI I'm still figuring out how I'll use. We'll see!

I need to learn to croquet!!! I'm realllly serious.