5 Years of Wedded Bliss

Can you believe it's already been FIVE years?! It's true what they say... time flies when you are having fun. ;) And truly - the last five years have been incredible!

Our anniversary was this last Thursday, the 28th. Since we have had to miss a lot of work lately between family reunions, scout camp for Ryan, Uinta camping trip, 24th of July observance, etc, we decided to just have a fun day date, and then we will hopefully get to go somewhere maybe next month for a few days. We don't want this year to just slip by without doing something bigger (not huge or bank breaking - just a little get away) because this is after all, our 5 year anniversary, and our last one alone.

The day started off pretty normal since I still had a few piano lessons in the morning that I needed to go teach. Don't think I am horrible for not rescheduling them. It worked out well because Ryan really really wanted to go fishing and I told him that as much as I enjoy fishing - fishing is not an anniversary activity, but that he was more than welcome to go by himself while I taught piano. No reason for him to sit at home and wait for me.


Naturally, he took me up on the offer and took Dodger fishing down at Utah Lake. He very rarely intends on keeping the fish he catches. He loves to do catch and release. It's fun for him and the fish get a chance to keep growing. But little Dodger, our fishing fanatic (it's hard to tell which one of those boys likes fishing more...) had other ideas in mind. He managed to kill one of the fish Ryan pulled out, and it seemed kind of pointless to just bring one fish home, so Ryan brought home a few of these lovely creatures...


Catfish. Aren't they just so pretty? Hahaha. Actually, the ones he brought home really did have beautiful coloring. He got them all fileted, cleaned up and in the freezer for a future fish fry, and off we went.


The goal was to go enjoy a nice lunch/dinner at Outback Steakhouse, but unbeknownst to us, Outback doesn't open until 4 pm during the week. What's with that?! We were both starving and seeing as it was already after 1 pm, we decided to walk across the parking lot for some In-n-Out burgers. We each got a simple burger and shared a fry which was plenty of food.
For dessert we walked farther down the shopping plaza to Coneys for my favorite ice cream creation - the Peanut Butter Burst. Vanilla custard, Reese's pieces, and real peanut butter, whipped cream, and a cherry on top. Scrumptious!!!

Since we still had time to kill before going to see a movie, we did a little shopping. Ryan chose Emergency Essentials. He didn't find anything he had to have, but it still fulfilled his manly needs. :)


I chose Joann's Fabrics. I have been looking for a good deal for a few projects I had in mind, and it just so happened that Joann's was having a killer sale. AND the line was short! Bonus! I pulled a number tab from the counter and went to make my selection. I must say, being surrounded by hundreds of cute options, I was rather proud of myself for being decisive and getting in and out. I could have stayed there forever. But I walked away with two very cute patterns and I am very excited. When I get around to actually working on these projects, I will post on them later.


With that we walked back across the parking lot and headed over to the theater to watch the latest Transformers. I was happy to see that they cleaned up a lot of the potty humor from the last one. The movie is long, but there is tons and tons of action - which is what Transformers is all about. Of course they still had to pick some sexy little actress to replace Megan Fox - but she can actually act and she did a pretty good job. I spent a large amount of time focusing on her shoes throughout some of the bigger battle scenes. Odd? Yes. But it was pretty funny. She is always dressed as a model and is always wearing high heeled shoes. But during the main fighting scene, her shoes change from flats to heels five or six times. Each time I would nudge Ryan and motion with my hand when it changed. He was good natured about it and just laughed at me and encouraged me to watch the rest of the movie too. Admittedly, I would never be able to run in high heels either, so I can't judge. I did enjoy the movie.

Following the movie, seeing as we were both still pretty full, we went for a drive and did some more shopping. Eventually we returned back to the same plaza where we began our date for dinner.


I have been to Outback once in my life before - a long, long time ago. All I remember about it was the Bloomin' Onion - their signature appetizer. We decided we should try it. After all, I love onion rings, and we were celebrating - so why not go all out? We ordered flavored lemonades - Ryan got strawberry and I ordered Pina Colada. I didn't know a pina colada lemonade existed, but it does, and it's good!
I can't necessarily say the same for the Bloomin' Onion. It just wasn't what I remember it being. Far more zesty than expected - even though that is how it's described on the menu. It wasn't horrible, but I didn't love it, and I wouldn't get it again. But hey - now we know!

As for the main meal, we both ordered steak with coconut shrimp. He got a side of sweet potato fries and I got garlic mashed potatoes. The picture above is not the real thing considering those are popcorn shrimp (still good) but nothing compared to coconut shrimp. They are like candy!

The meal was delicious, but I was still really full from lunch, so I boxed up almost my entire meal. But hey - that's one less meal I had to worry about taking to work the next day!

By this time it was already 9:30 or 10, so we waddled home, tired, full, but very happy. It was just such a relaxing and fun day. I love just being able to spend time with Ryan.

In the last 5 years, we have never had a major argument. We love doing everything we can together. I feel so lucky to have married my best friend. I can't imagine life without him. It is so amazing how fast it has all flown by. We have had some amazing experiences in these few years. Graduations, amazing trips, new jobs and experiences, incredible family, and soon a baby to add to the mix. Which by the way - we find out what we are having in a week!!!

Happy Anniversary, Ryan! Thanks for making life so amazing!

Belated, But Still Deserving

So a good seven months ago, Ryan graduated with his Bachelors in Community and Public Health. Unfortunately, UVU only has one Commencement/walking ceremony and that's in April. Truth be told, Ryan really didn't care about the whole walking thing, but after much persuasion and threatening, he agreed to do it. One day Ryan and I both had the same thought, "I wonder when we are supposed to sign up to walk..."

Yeah, the deadline had already come and gone. Oops. We did not wait until it was too late on purpose. Life just got busy and really, once you are out of school, it's not the first thing on your mind any more. We hoped that the month of April would slip by and no one would notice, but sure enough, my mom was talking to Ryan one day and said that she had realized that it was graduation time and wondered why she wasn't attending a ceremony for him. Uh...

Well, official ceremony or not, it was still time to celebrate.

Luckily, Ryan had several cousins graduate at the same time, and ironically, I think only one of them ended up walking. But we were able to borrow the cap, gown, and sash for pictures. The only thing that isn't right is the tassel. His cousin graduated from UVU, but from a different dept, so their tassel was orange. I still had mine from a few years ago that was white that would have worked better, but I was concerned about the year being wrong. In retrospect that was pretty silly because it's not like you can see the year on the tassel anyway.

We took pictures in his parents backyard and down by the wolverine at UVU before going out to eat at Mi Ranchito - our favorite. (Sadly it was during this outing that I lost my lunch for the first time, courtesy of being newly preggo.)

A few days later my parents hosted the official graduation party. We had an arch set up with yellow and green balloons for pictures and everything. My mom wanted people to come in green or yellow, but apparently that was going a little too far for my BYU-true dad. :) That's okay Dad, BYU has much better sports anyway. (Sorry UVU!)

Of course we had to have fun for picture time. I can honestly say I never felt this way (see below) during the course of Ryan's schooling. He was an amazing student who worked his little heiny off. The most I ever did was read a few papers and say a lot of prayers. But what else are you supposed to do with a sash that's just hanging there?

Don't worry. We are still madly in love.

We had a great Costco chocoloate cake and German food for dinner. Yummy!

We had a great time celebrating. I summed up what I remembered from my Commencement a few years ago for Ryan... "Pretty much you are awesome for graduating and the world is yours for the taking. Ra! Ra! Ra!" (Honestly, the commencement part of things is pretty fun just because it really does make you feel special. ;) And it's cool to hear your name read out as you walk across the stage and all that.) However, we threw a pretty dang good party either way.

So besides the fact that I needed to post this anyway because Ryan is awesome... there is more news worth celebrating!

Ryan just recently took his big hairy Environmental Health Specialist exam that he was training for while doing his internship at the health dept last fall. He passed!!!!!! Yaaahhoooo!!!!!

I am so proud of him! It was not an easy test and he studied and prepared for months to take it. We had to wait about 4 weeks for NEHA (National Environmental Health Association) to send us the official letter and certificate in the mail and it arrived this last week. He is now an official Registered Environmental Health Specialist/Registered Sanitarian. Long name, I know. Basically he is now qualified/certified to do health and safety inspections and things along that line. Hopefully with a real credential ID number with can slap on a resume we will be able to find a job in his field and put all that great education to good use! (Not saying he hasn't used it... It would just be great to get paid for that knowledge.)

I really can't say just how proud of him I am. He has worked so hard! He really is amazing. I love him so much. He is my best friend and I will happily follow him where ever life decides to take us!

Solutions

As best as I can tell, I really haven't struggled too much with cravings so far. There are things that sound good, but no more so than normal, and they don't interfere with my ability to function if I don't get them. Only one thing comes to mind when I think about foods that I have left me thinking about them constantly (or at least more often than is healthy.)

Pretzels. Giant, soft pretzels. With rock salt. No sauces. No extras. Just the plain wonderful goodness. Once or twice I have decided that I just can't live without a pretzel one more day and have gone to Pretzel Time in the mall and purchased one. They are super good - but at $2.29 a piece, it is a little unreasonable. I have thought about going to Costco multiple times to buy a box of them there. I have done so in the past before I was pregnant - because my love for soft pretzels is not new - but I haven't wanted to spend the money. Of course, buying them at Costco is really the only affordable option if you are going to spend the money... but I kept pushing that argument aside telling myself I didn't "need" them.

Until one day it grew beyond need. It was dire necessity. So I drove to Costco and walked determinedly up and down each frozen aisle searching for my prize. Then a second time. I scoured the shelves of each freezer growing slightly more worried at each passing box. Nothing. No pretzels anywhere. What was I going to do?!

I slumped back defeated to the line to wait with my bag of piano candy and pulled out my phone to text Ryan.

"Tragic," the text began. I was only a word or two into my explanation when Ryan called. I felt a moment of panic. "I can't talk right now!" I thought, but opened the phone anyway and put it to my ear. "Hello?"

"Hey! What's up?"

"I can't talk about it," I replied.

"Why?" he asked, his voice instantly suspicious.

"I just can't. Can I please just text you?"

"No. That's dumb. We are on the phone. Just tell me what's wrong."

I felt my chin quiver and my eyes brim with tears. I took a deep breath. "They.... don't... have... any.... pretzels!" I quietly sobbed into the phone. The tears were so sudden I couldn't blink them away in time. I knew this would happen - as idiotic and overly emotional as it was. But I couldn't help it. And now, here I was, standing in line at Costco, clinging to a giant bag of candy, and blubbering away.

"Whoa honey. It's okay," Ryan said soothingly. I could tell he was surprised by my reaction and didn't quite know what to do. Not that I could blame him. I am sure a million possibilities ran through his head when I told him I couldn't talk about it. I bet he never saw this one coming.

I started laughing, even though the tears continued to roll down my cheeks. It was so stupid. I knew it was. But the tears wouldn't stop.

"That's why I wanted to text you!" I blurted out.

He did his best to console me for a moment or two more before I needed to hang up, wipe away the tears and pay for my candy.

Later when Ryan and I were both home, he said, "You know, you could just make your own pretzels. They are super easy."

This thought had honestly never occurred to me. Make them? Myself? But pretzels come from a box from Costco. At least they were supposed to...

About a week later, I sat down and looked up recipes for pretzels. Of course there are tons of them out there, but I found a very simple/easy one on Cooks.com and decided to give it a go. The only question was what to do about the rock salt. I spent some time googling where to buy pretzel salt and almost every answer I found was just to use Kosher salt.

That same day Ryan came home from a shopping trip to Wal-Mart. He had just purchased a small homemade ice cream machine - the ball that looks like a gerbil ball that you roll around. In one of the bags he had a couple of boxes of ice cream salt and a box of Kosher salt. I couldn't believe my luck! I asked him what it was for and he said that he was actually looking for pretzel salt in case I ever decided to make them on my own and found Kosher salt and decided it might work just as well. Can you believe that? We didn't even talk about this! He is my hero!

So a couple of nights ago I decided to give it a go. I came home from work (Ryan was a scout camp, so it was just me and the dog) and I went to work on the pretzels. It took only minutes to mix together, but rolling them out was a little more time consuming. Most of the reviews I had read said to make sure to keep vegetable oil near by so that the dough wouldn't stick to your hands. I didn't have a problem with that at all, which makes me think maybe I added a little more flour than it called for. Oh well.

The end results? Not bad for my first time ever! They were a little on the thick side (which again supports my extra flour theory) but I also made them short and stocky. Next time I will roll them out thinner and make them bigger. :) But they were good! I sat down and enjoyed two of them while I watched a chick flick. Dodger even liked them and spent a good amount of time giving me puppy eyes hoping I would share more.

So at last my craving was curbed. To a degree. For now.

A couple days after my culinary adventures, my dear friend called me and asked if I had made pretzels, how they turned out, and if I wanted a box from Costco. Turns out it was just my local store that didn't have any. All that drama for nothing. Hahaha. The sweet woman bought me a box and brought it to my house. Can't get much better than that! I thanked her for not only keeping my belly happy, but for keeping me from bursting into tears in public again.

If anyone wants to try the recipe, here it is:

1 pkg yeast

1 1/2 cups warm water

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp sugar

4 cups flours

Mix yeast and warm water. Add salt and sugar. Add flour and knead until smooth. Make into desired shapes. Spray cookie sheet with Pam. Brush dough with beaten egg, sprinkle with coarse salt. Bake at 425 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

Tada! Now you can have a fun, inexpensive treat that you know is worth shedding a tear or two over if you don't have one. Unless you are not pregnant and your hormones are slightly more balanced than mine. Then maybe crying over a pretzel simply isn't an option for you. But I will leave that entirely up to you.

Out With A Bang

Happy late 4th of July! I hope everyone had a great holiday! Our was good. Pretty low key. We didn't really have any big plans for the day. Really just two things: The Freedom Run 5K and a family BBQ with fireworks that night.

This year Necia, Bill, James, Kara and I all signed up as a family to do the run. We don't actually run it together as we all vary in our speeds, but it's fun to take pictures anyway. I actually went down with my dancer friend Margaret and her cousin, but we didn't even stay together the whole time.

We found James and Kara at the start line, but didn't find Necia or Bill until the end.


I have not run since the Dirty Dash. Not once. My goal for this year was just to keep running. Not beat my time from last year. Just survive basically.

And survive is about what it amounted to. Hahaha. Just kidding. I actually did a lot better than I expected. Even the dreaded hill at the end didn't seem as daunting to me this time as it did last year. It was still hard - but not as bad as I remembered it being. My only complaint is that I wish the music along the sidelines was all much more exciting and upbeat. One station was playing the theme from "Chariots of Fire." Granted, it's a classic and it's all about running, but the song itself is actually pretty slow and makes me think I should be running in slow motion. It wasn't until I passed a station blaring "I Need a Hero" that I got a boost. I love that song, and it's just the tempo that I needed to get going.

Unfortunately, just like last year, I forgot there is a giant timer clock at the finish line so you can have a guess at your time, minus a minute or two from when you actually crossed the start line. Oh well. At least they post your times online later.


After I got my water and snacks, I found Necia, James and Kara who all finished before me. Bill came in a few minutes after I did as did Margaret and her cousin. (Which I am super proud of Bill, by the way. He has been doing that Couch to 5K program and has done really really well! He has already lost 20+ pounds. This was his first "real" 5k and he did a great job!) As I was walking up to Necia my vision started to disappear like curtains were being closed. I decided to take a quick seat and just stretch on the ground. It was really weird. I have never had that before. I was fine during the run. Fine getting my water and snacks. It wasn't until 3-5 minutes after the run I decided to nearly black out. Haha. Oh well. At least I met by goal by "running" the whole thing!


We took a few snap shots and then the family headed off to the parade while I went home to find Ryan. (You can tell I am not one of those beautiful runners that looks amazing after a run. I tend to turn into a cherry.) However, I do have to say I am quite proud of myself. I only came in a minute and a half slower than I did last year and that was 16 weeks pregnant. I gave myself a good pat on the back for that one.

Ryan and I spent the rest of the morning running errands and visiting with family before we headed home for my favorite past time... napping!!!! I love nap time. Love. Love. Love.

When we woke up it was time to put together a salad and head over to the family BBQ at Necia and Bill's. Dinner and company were great. We all hung out until it was somewhat dark enough to justify fireworks. Little kids can only wait so long. However, by that time, it had also started to rain. At first it was just a drizzle, but bit by bit it started to really come down. We set off a few of the basic ones and let the kids run around with sparklers. We had just about decided to save our fireworks for the next day, when Philip, Paul and Joey announced that they had acquired 3 huge aerial fireworks. This year aerials were just re-legalized in Utah, but not all kinds. I think they have a height limit. The kind the boys had were the big ones. And by big.... I mean like these kind:


When asked how the boys came across them, they replied that they found them at Utah Lake amongst firework rubble and beer cans. There's your first red flag. But we decided to let them do their thing. They decided that they needed some type of tube to serve as a launcher. They disappeared for some time, and finally resurfaced with a long back tube. The three of them sat huddled together in the middle of the cul-de-sac trying to decide how to make a go of it. Have you ever heard the saying, "One boy is a boy, two boys are half a boy, and three boys are no boy at all" ? Well...

You gotta understand I love my brothers dearly. But they are boys. Perpetual teenage boys. And Joey is the only one that can actually claim teenage hood. The other two... well... Again, this is not to dis my brothers at all. It's just that it's one thing to have a single boy with a dumb idea. But then when you have two more boys egging them on... yikes.

As we all sat around at watched them walk around the tube, crouch, and discuss technique, Ryan casually made the comment, "We should go look up 'Fireworks gone wrong' on YouTube." We all laughed and he stood up and walked inside. Just as the boys were getting ready to light the firework, I had an image of this whole thing going terribly wrong and joked, "Goodbye Russians. It's been good knowing you." (Yes, we still call them the Russians.)

At long last they lit the firework. Joey and Paul ran for cover while Philip crouched side the tube, his head bowed and turned away with one hand holding the tube upright. We all heard the whoosh sound of the mortar being launched. We craned our necks to look up at the sky.

Nothing. Nothing. Still nothing.

BOOM!!! The mortar exploded into light- out the bottom of the tube. The whole cul-de-sac was filled with sparks, nearly reaching every house in the vicinity. Screams of terror tore from every one's lips as the kids on the sidewalk scattered like ants, screaming and scurrying away as fast as they could.

The moment the screaming stopped, the air was filled with hysterical laughter. Philip staggered away from the center of the cul-de-sac, his hand on his ear, pumping his jaw open and closed. No doubt hearing would be a little rough for the rest of the evening. But thankfully, other than that, and what appeared to be a burn on his leg, he was unscathed. This turned out to be even more miraculous once we saw the tube. The bottom half was by all definitions shredded. Joey and Paul went to recover the tube and came back laughing.

"Just don't tell dad," they said.

"Why?" we asked.

"Well it was his idea to use it, but the only thing he said was, 'Just don't blow it up.'"

Of course! There aren't even words. Turns out that mysterious black tube wasn't just a random thing dad had lying around. It was to his air blower. Yup. Looks like the Russians owe dad a new one.

With hearts racing, we all sat under the porch laughing and reliving the terrifying moment. Why on earth didn't we think of recording that? We would have had our own "Fireworks gone wrong" YouTube moment and I guarantee we would have had a ton of hits!

But nearly blowing Philip's hand off once wasn't good enough apparently, because Paul and Joey disappeared in search of a replacement tube. After all, they still had two more "perfectly good" ones. They returned a while later with a smaller tube. I don't know where they got it or what it went to. This time instead of leaving one of them to be the guinea pig, they both ran for cover once it was lit.

Nothing. Nothing. Still nothing.

Deja vu?

BOOM!!! The mortar exploded at ground level again raising new shrieks of terror as the burning ashes raced out in each direction.

Thankfully no one was hurt - again - but the fun and games ended there. There may, or may not be a dent in the middle of the cul-de-sac now. No, there is no may be. There definitely is. Thank goodness that was the worst of it.

When we questioned the boys about how hard it was to launch it in the air, Joey responded, "Well there was an arrow pointing up, but the other end said 'This End Up.' What the heck is that supposed to mean?!"

With gratitude that no one was seriously hurt, we decided to call it a night. Dad showed up before the second failed attempt at the big firework and was informed that his air blower tube was no longer functional, so now the boys will definitely be held responsible for replacing it.

Ryan and I went home and got ready for bed. And though we certainly thanked our Heavenly Father for protecting our "no boy at all" trio that night, we also spent a good amount of time thinking about, talking about, and expressing our gratitude for this amazing country in which we live.

We are the luckiest people alive. To be living here with all the freedoms we enjoy... who could ask for more? To think of the thousands of men and women out serving our country, giving huge portions of their life in protection of ours - it is very humbling indeed.


Thank you to all those who are serving this country, home and abroad, in all the different aspects and duties. I am so proud to have a brother who is part of the Air Force. I am humbled with gratitude to both of my grandfathers who fought in WWII to keep us a free nation.

I do not understand how people can continue to fight to take God out of the picture. He is the picture. He is the whole reason we exist. And even if people refuse to believe in Him, what harm does it do to allow the rest of us to believe? Leave the Pledge of Allegiance as it is. If they ever take "under God" out of the pledge in schools, I will be teaching my kids at home the real pledge.

We truly are blessed to be a part of this great nation, and this great work. It is not without its flaws, and our leaders are not without need of our prayers. Keep them in mind. We have some rough roads ahead, but we will come out okay if we keep our eyes and hearts centered on the Lord. Not as easily done when Satan is trying so hard to pull us down. But isn't it comforting to know that just by being here on earth, we can know that we are fighting for the winning team? "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

Happy 4th everyone! (Belated as it is.)