Lately...

I can't believe it is time to start up school again! I feel like the summer totally flew by. I started school on Monday online through UVU. I am excited to get done with all of the homework and time that school requires. I only have two years left and am going to push through and just get done with it. It is no fun when your hubby gets to hang out at night and you have to study. However, I am very happy that he is graduated and done with college for right now. I guess he will be doing the studying and I will be doing the playing when he goes back to school to get his MBA in a couple years. I am excited for online school so I can decide when to work on it everyday and it doesn't interfere with anything else that I want to do. Plus, driving down to UVU everyday would be no fun so hopefully this whole online stuff works out.

Eric and I haven't subscribed to the ensign because we don't have a permanent address quite yet. I love to read the ensign everyday when I am working out at the gym. On Saturday, I bought the September 2013 issue. While I was reading it on Monday, I came across a talk that was so good. I posted the link below so you can read it if you want too. President Uchtdorf gave a talk about all the different seasons in our lives and how some are good and others are not so good. He talked about that when he has had some of the biggest heartache in his life, he has had the greatest growth throughout those trials. Eric and I were talking about this talk and as I look back on the biggest trials in my life, I think that they were not that big of a deal because I have grown from them. This was a great talk and one that everybody needs to read. 

https://www.lds.org/ensign/2013/09/saints-for-all-seasons?lang=eng

Wedding Video

I just have to say that I cannot wait to get my wedding video! My videographer did the temple, luncheon, and our reception so it is taking a while to put it all together. My mom and I went yesterday to watch some of it and we laughed and cried. I can't wait to show all my family and friends. We are going to meet with him again next Tuesday to make some adjustments and then he is going to finalize it. It will hopefully be done in the next month. Five months is a long time to wait for your wedding video but I want it to be absolutely perfect! I know we are going to love having it to watch and remember our special day. I will be posting it soon when it comes. Yay!

Also, Eric and I taught the sunbeams last Sunday again. Teaching the sunbeams twice this summer made me realize what an incredible husband I have. He is so patient and cute with them. One of them was crying in singing time so I leaned over to see what was wrong. While I was talking to the little girl, another little girl unzipped my skirt. I didn't know how to handle it but thought that I better learn from my husband. Instead of getting mad, I had patience and taught her that that wasn't the best thing to do. Teaching the sunbeams has taught Eric and I to have lots of patience and what it is going to be like with kids that are 3 and 4 years old. 

Eric came up with a fun game to play with them after the lesson was over. They played tic-tac-toe. When it was their turn, they had to tell Eric something that they learned before they could put their "X" or "O" on the board. 

The lesson was on being a good friend. I came up with a little craft. We made ourselves and then they had to tell us how they were going to be a good friend. So fun!

Welcome Home Elder Melville!

Last night, Eric and I did a session at the Salt Lake Temple. I had only done sealings there before so we thought it would be neat to go and do an endowment session. It was very cool and a live session was something that was different to experience. We went to the 6 o'clock session and when we got done it was 8:30. I was so nervous that we weren't going to make it to the airport. My cousin came home last night from him mission in Honolulu, Hawaii and I wanted to see him at the airport. 

I remember when he left two years ago. It was my second day of college and I went over to his house after he had been set apart to say goodbye. I balled my eyes out and I remember him telling me that he loved me and that I better not get married while he was gone... Oops! 

Well, I got married while he was gone. Eric was able to meet him last night. I am so glad he is home and am excited for him to play basketball for Westminster. When we were little, we would always share a caesar salad and a steak. I love this cousin of mine! Welcome Home Elder!

Favorite Summer Finds

I am the type of girl that always likes to have color on my nails and have them done. I am not a fan of acrylic nails though so I was happy when shellac came out. I have been doing shellac on my nails for probably the past two years. Recently, I have noticed that it is destroying them and making them so thin and it was almost like they were flaking off. Shellac is so hard to get off also. My sister introduced me to this nail polish that I am loving. It is called Sinful Colors and it is fabulous. They have like a normal one, one that is quick dry, and then one that has gel in it. I tried McCalls quick dry and it came off the next day. I went to Walgreens and bought some of the normal kind and it has been on for a week. I put on two coats and a clear coat and I am totally surprised how long it has stayed on. It looks like shellac when you put it on. The kind with gel is great too. McCall, Morgan, Macie, and I went to Walgreens and took tons of it off the shelf. They have it at Walgreens and Walmart. I am so glad I found something that won't destroy my nails or come off the next day. Loving this summer find!

I always find that the summer time is the best time to pick up a good book and read. The school year just gets to be too busy. Traveling in the summer always calls for a good book. I guess with the pool, Lake Powell, and airplanes those are some good times to read. I finished Safe Haven this summer and absolutely loved it. I was looking for another good book to read and my mom introduced me to this new series. McCall doesn't read and she read these books in a week. The Selection is the first one and then The Elite is the second one. My great grandma fell and was in a care center most of the summer and she even read them. It is like a mix of Hunger Games and the Bachelorette. The third one doesn't come out for a while so I guess that it is going to leave me hanging. 

Bear Lake

This past Saturday, Eric and I went with my mom, dad, and Macie to Bear Lake for the evening. My Grandma Gaylie was up there so we thought we would go see her for a while. We had dinner at this restaurant called the Bear Trapper. It was so yummy and Eric said that the prime rib was some of the best he had ever had. It is sometimes the small little places that have the best food. After dinner, we went and had a raspberry shake of course. You can't  go to Bear Lake without a raspberry shake. They were so yummy and we left so full.

We then went to Pickleville Playhouse and saw Juanito Bandito. It was hilarious! It was a little play that was just so funny. They did the harlem shake and had a bunch of hashtag jokes. I think my cute grandma was a little confused about the hashtag jokes but we had fun with her. The play got over around 10:30 pm and then we had to drive home for church yesterday. Macie curled up on Eric's lap and he snuggled her the whole way home. She was even tired on the way to Bear Lake and Eric was so cute to let her lay on his lap. Little things like that make me realize what a great husband I have. He is so cute with my sisters and is always taking care of them and looking out for them. 

On Sunday, Eric and I had the opportunity to teach the sunbeams. I was stressed about it and of course, I was most worried about the lesson. Eric kept telling me not to worry and that they only listen for like 5 minutes anyway. The lesson talked about praying with your families. We taught them a lesson, played a little game, colored pictures, took a walk, and had pretzels and cookies for a snack. Eric and I enjoyed being in primary and feeling of their sweet little spirits. 

Summer 2013

I can't believe it is already August! The summer has flown by. It has been a great first summer as a married couple. My grandparents are on their mission in Arkansas so we have been living in their home for the summer. It has been nice to be able to be close to family and watch over their house. 

I start school online on August 26th at UVU. I am going to finish up my Associates before starting my Bachelors degree. We are excited to get into our new home hopefully in the next couple of weeks. We are excited to make new friends, get involved in our ward, get into our own place, and for the experiences Eric and I will have together.

It has been a fun summer spending time together before we start back up school and work. We have missed Provo so we went down there a lot.  We walked around BYU campus and saw our friends. We also spent time with family and helped people on projects in the neighborhood. The biggest task that we accomplished this summer was getting all 560 wedding thank you notes written and mailed off. Thankfully, I had written all of the ones from my bridal showers early so those ones were already done before the wedding. Eric did all of the ones from the West Virginia reception and I did all the Utah reception ones. It is a good feeling to have all of them done. Thank goodness I have a husband who was willing to help me write them all. 

My mom is great and has made me a scrapbook since the year I was born. In the top of the closet at my parents house there are 20 scrapbooks for each year of my life. They are filled with pictures, programs from dance and piano recitals, and anything else that we want to remember. She was happy that when I got married, I was going to take over my scrapbooks and start doing them for me and my own family. I started one for this year that goes from April 2013-December 2013. I have been working on it and was able to get that all caught up this summer as well. I had all of the wedding pictures from both receptions and our honeymoon pictures developed and got them in the book. When I get into my new home and can get all of my scrapbooking stuff out of the boxes, I will make them all cute. Right now they are just in sheet protectors in the book. That will be a project in the making. It is a fun hobby to scrapbook. I know our children will love to look back on all of our fun memories.  

We also have packed up everything into boxes for when we move into our new home. We were both in apartments before we got married so we had a lot of stuff. We have all of our wedding gifts and we are also taking everything from my parents house that is mine. We have a new couch and kitchen table that we are going to have to move as well. We have packed it all into boxes and are living out of a suitcase until we leave. Thank goodness my mom and sisters are down the street incase I get tired of wearing the same clothes over and over again. I told Eric that I don't even remember half of the stuff that we got for the wedding. It is going to be like Christmas morning opening up all of those boxes. 

One thing this summer that I was so glad we were here for was one of my best friends wedding. Lauren Winberg got married and is now a Tingey. She was so sweet to invite Eric and I to her wedding dinner and it was beautiful. I was so glad that we were able to share their special day with them. I am so glad that Lauren is married. We talk and can totally relate to each other about married life. It is fabulous! They are up in Logan so I miss them but Eric and I are hoping to get together with them before we leave. 

We were also here to celebrate with McCall as she graduated Alta High School and Seminary. We are so proud of her and the women she is becoming. She is headed to BYU Hawaii this Fall. She is going to have a blast at college. We have been shopping a lot for summer clothes for her to take over. She will be leaving September 4th and starting school on the 9th. I can't wait to here about all of her adventures living in Hawaii and playing on the beach everyday. 

Eric and I spent a lot of time with my sisters. They are so fun and since they were out of school, we were able to be with them. Eric and Macie love to play games and Mario together. Macie loved when mom went out of town because Eric would let her play as much Mario as she wanted. We went to the candy shop at the Grand America, rode our beach cruiser bikes around the neighborhood, and we took them to the snow cone shack. 

Eric and I went on some fun dates also. We know that the temple is going to be far away from us when we move, so we attended both the Draper and Salt Lake Temple together this summer. It has been a great summer but we are excited to get settled into our own place. It will be great!