Merry Christmas!

7 states and 50+ hours of driving later we are back home from our Memphis Christmas! I still need to upload pics and have my mom send me the millions of pictures we took, so sorry - I know posts are super boring without pictures! We had such an amazing time and I can't believe that it has already come and gone!

Katchie, Jeff, Clayton, Amy, Brent and I decided to drive to Memphis instead of flying since it was so crazy expensive! We originally rented a minivan to take there, but once we got to Thrifty, we quickly discovered that we would not fit. So we decided to upgrade to the brand new Expedition (which was a fabulous idea).

After spending an hour at Thrifty (who we will never use again btw) and plenty of profanities later, we were on our way. We finally got on the road at about 4pm and got stuck in a pretty bad winter storm. VERY little visibility, black ice, and semis and cars off the road had all 6 of us pretty nervous! Jeff handled it fabulously and we finally made it to Denver a few hours later than anticipated! We stayed at the Embassy Suites (which has an AMAZING breakfast) and were on our way again! We ended up getting to Memphis around 2 or 3am!

We had an amazing week in Memphis! We made ginger bread houses and sugar cookies, did lots of Christmas shopping, had fondue on Christmas eve, waited in line for 2 hours to see the Starry Nights of 2010 Memphis Christmas light show (thank goodness we took 2 cars so we were able to sneak out of line to have a potty spot and keep our place in line haha), ate tons of yummy food, walked Beale Street, watched great movies, ate more yummy food, talked to Elder Tex, and just enjoyed each other's company!

We were able to talk to Trey on Christmas morning which was so cool!! It is crazy to think that he has been serving in Uganda for more than 6 months now! He sounded amazing and hasn't changed much which is awesome!

Brent left for about a day and a half to fly out to San Clemente, CA for a job interview. We still haven't heard back from them yet, but he said it went really well which is great!!

Something we learned on our trip back home to Utah was to NEVER eat at Steak and Shake. We ended up having an hour stop in St. Louis, MO for a 'quick dinner' which ended up being ridiculous! Just take our word for it, it isn't worth it. :) We were able to drive through the night on Sunday to make it back on Monday night which seemed a lot faster than spreading it out over 2 days!

It has been such an amazing Christmas vacation thus far! Brent graduated (WOO HOO) and is looking for a job, but I am enjoying having him all to myself in the meantime! It was so great to spend our first married Christmas together! He is such an amazing man and my best friend! I count my blessings everyday to be able to have the relationship we have!

We are back home now and are enjoying a few more days of vacation before school starts again next week! We have got a lot of Dance Dance Revolution, P90X, phase ten, and snuggling planned for this week and can't wait! We got tons of great pictures from Christmas which I hope to post soon! Hope everyone had an amazing Christmas!

Thankful

So I realize it is December 6, and this is a little late, but I just feel like I need to update my blog with how thankful I am for so many things! I love this time of year because it makes me reflect on so many things! So here are just a few things I am thankful for this year:

• Socks: these days I am freezing all the time, and I can't seem to love them enough.
• Coke: I have tried going off of it so many times... it is just not worth it. I heart coke.
• Hugs: My six year olds love to give hugs. They can always make my day brighter.
• Chocolate chip pancakes: I never thought I could learn to love these so much, but Brent has a little bit of an addiction... They are delicious and they always make dinner so fun! :)
• P90X: I have not been as good as I should have been... there just aren't enough hours in a day. But I love that I am not charged for every month I don't use it.
• In-laws that live close: It is hard growing up and not being able to be close to my parents, so it is nice to have Brent's parents close by. They are so good to us. ESPECIALLY this weekend when our washer leaked so we can't use it... bless their hearts for letting us monopolize their laundry machines!!
• Cupcakes: enough said :)
• Saturdays: Ever since we started dating, Saturday has been 'our day.' I look forward to this all week. Even if we just lounge around, we always have an amazing day.
• My job: I am so lucky to be blessed with this job during this economy.
• My family: They are there for me no matter what.
• Brent: I could go on and on about this one... I am so thankful to have such an amazing man in my life. I love that he always makes me feel like I am the center of his world.
• Temples: With all I have been through this past couple years, it makes me so thankful to have these in my life. We really take them for granted being so close in Utah.
• Christmas music: I never get sick of it! (with the exception of Rudolph and Up On the Housetop from our Christmas program)
• String Cheese and Peanut Butter crackers: Without these during school, I would go starving ;)

I could probably go on and on, but those are just some of the things I can think of today, I have so much to be grateful for, I am a very lucky girl :)

Clayton and Amy

My First Cake

So Clayton and Amy asked me to make their wedding cake... I was THRILLED when they asked me, seeing how this is one of my favorite things to do! I really can't wait to go to school so that I can make fabulous cakes :) They didn't care what it looked like (which is crazy stressful to try and decide for someone else's wedding!!), so I was looking for ideas for weeks and weeks! Well despite all of the stress, I feel like it was quite the accomplishment for my first real cake! Thank you so so much to all of my family that dealt with my stress and helped with ideas, and helped me get it pulled together on their wedding day! What do you think?? :)

Enjoying the Cabin!

We got to go to the cabin with Clayton and Amy this summer! We met up with the Lunt, Bird, and Thompson families who had been there all weekend! We only went for a day, but we had so much fun. I don't think I have been to our family cabin in like 7 years! We got to use their 4wheelers and go out to Lily Lake, we ate yummy food, roasted smores, and enjoyed great company! I hope we get to go again soon! It really brought back a lot of memories!

Yes... Brent LOVES smores (they are probably one of his favorite things ever)... I don't know why he was making that face... maybe because I was making fun of how he had chocolate all over :)

Roasting biscuits over the fire :)

Clayton and Amy on the 4 wheeler! (you are welcome Bubba for not posting the picture of you in my giant sunglasses haha)

Brent and I on the 4 wheeler at Lily Lake! It was absolutely gorgeous!

Miller Experience

For Christmas, Brent's parents' got him the Miller Sports Car Experience so we finally used it this summer! He had a little training and then got to drive the race car on the race track! It was so fun to watch and he had a blast!!!




Here is a picture of Lole for you... haha I couldn't delete the picture after I accidentally put it on here, so enjoy ;)

VEGAS!!

So we finally got a 3 day weekend and so we decided to head to VEGAS!! It was so nice to get away from our busy life for a few days and just relax and enjoy being away from home! We also have been wanting to go to see the Hoover Dam, and went on the day they were dedicating the new bridge! It was incredible and totally worth waiting in ridiculous traffic for :) The bridge is absolutely beautiful and it was so fun to see and learn about something new!! We went shopping, walked around a lot, saw some HUGE pumpkins in the Bellagio, and beautiful cakes at all the little bakeries (I was of course in heaven)!

So many beautiful, creative cakes!!
Brent at the Nevada - Arizona state line!
Standing on the dam (isn't that new bridge so beautiful?!) If you look closely, you can see the flags they put up for the dedication, which was so cool to be able to see!

At the m&m factory!
In front of a 900 pound pumpkin!!!!

Thank you Mom and Dad

So we are a couple weeks into the school year, and it has been a trip!! My 24 six year olds and I have our good days and our bad days, but it already seems to be flying by!! Everyday with my kids really gives me a chance to reflect on my own life and my own education. Now this is my second year in a Title 1 school, and I am amazed by the things I see from these kids every day.

Growing up, my mom was able to stay home. I realize more and more every day how much of a blessing this was. It makes me appreciate my mom so much for being there every day when I got home, and my dad for working so hard over the years so she would be able to do so. Because of this, I learned my letters. I learned my numbers. I learned how to read. I learned how to love to read. I learned how to treat others with respect. I learned how to listen. I learned how to count. I was always bathed and clean. We always had dinner on the table. I was able to tell someone about what I learned in school. My parents taught me how to pray. My parents hugged me. My parents told me they loved me. My parents made me know that I was loved and important.

Thank you Mom and Dad.

I guess when you are raised this way, you take for granted all the things that your parents have provided you with. I see these wonderful, sweet, innocent kids who are missing out on so much. Some of these kids only eat when they are fed by the school. Some of these kids don't even know the alphabet. Some of these kids don't come to school with a coat when it is cold outside.

I can be so frustrated with my kids during the day because they aren't listening, they have said a sware word, they have punched somebody, they have been yelling in the halls, etc... and at the end of the day all they want to do is to come and give me a hug (some more than one... or 5... haha). So many of them just want to feel loved and like they are important. It makes me so grateful for having parents that made me feel that way when I went home from school.

I was able to do a new client's lashes yesterday who is a special education teacher at the deaf and blind school. We had a lot to talk about, seeing how we both are so involved in education. She told me a story, and cried as she told it. I guess last week a 50 (or something) year old man was about to commit suicide. When he was about to end his life, his 3rd grade teacher's voice came into his head saying "you are a good boy," over and over again. Because of his 3rd grade teacher from 40+ years ago, this man still realized his life had value. It amazes me to realize how much of an impact I can have on these kids.

I don't know that 40+ years down the road they will even remember me, but I have recommited myself to helping these sweet 6 and 7 year old kids to get even just a glimpse of what I was able to get growing up. So writing this blog, I am sure some days I am going to have to come back and reread it, so that I can remember that even on the hard days, these kids are worth every minute.

The Crazy Life

So I find that I am never on the internet anymore. And when I am on the internet, I feel like I have a million things to catch up on. So tonight, I thought i would spare a moment or two to blog. I wish I would have blogged more throughout this first 3 months of our marriage, but I am afraid I am going to have to play catch up once I can finally upload and be patient enough to post pictures! For now I will post an update though.

This summer was amazing. We played lots of Phase 10 and Dance Dance Revolution on the wii, rode our bikes around West Haven, went to Lagoon with our season passports (best idea ever haha), went on walks with Lole, spent time with family, went to the rodeo, a benefit concert, and lots of fireworks.

My amazing Dad paid for us to go surprise my Mom for her birthday in Memphis. It worked out fabulously and she was very surprised! :) It was so fun to be able to see their new home, swim in their new pool, enjoy good food, have lots of laughs, and enjoy having family together. We were able to spend some great sister time that we haven't had in ages, and grown up family time without all the in laws (which we all missed tremendously) (Val went to bed for school the next day so it made it even more official) which was weird because that doesn't happen very often as we grow up. I have been blessed with an amazing family, and loved every minute of spending time with them!

Summer is over.

I panicked with life because I didn't have a teaching job, and we were moving to Brigham City.

I got a job as an extended sub for a 2nd grade teacher leaving on maternity leave. I got interviewed for an even better job after I had accepted that job. I interviewed Tuesday morning, got hired about 20 minutes later, and started on Wednesday.

1st grade is much different than 2nd grade. I had back to school night that Thursday and tried to present myself as confidently as possible to the parents that didn't know their 1st grader was getting a new teacher until they came home the day before telling them all about Mrs. Keller. Needless to say, I am a little overwhelmed :)

I go by Mrs. Keller. Weird. I love it. :)

Brent has started his last semester at Utah State!! WOO HOO!! He is now a dual major (International Business and Economics) and is taking 3 MBA classes. He is also a little overwhelmed. :) We are in this together.

I am getting so many eyelash clients and loving it! Starting today I had to bump up my prices because I am running out of time for new clients. So my prices are $100 for a full set and $50 for a fill. Which is still a fabulous deal. Especially fabulous because I am amazing at what I do... and humble ;)If you are reading this and wondering if you should call me for an appt., you definitely should. haha

We started moving to Brigham City this past weekend. Our apartment is so cute, and it is so fun to finally be able to unwrap our new couches and pampered chef stuff and wedding gifts! I can't wait to put up pictures, organize everything, and make it feel a little more homey :)

So life has been crazy. And amazing. I have married my best friend, and we have so much fun together even when we are doing nothing. We have really come to appreciate those moments when we get to just watch a movie and cuddle (because those moments are now rare and few between). Life is good.

Aruba baby!!!

Greetings from Aruba! It is happy hour and we are just enjoying our smoothies out by the pool! Even though it took a few tries to tell our server that we didn't want alcohol in them lol! Amazing photos coming soon! Thanks to everyone who made our wedding better than we imagined, we love you!

Engagements

See some of our great engagement photos done my Madelyn here:

http://www.madelynwphoto.com/Engagements/Mary-Rose-Brent/12031492_Az7vA#853671695_ZonLE

The Big Day!

Wedding Date:

Tuesday, June 15, 2010