Love, Laughter and Baseball.

2011 A year of change.

2011-12-31T08:44:00.000-08:00

2011, What can I say? A year of change. Two Thousand and Eleven has been a year of change. Yes that sums it up.

We started the year living in North Salt Lake, I was working as a bus driver for Valley Mental Health, and Ben well didn't have an "official" job, he was on admin. leave with the police department and we didn't know what was going to happen. With Faith we moved to Grantsville, feeling like this was where we were suppose to be, it didn't make sense why, it was 30 miles farther from our jobs, and going to cost a little more money which we really didn't have at the time, but we moved. Immediately we began to question our decision, Ben was let go from the police department and our income had just been cu

t into 1/3 now we had more bills and less money. Ben had been looking for a job and had a few prospects. He worked about a week at a food storage company, he seemed to like the job itself but I kept getting this sick feeling every time he went to work. I don't know what but something wasn't working. My anxiety became to much and he quit that job.

He had another job in his back pocket, working for Quest, as technical support. He began working and seemed really excited about the job, he was excited for all the money he COULD make and I think just excited to be working. The job ended up being a Sales position and there was a lot of dishonesty in the company, Ben kept pushing through, because it was a job.

Meanwhile I had gotten very busy at my job. I was covering for one of my coworkers who was out on short term medical, I went from 32 hours a week to 45+ the extra money was great and I was enjoying staying busy. I started working as a temporary counselor and loved it! The extra money I made in overtime made up for the money Ben wasn't making at

Quest. Things seemed to be working out, but we still questioned our moving.

My mom began to get sick, she was bed ridden for about 2 weeks. She'd try to go to work, but most days she couldn't even walk. When we'd go see her you could see how much pain she was in. My mom has always been the one to take care of others, and does not accept being the one who needs taking care of very well. It was very hard to see her struggle and feel like there was nothing I could do to make her better. I stopped questioning our move, I knew that for my own sanity I needed to be closer to my mom just in case something happened.

Back to Ben he had worked at quest for about a month maybe two when he called me. He called and said, I hate this job, I can't take it anymore, I'm going to quit. I was at work and went into panic mode, telling him not to quit to stick it out, everyone has bad days etc. He agreed hung up and called me about 5 minutes later, saying he had quit! I was so mad, before the anger could wear off he called me back saying he had a job interview with "Boart Long

year" on Tuesday.

We had planned a trip to Colorado that weekend to see the Cardinals play. We considered canceling but I'm very glad we didn't considering it could be the last time we ever see Albert Pujols as a red bird, and the last time to see Tony La Russa Manage. When we got back from Colorado life began to fall into place. Ben interviewed and was hired as a Temp to hire with Boart, where he is still working and enjoying. My Mom was able to get medicine to feel better and my family began to plan a family vacation to Disneyland.

Over the summer I took one the role of counselor full time, even though I hadn't been officially hired to the position, I was doing the job. I spent the summer, rock climbing, taking pictures, roasting marshmallows, canoeing and mainly hanging out with some rea

lly awesome teenagers. When the school year started there was a lot of Change at Valley, we were going through our third layoff and a few people were quitting. I officially moved to a counselor position and started teaching. I LOVE MY JOB!

We took our family trip and I fell in love with Disneyland. I can't wait to go back, and am making plans to go very soon. The end of the year has been pretty stable, we are trying to buy a house and its a very up and down game, I know we will find what we want, but right now it seems like we might build. Still haven't made a decision. My photography business is doing rather well and I'm really excited for its future. This year has truly been a huge change, from where we live and what we do to even my hairstyle, much is different. As for Ben and I, well how lucky are you when you truly marry your best friend. Ben is my sunshine, everyday I spend with him is a day at the beach, and life is good at the beach.

Vacation, Anniversary and World Series!

2011-10-19T19:45:00.000-07:00

Great things have happened and are going to happen. We just came home from our family vacation. I had a lot of fun. I LOVED Disneyland! I could have split my time between Disneyland and San Diego and not done anything else. Everything else was fun but Disneyland took the cake.

As many of you know I am very afraid of birds, and they were out to get me this trip. 2 years ago when we went to SeaWorld the birds didn't seem to bug me as much, this year the story was different. It made it hard to relax and enjoy the parks, but it was still a lot of fun seeing all the different sea animals at SeaWorld and the African Safari was really neat we even saw a baby Gorilla- MOnroe. Monroe was a cite little guy and made fighting with all the birds worth it.

Universal Studios wasn't what I expected but it still was cool. I will warn you the King Kong 3D tour is gross, very great technology, but gross.

For our anniversary we went to a resort in San Diego, right on Mission Bay, we rented a corvette, and a boat, played all day either cruising in the car or speeding on the water in the boat. That night we went to Ruth's Chris for dinner, it was great! The food is amazing and well worth the wait and price, I recommend it. It was the perfect way to end our vacation.

Also the Cardinals made it to the world series, that makes Ben pretty happy! Its been exciting following them this season and I have to say GO CARDS! For those of you who follow the Cardinals on twitter, I think Torty is good luck ;)

The excitement is KILLING me.

2011-10-02T17:54:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited!!! We leave in just over 5 days.

Just stopping by and blogging.

2011-09-18T16:26:00.000-07:00

I really have become terrible at blogging. I feel like all I do is updates and nothing truly fun! I'm trying to set a new goal of posting "Wordless Wednesdays" and blogging about the things that really have struck my interest lately.

BUT....today I'll start off with an update.

Ben and I haven't been up to much traveling, we took a mini trip to Las Vegas in July, other then that we've been home counting down the days until our big DISNEYLAND vacation... It will be with the entire family and I'm sure will have a TON of pictures to share and many many funny stories to tell when we get back. We don't leave until October so I'm getting antsy.

Ben is working at Boart Longyear a company that makes drills. He really seems to love it. I got promoted at work and am now a councilor who CO-teaches. I have a really interesting job. I have my own classroom and work with a lead teacher in making lesson plans and teaching kids 12-17 all subjects! It's pretty hectic yet extremely rewarding. Teaching these classes has sealed my decision of becoming a teacher and I will be back in school come January.

Ben and I are still looking for a house, building is becoming more and more intriguing, but buying is so affordable right now. We love our apartment so we surely are in no hurry to move and we will wait until we find exactly what we are wanting.

Ben is officially a Ute. I'm very proud of him, and now having a real Ute in our house makes last night's VICTORY that much better.

That is really all that is going on, it doesn't seem like much but it keeps us busy.

PS. Keep your fingers crossed, the Cards are cutting it close and we'd love to see them in the playoffs.

OK, OK, OK

2011-08-19T17:45:00.000-07:00

So many people have been telling us, the time to buy a house is now. Well tonight Ben and I take some baby steps to being home owners. I have no idea what I'm doing however I do watch a lot of HGTV so I know some of the tricks. Hopefully I can find the home that will be perfect for our first home! I'll keep you updated and put any helpful tips, I learn on here for those who have not yet started the buying game.

Summer Lovin'

2011-07-16T12:02:00.000-07:00

We've been very busy this summer, both Ben and I are working 50 hours a week in Salt lake and whenever we get a couple days off, we seem to be on the run! I'm not complaining I prefer to be going all the time.

My work is so much fun in the Summer, we get to go rock climbing, canoeing to the movies, I wish I could post pics, but due to confidentiality laws I cannot.

Ben got excepted to the University of Utah and starting the fall he will officially be a Ute. I'm incredibly proud of him and his hard work.

We had a wonderful 4th of July, with good food and fun like always. We went to the parade, played kickball, had a BBQ saw a movie, watched fireworks and really enjoyed being with Family. Ben's niece Kaylyn was staying with us over the 4th it was so nice to get to spend quality time with her. She is such a wonderful girl, she was a great guest and I'm happy she was able to come play with us over the holiday.

Since the summer is only half over I'm sure I'll have lots more to share the next few weeks.

Go Cards!

2011-06-17T06:40:00.001-07:00

We went to see the Cardinals play in Colorado over memorial day weekend. First let me say it is so worth it to go see a baseball game over memorial day, it feels very patriotic they did fly overs, had the military there, I cried when we sang the national anthem. It was great!

I have never been to Colorado so that was fun for me to see Denver, we rode a petty cab up 16th street mall, people watched, (best place I've ever been to people watch,) had buffalo wings, I played 3 lottery tickets and didn't get a single number right, it's really a neat city. We drove home through the Rockies, that is a beautiful drive I suggest everyone do it. All in all we explored, played, relaxed and tried new restaurants, all the things that make traveling wonderful, we can't forget that we accomplished our main goal, and that was cheer for the CARDS!

The Lord works in mysterious ways.

2011-06-17T06:06:00.000-07:00

My whole life I've heard people say, "The Lord works in mysterious ways." I've always believed that to be true but maybe haven't always recognized it in my own life. As you probably know Ben lost his job at the police department right after we had moved to Grantsville, we were nervous about bills and the fact that now we had to pay more in gas for me to get to work, and where was he going o find something making what he did at the police department? He was unemployed for about a month, when he found a job with Qwest. We were so grateful he had found something and he was so excited we felt like it was the answer to our prayers, that everything had finally played out the way it should. Well as time went by the job became really stressful our schedules were making it difficult to work and do school, everything just seemed wrong, it was very stressful for both Ben and I.

One Friday while I was at work Ben called me and told me he wanted to quit his job, that he just couldn't work there anymore, he just didn't feel right. (Now I want to note Ben isn't a feeling guy, he plays by numbers and rules, usually not feelings.) I told him to just hang in there and everything would be ok, that if he finishes the day, we'll go have fun this weekend and he'd have a couple days off to really think about it. He agreed, I went back to work. Five minutes later Ben called again.

"Felicity, I quit my job."

My heart raced, now we have to do the whole unemployment thing again, many questions and concerns ran through my head, but the only thing I can say is, "We'll be fine." I get off the phone with Ben and my mind goes 100 miles an hour because now we won't get unemployment, we just shy of being able to live off my salary, we only have enough in savings for a couple months, what about our trip we've already paid for part of it and the list goes on. Then right before I break down and cry in front of my students Ben calls again. "I got a job interview on Monday." my mind stops, what? already? where? He explains,. After the interview process Ben was hired at Boart Longyear, making more then at the police department and doing something he enjoys he started the day after memorial day. It's not perfect, its long hours and he is currently a temp to hire, but its better then where we were. We went one week without pay and not really because of how the payment cycle at Qwest went, and anything we were short was made up for by my overtime all things, I know the Lord put in place for us. So its true the lord does work in mysterious ways. Ben acted on faith quitting his job, and not more then 10 minutes after he had done so he was called for interview for his current job.

When I Grow Up.

2011-03-19T08:08:00.000-07:00

At age 15 I knew that when I grew up I wanted to be Dental Hygienist I knew that was what I was going to study at Weber State University, I knew how long the program would take me and what color scrubs I was going to wear, that same summer I did an internship assisting dental assistants, I really enjoyed all the office work and talking with the patients however the first time I asked a patient to say AHH and open wide to clean their teeth I about lost my lunch, I decided that day, this was not for me.

At age 16 I was frantic because now I didn't know what I wanted to do when I grew up. I didn't know who I was going to be, that summer I took some pictures of my best friend and they actually turned out great, not to mention I really enjoyed it. My journey to being a photographer began, I took photoshop classes and read everything online about photography, this was it.

My senior year I took a college psychology class, it was so interesting and wonderful I loved learning about peoples brains and their ability to do or not do certain things, mental diseases fascinated me and the way I think intrigued me.

While studying art at UVU I got a job working with kids with Autism, I loved it and decided I would change my major to special education. A few more months went by and some of the harder realities of special education hit, I still loved my job but it was emotionally draining and I wasn't sure I wanted to spend the rest of my life feeling helpless. The school year ended and I moved before the next year I was unable to return to that job. While working at La Quinta I missed working at a school, I missed the opportunity I had to teach, the regular hours and the joy I felt from my job, not only for those reasons but many others I left the hotel business.

Today I work for Valley Mental Health as a councilor for at risk kids. I love my job. I am finding out how much I love teaching so this summer I'm going to school to become a teacher or high school councilor, however over the past couple weeks I've been thinking how what I really want to do when I "grow up" is be a mom. I really want to stay home and raise my children, I'm still going to school because you never know what can happen, I am going to study education and continue to do my passion of photography but hopefully when the time comes I will be able to be a full time mom.

Remembering we are blessed.

2011-03-12T17:43:00.000-08:00

I was thinking today how blessed we are to live in the United States. God has truly blessed this land, he has given us opportunity, peace and freedom. I am saddened by those who don't have the knowledge and love for Heavenly Father, those who want to take the line "One nation under God." out of the pledge of allegiance and those who believe prayers and religion of any sort should be banned from schools, sporting events and community gatherings. I believe that our faith in the Lord and Savior help us prosper, makes us a kinder more tolerant country, it also allows us welcome all and love our neighbors. Recognizing God's hand in our life helps us remember to pray and be mindful of all those people in countries that have lost all they have to war, natural disaster and poverty. Again I say, we are so blessed, I hope we can remember this not only in times of sorrow but always.

Bring Him Home

2011-03-06T20:28:00.000-08:00

We were watching the PBS Les Miserables concert telethon and the song "Bring Him Home." touched me spiritually, I just wanted to share the beautiful lyrics with you, and if you've never heard the song you should look it up and listen to it.

Valjean

God on high

Hear my prayer

In my need

You have always been there

He is young

He's afraid

Let him rest

Heaven blessed.

Bring him home

Bring him home.

He's like the son I might have known

If God had granted me a son.

The summers die

One by one

How soon they fly

On and on

And I am old

And will be gone.

Bring him peace

Bring him joy

He is young

He is only a boy

You can take

You can give

Let him be

Let him live

If I die

Let me die

Let him live

Bring him home

Bring him home.

Life Update Posted By Ben

2011-03-02T13:36:00.000-08:00

I'm sure everyone has been catching bits and pieces of my life for the past 4 months. Here is the full story. Mid November I was placed on Admin Leave at the Police Department while internal affairs investigated a couple calls. I was still being paid but didnt go to work. So I spent that time looking for a new job. They completed the investigation and 2 weeks ago I was asked to resign or told I would be terminated. I resigned. I was pretty sure I would be getting a job with a company called Media One. I had 3 Interviews and was waiting. I was also waiting to see if I would get unemployment. The job at Mediaone was not offered to me. So I had no Job and No unemployment. for the last week and a half. Monday I was contacted by Mediaone and Asked to come in for a 4th interview however it is really like a 1st interview because it's for different position. I am still waiting to hear back from them. In the meantime, I was offered a position today in the Sales department at Qwest. It starts March 28th. So if Mediaone doesn't pick me I have that to fall back on. More good news today, I was approved for unemployment. So things are looking great for us.

World"WIND" pictures.

2011-02-26T11:04:00.000-08:00

My grandma told my mom she needed a family picture, and that she needed it by saturday of the week, well it was thursday that only left us friday to take some shots. We decided to dare the wind and went out to saltair, the wind was 40 mph but had a few breaks during which we managed to get a few good shots.

PIcture of the week

2011-02-21T20:16:00.000-08:00

Las Vegas strip. I took this picture when Ben and I went for our honeymoon! We were watching the fountains from just outside the Bellagio.

Picture of the Week

2011-02-18T07:15:00.000-08:00

This picture was taken of the old train at Saltair, Its one of my favorites shots.

Moved in, Unpacked and Waiting.

2011-02-15T06:29:00.001-08:00

Well its official we live in Grantsville again(well me again, Ben for the first time) YAY! We had a lot of help from my friends and family on Saturday, so much help that by Sunday afternoon I had everything unpacked and put away, no more boxes to dig through, or wondering were things are, just living.

We lost a couple things on the move our entire box of hangers fell of the truck! We now have all white brand new matching hangers. Our already flimsy dinning table chair broke and also a picture frame, other then that everything made it safely to our new place.

Our new apartment is great! The fireplace is warm and toasty, the closet is big and organized, there is a storage room and garage space, all around just wonderful!

Now for the waiting, Ben has been on Admin leave since the end of October first part of November, I can't really remember exactly which but its been a long time, and its been very stressful not knowing whether or not he will have a job. Yesterday he had his final interview to decide the outcome of his case, the police department asked him to resign, I can't get into much detail because I don't know what is confidential and what is not but I can tell you that the series of events leading up to this decision have been very caddy on the police departments part and there has been a lot of office politics and slander involved. Ben is happy to be out of that environment I am happy too, however he is now currently jobless. He will apply for unemployment but since he "resigned" we're unsure he'll get it, we have a little saved and will be okay for a little while, He has been looking for a job while on leave so he's ahead of the game, and he had a 3rd interview with Media One yesterday so we are praying that he'll be able to start working soon.

If anyone reads my blog and knows of places hiring send me a link, and keep us in your prayers in hope to find something soon.

Pink Hair

2011-02-05T13:21:00.000-08:00

These pics were taken late at night after a long day, but I love having a bright color in my hair!! I put pink in and its really fun!

Weekly Picture.

2011-02-02T16:51:00.000-08:00

Salt Lake Temple. I took this picture when my family went to temple square to look at the Christmas lights.

Weekly Picture!

2011-01-29T11:34:00.000-08:00

I've given myself a new challenge. Once a week I want to share a fun picture I've taken, with you on my blog.

This week, Lola.

Lola is my Mom's puppy. She is a handful and love's attention. This picture was taken on our way to Flaming Gorge, this past summer.

My Best Friend

2011-01-23T21:22:00.001-08:00

Benjamin Ryan Gotsch, was born November 2nd, 1981 to Harold and Patricia Gotsch in St Charles, MO. He is the youngest of 5 siblings 1 sister and 4 brothers ( Ray, Tami, Nate and John.) Ben's favorite childhood memory is going swimming at the pool with his dad. In 2001 Ben was called on an LDS Mission to Salt Lake City, UT.

In 2007 he met me, we were at a bonfire and I laughed at his nonsense. It didn't take much time for me to want to spend as much time as possible with who would be Become my Best Friend. After dating for nearly 2 years Ben married me, Felicity Anne Silva on October, 15 2009. We were sealed in the Salt Lake City Temple.

His favorite activities include: Swimming, Baseball, Going to Movies, Listening to music and Kissing his beautiful wife. A little unknown fact about Ben is his ideal alarm clark would be celebrity voices example: "Hey Ben! This is Albert Pujols, time to wake up and make it home run day!"

Moving

2011-01-15T07:48:00.000-08:00

They say moving can be the most stressful thing on a person, however this move I'm really excited!! I can't wait for our apartment to rent so we can get out of here and into our new place! I've already organized all the closets and drawers, packed up the spare room, and taken lots of things to the DI.

I think my excitement stems from a lot of things, First our new place is adorable!!! We are still renting, and its a basement apartment but the nicest apartment I've ever seen and it was right in our price range. Second being closer to family and friends will be such a blessing, we've really struggled making new friends up here and we live just far enough away that people don't really come and visit. Lastly it feels right, I've been kinda in a rut and praying that I can find whatever it is I need to do differently to get out of the rut. We signed the deposit check and 2 days later my boss wanted to talk to me about some changes at work, I was worried because I already was going to have a hard time driving from Grantsville to Salt Lake and back 2 times a day on my split shift but I was going to make it work. So I went in and talked to my boss and he asked me if I would be interested in working in the classroom instead of driving and changing my shift to 8 am-2pm, this was perfect, I've been wanting to work in the classroom and the shift change works out perfect for driving to and from Grantsville!! Like I said it feels right!

I am so grateful for prayers being answered and the knowledge I have that its not always our plan it's God's plan and he knows what he is doing.

Hopefully I can keep this stress free feeling throughout our entire move.

Love Laughter and Baseball.

2011-01-08T08:43:00.000-08:00

I decided to change our blog title. You reading this may have no idea what our previous title was, most don't search blogs for great titles the search is for posts, stories and pictures!

However I wanted to change my blog around, I wanted to add spice and personality to my weekly stories. I debated using photography since its my passion, I also thought of a simple version like "Gotsch the story of us." I wrestled with many ideas then I thought what are the things that make Ben and I as a couple, so great?

First... Love, obviously we love each other but I was thinking of a greater love, a love for others, a love for the outdoors, love of adventure, love of movies, love of conversation and friendship.

Next... Laughter. When I met Ben I was a very unhappy soul, I had a lot of struggles and a lot a heartbreak, however he healed me with laughter. Everyday since the day I met him he has managed to make me laugh, to make me smile and to fill my soul with sunshine. That's why I choose laughter.

Finally... Baseball. If you know me you know I enjoy sports, most all sports but from a young age I have taken a liking to Baseball. I think it has a lot to do with the pants they wear and how adorable there butts are in them, or it could be the relaxing atmosphere of a baseball game, going to the baseball field as a young kid and watching my Uncle Larry coach, the warm summer sun and the stadium hotdogs that really made me a baseball fan.

In the last 3 years or so I have become an even greater fan, this is what happens when you are married to a baseball fanatic. (it's January and he's already setting up his fantasy league.)

If you know my husband the Cardinals are his team, he loves them and loves baseball to the core! Even though we don't cheer for the same teams all the time, or agree with each other on controversial calls our time spent at ballparks has made us a happier couple with a lot of 'us time' so I thought our connection to baseball would be a great title ender.

So now you know, Why I choose what I choose, and how it could possibly be the perfect title of our lives and our blog for now.

Looking back with a smile and forward with hope.

2010-12-30T06:20:00.000-08:00

As the new year approaches I consider all the experience's 2010 has offered me. I think it will be easier to go by the month.

January: a New year a new start. The fresh year brought on resolutions and goals some of which I reached others I fell short on, I did however complete all levels of Mario Cart, (that was very important,) took 4 vacations and left the state twice, all of which were on my goal list for 2010.

In January itself I taught myself that being at home with my husband could be one of the best places to be, That the birthday of a lost friend makes for a very hard day, I saw 3 great movies (Sherlock Holmes, Blind Side and Invictus) and celebrated my little brothers 17th birthday.

February: the month of LOVE. Ben and I both had to work on valentines but we had late night candlelight dinner and dancing in the romantic "cafe de gotsch". Later in the month we headed to St George for a weekend to soak up some sunshine!

March: I started having real problems at work. My job became more and more difficult to go to. It was to the point of me needing to find a new one. I spent most of march working I worked from 5 in the afternoon until 1 in the morning every thur-mon and sometimes they would call me in at 7am on Tuesdays or Wednesday. This was not a good month.

April: April was reserved for the girls. My first trip to Las Vegas to see the lights watch Lion King on a beautiful stage and yes I'll own up to it a little gambling. I had a blast with my Mom, Grandma, Brynn and Rosie. I really enjoyed spending time with them. when I returned I started my new Job working for Valley Mental Health I left La Quinta with a sigh of relief.

May: The beginning of our running season. Neither Ben nor I are runners however Ben wanted to try and become a cop, so when we heard they would be hiring in July we began running everyday and trying to get our lives on a more healthy side of life.

June: Michael turned 20, more running, enjoying new job, summer! Lots of BBQ'ing oh and how can we forget BASEBALL! June has brought us sunshine, warm days and hotdogs at the ballpark.

July: July is always my favorite month, it is so warm and sunny the days are longer the nights are sweeter and its filled with fireworks, camping and family. The very first day is my Mom's birthday and then the 3rd my Mom rents a huge water slide and we spend the day soaking up the sun and fun while eating good food and enjoying good company. The next day is the 4th. Fireworks, snow cones, parades, and celebrating this beautiful country what's not to love? Ben decided that police work wasn't him but we kept our goal of running a 5k we came in at the end but we did it and thats what really counts.

August: This August we took a trip to Flaming Gorge. The trip didn't start of as smoothly as we had hoped. A flat tire and a night in rock springs slowed us down a day but once we established camp and floated down the river it was all worth it. With Grandma, my Family and the Higley's we had a large crew, and it was a lot of fun.

September: September was spent planning and celebrating for Brynn's upcoming wedding. Finding dresses, taking pictures, making invitations, and having parties turned out to be a lot of fun!

October: Begins with Brynn and Carlos getting married then Ben and I are off to celebrate our 1st anniversary! We spent a week in Vegas it was nice to be away from home but together.It was Ben's first time going to vegas and naturally he lost all his money luckily we budgeted for that to happen ;) We saw all the hotels and I learned to play roulette, my new favorite gambling game. lol. The best part was driving I love road trips with Ben, it gives us a chance to talk about all the things regular days don't leave time for.

November: Even though our Halloween party was technically in October I'm saying November because we had it to celebrate Ben's 29th Birthday! We played games and had good food. Next is Thanksgiving which at my Mom's is always good :) Then the day after thanksgiving shopping. This year shopping was a little more difficult considering they started sales at midnight in some stores, then 3 am in others... we didn't even go to bed, we were done shopping by 9 am. It was a long night I hope next year they have early morning sales again.

December: With December comes my birthday (22), and Christmas. Christmas this year was wonderful, a nice warm fire, great presents, and a wonderful spirit. We went and saw the lights at temple square, zoo lights, and ate all sorts of yummy food. The week of Christmas I made a goal to spend each day reflecting on the Saviors life. This goal brought me closer to the Savior and closer to the true spirit of christmas.

I was also blessed to be able to spend the entire christmas season with Ben this is has been such a blessing to me.

Now the year is coming to an end, we get to reflect on the past but mostly look forward to the future. We don't know what 2011 will hold, who we will meet, who we will lose, what friendships will grow stronger, which we will lose sight of. With a new year comes new opportunity and new adventure. New Years day is the brightest most hopeful day in a dark and dreadful winter.

I wish you all a happy year full of laughter and love. I hope tears don't fall down our face unless they are tears of celebration and rejoicing, I hope pain doesn't touch our hearts, or fear doesn't creep into our homes. I hope we can find sunshine and peace wherever we may be. Let us love one another and make 2011 better for everyone.

Saturday!

2010-12-05T08:19:00.001-08:00

I have been down from the lack of sunshine and clean air, so Ben and I took a drive to Park City. It was wonderful the sun broke through the clouds, the air was clean and the snow was beautiful, we took a few winter pictures while we were up there.

Later that day our friends Brynn and Carlos came into Salt lake, we played games and went to the Utah Hockey game. Yesterday turned out to be a really fun day!

gratitude.

2010-11-28T15:12:00.000-08:00

I started the month off very good but as the holiday season started coming and I actually became busy I fell further and further behind. Its not that I'm not grateful for at least thirty things, the fact is I am grateful for so many more and to choose just thirty was getting harder and harder. A few great things and even greater people didn't make the few posts I managed to keep up with and I would like to mention all of them now.

My grandparents

My brothers

My hometown

My Family

My education

The Gospel

The scriptures

The Sun, the moon and the stars

Modern technology

Friends

Educators

Police Officer/Firefighters

A Reliable Vehicle

Mine and Ben's Jobs

Eternal marriage

Temple Work

There are so many more things the list could go on forever. I am so grateful to have great people and wonderful blessings in my life.

November 21

2010-11-21T07:34:00.000-08:00

I'm grateful for the sweet whispers of the spirit. Whether it's feelings of comfort or promptings to keep me safe, each time the still small voice feels my heart I am grateful for the choice I made the day I received the blessing of the Holy Ghost.

November 20

2010-11-21T07:31:00.000-08:00

I am grateful for time spent with my family. We were able to go to a baptism and then to see Harry Potter followed by dinner at Applebees. Its always fun for all of us to get together and enjoy each others company. I wouldn't trade my family time for anything.

November 15-19

2010-11-19T12:45:00.000-08:00

I got a little behind on my blog updating these week became a little more busy then I thought it might. So here's a quick edition of this week.

Nov 15- Pets! they are fun I have always loved having a dog while growing up.

Nov 16- An excellent deal! I went shopping with my mom rosie and grandma and we got very good deals on Thanksgiving dinner.

Nov 18-A good Story, Today I finished the hunger games and I really enjoyed reading it, entering another world and a good story.

Nov 19- A Good nights rest. Waking up in the morning fully rested, nothing better!

November 14

2010-11-14T08:06:00.000-08:00

I am grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ, for his mercy, his love, his charity. I am grateful for the times I've needed someone to carry me through life's storms and the Savior has. I know that when I am down and feel alone I can turn to my Savior and he will comfort me. I am so grateful for the atonement and know the power it has is real. I cannot wait until the day I can fall at Christ's feet and cry thank you, thank you, thank you. I know he lives, he is everywhere we look from the laughing children to the frail grandfather he is there as a comforter as a healer as a friend. I love him my true eternal friend.

November 13

2010-11-14T07:41:00.000-08:00

I am grateful for beauty, not a vain beauty but the beauty that surrounds us, the fall colors, the spring flowers the snow capped mountains, buildings built with detail and care. I get to drive up capital hill everyday and while the dawn is barely breaking I drive down and see the entire salt lake valley, the capital the utah skyline, the street lights forming a perfect grid, the great salt lake, all nestled in beautiful purple mountains. I then continue down State Street and drive past the temple and beautiful temple square. I am so grateful for the beauty that surrounds me every morning.

November 12

2010-11-14T07:31:00.000-08:00

Since my last post was being Grateful for Veterans I think it's appropriate I express my gratitude to our country in this post.

I've been reading Hunger Games, (I very much recommend it) and they live in a corrupt government, the story of this fictional place has strangely made me grateful for all my freedoms.

I am grateful for the ability to walk in a grocery store and not be told what I have to buy, or to be able to wear the clothing I want and not be forced to cover my face because I'm a woman. I'm grateful that I can choose a profession that I enjoy not one deemed to me by the government. Mostly I am grateful for my personal pursuit of happiness, I can be happy, I can choose the things in this life to be happy, whether that's riches, owning a gun, having a large family, buying a big house, having a beautiful garden it doesn't matter because I have the ability to choose and not only the ability the encouragement to choose what I want.

I know that God truly does bless the USA and I am blessed myself to live here, that is something I hope I will never take for granted.

November 11

2010-11-14T07:24:00.000-08:00

Soldiers of the United States of America. In honor of veterans day today I', grateful for America's Soldiers, for the freedom they grant us, for their sacrifice and love for the citizens of our country. For their willingness to stand up for what's right, and the bravery it takes defending our nation.

I am grateful for my own brother in law and his family for the service he is currently giving our nation and the example he along with the other men in our family who have served including Ben's father will be to my children, as an example of peacemakers of loyalty and bravery.

I say Thank you to our veterans and their service.

November 10

2010-11-10T21:09:00.000-08:00

Today I am grateful for technology. The fact I have a phone that can send a instant message or call anyone in the world at the press of a button is so reassuring. I depend on technology for so many things even writing this post, on my laptop using the internet. I am grateful to be born in the age of technology, and have so many advantages and resources at my fingertips.

November 9th

2010-11-09T21:38:00.000-08:00

Today I'm grateful for Smiles. I love to receive a warm smile from a friendly child or an old friend it makes my day to have a smile tossed my way :)

November 8th

2010-11-08T17:57:00.000-08:00

I'm grateful for a warm house and comfy bed. I love to cuddle up in a warm blanket on cold stormy days like today. I was driving down 4th south and saw a bunch of homeless people huddled under a porch covering. I'm so grateful to have a place to come home, a place that has heat and hot water and not to mention all the extra things we have.

November 7th

2010-11-07T11:50:00.000-08:00

I'm grateful for cleanliness. I really work better in a clean environment. I am so grateful for modern day tools and cleaners to keep homes, cars, and the workplace germ free! I love my hand sanitizer and crawling into a made bed. I'm grateful Ben is willing to help in the house and keep it a clean environment. I'm grateful for clorox wipes and lysol. I know its a funny thing to be happy for, but if we allowed garbage and dirt to take over our lives the world would be so unpleasant.

November 6th

2010-11-07T11:47:00.001-08:00

Today I am grateful for sports. Ben and I went to the U vs BYU Hockey game. It was so much fun, we didn't go to any hockey last season and I missed it greatly. Sports are very important to me both playing and watching. They allow me to be competitive and cheer for something worth while. I'm grateful I have always been able to participate in sports and had a family who encouraged success in athletics. I look forward to sharing many more sporting events with loved ones!

November 5th

2010-11-06T10:17:00.000-07:00

I missed yesterdays post because I locked my keys in my car. I ended up not being home until late last night, however I am grateful for my Mom. She is so wonderful, she and my grandma with all the things they probably had to do drove to salt lake took me to dinner then took me to my house and the back the 30 minutes to my work so I could drive my car home. I am so grateful that she is always willing to help me, whether its talk to me when I'm frustrated or its come put gas in my car because I've run out on the side of the road. I am so happy she's my mom!

November 4th

2010-11-04T07:53:00.000-07:00

The sunshine. We are getting less and less sunshine each day and it makes me so grateful for the few rays that drop in on us in the day time. Sunshine is my lifeline, i whether we have it or don't completely changes my mood.

I am grateful for warm days when the sun touches my face and sends warm hugs across my skin. I love the smell of warm weather and the smile it brings to my face.

November 3rd

2010-11-03T19:00:00.000-07:00

I am grateful for a job. I was overwhelmed with some unexpected expenses today and briefly forgot how lucky I am to actually have a job. That everyday things like rent, gas and food are taken care of and I'm not stressed over where my next meal will come from or how we will afford to get to work because we are out of gas and payday isn't for a few more days. I am so grateful that we are able to have all we need, and enjoy extra things. I am grateful that both Ben and I can work, and enjoy our jobs.

November 2nd

2010-11-02T09:41:00.000-07:00

Today is Ben's Birthday so it makes it easy to think of something I'm grateful for; Him. I am so grateful for my husband, for his love and his laughter. I am so grateful for his ability to be there for me every time I need him. I love how he makes me laugh when I need to and lets me cry when I need to. He is my everything. I know he'll make a wonderful father for our children and I am grateful for his ability to lead and his willingness to listen. I am grateful for his worthiness to go to the temple with me, I am grateful he tries everyday to be a better person then he was the last. Mostly I'm grateful that I am sealed to my best friend for eternity.

November 1st

2010-11-01T17:39:00.000-07:00

Today I am so grateful for my nieces and nephews. I was on facebook looking at their beautiful pictures and it filled me with such joy. I don't get to spend very much time with their smiling faces but I enjoy hearing of their success and seeing them happy. I look forward to watching them grow up and hopefully becoming a bigger part of their lives.

Thanksgiving.

2010-11-01T17:35:00.000-07:00

The month of giving thanks has arrived. I have decided to try and blog everyday this month on something that I am grateful for. I will try and keep my post short and sweet, however I hope that I can put meaning into each post. I hope that giving thanks throughout the entire month will better prepare me for the Christmas season, to remember everything I have been blessed with and not be so concerned with material gifts.

I am so Blessed.

2010-10-26T11:10:00.001-07:00

Today at work, a student shared some of her personal experiences in with the group. It literally broke my heart as she calmly spoke of the hardships that had faced her young self, tears rolled down my face. I could not even imagine such a terrible life, such pain, heartbreak and disappointment for so many years. She spoke soft and sincere she didn't want to tell her story so others would feel bad for her but so she could help someone else who had gone through the same thing.

When she was done she stated "I hope that if anyone has been hurt like me they will try and help someone who is worse off then themselves, because there is always someone who needs a friend more then we do."

I left the room and went to a place I could just cry. I was so touched by the simple phrase there's always someone who needs a friend more then we do.

As I drove home this morning I started thinking about how blessed I am to have grown up in a safe home where my family loved me and where I didn't have to go to bed at night in fear, or worry I might get hit when I came home from school. I hope that I can be a friend or safe haven for anyone who is need of one.

1 Year

2010-10-17T18:53:00.000-07:00

So its been a year and 2 days since Ben and I were married. It has been the greatest year. I have been able to have such great adventures with my best friend. We went to Vegas for our Anniversary. While we were there we went to the Dolphin Exhibit at the mirage, Madame Tussades wax museum (very very cool, and lots of fun.), we rode a gondola, our gondola rower sang three beautiful songs very romantic. We then went to Jersey Boys. Jersey Boys had more swearing then I expected however it was very funny and if you enjoy the music of Franki Valli then you will enjoy the music in Jersey Boys.

The best part of our vacation was just being together, it was Ben and Felicity time 100% of the time. For me there is nothing better then getting away with Ben and really enjoying each others company without the stress of work and everyday life.

I am so lucky to have Ben. I love him so unbelievably much. I am excited to continue spending everyday with him.

Brynn's Wedding

2010-10-17T18:42:00.000-07:00

Brynn's wedding was beautiful. She looked gorgeous and we had a great night celebrating her new life!

Welcome Fall.

2010-10-04T20:29:00.000-07:00

I love the fall the weather, the gorgeous colors and holiday seasons! I'm especially excited for Halloween. So in excitement for the haunting holiday, I decorated our blog! I hope you enjoy!

A little rant.

2010-10-02T10:19:00.000-07:00

This last month I've been really sick of Ben's job. It is really stressing him out, because he works for the police department they have all these rules and policy's so many of which are STUPID! He made a mistake on one of his calls, everything worked out but now he feels like he is walking on eggshells just to keep his job. Add the feeling of walking on eggshells to a high stress job and plus the latest of not being able to use his time off.

I don't think a job should have stipulations of which kind of leave you can use for what. Because he bids for his time off at the beginning of the year he bided for our anniversary off, He has more then enough leave if they would allow him to use holiday leave however he doesn't have enough "Vacation" leave which why its different makes no sense to me, so now we have to come back from our trip on our anniversary, so we don't even get to celebrate on our actually anniversary, instead we'll be driving across Utah and I'll be left home alone until 3:30, yet again. It really bothers me.

I hate that he works stupid hours and all the hours that I'm off. He works all weekends, and I have weekends off, its really annoying to come home on friday to start my weekend and be home alone all night. Then Ben sleeps all Saturday because he works the grave, gets up in time to get ready for work and is off again until 11:30 comes home goes to bed, we get up for church and then he has to leave church an hour early to be to work on time, then I have to go to bed early because I have to be to work by 5:30 in the morning, then my week starts. We never are off together, unless we take it off together. So the fact that now we don't get to have our anniversary off together just makes me so mad.

I have time to look forward to Ben has weekends off in November so that will be nice. but July, August, September and now October I'm kinda sick of it! Sorry for the negative post but I'm really ready for a regular schedule.

Call me Crazy.

2010-10-01T07:53:00.000-07:00

Call me crazy but I love working in the detention room, I get to talk to all the kids about what they did to send them here, help them process through it. I don't even mind them yelling at me when they first get here, I think its because when they leave they are doing so much better and the are set to have a successful day... Well for the most part.
I do have to say thank heavens its Friday! This week has gone fast, but I am so excited for a weekend. Mostly because it means 4 more days of work until I have 10 days off! Viva Las Vegas.

Short Week!!!

2010-09-22T10:19:00.000-07:00

I LOVE LOVE LOVE working in the school system. I was sick on Monday (thats not the part I love) and I got a sub and slept the sickness off. Then when I got to work on Tuesday. I found out there is no school friday, which means no work!! Yay to a short week, and a long weekend!

Bachelorette Party

2010-09-19T17:31:00.001-07:00

Its only been a year since I was having my bachelorette party and being surrounded with friends and girl talk took me back. Remembering the stress and excitement of a new life I wanted Brynn to have a night where she could really relax, laugh and have a good time. With help from Lydia we did just that.

Brynn looked beautiful and so excited to being so close to getting married. I hope she was able to relax and giggle about the best part of being married.

To Old Friends

2010-09-12T18:29:00.000-07:00

To My Dear Friends,

The years have been short since our times of adventure and laughter, but our lives have changed and we've become different people then those people who once relied on each other for everything. Military, College, Heartbreaks, Missions Weddings and Death have pulled us to different places.

On my way to see some of your familiar faces today, I realized we won't all be in the same place ever again, we won't be the best friends we once were, we may never have the adventures we once had. I also realized that sometimes people are sent into our lives for a brief moment, to brighten our days, hold our hands, and guide us through the times that only our friends can. Then I realized that sometimes we are brought together again to mourn or rejoice and that even though we've gone our own ways seeing each other can be a comfort and just the warm smile you need.

So I want to tell you all how much I love you and how grateful I am for the times I've needed you and you've been there, the number is to high to count but I will forever hold a place in my heart for each of you.

Thank you.

Sincerely your friend,

Felicity.

Flaming Gorge.

2010-09-12T16:30:00.000-07:00

We spent last weekend in Flaming Gorge.

We left thursday evening, we were about 25 miles from rock springs, and 40 miles from flaming gorge when our tire literally flew off! The lug nuts flew off somewhere along the way. When the last nut decided to give out the tire flew about 300 yards to the west and we started flying across the road. My Mom did an amazing job at keeping the car on the road and keeping everyone safe. It stirred us up and we had to wait about 45 minutes before Doug and Rosie came and saved us. Since all our gear was in the car that now had no tire, rotor or brakes we went into rock springs, and stayed the night at la quinta.

Friday was spent fixing the car, we decided since it was labor day weekend we really needed to get up to the lake to get a campsite so we got a rent a car. The only rental cars available were at the rock springs airport( yes, rock springs wyoming has a tiny little airport.) So we got a cab up to the airport. The cab company was called Butterfly Cab, and the cab was covered in butterflies, we thought that was funny until we saw our driver, every inch of his arms were covered in bright butterfly tattoos! As we drove to the airport we came behind a semi truck, all of a sudden our cab driver started growling, then barking as loud as he could at the semi truck driver. Ben and I were in the backseat shocked when he turns to us and simply says "I hate those diesel drivers." We tried our hardest to not laugh and be scared all at the same time.

Finally we arrive safely to the one hanger airport, get our car and are on our way.

Saturday we spend running the green river, we had so much fun! Homemade lunchables for lunch and then another run down the beautiful canyon.

Sunday we take time to relax and enjoy our surroundings, take a hike down to the lake and do a little cliff diving

Monday we pack everything up early in the morning then make one last run down the river, it was beautiful, the weather was perfect and I can't wait to do it again.

Lots to look forward too

2010-08-30T08:20:00.000-07:00

Ben and I are coming upon our "busy season". We have so many fun things in the next 4 months.

This year we are starting it off with some white water rafting at the green river with my Mom, Brothers, and our family friends, the Higleys.

When we return I will be busy with bridal showers and bachelorette parties for Brynn's wedding. Starting out October is the wedding itself, then Ben and I pack our bags again and head out for the open road, heading east, to see the Gotsch Family and some old friends. While we are gone we will also celebrate our 1st Anniversary!!!

Dressing up form my 2nd favorite holiday, Halloween, comes next!!

Ben turns 29!

Following that my favorite meal of the year, Thanksgiving shadowed by a day of intense shopping and laughter!

Finally my birthday rolls around with my first twin digits, 22!

Then We all LOVE christmas.

Last we celebrate the end of our spectacular year with New Years Eve.

So as you can tell we are into the "Busy Season" It will be so much fun, and I'm sure I'll update with pictures and details of all the many things to come!

What a Week.

2010-08-06T22:08:00.000-07:00

This week has just been insane! Work has been crazy, home has been crazy and now I think I'm going crazy!

Ben had the week off work because of some bad planning on our part, so he spent 5 days deep cleaning our house! Which is so great and the office is starting to actually look like an office which is wonderful! Before it looked like a junk room, full of spare beds, a huge desk, and a ton of rubber maids. We got rid of the Bed and have started a complete de-junking and re-organization of that room. It's funny anytime you deep clean it seems to get messier before it gets cleaner, so its nice to be on the cleaner side of the mountain that was the spare room!

While Ben has been home cleaning I've been out working! I put in a lot of work this week and last, I taught an Event Planning Class, which included planning graduation, the kids really seemed to enjoy it, probably more then me since they were the ones leaving and I was the one running around like a chicken with my head cut off. It turned out nice, and everyone seemed to have a good time. The best part is, its over!

I've been having these dizzy, faint spells for about a month (and no I'm not pregnant) so I went to the doctor to see if he could help me figure out what it could be. The Doctor sent me to get a CT scan to check for blood cots, which I'm glad they didn't find but his nurse called me in for an appointment monday morning, and it turns out they found something else in the scan completely unrelated. Well because I don't 100% understand what's going on, I'm not going to share to much detail on my blog but I will say I do have to have all sorts of tests and go to specialists and its stressing me out, and frankly I'm freaked out. The Doctor says its probably all caused from my birth control, so now I'm off the pill and waiting to go see more doctors. So please keep us in your prayers life has just took us down a new path, so I guess we'll hang on for the ride.

On a good note we decided to take a road trip to see all the new babies (Congrats Merrill and Briahna, also Welcome to our Grand Nephew Jason) and old friends and family in the midwest. We'll be going over our Anniversary, I'm excited to see some places I've never seen and be somewhere I've never been, there is such a thrill in that.

Next week should be another "fun" filled week! I have meetings monday, giving my Mom some curb appeal Tuesday along with a a baby photo shoot, The rest of Brynn and Carlos' Engagements and an adventure filled day in provo on Wednesday, back to curb appeal Thursday and Friday and maybe a day off on Sat (? doubt it). Life would be boring if it wasn't busy.

Family!

2010-07-04T07:05:00.001-07:00

If I had to name one thing inmy life that means more to me then anything else in the whole world I would have to say my Family.

My Mom always says "Family is deeper then Blood." I would like to talk about all the great Family I have in my life.

My husband.

The day my Husband came into my life was a day that would forever make me a better person, As we grew closer I knew I needed his sense of humor, ambition, love for baseball, and excitement for life with me for eternity.

My Mom.

My mom is very special to me, I've wrote full post about her and the great roll she has played in my life, I love her dearly.

My Brothers.

I have 4 this last weekend I got to spend time with all four of them. I usually only get to be around Michael and Brue but I appreciate the love Dalton and Dakota have for me and the fact that each time I see them they give me a hug and tell me "Love Ya, sis."

Michael is my "Protector" The only person allowed to be mean is him. (typical brother.)

Brue is the baby, even though he's not my youngest brother growing up he was the youngest in our home, and he holds a special place in each of our hearts because of the challenges he has had in his life.

My Grandparents.

If I could sum all my grandparents into 1 great thing each of them do for me it's love me unconditionally, hands down my greatest support team.

My extended family.

I got to spend a few days with the Vario family this past week and I love hearing stories and seeing resemblance's and personality traits that have been passed down, from generation to generation. Each of my extended family offer a good laugh, and continued tradition of love.

My Best Friends.

Brynn- I'm grateful for her encouragement, her love and her support through my life decisions. She gives me strength everyday knowing the effect her body has on her and the fact that she doesn't allow what she has define who she is. I'm proud of her and so grateful she is my "Sister"!

Whitney- She is my Twin... Always and forever, time can take us different ways but somehow when we see each other again its like we've talked to each other everyday since the day we met. She encourages me to be brave and to simply HAVE FUN! There have been times in my life I'm not sure I could have gone through without her.

Daniel- He is the goofiest person I know, He always is doing something, he is an excellent listener and an even better talker, I always enjoy my conversations with him!

Taft- You all know taft from past posts. He was always there when I had no one else, when I needed someone to tell me it was ok he did, and when I needed someone to be honest and tell me I was messing up he did that too!

My "Siblings".

I know I've talked about My Brothers but I need to add my Siblings.

I grew up with Brynn (ME) Dallin, Michael, Emily, Brue and Carley 7 of us in all, our houses might as well been connected walking in and out of each others houses without knocking , falling asleep on each others couches and spending the night, cleaning each others bedrooms, playing games, eating dinner, going shopping the only thing that keeps us different is our genetics and the more time we spend together the more alike we look! We are there for each other through thick and thin!

My Aunts and Uncles.

I have so many Aunts and Uncles, I have Kaed and Adrianna, Mary and Jerry, Don and Treasa, Bucky, Andy, Karen and Larry, Krista and Jason, Fran and Eric, Nancy, Peggy... I am so grateful for them all especially those who choose to be my family and love me like my aunt and uncles because they always have and always will!

My In-Laws-

I'm grateful for the welcoming hearts they have had adding me to there family! I love all of my adorable nieces and nephews, and wish I got to see more of them!

I am so grateful for my FAMILY each and every one of them (and there's alot) have playeda very important role in my life! I love them all and am so thankful I have them!

Its what fun is!

2010-06-19T12:40:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Ben, My Mom, Rosie, Tanner, Jenika, Allie, Anika, Kira, Ty, Emily, Carley, Micheal, Brue and I went to Lagoon. We had a blast riding the roller coasters, eating hot-dogs, getting soaked on Rattle Snake Rapids, and doing everything that is so great about Lagoon. On the way into Lagoon the girl at the front gate says "Welcome to LAgoon" and Ben belts out "Its what fun is!" It made me laugh, and we moved on. Today I was driving home from Park City thinking about Ben announcing that Lagoon is what fun is and i started thinking of all the things that if I wrote the definition of fun would be included, so I came up with Felicity's 20 Idea's of What fun is:

20. Playing Card games with my Family.

19. Track Meets

18. Watching Movies at home with Ben and Eating Junk Food

17. Buying Presents

16. Going to the Zoo with my Mom and Little Kids

15. Getting Pedicures

14. Shopping

13. Flying in an Airplane

12. Decorating my House

11. Camping

10. Playing with or walking Harley

9. Eating at noodles with my Best Friends

8. Riding Motorcycles/Four Wheelers (Dirt Biking)

7. Road trips with Ben

6. Shopping

5. Watching a Baseball game with Ben at the ballpark

4. Sitting around the fire with my closest friends roasting marshmallows

3. Taking Pictures of Happy People

2. Playing at Lake/Boating/Rafting/Swimming/Jet Skiing

1. Being in a new city

Not all the fun things in the world but most definitely my favorite 20 things to do!

Exercising and Loving IT!!!!

2010-06-10T18:42:00.000-07:00

Well the title basically describes the whole post, Ben and I have made our time together as active time, we go for walks, runs, hikes, and spend the day learning and doing more workouts! It is a lot of fun! We've even started seeing results! I'll keep you all updated on the great activities we do!

To My Friend

2010-06-07T18:28:00.000-07:00

I was thinking of you today, I cried.

There was a day that you were the only person who I told my secrets to, you were the only person who could get me to stop and think about what I really wanted for myself. I remember the funny little crush I had and the Serious Heartbreak I felt that summer. I can't listen to Jimmy Eat world the Middle because I cry each and every time I remember driving with you and Whitney.

I wish you were at my wedding to dance the electric slide with me.

Every time your little brother talks I automatically recall your voice.

I smile because you were a jokester I laugh at the times we blew things up, the days we played red rover and the truffle shuffle. I miss the "Three Amigos" hanging out like we were the coolest people in the world.

I miss you getting mad at me but I regret every fight we ever had. Thank you for letting me scream out all my problems to you and thank you for trusting me with yours. You are my friend, I wish I could go give you a big hug, I wish I could pause every laugh that we every shared and put them in a jar so now the days that I miss you I could open up that Jar, and laugh with you again. Instead I cry.

I know that today isn't a day I should miss you, or a day that other people are probably missing you, but I do. I miss you all the time. I love you and can't wait til You, Dallin, Daniel, Whitney, Logan and I can laugh at campfire again can look at all the mistakes we made in our lives and how having good friends like each other made all the difference.

I hope you look in on me every once in awhile. I hope you are teaching my family about me, and teaching them how to be a good friend like you.

Sometimes I feel like you are just in another state and one day I'll see you when I'm passing through, I wish this was true. I know there is a reason for everything that happens and I know that God needs you more then any of us down here. But please keep being our Guardian Angel.

Summer Rain

2010-06-06T19:07:00.000-07:00

Okay, Okay so its not summer yet, but I was at my Mom's house today for my Little Brothers 20th Birthday Party ( I know he is getting old!) anyway as we sat there and enjoyed the conversation of family and friends the heat broke and it began to rain! It made me think of one of my favorite childhood activities sitting on the porch in a raining thunderstorm, usually with a glass of hot chocolate wrapped in a warm blanket- today I ditched the hot chocolate and blanket because it was to hot outside but sitting on the front porch relaxing blogging and enjoying the smell of country rain was the perfect end of a beautiful sabbath day!

Mom

2010-05-09T06:34:00.000-07:00

I've known most of my life that I have the world's greatest Mom. When I was a baby she would hold me close and bundle me up, when I was a toddler she would pick me up when I fell and kiss my owies better, when I was a child she would read me stories and braid my hair, when I was a teenager she would hold my hand as I experienced heartbreak and let me go when I discovered independance.
My Mom is kind, loveing and a remarkable woman. She has been my biggest advocate and best friend. My Mom is beautiful and strong. She is the greatest teacher I have ever had, the best councelor I have ever seen, the most encouraging coach, the safest chaufer, and the best cookbook. She has been there through all my best and worst moments, she has seen me at my strongest and my weakest she knows me better then anyone because I'm her daughter and she's my Mom.
As my life goes on and she continues to pick me up, hold my hand, braid my hair, let me go and kiss my owies better I know I'm safe, and I'm loved because God put me into the care of the world's most amazing person My Mom. I love her with all my heart and wish her a very Happy Mother's Day.

Viva Las Vegas

2010-04-28T11:57:00.000-07:00

I just recently went on a trip to Las Vegas with My Mom, Grandma, Rosie and Brynn- It was so much fun! We spent everyday from 10 am to 3am out on the strip seeing the sights and having a blast! My favorite Hotel was surely the New York, New York, but I guess I like any hotel that has a whole store dedicated to the Yankees. My favorite exhibit was The Lion's at the MGM Grand and the botanical gardens at the Beligio were beautiful! The greatest thing we saw there was THE LION KING!! The Lion King was amazing! The opening scene literally had me in tears, it was awe inspiring, breathtaking, magnificent!

Miss Abby.

2010-04-05T10:36:00.000-07:00

First thing when I got to my Mom's house on Easter Morning my family was crying and before I walked in Ben told me Abby died.

Abby was our family's wiener dog. She was 13 years old and had been in our family she she was a pup. When we got her she was the runt of her litter. Abby was so sweet to everyone and loved string cheese! She died of old age, she had been suffering to breathe all through the night so in the morning my little brother gave her blessing and she passed a few minutes later. I will miss Miss Abby but she is as ben said "In String Cheese Heaven."

April Fools!!

2010-04-02T10:30:00.000-07:00

So for April Fools Ben and I decided to pull a little joke to those who are our facebook friends. Ben found these pictures online- of toyota corolla's the same color as mine, and post them on facebook saying we had to total out our car. The best part of the joke was the people who had talked to me since "the accident" who hadn't caught on to it being a April Fools joke. We got just the reaction we were looking for!

These are A Few of my Favorite things

2010-03-27T17:50:00.000-07:00

It's officially Spring!! Spring is my favorite season, so as I was walking in the warm sun I was thinking of a few of my favorite things

Even though I love to snack on licorice and diet coke

I LOVE to eat Mexican food, especially La Frontera's Smothered Burrito

I love music sticking in my headphones or turning up the radio can be the greatest thing ever! I especially Love country music, and classic Rock my favorite band of all time is The Eagles, My favorite song- Life in the Fast Lane.

I'm a complete fool for Jamba Juice!! My favoriteflavor is orange berry blitz- even though its no longer on the menu they still make it for me :)

I love Sports My favorite sport to play is Volleyball I really don't Play enough, I also love softball, and basketball. I LOVE going to a baseball game it is one of the best things in the whole world I think that is because in the stands of baseball games is where i really got to

know my husband and fell madly in Love with him!!

So I love baseball but more specifically I love the New York Yankees,

I was very happy when they won the world series last year and I look forward to

seeing that again this year.

Taking Picture is MY passion!

I also love being outdoors-I love to play at lakes, hike mountains, and search for

seashells My favorite place on earth is the Uintah Mountains, I grew up spending a couple weeks in the summer in what I call God's country there is nothing more beautiful then the night sky in the Unitah's. The sky looks like it is full of diamonds!

Not only do I love to be outdoors I also Love to be inside cuddled up with a blanket watching my favorite tv shows or movies. Movie: My Best Friend's Wedding and newest Favorite The

Blind Side TV Show: Toss up between the office and Glee.

Hanging out with my husband is my all time favorite thing!!

Beautiful Grandmothers

2010-03-15T02:22:00.000-07:00

My Grandma Pam

My Great Grandma Painter

My Grandma Brenda

I was looking through my wedding pictures thinking how I needed to put together an album, I came across a few pictures that really caught my eye- all of which were of my grandmas. I have three beautiful grandmothers that I get to be around and learn from everyday.

I will start with my Great Grandma Painter- My grandma Painter is an amazing lady who has taught me the value of hard work, and how to keep working when things get hard. She is always taking care of her family, and surely she would never let anyone go hungry, She is an amazing cook, a skill I hope to develop over time.

Next is my Grandma Brenda- My Dad's Mom. She has taught me patience. She teaches me the importance of family. She has also taught me how to love those who may be the easiest to hate. A great gift I hope to keep with me entire life is her cleanliness, When I was a little girl she would have my cousin and I come and clean her walls her "Merry Maids."

She taught me girls don't fart they "fluff", black eyed peas aren't just a band but the food you eat on New Years Day to bring you good fortune, Black Cats are bad luck and Pennies are Good luck. She gave me her beautiful blue eyes and sensitive spirit. I Love her for each of these things and so much more.

Finally is my Grandma Pam, or "GP" as we all call her, My Grandma Pam has taught me the most. She has taught me the true meaning of unconditional love, that life is hard and sometime we just get dealt an unlucky hand but that doesn't mean we stop playing cards. She's taught me beauty isn't on the outside but the inside, that people mess up and how to forgive them. She has taught me that I am worth more then anything that watching me sing and dance, or play ball was always more important then anything else. She taught me that some lessons are hard to learn and others are harder to teach and most importantly she taught me that no matter what age, sickness or problem you have life is worth LIVING! I love her for that.

All of my grandma's have taught me and blessed me and shown me a little bit about life. I hope that I can cherish everyday I spend with them. And one day FAR FAR...FAR away I'll be a grandma and me granddaughter can see the beauty of all my grandmothers in my eyes, smile and lessons I share with them.

Weekend Away

2010-03-03T08:50:00.000-08:00

Ben and I decided to take some time off while we had the opportunity and get away for a weekend of sunshine and swimming. We needed to get away from the rainy weather and stress of our jobs! (Ben's because it is a high stress environment and mine because its become a high stress environment!) So we packed up the car and headed south, the original plan was to go to mesquite and enjoy their spa and golf package, but we decided that we didn't want to spend our whole trip traveling to one place and the next so we decided three nights in St george out of the rain, into the sunshine, would be perfect! Ben still went golfing and I went "spa-ing" but mostly we swam in the heated pool and wandered around the valley. It was so much fun to just go and have no agenda!!! I'm so grateful We were able to really enjoy this weekend! Now we are back home and life has already begun, Ben is sick! He just has a cold but sometimes a cold is the worst (plus we almost managed to make it to spring without any colds!) I have a meeting at work today that I'm not to excited for and We have laundry. Its okay though we can't live everyday like it was a vacation, if we did we wouldn't really enjoy the vacations we do get to have!!

A Valentines Story

2010-02-20T10:48:00.000-08:00

For Valentines day Ben and I both had to work so we decided we would celebrate at the end of the month. I was feeling a little sad that on our first valentines day as a married couple we wouldn't actually be doing anything. I sat at work thinking that this could turn out to be the worst valentines day ever, and that it would set precedence on all of the valentines to come- I had convinced myself I had no more good valentines.

Saturday's I'm usually able to get off at 10 pm, 10 came and went, then 11 came and went, and I still hadn't gotten Ben anything for Valentines, (which I wanted to even though i was sure I would not be getting anything in return) finally at about 11:20 my replacement came- and I was able to run to Wal-mart.

I had been to this very Wal-Mart two days earlier and it seemed that the whole store was decorated pink and red because of all the valentines treats, flowers, stuffed animals and balloons that decorated the hall. However as I walked into the sliding glass doors the place looked like a Valentines Wasteland- The things on my list were gone- all that was left were a few deflated balloons, some stuffed animals and pokemon valentines. I searched every aisle.

I stood in front of the now empty display where just days earlier a huge collection of "The perfect Valentines Gift" had been. I looked at my watch, It was now midnight. I thought to myself: 'I'm sure Ben is asleep and what good is a gift going to do anyway We weren't celebrating until the end of the month and I'm sure I could find a suitable gift by then.' Discouraged and tearful I started to leave the wal-mart, When I was stopped by a man who was holding "it"- the last "Perfect Valentines Gift"

He said "were you looking for one of these"

"Yes!" I exclaimed

" I found out my wife already got this, and I no longer need it, you can have it."

I took the "Perfect Valentines Gift" and Ran to the candy aisle, got some candy and found a bag and a card! Valentines was Saved!

As I drove home, I saw a card that in all the chaos I had missed, It was the sweetest valentine, from my sweet husband. It was enough to make the whole night worth it.

Happy that my husband still remembered me on our busy valentines, I rushed home and when I opened the door, the room was filled with candle light, there was a beautiful dinner on the table, a basket with all my favorite candies, romantic music, and best of all FLOWERS!

I was so happy. It was the best valentines anyone could hope for.

WAY CUTE!

2010-01-22T10:15:00.000-08:00

So I don't usually watch studio 5 on ksl but I did this morning,and they had the cutest cutest game room ideas i can't wait to make a game room!!! so i can use them! As you know i LOVE monopoly and I have always wanted a monopoly room but this took it a step further and now I am on the search for some vintage game boards. I'll post some pictures when i get some of it done!

Tips for creating your own vintage décor:

1. Frame the board game and/or the playing pieces. You can purchase readymade frames or shadow boxes to save on costs.

2. Use a game board as a message board. Adhere metal office clamps to the board and clip up photos or important papers. To make the memo board even more unique, glue discarded game pieces to flat-head thumb tacks and use alongside the clamps.

3. Add hooks to a game board, mount it to a wall and use it as a hat or coat rack.

4. Create a unique end or coffee table simply by covering the table with a game board and covering the board with glass. Display the game pieces in a glass jar.

5. Add drawer pulls to a wood game board for a fun and funky serving tray.

6. Flat-backed game pieces (scrabble tiles, checkers, and bingo tokens) can be glued to a piece of cork to create unique coasters.

7. Use hot glue to embellish plain picture frames with dominos or scrabble tiles.

8. Create one-of-a-kind swizzle sticks or skewers by combining Pic-up-Stixs and a game piece. Simply hot glue the game piece to the top of the stix.

9. Display games on a wall by simply attaching a magnet to the back of the game board and adhering it to a magnet board or a wall painted with magnetic paint (found at Home Depot). Playing pieces can be stored in magnetic tins alongside the game board.

10. Make bracelets, pendants or rings, by simply hot gluing game pieces to readymade jewelry supplies. You can also easily drill through dominos or scrabble tiles and attach the pieces together using elastic cording or small eye screws.

11. Make a sheet of Monopoly money fabric by placing the money between 2 sheets of clear c

ontact paper. Cover books, seat cushions, etc. with your fabric. This ides will also work with playing cards.

2010 MOVIE

2010-01-11T15:23:00.000-08:00

Ben and I love to go to the Movies its really one of our favorite things to go and see the latest blockbuster. This year we have gone and seen 3 GREAT movies I hope that these shows set the standard for the greatness that 2010 movies can hold.

I am going to list them in order of my favorite

1. Sherlock Holmes- Sherlock holes was funny and kept you guessing I loved the costumes There was action, romance, comedy, a little scary at times(which means to the normal person suspenseful) it was all around a really fun movie to go see!

2. Avatar- This movie really surprised me I'm not really into si-fi movies and especially when they are done with animation, however Avatar really exceeded my expectations, it wasn't weird or really even look animated plus i saw it in 3d It was definitely a good movie.

3. Invictus-

This was an inspiring movie. It was the best sports movie since Remember the Titans it really showed us what good inspirational sports movies should be like.

All in all these were great movies you really wouldn't be wasting your time by seeing any of them. Well at least in my opinion.

10 Years of Ben

2010-01-01T19:08:00.001-08:00

2000 Senior Year
2001 MTC
2002 Olympics while on my mission!
2003 He He!! Going home back to real life
2004 Lifeguarding again!
2005 Best Man at Matt's Wedding
2006...?
2007 Joe and Katie!
2008 I'm on a Train
2009!! Best Year of My Life!

year in pictures

2009-12-29T20:54:00.000-08:00

LIfe Changing Year!

2009-12-29T18:05:00.000-08:00

Wow! May I just say this year has been most insane!!! It started out and clear up to the very end has been completely life changing for ben, myself and our families!

This year we have lost an aunt, an uncle and a dear friend.

Gained two new beautiful nieces.

Found jobs, lost jobs and found jobs again. Some of which were the worst ever and for me one was the most remarkable learning experiences that I will always hold very dear to my heart.

Ben and I moved a combined total of 7 times in the last 12 months!

We have gained and lost friends, grown closer to our families, and made memories that will last through the eternities!

We have had 3 cars at once and then no cars at all (gratefully we are up to a wonderful 2)

We Laughed a lot cryed a lot and danced a lot! We saw lots of movies, hockey, and baseball games I even went to my first BYU football game (they won.)

We like the rest of the United States got a new president. Like the rest of the world we mourned the loss of some great american idols such as , Michael Jackson, Patrick Swayze and Ed McMahon just to name a few.

We have spent a lot of time with family and friends.

We visited Zion National Park, St. Louis, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Diego, Got a ticket in Arizona, and saw seven Temples in 1 Day and not to mention our many trips to Park City and the few months we worked that sign job that took us all over the state putting thousands of miles on our jeep!

We pet sting rays, new puppies, dolphins and were splashed by shamoo!

We saw the greatest band of all time play at a brand new stadium.

I received my endowment and was able to experience one of the most amazing and marvelous experiences on this earth by going through the temple. My testimony has never been stronger but also experienced one of its weakest moments this year.

Ben and I were Boyfriend and girlfriend then fiances and now are sealed for time and eternity as husband and wife.

Now Christmas is coming to a wrap and the year hasn't quite ended we still don't know what the next couple of days hold but we know whatever it is good or bad, we can overcome and enjoy every second! We made it through this year didn't we? We know that everyday our future holds is blessing from our father in heaven we are grateful for every second.

Now we wish each of you a Happy New Year make the best of it! We love you.

Gratitude

2009-11-12T14:56:00.000-08:00

I have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving season. I have been so blessed.

This year has been a year of change, joy, sorrow, love, and peace from my heavenly father.

You always learn in church that if you endure you will have happiness. The begining of this year i asked myself so many questions, like where am i going? why am i on this earth? what am i suppose to be doing? and I questioned my Heavenly Father on a daily basis and questioned myself. Then in March one of my dearest and closest friends past away, and moy testimony grew in the power of eternal families, and I had a confirmation strnger then anything that I needed to prepare to begin my eternal family and that if i could prove to heavenly father that i was willing to follow his plan he would provide me with more happiness then I could imagine. So a few months went on and as you all know ben proposed.

I am still amazed at the love and support that came from my family, especially my Mom and brothers when I had made my decision to marry ben. I am so grateful for my family and the love that they have for me, and my choices. I am so grateful that I have them.

So we planned for a few months and then i got the blessing of my endowment, which was such an amazing and overwhelming reassurance of My Saviors love. About a week later I drove the temple at 6:30 in the morning with the love of my life, we walked in and were guided and told where to go, the whole thing seems like a dream. We knelt across the alter and looked at each other and felt peace, and happiness, and that most ultimate joy that Heavenly promises us.

I know that Families can be together forever, that through our Heavenly Fathers plan we will be the most happy. I am so grateful for the blessings I have been given this year. I so Grateful for my husband and my now huge family. I'm grateful for my friends and for the gospel and especially my savior. I am so blessed and I hope no matter what happens throughout this year I can remember all the things that make me so grateful right now.

thank you cards

2009-11-12T14:46:00.000-08:00

so i think we are falling behind... we were so blessed on our wedding day to get all sorts of amazing things that we are very grateful for. We have wrote about 50 cards and have about 350 more!!! The pile is never ending! I hope no one thinks we are ungrateful- a card is coming soon. Hopefully i'll be finished by sunday evening.

A Sunny Honey

2009-11-03T08:02:00.000-08:00

For our honeymoon we went to LA and then down to San Diego. It was so warm and beautiful. San Diego was my favorite. We went to the beach a lot and to Sea World, We saw Hollywood and Ben is pretty sure he saw Idena Menzel (lol). It was perfect. We had an amazing time just being with each other.

wedding day

2009-11-03T07:49:00.000-08:00

JUst a few snapshots from the day. I'll post more when we get them.

MARRIED!!

2009-11-02T07:00:00.000-08:00

We made it we are married! Everything is put away life is starting to have order and best of all we are starting our happily ever after! (Thats how it goes right...?) The last few weeks have been so amazing. The wedding was more then I could ever hope for, it was so beautiful, the temple was amazing and the day turned out to be sunny and warm. Everyone who helped did such an amazing job. My mom is remarkable at what she can think of and do. We had a wonderful evening, then we spent some sun filled days in California. We saw Hollywood, LA, San Diego went to The Beach and Sea World... Only got attacked by like 100 birds( well if you ask Ben he'd say we got attacked by 0 birds, so you'll just have to take my word for it.) We had a nice open house in Illinois and then flew back to Utah. So now its back to regular life... You know watching baseball (Go Yankees), Playing Monopoly and eating enchilada's the usual. We are so happy and will keep everyone up to date.

Update

2009-08-30T08:35:00.000-07:00

We haven't blogged for a while not because our lives have suddenly become boring, actually quite the opposite! We are just over a month away from the wedding!!! We still have SO much to plan we haven't got flowers, tuxes(? like taxes), a cake, my bridals or my dress altered yet!! (I and probably so much more!) hopefully I can accomplish all that this week!! (I have a 3 day "weekend" that my mom is off also)We just finished our engagements we are waiting to see our second session but the first turned out cute. I'll post our fav's as soon as we have them.

As far as everything else goes....
Work-
Ben is loving his job! We are waiting to see what his schedule will be like for our first three months of marriage but other then that everything there seems to be good. He loves helping solve crime.
I am working at La Quinta out by the airport. Its fun I really do enjoy working in the hotel business. Its a lot slower then Dan Peterson and not as much fun, nevertheless a good job.

Family-
Everybody seems to be a little on edge these days probably just because of the wedding and moving... I think my Mom's way of coping with it was to get a puppy! He is so cute all black shitzu we call him Jack, Brue doesn't like his name but it fits his personality. He is only 7 weeks old and likes to chew things up! Harley seems a little left out he's not the puppy anymore but he is still spoiled.

Our New Apt
Our apartment is nice! I love it! It's in North Salt Lake, The only place in Northern Utah Ben and I are un-familiar with.. Thats okay we will now officially know northern Utah like the back of our hand.

So everything is going and isn't stopping. We are so excited for all the adventures we are having and the blessings in our lives! We wish you all Peace and Happiness, and will chat at you soon.

How Ben Proposed

2009-07-18T20:08:00.001-07:00

It started in the morning on Friday while he was at work, he had his niece, sister and mom all call me and sent me to different places over-looking the valley to take pictures. Then I got a text telling me to go to the conference center to meet "the love of my life" So i went and feed the meter like $4 so we'd have enough time to walk around temple square ( I was pretty sure he might pop the question at this point) I went and found ben then he said"Ready to go."
so we went back to the car and drove around salt lake because he had dinner planned for us at 5:30. then we went to dinner at olive garden(my favorite) we ate then i was ready to go and he was like no let's get desert. So he asked for a menu, then took like 30 minutes to order!! finally he decided on something and they were like-it will take a few minutes, so ben got up and said he had to go to the bathroom then He never came back!! instead brynn came and informed me she would be my chauffeur, so then i really knew something was up. So brynn drove me to Bonneville Glen Park and ben was standing there holding a red rose. I got out of the car and brynn drove away. Then ben told me that the rose he was holding was 1 of 12 roses and I had to find the other 11. So I walked up through the trail and found all 12 roses. Then Ben said "okay ready to go" and it was quite and pretty so i said i'd like to stay longer and enjoy the scenery, next ben asked me to dance, and he started playing our song and we danced, then after we danced he told me how much he loved me and he got down on his knee, and said alot of sweet stuff like he'd always love me as long as i let him, and he'd do the dishes and take out the trash, and always take care of me, and always be there for me, and a whole lot of stuff then asked if i'd please marry him( and i was crying, so was he) so i just shook my head yes. and he hugged me and brynn was there taking pictures and it was beautiful, and perfect.

Gaurdian angel

2009-07-12T07:37:00.000-07:00

The other night I was driving home it was like 10:30 and I was really tired, anyway I was at about 15 minute form home and I started dozing off, then I woke myself up and turned my radio up loud ( it was on classic rock) Next thing I know its 12:30 and I'm in my car parked in a parking lot, with my windows rolled up (they were down before) doors locked and my radio on country music.It was so weird and it just confirmed to me that God is watching and I have loved ones in heaven who are taking care of me, I don't know what or who got me to that parking lot but I know it wasn't me and I am so blessed to have guardian angels and a Father in Heaven who has a plan for me.

Summer Lovin'

2009-07-12T06:52:00.000-07:00

We have had a very very fun summer!!! LOts of swimming, picnicking, playing in the mountains, tubing (not as fun as it seems) and water sliding!

On the 3rd of July my neighborhood throws a huge summer blasts with one of those huge inflatable water slides! It was so much fun! Even my Mom and Aunt Nancy went down the slide they fell off the back before they actually got up there it was hysterical, everybody was laughing including them which made it even more funny! Kevin came over and he loved the slide! Tina Emily and I all went at the same time that was a blast. I think Carlos would win the award for biggest splash that or when Ben and I went at the same time. Carley spent most of the time trying to climb up the slide and all the little kids spent their time trying to knock her down. Overall it was so much fun and the perfect day to spend with the family outside!

Meet Cash

2009-05-21T19:54:00.000-07:00

This is cash, he is the pup that comes to my house on a regular basis and plays with me, he never wants to go home but the little kids he belongs to are so cute and really love him, his real name is Lincoln and he is very loved.

Glenn Canyon Park

2009-05-21T19:46:00.000-07:00

Brynn her boyfriend Carlos Ben and I went to Glenn Canyon park and had a picnic last saturday! it was a lot of fun, we played baseball, and foxtail, mostly just enjoyed each others company and the warm weather!!! Thank goodness for summer weather!!!!

Eagles Concert

2009-05-15T17:08:00.000-07:00

OH I FORGOT

2009-05-07T20:17:00.000-07:00

This is a new photo I put together. I really like it- in fact I printed one for my house! I think it turned out great!! have i mentioned before i love my new camera? Well its spring so more pictures to come!!! Yeah!!

(oh yah and my e-mail post worked!)

How its been

2009-05-07T19:59:00.000-07:00

Well I just wanted to put a little blurb on here since I have some time!

Schools almost out for summer so I'm currently looking for a summer job I'll have to let you know what I find! Ben is in the final 10 for the dispatcher position, I really hope that this works out for him, I think it would be something he is good at.

We are going to the Eagles concert on Saturday!!! I can't begin to explain how excited I am, they are my absolute favorite band of all time and I get to hear them live!!!! I can't wait to hear the opening of hotel california sound throughout rio tinto stadium!!! its going to rock!

I tried using the e-mail post earlier today and it still hasn't worked so I don't about that.

Oh we went and saw wolverine, it was pretty good. I liked it.

Brue was the student director for les miserables at Grantsville high school, we went down and watched it, It was wonderful, all the students did a really great job performing. I was really proud of my little bro. Michael will be graduating soon, I'm really proud of all his accomplishments as well.

I'm excited for Nate, Adrian and Tami coming to visit on there way to hawaii, we should have some fun while they are here. Well thats really all so i'll blog at ya later.

E-mail posts

2009-05-07T19:57:00.000-07:00

I am trying to use e-mail to make a post I guess we'll see how it works!
- Felicity

Easter Egg Look alike contest!

2009-04-21T17:37:00.000-07:00

we had a egg decorating contest this year it was very funny. we had many eggs with many personalities, the prize was a trophy from DI with a plastic easter egg on top. it was funny.

1. The incredible Yolk- Kaed

2. Barrack Egobama- Ben

3. Pope Eggbenadict-Michael

4. Queen Latifegg- Brue

5. Marilynn Monegg- Adrianna

6. Chicken Little-Mom

7. Marilynn Eggroll- Me (Felicity)

8. Frosty the snowman- Grandma

we also did reeses peanut butter smiles, an egg hunt with 4 golden money egss! and of course 3 buck chuck!

Remembering a Good Friend

2009-04-02T17:36:00.000-07:00

As most of you know I have recently lost one of my dearest friends, it came as a shock to us all. Taft was an amazing spirited friend, he always made those around him laugh and made sure everyone had a good time. I really will miss him.

This last week I've had a lot of time to sit and reflect on my own life. I realized how precious life really is. You never know when you will leave this life for the next. I hope that from here on out I can be more like Taft and always make those who surround me smile, laugh and have a good time.

I also just wanted to let all those dear to me know how much I love them. I am so grateful for each soul that has touched mine. I am so lucky to have the Family and friends I have. Heavenly Father has really blessed my life. He loves each of us, and knows us personally, I am grateful for that knowledge and Grateful to know that one day all of Taft's friends and family, including myself will get to sit around, laugh, joke, and enjoy Taft's cookiness once again.

love you taft, and I miss you.

Spring is Springing!

2009-03-17T17:42:00.001-07:00

I love spring! It is so nice to open the windows let the sunshine in, go to the park, play outside, go for walks, picnics, fly kites, write with chalk, play baseball, get a tan, the list goes on and on. I have already got spring fever I've broke out the shorts and flip flops. Yesterday I went to the ballpark and hit a few baseballs, Sunday I took a walk around the Provo river, and Saturday I got a tan at the base ball game.( I'm still pretty white, but a little more tan then before) anyway I just want to celebrate the sunshine and express my gratitude for it and the health and happiness it carries!
Happy Spring!

a post with more words then pictures

2009-02-22T15:29:00.000-08:00

I found that most of my posts are pictures. I say about 20 words about the pictures then post the pictures, really never say how i am doing or any new and exciting news (not that there is any to tell... i did however just drink a glass of rotten milk and not even notice til' the end, thats kinda news, but not really.) anyway i'm going to post more pictures but this time i'll give you a little update.
Everything is going pretty well. I've moved again, so far so good, my apatrtment has a kitchen table! yes a kitchen table!!! I haven't had a table for over a year, we've already played a few games and had dinner at the table. Its truly been a nice asset.
I am still working at Dan Peterson (I say still like its been forever) I love it!! The kids are so amazing, and there isn't a day i don't learn something and leave a better person.
I haven't actually been to my new ward yet, i've been to a BYU ward twice, and my home ward once since i moved in, so i have no idea if i am in a good ward or not, I'm sure its fine, I'm excited to not be in classroom taking the sacrament thats a little weird.
I don't really know my roommates, one is at work all the time (except thursday nights, when she faithfully watches greys anatomy and house ( same time as the office..:(... this being why i don't get addicted to shows aghhh at least its on the web) The other one has been in guatemala for the past 2 weeks. but luckily my BFF Brynn came and visited me for a couple days during which we played wii, monopoly deal (my new favorite game) and ate ribs.
I have my first fantasy baseball draft tonight! oh yes ben has convinced me, the sweetest victory will be my team winning his (and all the other teams in our league.) mahahaha. I made bets on the Academy Awards tonight. (not actual bets just predictions.)
Elvis has now decided to chew threw everything. Including my shirt when i hold him... i swear he just hates me.
I finished up some flyers for my business, i should get them all printed out next week, and my website is coming along.

Well that pretty much covers everything. Except, yesterday ben and i went out to the Great Salt Lake and took some pictures, then headed to the Grizz game, where it was pooch on the pond night. (bring your dog) we were completely unaware of this and were suprised to see people caring and walking dogs into the e- center luckily we didn't sit near that section. And then a couple of weeks ago my family ben and I went to the Draper Temple open house. It was so beautiful inside, and the mountains just frame the temple wonderfully. It was a fun trip and neat to be with my family and see The newest House of our Lord.

2009-02-18T20:48:00.000-08:00

Valentines Day

Valentine's Day was so much fun. Ben took me to Zion's! It was absolutely beautiful. We hiked up to the narrows, and just enjoyed the warm sunshine, and the red rock. I can't wait to go back in the summer.

Hot and Cold!

2009-01-11T13:06:00.000-08:00

On Saturday Ben and i took a ride up to midway and swam in the hot-pots! the water was so hot! but it felt good in the cold winter mountain air!!! o our way up there we saw a herd of deer, a frozen lake some cool midway architecture and enjoyed the snow capped mountains!! It was so much fun... if you are anywhere near midway and want a fun activity pack a lunch and head up to the hot pots.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-23T15:01:00.000-08:00

We hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas wherever they may be. We hope that it is filled with peace, love, memories, and mostly we hope the spirit of Christ fills your homes and your lives during this Christmas season and the New Year to come.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Ben and Felicity

My Crazy Life!

2008-12-11T20:37:00.000-08:00

So nothing is new when I say I got a new job-- yes the third new job in what 3 months, OK maybe 4... But unlike waiting tables to elderly and truck drivers and making phone calls for a unfair and dishonest company this job could really be a keeper.

I am currently working as a teachers aid for Mrs. Gordan at the Dan Peterson school its a school for kids with mental and phy

sical disabilities, most of the students in our class are autistic, so there are really crazy and exciting moments... we 8 kids in our class so I'm sure I will have plenty of fun stories to tell- I'm so excited about this job--- especially to finally have Saturdays

off!!! yeah!

Also as some of you know I'm nannying in exchange for rent- so most of my day is spent with children! yikes- I guess it will keep me on y toes, the kids I nanny are

so adorable, there are 3 of them, Kahlan(3) Brayden(5) and Jerin(10). We've already h

ad some fun adventures, like Brayden's favorite superhero game "airplane" he asks to play everyday.

Also my new camera I blogged a little about it earlier but oh man I love it so much! I've taken so many pictures already. And I'm focusing my remainder attention to my business- I can't wait til' that can pay my bills (if that ever happens) OH YA and (sorry I'm just going on and on.) Ben bought a mac-- it is so cool I am converted. (it is so user friendly) We are still learning new things but it is so cool!

Anyway everything is great!

Pictures of Brayden and Kahlan goofing off.

2008-12-09T21:44:00.000-08:00

My new camera!

I'm so excited about my new camera(nikon D60) here are a few fun pictures i've just recently taken! Thank you to everyone for believing in me!

More of Me?

2008-11-18T09:54:00.000-08:00

http://thunder1.cudenver.edu/clas/psychology/faculty/benotsch.html

So i found out there is a guy with almost the same name as me. His last name is a combination of my first and last name minus the G so its not Bengotsch its Benotsch

Creepy!

Bens Birthday!

2008-11-09T15:39:00.000-08:00

For Ben's Birthday we went to Body Worlds 3 in Salt Lake, it was a really cool experience, i learned so much about my own body, i would highly reccomend going! i wish i could have put some pictures to show you but there was no photography allowed. We also had a little party, and went to ben's favorite restuarant (tucanos) for dinner.

Air Powered Car

2008-11-03T06:28:00.001-08:00

I logged onto the computer this morning and yahoo had an interesting article, It was about an air powered car. It intrigued me so much i wanted to share it with you fine folks. These cars can go 106 mpg and use compressed air to give the same explosion as gas.... however if you feel the need to use fuel it still will take it, the article says it will take 5 other types of fuel! Here is the link to the article if you have a second I'd check it out i thought it was pretty cool.

http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/106040/Air-Cars:-A-New-Wind-for-America's-Roads