Things putting a smile on my face...

-- Facebook memories coming up of things Peyton was learning last year
-- Peyton asking me to sing her a song before every nap/bedtime (she must be tone deaf)
-- Sleeping in later thanks to daylight savings
-- Feeling baby girl kick and wiggle (especially in response to Peyton's voice)
-- A clean apartment
-- Checking things off my to do list
-- Sunny afternoons
-- General Conference happening so soon!
-- Pretty flowers on my kitchen table
-- Holiday candy/treats
-- Generous friends
-- Peyton's curls at the bottom of her hair that just get better as she gets sweaty
-- Making spring break plans
-- Post-nap snuggles from Peyton
-- Planning trips to see family
-- Still being able to work out at 34 weeks (even if it's modified and slow)
-- Random days Chase gets off of school and spends with us
-- Peyton saying new words or answering questions we didn't know she knew
-- Family dancing time
-- Peyton giving kisses to baby sister (my belly)
-- Long phone calls with Julia

Thanksgiving 2014

Chase got a full week off of school for Thanksgiving and we decided to go spend in with my family. We flew into Charlottesville and spent a day there before heading up to New York City for a few days. We had so much fun and were so glad we got to spend that time with them! We also got to see my cousin Lauren and her husband Brian which was super fun (we didn't take a picture though... oops).

We were OK about taking pictures, but missed a lot of chances partially because it was freezing outside and we didn't want our fingers to freeze haha. 

We went and saw the Statue of Liberty, the 9/11 memorial museum, the tree in Rockefeller Plaza, and did some fun shopping around on Black Friday. We got to see the big piano at FAO Schwarz and tried to stay away from too many crowds. We also got to go see A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder and Wicked. Loved loved loved both of them.

Statue of Liberty

Thanksgiving dinner 

Rockefeller Plaza

I am so, so grateful for so many things // My family (immediate and extended) // The time I get to spend with them // A wonderful husband // The chance that both of us have to be in school right now // Getting to live in Texas // New friends and old friends // Close by and far away // Getting to travel // A healthy body // Warm house // Food to eat // Netflix to watch (haha) // And so, so much more // I'm especially grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ // And the chance to celebrate Him this Christmas season // Also for selfies like this left on my phone (love her tons) //

She's gonna kill me...

// Also pretty sunrises like this that make getting up for early flights a little bit easier //

All in all a pretty great week! Let the countdown to Christmas begin

...........

P.S. I cut my hair and got to donate it! It was a surprise for everyone but Julia, so I had to be pretty secretive about it. But it's been a really fun change so far! 

July

So... It's been a while.

Life has been so, so great I haven't been able to think about blogging about it all. So sorry!

But something exciting happened and there is no way for me to put into words how incredibly happy I am about all of it. He couldn't have surprised me more or done it more perfectly. I love Chase more than anything and am so so excited to share my life with him.

Quickly after we got engaged I was lucky enough to coach the BYU lacrosse camp. I had such a blast getting to work with the girls that came out. Lacrosse is easily one of my favorite things to do, and I got to hang out with great teammates and a bunch of girls that love lacrosse too!

The 4th of July was during this week so we celebrated that night by watching my cousin play in a pick up game called Lax of July then got to watch Stadium of Fire fireworks from the lacrosse field. It was so much fun to play with cousins and to just hang out after playing lacrosse and being outside all week.

Pretty soon after that we left for my family's annual trip to Lake Powell. I've said this before but Powell for me is heaven on earth. I couldn't love it more. I had so much fun showing Chase something that I've loved for so long and trying new things with him like cliff jumping and double skiing. It couldn't have been a better week in my opinion.

Driving the kids on the tube and Beckham fell asleep on my arm haha

The one time I jumped off the cliff

That's Chase in the middle doing a backflip

Cutest cousin award goes to...

Skiing together

Rainbow bridge!

Love him to death

Sidenote: Julia managed to get more ugly pictures of me this week than I've ever had taken in my life. I think it's hysterical, but in all honestly didn't know I could make my face look like that.

Right after we got back my whole family went to Airborne (the trampoline place). It was a lot of fun, but most exciting was that I finally learned how to do a backflip. It took being talked into quite a bit and getting over my nervousness, but I was so glad I did it!

The very next day my whole family and I went wedding dress shopping. It was so great to have all of them there. I loved getting my brothers' and dad's opinion about the different dresses I tried on and to have my mom and Julia help me in and out of them. I actually decided on the very first dress I tried on in less than two hours. Way easier than I had anticipated and I LOVE it. Here's a picture from the dress shop (with me in my dress)

The next week it was Chase's birthday. I had struggled for a while trying to figure out what to get him when I finally decided to take him skydiving. He had never been, but had always wanted to go really bad and I loved seeing the look on his face when I finally told him the surprise I had been keeping. We had so much fun and it was great to celebrate with him doing something I knew he had wanted to do.

Add to the list of the reasons why Chase is the best ever: on his actual birthday he let me go to a concert with Julia instead of staying and celebrating with him. Julia is now one of his biggest fans ever, because it wasn't just any concert he let me go to. Julia and I had tickets to go see One Direction. Not normally the music I listen to, but Julia might actually be the biggest fan they have that I've ever met. I seriously had such a blast. Julia cried and that was so fun(ny). There was more teenage girls screaming in a room than I ever thought I would experience, but they're actually really entertaining and it was so awesome to see Julia so, so happy. (I have no idea where my pictures from this went. Maybe they're actually on Julia's phone and not mine, but they were good haha)

Before we knew it, it was time for us to leave for Mexico with Chase's family. Before we got all the way to Mexico we stopped in Arizona to meet and spend time with some of his extended family that wasn't going to Mexico with us. I also met most of his siblings for the first time (after a very long 11 hour drive - and I'm pretty sure I was half asleep, oops). I don't think that I have ever met that many people in such a short period of time, but everyone was so welcoming and nice and made me feel so comfortable.

Mexico was a dream vacation. We played volleyball, skim boarded, body surfed, played on the beach, buried Chase's siblings in the sand, rode four wheelers through sand dunes, and played all sorts of board games (I even got roped into singing a song for karaoke). I seriously couldn't have asked for a better vacation to get to know his family. I'm so excited to be a part of it in less than 2 months!!

I can't believe how fast this summer has gone, but oh my gosh it's flown. I feel so blessed and seriously feel like I've been living in a dream. In fact, here's something I wrote in my journal the other day that I think sums up how I'm feeling pretty well:

Essentially this has by far been the craziest and probably the best month of my life thus far. I've tried a lot of new things, met a lot of new people, gone to a couple new places, spent time with the people I love most, been to some of my favorite places, done some of my favorite things, and fallen further in love every day. What more could I ask for?

Church Recap

We had ward conference today and the theme was "Let the Holy Spirit Guide"

As the talks and lessons went on I was so incredibly grateful for the people giving them and what they were teaching me.

It increased my testimony in and love for my Savior.

I was grateful for the peace that I felt and for the feeling I got that I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be.

I know that I have a Heavenly Father who loves me and more than anything He wants me to be happy. Because of this I can talk to Him about seemingly insignificant things because what's important to me is important to Him.

I have a lot to learn and always will, but I can learn every single day from the Holy Ghost.

I was also struck with gratitude for the people in my life that have helped me learn some of these lessons already and the people that are helping me learn them right now, pushing me to be better.

I also am extremely grateful for the technology available that let me see just a little bit of my sister's talk all the way across the country today. She's such a great example to me and I'm so proud of everything she is doing :)

4 for Kay

Now that I'm more settled in Provo, I make it back to VA usually three times a year. Once for Christmas, once over the summer, and once for the Women's Four Miler. There are more and more participants every year and I'm always so impressed with their dedication to such a great cause. My mom, sister and I all run the race in honor of my grandmother who was a breast cancer survivor. As always the best part of the day is hearing the inspiration stories that come from survivors, family members, friends, and all the people there that day.

Here are some pictures from the day!

Even the sky was pink!

Right before the race...

After the race, with Grandma's name from the Motivational Mile

Weekend well spent? I think so...

Italia

So my sister Julia is an awesome soccer player. So awesome that she made a team this year that travels to Italy to play European teams. I was lucky enough to go with. We went to so many beautiful cities and saw so many incredible things, and I got to cheer for her while she played... and yes, it was as incredible as it sounds. Here are my favorite parts from the trip...

Milan was gorgeous, even though we were exhausted. The inside of the Duomo was just as intricate and gorgeous as the outside.

We loved the tower of Pisa. We counted the steps all the way up and laughed as we almost fell climbing back down. The views were incredible.

There were gorgeous sunflower fields that we passed on one of our long drives... all of the places we drove past were beautiful.

We got to stay in San Marino and this was the view from the top of the mountain. The girls kicked butt at the tournament, won their division and came back with a huge trophy! So proud of them!

No big deal, just a statue of the world's fattest man courtesy of the curiosity museum in San Marino.

Love these girls.

This gorgeous cathedral was in Florence. I love this city and would go back any day!

We love gelato and ate it every single chance we got. Even if people thought we were crazy Americans... It's probably true anyway, right?

We ended the trip with a very long, but incredible day in Rome. We got to see the Vatican and St. Peter's Cathedral. We ate incredible food and walked until our feet hurt.

And we plan on going back...