Bonjour

  It seems like it's been forever since I have last blogged! My mom has requested an update, several times, over the past few months and I have neglected to do so... So, here we go!
   Today was American Thanksgiving and... for the past 4 years I have spent it in Utah getting carried away with my life there and not really taking a moment to reflect upon the things that I am most grateful for. This seems a little cliche and overdone by just about everyone this time of year... but expressing gratitude for the things you are grateful for should never get old.

1.

I mention this guy a lot in many of my posts for good reason. Travis has the kindest heart. He is patient beyond measure and always puts me first. He sets such a great example for me to follow everyday and truly inspires me to be a better person. He is so supportive and always the best person to talk to, about anything! I love him and am so thankful that I can call him mine. 

2.

I'm so grateful for my family! On both sides. I've been extremely blessed to live and grow up with some pretty incredible people. I know that we are placed in certain families for certain reasons and I am so lucky to have been put in mine. I graduated from BYU with Family Studies. Is that a great accomplishment? Yes.  Have I been able to find a job within that field? No. Trust me... I hear it all the time! "What are you going to do with that degree?".. so on and so forth.. and you know what? You know what I value the most from my degree? Is the understand of how important family is. The family is essential to anyone's and everyone's development. It is the key and most basic form of society that cannot be replaced. In learning that, it has only strengthened my testimony even more that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is TRUE. Heavenly Father knew exactly what he was doing when he created this earth and I am so grateful for how perfect His thinking was. 

3. 

I am grateful for the temple. I absolutely love the peace and blessings that are there. I love the learning that takes place within and for the comfort I can take home with me. I was able to be there when my youngest sister took out her endowments. I was extremely lucky to be there with most of my family and while I was there it was hard to think of many other things that helped me feel closer to heaven. 

4. 

I know that this one might come as a bit of a surprise but... I love my dog. Yeah.. laugh all you want, but she has brought a lot of joy and happiness into my life. I love all animals and it even says in the scriptures that we are to treat all animals with kindness. Most dogs have better hearts than most people and I see that in this little girl everyday. They see us as though we do nothing wrong. They are so forgiving and really, to them, we are their whole world. Until you have had a dog and bonded with him or her, you won't understand what I'm talking about. Scout is getting so big and getting so smart. She is obsessed with her ball and if you throw it once, expect to throw it twice... three times.... probably the rest of the day. She loves everyone! Every morning after she has happily greeted me, she always jumps on the bed and gives Trav about 100 wet dog kisses and nibbles on his ear. Travis would never admit it... but he loves it. She's our girl and we love her to death! 

I have so, so SO many things to be grateful for, that I couldn't begin to list them. I am one very blessed individual. I love being able to sit and reflect on things. I don't even care if no one ever reads my blog... it juts feels nice to sit and document my feelings. 

Scout

My wish was finally granted! If anyone knows me well, they would know that I love dogs. I love animals! It's been an ongoing battle between Travis and I and we finally came to an agreement and didn't waste any time getting a puppy- - well, I didn't waste any time. We both agreed on a chocolate lab, and I started looking the minute my sweet husband said, "okay!" My aunt had bought two labs from this breeder in Saskatchewan. So, I thought I would contact the lady and ask her if she had any chocolate lab puppies left. She called me back within minutes saying that she had ONE puppy left. I called Travis and he said... "just get it." It was SO surreal... but I was just happy as a clam.

This is when I first picked her up! I had to drive up to Calgary to pick her up from the airport, so I stopped by my parents house to show her off. She was so mellow the whole time! I was in love. 

Can't get over her hefty little paws! She's going to be big one day!

She sleeps all the time, honestly. It's like she is a new born babe! I guess she is. We will play for about 10 minutes and she is just worn right out. I kind of love it. I know she won't be like this for long. 

Everyone I talk to says, "Scout is a boy's name!" Well... I love it and it kind of suits her! 

My little niece was laying on the floor and Scout went and cuddled right next to her. She is super cuddly and I love it!! She likes to be as close to you as she can and it's so cute. 

Pretty little pup. I am obsessed with her eyes! 

I have to give a quick shout out to my rockin' husband. One of the main reasons I married him was for his big and kind heart. He has gone to great lengths and sacrificed more than I think he realizes to bring happiness into my life. I am the luckiest girl in the world to have a man like him put up with me! He loves Scout and Scout loves him! Watching him with her has shown me even more how patient and how gentle he is. I love you, Travis!! 

We did it!

Was this really a year ago? It honestly feels like yesterday. I wish I could relive that day over and over again. It was so perfect! I'm so blessed that the year that followed this day has been just as sweet as that day. 

I love him!!! He really is my best friend and I really don't know where I would be in life without him. 

For our anniversary, we went to Fairmont for a few days! The drive there was absolutely stunning. We had fun listening to fun music and eating the always-delicious Tim Hortons!

So stunning

So lucky to have this place basically in my own backyard! 

These flowers were in the chapel in Fairmont! The most perfect peonies!! I want to steal them 

The Seaborn Special! Travis has me HOOKED and it isn't a good thing. I used to think that it was the most disgusting drink, but I'm addicted now. Coke with grenadine. So delish

Mountain man. 

The hot springs. It was almost too hot to go in them during the day.. but at night it was glorious! 

The corny Sparkwood pics. 

We went to this hilarious restaurant in Invermere. I honestly laughed throughout the entire meal. The food was awesome! But, I literally felt like I was in Holland. Too good 

The smallest little branch in such a cute chapel! I loved it. 

After Fairmont we headed to Calgary for Canada Day! We went to a fun parade and ate some delicious food. I LOVE CANADA 

TRUTH

Anyone that is married or that is planning to be married NEEDS to read this quote and live by it daily, because it is so true and will be much helpful in all walks of life.   

" You want capability, safety, and security... in married life and eternity? Be a true disciple of Jesus. Be a genuine, committed, word-and-deed Latter-day Saint. Believe that your faith has everything to do with your romance, because it does... Jesus Christ, the Light of the World, is the only lamp by which you can successfully see the path of love and happiness for you and for your sweetheart." 

-Jeffrey R. Holland 

I'm feelin' 22..

So, I'm 22 now. That is just so weird to even say! I know that I'm not old and in no way do I feel old... but, I'm definitely no teenager anymore. I'm a grown up and very pleased with where I am in life :)

The Mr. got me a longboard for my birthday! It's a fun gift. I used to do it a bunch when I was down at school. It's a lot of fun! Plus.. it makes me feel like I'm still cool. 

This is Dude! He is a handsome devil. Well, he's actually anything but the devil. He's the sweetest horse! I've been lucky enough to ride him and his friend Tilly for the last while. They are awesome horses! It has been a dream. 

Trav came with me last week and helped me work them out! I taught him a thing or two and he picked it up like it was nothin'. A natural! 

Georgia peach with her make up done for her dance recital! Clearly, she's too cool to give me a natural smile. Goofiest kid ever. 

Little miss lollie!!! I can only pray that my babies will be half as calm and cool as she is. I love her! As soon as you look at her she gives you a precious little smile. 

Summer is practically here!!! The weather has been lovely. We'll get rain every once in a while, but I actually really love the variety!  I don't mind having a cooler day here and there. I do love the heat though!! 

Is this not a beauty of a picture? No filter or editing... just straight ALBERTA! 

I wish this punk would let me take more pictures of him. I love him and he makes me so happy! Crazy to think that we've been married for almost a year!! 

Selfie saturday #iwasdrivingtolethbridgebymyself #igotreallybored

Life is good and I love that it's summer time!!!! 

Life is good

I have a good life.

Really, when I sit back and think about it, I can't help but feel an utmost amount of gratitude and happiness. Besides not having a puppy and 16 horses of my own, I have everything that I could have ever dreamed of in life. I live in a beautiful place the suits me just right, I have a husband the loves me at all times (that I love just as much back, I live in a beautiful home and have so many opportunities to do fun things! It's safe to say that I am very happy. 

Last weekend, was May Long! So, Travis was able to get the day off of work to spend time with me! We were lucky enough to go up to Mountainview (close to Waterton) to go on a trail ride. Most trail rides I've been somewhat boring because the horses they put you on don't do anything but walk, slowly. However, the horse that I got to ride on this trip was a peppy little 4-year-old named Rusty. Not to mention, the area where we were riding was stunning. I have some pictures, but they truly don't do it justice. It was an amazing day! I still can't stop thinking about it. 

Last week, I was able to fly up to Grande Prairie to spend some time with Meaghan and her sweet family. It was a pain in the butt to get there, but once I got there it was pure bliss. I had so much fun and it was so lovely to see the kids. I hadn't seen them for a year! Which made me so sad. In the picture, we have Claire and little Jacob eating a hotdog at Costco. I loved getting to know Jake. He is through and through a boy! I loved it. He's such a doll!

These two are the cutest! The little boy is Claire's cousin, Hinton. He is honestly the cutest little boy and they are like best friends. I'm sad I didn't get any pictures of Olivia! She is as cute as a button with the sweetest little voice. I loved my trip to GP! 

Meg was lovely and did my nails with that gel/shellac stuff! Excuse my fat fingers, each one has probably been sprained or broken throughout the years. I love having my nails painted, but the minute it chips I have to take it all off. With this stuff, it's supposed to stay on for a long time. I love fun colors, but lately I've loved just nude or light pink on my nails. Makes me hands feel clean :)

We have this place here in the Bridge called Cora's.  It's only open for breakfast and lunch and lemme tell ya... Amazing! Your food comes with this incredible arrangement of fresh fruit. It's so good and I almost feel bad eating it because it's so pretty (okay, maybe I don't feel that bad). It's so yummy. We've been twice since I've been home and I plan on paying Cora many more visits. 

The other night was Ethan's grad and Travis and I got to chaperone. Besides the fact that I was feeling quite sick, it was so awesome to see! This was LCI's grad and they put on quite the event. So, the kids have a choice between Safe Grad(aka. get bused out to a field that no one knows the location of, write your address on your wrist band incase you pass out, stand the whole time because if you sit they will send you home and just drink all night long... doesn't that sound fun?) OR go to DRY GRAD! What they do is rent out the entire facility at the University of Lethbridge, so the kids can go swimming, rock climbing, play on astro jumps, karaoke, food ALL night long, prizes, dancing, games.... like anything you could think of. It was SO cool! Our first assignment was to chaperone the astro jumps (which was hilarious, by the way) and a bunch of girls ran in and they all said "this is the best night of my life!" So cute. It was amazing though! There were about 100 kids and about 40% of them were not members of the church. It's great because it gives kids another option if they don't want to go and drink their guts out. I bet my life that if my school put something on like this, a lot of kids wouldn't go to after grad to drink until they are sick. 

Well.. until next time! 

The homestead

We've been home for a few weeks now and our place is slowly but surely coming together. Moving in and making our house our home is so much fun. However, I want to do it fast and have it all done right now!! But, here is the thing... it can get expensive AND guess what? We are newlyweds. So, all in due time, our place will be homey as ever. On top of that, I don't want everything to look thrown together. It takes time! I have some thrifty plans and projects to do to make this process not so hard on the ol' wallet.

Here are the parts of the house that have come the farthest along:

Thanks to the Mylonakis' for the table!! It's our first kitchen table, ever. 

Still waiting on the dishwasher to get installed, but I love my kitchen. 

Still lots to do! But, it's so fun looking for stuff and thinking up ideas. I am very, very blessed!! So happy to be home. 

I love him. He is so busy! I hardly see him. His company has a lot of work right now and then once he is done work at 5:30, he is off to do landscaping work with his dad and brother. I'm grateful for his work ethic... but sometimes I just miss him.

I'm still finishing up some classes online, which hasn't been too bad. I am also looking after a little girl everyday for about an hour and a half. Her name is Hailey and she has cerebral palsy. I pick her up from school and just chill with her until her mom gets back from work. She is so sweet and loves Taylor Swift. It has been a really good experience for me and I've really loved getting to know her sweet spirit. 

Look at this guy. So tough. 

Next time that I think that I might be bored... I'm going to read this because it is SO true. 

Graduation

   It is beyond weird to say that I am home, for good. Last weekend I graduated from BYU and drove home the day after. It was definitely a difficult thing to say goodbye to some of my very best friends, but it was also very nice to cross that Canadian border and know that I would be staying.

I did it! Well.. I have a few more classes to finish up online, but I did it. It is so crazy to think of how fast 4 years went by. I wouldn't trade my experience for the world. 

I was so happy that I was able to enjoy my day with the people I love. My mom, grandma, Travis and his parents all came! 

Grandma Barb

My guy

My really good friend, Morgan, got me a little going away gift! So thoughtful! I love this shirt. 

I'm going to miss these lovely ladies!! On and off the court!! Had a lot of good laughs with them! 

And a shout out to this freak! Congrats on graduating, Alesis!! So proud of this girl, after all she's been through. I'm going to miss her and her family... well pretty much my family, so much! 

Now that we have our own place, we have been going through all of Travis' stuff at his parent's house. We found his old letterman jacket, so of course I had to try it on! In my personal opinion, green and yellow are awful colors. But, I'm sure my hubby pulled it off well :) 

   I'm so happy to be home and to be moved into our cute little house. I absolutely love our home!!! There is lots left to do, but it is so nice to think that it is our home and that we get to be together everyday!! I am very blessed. Once everything has come together, I will put pictures up :)