Utah Day Three: Sick on Sunday

My weekend had been super amazing so far, and I was ready to spend Sunday hanging out with my Aunt Patty and Uncle Bob + Family, but of course what happens? At 5: 30 am I start throwing up. I guess Brent woke up and tried to ignore me until he heard me calling his name and he finally came in and gave me sympathy!

While everyone else went to church I laid on the couch trying to not get to nauseous, and failing.

This is how I spent most of my day...

Despite me not feeling well, Josh (cousin) came over to dinner with his new fiance (Melissa). Here is Jenny, Megan, and Linda (practically one of the family) at the dinner table. I didn't get a good picture of Melissa and Josh. I am chalking it up to being sick.

I did sit close to the dinner table and enjoyed conversation. I can say this: Josh did well. Melissa is really great (they are on the other side of Brent). Melissa's family is from El Salvador (I think..?) and they own a restaurant in SLC. I am really excited for both of them and I am sure they are going to have an amazing wedding and a wonderful eternal marriage!

After dinner concluded, I faced the terrible reality: I was sick and needed to drive 6 hours home... My Aunt Patty (who let us stay with them, and babied me through out the whole ordeal) game me two benedryl and so I basically passed out in the car. I am glad Brent is such a good driver because I only remember waking up twice the whole drive.

A trip to Utah was exactly what I needed. Las Vegas is not my type of city so to break away and see/spend time with friends and family was a really wonderful opportunity!

Thank you to all the people who spent time, helped, talked to and just hung out with use while we were there! A special thanks to my aunt and uncle who are always so willing to let us stay with and monopolize their time! They really go above and beyond to make us feel welcome in their home!I feel so blessed to have such a haven of comfort close to Vegas!

Utah Day Two:Baby Shower Madness

It had been a mad two days up until this point and it was finally coming time to the whole reason I drove up to Utah! To throw a Baby Shower for one of my friends!

Here is the treats and decoration table! Notice the Diaper cake in the middle? I am still pretty proud of that. And it turned out to be a fun game. Everyone had 30 seconds to memorize everything on it. Only 3 people got that there was a bottle of sparkling cider in the middle. All of the guest said that it turned out really cute so of course I feel great for actually following through on making it!

The entire room! As per the norm, Brent was an amazing support. He put up with all my craziness through this whole situation. Primary rooms are so hard to decorate! They are just so utilitarian. I wasn't really pleased with how it looked but there was no time! We had wasted the day on much more fun activities than caring about how some streamers looked!

The soon to be proud parents! A shout out to Spencer for taking a normal picture. I am pretty sure Erica is pinching him because he is usually impossible to get a normal picture out of!

Instead of your normal games I tried to come up with ones that were less competitive and more collaborative and creative. One of the activities was to decorate a onsie in a theme relating to the family (travel, BYU, a mommy and a daddy onsie). Jessica and Jennifer did the travel one. They did an amazing job! When these two get together magic happens because they created a globe out of the entire onsie with rocket ships and planes on the sleeve and polar bears and penguins in the north and south poles! I am really hoping to get a similar when it comes time for me to have a shindig like this.

After the shower was over we all went out to Ice cream. Spencer, Phil, and Brent did join us for the desert party. I miss Macey's ice cream! $0.48 for an ice cream cone and somewhere to sit and talk!

Here is the group of girls I grew up with and remain friends today. Brent was making fun on me because I always sink down in pictures like. I can't help it if I am at least 6 inches taller than everyone else and don't feel like looking like a giant. You can't really tell here how much taller I am so go to the next picture...

Can you see it now? I am a lot taller. It isn't a bad thing but it is a thing so I shrink for pictures... I am almost certain if I didn't shrink we wouldn't fit in the same frame!

It was so nice to see everyone again. Jessica made this amazing Afgan for Erica. It was really adorable and I begged her for a similar one when it came my time, but of course I forgot to get a picture of it and that is a long way off!

Jennifer and I were talking about how we are all terrible at keeping in touch but when we are back together it is like nothing has changed, and we have been out of touch for maybe an hour or two. I really love these girls and wish that we won't end up all over the country... but I am sure we will end up all over the U.S. and the country will be more blessed for it!

Utah Trip: Day Two Afternoon

It was sad to leave the Carlson's but I was hosting a shower that night and so we had things to do!

Driving back from Midway we realized how much we missed being out and about in nature. Passing Bridal Veil Falls we just had to stop. Brent had been dying to use his camera to get some more "artistic" shots. This is a really slow shutter speed so it captures the waters movement.

The walk is really short (like maybe 1/4 mile) but it was super nice to relax and enjoy each others company.

In the water at the bottom of the falls

Brent is pretty proud of this shot, minus the orange dot!

Here is the little watering hole. The water was FREEZING!!! I got used to it because I kept my feet in the water.

Below the falls. Even with the huge camera this picture still works!



This is the last shot we got before leaving! Brent is so wonderful at taking pictures. I am really glad that he has super productive hobby!
A bench we found. I think it was made for cuddling! What a sneaky idea by the designer ;)
Brent looking manly! He likes to look off into the distance. You never know if he is thinking about the mystery of the world or spotted a grizzly and is about to wrestle him down with his bare hands.

Another artsy shot. I am going to have to choose a few of these and have them enlarged and hung on our walls!


It was great getting a chance to stop and just meander around the falls! Being out in nature was super relaxing and hope to do this more frequently.

Utah Trip: Morning of Day Two

After experimenting with the diaper cake, Kelly and Arvid were nice enough to let us stay the night! When we woke up, and the vacation continued by golf ball fishing! Kelly and Arvid's backyard is a golf course which means the little pond (and their house) are constantly being bombarded by golf balls!

Kelly said she loved fishing out the gold balls, and I didn't get it... until I tried it! For some reason seeing that little white ball, and then going after it is the perfect morning activity!

Kelly trying to teach me how estimate where the ball is!

Success! Once I got a hold of my first ball I couldn't be stopped!

Brent fished out a BYU ball! Kelly graciously offered to let us take the balls we rescued home with us. They have two huge bags full of them, but we thought they would miss their friends so we washed them and put them in storage!

For some reason, Kelly and I always knew we got along better than two people probably should and here's some proof that we are really alike! Our rings are reversed! I have a diamond with trillion sapphires on the sides and Kelly has a Sapphire with trillion diamonds on the sides!

Okay this realization might have been more to the random little things you notice when you are on vacation and don't have any other care in the world!

It was so nice to see Kelly and Arvid. I threatened to move back to Budapest more than a couple times and they were both sweet enough to pretend that they would love to have us there! I really miss these two!

Brent and I agreed that if we moved back to Utah when they were done travelling the world it would be like we have family right there! If you ever get the chance to meet these two and their family consider yourself a very blessed person! I know we do!

Utah Trip: Day One Evening

After a relaxing dinner, catching up and playing some games Erica, her husband and kids, and David had to head back to Provo. That is when Kelly and I got to work! I was hosting a baby shower for Erica the next evening and thought it would be so cute to make a diaper cake!

I saw one of these at a trade show that Brent's parents were at and I thought it was such a fun idea! It turned out to be super easy too!

First, roll size 1 (or whatever size you think is appropriate) from the bottom to the top and secure with a rubber band. I bought a pack of 92 diapers and didn't use all of them.

Second, get some sort of a platter. I found a 16" pizza pan at the dollar store that ended up being the perfect size!

Third, in the middle of the pan place a bottle of sparkling cider (for the parents to celebrate with at the hospital), the surround the bottle with diapers. We did it three diapers thick and it worked out really well.

After you have the shape secure the bottom tier with a rubber band. The repeat for a second (2 diapers deep) and third layer (1 diaper deep.)

You can tell we were taking this very seriously!

Fourth, after all the layers are created and secured around the cider with rubber-bands take some ribbon and tie it around the center of each layer.

Finally, decorate! Use bows, pacifiers, rattles, nail clippers, bottles, picture frame (as pictured in my hand,) and whatever else you think the new mom could use! Kelly had such a great eye for this! I was utterly helpless with the bows! She made 5 and I made a measly 1!

Final Product: Diaper Cake.

I think it turned out really cute! Some instructions said to cover the diapers with tissue paper so you couldn't see the print but I think the color actually complimented the overall look.

I also used it as a game at the shower. Everyone had 30 seconds to memorize as much as they could. Only three people noticed the bottle of cider in the middle! I really liked the diaper cake and plan to do it again!

Utah Trip: Day One

Can I tell you how bad I needed a vacation... I don't think I am effectively communicate it. I needed some time to just hang out with friends and family, which I did! Do any of you remember what happened when Brent and I went to Anncey? Check it out here if you don't. Either way this trip started out similarly. We took off Thursday after work and were excited to get in, get rest and start enjoying our day. Our car, however, had a different plan.

About ten miles outside Vegas our little white car broke down. After about two hours we were able to get it back home and switch into the truck. It sounds pretty standard but it was miserable. We ended up getting in around 2:30 and went straight to bed.

Then the fun began. The next morning Brent went to work and I got my hair cut by my friend Linda (who is amazing) and went to lunch with some friends After that I picked Brent up from work and we headed to Midway to spend time with our friends, Kelly and Arvid, from Budapest.

This is what I was most excited to do while in Utah, since we weren't sure if seeing them would work out! When we got that we were amazed at how gorgeous their location and house in Midway was.

For the first part of the evening we just relaxed with Kelly, Arvid and their children, Erica, David, and Scott. It was so nice to just sit on the back porch, admire the scenery, and catch up.

Brent did do a great job of getting some great pictures!

The pond in their back yard.

Their backyard is actually right next to a golf course so this pond is frequently full of golf balls. They taught us how to get them out. It is like fishing without the patience. So we really liked it!

Mom this picture is for you. Notice the green? This is how all of Utah looked to us. It is NOTHING compared to Oregon but it sure made me hate the orange and dirt of Vegas.

This picture was taken by Kelly and Arvid's son Scott. Look at what an amazing job he did!

After we finished dinner and catching up there was just enough time to play a game or two and then Erica and her family, and David had to head back to Provo. It was great meeting them. I got along with all of them, which only makes sense since I am such good friends with the person who raised them!

Keep checking back to see how Kelly and I entertained ourselves later that evening!

Ding Dong the Witch is Dead!

Which witch you ask? The Stupid Bar Exam.

Yes, it is finally done. It was a long four days. Sean, Brent's brother, was kind enough to rent Brent a room right next to the UNLV campus where he could be only 5 minutes away from the test and really be in the zone. I got one phone call a day to let me know how he was an how he was doing.

Overall he feels really good about the test. He says there is just really no way to know. He feels good and I am sure he did wonderfully! He did get the luxury of going out for lunch every day!

Luckily, my mom was in town to keep me company. I feel really bad because I was (and still am) a little ball of stress. I know the bar is stressful on the person taking it but it is also stressful on the people living with them. I tried to make Brent's pre-bar life as "without worry" as possible. Obviously I am not perfect especially since I have been having a hard time adjusting to the move, location, job, school, cars breaking down and a few other things. I am sure my mom thought I was just miserable, I know she did because I was sick of being around me!

My mom came down to take care of her little nest egg. I can really say that my mom is the best handy-man I know. She came in and fixed up just about everything that needed to be done! She did have to take some homework with her, but even that she has finished and now needs to get it set up!

One of my biggest blessings during this time was being called to serve in the Young Women. I can honestly say that I work with an amazing group of girls! At 12 and 13 they already have such strong testimonies of our Heavenly Father. They are so open to learning and letting me become part of their lives. I have never seen a group of teenage girls get along so well either. The leaders have been really welcoming and have let me just jump in and participate. I am really glad that my Heavenly Father let me work with such wonderful people!

So in the two days that Brent has finished the bar, he has kinda hopped back and forth from different hobbies that he enjoys. I can find him reading, checking baseball stats, and watching videos to learn more about his camera with in a ten minute time frame!

I am glad the bar is over so we can get back to normal, but to be honest, I am not sure either of us knows what this new normal is.... Wish us luck on the journey!