Semester long catch up post....here we go

Alright so now that I'm done with finals, I feel like I finally have some time to spend on this highly neglected blog of mine. Catch up posts are the worst and you would think that I would've learned my lesson but alas here we are. 

Our fall consisted of supporting BYU and UVU athletics. Garrick and I got pretty into the world cup this last summer so it was decided that we should support UVU's soccer team since they became the first real soccer team in Utah this year. Kayla accompanied us to almost every home game. 

In addition to soccer we made a point to support our cougs as well. We were happy to  make it to a few of the BYU football games.

We're still hanging out with our boy, Tommas. It's really fun watching him grow so much since we first started almost 2 years ago!

We also made it to a few of Dallin's high school football games.Here we are sharing an umbrella with Mama Gaffney (true fans)

General Conference! We were so happy to attend the the sunday morning session, the messages were beautiful and inspiring. I have loved living in Utah and this is one of the big reasons. Attending conference in person is an amazing experience.

Kayla drove up with us and we ended up sitting next to her and her roommates. Afterwards we were starving so we got some MRE's out of the car and feasted. Kayla was excited to try one for the first time. I seriously love those things.

For Halloween we hung out with friends and started the night by partying on center street but we soon felt out of place (being "old married people") so we ended up watching some scary movies. But this midget took the cake on costumes, Ewoks are the coolest. 

We dressed up as Zack and Kelly from Saved by the Bell, a classic. 

Here's our beautifully carved pumpkin.

We have loved Kayla being in Utah this past semester, we also love that she has the freshmen meal plan. Now that I'm thinking about it she may or may not have taken me to lunch almost every week haha. Garrick wanted some perks too so she took us to the Cannon center a few times to make him happy haha. Thanks mom and dad for keeping us happy and full!

We have mice. One day I was home from school pretty late and I was walking to the kitchen feeling tired and worn down from the long day when I saw a small grey mouse run right in front of me into the bedroom! I'm pretty sure I had a minor heart attack. It was terrifying. I barricaded the door and waited impatiently for Garrick to come home. He finally showed up with traps and other mouse killing devices. He's my cute and determined mouse killer. 

Next, we have the Marine Ball 2014. This was my third one that I've attended with Garrick and every time I see him in this setting I just get more and more proud of him. He lives this entirely different life once a month where he is serving our country and training to protect it. In just a few months Garrick's contract will be up and he'll be honorably released from the military service, and excited as I am for that day to be here (I'm counting down the days) I know that Garrick will be sad to leave this life behind. I'm glad I was able to be apart of this life with him for a couple years. 

We also brought this crazy kid to the ball with us. Our friend Chris was nice enough to let Kayla be his date since she wanted to go so badly. It was pretty fun having her come, I won't lie.

Thanksgiving was next and we loved loved loved that little break that we got. I don't think I've ever looked forward to Thanksgiving so much before! It was a highly needed time off for both of us. Here Garrick is showing off his fungus bacteria that he's been working on for the past year. He's been diligently researching fungus trying to find new uses for it such as medicine. He loves being a scientist!

We started our Thanksgiving morning by playing some good ole fashioned football, I'm really glad I decided to play this year. I'm especially glad that Emily showed up to play so I didn't have to be the only girl. 

Danny's little guy Kash is the world's cutest and sweetest baby. Every time Garrick and I are around him we get very baby hungry! Just look at that curly blonde hair!

 We ate back to back thanksgiving dinners on Wednesday night at Mama Gaffney's and Thursday at Danny's (Garrick's older brother) We loved spending so much time with his family, even though we live close we don't see them as often as we'd like. We taught his family how to play Settler's of Catan and we played for hours, Wednesday and Thursday!

 Now it's Christmas time and Garrick and I couldn't be happier. Garrick started listening to Christmas music back in October, I was able to hold off until mid November. But we adore this season and time of year, who doesn't? This year I even made an effort to decorate for the season a little bit!

 My incredibly gifted mother made this sweet little nativity scene for us and I love it. 

One night Garrick and I were at Walmart looking for a paper shredder and we ended up in the Christmas section of the store. We couldn't help ourselves when we saw the Christmas trees. I've always wanted to string popcorn and Garrick was a team player. Kayla even helped! We watched a Christmas movie, ate yummy chocolate and watched the tree transform into something truly magical. Decorating our tree has been one of my favorite things we've done all semester!

Finals are over and we leave for Iowa tomorrow!! I literally can't contain my excitement, it's been an entire year since I've been home and I couldn't be more happy. The funny thing is that Garrick loves being home in Iowa almost as much as I do! Although his love might have something to do with the endless pizza and delicious food that my parents spoil us with whenever we're home. 

A Beautiful Life

I know I haven't posted since the summer and I'll eventually get around to doing a massive catch up post but I just wanted to talk about life for a second. 

Last night Garrick came home early (11:30pm) so we could see each other since it had been a few days (finals are the worst). We were getting ready for bed, talking about politics, normal stuff. Then he turns on a song from Lion King 2, and we're just lying in bed laughing and singing and talking about the best disney sequels and while I was laying there I couldn't help but think how beautiful our life is right now. 

We have busy schedules, we're dirt poor and we stress about the future. But our stage in life right now is truly beautiful. I wouldn't change a thing.

One day that'll change, we'll have a family, a mortgage, careers, and be real adults. But for right now it's just us and I plan on appreciating every single minute of it. 

Summers End

Garrick and I were able to share another perfect summer together doing countless fun things. I'm so sad to see it go as I get out my coats and boots. Here are just some of the things we did for the last 4 months.

Moab mountain biking x2
Utah lake BBQ
Biking provo canyon
Camping provo canyon
Orem summer fest: parade & fireworks
Garrick fishing trips
Beck Family Reunion
Kayla visit: platos, biking, food, Jet ski, highlighting hair, movies
Dollar movies
Sonic shakes
Mom came to visit: ikea, games, DIY wreath, temple, Cuby's, Rita's, Melvin's birthday party
Temple dates
Game nights
Les Mis play-scera outdoor theater
Camp utah lake with Colby and kels, jetski
Activity trackers
Colorado: bike park, pearl street, beach, paddle boarding, s'mores, celestial companion
Washington: Seattle, camping, Olympia, date with Carrie and Bret, hiking 

Until next summer...

Garrick, the Winner

One time Garrick won a bus pass and instantly became famous. Not only is his picture up on campus but it is also on their home screen. What a stud.

Washington

The last vacation before school started. Garrick and I decided we wanted to end our summer by going to Washington to visit the Andersons! After a long 15 hour drive of movies and healthy snack food (we learned our lesson from Colorado) we finally arrived. We spent our time hanging out with the family, touring Seattle, playing frisbee, meeting up with Garrick's grandma and aunt, camping, hiking, double date with Bret and Carrie, and most importantly relaxing! Carrie and Bret were the best hosts and spoiled us every night, we love them so much. 

On the ferry boat, from Bremerton to Seattle

 

We had to contribute to the famous gum wall.

My favorite part of the farmer's market was the rows and rows of fresh flowers.

It has been one of Garrick's life long dreams to see the Space Needle in person, and we finally made it happen!

After walking all day we were beat so we took a nap on the grass, it was perfect. 

In Seattle we experienced an abundance of new things including fish and chips, 15 cent gum, the farmer's market, mass tourists, ferry boats, the boardwalk, space needle, weird outdoor art sculptures, and more! It was an adventure.

In addition to seeing Seattle we really had out heart set on camping in the washington wilderness, it did not disappoint. I'm in love with Washington's green forests.

Carrie is the sweetest and made a huge effort to celebrate Garrick's birthday, here we are singing happy birthday to him with his Coscto muffin. 

Basically the only way to get kids on board with camping is to promise them smores.

We went on a little hike to see a pretty waterfall, the kids were pretty tired so everyone took turns riding on Garrick's shoulders, he was a champ.

Carrie was amazing the entire time we were there, she was a prego champ. 

We camped right next to this little rock beach, so pretty.

Garrick was pretty bummed he didn't catch crab but we did see some dead ones! 

(Garrick's artistic photography skills)

Love these kids

I think this is my favorite picture, so cute. 

This happened basically every night, too cute. 

In Olympia, we met up with Garrick's Grandma and Aunt (who he was meeting for the first time) We had such a fun time getting to know each other. We plan on coming back and meeting the rest of his family out there. 

We love love loved every minute in Washington and Garrick is convinced that WA is heaven. We will most definitively be visiting again soon! Thanks for everything, Andersons!