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!

Celebrations

It just so happens that for the past two years we have been out of town for Garrick's birthday. This makes me sad because there are all of these plans I have for his special day. So in light of this situation I decided we would celebrate his birthday week! Some of these activities have been Tucanos with my family, a surprise sushi party with our friends in Salt Lake, games and dessert with his family, watching his favorite movie, lots of frisbee time, breakfast in bed, freebie meals and presents each night, camping in Washington and spoiled by the Andersons. Hopefully he felt loved and adored by his wife! 

The Big 25

Garrick is so great for many reasons. Sometimes all he wants is to cuddle, he belts out One Direction in the car, he is crazy in love with the outdoors, he has about 5 solid accents that come and go throughout the day, he has so much American pride, he is naturally good at everything! He is my biggest example of love, faith, patience and perseverance. He is my adoring fan, my cheerleader and coach. He makes me laugh every single day. He is quick to ask questions, quick to seek answers. He is quick to trust in God's plan, quick to thank Him. He knows, loves, and lives the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

 He is my person. He is my home.

Happy birthday, honey. 25 seriously never looked so good. Love you!

Just a little trip to Utah Lake

Garrick and I have been itching to camp at Utah Lake all summer since we loved it so much last year. We finally found a weekend that worked and got Colby and Kelsi to join us. We set up camp around 4 on Friday which meant we practically had the entire beach to ourselves. With the jetski we decided we should set up camp close to the water so we could keep a close eye on it at all times, at the time it seemed like a great idea but we would come to regret it. Kasey and Emily brought their boys and we all ate good food, played in the sand, took turns on the jet ski, and made s'mores. It was perfect. The water was perfect, the sun was out, we had no complaints...until around 9:30pm, that's when the gnats came out. Garrick and I were expecting this since last summer we experienced millions of gnats, but they had only come at dusk and dawn. This time it was completely different. They came and never left. Millions covered every inch of anything and everything that was out; the cars, tables, tents, canopys, literally they were everywhere. It finally got to the point where they weren't flying around so we were able to play some card games but they were still covering every inch of our tents when we went to bed. The next day we were sure they would be gone but sure enough they were still there. So gross. I was not in the best of moods because of it. But once it hit 10am we were on the lake again, Garrick on the jetski, me on my tube just floating. It was so nice. Colby and Kels joined us later that afternoon and eventually Dallas and Lauren came as well. As gross as the gnats were it was still a fun weekend that was spent on the lake. 

 Moral of the story is do not camp on the water, unless you love billions of gnats swarming around you.