Conference Weekend

Conference weekend, Mark and I got to go to Utah for our Mission Reunions and Conference! I had never been to conference so I was so excited to go!!! We had a great time and I loved it! On our way up we stopped in Vegas and stayed with some friends that live there. So we went to dinner at New York New York on the strip, so here is me and Mark there.

Here is me, Mark, Stacey, and Richard. And contrary to what you may think, no I am not pregnant. After uploading all these pictures I realize I hate them all....but hey, I guess you need to document even the fat years!! ha ha.

Here's Mark playing his dollar in the slots! He even won $2!

I didnt win anything :(

At my mission reunion!!! It was awesome seeing so many missionaries I served with that I hadn't seen in over 2 years. Here is me and Kristine (one of my companions) and her cute baby boy Kanyon.

Here is me with the other Christine. We were never companions, but we were in the MTC together and got to be very close.

The whole group!

Me and Kathy, my MTC companion and companion again at 6 months! Oh and the reason you dont see Mark in any of these is because he left to go to his reunion. I didnt want to miss out on seeing anyone!

Me after the Saturday morning session of conference on top of the conference center. It was so good, as you can tell by the lack of makeup that was cried off during the session. I'm such a baby!!

I hate this pic of me sooo much, but it was the only one of me and Mark at conference. You cant tell but that is the conference center behind us.

I had to get a pic of the protestors. They were funny. I wanted to get a pic of this one guy. He was dressed as satan and had a sign that said something like, "all these guys are my disciples, listen to them if you want to be miserable" or something like that. It was so funny!

Oh and during the priesthood session, me, my mom, my aunt Lorraine, and my cousins Heidi and Lori and their kids, and one of my companions Kristine went to the most amazing store ever......Tai Pan!! It is like Disneyland for house decor. You will be shocked and amazed that I didn't buy one thing!!!! I'm so proud of myself!!!

That trip was fast, but so much fun! I'm so glad I got to go to conference and feel the spirit of being in the presence of the prophet and the General Authorities!!!

Oh and last week we babysat our niece and nephew William and Gracie and Gracie went and laid on Mark and kept giving him kisses on the cheek so I had to take a pic. It was so darn cute!!!!

If you want to have a good time................

My good friend Audrey just did a post about this website. You HAVE to check it out! It is hilarious!!!!!

peopleofwalmart.com

I was dying!!!

I'm back!!!!!

I know, I know it has been WAY too long. Between our computer being dumb, Mark having tons of homework and always needing the computer and me just being lazy, I have gotten way behind on blogging. But I have make a pledge to keep up on it, so here are a few posts about what's been going on lately!! Enjoy!!!!!

Labor Day weekend

Labor day weekend one of my Favorite mission companions, Candice (sis. Peay) came and stayed with us. I had such a blast with her!! We ate way too much, stayed up way too late, and spent way too much money shopping!!!! It was worth it though. WE hadn't talked in about a year or so, so it was fun catching up. Thanks CAndice for a great weekend!!! Love ya!!!

Sept. 11th

My patriotic hubby

Yikes! Nice back pic....

The night before Sept. 11th, Mark said he wanted to take me on a suprise date. I cant stand being in suspense so finally I made him tell me. SO we rode the light rail to Tempe Town lake where they had flags everywhere!!!! They had a flag for each person who died on Sept. 11th, along with a card telling about each person on each flag. It was really cool to see all these flags, but really sad when you saw just how many there were and when you read some of the explanations about each person it made it even more sad. AS i think back to Sept.11, 2001 I remember still being in bed when my mom came and woke me up and told me to come watch the video of the 1st tower being hit. AS we watched to news for a while we watched as the second one was hit. What a crazy surreal moment!!!! Unfortunately, I was a selfish 18 year old and didn't really think too deeply about the effects of that day. Now after losing someone I love, I ache for the people who lost love ones in that terrible tragedy. I cant even imagine how scary it would have been to not know for days if your loved one was buried alive or dead in the rubble. I hope each one of the people who have lost someone know of the healing power of the Atonement and have taken advantage of it.

We then went walking down Mill Ave. and listened to the street performers. I guess they are going to have that now every Thursday night so you should check it out. Mark had heard of this place that makes homemade Ice cream sandwiched so we went there and split one and it was dang good!

That night was so fun and a very cheap date!!! WE only had to pay for my light rail ticket and he ice cream sandwich! Thanks babe for the fun night!!!

The BIG 3-0!!!

On Sept. 14th, Mark turned 30!!! Can you believe how good he looks for 30? ha ha. Just kidding babe, you always look good. It was a really fun day. I wanted to plan a big party or something for him, but for those of you who know my husband at all know that that is probably his worst nightmare!!! SO we did everything he wanted to do. We first met up with his parents and his sisters at Joe's BBQ for his free meal and that was fun. Then he wanted to go thrift store shopping (I was shocked and amazed that he would first of all go shopping, and second of all choose to do that for his birthday!). SO we went for a few hours, and I of course found way more things I wanted than he did. That night we went to Cheesecake Factory and then saw the movie "9". (which is kinda weidr by the way). All in all it was a fun day and I am grateful to have married such a wonderful, caring guy who treats me like a queen!! I am very lucky! There are so many reasons why I love that guy but here are just a few,

1. He always wants to help other people whether it's helping them move, build something or whatever, he is the first to volunteer to help

2. He loves to watch movies (like i do)

3. He takes his church callings very seriously and always does them 100%

4. (I hope my mother-in-law doesnt read this but..) he has a really cute booty :)

5. He always helps around the house

6. He is a good cook

7. he is and will be a great dad! Whenever we are with the nieces and nephews he is always off playing with them

8. he is always willing to hug and comfort me when I'm sad

9. he has pretty blue eyes

10. he is a very hard worker!

These are just a few of the many reasons why I am the luckiest girl in the world to have a hubby like him! Mark.....I am so glad you are mine forever!!!!!!! I love you!!!!!

The Atonement

I have been doing a lot of thinking and pondering lately on my emotional state, and I am very happy to say I have been doing really, really good! It's almost crazy to me to think about my emotional state back in Dec.-March and realize the HUGE difference from how it is now! One day a couple months ago I was thinking about the Atonement of our Savior and how it has the power to heal a broken heart. Back in those months right after Miles died I can honestly say my heart was broken. (If you want a glimpse of it watch P.S. I love you, i think they do an amazing job of portraying a broken heart). But I am grateful and I know it is truly healed because of the power of the Atonement! When I think about it I really wonder how it all works but all I can say is it is because of the pleading to Heavenly Father, along with still doing the things I should (or trying to do the things I should) that slowly my heart was mended. I am grateful to my Savior and His love for me, that He was willing to die for me and to suffer for me. And I know without a doubt that if there is something in your life that is causing you pain and suffering, if you try to keep the commandments the best you can, the power of the Atonement can heal you too!!!!