It's the Greatest Time of Year

Oh Fall, so thankful you are here.  You bring with you so many fantastic things.  From cooler weather to chilling events you are where it is at.  I am so thankful for your coming.  I love the changing colors in nature, and the awesome talks that happen during General Conference.  I am thankful I get to open the windows and feel your cool breeze and smell your fresh air, not to mention the baking and soup making that starts happening causing their wonderful aromas to fill our home.  Not only do I get to spend your Saturdays watching the clash of titans on the gridiron I get to cuddle with my sweetheart and remember those first few days after I met her.  I get to think about all the classy holidays that are coming and the fun things to do like carve pumpkins and haunted houses.  I love the cool rain that falls during your time and fills my soul with the refreshing warmth of a new day.  I get excited to know about the new seasons of shows on TV that you bring and the time spent with family and friends.  Fall, thank you so much for all you do.  I love you!

p.s. cannot wait for more fun this year!

Catch Up (warning: picture overload)

Whew! The school year ended just before Memorial Day. Normally that would mean summer break (and we all know that I chose to be an educator so that I could have a two month vacation every year). That didn't quite happen this summer. I ran my second 5k the day after the school year ended and then I spent a solid eight weeks on the beautiful Westminster College campus with the Institute for Montessori Innovations. You can read about it here and here (and I'm sure I'll post all about it later, considering I'll still be taking classes all school year).

But, after the working-school year ended and before the craziness of summer classes started, we were able to go on another cross country road trip to Virginia (this makes our 4th round trip in under two years, Hyundai really should pay us for thoroughly testing out the new Sonata).

I was sure to keep Adam entertained during the LONG drive

We spent a few days in Kansas on our way out. Adam's cousin got married, so it was nice to spend time with his parents and sister, and to get to know some of his extended family a little better. After the wedding weekend, we continued our drive to the east coast, where we spent five glorious days in the beautiful, lush rolling hills of Virginia. I've become fond of the dry air of Utah, but I will always choose a thick forest over the desert. Always.

On our way out of Virginia- see all that green?!

On our way out of Utah

While in Virginia, we got to see Savannah & Jay and Karlee, and their newest little one, Brynlee. She was only four weeks old when we got to see her. So precious.

I love seeing this comparison (:

My sister, Samantha, graduated from high school just a few days before we got there (she came out to Utah a few days after we got back and has been staying with us all summer!), and we had a party for her. All kinds of friends and family came. It was nice to see everyone.

High school friends - I love these girls!

 One of my dad's friends let us go fishing in his pond. Cat-fishing! I had never caught a catfish, so I was pretty excited. I think we all were. (Hopefully some of these pictures don't gross you out).

This is the big guy that I had to fight with

                                                

Even Gracie was excited to go!

Rachel and Mike were actually there while we were.. but this next picture is the only evidence of that. Oops!

The five days in Virginia went by super fast, but they were so fun. But, before we left, we had breakfast at The Swinging Bridge. Adam and I always have to eat there whenever we're in Virginia. It is located at the back of an old country general store, and its just adorable! Plus the food is good too. Mmm!

At the end of June we were able to FLY back to Kansas for a family reunion. So fun! Although, the only pictures I have of that weekend are of Jennifer's dog-children, and of Adam with Jennifer's best friend's kids. Their mom made delicious chocolate chip cookies, and the kids and I ended up playing some game that involved Adam becoming a cookie monster and the rest of us having to hide from him so that he wouldn't eat us. Kids are so fun (:

Anyway, those are the most interesting parts of our summer. Now to enjoy the last couple weeks before school starts up again!

Oh, and here are some funny pictures of/from my Grandma, and an awesome picture of Rachel and I as kids with Mom and Dad. We're so cool.

She wrote on our car before we left. She's so cute, but she's always trying to steal the men in my life, she put my name on there as a after thought (;

She HATES the word 'fart', I think it's hilarious!

Check out Mom's hair!

One of Those Lives

I think that we have a tendency to believe that some people are perfect that some people don't have any issues or problems, that their lives are without flaw and that they are just cruising along towards perfection.  Perhaps we may even believe that they are perfect.  I believe that at times some people even think that about me.  I have often wondered over my life if everyone thinks I am Mr. Perfect.  That I have a perfect life with no problems.  Over the years I think maybe I have even convinced myself of that fact and that I am supposed to be perfect.  That if I make any mistake it is the end of the world, that my life could seriously be over.  The trials I go though seem to take over and define who I am, my mood and my feelings.

I have learned over the past few months that this is not the case, and really this is the wrong way to look at life.  We must first look at ourselves and accept that we are not perfect. Some of us are fat, some are skinny, some are ugly some pretty, some of us have issues with other people, others have addictive tendencies.  Each and every one of us who are human have issues.  Things that we think define us.  I have began to realize that what really defines us is how we react to our imperfections.  It has been such an experience to begin to realize that no matter how much we expect of ourselves we must first accept the fact that we are not perfect, but we have the power to improve.  In my opinion that is what makes us human, we have the power to choose to improve and try to be better every time.  Those of us who pick ourselves up and move forward, no matter how many times we fail at being who we think we should be are on the correct pat.  As long as we are moving forward and not backward or standing stagnantly still then we are where we should be.

In doing this I have come to find that I can open up emotionally much more than ever before.  I seem to see people for who they can be and not who they are.  I have noticed that I feel for others, I pay attention to their feelings and I have compassion for those around me.  I love the song from Brad Paisley.  Sometimes when I have an exceptionally hard day and I begin to forget that I don't have to be perfect today I listen to it and know that I am blessed, and that gives me the strength to keep picking myself up and moving forward.

A Short Easter Message

One of my favorite LDS hymns is 'I Know That My Redeemer Lives.' My favorite version is by Michael R. Hicks, and it is played in this beautiful slideshow with pictures of our Savior. I am so grateful for the Atonement and for the sacrifice that Christ made for us all. Please watch the video, it is simply beautiful.

He is risen!

Red Velvet Catastrophe

So I found this super yummy Red Velvet cake recipe on Pinterest just before Valentine's Day and really wanted to make it. Well, things got busy and I didn't get to make it for V-Day. So, I decided to make it tonight.

Worst. Cake. Fail. Ever.

First, I was completely out of red food coloring. So, I thought to myself, "I'll use blue. A 'blue velvet' cake would be cool."

False.

I overlooked the fact that a dark blue cocoa powder paste mixed with a cream colored batter would make GRAY! And of course just after I had accepted that it would potentially look bad as gray (but still taste good!), Adam said he was going to run to the store to get a few things for dinner. If only he had decided to do so 5 minutes earlier. Oh well.

After baking for 30 minutes, I took the two cake pans out and flipped them out onto a wire rack to cool... only I didn't spray the pans well enough so.. most of the cake stayed in the pan.

I swear I'm usually not this bad!

And since I could only salvage one layer of cake, I then had an entire medium mixing bowl full of frosting.

I tried to make this....

This is what I actually made.

I hope you guys get a laugh out of this, because we sure did!

How to finish your wife's treat.

Step 1

Go out for ice cream on Shaila's birthday.  I order a small blizzard and she got a parfait.

Step 2 

Shaila get's a call from Grandma and Adam finishes his Blizzard... mm mm.

Step 3

Shaila finishes her phone call before Adam can finish her parfait.

Step 4

The finish.  Now that you have eaten most of your wife's parfait wait a minute, she will get upset and let you finish the rest!

legal mumbo jumbo.  I did not actually eat all her parfait.  She was able to eat most of it and I just thought I would share some meaningless photos.

It is over... until September.

Well folks tonight was it.  The last college football game of the 2011 season.  I love spending Saturdays in the fall and early winter watching football.  The days get colder and it has always been so much fun for me to watch all the games every Saturday.  I remember many, many days watching starting at 8 am with the pregame shows and going until close to midnight.  Only moving to cheer on a play or feed my face.  It is wonderful.  Usually there is so much going on during the fall and it is one of my favorite times of year because of all of it.

Last year I didn't get to watch much.  I was too busy falling in love with my best friend.  The one person who I would choose to do something with over watch any football game, any game!  I didn't watch much.  This season though I was hoping to watch more.  I knew that Shaila hadn't watched football before and I would have to get her into it if I wanted to watch it like I used to.  The first weekend came and she agreed to watch a game or two with me.  I tried to answer any questions she had to help her learn the game but after only 15 minutes she was on her phone playing games and not paying attention.

This continued game after game, week after week.  I was sad that my best friend didn't care as much as I did about one of my favorite things.  After a few weeks she began to get upset about how much I was watching, so I tried to compromise by telling her the games I really cared about watching, because I wanted to watch them all.  I told her the games and times and told her that if she wanted to go out or do anything during the free times we could she just had to tell me what. She never did so I just kept watching.  She wasn't too happy.

As I look back I realize this may have not been the best idea on my part.  However I do also realize just how much she sacrificed to let me do something I love.  I love her so much for it.  I am so happy to call her my wife and know that we are forever.

To you sweetheart.   I say, it is done, over, finished, complete until next September. I am sorry I love football so much, but for now I am yours  do with me as you will.  Just know that come next September I will want to do it all over again.   Hopefully by then I can convince her to like it a bit more.

Christmas with the Bazzelle's

After driving cross country several times over the last year, we decided that we would just stay here in Utah for Christmas. At first I wasn't too excited about this decision, but after convincing Adam's mom that they needed to come out here too, I was ecstatic! In my 22 Christmases this was my first one away from my own parents. They were just out here for Rachel's wedding in September, so they couldn't make a second trip out for the holidays. So I'm lucky to have gained a second family this year that was able to visit. Adam and I tell each other all the time how lucky we are to have married into families that we actually enjoy being around.
Our tiny two bedroom apartment was packed, but happily so. The Christmas tree had so many presents under it that we joked about having to get a second one just to have somewhere to put all of them. We were all spoiled, at least I felt that way. And Dad Bazzelle kept hinting at wanting grandchildren, saying things like, "Christmas is much more magical with little ones around', and "I'd like a grandchild that doesn't have fur" (referring to Jenni's dog-child, Elliot). I just kept having to remind him that we had only been married for 7 months! Maybe we'll get around to it this year ;)
Before everyone left, we were able to do an endowment session at the Salt Lake Temple. I've never done a live session before, and it was a very neat experience to go through with my new family. It was the first time that all five of us had been in the temple together since Adam and I were married. After the session, we had to walk around a little bit to see the lights. Nothing beats Temple Square at Christmas time. Gorgeous! I took a few pictures with my phone, but they don't do it justice. If you haven't been, be sure to go next year!

Like I said, these pictures don't do the experience justice. Even in the freezing cold, you could feel the warmth of Christmas spirit. I hope that all of you had a wonderful Christmas, and that you took at least a few minutes to remember our Savior who was born so long ago, and that he is the reason for this wonderful time of year.