2 Years Ago.

WARNING: It's mushy. But I can do that once a year, right?

So, it's our anniversary. I can't believe it's already been 2 years. I know that in the long run that isn't a long time, but it's surprising because it doesn't feel like it! It's a good time, being married to this guy.

Over our second year of marriage, we have:

-Visited 5 temples (Brigham City, Provo, Redlands, Jordan River, and Billings)

- GRADUATED COLLEGE BABY! Even though apparently that doesn't mean too much with my degree...

-Run 2 5K Fun Runs:

-I got my first post-college job as a Special Ed teacher in Rexburg.

-We became an aunt and uncle to the world's cutest boy, Dane (who is so big and almost 1!)

Seriously though, our lives have been so blessed. I'm grateful for the job I have, and for the chance we have to save money and hopefully pay off Brandon's BYU-Idaho debts before he starts his P.A. school debts. (Hopefully.)

Today was not supposed to be a big deal. We already went to Billings and Yellowstone to celebrate, and Brandon had to go back to work. He's going to be working full time, which means I won't see him for much of the week. So I was a little sad, but we tried to make the morning out of it. We went to the temple and did sealings (see here for more info) for family names, and then went and made breakfast. Brandon then got ready for work and left, and I was going to go to my classroom to work on organizing things. About 10 minutes later, I got a knock on the door. I opened it and Brandon came in with flowers and said, "I don't have work today." I squealed... a little embarrassing for me but it was totally warranted there.

As you can see, I was thrilled. Brandon had just gotten home from being gone for a week and a half, and I was glad to get another afternoon with him.

I wouldn't say marriage is bliss- bliss seems to imply that you are ignorant of what is happening and just la-di-da. It's like the best class ever. It's a time to learn and work on your people skills big time. You learn compromise, faith, communication, patience, love, charity... hmm. That sounds familiar.

I love going to the temple on our anniversary and doing sealings because it reminds me of the wonderful things I felt on our wedding day. We are reminded of how blessed we are, and how every problem we have with the world right now can just melt away, even just for half an hour at the temple. (Note: we couldn't get a good picture of me in front of the temple so I'm not going to post it. Too sunny and windy.)

But here's to another happy anniversary to the biggest weirdo I know, my best friend, the person I married up to, the man who inspires me every day to be better.

Anniversary Trip- Billings.

Our anniversary trip had 2 parts- Billings and Yellowstone.

While we were planning this trip, I said I wanted to go to the Billings Montana temple. It was the closest one to Yellowstone Park, and I had heard it was just beautiful.

We got into Billings just in time to go to the last session on Friday night, and it WAS beautiful! It was a really well designed temple, and probably one of my favorites. (Ok, let's be honest, I love all of them.)

During this time, I was looking up fun runs. I found out there was a "Dirty Dash" in Billings the same day we were going to be in town. It is a Mud run/Obstacle course that apparently is really popular... so of course we signed up.

The event took pictures, which of course we couldn't do ourselves. We bought a few of the pictures... I wanted to buy all of them but they were expensive.

A lot of people were in costumes... up to middle-aged men in prom dresses and other middle-aged men in cut off shorts and crop tops. It was hilarious. In addition, they had "carboloading" right before the race. Except the carbs were beer. We passed on that. Apparently Billings has the dubious award for consuming the most beers last year. They also had a beer chug on the 3 mile mark... I don't know how they can do that. I mean, I can't even drink juice before I run.... wow.

But here are the pictures, with the stories behind them.

I was completely failing on the Slip and Slide there. You can see me starting to stand up to run in the background.

The "Grunts", or volunteers, threw hay all over us as we exited the wet and muddy Slip and Slide.

This was on one of the last mud pits. They were also splashing us with icy mud water.

I needed some help getting over the hills.

And of course they caught me splashing Brandon with mud.

And, of COURSE, they asked to do a jumping picture. If you remember, they usually don't work out well.

DANG IT. I actually did jump high that time! Just too late.

What the pictures missed:

-Me failing to make it over a Styrofoam tube and having to call Brandon back.

-Climbing over 3 walls (1 with a boost)

- Running through stables that are filled with mud.

-Jumping into mud and water that came up to my chest.

-Running through a ravine that had mud almost up to my shoulders, just as a water truck backed up to the ravine and started spraying us with water.

-Sliding ourselves under walls. (Or jumping over, in Brandon's case.)

It was definitely a fun experience. We have to throw out our shoes, but still. I think that when I get a new pair of shoes, I'll do another mud run with my shoes now.

The week of Dallin's farewell.

WARNING: Picture overload.

Going down to California was the best decision ever. Even when I left I had to refrain from parachuting out of the plane to stay there for another week (no, really).

First up, silly pictures of Dane. He's my favorite, and I did not let him go.

He learned to clap to and crawl while he was there.

He surprised himself.

He warmed up to us, and liked Grandma. She gave him all the treats.

But, one of his favorite people was...

MURPHY. He loves dogs. He liked seeing Murphy from above, because that made him feel bigger.

 I wasn't there for this, but my dad said he cleared his tray when they were eating outside, then ran his feet on Murphy's head when Murphy started eating all the food.

We got there Friday night, and just played a few games then went to bed. Saturday was time to set up for the big farewell, but we did have a picnic that night. Dane loved the ribs.

We wanted to do a big Frisbee game with the family like we did when Austin was leaving, but it's harder when there's a big personality in a little body there. So some of us left early.

Sidebar: Dane LOVES his baths. Alyse was turning on the bathwater, and he heard it and started shrieking and wriggling. Then, he rolled over and crawled further than he had crawled before to get to the bathtub. It was hilarious. He played with a kitchen whisk the whole time, and was so happy to just lay down in the water. (I have a picture of that, but I have a feeling Alyse wouldn't want Dane's naked beauty on the Internet.) But he also loves his towel, and got so excited when Alyse pulled it out.

Him giving Alyse a head bump... his way of showing that he likes you.

Once she put him on the ground, though, he wanted out of that towel. Too much to do!

Sunday was a good day. Dallin gave a great farewell talk, which you can listen to here. A bunch of his friends showed up, including people who don't go to our church. They all sat in the front, and seemed to be eating it up. We had a lot of family over for lunch, and it was good to enjoy their company before the mobs of friends came. Poor Daney was so overwhelmed by so many people wanting to say hi that we took him on a couple of walks that night.

After the friends left, Dallin was set apart. We took a picture to commemorate it.

Before Brandon left on Monday, we went to the pool with the little Sine girls.

Lucia and I were matching.

Of course Dane was there, in all his glory.

Dane wanted to crawl in the pool... silly boy.

This is Dane's Murphy face... big eyes and saying "Oooo! Ooooo! Oooo!"

We took Murphy and Dane on a lot of walks with the Sine cousins (who also loved Murphy).

Before Alyse Tommy and Dane left, we made sure to get some pictures with Dane everyone. This is my favorite one of me and Dane.

Seriously, unplanned same face? Best ever.

After we dropped off those 3 at the airport, we went to Balboa Island with Annie, Caroline, and Claira. I got this picture of them on the Ferris Wheel.

We already know about sending Dallin off to the MTC (here). It was sad, so we decided to go celebrate somewhere special. Where is a better place than Downtown Disney? We went to Goofy's Kitchen, and here is what happened:

Lulu was so excited to see "Doofy", until he got close. Then she freaked out. It was cute, and I don't blame her. He's a dog and like 7 feet tall!

Dale was creepy. He kept blowing kisses at me and squeezing me too tightly. Eww.

 (SO CUTE)

The highlight of the day was when Sleeping Beauty showed up. Lu could not take her eyes off the princess... When she was going to take a picture with Lu, Sleeping Beauty said, "Can you put your waffle down sweetie?" Lu just stared at her and immediately dropped the waffle on the ground. Sleeping Beauty said, "Well, that's no good anymore!" hahaha she was a classic princess.

Until she asked us to pose for a picture with her. Ew.

Derp.

And then there was Aladdin. Bethany and I were excited to party with him... even if he was wearing more makeup than us.

 All the little girls with Pluto. Lu was a little wary.

Rafiki

Baloo.

I'd say it was successful.

Also! I got new running shoes! I'm so excited. I went to RoadRunner, which is a store that measures your feet and analyzes how you run. After that, they gave me these shoes:

They're excellent. The next morning I ran 3.5 miles without feeling like it. And I ran a mile to time myself, and did it in 9:03. Now I have a time to beat!

The next few days were a lot of detox. I just enjoyed sitting at home... I feel so comfortable there.

We got Boba before we dropped Bethany off at a basketball tournament, and then brought me to the airport. As I left, I couldn't help but think "Why can't Brandon get a job down here?" I know, it's wishful thinking.

Well, he's off.

I'm going to write more about the week we had in California, but this is the most important part... obviously.

Our whole reason for going down to California was to see Dallin again before he left on his mission... He just found out the Friday before that his visa didn't come in time and so he would be flying to the Provo MTC. He was sad, but I think everyone else was relieved. At least my mom could mail him things he forgot for a little while longer with some peace of mind.

The first to go was Brandon, and luckily I got a picture of him and Dallin together.

 Brandon doesn't mind being shorter than Dallin, I promise.

Alyse and Tommy left Tuesday, and we got some cute pictures of Dane everyone together.

Isn't Dane just the best?? He learned to clap while in Irvine, and was clapping for himself here.

Dallin took off at 7 AM on Wednesday, so we brought him to the airport before 6. Before he took off, his buddies from high school came to see him off.

As we left, three of the boys (Brent, Eric, and Storm) ripped their shirts off and ran down the block swinging their shirts over their heads. I think it helped Dallin leave Trailwood on a good note.

We got a few pictures at the airport...

The only goodbye picture I'm going to post is my own, because Bethany and Mom had super red eyes.

In case you were curious, my emotions came through the night before, but that was just a serious overreaction to some slightly bad news. Don't judge me.

And, he was off. I got an action shot of him walking to his gate, but he didn't even stop... rude.

I don't think it's hit me yet that I have 2 brothers on missions. Austin and Dallin are (and are going to be) the best missionaries ever. I hope they know that they are great examples to Cole and Dane, and to our future kids. We will always tell them about how their uncles were on a mission before they were born. They'll never have to wonder if their uncles love the Gospel.

And, now I have 2 missionary blogs to update!

Color in Motion 5K

So a long time ago, I signed up for the Color in Motion 5K as a motivation to get myself to start running. I didn't start running until just recently (obviously), but this was my first step. Brandon and I signed up with our friends Rachel and Cody. Rachel's been my inspiration to run, because we lived together and didn't have a set workout. But, she just ran a half marathon! I know if she can motivate herself to run then so can I.

I had been trying to run, but going to Utah killed me. My lungs could not keep up with the change of altitude. When we were at our family reunion in Aspen Grove, we had a huge hike up to our cabin every day. It helped my legs get used to burning at 7,000 feet above sea level. I had a goal to run this 5K in less than 33 minutes (average less than 11 minutes per mile), but I knew this was not possible for me after not running for a week.I just got back in Rexburg last night, and was super nervous about my run today. I didn't know how my body would handle not running for a week, and I really really wanted to not embarrass myself.

SO, race time. We didn't pick up our shirts last night, which turned out to be a good thing. The shirt I wore is completely ruined. But, this morning Brandon and I walked over to the park and got our bibs, then got ready to get sprayed with colors. The run itself was not that bad, to be honest. My lungs were way more ready for the run than my legs- my legs gave out a long time before my lungs did. We ran around the stores in Rexburg and over to the nature park. As I have run a lot of this route before, I just kept telling myself that I could do it. I've done it before, no big deal right? It helped to take speed walking breaks. I go just about the same speed but feel like I am dying less.

There were 4 different stations, each one with a different color of chalk. Unfortunately, on the third station I got a nose full of green chalk and couldn't breathe through my nose. Just as I was about to cross the finish line I felt like I was going to throw up. But how embarrassing would that be, at a 5K? I made it, and looked for Brandon. He looked surprised... how rude. I sat down with my head between my knees, and the feeling passed. He told me after that he didn't think I would have made it through for about 10 more minutes. HA. As it was I ran it in 36 minutes, which I am happy with.

 

 Before the race. All nice and clean.

The color throwing started before the race... it's still stuck on my forehead.

(after the run... I was dying but oh so proud of myself.)

The 4 runners... Brandon Mr. "Oh I'm so out of shape I'll be so dead during the run" ran it in 25 minutes. Before anyone else. Out of shape my fanny.

The 4 runners after the color throwing party. Brandon's still slightly purple.

Luckily Brandon found the sunglasses from the above pictures at Aeropostale yesterday. They were 2 for $10, as opposed to $20 for one normally.  Otherwise all that would have been in my eyes.
I had to sit in the shower for about half an hour until the water finally ran clear... my hair was coated. But I am so proud of myself, even if I took an entire week off of running I did it. I think my next goal is a 10K, and then build up to a half marathon. But knowing how well I did here (and how surprised and proud Brandon was of how well I did) gives me a lot of confidence to keep running.

This weekend.

We had an eventful weekend. While everyone else in the world was out running races, we were taking care of Rachel and Cody's puppy Teddy. He's super cute, and CRAZY. They're training him well.

He clearly has a favorite... he wouldn't leave Brandon's side when he was there. He even went over to our room when Brandon was doing online homework and started whining.

We took him on long walks (all the way to Porter Park, about 1/4 mile from our house), and wore him out. These two...

Saturday was a nice warm day. We headed on over to Lake Rigby, then with our friend Jared to a demolition derby. It was the MOST redneck thing I've ever been to, but it was great!

I guess it wasn't a "traditional" demolition derby, but it was pretty intense. I realized that driving like this would be an awesome stress reliever. Because when you're coming close to someone, you can just smash them! I knew that if I did this, that would be the kind of driver I would be.

So right behind the car that is on its side are 2 huge tires filled with dirt. It's what the drivers are supposed to go around, and he just got a little bit too close and went up on 2 wheels and over. When the car flipped, everyone started screaming and cheering. It was such a mob mentality moment.

And then everyone jumped out to push the car upright.

This was CRAZY. So many of the cars hit each other head on, but when this car was hit it just burst into flames. Everyone started screaming again, and pulled out their phones and cameras to get pictures. Unfortunately, I could only see it through 2 beams so this was the best shot I got.

So many of the tires were either flying off or close to flying off during the races... it was intense. At one point an entire wheel came off- not just the tire but everything. That car won the race.

We also had the water truck that allowed the cars to get stuck a lot more.

It was way more fun than I expected. There was a lot of mud, a lot of screaming, a lot of crunches (of metal, not humans), and even a fire. By the end of the races, I was up on my feet screaming "GO! GO! GO! KILL! KILL! SET THEM ON FIRE!" I'm not ashamed. It was something we wanted to do before we left Rexburg, so check!