Thankful

Since we just celebrated the Thanksgiving holiday, and Christmas and New Years are right around the corner, my mind has been filled lately of the incredible blessing that it is to live the life I do. Recently I have found myself pondering over how and why I have been blessed in so many ways. Surely I have done nothing to deserve the many wonderful things I enjoy. Whatever the reason, I have so much to be grateful for and I thank the heavens for sending me so many wonderful miracles along this journey.

I have the cutest, funniest, most thoughtful, caring, and loving husband in the world. I can't believe I got such a catch. He showers me with love... not just verbally, but through his actions. He makes me laugh, and he makes me smile. I just know that we will have a long and happy eternity together :)

I have a wonderful family with awesome parents and hilarious siblings. I'm so thankful to be able to call them all my best friends. We have the best memories together and although we no longer live under the same roof I'm glad that we are still as close as ever.

My in-law family is the best. I'm so glad I feel welcome and loved in my new family. They make me feel right at home. I'm grateful to each of them for being who they are.... because I know it's through them that my man became who he is, and I thank them for that.

I'm thankful that Luke and I have incredible jobs. In an economy where so many are unemployed, we find it a real treat to not only have jobs but to have ones that we enjoy going to each day.

I'm grateful to have been raised as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and to know the truthfulness of the gospel... to have the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, and to know of my divine potential to someday become like him. Especially at this time of year, I'm grateful for the birth of Jesus Christ who lived and died for me. May we spread the joy that is the reason for the season.

<3

Thanksgiving

We had such an enjoyable Thanksgiving weekend. We got to spend it with Luke's family in Las Vegas. We watched football, played volleyball, ate lots of yummy food, took family pictures, and enjoyed time together.

We also got to take turns holding this precious girl:

and playing with this guy:
We had such a fun trip, and are excited for the upcoming weeks where we will be able to see both our families again!

Our Orlando Trip

We have been home from our vacation for two weeks now. It was the most needed vaca in the history of my life... and I am already SO in need of another! We had such a blast in Florida with my parents, brother and sister.

We started our trip by taking the Coaster to the San Diego airport, which was a new adventure for me.

This is us waiting for the Coaster to arrive.

We flew from SD to LA and then from LA to Orlando. The flight to LA was seriously 25 minutes long. The other flight was 4.5 hours and since it was a red-eye, it was probably the 2nd worst plane ride I've ever had (1st worst was the flight to Jamaica on our honeymoon when I got super sick). Not only was it a long flight... and in the middle of the night.... but the man sitting next to me was really big, really old, and really smelly. Luke and I would eye each other as people were boarding the plane wondering Is this person going to sit by me? Oh I hope not. Or...I hope we get that girl! (Are we the only people that do that?) And as this guy got closer it became obvious that he was indeed going to be sitting by me (and practically on me)for the next 4.5 hours. I'll just say that fresh air had never felt or smelled as good as it did after that flight was over.

So our flight landed at 6am Eastern time. We got our rental car and headed to our hotel, where we spent most of the day relaxing by the gorgeous pool and exploring all the activities our hotel had to offer. That night we met up with my family at Planet Hollywood in Downtown Disney.

After dinner we walked around Downtown Disney, which was actually really cool. Our favorites were this girl who looked just like a statue and didn't move a muscle, and all the extremely talented musicians.

The next day we went to Disney World. It really wasn't any different than Disney Land, which was kind of sad. We had a ton of fun though. Our favorites were the Buzz Lightyear ride and Space Mountain. We also went to the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor, an animated comedy show, which sounds super cheesy, but was actually hilarious, especially since Luke was "That Guy". I guess each show they pick a guy from the audience to kind of pick fun at and they chose Luke. Afterwards they gave him this special sticker. It was seriously hilarious. We were all dying.

It started storming in the late afternoon so we called it quits and went out to dinner.

The next day was LUKE'S BDAY! We went to Universal Studios that day. Sadly my camera was out of battery and I forgot to recharge it so I have no pics. This was definitely my favorite park. There were awesome rides-- the Hulk and Spiderman were among our favorites. We also got SOAKED on a few water rides. Of course.... Hogwarts was incredible. It seriously felt like we were in Hogwarts. Everything looked so legit. The rides were pretty awesome too. I so wish I had pictures of it! That night we went to BJ's and watched the BYU football game, per the Bday boy's request.

On Saturday we went to my dad's work event. It was a trucking competition where a bunch of truck drivers had to compete in some obstacle courses. The heat and humidity really caught up to us that day and we were exhausted after sitting outside for just an hour. Luke and I relaxed by the pool for the remainder of the afternoon until we went to the Hooptie- Doo Review, a dinner/ play that people from my dad's work went to.


On Sunday we went to church for an hour,


walked around the Orlando Temple grounds,

Chased little geckos,

and went on an alligator tour. This was the only alligator I saw, although the tour guide pointed out baby alligators but I never saw them. Afterwards we each took a turn holding a baby alligator. Luke passed for some reason.
Monday was our last day all together. We went to Typhoon Lagoon, a water park. There were some pretty cool rides, and the wave pool was awesome.

The fam took off that evening while Luke and I scored some sweet deals at a near by Outlet mall. We left the following morning and have been home ever since. Coming back to real life is always such a bummer... especially when it involved piles of work that need to be done. We spent the rest of the week playing catch-up. We are now back into the regular swing of things... and are anxiously awaiting another vacation, although I don't think it will be for a long while.

Our Latest Adventures

We have had some fun and crazy adventures lately. The last few weeks have been crazy, busy, fun, exhausting, and I seriously cannot wait for two weeks from now when we will be relaxing in Florida. It will be a MUCH needed vaca.

Last week we went to the Chargers vs 49ers game with some people in the ward. It was my first NFL game, and was really fun. The stadium was actually less impressive than I had imagined it would be, but it was a lot of fun nonetheless.


Labor Day weekend was so much fun! We had most of Luke's family in town, as well as our great friends Kevin and his wife Kelli. We loved having everyone together and enjoying so much company! We spent a rather overcast Saturday at the beach.... the girls tried to catch as many rays as we could while the boys played countless games of beach volleyball (something Luke had been wanting to do ever since we moved here, but has never had enough guys to play with). Then we pigged out with some Phil's BBQ in our living room watching the BYU football game, and later did some shopping where I got a KILLER deal on some much needed new bathing suits.

We were also able to attend a session at the temple. It was neat to be there with family and friends.


Afterwards, Kevin, Kelli, Luke and I spent the day at SeaWorld. It was so much fun. We have lived here for a year and a half and had never been to Sea World until last weekend, and I think Luke would agree that it exceeded our expectations. We both loved the Shamu show the best.





This Thursday we, as well practically the rest of So Cal, some of Mexico and Arizona were affected by the blackout that I'm sure everyone heard about. I was at work when it happened... we had patients in the chairs and had to let everyone go and cancel the rest of the day's appointments. We got to go home a little early, which was nice, but it took over an hour to drive home in the ridiculous amount of packed traffic. That night was so eerie. We drove around town, just curious if anything was open. Of course nothing was, but it was weird to drive around and see no street lights, no store signs, no gas stations open... everything was out. We hung out with some friends that night, ate some peanut butter & honey sandwiches, and played some card games under the light of some lanterns and candles. Rumor had it that the electricity would not return until Friday or possibly even Saturday. Luckily we got ours back on at 10:30 that night. It really made us think how grateful we are for the things we take for granted every day... like electricity.

I have a hot husband! Seriously. I'm sitting here lazily on the computer while he's doing P90X right in front of me (he just asked me if my fingers are getting a good work out...) and I like watching him. I'm so proud of him for being dedicated and working so hard at being more active. He's doing great :) I even tried it with him last night... and it's NOT easy! Props to my man!

This past weekend was so much fun! Our good friends Nate and Liz came to visit from Utah. Luke was seriously in heaven. I forgot how good of friends he and Nate were. The whole weekend I could just tell he was so happy. We spent time at the beach, watched movies, and ate way too much. Unfortunately both of our cameras are broken so we didn't take a single picture the whole weekend. We didn't even think until after the weekend was over that we should have taken some on our phones. Oops!

Maybe we'll take some this weekend b/c we have a lot more visitors coming. Most of Luke's family will be coming down as well as some other really good friends from college. We can't wait! It will be so fun to have family and friends with us for a whole weekend!

THEN just a few short weeks later, Luke and I will be jumping on a plane and flying across country to hang out with my family in Orlando, FL! We are so excited for all the fun things we have coming up :)

Last night Luke and I went to MORMON NIGHT at the Padre's game. It was a lot of fun to "root, root, root for the Home team", even though they didn't win (and it was a shame). Our seats were like 6 rows from the very top, but I guess that's what happens when you only pay $9/ ticket. It was still fun to see a lot of people from the ward and even run into some relatives and old friends. I have a few pics of the night, but my man was sick of taking pics and would not cooperate, so I'll save them for another time.

This week is CAMPING week for me. Since I am in the YW presidency I get to go to our stake's Girls' camp. I will only be up there for a day b/c I can't take too much time off of work, but right after I get home from Girls' camp, Luke and I will jump right back in the car for 4 more days of camping with the Stephenson clan for the 4th of July. Next week at this time I will be one dirty, dusty, gross girl. Eek! But we are so looking forward to spending nice, relaxing time with the fam :)

I Love Us

Well I'm almost 2 weeks late in posting this, but on June 13 we celebrated our anniversary. I can't believe it's been two years already! I can definitely say the second year went by much quicker than the first. Luke and I both agreed that although the two years of our marriage have been wonderful and amazing, we liked the second year better. Not only did we have to deal with the whole "getting used to living with someone else" thing the first year, but we were also in Utah, going to school, and freezing for the whole first year of our marriage.

This year we moved on to the REAL WORLD, got big boy and big girl jobs, moved to a brand new place, experienced amazing weather that makes us happy instead of miserable, and got to spend more quality time together. So many things happened this year and I'm so thankful that I was able to go through it all with my wonderful husband. It's amazing to think that we are only on year two of eternity. It's the best thought ever! Here's to us, babe!

For our anniversary, we walked around Del Mar (which is like..the best place for a date) and ate at Forever Fondue, which was pretty yummy.

PS- has any one seen 500 Days of Summer? We just Netflixed it and I loved and hated it at the same time.

Mikey.

Remember that show "Recess"? I used to love that show! Lately I have been feeling like Mikey---you know... the big guy---not only because I have been feeling like a fatty and working on eliminating the 5 pounds I gained over Easter Break ( yes! FIVE pounds! Can you believe that? I, who have only gained 8 pounds since graduating 8th grade ((oh by the way, I wore my 8th grade graduation dress to church yesterday. Ha. I'm such a nerd) gained 5 whole pounds over a period of 2 1/2 days and it's taken me a week of intense Jillian Michaels' 30-Day-Shredding to get back to my pre-Easter weight).
ANYWAYS... back to my original thought. I also feel like Mikey sometimes because snippets of the Recess episode entitled "The Voice" have recently been coming to mind. See, in this episode Mikey shows that he can sing really, really well, but only when he's in the bathroom. As soon as he exits the bathroom he instantly has a horrible singing voice but upon re-entering the bathroom, he's excellent. Sometimes I think this might be me.
I sing in the shower...almost always. And perhaps it's the echo in the room or the effect of the water spilling over my face or... whatever the cause may be, I feel like I'm an A-okay singer in the shower. I even have a few favorite "shower songs" that are routine, a nightly "must-sing". But as soon as that shower head is turned off I become convinced that this talent is a "shower-only" one. I don't know what it is!
There. There's my secret. Now that I've admitted that I am a shower-singer, I can sleep peacefully tonight. (Although I'm not sure I'll be sleeping very peacefully at all this week since Luke is gone until Friday and I'm all alone.) Please tell me someone else out there is a shower-singer like me? And also maybe that someone else gained almost the same amount of weight over Easter weekend as they have in the past 6 years? Am I the only one?

Things I Love

This past week was just great! It's made me realize how many things I love in life. Let me share a few:




1. I know, I know... Just about every blog post I brag about the gorgeous weather we have in San Diego. It's probably super annoying by now, but hey... it's my blog and I'm gonna talk about the sunshine and beach as often as I want. How's that? This was taken a few weekends ago when we got into in the 80's. Although Luke and I (especially Luke) got pretty burnt, I still love the bright sunshiney days we get here. This weekend marked the 1 YEAR point of us living in San Diego. We're so grateful for the decision we made to move here. We love it :)





2.Birthdays and Birthday dinners :) Luckily, I have the best husband in the world who made my day a special one. He took me out to the dinner of my choice (Joe's Crab Shack), got me some pretty presents, and a yummy birthday cake. He made me feel super special, as did all of you. Thank you to everyone for the birthday shout outs via text, FB, phone calls ,etc. :)

3. Family! Luke and I went to my parents' place this weekend for Easter. Sadly, this is the one picture I got with more than two people in it.

4. I especially love this little girl! She's the cutest, happiest, easy-going baby in the world. She definitely deserves the Best Baby award. She took the drive to and from Fresno like a champ. Luke and I picked up my sister, brother-in-law, and baby Ev on our way up to Fres this weekend and she hardly made a peep throughout the whole trip. And while in Fresno she was mostly all smiles the whole time. Having a baby in the home is so much fun. We loved spending time with Baby Ev. (Don't go getting any ideas.)



5. The reason for the Easter season. I love Christ for his life, sacrifice, death, and especially for his triumph over the grave, because of which we too will be able to live again. What a perfect example for us all. I am grateful to him each and every day!

Hope you all had a great Easter :)

House Hunters

No... We are not looking for a house. Not even close. But maybe someday...
We are, however, avid watchers of the show House Hunters. We love it! And when I say "we" it's not one of those things where I really mean "I" love the show and drag Luke into watching it with me. We both really do enjoy watching it together. It's fun seeing the varieties of homes that are out there, and being surprised by what home the hunters actually choose. Luke and I often make remarks during episodes like, " I can't believe these people are complaining about the color of the rooms. Don't they know they can paint?" or "They're really not going to choose that house because it doesn't have a fence? Why don't they just put one in themselves?"

This weekend we experienced a little bit of what it might be like to be a House Hunter someday. On a boring Saturday afternoon we decided to travel throughout nearby neighborhoods and explore houses for sale that might one day be in our price range. We found ourselves being somewhat nit-picky just like some people on the show. It was fun pretending to be in the market for a home and imagining what it will be like when we eventually are house hunting. I can't wait to have a home of our very own :)

PS: my bday is next week :)
PSS: Is anyone else super excited for the Hunger Games movies?

This weekend Luke and I went to Las Vegas to visit Luke's family and to watch General Conference. While there, I was slightly reprimanded for my lack of blogging. So here I am... blogging. The only problem is, I don't have much to say.
Our life is pretty consistent right now. Nothing's new- no big news or changes. We're just enjoying the hustle and bustle of our every day lives, which consist of work, church, and school (for me). Luke and I enjoyed a wholesome conversation last night as we drove home from Vegas about how we feel we're always looking forward to the next best thing, and putting all of our energy and efforts into that-- aka a vacation, or saving up for the day we can buy a house, or when we're finally ready to start a family-- and while those are great things to look forward to, we forget to appreciate the "now" stage. Our life is so great the way it is right now- just me and Luke- and although we're thrilled about the idea of growing old together and all the events that will happen in our future, we decided to look forward to the future with just as much enthusiasm as we have for our present stage.
So- while it's not anything exciting and new- I'm grateful to be a 21 year old ( almost 22) girl happily married to the 25 year old man that I get to live a simple every-day life with. And I'll proudly blog about it :) cheers.

On another note- I am working on having a change of heart. For any of you who would like to know the secret to a happy, selfless lifestyle, read the book Bonds That Make Us Free by C. Terry Warner. It's incredible. Of course having a change of heart and being truly selfless and seeing others' worth is not easy and doesn't come simply by reading this book, but it really does open your eyes to how you can become the kind-hearted person you want to be (if you do indeed want to be a kind-hearted person. I suppose some people might not....?) Anyways, if you're looking for an eye-opening book, this is a great one and I suggest you read it (all you 3 people who might possibly read my blog).

<3

10 Days of Valentines

For the past 10 days I have felt like Hilary Swank in the movie "PS I Love You", except it's been even better because my husband is very much alive. Last Friday I got my first of 10 Valentine's gifts. I was greeted by:

and:

.
And this was just the beginning. Every day my sweet Valentine gave me a gift- big or small. The gifts varied from items of clothing, to roses delivered to me at work, to a simple walk on the beach. He had every day planned out to the T, and made sure I felt special every single day.

Luke and I haven't really been very good at celebrating holidays. We usually exchange simple gifts on V-Day but don't really go all out. We didn't even do anything for our FIRST year anniversary, which I thought was a big deal, but we were so busy moving into our new apartment that the event kind of slipped unnoticed. However, Luke made sure this Valentine's did not go unnoticed. He was so sweet and loving and selfless, and I'm so happy to have such a loving husband.

After the 10 days leading up the V-day, we decided to spend the actual day relaxing. I did not have to work so Luke took the day off to spend it with me. We enjoyed a beautiful scenic drive along the coast and did a bit of shopping.



Thanks babe! Love you. Hope you all enjoyed your V-day as much as I did :)

I'm An Aunt.... Again!

Today I became the proud aunt of THIS little beauty:
Oh how I just want to squeeze her. She looks perfect. I heard her cry on the phone today, and even her little cry is perfect. I cannot wait to see her and hold her and give her some loves tomorrow.

Baby, Mom & Dad are all doing well.
Congrats Hen & Jared! We love you, Oakden Family :)