Happy Earth Day!

We had a nice Earth day, well, more like Earth weekend. Since Earth Day was on Sunday this year we celebrated on Friday and Saturday. On Friday we made “dirt cups.”  (Notice they're in glasses not plastic cups--"Reduce.")

We also spent a lot of time jamming to THIS song! (I LOVE Jack Johnson).

That night we had “Earth Balls” (meatballs), “Trees” (asparagus), and “Mountains and Lakes” (mashed potatoes and gravy). Ok, so maybe that was pushing it a little, but Matt liked it!

Saturday we went to J and J, bought lots of plants and planted them.

We also picked up trash from the field behind our house. 

  (Random side note: There aren't many fields in Bountiful, but both places we have lived have had fields behind our house. Kind of random, but I LOVE it!)

Hope you had a happy Earth Day!

Daughters of Utah Pioneer Museum

Well, I finally went to the Daughters of Utah Pioneer Museum. I was really looking forward to seeing the two headed lamb, but honestly, it was kind of gross. We went during the “Utah Shake Out” drill so we had to evacuate before we saw the whole thing. There was a lot of cool stuff, and I think we’ll go back again to see the last two floors!

One more thing to check off of my 30 before 30!






Thanks Heather and Heather for going with us! We missed you Kristy!

Festival of Colors

Last week we went to the Festival of Colors with a few of our friends. I have wanted to go for a long time, and we finally went! The weather was crazy! It was pouring the whole drive down, then it was hailing as we were walking to the festival, perfectly sunny while we were there, then rainy the whole ride back! Here are a few of the pictures from the fun day!



























After the festival we all went home, showered, then got back together a few hours later for an Indian potluck dinner! EVERYTHING was so yummy! We had rice, naan, chicken tikka masala, butter chicken, tandoori chicken, chole, curry, and more!

(almost) Four Generations of Friends!

Last week my friend Lindsay was in town from North Carolina to defend her Master Thesis (doesn’t that just sound impressive!?—and she passed by the way! YAY LINDSAY!!).

 She is pregnant with her first baby and I am SO EXCITED!! When her little boy comes we’ll have FOUR generations of friends in our families! (Our grandparents have been friends since college too…you can read more about that here).

We were lucky enough to go to lunch together while she was in town and we went to the Blue Lemon!

I have to say it was pretty fantastic! My mom and I shared the Pear and Gorgonzola Spinach Salad  (bottom left picture) and an Artichoke and Tomato Panini  (bottom right picture). Even Matt had some delicious Grilled Chicken Skewers (Top right picture).


The restaurant is in the new City Creek Center and it is BEAUTIFUL! We didn’t do any shopping, but I think we had just as much fun just looking! It was a GREAT day!

Thanks Lindsay and Sue for fitting us into your busy week!!  (And thanks mama-c-ta for buying my lunch!!)

Later that week I was able to see Lindsay AGAIN when I went up to Park City for an AMAZING brunch with some AMAZING girls at Lindsay's house!





Look at that cute belly!! Can't wait to meet this little man!


The only problem about Lindsay coming in town is it makes me realize how much I miss her! Thanks for a fun week Lindsay and come back soon!!

Easter Sunday

We had a wonderful Easter Sunday! We went to my parents’ house for a DELICIOUS meal!

The adult table.


The kid table.


The dinner.


The dessert.



I also wanted to share a cute story that my mom shared with me that I used in my young women lesson on Sunday….

There was a young woman who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness and had been given three months to live. So as she was getting her things 'in order,' she contacted her Pastor and had him come to her house to discuss certain aspects of her final wishes.
She told him which songs she wanted sung at the service, what scriptures she would like read, and what outfit she wanted to be buried in.
Everything was in order and the Pastor was preparing to leave when the young woman suddenly remembered something very important to her.
'There's one more thing,' she said excitedly..
'What's that?' came the Pastor's reply.
'This is very important,' the young woman continued. 'I want to be buried with a fork in my right hand.'
The Pastor stood looking at the young woman, not knowing quite what to say.
That surprises you, doesn't it?' the young woman asked.
'Well, to be honest, I'm puzzled by the request,' said the Pastor.
The young woman explained. 'My grandmother once told me this story, and from that time on I have always tried to pass along its message to those I love and those who are in need of encouragement. In all my years of attending socials and dinners, I always remember that when the dishes of the main course were being cleared, someone would inevitably lean over and say, 'Keep your fork.' It was my favorite part because I knew that something better was coming...like velvety chocolate cake or deep-dish apple pie. Something wonderful, and with substance!'
So, I just want people to see me there in that casket with a fork in my hand and I want them to wonder 'What's with the fork?' Then I want you to tell them: 'Keep your fork ...the best is yet to come.'
The Pastor's eyes welled up with tears of joy as he hugged the young woman good-bye. He knew this would be one of the last times he would see her before her death. But he also knew that the young woman had a better grasp of heaven than he did. She had a better grasp of what heaven would be like than many people twice her age, with twice as much experience and knowledge. She KNEW that something better was coming.
At the funeral people were walking by the young woman's casket and they saw the cloak she was wearing and the fork placed in her right hand.. Over and over, the Pastor heard the question, 'What's with the fork?' And over and over he smiled.
During his message, the Pastor told the people of the conversation he had with the young woman shortly before she died. He also told them about the fork and about what it symbolized to her. He told the people how he could not stop thinking about the fork and told them that they probably would not be able to stop thinking about it either. So, every time you pick up your fork, remember that the best is yet to come.

So, at the end of the lessons I gave each of the girls one of these:

Easter Eggs!!

Pride and Prejudice

Have you ever read a book that you loved, and then you were a little hesitant to watch the movie version, because you knew that it could never be as good as the book?

Well, I was a little backwards, but same idea. I have always LOVED the Pride and Prejudice movie (the one with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle). I was really hesitant to read the book, because I didn’t think it would be as good as the movie. Boy was I wrong! I LOVED it!




I found myself giggling out loud, and even a few squeals—Darin even put up with my rereading sections out loud to him. This just may be my new favorite book! If you haven’t read it—it is an absolute must!!

The BIG REVEAL!!!

Here is a picture of how the kitchen looked when we bought the house.




Here is how we’ve had it for the last two years.






And here it is today!!



I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!!



We removed the soffits, put in new white cabinets, light fixtures, new stove, microwave, fridge, dishwasher, and subway tile backsplash!


Three of the things I love the most are first-- the automatic closing drawers and cupboards (no slamming and no pinched fingers).



Second, the counter-tops (obviously), and third is my new sink!!

(If you are looking to get granite countertops, I LOVED who we went through).




Thanks to ALL of our AMAZING family and friends for tons and tons of help!! Especially Rick and Rick for giving us 2 Saturdays, Greg and Heather for getting supplies with their truck—and paying for them, Darin working every spare day/night, mom doing the backsplash by herself, running errands, and hours and hours of help, Dad and uncle Al for installing the microwave and dishwasher, and awesome dad and neighbors for making us so many meals while we were without a kitchen!!

Best. Husband. Ever.

Last week I was feeling REALLY frustrated with our kitchen. Things weren't working out, and everything was taking A LOT longer than I had anticipated.

While Darin was at Priesthood session I decided to surprise him and get a bunch of work done while he was gone. Unfortunately, I didn't make any progress and even made things worse!

I got a little teary, expressed my frustrations, and then remembered that I still needed to go get some groceries. Darin said he'd get the groceries, and when he came back, he had these:



Aren't they beautiful?!!

We got everything fixed and put back together, and I am proud to announce, that as of 5 minutes ago,

OUR KITCHEN IS FINISHED!! And I LOVE it!! (Pictures to come soon!!)

Also, cute little side story:

We were at Costco yesterday and walked by the flower section. Matt yelled, "DAD!! STOP!!" When Darin asked why, Matt said, "Because I want to buy mommy some flowers!" I think Darin is doing a great job of training this boy right! Love you Darin!!

I LOVE General Conference!!

General Conference is THE BEST!! I always want to be a better person after the weekend! Aside from the wonderful messages, my favorite part of the weekend was going to the parents for brunch between sessions!

Get ready to salivate…we had strawberries, bananas, grapes, bacon, eggs, and pancakes. But, they weren’t just any pancakes—they were my two favorite pancakes EVER—macadamia nut pancakes with whipped cream, toasted coconut, and coconut syrup, and the other is caramel pecan pancakes! Oh yum!


*Did you notice the snow? Utah weather is CRAZY!!



Best. Pancakes. Ever.