Our 4th Anniversary

Our anniversary landed on a Thursday this year, June 20th.  Due to work and other obligations, Shay planned an amazing trip up to The Grand America in Salt Lake City for Friday and Saturday night to celebrate.

Of course that didn't stop Shay from coming home from work on the 20th with a beautiful card and a dozen roses for me!  I LOVE flowers!  I had a special card and note for him as well.

 We then jumped into the car and headed out to our favorite "casual" restaurant, "Village Pizza."  Since we were heading up to The Grand America the next night we didn't feel we needed to go anywhere super fancy.

Of course shay was elated that I was taking pictures.  

Picture taking isn't Shay's most favorite past time that is for sure! :-) 

He decided to give me a really lovely smile for the following picture:

Here is his "sexy" look:

I finally gave up trying to get a picture of Shay and asked the worker at Village Pizza to take our picture.

We ended up stopping on the way home and picking up the movie Safe Haven.

It was a fun casual night where we were able to talk and joke around with one another....our favorite past time!

Friday, when Shay got home from work he gave me the best news ever......he informed me that he got time off work and we were going to go to Europe with our friends!  I couldn't have dreamed for anything more exciting than that (well, we'd both agree that finding out we were chosen to become birthparents would be the BEST news ever, but Europe will have to do for now)!

We then packed up and headed out.  

Neither of us had ever been to The Grand America but had heard amazing things about it.  It was all that and more.  We were on the 12th floor and had a fantastic view:

Below you can see the court yard we could see from our room:

That night we walked down to Shay's friend/co-worker's Indian restaurant, Coppor Bowl.

Shay LOVES Indian food!  He always orders HOT....I am more of an medium type girl.

It was yummy!

Once Shay is fed he is one happy camper.  

He even let me take two pictures of him without some kind of sarcastic remark. :-)  

Isn't he so cute!  

 I sure think so!

Saturday we walked to City Creek.  It was fun walking around Salt Lake City.  Shay works downtown and had fun showing me different historical buildings/landmarks that he has discovered.  Shay likes to walk around downtown during lunch and has discovered some pretty cool things!  Shay loves history!

It was a beautiful day to walk around City Creek! 

 After some time shopping we headed over to Temple Square.  We asked a woman if she would take our picture on the famous "circle."  Four years ago we stood on this very step as newlyweds.  The lady CRACKED us up.  She didn't say 1,2,3 or cheese or anything.  So we just sat there until I realized that she was pushing the button without realizing that it was taking pictures.  I then said, "Oh, I think you got it."  She said she wasn't sure and would try one more time.  I heard clicking again.  When I got my phone back I counted 19 pictures and none captured both of us smiling.  Oh well, here is us 4 years later.

 We walked around the grounds.  They were breathtaking as usual.

Loved these flowers!

After a fun outing around town we started walking back to The Grand America.  We realized we hadn't  eaten.  So we decided to stop at Buca.  We both had seen it numerous times but had never eaten there.

 It was a fun family style restaurant.

With really yummy food!

Our salad:

YUMMY!

 Completely stuffed and happier than two foxes in a hen house we headed on back to The Grand America.

 

When we got back our room was perfect:

We even had music playing in the background to greet us along with a note.....

 that told us Sunday's weather:

Our room was so beautiful! 

 The crowned molding, marble shower, mirrors, furniture, etc. were breathtaking!

We had our own home away from home!

It was the perfect weekend to spend with our best friend!

Here's looking forward to an eternity of anniversaries!

Love you babe!

Shay's Highlights:
I enjoyed getting away for the weekend.  Winnie was so excited to get tickets for our European vacation that she fell asleep, so I stayed up late and bought the tickets online.  I enjoyed the Indian and Italian food and just being able to relax with Winnie for the weekend.  Now its back to the wars until we take off for Europe--stay tuned.

It's our ANNIVERSARY again!

I can't believe it has been 4 years!  Shay isn't home from work yet but I felt a desire to blog about him.  What an amazing individual he is and what an amazing dad he will be!  He has such a good heart and is so incredibly patient and attentive to me!  I can honestly say I am spoiled rotten (For example: Shay will often fetch something for me just because I mention that I have left it somewhere!  That sounds really dumb but to me that it is the sweetest thing ever.....because I can get it, I don't even mind getting it, but he wants to serve me so he will insist that he can get it for me--can I just say SPOILED!).  I couldn't have asked for a more loyal, caring, loving, trustworthy, best friend to have as my husband!  Sometimes I wonder how I got to be so lucky to have him as my husband.  I look forward to an eternity of anniversaries with him.  I will post pictures later of our anniversary trip....yes, Shay planned the entire weekend for us!  He is taking me to the Grand America!  I can't wait!  Like I said, I am spoiled rotten! :-)

Camping in Moab!

This last weekend we had the opportunity to go camping with Shay's sister and her family in Moab.  

We were so excited to get away and go camping!  

We left Friday afternoon and headed on down.  Shay's sister had informed us that she was only able to get a campsite at the KOA located in Moab.  I had never stayed in a KOA before and looked forward to the opportunity.  When we got there, I had to laugh out loud.  The campsites literally had hitch posts as separators.  I jokingly said to Shay's sister, "This is condo camping." :-)  

Above you can see Shay walking towards the table in our campsite.  To the right of the table you can see hitch posts.  To the right of the hitch posts is another campsite.

Once we got our tents up and everything situated, the kids went swimming in the KOA pool.  That was a very nice perk since it was a very warm day!

That night Shay decided to adorn a headlight to make everyone laugh!

 Shay is always being goofy and making me laugh!

Camping would not be camping for us if there weren't any games going on in the evenings!  

Here you can see Shay's sister's husband trying to beat us in a card game called "Books and Runs."

Below you can see our niece goofing off while playing ZimZam (SP?).  My parents had a ZimZam when I was a little girl. I loved playing it when we went beach camping in California!  This became an instant favorite while we were camping!  

 After breakfast and a wonderful shower, we headed out to go hiking (Our KOA had amazing accommodations---didn't know camping could be so posh!)!

Shay and I were not prepared when it came to Lucy Lou.  Most trails didn't allow for dogs to walk on the paths....so we improvised.  Here you can see Lucy Lou hanging out in my purse.  She loved having me tote her around instead of having to walk herself in the heat!

Here you can see our cute nieces and nephews, along with our brother-in-law and Shay, enjoying the sites in Moab (Shay is on the right).

 The kids loved the opportunity to climb all over the rocks!

They even found a few dead trees to climb up as well.

IT WAS A SUPER HOT DAY TO SAY THE LEAST~

Here is a picture of Shay and me before we descended below on the trail....notice Lucy Lou sneaking a peak out of my purse!

Here Shay and his nephew are hanging out on the red rock and enjoying the scenery!

Below is Shay with his sister and the nieces and nephews.  

Inside that alcove is a hole that looks onto the other side.  It was really cool!

This is the worst picture ever of me!  I was starting to melt.  Lucy Lou becomes heavy when you are hiking in 100-degree weather!

The kids were looking for shade!

After hiking a few trails we decided we had better head back to the KOA for a dip in the pool before hiking to the Arches (the kids were ready to go back).  

We ended up back at camp around noon and found it to be a whopping 103 degrees!  YIKES!  

Shay and I ended up reading books and taking a nap.  By the late afternoon the weather wasn't cooling down so we headed into town.  We stopped and got ice cream.  It was so hot that our ice creams were melting inside of the diner!

After stopping at a few shops, and enjoying the sites of Moab, we headed back to camp.  

Below you can see our niece showing off her "pumpkin-grape."  She immediately had to show us that her grape looked like a pumpkin. :-)

That night we played the card game Scum and enjoyed time chatting with one another!

The next day we packed up and headed on back home.  Shay and I can't wait to go camping again!  It was so much fun!  We really enjoy camping with family and friends!

Grateful

Today, as I sat in church contemplating how dispensable I really am within my vocation, a woman behind me touch my shoulder.  I turn to her and recognized her as one of the mother's of a summer school student I taught last summer.  She said hello and paused.  I immediately asked her how her son was doing (he was in summer school because he was having serious reading struggles).  She said he was doing so much better.  She then said that she was meaning to talk to me for awhile but was unable to find just the right moment.  She then started to get teary eyed and proceeded to tell me how much she appreciated all I had done for her little boy, for her as a mother, and for the amazing job she thought I did when teaching her son.  I was quite flabbergasted at how sincere and grateful this mother was as she shared her feelings with me.  I thanked her for sharing with me and said it was perfect timing, that I was just thinking of how easily I could be replaced by another.  She then said some very sweet words and we separated.
I was left feeling so grateful.  Yes, I am dispensable....there are many great teachers that can, and would, step in if I wasn't able to teach any more....but while I am in the position at least I am able to make a difference in the lives of others.  It is a hard thing to want to have a family so badly that your very soul aches to know it's not to be so.....but at least there is some good I can play in this world.  I am so grateful to that sweet mother for reminding me of that role.  If I can't have my own kids right now, then I will be the kind of teacher I want my kids to have.  I will push, educate, empower, love and motivate every child that enters my classroom and heart.  I am so grateful for a career that allows me to be around children all the time.  I know they are so precious, vulnerable, and full of life.  So grateful for people who are willing to express their gratitude to others, it really does make a difference.

Babysitting

We were SO excited when our friends across the street invited us to watch their youngest child while they attended one of the sibling's soccer game (Playing soccer at the end of April can be pretty cold around here, especially with all of the wind)!   

The mother was a bit nervous when she dropped him off.  She informed us that she hadn't left him with anyone else yet, not even her mother, and was so grateful we would be willing to watch him for them and knew we would take good care of him!

 

We were elated to have the chance to dote on him!

  

We love kids and really enjoy playing with them, reading to them, and making them laugh!  

We also love to watch Lucy Lou's (our dog's) reaction.  Notice her below in the picture keeping a watch on Shay, making sure Shay isn't doing anything wrong. :-)  

For some reason as soon as an infant is in our home Lucy Lou becomes their "body guard."  She stays close.  She watches over them and what everyone else is doing to make sure the child is safe.  If for any reason she feels the child might be in danger Lucy Lou immediately starts to bark at the person who is causing the danger.  At times she is a bit overprotective but we love it!

Lucy Lou even retrieves any toys that are dropped before we can blink our eyes (as you can see her doing below)!  Too bad we are always having to clean the toys after Lucy Lou gets a hold of them .....no doggy germs are allowed near any child's face!

We can't wait to have our family grow and have a baby in our home!