Ice Cubes, Tickle Fights, and Brown Toppers

Many summer days when I was a kid consisted of waking up early to go walk the dogs with my grandpa. He would drive to come pick me up any morning I wanted to go and we would stop at Dick's bakery and get a treat then head up to Muller Park Canyon. We would walk all the dogs and go up through the mountain trails and play along the river. My grandpa walked in the canyon a couple times of day. He loved nature and the peace up there. Not to mention it was the highlight of all the dogs' day. Some of my favorite memories took place in that canyon. 

It was 4 years ago today that my grandpa Jack passed away unexpectedly. He played a huge part in my life and was always there for me. I saw him almost every day growing up. Since my mom worked during the day he would pick me up from school. If I was sick at school, or just pretending to be, he was the one to come get me. He would always have a big smile on his face and would say I think you need some medicine. His medicine was the best a brown topper from Arctic Circle. If you don't know what a brown topper is then you are missing out. Basically, its an ice cream cone dipped in chocolate (or there are also other flavors and colors.)  

Every birthday party or family party when I was a kid we always got into a tickle and ice cube fight. It was always started by someone different but it was also a battle between the cousins and grandpa. Our family would go to Chuck-a-Rama a lot when we were younger, its a good restaurant when you have a lot of rowdy children. He used to start with dessert every time then he'd get a main dish and then dessert. Life is short, start with dessert.  

Awe the Eiffel Tower hair as I call it... 90s hair gotta love it

My grandpa was the most generous person I have ever met. If someone needed help he was there. If you needed some money he would have given you his last dollar. He wasn't a materialistic person and his most treasure possession was his family. I miss him so much and it breaks my heart that he is gone. I wish he would have been there when I got married, but at least Jeff got to meet him. I wish he would have got to met my children so they could have experienced some of the memories I had as a kid. Jeff and I are planning on naming our son after him when that time comes. It is the only name that I have always kept since I was a kid, Jackson.  I know that he watches over me and that I will get to see him again someday. Today I am going to go get a brown topper in his memory and maybe go eat at Chuck-a-Rama for him. 

Love Always,

The Date that Changed Our Lives

Sometimes its hard to fathom that one moment our entire lives can change in an instant. Well our lives changed forever on February 19, 2011. We had plans to celebrate Valentine's Day a little late since we both had to work on the actual holiday. Jeff still made it special by decorating our entryway with candles, chocolates, and flowers for me when I came home.

The day of our date Jeff shows up early and I was still getting ready. Jeff says he forgot something in his car and would be back. I found out after he had taken my keys and moved things for the date into my truck. I was completely clueless, because when he came back he had a bright pink bag for me. When he finally let me open it I found a bottle of the perfume I wear, which I had been completely out of. When we left we went to Color Me Mine, which is something we started going to a couple months prior. (Its been a fun activity that we do together and make things that are personalized for when we have a house and it allows lots of time to just talk and spend time together) Anyways, Jeff and I have been doing the same pieces since we started, he finally finished his Christmas cookie plate. I, however, needed one more session to finish my Italian Pasta bowl.

After we finished Jeff told me that the date was about all the things we love to do together and then I got another present. It was this really cute gray "hoodie" Ute purse. Then he took me to this restaurant called Red Ginger Bistro, which is a little sushi restaurant on State Street in Salt Lake. (Since then it has become our favorite sushi restaurant. It is delicious). We had never been there, but we love sushi and trying new places.

Next stop we went to Jordan Commons to watch Just Go With It. Jeff and I have always enjoyed going to see different movies, its a past time that we have always shared since we first met. Then after the movie I got another present, but wasn't allowed to open it until he said; so it sat on my lap tormenting me. (I am not exactly a patient person.)I was told we were going to pick up Danielle and Stephen. They are our best friends and love spending time with them. (Now they are planning their own wedding in June and we are so excited for them.) When we pulled into Stephen's parent's driveway I was allowed to open the present. It was a picture frame collage of pictures of us dating throughout the years. Its even in a picture frame that I had told Jeff months and months ago that I would want in our house; proof he was really listening. It is now on the dresser in our bedroom.

We walked into their house (which struck me as a little weird at first) and when I walked in there was a trail of candles and rose pedals leading into the music room which had more rose pedals and candles everywhere. Our song was playing in the background and there were pictures of us everywhere. That's when Jeff had me sit down and he told me how much he loved me and then he asked if I would be his wife. Obviously I said yes.

Danielle, Stephen, and Ashley were hiding in the other room and were the ones to take the pictures for us. They had made an amazing dinner that night. Right after he proposed the blizzard hit and we got snowed in for the rest of the night.

All in all it was an amazing night that changed my life forever. The following six months felt like an eternity. I couldn't wait to be married and begin our lives together. Married life is the best and I couldn't be happier.

Love Always,

Valentine's Day Wreath

Commercials on tv are flooded with romantic movies and grocery stores are filled with flowers and heart-shaped chocolates. It’s obvious that love is the air and that means Valentine's day is near. I love this time of year, because it’s an extra excuse to have a romantic date and what girl doesn't love to get flowers. Plus with each passing holiday I have an additional reason to change the decorations in our house.

With each passing holiday and/or season I love to first decorate our front door. After all, that is the first thing people see and is a great way to invite people into your home. Plus, since I live in a townhome community every house looks very similar and it is my way of adding a personal touch.

So this wreath is very easy to make and probably took a grand total of 10 minutes and cost about $10-15 at hobby lobby. The key to any DIY craft project is buy supplies when they go on sale. I bought all the flowers and twigs at 50 percent off and the paint was 30% off.

HOW TO:

1. I cut each of flower's stem so that it still would stick out a little ways when put into the wreath.
2. I put all the flowers in place and moved them around until I thought that it looked perfectly.
3. I cut all the feathers in pieces and the leaves off the (now) cut off stems.
4. I hot glued each flower in place before adding any of the feathers or leaves. (You could also use wire, but I already had hot glue at my house). Then when I knew they were secured and the glue was dry
5. I glued the leaves in place and then played around with the placement of the feathers and glued them in place.
6. Because this does hang outside I made sure after everything was dry that if I tugged on them that they didn't move.
7. I did buy 2 extra letters so that I could test how they would look with different colors of paint. I just used the cheap little bottles of acrylic paint. I am an indecisive person and needed to see it to decide. This is just what I do and it depends on your personality. Once I decided I painted the letters and got a nail file to smooth the edges. Let them completely dry.
8. The tricky part is getting the wood letters to stick on the twigs of the wreath. There is probably an easier way than what I did but I marked the points on the letters where they were touching the most. I placed all the letters on how I wanted and then glued them in place. I did this mainly, because I wanted them to overlap in different spots.
9. Then your ready to hang!

Love Always,