Getting into the Christmas spirit

Originally I wasn't going to decorate for Christmas this year, because I figured we were only going to be in Rexburg for about a week in December, but of course I caved. Who doesn't like Christmas decorations, even if it is short lived. My favorite thing is to turn off the lights with the Chrismas lights plugged in...perfection. Oh and dancing with my cute husband to Christmas music during his study breaks ;). What better way to get into the Christmas spirit? I have to admit, I have had my Pandora station on Christmas music ever since November 1st. I love this time of year and know I will love it even more with my husband :). 

OAT

It's the weekend of the OAT. It's finally here, I thought it would never come. There has been non-stop studying up until now. I'm so proud of Scott and the work load he has taken on this semester. This test will be very hard but I am confident that Scott will do just great. I have said it before and I'll say it again, I married one smart guy! He seriously is.
We are both ready for this weekend to be over. Both anxious for the results and what the future holds. It will be a huge weight off our shoulders once this test is over. Scott submitted his application last night which was really exciting...for me anyways, it just made Scott even more nervous I think ha. "What if I forgot something." Now after this test it's just the waiting game.
We are both so grateful for our supportive and loving family members who have been keeping Scott in their thoughts and prayers. We are so grateful for home teachers who were able to give Scott a blessing on Sunday. We are grateful for the priesthood. We are grateful for the power of fasting. All of these things have helped and blessed Scott. It's because of these things that I am able to feel more calm.

 (Yes, I actually took a picture of him submitting his application. Scott thought I was ridiculous for taking a picture, but I thought it was an important moment. What kind of wife would I be if I didn't document these things ;))

Winter bucket list

It may be a little early to be coming up with a winter bucket list but I don't care. I already see christmas lights going up, along with trees, and decorations which is making me even more anxious for the holidays. I have to say these seasons are much better and enjoyable with a spouse.  Saturday was the first somewhat heavy snowfall in Rexburg. As soon as Scott and I woke up we bundled up and took a walk outside. I love walking on freshly fallen snow that no one else has even walked on yet, I like it even more so when I have my handsome husband by my side.

Thirteen things we're thankful for in 2013

We are grateful for...

1. Our comfy apartment we live in

2. For car belts that no longer squeak 

3. Only one more semster left for Scott after five years of undergrad

4. For the attonement 

5. Nightly prayers 

6. Family that lives within driving distance 

7. For our surplus of gift cards from our wedding

8. Kissing, cuddling, and hands to hold

9. The application for optometry school is almost complete 

10. Our crock pot that never disappoints 

11. Good health

12. Walks to the park on unusually sunny days 

13. Each other's sense of humor 

{6 m o n t h s}

Time does fly when you're having fun! We can't believe we've already been married for 6 months. I've loved every minute of it. I'm so grateful for our temple marriage and the knowledge I have that we have an eternity together. Scott thought it was a little silly celebrating 6 months...boys (sigh). It's half a year!

The past 6 months have been filled with unforgettable memories and firsts:

:: No more long distance

:: Honeymoonin' in Cabo. This was my first time out of the country and was the best vacation ever

:: Traveled to California for two weeks and worked as newlywed carnies

:: Started our blog together

:: Spent the first 3 months of marriage in and out of motels

:: Scott attended his first Wilson family reunion

:: I attended my first Lindquist family reunion

:: Visited our favorite ice cream parlor several times while staying in Vancouver {Salt & Straw}

:: Scott decided he wanted to go into Optometry

:: Many Redbox runs

:: Bike rides

:: Movies in bed

:: Travels back and forth from Vancouver to Prosser

:: Purchased and refinished furniture for our future home

:: Scott learned what distressing painted furniture meant

:: Moved into our first apartment together, a place to call our own

:: First time attending a married student ward. We like it

:: First Halloween together

:: Sunday walks

:: Wrote a bucket list together

:: Took all of our wedding presents out of their boxes

:: Cooking and baking for Scott everyday

:: We've learned how to beat the system on Netflix...several different cards=several free month trials
:: Watched the entire series of Breaking Bad, White collar, and now onto Dexter

:: Fell in love over and over again

I love celebrating our marriage, even if it is just 6 months. I look forward to celebrating many more. "You make me feel a range of emotions, but mostly, all I feel is happy." Love you husband!

(As I woke up to Scott in the shower this morning I decided to hurry out of bed and write a little note with my lipstick on the mirror)

Blanket + park + sunny day = perfection

Saturday was a warm sunny day. Perfect for an outdoor activity. Scott suggested we go running (I wasn't feeling it) and so I came up with a better idea ;). We grabbed a blanket, walked to the park, and spread it out on the grass. Simple things like this make me so happy. Since it was a nice day, there were so many people playing football, basketball, and even frisbee. So naturally we just laid there together and people watched. I wanted to capture this simple moment and took several pictures of Scott and I. I seriously love how sweet Scott is about me always taking pictures of us. He makes it just as important to him as it is to me. The pictures actually turned out very cute, I'm in love with them all. I could watch the video above over and over again. It warms my heart so much. Lately I've been feeling like I need to enjoy moments like this a lot more. I remember being a teenager and thinking "oh, I can't wait to get my license." Then being in High School and thinking "I can't wait to go to college." In college, "I can't wait to find who I'm going to marry." While engaged, "I can't wait to get married." And now "I can't wait to have a baby." of course it's okay to be excited for those kinds of things but I should live in the moment and enjoy the stage I am in right now even more than what I am looking forward to, because I know that once I move onto the next chapter in my life I always miss those other moments that I should have been cherishing. So right now, I am going to cherish the moment I am in and the time that Scott and I have with just one another. It really is wonderful. 

Happy Halloween

Last Halloween Scott and I were in two different states. So that made this Halloween EXTRA special, our first Halloween together. I was so excited to dress up in our costumes I bought for us last year that we never got the chance to wear. I was really bummed that our ward Halloween party was on the Friday I was in Utah, which is the only time I thought we would get the opportunity to dress up. Luckily, we were able to dress up for the Halloween kids carnival that we helped out at for Scott's club he is apart of. I loved handing out candy to little kids and seeing all of their creative costumes. It makes me excited to plan and possibly coordinate costumes with our kids one day. I think the best one we saw were these two little boys dressed up as curious george and the man in the yellow hat. Writing this one down to remember. I never was able to hand out candy growing up because we lived in the country so we wouldn't get any trick-or-treaters. I remember always wishing we lived in town so that I could hand out candy to little kids. I don't know why, I guess it sounded like fun. 

Since we couldn't actually go trick-or-treating, which I would have loved to do (oh the joys of growing up) I wanted to make something special that we could snack on while we watched scary movies. I decided on homemade cinnamon rolls. I probably would have chosen something else had I known how difficult they actually were to make, or should I say how difficult they would be for me to make. I apparently didn't roll the dough out well enough, Some were tiny rolls while others were huge. I also had a hard time telling whether they were done or not, so they turned out a little gooey on the inside. Other than that, Scott seemed to be happy with them and that's all I care about. I kept debating on whether or not to do a spooky dinner with creepy but delicious looking food and settled on spaghetti, it looks like bloody insides or brains right? Oh well. Maybe when we have kids I will actually do a spooky dinner. We spent most of the night working on Scott's Calculus test. He is required to take Calculus for Optometry school and in order to just skip the entry level classes the professor said he can take his class if he scores an 85 or higher on the online test. We took about an hour on just 1 question! Luckily, he has 3 days to finish it. After we spent about 3 hours racking our brains we watched The Tall Man on Netflix. It was really good, we were both pretty blown away by this movie and all the twists and emotions it had us feeling. I'm pretty set on buying it someday.
It was a nice Halloween night spent at home with each others company. Besides little kids coming to our door and kicking it continuously wanting candy that we didn't have, it was a nice night. I wouldn't say Scott and I are homebodies but if we were to stay home every night just hanging out with each other, I would be happy. I love our time together and wouldn't trade it for anything. I don't know how we ever went almost a year in two separate states. I'm just glad that's over. Happy Halloween!

(Scott insisted on two pictures, he wanted to hold the REAL human brains...my silly husband)

Reminiscing October

Making: a homemade Halloween banner...poor newlywed problems

Cooking: homemade chicken noodle soup

Drinking: hot chocolate with marshmallows yummm

Reading: Living a Covenant Marriage together (still). Not doing so well at reading this book

Wanting: this semester to be over already

Baking: banana bread, for the first time! We loved it

Looking: forward to Thanksgiving

Playing: music and having our own little random dance parties

Saving: electricity. Scott's turned into the electricity police ever since we got our bill

Wishing: we could go trick-or-treating. I told Scott if we start having kids already we would have an excuse to go ;)

Enjoying: the changing leaves and the chilly air

Waiting:  for my interview tomorrow. Crossing our fingers that I finally get a job

Using: lots of maple syrup. I've been making french toast, pancakes, and waffles regularly

Liking: the blankets of leaves formed on the ground

Wondering: how much snow we will get this winter. It already snowed twice this month

Loving: our costumes we wore for the kids carnival at the college

Hoping: to finalize Scott's personal statement soon

Marveling: at the colorful and vibrant leaves

Needing: to get our belts fixed on our car. Every time we turn it on the belts squeal SO loud. Embarrassing

Smelling: fresh cinnamon rolls out of the oven

Wearing: layers on layers. Love this season

Following: the new dress rules at the BYU-I gym (they are ridiculous) 

Noticing: how Scott always matches his Sunday tie with my outfit

Knowing: next month we will have been married for half a year

Thinking: about the OAT

Taking: fun trips to Utah

Organizing: an intramural volleyball team for winter

Buying: a new game with our Target gift card. I am sooo excited for it to come in the mail

Spending: money on mailing transcripts to optometry schools

Learning: that I'm not always right

Admiring: Scott's sweet notes he writes to me

Celebrating: Halloween

Feeling: hopeful about a job

Expecting: my new skirt in the mail for Karter and Melanie's wedding

Watching: the Jimmy Kimmel - I told my kids I ate all their Halloween candy. Never gets old

Giggling: at Scott every time I scare him

Settling: on dying my hair dark again

Brainstorming: baby names just for fun, of course