Salted Mornings, etc.

Let's talk about mornings. Are they anyone's favorite part of the day? I realized when I wrote those words that yes, actually, there are "morning people" in the world. I've heard of them. But I don't want to dwell on "those people" right now, because I want to talk about how mornings are really hard and I want to feel like everyone agrees.

For example, I drank salty, salty milk today. 

Let me give you some background on that. Chocolate milk is my morning drink of choice (even though let's face it, coffee probably should be for various caffeinated reasons, but I have decided to choose to not drink coffee). For some reason, most of my days start with chocolate milk and it has just been that way for years now. I blame it on those dance team days when breakfast before my daily 5:30am practice was a laughable thought, but I needed to put something in my stomach. I guess it seemed like the most substantial drink I could make and get out the door without actually getting into the world of blenders and effort. And now I'm a conditioned chocolate milk feen. 

Chocolate milk requires Hershey's Syrup, which we are out of, which requires a trip to the store, which winter has made irrationally difficult and hard-sounding in my mind. So, (judge me here, all you green smoothie makers of the world) for the last two mornings I've resorted to stealing cocoa powder from my baking cupboard, tossing in some sugar, stirring it up, and drinking my daily chocolate milk fix before my eyes have really opened all the way. It's not very good. And when you physically add the sugar part to your sugary indulgences, they seem much more indulgent. 

Like I said, this all goes down before my eyes are even fully opened. Which is maybe why today, I made my second mistake in the sugar vs. salt battle that so many poor souls have fought in before me and lost. (And won. I recognize that. But I don't want to dwell on "those people" right now either.) 

Today I stirred cocoa powder and salt in my milk and I drank it.

Two whole swallows, if you have to know. And then I reached for more "sugar" because I figured the bitter cocoa powder was at fault here. Michael witnessed this scene from across the kitchen over his regular bowl of cereal, and said "make sure you're not using the salt..." That's when I noticed I was adding more salt. To be honest, I guess it woke me up more than coffee probably ever could. But waking up is so overrated.

Let's get to the positive part of mornings, before this gets too pessimistic up in here:

Morning Commute: Then.

Morning Commute: Now.

Isn't that a beautiful view? We drive along that river every morning together (unless Ion has his way), and I so love that view. Do you know that sometimes we even see an elephant on our drive? We pass the Zoo just before the river, and sometimes, if we're lucky, that elephant makes an appearance. But that's only in the afternoons. 

Me and the elephant, we know mornings are hard.

Especially when you add salt to the wound.

To Brighten Your Day

Flight of the Conchords. Have you heard of them?

You maybe either... 

a) think I'm crazy for even asking that question because "everyone loves them", or 

b) shook your head no, or 

c) none of the above because you are just kind of mindlessly blog reading through your list of blogs you mindlessly read. I get that. 

But let's talk about these guys.

Nutshell: New Zealand comedy duo, Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement. 

Bigger nutshell: Coming at you straight from Wikipedia, life's resource: "The duo's comedy and music became the basis of a BBC radio series, then an American television series, called Flight of the Concords. They used to refer to themselves as 'New Zealand's 4th most popular guitar-based digi-bongo acapella-rap-funk-comedy folk duo', however now they are 'the almost award-winning fourth-most-popular folk duo in New Zealand.'" Bret McKenzie was the music supervisor for the most recent Muppets movie, and won the Academy Award for best original song. (And you know those Muppets will forever be in my heart.)

Now, this is not a full endorsement of everything that Flight of the Conchords offers the world. This is a statement that they are insanely clever and hilarious and talented, and the following video is the best thing I've seen produced on the Internets in a long, long time. Let's just get right to it.

That song has been in my head since I first saw this. Those kids, you guys. They are so perfect. I have probably 23 favorite parts of that video so we'll just leave it at - I love it. 

My Siblings Love Me

Remember when I told you even more family time was coming up? It already came and went, so so fast. My brother and his family drove all the way to Indiana to visit us last week, and my sister jumped in their van, too. We have been looking forward to them visiting for so long! That's a lot of miles in a lot of heat, and we sure love them for coming. They met us in Evansville last Tuesday, and came up to Indianapolis with us a few days later. I'm just gonna break this down for you:

We soon found that if you slightly ignore seatbelt protocol, Michael and I could fit in the party van too! Ali and I even coordinated some seat belt sharing so that totally counts as covered. I loved driving with my family here and there, and just listening to those backseat conversations between those three cute people up there. Our first stop: Lincoln's Boyhood Home.

We had fun walking around the museum and some nature trails there, and touring the farm. Lydia was getting a little confused by this point, because prior to this stop they had been visiting a lot of church history sites (Liberty Jail, Independence, etc.) So, at one point I asked her who Abraham Lincoln was and she said "a prophet." I also heard her "reading" a plaque of a statue and she said, "and then President Lincoln returned to his sins." ... I'm not entirely sure what that meant. But, I do know that we had a fun day with a fun picnic and a fun stop at playgrounds and lakes. So we're good.

I love the Fourth of July. I also love that more often than not, Ali and I are somehow together on the Fourth of July. It's the best. We started the day out at Michael's horses, taking rides and picking raspberries and feeling grateful for the nice weather. Sooo nice.

Ali tells me that Jaren and Lydia have been planning who would ride with who on the horses since they started planning this Indiana trip, so it was a big day for them. They were both really brave, considering they had never ridden a horse before. All they needed was a couple belt loops to hold onto and they loved being along for the ride.

And then Jaren and Lydia switched horses, because even with all that planning, they never considered that the horses would be different colors. They had to experience both, they said.

After that, Michael's dad took us on a hay ride. Now, I know what comes to mind when you hear hay ride, but you should know that this was not that. This was a hay ride that felt more like my four-wheeling days in Southern Utah...the kids were loving it. Ok, all of us were loving it. The bottom right picture shows Jaren, me, Michael and Lydia riding in the front of the tractor raised up. 

The first thing Lydia said when we got in the front was, "He better not dump us in that pond..." then a few minutes later, Michael's dad had us dangling right over the water with Lydia saying, "He's got to be kidding me! He's just kidding me, right?" But you could tell that there was some legitimate worry in her eyes. We laughed so much.

And then we ate breakfast around a fire and had the best pancakes ever. Good, good morning. Even Lewis seemed to enjoy himself in that Bumbo of his, despite missing the thrilling hay ride.

Later that day Michael's parents took us to watch horse races at Ellis Park. Those horses are beautiful and so athletic. It's fun to see all the energy they have when they're being loaded into the gate before starting their race. I love the sound of all their feet pounding when they gates burst open. Lydia looked at me later that day and said, "It is so fun to watch those horses run and run and run." And Jaren asked me why Michael wasn't in the race. :)

We had a famous Zesto's ice cream cone after the races, an Evansville favorite I've heard a lot about. I could go for another right about now. And tomorrow.

That night we went downtown to watch the fireworks along the Ohio River. I watched fireworks on the Fourth last year with these kiddos and they were terrified the whole time, so this year was a big improvement :) They still demanded ear plugs, but other than that, we made it through the show. Lydia was sold when they played Party in the USA. That girl moves her hips like Yeah.

It was a perfect Fourth of July. So much family and a perfect summer day. I loved it, so so much.

The next day we drove down to Kentucky Lake with Michael's mom. We missed his dad, who had to work that day. The weather was so strange...almost chilly in the morning, and then pleasant the rest of the time. On July 5th. ?? Jaren had a smile on his face from the second we were on the lake until the second he heard it was time to go home. He swam and swam and swam and laughed and laughed.

Disclaimer: Glowing Faces. We know. But two days later they were back to normal and all is well. 

Other Disclaimer: Jaren. We know. He just woke up. 

Ali realized that she was extremely close to one of her favorite areas of her mission in Tennessee, so we added an extra little leg to the trip. We had to experience her favorite fried pie firsthand. It was fun to have her show us an area that meant so much to her. Then we watched Tangled on the way home, and all was well.

We spent half of Saturday in Evansville, so we went out to the land for one more horse ride and roasted hot dogs. I love being out there. We had so much fun that week with Michael's parents! That afternoon we headed up to Indianapolis, to see how many people we could fit in our tiny apartment :)

 

Turns out we can actually fit everyone in our apartment, but poor Logan and Jenny slept in a room with all three of their kids. I failed to account for early bedtimes when I thought up sleeping arrangements so... combine that with a cat who can't be near an air mattress (obvious reasons), and that was just how it all worked out. Bless their hearts. Then the night ended with Oreos and milk, and all was well.

Sunday was Church day and stay home day. This is actually the only picture I have from the whole day, of us walking into our 9am meetings just 5 minutes late (be impressed, we only have one shower). 

Other events of the day, not pictured: Finally watching the Lorax since Jaren was SO concerned that Michael hadn't seen it yet, trying to teach Jaren and Lydia proper handling of Kitty which is kind of just no handling at all, learning how much energy kids keep inside them, trying to run said energy out of them by having "races" outside in the humidity which they were skeptical of, and lots of other good stuff. Like homemade bread and Ticket to Ride.

On Monday we went to the Zoo right when it opened, ready for a full day. We started in Africa, and the rhinos were actually moving. I feel like that's a rarity? They were taking mud baths and walking around and they just looked big big big. Giraffes are a favorite, so it was fun to be able to get so close to them. Bottom left is the captivated audience at the dog show, and bottom right is Ali asking me to try to make the same face as a monkey. Kind of rude?

The Ocean...gotta love that air conditioning. The sea lions were particularly noisy that day, and the sharks were particularly shy. Other favorites included the tiger during her training, the pack of flamingos being taken for a walk through the zoo, dolphins just being dolphins, lemurs chasing each other, and the baby elephant running around and trying to pick a flower. So.incredibly.cute.

Penguins...oh, we love them. Lydia may not look very sure of it in that picture, but we really do love them. Remember when we bought a Groupon to hang out with them? That was the best.

The Zoo has a seasonal butterfly exhibit that is in full swing right now (Allison, if you come visit, we promise not to take you there). I made friends with one on a branch and he even hung out with me for a little while. It cheered Lydia up a little after she was reprimanded for picking a flower...notice Michael using full restraint. You don't destroy plants around Uncle Michael.

Lewis is such a happy baby. It was so fun to see him and how fast he changes. He's a mini-Jaren and it's adorable. The highlight of the Zoo is always the dolphin show...we were there long enough to catch it three times! Twice from the stadium, and once from underneath the dolphins. The Indianapolis Zoo is so great.

We got home that night and had Pizza Monday and Family Home Evening. Michael taught us a lesson about Nauvoo since that was the next road trip destination, and then we played a couple games. We ended with some chalk drawings outside with our neighbors, who are getting way too comfortable with us, I might add. They've been honking our car horns and knocking on the screen asking for matches. But those are stories for other times.

Despite our fast pace and full days, there was no time to slow down by Tuesday. Poor Lydia displayed her complete exhaustion and crazy sleeping habits that morning. She has an entire queen air mattress to the right of her, but somehow only her head stayed aware of that. She wasn't very happy with me for waking her up after snapping this photo - I can't imagine her neck was feeling too good :) But crepes with delicious homemade jam cheered her up.

The Indianapolis Children's Museum! The largest children's museum in the world, if you can't tell from the dinosaurs climbing inside. This place is hopping.

Bumblebee from Transformers, archaeological digs, replicas of early trains, sleeping babies...

and that was just the first floor.

We had a party in the mirror maze! Everyone made it out without bumps or bruises.

Lydia is rocking her Avatar shoes there, which were slightly too big. They had an awesome exhibit all about the making of the movie. There's Jenny and Lewis on a plane to Egypt, and then Lydia working at a construction site in the Science exhibit.

Here's another shot of our party in the mirrors. It was that good.

The blown glass sculpture right there goes up through the middle of all the floors of the museum. It's incredible.

Does she pass for a true Hoosier? I think so, too. I guess that means she should move here :)

Jaren came here as a five-year-old little boy, but by the time he left....he was SIX. That sounds so much older than five. It makes me sad. It made him ridiculously happy.

He woke up to a house full of balloons that provided way more entertainment than I anticipated. Bonus. Even Lewis was totally enthralled. And Michael.

Isn't Lewis adorable when he sits up? He was so patient with all of us during the whole trip, teething troubles and all. Too bad he won't remember this trip too well...but he can read this blog some day and reminisce about his naps in the stroller and many hours in his car seat.

We improvised a little with the birthday cake scenario since they had to get on the road for the Nauvoo Pageant that day. We had breakfast waffles, and wishes come true from those candles equally well. Jaren hinted later that his wish had something to do with a future Indiana trip, but I stopped him before full disclosure. That's a wish that I want coming true, so I wasn't taking any chances. 

Grandpa Miner drew him one of his famous original cards, complete with a six-year-old super hero. Jaren got some clothes, that weren't too exciting for him... too bad I love shopping for clothes so much. I forget sometimes people don't share my joy. But he was pretty excited to get an extension of Uncle Michael's jade tree! He even called us a few hours later to ask how to keep the plant alive in the car. Luckily it was made for the desert...

And then suddenly, that trip we'd been looking forward to forever was already passed. It's amazing how quickly calendar dates come and go, and plans become memories. Kitty and I looked around at this empty house minutes later, and it was quiet and sad. Having family here was so, so much fun.

Thank you, Miners, for driving out here to see us! 

And thank you, Daetwylers, for all the fun memories in Evansville!

Most of all, thanks Dad, for always telling Logan, Alison and me during our little fights growing up that "someday you'll be older, and you guys will be each other's best friends." It was hard to believe you then, but it's so clear now. I sure love my family.

A Reminiscing Day

My friend from my semester in Jerusalem is coming home from his mission tonight!

France will miss him. 

A lot of people from my Jeru group are going to meet him at the airport,

and ooooh how I wish we could be there.

Just thinking of that Jerusalem summer sends me through a whirl of emotions, always.

First I'm just so, so happy and grateful. Then usually some specific memory makes me laugh.

But then, my heart really does just long for that time. Just one more day of it.

Don't worry, I know how important it is to live in the present and love today.

I try to not even crave Fridays, thanks to sweet Sister Samuelson.

But I will always ache for Jerusalem,

and I will always miss that summer.

Here's to a little nostalgia.

(Michael is my favorite souvenir.)

A {late} New Year's Post | 2012

I almost decided it was too late and too daunting to do a little year-in-review post.

Then I thought, wait a second...2012 was a pretty.big.deal. The biggest yet.

So, scratch that decision - we're doing this. Ready for a rewind?

My first full month of being engaged to THIS guy. 

He proposed to me after picking me up from the airport from a trip for work,

right before he went home to Indiana for the holidays. I was one happy girl.

I flew to Indiana after Christmas and had so much fun spending New Year's with his family.

We went on a date to St. Louis during that trip,

and ate dinner with a beautiful view of the arch.

I remember feeling so happy and at peace and more than ready to marry this wonderful man.

After the holidays, we went home to wedding plans,

Michael's last semester of school, and my job at Imagine Learning.

It was such a fun time. I loved living with Logan and Jenny's family SO much.

Here's a snapshot of one of the many memorable Family Home Evenings we spent with them. 

We still eat pizza on Mondays to carry on their little tradition. 

For some reason I just like eating pizza knowing there's some pizza-eating going on in Lehi, too.

February was the busiest, craziest month at my job. I loved it.

We had a conference in DC at the end of the month,

and it felt so good to be back there. I love that city.

 I visited Ali in Boston before going back to Utah,

and we had a blast.

We watched the Super Bowl, gave Toby Keith a chance (mistake),

ate all our favorite Boston foods, and just loved seeing each other.

Then it was time to get back to Lehi, and spend time with these cute kids.

At this point we found out that we were Indiana-bound come July,

so I was soaking up my time with them.

February marked the start of the pinwheels...

Oh we just made SO many of these for our wedding reception.

I am forever indebted to Michael and my sister-in-law Jenny.

Pretty sure none of us got anything out of all four sessions of General Conference,

but those pinwheels kept us awake, at least.

We.made.so.many.

And February 2012 marked the best Valentine's Day yet. 

Michael and I passed each other on University Ave in the morning,

dropping off little surprises on doorsteps and desks.

Everyone at my office passed out Valentine's, and we had a pink breakfast.

It was the best love day so far.

 March was FULL of wedding prep,

and I'm pretty sure poor Michael almost burned all those pinwheels.

The only thing that got us through stuffing all those invitations

was the promise of a Sammy's burger and shake after.

I started getting a little nervous about the whole marriage idea,

(it's a big big deal,)

but then something would always remind me how completely 

excited I was to be with Michael forever.

I drove that I-15 stretch from Provo to Lehi and Lehi to Provo WAY too many times that month,

WAY too late at night on WAY too little sleep. It was great.

 My sweet friends at work threw me the most colorful and thoughtful bridal shower.

It was so fun to spend eight hours a day with them. Best part of my job.

 I took a lonely trip to Philadelphia for work,

but eating every meal at Reading Market and spending time

with the author of this blog definitely brightened things up.

And my boss at work taught us all how to make a pie.

So Jenny, Lydia, Jaren and I ate it outside on the porch,

and life was just so good.

Michael graduated on April 20th, and I was so proud of him.

He spent so much time helping me with all sorts of wedding things,

but he still managed to be the smartest kid at BYU. I'm sure of it.

Then the VERY next day, was a beautiful spring morning...

and we were married.

For all eternity.

It was perfect, 

and I am so grateful for every single thing (and person) 

that led us both to the Jordan River temple that day.

We had such a party after. 

It was the most incredible feeling to have SO many people we love in one room,

for such a happy, happy occasion.

Heaven is going to be such a good time. That's what I learned that night.

Our families made that day so beautiful. We are so grateful for them.

And I am so grateful for Michael. 

You guys, he danced that night like it was his favorite thing in the world.

It was the best.thing.ever.

I replay that in my head so often,

nothing makes me smile faster.

(And IF you want to replay it in real life,

you can come to my house and watch the DVD. 

We maybe shouldn't tell Michael though?)

I felt like our reception was 8 minutes long,

I was just so happy and loved everyone in the room so much.

Then suddenly, we were running through sparklers and we were outta there!

 And away we went to Mexico.

We went from the busiest, craziest month,

to absolutely nothing to do but see how many pina coladas we could drink in one day.

(A lot.)

Danny and Diana sent us parasailing for our wedding present,

which was SO nice of them. We both loved it.

(Michael definitely loved it more than our paragliding experience...)

That week was so wonderful. And considering it's just 19 degrees outside my house right this moment,

I think I'll just keep thinking about Mexico for another two hours.

We flew from Mexico City to Amsterdam. ? 

I'm sure the airport was convinced we had drugs on us.

We met Michael's parents, Rachel, Katie & Ryan there,

loaded up our bikes, and explored the tulips.

It was so beautiful there. Windmills and water everywhere,

and we just could really get used to that carefree feeling that comes after weddings and graduations.

And I could really get used to eating Kinder bars every day.

We loved being there with Michael's family.

Even in the moments when it hurt to sit on our bikes,

or anywhere else for that matter.

Luckily those 20-40 mile bike rides each day were pretty much 

as flat as you could hope for, so we could keep up with Michael's parents.

They were much better at training for that week than we were...

Thank you, Daetwylers, for those great memories! 

And the motivation to get on our bikes more :)

We came back to Utah for just a short couple months,

and we loved that brief time of two full-time jobs and lots of time to play with friends and family.

My aunt Tanya married her best friend Dan in May, 

and my family was thrilled for her. She's one of the best people I know.

Then after three weeks of being married,

I left for a few days to go to Texas for work.

Michael missed me. And I missed him. And I never knew Texas could look like that.

When I got back from Texas,

we got to work on our Utah to-do list.

We had to fit in all our favorite things before Michael left for school!

My beautiful friend Jaclyn married Mark in June,

and I loved that we were still in the same state for that sweet day.

She was my random roommate my freshman year in Heritage Halls,

and we just loved each other from the start.

We lived together for three years at BYU,

and I learned so much from this girl. Mark is one lucky guy.

 We took a red-eye flight straight from Jaclyn's reception,

to meet Michael's family in Florida.

Michael has driven down to Florida once a year his whole life,

and I love all his stories from those trips.

We loved being there with our cute nieces and nephews,

and spending time with Michael's family. 

He spent the majority of that time playing "ninja" with his nephew,

but I think he liked all the other parts, too.

 Right after Florida I went to my last conference for Imagine Learning in San Diego.

That was a bittersweet trip...bitter because I was so sad to leave my job,

and sweet because look at all the cupcakes I ate while I was there.

Sprinkles, you guys. I had to.

I even went on a solo date to Wicked one night,

and felt like the luckiest girl.

Logan and Jenny had pizza night and Family Home Evening in Provo land one night,

and Jaren and Lydia loved the duck pond. It was so fun living close by.

We went to one last show at the Hale to see my friend Deb,

before she left town to make it big in NYC. I know her guys. Let it be known,

before she gets super famous and you don't believe me.

And then for one weekend Michael and I pretended we knew how to be parents,

and we took Jaren and Lydia to Cedar City while their parents visited Ali in Boston.

We don't know how to be parents.

But, we're a pretty good time, so I think we'll be ok.

Right after we unpacked our first little tiny home,

we packed up our first little tiny home.

So sad, right? But I loved it there, and we'll always remember it.

Michael left early in July for Indianapolis,

to start dental school. 

His mom was SO nice to help take our stuff and drive with him to Indiana from Utah.

So, recap: in our first three months of marriage,

we spent more than three weeks apart.

It kind of felt like we were doing the whole marriage thing wrong.

 I stayed in Lehi for two more weeks with Logan and Jenny,

to work one last conference in Provo for work. 

This was our yearly conference where all our off site employees come to Utah for a week.

I was so glad I could say goodbye to everyone before leaving.

My company had a barbecue up the canyon that week,

so Jenny and I brought her kids and their friends to it.

You can see that Kamden was all about the candy explosion,

but Lydia had some serious anxiety about the blow up slides.

I was even there for Jaren's birthday during those two weeks,

so that was really lucky!

This Spiderman boy just loved turning five.

Then I said a sad goodbye to these two and their family.

Thank you, cute Miner family, for taking SUCH good care of me last year!

Then my sweet parents drove me yet again to the Vegas airport.

We have taken that route together quite a few times,

which always involves good talks during the stretch of road that I can actually stay awake on.

Then I landed in our new home, Indianapolis!

It was so good to be with Michael again,

but it sure felt surreal to land in a city for the first time knowing that you live there now.

We spent a lot of time that month putting together our new apartment,

and driving around getting Craigslist finds. 

Oh, and I ran out of gas. And didn't know where I was.

And...ok, the transition was a little rough. But now it's funny, right?

I still refer to it as "the time that the truck broke down,"

and Michael tries to tell me that nothing is actually broken when you forget to put gas in a car.

Whatever. I'm in a better place now, and the gas gauge hasn't gotten the best of me since.

My sister quit her job in Boston this year, 

to start the Speech Language Pathology grad program at BYU.

We planned from the day she moved to Boston five years ago 

that we would drive across the country together when she was done there.

So, in early August, Michael and I did another two weeks apart,

and I flew to Boston for one last perfect day in that city with my sister.

My parents met us there, too,

and then began the road trip of all road trips. Seriously. 

It was so crazy long,

and we loved it.

Then I left these two again,

and they were getting tired of me dragging out this goodbye process.

But that just goes to show you that goodbyes with family don't ever have to be sad.

You'll always make time to see each other and find a way to make it happen.

(Like...when they all come out for the fourth of July this year! Be excited.)

So I waited for my plane with this bird,

and went back to Indiana for REAL this time. 

No more of that two-weeks-on, two-weeks-off type of marriage.

September was birthday month,

and it involved a lot of raspberries.

That's kind of just what it was. Birthday month and berries.

 In October we met Michael's parents in Loogootee, Indiana,

and visited a lot of Amish shops and farms.

Michael was in jail for part of the time,

but I had to let him out to ride in a buggy with me. I couldn't let him miss that.

The people there were so nice, and we loved meeting them. It was a beautiful day.

Dental school continues. And this really is their homework.

It's the real deal.

 Our weekends started filling up with things that pop up when you Google

"top things to do in Indianapolis."

Like the art museum, up above. Being held up by a thousand tiny hands is definitely something.

Other big news in October was starting my new job, 

and finally finishing our first nightmare of a project 

(that we now love and hold no hard feelings towards).

 

November meant BIRTHDAY time for Michael,

(complete with a week-later sunny trip to the zoo and a Pacer's game),

late night dates with election results,

finally finishing the table of popsicle sticks,

and a new little nephew in our life. Nice work, November.

 We watched Fall fade away with some sadness

(goodbye, frisbee after work & school),

but Thanksgiving in Evansville got us in the mood for the holidays.

 

Then suddenly, December. That month that is always here so suddenly.

It brought beautiful sunsets, just like all the others.

 We put up our tiny Christmas, and loved the one downtown as well.

Our holidays came on fast, and we loved it.

I'm sure you remember our Christmas in Utah, 

 and New Year's in Evansville.

We were so lucky to be able to see both our families over the holidays.

And let's be real. We were so lucky to experience everything we did in 2012,

and to be sealed together for eternity.

I loved last year, so much. I know that it was more than these highlights and pictures...

I mean, weddings and moving and job searching, 

those big changes don't come without opposition and discouragement, and little freak outs.

But when I look at what I'm blessed with, and who I'm blessed with,

those moments fade away fast. And these are the memories that stick.

I loved last year, and I am so grateful for everything I learned during it all.

So here we go, 2013. 

I'm ready to let you be your own kind of wonderful,

because I think 2012 is going down in the books as pretty unique,

and better than I could have ever planned.