Summer Bucket List

Every single one of us has a list of things we can't wait to do during our summer break! Me, I'm like everyone else, and have a list of things I can't wait to do! These things include recreation activities, crafts, and more. Here's a little preview:
1. Ride tandom bikes with my hubby

2. Go to Seven Peaks as much as possible with our Pass of all Passes! Tan, here we come :) No more pasty white newlyweds.

3. Make this cute, cute, cute "Family Rules" craft- inspired by my sister, Erin.

(This picture isn't Erin's... Erin's is much cuter)

4. Check off quite a few of the Utah temples in our journey of doing temple work in all of the Utah temples by the end of December 2011. Some of the ones we'll visit this summer are St. George, Manti, Logan, Jordan River, and Oquirrh Mountain.

5. A trip to Moab to go on some amazing hikes!

6. Another fun craft that I don't know how to explain. Pretty much it's two small embroideries framed in homemade modge podge frames. The embroidery quotes are "Come What May and Love It", and "Joy in the Journey". Lets just say I'll post pictures, and they're going to be adorable!

7. Run a 5K. I've been unable to run for almost two years now due to injury, and I can't wait to get running again!

8. Make homemade bread and homemade jam! MMMMMMM...... need I say more?

9. Float the Provo River. 4 years at school in Provo and I STILL haven't done it!

10. Go to a farmer's market

I can't wait to make some amazing memories with my Hubby during our very first summer together :) What's on your bucket list for the summer?

What Do These Things Have in Common?

A visit to the Timpanogos Temple...

Ate some DELICIOUS strawberry frozen yogurt...

Watching "Tangled" with some friends...

Filling up an empty kitchen with yummy food by going grocery shopping for the month...

Cleaning an entire apartment from floor to ceiling which was WAY overdue...

And watching "The Amazing Race" on Sunday night...

What do all of these things have in common? These are all of the things we did this weekend! It is the very FIRST weekend since we've been married (2 months) that we have had no commitments with family and we could stay in Orem in our own little apartment and do whatever we wanted to do whenever we wanted to do it! It was spectacular!

Friday: We went to the Timp. Temple to do a session with Matt and Audrey and then went to Golden Spoon afterward for the best frozen yogurt! We're afraid we're going to keep them in business this summer by our purchases alone... yikes it's good!

Saturday: Slept in 'til 9, cleaned, cleaned, cleaned, visited with Mom & Dad for a little bit, went grocery shopping and filled our kitchen for the month, got some decorations and storage containers at BB&B, and topped it off with "Tangled" with Kaitlin & Jordan!

Sunday: Went to church, took a nap, made some dinner, enjoyed some brownies given to us by Aunt Mary and Uncle Kevin, watched "The Amazing Race", and layed around for the rest of the night!

It was the best weekend ever, and I needed it!

Rob's Birthday

On March 14, Rob had another birthday! The big 2-3. Wow he's getting old. We had fun celebrating it together- our first birthday to celebrate as a new family.

This boy got 4 birthday dinners, and 3 cakes! Holy Moly. I think he enjoyed all the attention. The weekend before his birthday we spent all of our time driving around going to dinner with family. Friday we went out with his parents to the Purple Turtle, a childhood favorite of his. If you haven't tried it, we highly recommend it! On Saturday we went to the Draper home and had Hawaiian haystacks with his family, ate cake, and opened presents. The next day, Sunday, we went to the Burrup residence for a joint bday dinner for Laurel and Rob. Funny enough, we had Hawaiian haystacks and cake! It was comical.

Finally on Monday it was time for our very own celebration. Rob stayed home all day while I went to school and work. I made him leave for a half hour when I got home for work so I could collect myself and get ready for the celebration. I bought Cafe Rio, Rob's favorite, and put it on plates to look like a homemade meal with candles to make a romantic candlelight Cafe Rio dinner. I also made a giant cupcake shaped cake! It turned out pretty good for a first try. He loved the meal, and was almost convince I made it! JK. For his present I got him a light up frisbee, tennis balls, and racquet ball balls. We're excited for the weather to be warm so we can play!

After dinner we went to Trafalga and mini-golfed. I won by 1! I should have let him win.. oh well. Then we splurged and rented Megamind! One of our new favorite movies! If you haven't seen it, you can borrow it from us :) We bought it with some of our wedding money! All in all we had fun celebrating his birthday together, and I love my 23 year old man!

The Little Things

The blog is almost finished! I decided to keep the title of the blog as "The Little Things," and I'm going to tell you why.
For our honeymoon we went to California. Our main purpose for going there was to visit Disneyland. Both of our families helped us out immensely in making our trip possible. Thanks to Kristen and Derek who payed for our hotel & Disneyland/California Adventure Tickets, Rob's parents for giving us money to spend on food and fun things, and Mom and Dad for lending us their car and paying for our gas. We are full of gratitude for the sacrifices that were made in order for us to enjoy the best honeymoon!
Rob's Dad gave us money on one condition: we find a souvenir while on our trip that we can display in our home, which will always remind us of our honeymoon and getting married. We succeeded. We found a figurine of the old Mickey and Minnie titled "Real Sweetheart".
Why did I want this to represent our honeymoon? And why is this specific souvenir the item to represent the title of our blog? When I saw this in the store, and read the title, I wanted it to represent our marriage and relationship together.It's the little things that make life the most meaningful and happy. It's also the little things that really matter in having a successful relationship, and more importantly, showing our love for each other. This is a reminder for us to do little things for each other, and together. These include:

1. Holding hands during our nightly prayers together
2. Reading conference talks and studying scriptures together
3. Holding hands in the store
4. Making the bed
5. Doing a household chore without being asked
6. Continuing to go on dates
7. Writing notes to each other
8. Laying in bed at night talking
9. Genuinely Listening to each other
10. Saying "I Love You"

I could go on and on with a list of things that we do for each other, but the point being: this figurine is a reminder to us to continue to show our love and care for each other every single day through the little things :)

Hidden Identity

Have you ever thought about your hidden identity? What does your name mean? Is it significant? Have you checked your horoscope lately? I've never really been interested in horoscopes, or thought that they were significant in any way, but the times that I have taken the time to check them, I've found a few parallels to my life, but I don't necessarily believe them. In my boredom at work today I decided to look up my name and horoscope. Here's what I found:

Tiffany= the appearance or manifestation of God.

What a compliment :) Mom & Dad knew what they were doing the day they named me...

I am a VIRGO, and today, this is what horoscope told me:

Some of the people around you today are difficult to understand. This does not necessarily mean a different language. It could be that people are visiting around your work area and causing distractions. (Boy do I wish this were true... I've been bored all day!) You may feel the need to become involved with their conversation but it would be best to tend to your own work now. (I have been putting off all my work today. Now I'm feeling guilty.) You have a strong need for nurturing others just now and this energy could be best spent in a volunteer organization. Many organizations would be happy to have you working with them--think about this. (I do! I work for LDS Philanthropies and we are bombarded with calls to donate to Japan. I guess it's not called volunteer if you get paid, huh? Dang. I am going to clean the church today! There we go! Volunteering complete.) Your family may want to join you in this endeavor so it may be time to sit down and talk about helping others and responsibility. (Rob is cleaning with me. Done and done.) This is an outgoing and very expressive cycle of experience for you. You enjoy creating new things. (Yes I do! I'm trying to create our blog as we speak!)

Thanks horoscope! You saved me from 15 minutes of boredom at work, and you made connections to my life today, which gave me a better sense of who I am. Ha ha. I'm sure you could connect any horoscope to your life today. Need a little entertainment? Go find your hidden identity!

Blog Under Construction

Please forgive me for the clashing colors and designs. I'm in the middle of recreating and designing my blog to be mine AND Rob's blog. I guess that's what happens when you get married. You have to share everything? Well, not everything, but this I am willing to share. As if he'll ever post anything anyway ha ha. Gotta love him!

So in the meantime... ignore the red polka dot title and header and the purple and orange plaid background. In due time I'll have our blog put together along with the rest of my life :) Thanks for your patience!

Just Got Rid of My Training Wheels

I am destined for greatness- or at least this is how I feel lately. I have been tied down, stripped of my powers, and been using training wheels for almost 2 whole years! No, not real training wheels. For my entire life I have been physical fit and active. I enjoy running! You heard me... I ENJOY RUNNING! It is exhilarating, stress-reducing, and energy boosting.
Unfortunately I have had 2 ACL surgeries in the past 12 months. You heard it! TWO. Well, I went to an operation follow-up appointment yesterday, and I am officially 3 months out of surgery, and one month away from being able to engage in full activity. BUT... I can run! I have been cleared to run, and I can't wait to muster up the courage to get out and do it. I have been feeling like a lazy, fat, couch potato and I can't wait to get back to my slim, healthy self again!
New Goal: lose the unneeded surgery weight!
I'm just so anxious to get active again. Everyone needs exercise in their life! Have you been slacking? Get out there and do it! You'll feel so much better :)