Recent Happenings and Changes!

Hello! I believe it's time for another catch up. Some of my excuses for not blogging include Texas, a wedding, graduating and moving to a new state. So those are all perfectly good reasons :) 

On March 12th my best friend, Alyssa, from high school got married to her high school sweet heart! It was the perfect excuse to fly to Texas for 5 days to finish wedding plans, catch up with friends and eat mexican food. Alyssa's bouquet was AMAZING and the wedding party made their own! It actually felt intimidating but turned out fun making mine. I just don't think I could professionally do that haha.

Since September 2015 we have taken a trip almost monthly to St. George.  The photos below were taken early February after we felt prompted to officially move to St. George and we were there looking for a home! If you've been to St. George you most likely can guess exactly where we are standing :) Not pictured is Easter weekend when we took a trip to St. George. The first full day there Eric felt so sick he requested to be taken to the Doctor and after a nasal swab we found out he had type B influenza. I'm so happy we caught it quickly and he started taking his medications so that he was better for our move the following week. But during that weekend I had a job interview and was offered it! I accepted and so far have been LOVING it. 

At the time of our decision to move I was in an online program to get my Bachelors degree in Nursing. I was working as a RN up to 60 hours a week with the demand of about 25 hours a week of school papers and projects. With the decision to move during this time saying I was stressed is an understatement. I was drowning. I'm so grateful that we were in a good place that allowed me to quit my job the first of March and focus on completing my online assignments as fast as possible and pack up our belongings. We had our official move on April 1st! Minus the stress leading up to it, the drive went smoothly and great. My feelings of leaving Rexburg were strange because I've spent the past 5 years there growing and changing as a person. Living in Rexburg for college gave me my best friends, my engagement to Eric and our first 2 years of marriage together there!

April 8th was graduation day and I officially have my BSN degree! Instead of walking across a stage, since I did that when I got my ASN degree, I treated myself to some ice cream. THIS is why I suddenly have free time. Only working three days of the week opens up a lot of possibilities of what I can do on my days off. Also, here's a little throwback to graduating with my ASN degree! :)

WE HAVE BEEN MARRIED 2 YEARS. WHAT?! We pampered our selfs as a way to say thank you to each other for putting up with one another. Haha just kidding :) Being married to Eric is the absolute greatest. He completes me and is my best friend. We had a very laid back day. After sleeping in, we enjoyed an incredible couples massage and pedicures at a day spa. If you want a good laugh watch Eric get his feet tickled during a pedicure. We then ate dinner at the Cliffside and enjoyed this gorgeous view from our table.

The most exciting change happening... Our future home! We have found and decided on a place to live here in the St. George area!! We are so in love with it. Obviously, it's being built! I'd say these next two months are my biggest test of patience. More updates and pictures on that to come! 

Year One Anniversary Pictures

Personally, I don't think the only formal photos you should take as a couple are your engagement and wedding photos. I was looking forward to taking pictures with Eric for like a month! We had the excuse to be affectionate- holding hands, kisses on the forehead, hugging-because there was a camera on us to document it! A few days before our anniversary a friend snapped some pictures for us and it was so fun to be able to laugh with one another, talk about the past year in between camera clicks and look into each others eyes and smile. During this day I felt like it was our anniversary, then it was nice to remember there was still more to come and celebrate. It was part of our little way to celebrate being married for the past year. Plus, these are for our posterity :)

Anniversary Weekend

Today is our wedding anniversary. Mostly yesterday, we celebrated being married for One Year. (six years being together). I can talk on and on about how fast the time has gone by or about the different memories we've made. 

I really am just so happy and grateful this man picked me. We have a been on a wonderful roller coaster this past year and when I stop to really think about it, there is no one else that I would rather be with, experiencing life and growing with one another. That's when in that moment I feel this immense amount of love for my husband and the life we have with one another. The first year was simply the best because I married my best friend; a man who is gentle, loving, understanding, kind and hilarious! He has kept me smiling and laughing. I look forward to this coming year and what ever it brings!

Yesterday we packed a lunch and drove to some hot springs to enjoy and relax- which was so nice! 

This was the only picture of the hot springs I took... because I feel awkward taking pictures of a bunch of people in pools wearing bathing suits. This one was mostly empty because it was HOT! I couldn't stand to be in it more than two minutes, and then I was only dipping my feet in it. 

We came home and cleaned up nice and headed to dinner! 

We went to a place that we've been hearing a ton about the past few months. Basically that it's pricy, but worth it because 'all you can eat steak'! We didn't call ahead or think about making a reservation, so that resulted in our 40 minute wait. That place is packed! We sat and chatted and drooled thinking about the delicious food. Once we were seated the rolls just kept coming, we ordered an appetizer (hello, super hungry) that was something else amazing and the dinner was so worth the wait because it was delicious. Eric had the all you can steak with a loaded bake potato and house salad. Technically you aren't aloud to share the steak... But he would cut a piece and slip it onto my plate- it was fantastic. I had a combo of chicken and steak fajitas, with black beans, spanish rice and all the great toppings. Eric finished his first steak and they brought out a second (which was considerably smaller that his first in the picture below). The second one was even better. It was so tender and juicy. Have I made you super hungry or what?? Bottom line... It was good! Check out Stockman's Restaurant in Idaho Falls.