Finally Spring!!!!

I am so glad it is finally spring! I love Spring mostly because that means that camping, fishing, boating, gardening, hiking, biking, and tons of other outdoor activities are finally here! This spring is even better though because this spring Spencer graduates police academy! Neither of us can wait for that big day, he has done so well and work incredibly hard and these last couple weeks are no exception. He has an insane schedule but it will all be worth it in the end. So between that and the fact that we can be up at Sourdough within the month is everything we need to be happy right now.

In other news, Mother's Day was wonderful not only can I honestly say I have the two greatest moms in the world, but i have the two greatest moms for me and my husband! They are incredible and have done more for us than I could ever ask for and I can only hope that one day I can be half of what they have become! I love them both so much and I know Spencer feels the same!

We also got to talk to both Toshia and Landon on Mother's Day, finally! It is amazing how much you can miss your siblings and what great peace it brings to hear their voices and know that they are okay. Both said they are doing great! Toshia of course already wants to extend and the language is coming along great (she couldn't remember alot of her english, her mind is full of porteguese). She is also training and opening a new area, she is a trooper and loving every second! Landon is worried about coming home in a few months, and can't believe his time is already coming to an end, he also wishes he could have more time in the mission. He is as witty as ever and has a slight southern accent (Y'all is his favorite word...oh boy). We love to hear all their stories and can't wait until we get to talk to them again!

Let's see in news since I haven't blogged in forever.....Grandma fought cancer and overcame it like a warrior. It was a difficult few months but she never let it show and is now cancer free and doing great! Bandit and Stew are still as active as ever and excited for the warm weather.

Life is wonderful and I wouldn't change any of it!

Busy As Always

Wow, what a month it has been! I can't believe it's already February and to top it off this week Spencer and I have been married 18 months already! It's amazing how time flies by so fast!
This last month we have had lots going on. Spencer has spent practically every minute with Police Academy stuff. He has class Monday thru Friday 8am to 5pm and then he has Physical Training twice a week and lots and lots of studying so he has been busy! I spend most my time at work and it seems like there is never much time left over after that, but every free minute we can find we spend together and with friends and family which is a good relief after the hustle and bustle of life.
We did get to go to Bear Lake with some friends a few weekends ago which was a blast! Between building a massive igloo and knocking it down we filled our weekend with lots of chaos and fun!
In other news, Toshia got her visa and is now enjoying the warmth and culture of Brazil. She loves it and is so excited to be out there, she is still learning alot she says but loves every second of it.
I know this is a quick and boring update but hey at least I am blogging more often then my usual every six months.

It's About Time!

Dropping her off at the MTC

It's about time I posted something! So here are a few things that have happened in the last few months...As you can see from the above picture Toshia left for her mission on the 18th of August and has loved every minute she's been serving the Lord since. She completed her time in the MTC but her visa still hasn't come through so they sent her to the West Virginia Mission (She is currently serving in a small town called Floyd, Virginia) until her visa comes then she will head out to Brazil. She is incredible and it's so fun to hear from her but it's been strange not having her bubbly personality and constant singing around as much. I'm proud of her and glad she is out there doing what she knows she needs to do.

Hunting Season

What more fun could you have during those gorgeous fall months then to be in the mountains enjoying the great outdoors?!? That is definately exactly where we were and right where we wanted to be. Between the deer hunts, pheasant hunts and the end of our camping season we spent every minute we could in the mountains.

I Can't Believe He Used To Be This Small
compared to...

Bandit now...in his "play with me" position

Bandit has grown LOTS! He is so cute and an absolute joy in our lives, we wouldn't trade him for anything! He is super energetic and lots of fun but that also takes lots of our time and everything we do we have to consider Bandit into the equation.

In other things, Spencer turned a great big 23 in November. He also got into police academy (HOORAY!) which we are both really excited and nervous for. He will start later this month and graduate in late May to early June but it will be an all day every day excursion until he is done so we will be extremely busy but it will be worth it in the end.

Bandit on His Homemade Christmas Present

Of course the holidays just passed and I can't go without talking about that. Sorry for lack of pictures....I forgot my camera Christmas day. For Thanksgiving of course we had mass amounts of delicious meals and pies and it was great. We stayed extremely busy through the Christmas season between all the many parties, activities, and life in general it seems like we haven't had a whole lot of free time. Christmas was amazing though, everybody spoiled us way more than we deserved and we are so grateful for everything we got and everything our family does for us. We did spend some of our Christmas and New Year's Eve at work but timing seemed to work out and we were able to visit everyone and get everything done we wanted to
so it worked out. New Year's was good we had a good day just relaxing and enjoying some time off together and with family.

I know it's impossible to get the last 6-7 months of our life in over a few paragraphs but we are doing great. Life is flying by we have our good times and our hard times (luckily few and far between) but as long as we have the Church, eachother and our amazing family we will get through anything and everything. Overall, life is wonderful and there isn't one thing we would change.

Lots of New Things

Our new place...pretty nice!

Oh boy have we had lots of new things happen this last week! As you can see we moved! We are now in Richard and Marjann's basement. They are so wonderful and great at accomadating us and we appreciate it so much! It's a nice place, we now have 2 bedrooms, alot bigger living room and bathroom and the kitchen is pretty much the same size. I think it's been a good move for us and we hope it works out well.

Next in a new for us, we have welcomed another member to our family! A darling brittany spaniel puppy named Bandit! He is super cute but lots of work getting through this puppy stage of chewing, training and all the stuff that goes along with that. I wouldn't trade him for the world and he has been a fun addition. Spence and I both love dogs and are so excited to have one. Here are a few pictures of the cute little guy...

He is so happy to have his own dog! I love these two boys!!!



Bandit trying to decide what he wants to attempt destroying next.

Now for the most important first in our life...we celebrated our first anniversary this last week (on Friday the 13th....oh no ;-) We have had a great first year and I love Spencer more than anything else! I'm so lucky to have such a wonderful man for eternity and I can't wait to spend the rest of eternity with him! I never imagined you could love someone so much and it seems like every day I love him more!
As for a quick update on my sister Toshia's mission...her visa didn't go through so they delayed her until the 18th and instead of going straight to Brazil she will spend time in the Provo MTC until her visa is ready. She is bummed she isn't out there yet but it was nice to have a little more time with her. Wish her luck and pray for her and our family, and forgive me if I'm an emotional wreck this next week.

Summer of Fun!

Having some fun at Bear Lake!

Oh boy have we had quite the summer! If we aren't at work it seems like we are either camping or boating and we wouldn't have it any other way. We went to Bear Lake this last weekend with our friends which is where all these pictures came from, we had alot of fun and got really sunburned and can't wait to go again.

Issac, Amy, Rashel, Me, and Millie cooling off after beach volleyball

Some fun with Millie and Clayton on my parents boat

Yes that is me getting in to give the wakeboard a run. The water was so cold it took all my energy to smile for the camera. Brrrr, I get cold just thinking about it.

Lots other news but first let me explain why I only have boating pics up; of course we are camping all the time and that usually includes some form of fishing for us. I brought my camera all these times had lots of pictures of our land (I'll explain....hold on), lots of wildlife, and all our fun on our camping excursions and of course while I was taking a picture of a big fish Spence caught I dropped my camera and PLOP into the water it went. I grabbed it as fast as possible but I wasn't fast enough. We did the whole rice trick and it's working now (thank heaven) but I lost all the pictures from all our previous camping and boating trips. So give me a few more weeks and I'll get some good camping pictures up.

Now for the other news...Spence and I own some land! We love to go camping at a place called Sourdough Wilderness Ranch but it is a owners only property. My parents have been owners for years so we used to use their camplot but in a wonderful and amazing round of events Spencer and I now are official owners of a camplot (1/2 acre) just up the road from my family. We have lots more trips planned and absolutely love it!!!!

Toshia (my little sister) had her mission farewell this morning, I can't believe time has gone by so fast! She did amazing and is excited to serve the lord for the next 18 months. I will miss her and it seems the closer the time comes for her to go the more emotional I get. It is for the best though and I'm so proud of her!

We are also moving this next week. We will be moving into our parent's basement. It's a nice apartment down there and it will be so beneficial to us.

Overall, we are busy but having an amazing summer of fun!

Summer is Finally Here

Hooray!!!! Both Spence and I finished this semester the first week of May...which means...It's officially time for summer break! We are so excited to be in the outdoors and spend all our extra free time camping, fishing, boating, taking picnics and roastin' some hot dogs and marshmallows.
So in some interesting news and updates on the family. My sister, Toshia, got her mission call this last month to Curitiba, Brazil (I don't know if I spelled that right) she is to report to the Brazil MTC on August 4th which means she will fly out on the 3rd. I'm so happy and proud of her but it will definately be a completely different world without her here, she will be missed.
Landon, my brother/cousin called for Mother's Day and he is doing great! He loves the mission and is having a wonderful time. It was good to hear his voice and know he was doing well.
We visited my grandparents in Mesquite this weekend (Spence had never met them so that was good) and they seem do be doing well.
My best bud, Janalee gets married on the 18th. Ashley, my cousin decided last minute to go to Mexico and teach english for the next 3 months. her brother, Tyson, left for his mission to Texas. Spencer's cousin, Dave, left for his mission to Finland. His other cousin, Dallan, leaves to California in the next couple of weeks. Overall the entire family is doing great and we are having fun keeping track of all of them.
In a special note I want to send a great big Thank you out to the moms in my life!!! I have truly been touched by all those wonderful women who support and love me. An extra Thank you to my mom and my mother-in-law! You are wonderful women, I love you, and I thank my Heavenly Father every day that I have such incredible examples in my life!

Some Pics and Updates I'm Just Getting Around To Posting

Finally!!!! The niece and nephew came! This is our new niece, Natalie, with her 2 older sisters. I didn't get any good pictures of Kyler (our nephew) but as soon as I get one I'll have him on here. They are both super cute and mom and babies are doing good. We couldn't love them more!

Yes it's true we traded in my bug and bought a truck. It's an '08 silver Ford F-150. We got a pretty good deal and I think we made a good choice. It's practically Spencer's baby but I'm glad he likes it plus it means we're going camping!!!!

Just a random picture we shot last second before the camera died...good times.

This was way back from Christmas when we went to see the lights on Temple Square.

Spencer's favorite activity is cleaning his guns and I don't mind one little bit, it's cute to watch him and I love the smell of the solvent.

Anyway, life is good and all is well. Easter was great! We're super excited for things coming up, such as....Toshia (my little sister) getting her mission call, both David and Tyson (cousins) leaving on their missions, the school semester to end, camping and outdoor time, James and Rashel getting hitched, and all the fun in between.