The Ship, The Stowaway, and The Newest Crew Members

Its been a while since I have posted in this blog BUT for good reason. There aren’t many exciting things happening during school, so less adventures.

Winter endings

The rest of winter semester went well, with the end throwing us right into our summer plans. The day after finals, Brad left for Guatemala. Last summer he got involved in a humanitarian group called Smiles for Central America. This group goes to a country in Central America and does all the physicals for LDS missionaries turning in their papers. It’s a 10-day long trip, working from 8 a.m. to around 11 p.m. Once the 10 days are up though, they get 2 days of vacation. Brad wanted to go on the trip again this year, and with the help of his parents, he was able to go.

So Brad left. I was home for about a week on my own. I finished up working at the Creamery. It was definitely my time to go…being there 3 and losing all my good coworkers. It was time for a change. David, a past coworker at the creamery, got me a job at Gloria’s Little Italy. It’s a nice restaurant located in Provo on Center and University Ave. I started out as a hostess and then got trained to be a server. I was only there a week before leaving to go back home to California and work at Jan Thomas Swim School for a 4^th summer. Gloria’s held my job while I was in California, so that was really nice.

There’s no place like home

Now you’re probably thinking, why did you go home to work? Brad is only going to be gone for 10 days and its already been 7. Yes, well you see, when you get married, you pretty much do what you can to stay afloat financially. Brad and I are both hard workers and we do all we can to make sure that we are stable. We decided that I should return to Jan Thomas this summer because I make good money there. I wouldn’t stay the whole summer because that would really suck being away from each other that long, but I would go for 5 weeks. So! Off I went to California.

I loved my time there. Each summer that you work at the swim school gets easier and more fun. It’s still a demanding job! Working from 9:30a-7p Mon-Thurs definitely wears you out, but it was worth it. I was able to teach a couple of kids that I’ve had previous summers. I love watching them grow up and see their swimming improve. I love asking the swimmers that I’ve taught since day one, “So who taught you to swim?” and with a big smile they say “YOU DID!” That’s right!

The lovely visor tan

To think I was done with swimsuit tans...

So many tanning days

Our day of spontaneous fun

Not only did I get to teach at the swim school while I was home, but I got to see friends and hang out with my siblings. Tiffany and I were able to do a couple Girls Days, where we just went out on the town and did whatever we felt like doing! It was wonderful. There’s never a dull moment with Tiff. I cherish every moment I get with her since I don’t see her very often anymore. We spent a lot of time in the Wood’s backyard laying out. Sherry came out and we had some fun girl talk.

He's flyin!

Bon Fonte Gardens

We went running a couple times...bad idea when it's 92 outside.

I also got to spend some time with Jared; not as much since he was still in school. He was finishing up his senior year…so weird. We were able to take a trip to Bon Fonte Gardens, an amusement park we used to go to as kids but he still loves. It was a fun time. He was also working on his mission papers…and by working on I mean he had me fill out everything because I’m faster on a computer. But hey! It got done. After he graduated, he wanted to come live with Brad and I and live with us until he left for his mission. I was real excited about it.

      Sidenote: While I was in California, Brad had talked to his boss who had a duplex that needed a new tenant. The apartment was 2-bedroom and since Jared was coming to live with us, it would be awesome if he had his own room instead of having to live on the couch in our current small apartment. After like a WEEK of convincing his boss that we’d be good renters (we also had to convince him of letting us get a pet…more details will come later), he said yes and Brad moved all of our stuff into the new place!

This was our life for 6 weeks.

Brad drove to California 2 times while I was there. He came on the halfway mark/weekend 3 (since we were apart for 6 weeks total when you add in his Guatemala trip). It was so nice seeing him and what a trooper he is for making that drive there and back on his own. I would’ve died. Guess he loves me or something.  The second time he came was for Jared’s graduation and to take us all back to Utah. It was so funny seeing Brad’s reaction to the graduation ceremony…CUSD has a very strict/formal/everything is mapped out kind of graduation program. Brad had never seen something so intense. But anyway, Jared graduated, we cheered, found him afterwards, got a picture, and then he left haha. No sticking around; he was done with high school.

Beach trip!

The weekend after graduation, we went on a family vacation to the beach. Camping trip woo! We went with my mom’s sister, Gwen, and her kids. It was a 2-day trip. Funny thing was that it was overcast most of the time. It’s ok though! The beach is the beach.

Back to the Mothership with a stowaway

Either the next day or the day after, we left to go back to Utah (still can’t get myself to call it home…). There was some unpacking to do, which was totally fine with me. I dodged the moving process altogether! Jared got all set in his room and we got to finding him a job. After about a week, he landed a job at Dollar Tree and I got him a bussing job at Gloria’s where I was working. Bussers only work on the weekends so it was really nice that he worked at Dollar Tree as well.

As for his mission papers, Jared had gotten his papers sent in right before we left. The call came in 1.5 weeks. Talk about fast. We had put his availability date as August 5^th, thinking that he wouldn’t get called until a month or two after that because that tends to happen a lot. Nope! Jared got his call to the Idaho Nampa mission and was to report to the MTC on August 5^th. Well there goes that plan. The two places he was working at though understood his situation and weren’t mad that he would have to quit sooner than he thought. Was he happy about his call? I think so. We had mom, dad, Tiffany, grandma and grandpa on Skype, Shanna and Andrew drove in, and Kris was on speaker on my phone. After he read his call he said, “Cool. Can I go shower now?” Oh Jared. So nonchalant.  He had 6 weeks till he was to report so he had time to digest it all.

Now, jumping back to when I was in California and the pet thing. I wanted a dog. The place we lived in didn’t allow dogs. Brad’s boss didn’t want us to have a pet…but we convinced him otherwise (: We found a cute cockapoo on KSL before Brad and I left for our summer trips. She would be available to pick up once we were both back in town. Brad was able to go to the owner’s home and FaceTime me while he saw the puppies. We originally decided on getting a tan puppy…but Brad FaceTimed me back 2 minutes later and said he wanted the black one. I decided to be ok with it since he was letting me get a dog in general, so we put a deposit on the little black one. The day after we got back to Utah we went to see her. ADORABLE. A week later, we went to pick her up. Weighing in at less than 3 pounds, Leia became a new member of the family. She’s quite big now, but just as energetic as ever.

So the summer went on, all of us being busy workers. Luckily Brad and I had weekly double dates with an awesome couple, Baylee and Trevis. We had some definite fun times. In July, I got an email from University Communications news manager asking if I would be interested in an internship. I had applied for an internship there earlier for spring/summer, but because I was going to be in California for spring term, I didn’t get the job. Well, the current intern was leaving early because of a job offer. I ended up getting the internship and its my current job. I wouldn’t have gotten the job if my past professor who works in University Communications hadn’t have suggested me, so thank you shout out to Todd! 

Coming to an end

August rolled around and I was soon making trips to Draper every morning. Jan Thomas’s daughter, Becky, ran a swim school out of her home after returning from the main swim school in Clovis. She asked me to be one of the teachers this summer, so from August 11 to September 9 I was driving to Draper to teach Utah kids. It was different than Clovis; can’t really compare them. But I had a good time. Yes, it was hard juggling 3 jobs, but I made it work!

Jared left for his mission on August 5^th. The parents and Tiffany came into town for his farewell talk and then Tiff stayed a couple extra days. That was nice having her here since I thought getting Tiffany to Utah was impossible. The next Wednesday, Jared went into the MTC. It was short and sweet, hugs, pictures, and then he was off. I’ve been getting emails from him every week and he seems to be doing good! His stories are the best.

Hey new roomie

After Jared moved out, Brad’s cousin, Hayden, moved into Jared’s room. Why did I let a bachelor move in with me and my husband? Yeah I get that question a lot. Well, he’s really low-key and he helps with rent. It’s been nice not being so tight with money. He also loves doing the dishes…you better believe that makes me happy.

Fall Semester began on August 31^st. I had to juggle school and the swim school for only two weeks, which was nice. I ended up putting in my 2 weeks at Gloria’s because there was no way I was going to get through the semester if I had to work weekends on top of the 20 hours at the internship during the week. I needed homework time. So now I’m just doing school and work. I love coming home to Leia every day; totally worth getting a dog. The first month of waking up every 2 hours at night sucked, but like I said, worth it. Brad is doing well. He’s taking 4 classes and working at the heating plant. His homework load is quite a bit lighter than mine, so he’s enjoying having extra down time. I was able to see my two best friends not long after school started. Kiley is finally back from her mission so we had a reunion. So so nice. I've also been able to see all my freshman friends. Everyone is coming back from their missions; it's great!

Here and now

I’ve also started back up on my hobby of crocheting. My mom taught me when I was in 4^th grade, I finished that blanket like my junior year (wasn’t really a priority obviously), and then hadn’t touched any projects since then. Now that I’m married and life is boring (kidding, but its definitely less social) I decided I needed something to do. So! Baby blankets. NO I’M NOT PREGNANT, they are just easier to make because they take less time. It’s actually turning out to be a good thing because I have a handful of friends and family having babies. Yay homemade gifts! If I’m ever watching TV, you best believe I’m working on a blanket. It’s nice having something to do. 
Sidenote: I colored my hair. Dark brown. LOVE IT.

It’s the middle of the semester, so midterm season. The semester is flying by which makes me so happy. Only one more semester after this and I’ll be done with school FOREVER. Can’t really say the same for Brad since he has dental school, but hey, he loves dental stuff so its good! I will be starting my career. Weird. Financially that will be nice though. After we graduate, the real adventures begin.

A Trip up the Canyon

Today, Brad wanted to get out of the house. I can sit on the couch all day but it's not his most favorite thing. He offered to take me up Provo Canyon because I've been wanting to mess with my camera some more in a different setting than up and down our street. So! We stopped by Subway to grab lunch and headed up the canyon. Enjoy (:

most proud of this one. random guy longboarding by

never noticed this cabin before

slow shutter...

fast shutter!

rainbow trout

brad doesn't like pictures. this is usually what I get

had to get out of there. storm was coming!

My New Toy!

So my wonderful husband may or may not have gotten me a Nikon D3200 camera for valentines day...and given it to me early (: I LOVE taking photos so this blog is going to turn into a pretty visual one! I'm no pro and I have a lot to learn...but I still love taking photos. Here are some that I've taken around the house and up and down our street. Enjoy!

BYU Pool

Got Brad to come along

our home

welcome (:

The Big Day!

So after about 4 months of planning with the mothers, the wedding came. It wasn't easy setting up a reception in a state that neither one of the families live in, but we made it through. Thank you Internet!

Brad and I left for Arizona on Thursday morning. Monday-Wednesday we took finals and I moved all of my stuff into our apartment. Easier to get it done before leaving for 3 weeks. Anyways, got me all moved in and then left Thursday at 11:30 a.m. Suggestion: DON'T leave later in the day for a long trip. It sucks. I like getting to my destination before the sun goes down, so arriving in Gilbert at 9:30 was a struggle. But hey, Brad had a final in the morning...kinda important.

So we got there and chilled with the fam bam. My parents had gotten there a couple hours before us. We weren't up long before passing out though. Friday was a prep day. We (my sisters and I) had to..well wanted to get our nails done. We got around to that after hitting up the mall and getting lunch. You know. At 6, Brad and I headed to the airport to get 2 of my lovely bridesmaids: Kenzie and Rachel. Our reunion was the best (: hadn't seen Kenzie since...man, probably graduation. Chel and I saw each other over the summer but hey, just as excited to see her too!

We met up with Kim and Hayden at Organ Pizza Stop. Coolest. Place. Ever. This guy played a huge organ in the middle of the restaurant. The organ is hooked up to a bunch of other instruments as well. He'll play any song you request. He played all of the songs we requested. Couldn't leave until they played Star Wars for Brad! Left the restaurant with Kimmy and headed back to the hotel. Didn't stay up too late cuz this chick hadn't slept in days. For some reason, I had maybe gotten 10 hours of sleep in the past 3 days. Call it stress, wedding jitters, whatever. I felt calm but sleep just wasn't on the agenda. So I took a nice big sleeping pill...and went to bed. But first! I gave my girls their bridesmaids necklaces (: I had to do something for them. They've been with me through so much growing up and they were now there for me on the most important day of my life. I was so glad they liked them. 4 sisters, 4 friends. Greatest group of bridesmaids.

So! passed out. may or may not have said a couple things I have no recollection of...but! Wedding

morning came. Kenzie did my hair, Kim did my makeup, Rachel did my toes haha. They took good care of me. Brad picked me up at 10 and we headed to the temple. Now, I can't really say much more about the wedding ceremony. Temple ceremonies are sacred in the LDS religion so we don't openly speak about it. What I can say though is that the sealing was amazing. I'm so glad to be sealed to my husband for eternity (:

Coming out of the temple was awesome!! All of our friends and family were there to support us. Even my Uncle Victor and Aunt Tonya were there! Huge surprise. Victor and Brad have a bromance, let me tell ya. It was an honor having them there. But that's not all! Like I said earlier, no family lives in Arizona. Everyone who was there made the trip to support us. We felt very special.

Lots of photos were taken. It was quite the afternoon of laughing and smiling. Nicole, the photographer, even flew in from Clovis to be there for me. She'd been taking mine and my family's pictures for years. We had a good time with the pictures, and then headed to the luncheon. Ok, I don't know if I've just been to the wrong luncheons or what, but when speeches came around, I have never seen so many people cry. I even cried! Kim and Tiffany were asked to speak, but Rachel and Kenzie wanted to too. Jeff, Brad's best man, spoke for the boys side haha. They all cried. Jefferey almost did haha. Wasn't a bad thing! I felt honored to have such good friends. It was clearly known that if Brad hurt me, he would have an ambush coming after him. Love my girls (: The food and set up was amazing. Mama Kendall is to thank for that.


We had a couple hours in between to relax for a little, but then it was on to the reception. Setting up went pretty smoothly...minus the flowers that weren't supposed to float. But my girls got right on it and fixed it! Brad was very happy with the turn out. He hadn't seen a lot of these people for a long time. His family moved from Arizona two days after he left on his mission. We cut the cake. Yeah good thing we guessed which layers were real and which weren't. Not too much frosting everywhere either! The father daughter dance was my favorite. I mean, yes, mine and brads dance was special, but I am very close with my daddy. He made me cry dang it. I wasn't planning on crying at all that day. Blah. I will never forget that dance though (: so special.

Around 8:20, my ladies came and helped me out of my wedding dress and into my "exit" dress. Those girls took care of me until the last minute. Kim even packed Brad and I some food from the reception. All of our friends and family lined up outside and we ran to the beautifully decorated truck. Shout out to Tanner for the Mountain Dew!

Thank you to all that were there or a part of the process. I couldn't have asked for anything better (: I mean that. Moms, thank you for helping me plan the wedding and for making it all happen. My glam squad, you guys literally saved my life. I can't thank you enough. You are all the best!!

Now, we did have two open houses as well; one in Clovis, one in Sandy. Fun fact: We drove from Provo, UT to Gilbert, AZ to San Diego, CA to Clovis, CA back to Provo, UT. About 2,300 miles total. My grandparents let us use there home and I am very grateful for that. A lot of close friends and family came to support us there as well. The house looked beautiful and my grandma's food was so good! In Sandy, Brad's mission president let us use their home. Ah, such a pretty house. It was a very relaxed open house. No big decorations, just some food and a hot chocolate bar. It was still nice though! Lots of friends and family came to support once more. The highlight of that night was my EFY boys showing up. Those four are something else.

The whole wedding adventure was something else. Would I do it again? No. definitely not. That's why I'm only getting married once (: But it was worth it. So worth it. Thank you again everyone.

Married life has been pretty great! Stressful in some areas, all you married people know what I mean, but overall awesome. It's an adjustment, but it's awesome starting the next chapter of my life, especially with Brad (: