new calling

a couple of months ago, me and will got a new calling in our church.

we're the new sunday school teachers for the 12-13 year olds.

we were told we would start at the new year, but did yesterday.

i was a little nervous that the kids wouldn't listen or like me..

i've never worked with that age group, i mean they're technically teens.

but boy was i wrong.. the class went great!

granted we only had 2 girls who came.. 

but they participated and were awesome!

we had such a great experience with it!

after class, the sunday school president came to ask us how it went.

he gave us our new class list for 2013 (same age group) and..

we're upsizing to a class of 14. haha wish us luck!

i'm actually really excited for the challenge.

plus it will be nice to have the extra participation.

have a great new year's eve!

christmas 2012

we really enjoyed our Christmas in Mesa!

we played a lot of games and had fun catching up with family.

will and i even snuck away to some of our favorite places to eat there.

let me tell ya, there's no better mexican than arizona mexican!

(well technically mexico mexican is probably the best..)

we also got to skype my little bro who is serving a mission in TN.

my little brother and i have always been close,

and it makes me so happy to hear and see how happy HE is!

on jan. 4th he will hit his one year mark, then it's just one more to go!

he is busy serving and bringing so many people closer to Christ.

i love him so much. 

he's an inspiration to us all!

click here to enjoy the true spirit of Christmas.

have a happy New Year, friends!

gingerbread houses, past and present

every year since we started dating, we've done a gingerbread house date.

this year is no exception!

 thanks mike and bailee for letting us make a mess of your kitchen table!

 our masterpiece. 

notice the bears gettin cozy up top under the mistletoe. ;)

 teamwork, yeah!

here are some snapshots from our previous years' parties:

2010

 notice the cutie in the red hat. :)

 so hot right now.

i miss these babes!

 one of my favorites of us (a couple weeks before we got engaged)

the group! 

weird/fun fact: we're the only couple in this picture that stayed together.

and then we got married! go us! :)

2011

so there you have it folks, 

gingerbread houses are a big deal around these parts!

merry christmas to all, and to all a good night! 

takin' a spin downtown

after our morning errands today, 

me and the hubs visited a rad camera store downtown.

we took some pretty cool pictures while we were at it.

 we loved the vintage Coke sign on top.

how on earth did they get their car up there? 

candid. i was falling... but it kinda looks like i'm doing a little jig. i like!

 this guy can skip a rock a dozen times in a row. believe me, it's an art.

 we found this cool (and super random) graffiti mural downtown.

 the love of my life.

oh look an alley!

we had loads of fun switching between photographer and model.

i have a feeling saturday photo shoots will become a new tradition. 

and i'm not bummed about it... not one bit. :)

hooray for early presents!

hubby let me open one of my christmas presents early!

because i was a good girl (insert halo here).

..or maybe just because he was too excited to see the look on my face.

anywhoooo, i'm thrilled to have an AMAZING new camera!
thanks again honey :)

and i've already been testing it out on some handsome models.

 i asked him to show me his teeth. haha what a cutie!

yes, i meant to get a picture of half his face.. 

because this is his better half. jk jk JK.

he's 100% sexy.

we signed up for some fun beginner classes over winter break too.

we can't wait to learn so much more about our new camera!

wish us luck!

november thanks

november is coming to an end..

and this slacker still hasn't shared her "grateful list" on the blog yet!

so here are a few things that i'm thankful for (in no particular order):

 my little family. 

i am having the time of my life being married to this guy!
he is an amazing husband and best friend.

he is always surprising me and making me laugh.

he is so patient with me and supports me in everything i do.

he is a great motivator and spontaneous like me!

and of course we love our cuddly, crazy dogs too!

 kids. even though we don't have any of our own yet,

i am so grateful for 2 handfuls of nieces and nephews 

and for my job teaching swim lessons twice a week to other peoples'.

they are such a huge source of happiness!

temple marriage.

i'm so so SO glad to know he's mine forever.

and that we can go and feel the special spirit in there anytime.

i'm also very grateful for:

-my family 

-will's family

-a warm, very affordable place to live

-my health

-will's health

-4 beautiful seasons

-will's business

-my job 

-music 

and all of our many many other blessings! BIG and small.

when bestie came to visit

last weekend, one of my favorite Mesa girls came to visit!

i loved having her here! it's non-stop fun when Metzli is around.

we went to Twilight at midnight, snowboarding, shopping 

at City Creek, and partied at our friends' annual Friendsgiving.

check it out! 

 dawning my vampire white skin for the midnight showing.

 i love that these two are such good friends too!

at Friendsgiving, after the feast!


all in all, it was a fun-filled weekend!
i'm so grateful for the great friends in our life.
there is never a dull moment with them!
Happy Thanksgiving week! 

crazy christmas lady

last week i decided it was time to put up the christmas decor.

yes i know it was only the beginning of november.

but i have nothing thanksgiv-ish...

and the cold weather made it feel like christmas!

anyway, i was given a hard time by some people about it..

but after a weekend of non-stop snowing 

and a foot of it now lying in our backyard,

i feel much better. who's laughing NOW? :)

our finishing touch will be putting up our tree day after thanksgiving.

then it will REALLY start to feel like christmas time around here!

our weekend so far

i know it's only friday morning but we've already done so much!

..even with me having a bad cold all week. boohoo.

ever since the semester started, 

i pretty much consider my weekends starting on Thursday afternoon

after my last class of the week, sewing.

speaking of that, i finished my skirt yesterday!

i came out of class to see will by our car with these beauties in hand!

can he be anymore perfect??  :) :)

we spent our night cheering on the Salt Lake ReAl soccer team.

it was so cool to be at a playoff game and in the spirit section too!

we were handed streamers and confetti to throw and stood next to crazy fans with painted faces.. one guy even had the team logo on his bald head. it was awesome!

 i woke up this morning with no voice and completely stuffed up.

i called in sick (it's hard to teach kids when you can't talk or breathe..)

and now i'm being kept company by two cute pups.

a plus side to this day is we woke up to snow! 

when i took the dogs out to potty, it didn't even phase them.

this is Milo's first time playing in the snow.. i think he liked it!

once i get over this bad cold, i plan to enjoy the rest of my weekend!

happy friday, friends!

party like a rockstar

on Halloween we threw a big bash.

everyone dressed up and chipped in with treats and games.

it was a great turn out and so much fun!

 in honor of the election, i give you Lady Liberty and Uncle Sam.

look mom, no hands! 

 you go girl!

 bobbing for apples

brrrr! 

 everyone looked great!

can't wait to do this again next year!