Our Dirt

They are going to start digging the hole for our house tomorrow and we are super excited!  I wanted to make sure and get a picture of our lot before anything has been done to it.  So...here's some pictures of our dirt. It is probably the best dirt I've ever owned! :)

 "Across the street" view

 "Closer up" view

 "Me trying to point at the dirt like I'm touching it" view (my arm looks like it's coming out of no where)

"My excited face and trying to point like I'm touching the dirt" view (my arm looks even more freakishly long and weird than it did in the other picture)

I'm going to try and take a picture or two every week until it's done so you can see the progress.  It's really more for me that I'll be doing that anyway, but that's alright. :)

Mom's Birthday

Happy birthday to my mom!  She turned 46 but she is still young at heart.  See?

We went to McGrath's Fish House in Sandy and had dinner with a bunch of family and friends that we only see around birthdays.  We had good times, good company and good food. :)

                                                        

 Me and Dani being strange

My sister Dani and her boyfriend Stephen

New Home Update #2

We just found out that our house is scheduled to be started this next Wednesday (March 2nd)!!!  Basically, they are just going to start digging the hole for it which will take a little time but hopefully the weather will cooperate.  So excited! :)

Called To Serve

Back in December, I had the distinct feeling that I needed to volunteer some of my time in the temple.  After talking with my bishop and a member of the Stake Presidency, they submitted my name to the temple and I got a letter asking me to come in for an interview with the Temple Presidency.  When I called at the beginning of February, they didn't have any appointments available for 3 weeks!  Wow, they are busy!  

So I made my appointment for the 22nd (yesterday) and finally got to go in and meeting with a member of the Temple Presidency.  He was such a sweet man and you knew that he had the Spirit with him.  The interview was grueling (just kidding) and after 10 minutes or so of talking, he told me that he would set me apart as a temple worker.  

I have always wondered how I could do missionary work in my life but have never really had much of an opportunity living in Utah and being surrounded by members of the Church.  But I was reminded that serving in the temple is missionary work.  I am so happy and grateful for this new opportunity to serve and I love that I get to do it in the temple.  I know that I will learn and grow so much.  So if you happen to go to the Provo Temple on Wednesday nights between 5:30 and 10:30, you might see me there. :)

Valentine's Day

For Valentine's Day this year, I wanted to do something for Covey that he wasn't going to expect.  The last 3 Valentines we've had, Covey has always tried to do something for me and he gets me flowers too, which I love.  So this year, I figured it was my turn to surprise Covey with something fun.  And let me tell you--it is TRICKY to try and plan a surprise for someone you live with, especially when you are juggling cars (I'll post about that later).

The idea all started when I found this AWESOME website called "The Dating Divas".  This website is dedicated to helping couples strengthen their marriage by going on dates and using spontaneity, creativity, and all of those other things that we did when we were dating that somehow we forgot to do once we got married (at least, we did after the first few months).  They had posted an idea for a Valentine's Day date that I really liked and so I took it from there and made it my own so it would be unique to Covey and I.  I decided to make Covey a really nice dinner to come home to and just help him relax because I knew he was stressed about a bunch of things.  In order to have enough time to make dinner, I asked for a 1/2 day off of work.  It is a good thing I did, because otherwise I never would have gotten everything done!

On top of the surprise date, I knew I had to do something to throw Covey off so he wasn't expecting anything when he got home that night after work.  So I made a 'candy-gram' and delivered it to him at work.  I know he was definitely surprised that I stopped by and he was doubly surprised that I brought him the candy-gram.  I had fun making it too!

After I left his work (he thought I was going back to work--only one of the many fibs I had to tell him), I went to the grocery store to purchase the food I was going to need for the dinner that night.  Then, I ran home and started making it.  Problem was, we were down to one car that day so I had to drive back to Covey's work and pick him up and take him back home so he could drop me off and then go to the gym while I finished getting things ready.

By the time he got back from the gym, dinner was almost completely ready and I was feeling very pleased with myself.  The look on his face was priceless when he walked in and the lights were dimmed and the table was set and he could smell dinner.  He had stopped by the store and bought me flowers so while he showered, I put them in a vase and finished the food prep.

All in all, it was a good night.  We just ate and talked and relaxed and didn't  think about anything that was worrying us.  It was totally worth all the running around and craziness of that day to see Covey so surprised and happy.  (And he forgave me for telling him fibs...)  I am definitely going to have to do stuff like this more often.  I know that I don't show and tell Covey nearly often enough how appreciative I am for all he does for me.  He may not be perfect--but he is perfect for me.

New Home Update #1

Yesterday, Covey and I went to the pre-construction meeting for our house.  Basically, they just showed us a slightly more detailed floor plan, went over the options we had previously chosen and gave us an estimated start date--at least 3 weeks from now. :(  I'm not gonna lie.  I am bummed.  I was really hoping that our house would at least be started sometime in February since we finished all of our part by the end of January.  But it turns out there is a back log on home plan submissions to the city and it is taking about a week longer to get through the whole process.  Well, poop.

I'm trying to look at all of the positives of our house taking a little longer before it is done, but it's not easy.  Some of the ones I have are: 

1.) We have more time to save up more money 

2.) We have more time to gather boxes to pack our stuff up in

3.) We get to develop more patience, thanks to our upstairs neighbors who seem to forget that we are below them

4.) We don't have to pay our mortgage as soon (and electricity and gas and water and garbage and...)

5.) At least we'll be building a house.

That's all I can really think of right now.  Thankfully, I have a husband and friends who are good at reminding me of the things I should be grateful for.  It helps a little, but I still really want to be in my new house! :)  

(And for anyone who may be dying to have a photo of our new piece of dirt, you are just going to have to wait for a little longer.  I keep forgetting to take my camera with me every time we are down in Springville.  But don't worry.  I will post a picture of our dirt soon!)

An Angel In Disguise

I just have to say that I am so grateful for those people who are so willing to help others with no thought of a reward for themselves!  Covey had some car problems on the drive home today and he didn't know what exactly was wrong.  Thankfully, a nice man, who happened to be a mechanic, stopped and helped him.  He drove him to the auto parts store and back to the car where he helped Covey fix the broken part.  It turned out to be such a huge blessing because otherwise Covey would have had to call a tow truck and then take it into the shop to be fixed which would have easily cost us $200 in total.  Instead, it cost $20 for the part and a kind man's time.  I have no idea who this man is, but I'm grateful that he was in the right place at the right time and so willing to help. :)

So Many Options...

...but we managed to pick between all of them for our

NEW HOUSE!!

 Yes, it's true.  Covey and I are building a home in Springville.  I didn't want to write about it until we had some things finalized with the builders, but now that we do I want to tell everyone about our

NEW HOUSE!!

 We are super excited to finally own our first home and even more excited that we could afford to build it.  After looking around at what was available, we determined that we could get the same home, if not more, by building a home rather than buying an existing one.  

Originally, we wanted to move a little further north so that we would be a little more in between my parents and Covey's parents.  But most of the homes up north were more expensive and they weren't what we wanted.  Either that or they were exactly what we wanted but they were clear in the heck out in Eagle Mountain or Saratoga Springs.  No thank you.

So that brings us to this point in time.  Covey and I actually went and picked out our options for our 

NEW HOUSE 

tonight after work.  It was fun and it started to feel like things were actually coming together and more real.  Granted, there are still a few things that need to be done before they can start building, but they'll probably (hopefully) start in the next couple of weeks or so.  Once they start building (and weather permitting) the house will be done in 45-60 days, which puts it getting done end of March or beginning of April.

I can't even describe how excited we are to have a garage and a yard and storage space and more than 3 closets and so many other things that come with a house.  I know.  I know.  There are a ton of other things that come with having a house (more bills) and I realize that, but I just want to revel in the fact that we are getting a

NEW HOUSE!!

Okay, I've probably expressed my excitement to an appropriate degree by this point.

New Crafts to Spruce Up My House

Here are my latest and greatest crafts.  First one is message blocks.  I found this lovely idea when it was featured on Blue Cricket Design.  It was linked to another person's website called Get Your Crafts On which had the detailed instructions on how to make these blocks.  You can only imagine my excitement when I discovered that with only 15 blocks, I could make over 50 different messages!  Well, after 3 days and at least 12 hours of doing these blocks, I was not loving the blocks as much.  Mostly because they were taking me so ridiculously LONG to make.  But after a day or so of not looking at the blocks, I liked them again.  Here are a couple pictures:

Fun huh? :)

Second craft is another one I stole from a blog called Flamingo Toes and it was too cute to pass up.  While at first glance this may look like a piece of paper with some writing on it--it is much more crafty than that.  I actually sewed all the lines with my sewing machine and then embroidered the words.  Crafty, right?! :)  Take a look:

I.love.this.a.lot.

More crafts to come!

You Know It's Cold When...

• you're excited that the thermometer is showing that it is over 30 degrees

• it takes you the full 15 minute drive to work before your heater starts warming up and you start feeling warm (then you have to get out of the car to walk into the building)

• you look in your closet every morning to get dressed and base your wardrobe off of how many layers you can wear without looking like you're wearing too many layers

• hot chocolate, scarves, gloves, boots and coats have become your new best friends

• you get ice forming on the inside of your car

• you start imagining what it would be like to live in the desert and it doesn't seem half bad

• going outside is a chore to be dreaded, especially after the sun has gone down (if you were lucky enough to have sun that day)

• you'd rather be outside of your car than inside of it because it is colder in the car than outside (refer back to the second point about the time it takes to warm up the car)

• you can store your frozen food outside and it will stay frozen (case in point: the turkey that has been sitting outside our door for the last week--it's still frozen)

• you dream of summer because it seems like it will never be a reality again.

Promotion

I got a promotion!  

I am still working at Heritage Makers, but I am no longer in the customer support department.  Last week, the new general manager and president pulled me aside and asked me to be their new executive assistant.  I don't know what all is included in the new position but I do know that I am excited and ready for the change in responsibilities.  It's a great way to start out the new year! :)

Who Knew That Having Fun Could Hurt So Much?

Covey was able to score some free ski passes up to Sundance from his work, so we went skiing yesterday.  Covey's brother, Shawn, his sister, Heather and her husband, Brett came with us.  It was only my 3rd time skiing so I was kind of nervous because I knew that everyone else was better than me.  Bless his heart, Covey stayed with me probably 50% of the time while I tried to relearn how to ski and made my way slowly down each run.  It was fun, but I was done for the day before Covey and the guys were, so Heather and I hung out in the lodge cafe chatting it up and staying warm.  

Sadly, I don't have any pictures of our fun because I didn't want to bring my camera and smash it when I crashed. (Notice I said 'when' not 'if'.)  Overall, it was a fun day but I was pooped and sore when I got home.  Hopefully next time I will be better and actually make it down the mountain without crashing.

There's Something Satisfying...

...about taking the peel off an orange all in one piece. :)

My First Completed Pillow Project

When I found out that one of my best friends was going to have a girl, I wanted to make something really fun for her to put in the baby's room.  I had found a pattern for a cute and decorative pillow that I was dying to make and this was the perfect opportunity.  I'm quite pleased with how it turned out if I do say so myself. :)

Date Night

Covey and I went on a much-needed date this weekend.  We realized that it had been long enough since our last "real" date that we couldn't remember when that last "real" date had been.  We decided to go out to Macaroni Grill, one of our favorite restaurants, for dinner and use a gift card we had.  After dinner, we walked around the Riverwoods to see the different shops and also some of the changes they had made to the place.  As we walked around, we noticed that there were people going on carriage rides.  I assumed that it must cost money, but it turns out that it was FREE!  So we stood in line for about 10 minutes or so and took a short ride around the area.  It was fun to go "riding a long in a 'two-horse' open sleigh" and hear the "sleigh bells jingling".  I was sad when the ride was over.  Covey and I proceeded to walk around some of the shops.  The most popular one by far was the toy store.  There were adults and children playing with the various toys and looking at all of the old fashioned candy.  We ended up buying Bananagrams.  After looking through the rest of the stores, we headed home and made some hot chocolate and played Bananagrams.

My bananagram (I won)

Covey's Bananagram

  Then we watched the old Christmas movie "Santa Claus is Coming to Town".  (Covey had never seen it but I grew up on the show.)

All in all, it was a great night and we promised ourselves we would do it more often. :)

Not Just A Coincidence

This photo was found inside of the Provo Tabernacle after it had been completely gutted by fire.  Some people may think it is just a coincidence that this photo burned everywhere except where Christ was. Not me.

Brooklynn Photography

Last Christmas, my dad and step-mom gave Covey and I a 1 hour photo session with my step-sister, Brooke, who is a photographer.  We were pretty excited about it because the last professional photos we had taken were at our wedding and we were in dire need of new pictures.  (As much as you love your wedding photos, you can only look at them for so long.)  So the time came to get our pictures taken and it was a lot of fun.  Brooke did a really great job!  See for yourself:

If you like what you see, you can also check out Brooke's website.  :)  (Yes, I'm advertising.  What are sisters for?)