Chosen :)

We've been chosen!  We were contacted by an incredible girl in February and spent the next few weeks getting to know each other.  On March 28, 2012, she told us she had selected us to adopt her baby boy.  We are beyond excited and just so full of gratitude for this wonderful girl and the amazing gift she is giving us.  Baby boy is due in August and we can't wait!

Finishing the Basement

Paul and his friend, Matt, had the crazy idea a couple months ago that they would help finish each other's basements.  We've been talking about it for awhile, but once he had a partner in crime, the project got moving full force.  They started with Matt's basement and framed two bedrooms.  Then it was time for our house.  They are doing an excellent job.  They manage to have quite a bit of fun while working and we can't wait to have some more room downstairs!

Don't mess with me!

One wall down, eight to go. :)

Looking good boys!  Keep up the hard work!

Wahoo!  The first wall of the bedroom.

 The more practice they get, the faster they are!  This basement is going to be done in no time.

Chuck E Cheese, Colors Festival and City Creek

My family came this weekend so we could go to the Festival of Colors.  They arrived Friday night and we went to Chuck E Cheese, so the kids could play and let's be honest, so the adults could play. :)

We pretty much shut the place down.  We just couldn't get enough!


The next morning we went to Kneaders for breakfast and then made the hour drive to Spanish Fork so we could Welcome Spring.  This is an event that happens every year and we love going.  Essentially, you buy bags of colored chalk and throw it at each other. :)  It gets pretty messy, but it is A LOT of Fun!  You can read more about the Festival here: http://www.utahvalley.com/events/details.aspx?ID=1247

Alex (my brother's girlfriend), Me, July (my sister), Mel (my sister), Cayman (my niece) and Cooper (my nephew)

Phil (Mel's Husband), Cory (July's Husband), and Ryan (my brother)

Paul didn't come to the Festival since he's been trying to finish our basement.  So while I was away playing, he was at home working.  But, he met up with us that night for dinner and shopping.

A new shopping center, City Creek, in Downtown Salt Lake just opened, so we decided to check it out.  We all walked around and then met up at the Food Court for dinner.  The place was packed!!

We decided we didn't want to wait 45 minutes for Sbarro (I mean really, who would?), so we went back to my sister's and just picked up food on the way.  We visited and ate, and played DrawSome and had a great time!  We love having family around and are always sad to see them go.

Dress Up Anyone?

The warm weather is here and with it brings many overnight campout's for Paul and the Scouts.  That means I get to have girl's night with my little niece, Cayman.  We missed a sleepover in February, so she was so excited to finally get one this month.  I picked her up at 5:00 and we went to McDonald's to eat.  Although, there really wasn't much eating going on.  But there was a lot of playing!  After we had our fill at McDonald's, we went to see The Lorax.  That was such a cute movie.  I loved all the bright colors and trees.  Then we went to grab some Oreo ice cream before heading home.  It's a tradition to do each other's makeup whenever we have a sleepover (Cayman even brought her own eyeshadow this time), but this time we stepped it up.  After we got all pretty (can you say BRIGHT purple eyeshadow and deep red lipstick?), it was time to dress up.

Not the most flattering picture (ummmmm, extreme closeup!), but you have to admire the makeup skills of a 5 year old!

Cayman convinced me the only thing I could possibly wear was my wedding dress.  So I happily obliged.

Then we found an old dress of mine and tied it with one of Paul's belts so it would fit Cayman.  It actually turned out pretty cute.  Throw on some 3 inch heels and a veil and she's all ready!

You'd think after all that, she'd be pretty worn out.  But she wasn't.  We still read two chapters in her Junie B. book and made jewelry before she finally fell asleep.  The next morning wouldn't be complete without Tweety Bird waffles, so after a yummy breakfast, it was time for the sleepover to end.  I'm not sure how I could top this for next time. :)

Leap Day!

It was our friend, Matt's birthday on Leap Day.  We thought since he only gets an "actual" birthday ever 4 years, we needed to do something special.  So his wife, Rachel, prepared a surprise party for him at a comedy club in SLC called Wise Guys.  It was Open Mic night, and we thought we might be able to get him to perform.  The comedy was a little more risque than I prefer, but once Matt got up to perform, he stole the show!  We were all very impressed with his mad comic skills.  He definitely got some laughs (and not just from Paul!).  Do we see a future for him as a comedian?  Maybe not, but at least he can still practice his material on us. :)

Valentine's Day

 A couple months ago when we were in Vegas with our friends, Lady Antebellum was performing.  My friend Heather and I really wanted to go, but it was last minute, so we decided not to.  When I came home from Vegas I looked to see when the tour would be in SLC.  Well, it just so happened to be on Valentine's Day.  So I texted  Heather to see if she could get her hubby to plan something (he's kind of the planner of the group).  I had NO IDEA what it would turn into.  It started with a limo picking us up at 4:30.   There were 10 of us in there and it was a blast all riding together.

Just chilling in the limo

We ate dinner at The Mandarin in Bountiful where we met up with a couple more friends.  Dinner was delicious and there were quite a few laughs.  

Where's Paul (Kind of like Where's Waldo)?  Can you find him??

After dinner, we headed to the Lady A concert.  I was so, so excited!!!  I don't think I've been this excited since, I can't even remember when!!!  Lady A put on a great show and I'm not ashamed to say I might have a little crush on Charles Kelley (lead singer of Lady A).  It was the perfect Valentines Day.  Thanks Paul for making it such a great night!

The whole crew at the concert

Waiting for the concert to start

Time Out for Women

A couple weeks ago I went to Time Out for Women with a bunch of wonderful women in our neighborhood.  There were about 35 of us and I had a great time.  TOFW is a 2 day conference where you listen to speakers and singers.  We heard some amazing talks and listened to some amazing music.

 Michael McLean was the musical guest on Friday night, so of course we HAD to get our picture with him.

 Fun Girls!!

There are some absolutely wonderful women in my neighborhood and I am so thankful I have them as friends!!

Random Tidbits

I thought it would be fun to mention some random tidbits about me and Paul.  So without further adieu, here we go!

1.  Paul has THE most contagious laugh anyone has ever heard.  One of my friends told me that when she's having a hard day, she just thinks of Paul's laugh and she is instantly doing better.  You can't help but join in when he's laughing.  This is not a good thing when we are somewhere we are supposed to be quiet (or reverent), and something funny happens.  He does not do a good job at silent laughter.  Picture our whole row at church just shaking from laughter.  Talk about disruptive!

2.  I am THE clumsiest person ever!  It started waaaaaaaay back when I was a teenager and has never left me.  From running down the school steps in my cheerleading uniform and lying in a pile at the bottom of the stairs with scrapes all over my legs, to running through the halls at school and running into the pole in the middle of the hallway, I can trip over absolutely nothing!  I have learned to control the falling and end up doing the "What?  Of course I meant to start running for no reason" walk.  People, this is embarrassing.

3.  Paul and I love "NBC Comedy Thursday".  We look forward to it every week.  We love us some Liz Lemon, Dwight Shrute, and Leslie Knope.  Especially Leslie Knope.   We can't get enough!  We always DVR the shows because we know we will have to pause numerous times since we are laughing so hard.  Best part of the week.  Humor makes life better!

4.  I secretly want to host "E! News Live" (guess it's not really a secret anymore).  To me, that is the dream job. Watch out Giuliana Ranic!  If I'm ever in LA, I just might audition.  If only.........

5.  Paul loves singing:  anytime, anywhere.  He makes up little jingles and is constantly asking me, "Did you record that?  That was really good!  Do you think that company would want to buy that?".  I just look at him and hold out my empty hands and ask, "Um, what would I be recording with?".  And yet, he never stops asking.  He also loves singing in the shower.  He likes to "recreate" songs.  Not create, but recreate.  This means taking 2, 3, or 4 songs and mixing them all together into one major song.  Sometimes it means taking lyrics from one song and singing them to another tune.  To sum up:  Paul loves singing.

That's it for now!  I don't want to throw out too many random tidbits at one time.  It could be overwhelming! :)

The Perfect Meatloaf

 As mentioned in previous posts, Paul loves buying anything "As Seen On TV".  His request for Christmas this year was the Perfect Meatloaf pan.  I was slightly confused by this, since we've made meatloaf exactly ONE time since we've been married (and it was a disaster).  But I complied with his request and Boom!  Perfect Meatloaf pan for Christmas.  We invited some friends over for dinner last week and decided to try it out.  We made a huge event out of it, even deciding to photograph every step from completion.  (I think by making fun of the fact we made meatloaf, it made it ok to eat it :)).  We went with the Italian Meatloaf (did you know there are different kinds!???).  I was pleasantly surprised.  The Perfect Meatloaf actually lived up to it's hype. :)  Even though it looks kind of disgusting (meatloaf doesn't photograph well, people), it was actually pretty good.  It seems as though there may be more meatloaf in our future.  Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf, you're next!

 Disclaimer:  Seriously, meatloaf?  I just wrote a post about meatloaf?  Whatev's.  :)