OFFICER SMITH

So I also wanted to blog about a huge change that happened for us this last August. Chris was hired on with the Salt Lake County Sheriffs as a Correctional Officer in the Salt Lake County Jail. I have to admit at first I was really against this, I did not want to be the wife of an "officer" I wanted him to have a normal 8 to 5 job sitting at a desk, but how could I say no when I could tell how excited and happy he was about this?! Since then I have come to terms of his new career and I couldn't be more happy for him. Hey.. if he's the one working and providing it's only fair he has a career he likes right? Plus he looks so adorable in his uniform! Chris's main goal is to eventually become a street cop, but the jail is sure a great place to get experience under his belt in the mean time. I love this boy and I'm so proud of him and all he has accomplished!

These are some of the pictures from his badge ceremony. He has such a loving and supportive family. We are so blessed to have each of them in our lives. He has since been working hard inside the jail for 4 months now! Time has gone by so fast. He loves it and has a new story everyday.

ALOHA

So I haven't blogged forever! I think it's been almost a year, what a slacker I am. Alot has happened in a year and I want to write about all of it. I wanted to first document our amazing Hawaii Trip we took in December. It was a blast. I'm so glad Chris and I were able to go, just the two of us. We did a ton while we were there as you will see with my picture overload! By far the best trip we have been on.

This was in Waikiki, we soaked up the sun on the beach that first day. It was heavenly!

We hit the Dole Plantation and had the yummiest pineapple whip ever! So refreshing.

Hanauma Bay was a must, such a cool experience to snorkel with all those fishies!

We headed up to the North Shore and watched the surfing competitions, drank some not so yummy coconut water, went to the temple and finished up with the Polynesian Cultural Center! What a day!

SKYDIVING! By far the coolest thing I've ever done in my entire life! Don't ask me how on earth I let myself jump our of a perfectly good airplane but I did. 14,000 feet above the ocean! It was so sureal, I would do it again in a heartbeat! Thank you to Chris who begged me to go, I'm so glad I faced a huge fear and did this! A memory I will never forget!

We also went parasailed! This too was another cool experience. It was so peaceful up there, I'm so glad Chris and I did this. We got alot of fun pictures too!

We shopped around the International Market Place, also went to Pearl Harbor and toured the Bowfin! We had Such a great trip. Chris would move there in a heartbeat. We hope to be able to go back someday and visit some of the other Islands!

Birthday Boy - Big 26

So Friday March 25th we celebrated Chris's Birthday! I can't believe he is 26 years old, that's almost 30!!! well not quite but still..close :) This year I wanted to get him something that would be a surprise to him. He has always been the best at surprises and has spoiled me so much since we've been together, so this year I wanted it to be his turn to be spoiled and surprised!

So Chris has been drooling over this really expensive watch for the longest time, it's a Nixon (apparently a nice brand) but we never bought it for him because he could never justify paying that much for a watch he didn't really need. I knew how much he would love it and how much of a surprise it would be if i got it for him. Well i was right, I not only surprised him with it but I think I made him the happiest boy on Earth for a day :)

The Triplets :)

At Texas Road House with his family, about to open his gift from me!

Loved that look on his face, priceless!

I think I can tell the time from here with how big the watches face is. Look at his grin from ear to ear :)

I hope he had a great birthday spent with the ones he loves. I'm so thankful for this boy in my life, he's more than I could ever have asked for! He's the most kind and thoughtful person I have ever met, and deserved to be spoiled for his special day! He's definitely a keeper :) I can't wait to celebrate more birthdays in the future. I love you Chris. Happy Birthday!!!

HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS

So Monday night Chris and I were invited to go see the Harlem Globetrotters at the Energy Solutions Arena. Chris's co worker Jeff, had extra tickets in the Wells Fargo suite so he took us. He also brought his friend Megan and his adorable little boy Noah. I have heard of the Globetrotters before but never seen them in person. To sum it up they are AMAZINGLY TALENTED! They put on such a fun show, we were laughing the entire time. The skills they have are crazy, and they really know how to entertain a crowd! Thanks Jeff for the INVITE :)

Megan, Jeff, Noah, Chris and Me.

Noah was in AWWW, how adorable is he?

This was the star of the trotters, he goes by "Special K". After the game was over we wanted to go get a picture with him and his autograph, but right when we went to get in on the end of the long line, they closed it off!! We were pretty disappointed..Chris tried to get me to flirt with the bouncer dude to let us squeeze in, but i was too embarrassed to try HAHA. So the only picture we could get was with him and some random fans. Oh well, we still had a blast!

VaLeNtiNeS DaY 2011

So this Valentines Day was a really good one. Chris and I told each other before hand that we were not going to buy gifts for each other, just go to a nice dinner. Well my husband didn't follow the rules too well... while I was working this delivery boy came in with roses, a balloon, a cute teddy bear and some chocolate covered strawberries. I was super surprised when he asked for an Olivia Smith, I got all giddy when he handed them to me. I work at a doctors office so of course the waiting room was full of patients and I'm sure they all noticed my bright red face and huge smile. It was a really cute surprise, I really do have such a thoughtful husband.

I didn't plan on getting Chris anything but after he got me such a cute gift, I felt like I should get him something little. I got off work before he did so I ran to the store and hurried home to have it ready for him when he got there. I put rose petals all over the bed in the shape of a heart and since he loves mountain dew, I got him a bottle of that and I got him a huge box of fruit snacks...which he also loves, and wrote him a sweet card. I know it wasn't much but he loved it. He's simple and appreciates the little things, which I love. And lets just say.. that's not all he got that night ;)

After that we got ready and headed down town to go to dinner. He wouldn't tell me where we were going, he wanted to surprise me. We got downtown and we pulled up to The Macaroni Grill..one of my favs! I was really excited and so hungry. I really enjoyed our dinner, I love it when we get to spend time together, just the two of us. He's the love of my life and I can't believe this was our 3rd Valentines together. I'm so excited to celebrate more in the future together.

Ruth's Chris

So last Friday Chris and I wanted to go on a date. So when I got off work Chris had told me he had made reservations for us at this really nice steak house called Ruth's Chris. Some of his family members have eaten there before and said it was the best steak they had ever eatin, plus they wine and dine you! I'm usually a chicken person but this time I was obligated to try this "AMAZING" steak. It's a pretty fancy restaurant so we changed and got all done up and headed downtown.

This was by far the most EXPENSIVE restaurant Chris and I had ever been to. The service was amazing and the food was delicious! Chris and I both ordered a salad, we got the blue cheese lettuce wedge and I would have to say it was the best blue cheese I've ever had. They also brought our warm sour dough bread which was also so yummy. For our meal we obviously ordered a steak, but the way you order is ala cart, so you order your steak...(which my steak was about 42 bucks!!!) then you order whatever side dishes you want. Chris got the Ribeye steak and I ordered the Filet. And for our sides we got mashed potatoes and asparagus. My steak was so tender I could just use my fork to cut through it. It seriously melted in my mouth. :) After dinner we of course had to order desert, we ordered the duel chocolate cake with fresh berries and whipped cream. It was amazing to say the least.
When we finished our waiter brought us our check..total came to $125.00 including tip!!!! ummm HOLY CRAP..good thing we used a gift card and some cash we got for Christmas becasue with out that we wouldn't have chosen this place hahaha...we knew it was going to be expensive when we chose it but GEE, who could ever eat there on a regular basis?! lol It was such a fun and romantic date for Chris and I to be able to go and spend some alone time with each other. I would definitely recommend trying it at least once :)

cHrIsTmAs DaY 2010

This Christmas was mine and Chris's 3rd Christmas together and 2nd Christmas being married! Where has the time gone?! I still can't believe it :) Christmas morning we woke up in our jammies we opened the night before and came downstairs to open the couple gifts we got each other.. Chris got me a new coolpix touch camera, which I am in love with! and a bunch of clothes! I got Chris an HDMI cable, new Puma shoes and socks, and also some basketball shorts. After we relaxed together most of the morning we finally got ready for the day and headed over to my parents for our Christmas dinner with my moms side of the fam.

We got to my parents and opened more gifts. My parents got us a griddle and gave us some money as well. We also did a gift exchange with my siblins, so my sister Emily got me a gift card to Victorias Secret and my little brother Sammy got Chris a HUGE thing of cashews (his fav) some church socks and a new wallet. Chris and I also framed some pictures for my mom of all of us kids and gave her some wedding pictures she's been wanting as well.

We then enjoyed the rest of the night hanging out with my family, eating good food and listening to my Grandma, Cousin and Aunt play their guitars. I love my family and I am so grateful for the times we are all able to get together and enjoy spending time as a fam!

I am sad the Christmas season is over but kinda relieved at the same time.. It can get so stressful! I'm so thankful for my wonderful husband and everything he does for us! We had a great Christmas together and I can't wait for more to come. Hopefully by next Christmas we will be adding or talking about adding someone to our little family :) lol...fat chance though!

Christmas Eve with The Smiths

This year we had our annual Christmas Eve party with the Smiths at Stephs house. We had the famous Navajo tacos and enjoyed opening presents and spending time with the family! We do a gift exchange with one another because buying gifts for each person is way too expensive. This year I got a gift card to Rue 21 and Chris got a board game called bezzerweezer... we tried playing the game that night and realized it's for SMART people haha. We had such a fun time. I love spending Christmas Eve with all these fun people!

Rare Moment

So every other sunday Chris and I get to watch our niece Oakleigh. I look forward to it cuz I find it fun to get her all ready for church, it's good practice I think :) This past sunday she was wiggly all through sacrament so Chris and I took turns playing with her out in the hall. I think she wore herself out, cuz when we had to go teach our class she was all out of energy. I picked her up and had her sit on my lap during the lesson and to my surprise she fell asleep! Chris says it's cuz he bored her with our lesson...I say it's cuz i'm her favorite and i'm just that GOOD to get her to fall asleep on me :) I thought it was the sweetest thing, Chris took a picture to capture the rare
moment. We love tending this little girl!

Ugh..Holiday Fattness!

So ever since Halloween I have felt like a fatty...all this holiday junk food has already gotten to me. AND it's nowhere near being OVER! It's too hard to resist, almost impossible ( at least for Chris and I).. When the holidays have passed and all the treats, goodies, feasts and parties are done, we are cracking down and getting back into shape!! During the summer Chris and I were in really good shape and ate much better than we have been doing lately. Ugh I hate feeling like a tubby during the holidays and the cold weather doesn't make it any better. I hate winter, it's freezing outside and you spend most of your time cooped up inside being a lazy bum... So as soon as New Years is over we are getting our butts back into shape!

Chris and I took "After" pictures when summer was about over. We want to be back in shape like this again!

We are determined to get back to our healthy routine...We'll let you know how it goes after the holidays are officially over :)

New Orleans Trip

So back at the beginning of October Chris and I headed down to New Orleans to go visit my brother Jake and his wife Angie. They moved there the end of July because Jake started law school. The main reason we went down was because they were going to be sealed in the temple and we wanted to go and support them. My mom and sister Jenni were also able to fly down and enjoy the trip with us. Here are just a some pictures we took of the trip...we had a blast! The weather was awesome, kinda humid, but not bad. The atmosphere down there is so lively and fun! So much to do, and fun shopping and food! Southern food is so so yummy! Of course New Orleans is famous for Mardi Gras so their are also CRAZY/DIRTY people there as well :)

We are eating gator! Yes it was gross..Chris liked it though. Also we walked the famous Bourbon Street...pretty fun! Although we had to shut our eyes a few times haha:)

Jake and Angie were sealed in the Baton Rouge Temple, it was so special and I am so glad Chris and I were able to be there for them. Angie looked really pretty coming out in her wedding dress, and Jake looked like a stud. The temple was really pretty but super tiny. There was a stake center right next to the temple and it was bigger!

Our last day that we were there we went to Lake Ponchatrain. To get to the beach we went to we had to cross a bridge over the lake that was about 20 miles long. It was actually kinda nerve racking, seriously when we crossed it, it looked like we were surrounded by the ocean. We enjoyed gettin some sun and playin around in the sand and water. We had such a fun time down in NO. We are sad Jake and Ang are living so far away now, but Chris and I will have a fun time being able to travel down there and visit every so often! We highly recommend visiting this place, it'll be a fun trip we will always remember!

He liked it so he "Put a ring on it"

Yesterday(Nov 18) was the two year anniversary of the day Chris proposed. This Picture was taken at the Joseph Smith Memorial building while we were waiting for our reservation to be ready at "The Roof" mm mmmm. I had no idea that was the night Chris was going to ask me to marry him! Story time? Ok...i'll give you the short version..well at least try :)

So brief background info... the weekend before Chris popped the question, we got into our FIRST fight. (ever since we started dating). He felt bad that we got into an argument right before he wanted to ask me to marry him. So after we both got over it, he told me he wanted to take me out on a date to make up for the fight we just had. He said we were going to go to the Body Works Exhibit and then out to The Roof for a nice dinner. I was way excited and of course didn't have the slightest clue what was up his sleeve.."literally" haha. So we walked around the exhibit (which was amazing!..highly recommend it) and then headed over to the restaurant. Our reservations weren't until 7:30 and it was only 6:30...we had an hour to kill and I was starved!! When we parked the car and started getting out, I noticed Chris was going to bring in his big coat...I told him "Babe you probably won't need your coat inside." He said, "your probably right" and started taking it off, trying to keep his COOL and not act SUSPICIOUS since he had to pull the ring out of the coat pocket!! Thats the reason he wanted to keep the coat on. haha He thought for sure I knew something was up when we started heading inside, especially since his pant pocket was now bulging from the ring box! ( I seriously had no clue, I was just making a suggestion to leave the coat in the car..lol)

Since we were quite early, Chris suggested just sitting in the lobby at the JSM building and listening to the piano player while we wait to go up. I kept telling him, "Lets just go up now, it's a Tuesday night and i'm sure it's not going to be busy!" Chris did not want to go up yet since they were going to have a specific table ready with a long stemed rose, waitnig for us at exactly 7:30...of course I didn't know this..so I kept pushing to go up... Hey I was starving ok! lol While we waited Chris wanted to go walk around the temple, I told him ok, even though I was getting irritated as to why we couldn't just go up then. We walked around for a bit, might I add it was freezing outside and I was the one who made us leave our coats in the car...remember? haha While we were walking around Chris said, "Hey I have a funny idea! How about you give me your fake ring that you wear ( I wore a fake cubic zerconium on my ring finger) and when we are up at the restaurant, I will pretend to propose to you! It will be funny!" His whole plan was to take my fake ring I wore and when he was going to do the "fake" proposal have inside the box the "real ring"....I looked at him and said, "Are you kidding..umm no way! That would be embarrassing and it wouldn't even be real!"... Hey But seriously..what girl would want her boyfriend to do a "FAKE" proposal in front of EVERYONE? haha So after we were almost frozen from walking around in the bitter cold...coatless, it was close to 7:30 and time to head up to go eat :) finally!

We got up there, and the hostess took us to our table. It had a beautiful red rose waiting, and was directly looking over the salt lake temple. It was gorgeous! There was an older couple directly across the isle from us and they were enjoying their 50th wedding anniversary. We made small conversation with them for a minute, they were so cute:) We both enjoyed our yummy FEAST and then moved onto the never-ending row of desserts!! As i'm sitting there looking at all the desserts we grabbed and taking bites of each one, I noticed Chris is not eating much. I said, " You better help me eat some of this, I can't do it alone" haha. He said, "I'm so full!"...and then contiuned on with saying how in love he was with me, and how he wanted to spend the rest of eternity with me. I kept eating the dessert:)... while letting him know that I loved him too and wanted that for us as well... not knowing what all this LOVEY TALK was leading up to..haha All of a sudden he reaches into his pocket, kneels down and pulls out the most gorgeous ring I have EVER seen! I couldn't believe that was really happening! SHOCKED is probably the best word to describe that moment. Pretty much the whole restaurant was standing up, just watching me cry like a little baby...haha I stood up and just sat on his lap and hugged him..it was such a memorable moment.



We were lucky enough to have the older couple across from us snap a picture of the moment :) They later mailed us the pictures they took and also came to our wedding reception...we felt they deserved an invite :) I'll never forget that day and I'm so thankful for Christopher and everything he does. He's the best husband in the world and he treats me like a princess! I can't wait to spend Eternity with him. I love you babe.

The ring is still sparkling :)

Just. Girls

So it's sorta past midnight and I can't fall asleep, so Ive been looking through the pictures on my computer and found this cute one of us GIRLS... Jenni, Mom, Emmy, and ME!....BTW it's missing my oldest sis Gentri, she wasn't there that night :( But I thought I'd do a quick post on how much I love my sisters and Mom! Yes, my sisters still....make me angry. Still...do stupid things. Still....borrow my clothes and never return them. Still...have attitude and love DRAMA but thats what sisters do. And I still... love them! All of them are stinkin GORGEOUS, very unique, HALF crazy, extremely DRAMATIC, and Hillarious!! ...the list could go on and on. I'm so greatful to have them as MY sisters!

And...I can't forget to tell you how much I love my Mother! Now that I have been married and grown up a bit, our relationship is better than ever! I really do have the BEST mom in the world ( sorry everyone).. And how PRETTY is she? All I can say is that I hope when I'm her age I look just as good! She does so much for Chris and I and we can't thank her enough. I hope she knows how much she is LOVED!