The Linsley's

The Day of Love

2012-02-16T19:03:00.000-07:00

Valentines Day was a really fun day this year. I had to work which was okay and Gavin had the day off so he could plan something fun for us. He picked me up from work with flowers in hand! I loved it, he was all dressed up and ready to go to dinner. This was the gift he got me this year.

This is the picture that was drawn of us when Gavin proposed to me 3 years ago! I loved it so much but could never really do anything with it until now. I love that he thought to frame it so we can hang it in our room and always remember that special day. I love him. And this is what I got him...

With a big box of chocolates of course. This whistle is actually really cool. The company that makes them is called Falling Whistles and all of the proceeds go to protect children in the kongo who are too little to carry weapons. These kids instead of carrying weapons are only armed with their whistles. Check out the movie online... http://www.fallingwhistles.com/media/peace-is-the-new-frontier/ After a great love story and chocolate, I must say one of the best V-days I've had.

Valentines Day 2011

Vday 2009

Who Will I Be Today?

2012-01-13T23:22:00.000-07:00

Isn't it crazy to think about the effect we can have on a persons day? I realized that today as person after person brought me to tears. From school, finances, work and even the cafe, the effect that one person can have on another is tremendous. This made me think hard at work today as I worked frantically to get ready for different events, what kind of person am I? Am I also one that is added to a strangers list, or a reason they have a tear rolling down their face? Or am I the kind of person that can bring a smile to a persons face even though they are having a day like I did today? I hope I am that person. And if not, I will do my best from now on to send little gestures... even just a smile... to someone walking by me in the craziness of the mall to do my part.Who will you be today? As a wiseman once told me... be somebody's hero today.

Christmas Bracelet

2012-01-04T18:48:00.000-07:00

Isnt this bracelet cute? My cute mother in law (Jill) made it for me for christmas and I love it so much I had to blog about it. I wore it to work and the girls were loving it, and especially that it was homemade! We also received a package from my mom and dad the other day with some work out goodies. Running shorts, and a GNC giftcard. Now I have no excuses to hit the gym for the next while. This week has been rough, it will get better though. I used to use the excuse that I was way too busy, but I know there are people way more busy than I am that manage to work out everyday. So... I can do it!

A few of our Resolutions

2012-01-02T21:36:00.000-07:00

Our new year's eve was nice and relaxing. We took Diesel for a walk, took a nap played the move and had a night full of super unhealthy snacks. We got the move (wii for the playstation) for christmas from the Linsley's and I pretty much dominated Gavin in every game... poor guy.

Today was our first day back in the gym. I cant believe how long it has been but with the nice summer weather and then my craziest semester of school, I made up tons of excuses to not find time. I took a before picture, I didnt even consider posting it. They are only worth showing people when you have an after picture with it.

Here are a few resolutions I have for the new year:

Tawnya

1. Take better care of my body: eating, exercising, pampering.

2. go visiting teaching each month.

3. be consistant with family and personal scripture study, prayers, and family home evening

4. graduate from school

5. maybe consider participating in the lotoja this year

Gavin

1. Gain 20 lbs.

2. get more sleep

3. love my wife more

4. get my own store this year

5. not to forget about my talk on sunday.... straight from his mouth.

Diesel

1. dont eat any shoes

2. try to stop humping mom

3. stop waking dad up at 3 every morning

4. talk mom and dad into getting a little sister

5. control my slobber and shedding (mom always get mad... but i cant control it!)

So there ya go, a few things we want to do this year to improve ourselves to be better people. That is what this life is about after all isnt it? To grow and learn and to become more christlike each day, if only it was as easy as it sounds all of the time right.

Holy Moly! It's Been A While!

2011-12-28T18:53:00.000-07:00

There wasn't much I could do last semester except study, homework and work. Now that I have finally been able to take a few days off and relax I can finally update my 2 readers on my life. I dont even know really where to begin. Well Gavin has quit his job and is now working with me at the Buckle and will be taking over his own store next year hopefully. They will be moving us to a different state, so we will see where heavenly father leads us. It is a lot of fun working with him, we dont go too crazy because we dont really work one on one a lot. He is on the sales floor and I do the visual work.

During Halloween, I had a cool opportunity to go and help open a brand new store in scottsdale, az at the scottsdale quarter store. It was amazing there I loved it so much. I also had the chance to get some dinner with a really old friend Hayley Evans who is amazing! She is down in mesa getting her masters, ya she is really smart. It was so good seeing her. Because I was gone out of town we didnt get to spend Halloween together. We did go to a play before I left called "Dracula". It filled us with all the scariness we needed to feel okay to be apart for Halloween.

Gavin and I have been so blessed to make the friends that we have up here. For thanksgiving we went to our friends house for brunch, Chris and Jamie, our good friends house for dinner, Cortney and Jason, and another friends house for dessert, The Vissors. I was in charge of making all of the plans and lets just say I am grounded from ever making plans again. Gavin was disappointed that we had such a busy holiday so he made our christmas plans.

We were able to go down to Utah at the beginning of December for my dad's surprise 50th birthday party. It was so much fun to surprise him! All the kids went to PF Changs for dinner and him and my mom showed up totally surprised! I love my dad so much it is so weird for me to see him growing older.

Christmas was nice and relaxing, just how we wanted it. Gavin made our plans... of course... and we went over to our really good friends Jason and Cortney's house. We had the most DELICIOUS food and hung out with great company all night. We went home and played with our new christmas toys.

Nothing too exciting is going on with us. We are both just working really hard in our jobs and me at school so we can have the success we want. Diesel is growing stronger and bigger everyday. He is trying harder to be a good boy and he is really wanting a little sister, no not a baby... a puppy. But we will see. Speaking of babies, my sister is expecting a boy so that is really exciting. She is due here in March and I cannot wait!

206 miles, 3 states, 1 day

2011-10-05T21:09:00.000-06:00

LOTOJA 2011 was... adventurous. Dont get me wrong, it was a nice relaxing trip. We were able to find a great kenneling place for Diesel called the montana dog ranch in which he loved. I think he was even sad to come home from such a fun weekend. We were able to leave bright and early on Friday morning, with only one stop the whole way we made it to Logan just in time for Gavin to pick up his racing packets. From Logan, and a disappointing meal at our used to be favorite cafe rio, we headed for a spa day at Janiels salon, "gavins sister". We both got a great new hairdo and all nice to meet up with my parents at Brick Oven Pizza. It was so delicious and a good carb load for Gavin. I am so happy they were willing to come up and eat with us, I sure do miss them all the time.

When we were done with dinner, we headed back to the Linsley's for some quiet time, though it was crazy as ever. We were busy making food and water bottles and snacks and getting the boys all ready for their ride the next day. It was so nice to be there, I dont think I have laughed that much in a long time. Gaynard was constantly thinking of everything he might need to remind us of or teach us about with riding long races. Jill, Gavin and I could not help the smiles on our faces. Oh how we love Gaynard. After a restless night of sleep, we woke up bright and early for the race. We were up in Logan by 4:45 am getting tires pumped up and getting ready. Gavin was so anxious and excited, and I couldnt help but to have those feelings with him.

It was a hectic morning and it was at that point that I decided, "today, I am just going to go with the flow." man would I regret that statement. They boys took off, and so did we, we had to make it to preston, ID before the boys did with food and water.

It wasnt too long of a wait until the boys rode in. Gavin had a smile on his face and was feeling great. He was starting to get warm and took off his jacket and leggings. The poor guy also forgot to put on shammy butter.. but dont worry, he wasnt too shy to pull down his bibs and slap it on in front of the crowd. Jill and I were so embarrassed, when turning our heads we noticed gaynard doing the same thing!! Like father like son I guess. Well after some kisses and refueling, the boys were off again. this time we were to meet them in montpelier. This leg is longer, and a long drive for us as well. We pulled in and waited a longer this time. I was worried when Gavin wasnt coming in and wasnt coming in. Finally we see the guys come in.... but no Gavin. Gaynard told us how Gavin had to drop back because his knees were hurting him so bad. My heart sunk for him. He has had problems with his knees for a while now. He finally rolled in and was intantly swarmed with love and concern from family. I stood there and held his bike while his mom, sisters and cousin nurtured him to keep going. I stood there, helpless wondering and hoping that he would keep going. He looked up at me in pain and asked me what I though. I said to him, well you are already in pain, you mind as well keep going. He was frustrated with my remark, but understood what I meant. Jeremy filled him with pain killers, rubbed his knees with her secret oils and he was still not feeling well. He rested for a minute and we chatted. He knew how bad I wanted him to keep going... so he jumped on his bike.

The next leg is one of the hardest ones. It is called King of the Mountain. You climb like 1300 ft in 10 miles or something crazy like that. I knew it would kill Gavin. I jumped in my car and instantly felt sick. Halfway up the "king of the mountain" was a shop with a bathroom and had to pull over. I finally felt okay enough to head up the mountain more. All the girls pulled over on a lookout point to watch the guys and later on Gavin ride by. I jumped out of the car with more medicine to give to gavin, and he shook it off as he rode by. I was so worried about him all I could do was cry! He had worked so hard for this race and wants to finish so bad... will his knees really keep him from finishing??

Jen, the sweetheart that she is, saw my teary eyes and decided to drive while I rested. As we walked over to my car, she asked for my keys. I checked my pockets frantically and my heart sunk! I LOCKED MY KEYS IN MY CAR! Not only that but we were literally in the middle of no where. After searching frantically for a slim jim, finding one and it not working, we were desperate. We sat in Jill's car while she went ahead with the others trying to figure out a plan. The only locksmith that was willing to come to our rescue was 1 hour and 15 minutes away. So we decided to accept and wait. We chatted, and cried and laughed and told stories. It was so much fun hanging out with her, I miss having family close like that. Dan the locksmith came to our rescue. Once I got in my car, I followed Jen and we punched it to 90 mph! We had to make it to the finish line, that is if Gavin even kept going. The moment I had service I called Jill and she told me Gavin was doing GREAT!! He was smiling and happy and doing well, he was going to FINISH the race!! We raced to Teton Village as fast as my Yaris could go and in passing gavin I couldnt help but scream out the window to him to Keep Going! He finally crossed the finish line with tears in his eyes of relief and emotion at 13 hours and 38 minutes!

I dont have any pictures of the middle of the race as you can see, because I didnt get to see any of it. But I am so proud of Gavin. It takes a lot of dicipline and courage to fight through pain like he did, and he is so strong for doing so. Next year he wants me to ride some of it with him... we will see :)

Another Family Visit

2011-09-05T21:46:00.000-06:00

Our family came and visited a few weeks ago. The group consisted of Jill, Jen, Casey, Preston and Hailey. It was so much fun having all of them down here. It was Preston's 8th birthday, so it was nice spending time with him since we didnt get to see his baptism. I worked for most of the time they were here, but they visited Phillipsburg and went to the huge candy store.

We also took them on a few of our favorite hikes.

It was so relaxing and nice to spend that time with the family, especially with hailey and casey. Being with them made gavin and I love them so much. It is so nice to have our family just about complete. We still have our little kids to add!!

We went to the farmers market bright and early saturday morning and then headed up to flathead lake.

I didnt get a ton of pictures this day which makes me sad. But gavin and preston had a ball on preston's birthday gift, a rip stick.

Isnt he cute! We got him this hat for his bday

On thursday we all rode our bikes on the river path to dinner in the park. We all chose different things to eat and sat and enjoyed the band. We of course went up and got some frozen yogurt and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Saturday night we took everyone to our favorite restuarant, the Tamarack!

We love having family and friends come and visit! I started school a couple of weeks ago and only have one year left!! yahoo! I am deep and busy into work and loving it all of the time. I feel there is a career opportunity right around the corner for me, I just have to continue to work hard to get there. Wish Gavin good luck at the Lotoja this weekend!

Success: How bad do you want it??

2011-09-03T18:51:00.001-06:00

I work with one of the most amazing ladies I have ever met. She is always finding way to teach me things that I can use not only in work, but in my life. She is a great example to me as a boss, a mother, a wife, a friend and a stranger, I look up to her a lot. I was watching our buckle year end video today, and she asked me why?? I told her I just needed a little lift, a little inspiration to work hard today. She showed me this video... and its amazing. She never fails to keep me working hard. If you want to know the key to success, check it out. It might take a minute to load, but trust me it is worth it. http://www.wimp.com/wantsuccess/

Just Hanging Out

2011-08-08T19:44:00.000-06:00

There hasnt been much going on with us since I got home from California. I have been working a lot and really hard and it seems to be paying off, I am right track to get where I want to be it seems. Gavin has been busy with work also, and hanging out with me. The summers are so beautiful here it is hard to stay inside in my free time to update this ole' thing. We have been riding bikes a lot, hiking, baseball games, pool, dinner, just having fun together while the sun is still shining. It seems winter isnt too far away and it makes me sad to think about. Gavin's family is coming up to visit us this weekend and I just cant wait! We have a lot of fun things planned. Well here are just a couple pics from some hikes...

Ventura Vacation

2011-07-17T21:27:00.000-06:00

I finally have some time to share how my vacation went last weekend. All I can really say that it was an amazing trip that I needed to much. I dont know what it was, being around such great friends, being where I feel at home... being happy?? But the spirit was so strong for me my whole trip, I felt like I didnt want to leave! To start out, right when I had arrived to the LA airport, my best friend Catherine was there to pick me up. I was a little worried because I hadnt seen her in 2 years and I hoped that nothing in our friendship had changed. As soon as I saw her and got in the car she said, "Wow you still look like a Utah girl but you live in Montana... thats weird." haha I knew that it was like I had never left! She is so hilarious and fun I love our friendship. Right when we got into town we stopped by Buffalo Wild Wings and I sent this pick to Gav just to rub it in a little..

After lunch we went straight to the Kim and Lynda's house and I could not wait to see them. This is the coupld that I lived with while I went to school down there. It was so good to see them. I love them so much and I love being around them. We sat and chatted for hours until it was time for me to go to Kylie's bachelorette party... that was why I went down after all. It was so nice to see Kylie. She was so cute and so excited to get married I loved it. For her party we got a hotel on the beach in Oxnard and headed down to Santa Monica to hang out on the pier and to go to dinner. Her sisters and friends kept me laughing all night, it was a good time. Here are some pics...

I was excited for Friday because I had the whole day to hang out with Catherine and to just relax. We woke up early and hitched a ride with the Allen's down to the beach. Kim either goes surfing every morning or if the surf is bad he takes Thor, his dog, for a walk. Well his health hasnt been too good so he cant go surfing for a while. The sad part was that the surf was good and the water was so nice that I could tell it was killing him inside to not be out there with his buddies. But we all went on a nice walk on the beach, Thor went crazy over every stick and it was nice for me to feel at home.

See the surfers??

Thor loves the ocean

Isnt it beautiful?

Dead seal, gross and stinky

Kim and Lynda, can gav and I be them?

This is where the ventura river meets the ocean, its a pretty cool sight

After the beach Cath and I went and picked up her mom Lori.. whom I also love.. and we went straight to in-n-out.. of course. We went to the park and chatted at ate and just caught up on life. I cannot believe how much time went by. Catherine and I then headed to the mall for some shopping. I feel a little shopping deprived here in Missoula, when you come you will understand why. They just got an H&M there so we basically went crazy in it. I found this skirt that I absolutely loved...

I sent this pic to Gav asking if I could get it. He then explained to me why I couldnt and I was pretty bummed. I looked at Catherine and she was like you cant get it?? I could tell she loved it! So of course I bought it for her. Hey if I cant have it, why not get it for my best friend. She was so excited and wore it to church that Sunday and I must say, she looked stunning. After shopping we headed to the Allen's for the night for some delicious vegan food and some True Grit. And again I felt right at home like I had never left... I loved it.

Saturday was a crazy morning. I woke up and snuck out of the room so I didnt wake up Catherine and got ready for Jeff and Kylie's wedding. She came and picked me up around 7 and we headed up to the temple which is about 1 hour away. I was lucky enough to attend their sealing and it was so wonderful. I am so happy that they chose to be married in the temple and it is a decision they will never regret! I learned so much from their sealing and soaked in every word. Waiting for them to come out of the temple was beautiful. The grounds there is full of flowers and the sun was shining so beautifully, I just sat in the sun and soaked it in.

After lunch in Santa Monica and a sleepy drive back to Oxnard, it was time to party! I got to see a lot of people that I knew and I got to meet some cool people as well. Catherine showed up at the end and we sat and laughed together. After we got home and I changed into some comfy clothes, yup... straight to in-n-out. haha I had to get it while I could. We went and visited with her family and they are so awesome. They are for sure such a great example of what I want my family to be like. Sunday, I must say, was one of the most amazing Sunday's I have had in a while. We went and listened to Kim speak in a ward and he is just so amazing. He spoke about temples, temple marriage, importance of going to the temple and how much he loves Lynda. I love listening to him talk about Lynda. They are such a cute couple and I look up to them so much. After going to Cath's family ward, it was straight home to pack and we were on our way. Catherine said she had a surprise for me and brought it in. and guess what it was... the skirt I wanted so bad. She said she loved it so much and knew I did too and couldnt let me leave without it! What a good friend, not saying that gifts is what makes you one, but I love that our friendship is selfless like that. I was so happy and gave her a big hug! I got some pics before my trip home...

It was sad to leave. I feel the thing that makes me love it there so much is that when I am there, I feel so loved and so wanted. I know that everyone there cares so much about me and genuinely wants what is best for me. I know they all miss me a lot and it makes me feel so good and so important, who wouldnt want to feel that way? Well I miss it there already, though Gavin is happy to have his wife back and I am happy to be back too. Hopefully it isnt 2 years before I make it back again.

This weekend

2011-07-17T21:10:00.000-06:00

We had a pretty fun weekend. On friday we went with our friends Amy and JT to get some delicious sushi, mmmmm it was good. After we headed to the Union Club to listen to our friend Amanda and her band sing. They are called Amanda Garcia and Beyond the Pale. Look her up on You Tube she is pretty much amazing. Saturday after a lazy morning we decided to go to the farmers markets and walk around downtown. We didnt end up getting anything except for this...

Organic cotton candy, yum. I havent had cotton candy for so so long and now I remember why, its a lot of sugar. But it is a fun every once in a while treat.

Today we went on our weekly walk with our friends Chris and Jaime. It was a hot day so we spent a lot of our time in the water.

People that walk by us cant help but stare. They laugh at all three sizes of our dogs and they are all friends.

This was a big step for Diesel, he hasnt ever been a big river fan

It is always fun hanging out with Chris and Jaime! We are sad we are not next door neighbors anymore but we love that we still hang out.

The Buckle

2011-07-16T21:12:00.001-06:00

We had to take some pictures at work... so meet the gang.

We have so much fun together and I love working with them! Sadly some of my most favorite peeps werent able to make it :(... I will have to post one with everyone soon. You can click on the pic for a closer look!

4th Of July!!

2011-07-12T22:01:00.000-06:00

We had a really nice fourth of July. We got invited to our friends house for dinner and a movie. We love hanging out with the Heintz, they are such good friends to us. We had some delicious sweet pork burritos and played outside for a while. We then went and saw the movie Larry Crowne, it was a cute movie and nice and clean, just how I like it. Here are some fun pics.

Here are more swimming pics from when we came and visited. Jake and my mom are missing, but we had so much fun, we miss my fam.

I dont know why this one didnt turn out. Well I have a lot of pics from my trip that I just took to california! I cant wait to tell you all about it.

Something Amazing

2011-07-05T21:09:00.000-06:00

Want to see something amazing?? Have 3 minutes to spare? watch this video...

https://lds.org/youth/video/laie-hawaii-temple-youth-cultural-celebration?lang=eng

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is so amazing. It is crazy to me that three minutes of seeing how strong our youth is strengthens my testimony so much. This temple is especially important to the Linsley's because my husband and his dad plastered the whole thing. We spent a lot of time on the beautiful temple grounds in Laie, and we miss it there so much. Member or not, you will not be disappointed in the Laie Temple and the feelings you have when you are there. Definately a special place.

This picture I took while we were in Hawaii working

The rededicated Laie, Hawaii temple. All of the LDS temples are so special to me. See all of the LDS temples in the world here..

http://lds.org/church/maps?type=temples_scatter&lang=eng

Going Home... And more

2011-07-04T22:01:00.000-06:00

Last weekend we had the opportunity to go and visit our families because Jen Got Married!!! It was such a beautiful wedding and I havent seen Jen so excited and happy since I have met her.

This sad pic is from my phone, but luckily I just got an email of the amazing pictures that the photographer took. She did such an amazing job... as always, and I cant wait to see more of what she has. The photographer is my cousin, Autumn Bennett... look her up!

Jen was the most beautiful bride I have ever seen... She is like model beautiful. Janiel, Gavin's other sister, was wonder woman during the wedding. She made the most amazing cake for Jen, did Jen's hair and the flower girls hair, got her family ready and herself. I dont know how she did it, but she was amazing. Gavin and I also got to meet our new nephew Owen.

He is the cutest little guy. He loved Gavin holding him and was always so good and smiled the whole time, I was so jealous. I would want to hold him, and then he would cry. Maybe I need more motherly practice. Gina is such a great mother, she is so happy holding baby Owen and is so patient with him. Gaynard and Jill are always fun to see, and they missed diesel so much!

Saturday we got to spend the whole day with my family... which I loved. I have missed them so much!! After helping shontel move the piano to her house, which is so unfair.. even though I havent played for years.. we planned on going boating! We got all ready, pulled the boat to the lake with snacks and drinks, backed it in and... battery dead! Ugh at first it was so frustrating for Gavin and I, then we got the offer to go swim at the neighbors house and decided to do that. It was so fun to play with my siblings. Shontel and Kamron havent been up to too much. Shontel got a job teaching in draper and Kamron got a new job as well. Parker is busy dating, with school, and just got a job as a cna. Shyanne is living the life as always, and Jacob is playing waterpolo like crazy and is super tan. My mom didnt get to come and play with us because she is house sitting for family in San Fran, which I am so jealous about. It was nice spending some good time with my dad though. We have such a special friendship that I love and miss all the time.

While we were swimming, we were beating up on eachother, of course. Shontel had one last jump off of the diving board before they had to leave. We all had our swim toys ready, and when she jumped we all threw them at her as hard as we could... well at least I did :) She came up crying and we all laughed at her like.. ya right you are fine. Kam went over to see what was wrong and her ear was bleeding like crazy! We were all trying to figure out who did and it was... Gavin, of course. He through a rock hard torpedo, well, he said he lobbed it.

It did some good damage. After debating whether to go get stitches or not, my dad just super glued it. He is basically superman. Today it is completely healed and just like new. It was a long, sad ride home, but we will be back soon.

The night before we went to Utah, we took the youth to a Missoula Osprey baseball game.

It was awesome because at the back of the field was this big tall pole with a nest at the top. A family of Osprey's lived at the top and flew around, in and out of the nest during the whole game!

The other day we went to McDonalds for lunch. I love the commercial with all the new sauces for the chicken nuggets, and I had been dying to try them. While we were ordering the question came... what sauce would you like with that? I answered all of them. Gavin looked at me like, you dont need all. But I did! I needed to find my favorite so I new what to order from now on. The lady was like.. All? Yup! so .30 later this was where I was at.

Then I look up to see Gavin doing this...

What a dork. Trying to slam dunk his chick nug! This is a pic of our new car..

He is just a little guy, but is pretty much amazing. 40mpg, can't beat that!

Thursday was our anniversary. I can't believe it has been 2 years, and 3 since we met. I got a surprise at my work of a vase of roses and a bowl full of chocolates, which all the girls loved. We had lunch at a delicious place called Jakers and a fun bbq up in the mountains for dinner.

It has been so nice here the past couple of days, I have loved it. We cuddled up to a movie after and watched named "Unknown". It was a pretty good movie, but not one I would buy.

I wish I could have a wedding every year! It was so much fun being a bride and I wouldnt change anything!

What we are up to

2011-06-21T22:11:00.000-06:00

We havent been up to much. We have gone on a few hikes that have been really pretty and relaxing for us. The other day I babysat my friend's daughter and it was so much fun. We went swimming, to the grocery store, made brownie's and went on a hike! It made me so excited for when we finally have our own kids. It was fun to see Gavin playing and joking around with her, he will be a cute dad. It will be nice to have kids and more meaning to life than just work. Well here are some pics, you will get more this weekend since Jen is getting married... Gavin's sister.

How to "Press On" when you feel like you can't

2011-06-13T22:42:00.000-06:00

I'm not saying I am depressed or that my life is crumbling before my eyes, all I'm saying is we all go through hard times. Usually when you are right in the middle of those trials, it is easy to feel hopeless. Tonight for family night we needed a little boost, so we read a talk called "Press On" by Joseph B. Wirthlin in the 2004 General Conference. It is such a great talk and not only gives you the boost you need, but some helpful hints to put things back in perspective for you.

"I have lived long enough to experience firsthand many of the challenges of life. I have known exceptional people who have endured severe trials while others, at least on the surface, seem to have lived charmed lives.

Often those who struggle with adversity ask the question “Why did this happen to me?” They spend sleepless nights wondering why they feel so lonely, sick, discouraged, oppressed, or brokenhearted.

The question “Why me?” can be a difficult one to answer and often leads to frustration and despair. There is a better question to ask ourselves. That question is “What could I learn from this experience?”

The way we answer that question may determine the quality of our lives not only on this earth but also in the eternities to come. Though our trials are diverse, there is one thing the Lord expects of us no matter our difficulties and sorrows: He expects us to press on."

There is this amazing couple in my ward that spoke on Sunday. The wife said something that has stuck with me. She said that Heavenly Father will bless us with our trials until we learn from them what we need to. Sometimes we have no idea what it is we are supposed to learn, but I know that as we are patient, and endure with faith, Heavenly Father will soon help us learn.

I know there are many that suffer heartbreak, loneliness, pain, and setback. These experiences are a necessary part of the human experience. However, please do not lose hope in the Savior and His love for you. It is constant. He promised that He would not leave us comfortless.

When we face challenges in our lives, we are comforted by the words of the Lord in the 58th section of the Doctrine and Covenants:

“Ye cannot behold with your natural eyes, for the present time, the design of your God concerning those things which shall come hereafter, and the glory which shall follow after much tribulation.

“For after much tribulation come the blessings. Wherefore the day cometh that ye shall be crowned with much glory; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand.”

This talk was so perfect for Gavin and I. I dont want to say brutally honest, but it definately set us back on track. I hope that if any are going through some rough times right now, click here and take a sec to read it...

http://lds.org/general-conference/2004/10/press-on?lang=eng&query=overcoming+obstacles

I love the church and the help it gives us when we need it most

Hiking The M

2011-06-08T18:40:00.000-06:00

The Missoula valley is so beautiful and green with all of this rain we have gotten lately... although the river 10 ft. from my house is about to flood! There is no better way to see how pretty the valley is than to hike up to the M above the University and take a gander. So, Gavin and I decided to go and do just that. Diesel and I actually tagged along with Gavin went with the scouts.

I was the last one to the top, not that I am out of shape.. well, a little. But Diesel was huffin and puffin! The first 3 switch backs he was dragging me the whole way and after that I was dragging him. It was nice when we got to the top, and the hike actually wasnt that bad!

I had Gavin walk him down, and Diesel wanted to sprint the whole way. There were a few deer that ran across the trail, I had never seen one that up close before. Oh we got a new car since ours was totalled in my wreck. I dont have any pics of it yet but its a toyota yaris and it is awesome. Tiny for sure but 40 mpg!! Nothing can beat that!

HaPpY BiRtHdAy To Me!!!

2011-05-31T22:30:00.000-06:00

22 years old and getting wiser by the second! I had such a nice relaxing birthday which is exactly what I asked for. First, layed in bed with Gavin and Diesel and chatted for as long as I wanted to. When I finally decided to get out of bed Gavin had a bowl full of warm oatmeal for me with a big bag of presents sitting on the table. Gavin gave me a new work out outfit, shorts, a live strong shirt, sports bra and a new pair of running shoes.

I am so excited that I got new shoes. I have had the same running shoes since my first year in Ventura which was 4 years ago! Time flies. My shoes lasted me forever they are like vintage now. I got some birthday money from some family members which got me 2 new flats which are adorable. I also got 6 new down east wonder tees from Jill and Gina, which if you have gone through the temple you know that these are a life saver! I also got the cutest black skirt ever from them. I got to take nap and hang out with Gav all day and then he took me to dinner to the Tamarack. It was such a nice day off from work and cleaning and the stresses of life.

Just an update on our car situation... we are in the process of looking for a new one. Good news is we got more for the car than we owe which is nice. If you know of any cars that are worth buying let me know! Well another year down, who knows what this next one will hold for me. New places, job opportunities, graduation?? We will see I guess.

Fishin' with the Fam

2011-05-25T19:05:00.000-06:00

This past weekend Jen and Casey came and visited us! We had so much fun with them and it was so nice for Gavin and I to get to know our soon to be brother-in-law better. Casey is a big time fly fisher, which is mostly the reason for visiting ;), so him and Gavin could not wait to get out on the lake. The rivers are just about to flood here, so it is definately not good for fishing right now. While the boys went out to find some fish, Jen and I soaked in the sun on the shore. We went to the farmers market where Gavin had a deep fried milky way, Jen a twinkie and Casey a Snickers. I passed.

Diesel wouldnt get in the lake, but he loved it being his unlimited water bowl

Yay Gavin!

Diesel kept on trying to snatch Gavin's fly, that would have been bad!

Diesel pouting

We loved Jen and Casey being here, and we love visitors! Hint Hint... Shontel, Parker, Shyanne, Jacob!!

Happy Birthday DIESEL!!

2011-05-22T11:25:00.000-06:00

Today is Diesel's birthday and he is so proud of it! He is now one year old which makes him... I dunno 10 in doggie years? We dont have anything too big planned to do today. Mostly his favorite things, take a nap, go on a big long walk. We hope to have cake and ice cream with his friends lucky and lola sometime this week. We got him a new bone and a new kong, since those are the only things that seem to stick around longer than an hour. Well I thought I would post some pics of his first year of life.

He is getting so big now, and I have finally really started to love him. He was a very hard dog to train, and is such a stubborn guy. We love him though and we are excited for many more birthdays!!

Safe and Thankful

2011-05-22T10:56:00.000-06:00

Friday wasn't my average ordinary friday. Jen and Casey had just gotten in town so I was so excited and anxious to get to work so they day could go by fast. I woke up early and had a happy quiet morning while getting ready. I said goodbye to my two boys who were cuddled up on the bed and walked out to a beautiful warm spring morning. I jumped in my car and headed to work! The roads werent very busy and I was enjoying my morning thinking about all the fun things the weekend held. When all of a sudden I saw a truck coming right at me. I slammed on my breaks, honked and tried to swerve and miss him, but it was too late. For a second I could breathe, but when I could, all I could do is scream and cry. I didnt know if I was okay or not at first, I couldnt tell if I was hurt. All I knew was I could tell my car was smashed. I called Gavin right away and all I could get out was I got in a wreck on south and you need to come. A lady came and opened my door. She sat with me for a minute, calmed me down and made sure I was okay. I cant remember what her name was, but I am so happy she was there. I was so nice to have a hand to hold until Gavin got there. You are probably dying to see a pic...

Gavin finally arrived and the police. We ended up getting things figured out okay but I am still so sad at what happened. I am so happy that Jen and Casey were here to help us through everything with our insurance and to comfort us. And I am so thankful that I was able to stay safe through it all. I realized yesterday that I didnt give Gavin a kiss before I left for work. I always kiss him goodbye! I learned my lesson, thats for sure. We are frustrated with this happening in such a inconvinient financial time for us, but we are so thankful to heavenly father for keeping me safe. All the damage that was done is a bruise on my hip from my seatbelt and some hardcore whiplash.

Babies and Mom's

2011-05-08T21:09:00.000-06:00

Of course it is mothers day, so I have to write about my mother's or else I am a horrible daughter and daughter-in-law. First I love my mom.

Not only is she beautiful, but she has taught me just about everything I know. She has taught me to be stubborn, to work hard and to never give up. She has also taught me the importance of family, friends and service. I miss her all the time and always hope that I make her proud and she would be happy with who I have become.

And of course my Mother-in-law Jill.

Jill is such a great Mom, and is such a great example to her girls of a loving mother and wife. She has taught me a lot about Gavin, how to love him and how to keep him in line. She is always wanting everyone to be happy and will do just about anything to make it that way. I love her so much and am so happy that I was lucky enough to get the mother-in-law that I did. I hope she has the best mothers day ever, and I think she will because she is a new GRANDMA!!

Everyone, meet baby Owen Jackson Tippets! He is the newest addition to our family and we have been waiting for him for a long time! He was born 5-7-11 and is healthy and beautiful. Gavin and I havent gotten to meet him yet, but we got to see him over web cam. We didnt find out his full name until last night, and we are so touched that they picked the name Jackson. The name has such a special meaning to our family, since we lost a good friend baby jackson not too long ago.

Today we were invited to celebrate the day of Mothers with some good friends in our ward. We got to go to their families ranch and visit all the animals and enjoy the beautiful day.

I loved all the baby goats and lambs! they were so cute and a new experience for me. I have always wanted my own little baby farm, full of just baby animals.

When they say goats eat anything, that means they even like eating your pants. I guess they liked our fabric softener, they would not leave me alone!

This cute little guy loved me like crazy.

One jumped up on me and covered my pants in poop... who it was from I do not know.

TEAM FLAPPY POCKETS

2011-05-06T19:37:00.000-06:00

GAME #1.... LOSS. LET'S NOT TALK ABOUT IT.

Fun Packed Weekend

2011-04-30T22:55:00.000-06:00

Gavin and I have had so much fun this weekend! Friday night I went and saw "Water for Elephants", Gavin didnt assit me... dont ask why.

I missed him so much during the movie though. It is definately one of my favorite movies of all time. I love Reese Witherspoon, and Robert Patterson acutally acted in this movie and spoke, unlike the Twilight films. If you havent seen it, take some tissues, dont be afraid to close your eyes on some parts and be sure to take your hubby for some comfort. I love the fashion trends of the 20's so it was so fun for me to see all of the different outfits that all the girls were wearing.
Speaking of fashion trends, who didnt watch the Royal Wedding. If you didnt, you definately missed out on some amazing stuff. Kate looked so beautiful in her wedding dress. It was so amazing and it made me want to have another wedding so bad. Let me rephrase that, not another marriage, just a wedding.

Gorgeous right? The ceremony was so fun to watch and see what all the girls were wearing. I was so jealous of all the hats! If I could get away with wearing those without looking like a lady gaga wannabe, I totally would. oh wait, I live in misosula so... no one would even look twice.

This is Kate's party dress and... I am so jealous of it! Watching this wedding made me sooo excited for the weddings that are coming up. First, the wedding of Jen and Casey... sad dont know their new last name. Anyway, I am in dyer need of finding an amazing outfit for this occasion, and I am still on the search. Next, the wedding of Jeff and Kylee Beck! I am so excited for this one. Not only do I get to go back to Ventura for a few days, but I get to stay with the Allens, the couple I lived with down there, and I get to see my best friend Catherine who I miss sooo much! I also get to attend their sealing which I am excited for because I have never been in the LA temple except to do baptisms. No need for an outfit for this wedding though, thankfully I dont have to stress, because I was asked to be in the wedding party, which is so sweet. I am so happy for them, they are such good friends to me.

Back to this weekend, this morning we cleaned like crazy! Why is it such a project to clean every saturday when we live in a one bedroom apartment? I do know the answer to that, Im just pretending its a mystery. My visiting teachers came and it was so nice to get to know them. They brought such a great spirit into our home it made my day so great.

While I was chatting with the ladies gav and diesel went to petsmart. I called gav when we were finished and he told me I had to hurry to petsmart and see what was there! This is what I found...

Everyone, this is Wilson. Isnt he ADORABLE! He looks just about identical to Diesel when he was a puppy.

Okay to put it into perspective, Wilson is 2 months old and Diesel is 11 months old. Can you believe he has grown that much in only 9 months? It was fun to see them play and cuddle eachother in the isle of petsmart.

So on the radio earlier this week I heard about a casting call that the famous photographer Andrew Grant was having for his newest upcoming book "Rover". If you havent heard of it he takes pics just like this

of all different breeds of dogs and makes it into a huge coffee table book. Well, the casting call was tonight at the Paws Up resort which is just 45 min away. We decided what the heck and decided to go. We gave Diesel a bath which was a GREAT experience and he was photo ready. When we arrived we found out the event was called "Wine and Bitch". Dont worry, not technically swearing because they were meaning your dog :) dont worry shontel!

Little did we know it was in a horse/rodeo arena, so we were not really properly dressed. It was cool though. We gave a sweet donation and we got food and entertainment for the night!

Diesel loved the dog bar, it was full of treats and flavored drinks for him all night. They also had complimentary tennis balls!

Chicken, Beef and Vegetable flavored water. Diesel sampled them all.

They had a way cool band playing the whole time it was cool!

Diesel even got a Bacon and Maple flavored snow cone! What a spoiled guy.

This picture is hard to tell but the police k9 dogs were there and they did a cool demonstration of what they do

After some good food and fun, the drive home was so pretty and relaxing

Diesel had such a fun day, he was out the minute we got in the car... and he is snoring as I type. We have a fun next couple month, including my Bday, anniversary and Gav's Bday... woop woop! So more fun to come!

How Love Grows...

2011-04-27T19:13:00.000-06:00

Here is the only pic we have from Easter... Sadly its just me and Diesel,

I have been thinking a lot lately about Gavin and I and how we have come such a long way since the day we were sealed in the temple. Our love has changed so much from an anticipation to something that I care so much about and it is so sacred to me. I listened to a portion of Elder Richard G. Scott's talk, http://lds.org/pages/the-eternal-blessings-of-marriage?lang=eng and I loved it so much! I love hearing about the romantic and cute experiences that the apostles have had in their lives. I was also thinking about our time here in Missoula and how much we have grown together since we moved here. I remeber the moment I realized how important our relationship would be up here. We had just arrived at our apartment. It was late and we were tired from a long drive. We didnt have a bed to sleep in because our parents would be up the next day with the rest of our stuff. We layed in the middle of the floor in tears together, we were so out of our comfort zone, and didnt know what to think of our big change. Now I wouldnt take it back for the world! I have a lot of friends that are going through a lot of change with babies and moving and different things. It is a scary thing, but remember that you and your spouse are in it together! Plus I always feel comforted when I am in Gavin's arms!

A Post Full of Good News!

2011-04-24T19:36:00.000-06:00

No, Im not pregnant. There is other good news in life other than being pregnant you know! First I took my last test of the semester last week, awesome. I only have one more year of school left which makes me pretty excited.

Some more good news is our store had a store visit last tuesday from our district manager and all the manager's and MT's in Montana. I work so hard with my team to get the store ready and looking amazing for everyone to see. When they arrived on Tuesday I was pretty bummed at first because I didnt feel like my hard work was really noticed. After lunch and as the day went on, my ears were full of the nicest compliments. My district manager told me how awesome the store looked and how much everyone loved it. A girl that I work with went to lunch with all of them and one of the mt's said that I am "phenominal" and the work I do is just the same. The billings manager even congradulated me when he left and shook my hand. Definately one of the most rewarding days of my life.

Some more good news is we went to the temple yesterday. After hitting construction and not knowing if we were going to make it or not, we almost turned around, but adventually made it. The session was beautiful and I always love going to the temple. The temple is the most peaceful place on earth and I never want to leave. Gavin and I sat in there for a while chatting and I just sat and thanked him for always going with me. A lot of couples dont go together and that time together is so important to me. After the temple we came home, Gav went for a bike ride and I suited up and layed out by the pool. Ya it was that warm! People kept walking by saying, "not a bad idea!" next thing I knew I was surrounded by kids and couples, I loved it!

We also went to a BBQ last night. Diesel, Gav and I jumped in the truck with my mom's amazing pasta salad recipe and headed to my good girl friends house that I work with. Her sisters and my other girl friend from work was their with their families and dogs and we had a hay day. We ate, talked, watched the dogs run crazy along with the kids. Watching my girlfriend with her daughter makes me so excited to have a little girl.

Today is Easter, Happy Easter, and it was another beautiful day. It was a lot of fun to teach my primary class about the resurection of Christ today. They are so smart and were so interested in learning all they could about it. I love teaching them and always hope my testimony helps them build their own. After church I wanted to go lay out, but we went on a walk instead. We pretty much go on a walk every Sunday with our neighbors who have a Chiuaua and another dog that I think is a corgie? I dunno. Passerbyers are always commenting on the dogs and what a mix up they are since they are such different sizes.

We went to the Heintz's house for Easter dinner and we had a blast! Ham of course and funeral potatoes, my fav! We walked around the neighborhood for a while and walked through all the houses that are for sale on their street, who knows, maybe in the next few months we can have a whole house to ourselves??

We Love Visitors!

2011-04-05T18:14:00.000-06:00

This past weekend my mom and dad came and visited Gav and I! We loved it so much and it was so nice to have a change in pace and some family around. We did a lot of fun things, but I think the best was all the delicious fattening food we ate! Buffalo Wild Wings... family favorite, Paul's Pancake Parlor... amazing, Iron Horse Grill... loved it, Arby's... maybe not the best since my Mom threw it up, the candy shop... Life Changing!

We walked in to the candy shop in Philipsburg and it was amazing! It was all old fashioned with candies from all over the world. Of course they had homemade fudge, carmel and taffy. We will definately go back in the summer because they have cute antique shops that are seasonal.

This is how I knew I could eat whatever I wanted.

Here are some pics from the other places we ate at

I was so sad to see my parents leave and miss them already. But my cute husband made me feel a million times better. Not only did I come home to a clean house yesterday, but a big boquet of spring flower. It brought a little sunshine to my week and I love him so much, he is such a great friend.

I am in the last month of school so my blog will probably be at a hault for a while. Plus homework and tests will pretty much be the only thing that is happening.

There Is No Place Like Home

2011-03-30T18:16:00.000-06:00

So as you probably figured out by my last post, we went home and visited last weekend. It was so much fun to road trip with Gav, we have the best and longest convos ever it makes time fly. Here are some pics from the ride.

Diesel gets super bored when we drive that long, but he was a good boy for the most part. My friends from Utah are probably wondering why I didnt let them know I was going to be in town, well... I had a three day all day long class that was so painful to sit through. I barely had time to hang out with my family and do my homework! The good news is that we will be in town in June for Jen and Casey's wedding... which I cannot wait for!! It was also my mothers birthday the other day AND I forgot. Not that it was her birthday, more like forgot to call her. Dont worry, she gave me a ton of crap for it this morning. And good news my parents are coming to visit this weekend!!!

The New ME!!

2011-03-26T22:37:00.010-06:00

OKAY!!! I did it... I cut my hair. Not just a trim, legit I cut my hair off. I dont really know why. I have just been thinking lately, I have had the same hair cut since I can even remember. Plus I hate coming home for my break from work and having to brush out my snarles, just to go home later to do the same thing. I hated blow drying it for ten minutes and the way it hung in my face. But I did love it curly, and I loved when Gavin would run his fingers through it... when it wasnt snarly of course. So, here it is...

Step one, figure out how much I can donate. In order to donate you have to have ten inches, and I had two bundles.

Step two... cut the strands. Be happy you cant see my face in this, I was freaking out. After the first little snip I knew there was no going back!

Okay here it is. These are the two strands I donated! I hope it gives a girl a beautiful new head of hair.

Here is the final product. Granted, it isnt clean or styled... but I love it. Its like a long a-line and its amazing. What do you think? Big change huh! Thanks to my stylist Janiel, it was done before I could shed one tear.

By The Way...

2011-03-13T22:40:00.000-06:00

Here are a few things that we have been up to...

This is Maddie! It was her Birthday the other day... and we were INVITED! It was so fun, as always, to hang out with the Heintz family, they are so awesome. Cortney is actually from Utah, which is sweet. She reminds me so much of my dad's family, which is comforting to be around.

Maddie turned three and we gave her the cutest tutu ever and a little poodle that she can carry in a purse! Gavin picked it out actually, he is going to be such a fun dad.

This is Matt and Mariah. We have been spending a lot of time with them lately and its been so fun to get to know them. Those are their dogs, Keenigh and Koda. They found them I think about a year ago on the side of the highway driving through Idaho. They are awesome dogs!

The other night we had some bomb.com carne asada burritos at their house. Nothing is better than some good food and great company. I hadn't had tri tip since california, and it definately took me back to some great times eating at friends houses.

It's just about strawberry season and I dont know if you have looked in your local produce section, but they are ripe and ready! I love strawberries, and the best shortcake recipe ever is on the back of the bisquick box. Trust me!

For those who are looking for a healthy snack this is a great one. Strawberries with Greek Yogurt. Greek Yogurt is a protein powerhouse. The plain kind has 23g of protein per serving and only 9g of carbs! It's great with fruit, mixed with chopped cilantro on chicken and used as a sour cream substitute.

Did you know the sun is a real thing? I was beginning to think it was just a myth! This weekend was honestly the first weekend since probably October that we have seen the sun. It got up to about 60 degrees today and we couldnt help but be outside. We dug out my mitts and headed for the park. We played catch for a good hour, and only went inside because Diesel wouldnt stop chasing the ball and was dying for water. I forgot how good if feels to through, and I have the best husband who is such a good sport to play with me. What a cutie. I guess that means I have some more road biking to do this year.

One last note from Diesel. I dont know why, but this is his favorite thing to do now. Ridiculous, I know. He just sits his bum on the couch and stares at the floor with his ears hanging over his eyes, what a dork!

My Work

2011-03-12T09:36:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I hate going to work. Laying in bed cuddling with my two boys makes it so hard to get up. Somedays however, I love my job. I get to put together outfits and dress big dolls all day. They other day I was in charge of putting together a display for the guys watch case at the counter. The girls one is easy, but what do you display guys watches with? So this is what I came up with.

I found these feather balls at the craft store, and just went from there.

With the mix of moss and feathers I think it turned out pretty cute

Manly enough? The rocks and the glitter paper helped with different textures to make the display complete. Maybe one day my hard work with all these displays will help me get somewhere? At least a cute house!

What a Steal!

2011-03-06T19:00:00.000-07:00

See this dress? Well it has a great story. My sweet husband showed up at my work the other day and took me out to lunch. After, we decided to walk around this new store in the mall called Romy. It had some cute stuff, mostly dressy items for work or church. Anyway I went and looked at the clearance rack because it was 70% off! I found this cute dress, tried it on, and it was the perfect length... if you know what I mean... and it had sleeves, which rarely happens even with living in Utah. Gavin and I went up to the counter expecting to pay about $10 with the discount. The sales lady then told us there was an extra 20% off of the clearance rack and the dress only cost us $7.00!!! It was the most exciting moment of my whole week! I wore it to church today and loved it so much. Anyway check out wwwromystyle.com, they have a new sale everyday!

Finding Joy In The Journey

2011-03-04T20:04:00.000-07:00

"Brothers and sisters, my sincere prayer is that we may adapt to the changes in our lives, that we may realize what is most important, that we may express our gratitude always and thus find joy in the journey."

I have always loved general conference and have always had a testimony of the truthfulness and inspiration of the words that are spoken there. However, I havent really taken advantage of the opportunity to go back and listen or read the talks on lds.org. Today I was a debbie downer. Not all day, just the last half of the day when things got hectic and werent going as I had wanted them too. I was in need of a reminder of finding joy in life and lets just say a big wake up call. After typing in the key word... being grateful... into the search bar on lds.org, I picked this talk http://lds.org/general-conference/2008/10/finding-joy-in-the-journey?lang=eng by our amazing Prophet. He is such an amazing man, and he is always so wise in the things he says. Take a sec to listen to the talk, it is amazing. And you will have no choice but to turn off your computer with a little more happiness and gratefulness of the things your life is filled with.

"Let us relish life as we live it, find joy in the journey, and share our love with friends and family. One day each of us will run out of tomorrows."

IsLaNd PaRk

2011-02-28T16:26:00.000-07:00

This past weekend the Linsley's made their yearly trip to their cabin in Island Park. We didn't know if we would be able to make it or not. We went back and forth about it for a couple weeks and decided we should go. Gaynard (Gavin's dad) has been in Guatemala for the past month plastering the new temple they are building there. And he has to go back so we wont get to see him in March when we go down. Well we decided to surprise them and just show up! They were so surprised!! We got the surprise on video, but for some reason my phone wont send it! I will try to figure it out, but Jill scrame bloody murder haha we laugh everytime we watch it. AND, I just realized, I only got one picture of Gaynard and none of Jill! I am so sorry guys and I am so disappointed. Next time we see you, we will do a full photo shoot.

It was so fun surprising them, I had butterflies in my stomach almost the whole time!

The first thing we noticed when we arrived was how much snow is actually up there this year! It was amazing, just about 8 feet of snow!

We loved having a chance to get to know Casey a little bit more. He is such an awesome guy and we are so happy to have him in our family! Jen's engagement ring is so beautiful I love it. It was so fun to sit and talk wedding with her.

We woke up bright and early Sunday morning to make sure we made it to church. It was so comforting to be surrounded by family, we miss them so much already.

Right when we got home, Gav and I changed our clothes and jumped on the snowmobiles. After a couple years I am finally getting the hang of driving them and I actually went over 10 mph! haha

Isnt this picture amazing! Seriously it was a winter wonderland

Can you see the moose? Look really close middle of the picture. It was closer in real life, but this pic is lame.

We are so happy we got to see Gaynard before he left again. You cant help but laugh and smile when you are around him!

Preston and Quinn were the lucky grandkids that got to come up. They were so much fun to have around... most of the time :) They had a blast playing outside just about the whole time.

They were obsessed with finding the biggest iccicles that were hanging off all the cabins.

Gavin and I decided to go out and build a snow cave. Dont let this picture fool you, I did most of the work!

Eskimo kiss in the cave!

It was the perfect size for me, Gav was just a little to big.

It was Casey's birthday the other day and he turned 34 I think? anyway, it was a lot of candles to light! We did a doughnut tower, beautiful isnt it?

The candles melted like crazy by the time we were done

What a cut little family. One person is missing, Hayley, Casey's little girl. We cant wait for the wedding!! We had such a fun trip and cant wait to see my family when we go down in a couple of weeks. We miss our family so much and had a teary night the other night. Love you all.

Cuddle Time!!

2011-02-25T18:15:00.000-07:00

So when we first got Diesel, we thought it was so cute when he cuddled us on our bed or on the couch. Now that he is 140 lbs. its not to cute anymore. We have not let him on the couch for a long time, so I thought. Come to find out, Gavin and Diesel cuddle on the couch for a while after I leave for work. Ya... Gavin is so grounded. Anyway now Diesel thinks its totally okay to sprawl over the whole couch, though its not. He was sleeping there last night (I would have moved him, but it's just about impossible) and I got some cute pics of us.

He is so cute sometimes. Oh and I have some good news! I have reached one of my New Years Resolutions. I have lost 12 lbs. I am now down to 105 (which is the lowest I have been since I can remember) and I feel so good. Want to know my secret?? The old fashioned hard way. Morning runs, nightly lifting sessions with my hottie trainer (Gavin). You might be thinking "you didnt have 12 pounds to lose"... I know because my mom said the same thing. Well, you might think that, but you cant tell a huge difference, so must have been needed. If you want any tips or recipes that I used let me know. If I can do it... believe me, anyone can!

Craft Time

2011-02-23T17:52:00.000-07:00

My neighbor has been asking to have a girls craft time to make some more coasters ever since I made her some for christmas. We decided to make some cute Valentines day ones even though it is way past.

It was a lot of fun to have a break from boys and just hang us girls. This time we glittered them and they turned out so cute! I think I am going to try the same thing on a picture frame and see how it turns out.

I know it the picture is upside down sorry. On friday we went out after work to meet up with some friends at a brewery. We went to the wrong one, but we ended up eating at this delicious mexican place. We got our own drinks and they were delicous.

They were delicious, the mexican sodas are always the best. They also had this cute little fake fireplace. We sat right by it so it would make us feel warm and homey.

If you havent watched the news lately, we are supposed to have -20 conditions tomorrow, blizzard like conditions and 40 mph winds. Do I live in the Arctic?

V-dAy and MoRe

2011-02-15T19:10:00.000-07:00

The weather here is finally becoming at least a little more warm! The other day it was 50 degrees and it was amazing, our skin actually saw the sun which is very needed. We had a fun Valentines Day. Gavin woke up bright and early to travel to Billings just for the day to make sure he could get home in time for our special date. Well, on his way there one of the tires blew out on the car on the highkway so.. he was a little late. I was okay with it though, as long as he was safe. He showed up with flowers (good boy) and I of course had coke and chocolate waiting for him here. We went to a nice dinner and came home for a relaxing night.

My favorite is when they bloom

He has been trying so hard lately to be good

We to a good friends house the other night for dinner and it was so nice. We can't wait to have a house and a little girl like they do ;) on our way there was the most beautiful sunset.

See what I mean by needing sunlight! Well other than that things are well here, staying busy and working hard. We miss all of our friends and family at home and wish we could share memories with them that they are making, but I guess this is what growing up is like. We will be home soon though.

Best Friends Day

2011-02-09T18:38:00.001-07:00

I had a big realization this week. We have had some hard times lately living up here. Nothing too horendous just the things and feelings life knocks you down with, the things that everyone goes through. But you forget what those times are like until they come again. Things that come with growing up with work, marriage and life. Well, I guess I never realized how much my bear is there for me until this week. He is truely my best friend and we have so much trust in eachother when it comes to times like this. He is one of the like four things that can actually make me smile right now next to talking with family, ice cream and reading my little sisters ridiculous blog.

Anyway this post isnt to complain, its about the holiday I made up last night. Best friends day!! I was just working away and this whole realization hit me so I did everything you need to do to have a holiday. I got Gav a couple of gifts. Went home and made some food. Which wasnt too awesome considering the things we eat lately are too healthy to taste that good. And what else does a holiday need??

As you probably notice there is only place for one person. Gavin had scouts and I couldnt wait that long to eat, so I had some ice cream while he had this. Whole grain spaghetti, meatballs, edemame and homemade kale chips. The kale chips were something new for us, and they were good, but I think i cooked them too long.

These are his gifts. Cute?

And this is him being a dork.

So we thought diesel had flees the other day because he has a major itching problem. Ends up he doesnt, and the vet gave us this shampoo to try and use, didnt help. BUT! He did weigh him and he weighs 130 lbs. now. Big boy huh?
OH and a few other things.. JEN IS ENGAGED! love her.
Gina's little baby Owen is growing strong and is coming soon, in may!
Shontel got a baby, well bella her kitty

Meet My Class

2011-01-24T17:44:00.000-07:00

Cutest primary class ever right? They are so much fun and I love hanging out with them on Sunday's. The saddest thing ever happened to the little boy 2nd from the left. I brought treats on Sunday... chocolate covered raisens. I asked if anyone had any food allergies, and after hearing about everything everyone was allergic to like, rolling in the grass, trees, flowers... the little boy told me walnuts. I told him, you might not want to eat the chocolate covered raisins then. He assured me he eats them all the time and has always been fine, so I said okay and they all dug in, filling their mouths full of course. During my lesson I looked over and noticed he was itching his neck. I said, "What are you doing?" he answered, "itching my neck" I asked again youre sure you arent allergic and he said no. Another little boy yells out, "I think he is... his face is turning RED!!". The little boy bursts out in tears crying because his eyes were burning and his throat was itching like crazy! I paniced and rushed him to his parents. Everything ended up okay, but I decided to steer clear of all nuts. Poor guy.

Three States in One Day

2011-01-22T18:21:00.000-07:00

So Gavin and I both had today (Saturday) off which is nice since work has slowed down having the holidays over. We have been tired of our weekends being full of cleaning, shopping and homework so we decided to take a little trip. We decided to go to the temple! For the people back at home you might think... no big deal 20 min. drive tops, right? Well our assignmed temple is the Spokane, Washington Temple which is a 3 hour and 30 min drive!!

Sounds like a big sacrifice, which it might have been but we needed it so bad. We have been so blessed lately, yet are in need of a few things. We weren't sure if we were going to make it safely since we had ice rain last night and our car along with the road was a sheet of ice, but we figured we would make it safe. After hitting some major ice, snow storms and fog, we finally made it safe... almost 2 hours early. We totally spaced the whole time change. So we toured Spokane. The only temples I have been to out of state are the L.A. temple and the Portland, OR temple which are both huge. The one in Spokane is so small but it didnt matter, it served it's purpose and it was an amazing experience.

After our session we went and grabbed some grub at Boston's. We have made some great memories at the one in Utah, so we felt at home there.

The drive home was really nice. I decided I love Cour'd Alene and I would move there anyday. The roads were clear and dried up and the sun was out. It was such a beautiful drive home, but these pictures dont do it justice.

Gavin received a new calling as the young men's 1st couselor and is excited to start and get to know the presidency better. And I'm with the primary 8 yr. olds still, and I love it!

Livin Life

2011-01-18T19:12:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to let everyone know how things are going for us and our families. We are doing well here, it has finally warmed up and has been raining for the past week which kinda sucked but we can actually see grass now! Gavin is busy with work, traveling a lot and is working with about 6 doctors to get work busy. He bought a training kit for Diesel called the perfect pet... not working so far, but he is trying. I am doing good also. I have been very busy with work, working overtime with the holidays and inventory. We are now getting in our spring merchandise and it is hard to stick to our budget and not want to buy everything. School is keeping me busy as well. My favorite class I am taking right now is Intro to Fashion, probably because I can apply it at work. We just got done doggy sitting for Pat and Bri, Tito and Daisey were so good for us.

Both of our parents are well. Mine are busy with work and the boys that are still at home. Gavin's are busy with Grandkids and work. Gaynard has been offered a job to work on the temple in Guatemala and should be leaving soon. Gavin wont be joining him, luckily, but it sounds like a fun visit. My sister in law Jen has finally found a GREAT guy after looking for about 7 years. I love talking to her on the phone and hearing how happy she is. I love her so much and it is so nice to see her and preston happy. Everyone is happy and just living life. I dont have anything really exciting to say besides how happy I am for Jen, just thought I would let y'all know we are still chuggin along.

Another Trip Home

2011-01-11T21:25:00.000-07:00

We had the chance to take a quick trip to Utah this past weekend because Gavin's friend Mike got married to Riley which I couldnt be happier about. It was SOO amazing to sit in the temple and hear the wonderful blessing that come with being sealed to your spouse for eternity. I am so happy that I chose that path with my husband, and just that short sealing brought us so close for the rest of the weekend. Anyway, our trip was so much fun. We love our families so much and it was so nice to see them doing so well.

We got to hang out with one of Gavin's Best Buds Steve and his wife Mysha, which I was so happy to see and talk to.

Dont they say people that love themselves marry someone that looks just like them? Dont worry, we knew that about Steve LONG ago ;)

It is so hard to see everyone we love during our trips home, but I was soo happy to see my favorite cousin Kim and Baby Jayda and Jackson. She was so adorable and Gavin loved holding her! We were able to go to the home and garden show with the fam, it was so much fun to spend some quality good time with them. I miss them every single day!! Plus my sisters are my best friends, and I miss playing with my best friends.

We went to dinner at Iggy's which was amazing considering Missoula's restraunt choices are very slim. Mindi was able to go with us and I needed her big tight hug more than ever. We had such a great time with Gavins family bowling, sadly I have no pics :( Well we cant wait for everyone to come and see our home!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-11T21:06:00.002-07:00

I am so excited to start a new year, it's almost refreshing to me. Here are some of our resolutions:

1. I want to lose 15lbs., I have already lost 6!

2. Gav wants to gain 30 lbs., and I can't wait!

3. Read the book of mormon, maybe twice

4. Gav wants to have at least 4 busy doctors

5. eliminate a good chunk of debt

6. go on an amazing vacation

7. visit my 2nd home in Ventura

8. train diesel to be good... and not when he is just sleeping

9. learn how to sew my own clothes... maybe before that, get a sewing machiene

10. Kids??????... maybe :) haha jk jk

It's amazing how fast a year can go by, so hopefully we can fit in everything. Things here have been going great. The high lately has been only 9 degrees and it's making us crazy. Luckily it has been snowing all day today so at least it is pretty outside. We got a new bishop in church and I got a new primary class. They are all so cute and I can't wait to get to know them. Gavin usually only has 3 kids in his sunday school class and looked at the new roles and noticed he is supposed to have 30! Hopefully we can reach out to some of them and bring them back.

I have been thinking lately of how lucky I was to be raised in Utah. It was so nice to be surrounded by members and people that have the same standards as you. I guess my couple years back from Ventura, I forgot how challanging it can be to keep the spirit with you all week. It was also nice to be surrounded by temples. Our assigned temple here is in Spokane, Washington! It's the closest one and it's about 3 hours away. We havent made it there yet, but I am sure as soon as the weather lightens up we will. All the thinking I have been doing makes me hope that I am setting a good example for the people around me and making sure that I am taking advantage of missionary moments.

We are so excited to have a trip to Utah this weekend, weather permitting. Gavin was asked to be in his good friend Mike's wedding in the Salt Lake Temple, which I cannot wait for. And after we are going to Tucano's for his luncheon, our FAVORITE place! It is going to be so nice to spend time with our family, we miss them so much. Well there is way to much typing so here are some recent pics.

For New Years we went to dinner

Hung out...

And cuddled... we attempted a movie but of course I fell asleep

This is tito... yes he is real. We get to watch him all week yay!

Poor Gavin, it is miserable to take Diesel potty

I have to bundle up like crazy just to drive to work. I got the hat and gloves for Christmas and I love them both so much. Plus the hat is REAL rabbit, it's amazing.

Haha poor diesel... a dogs life can be sooooooooo boring sometimes

Christmas, Christmas, Christmas

2010-12-25T15:16:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it has come already! It was so nice to sleep in and have the day off of work although tomorrow is going to be a mad house. Gavin and I woke up about nine opened gifts, had a delicious healthy breakfast... since I am working on a clean diet... and we watched a movie I got in my stocking. We are so blessed with everything our parents gave us! I received the cutest winter hats and gloves and necklace, toms, fingernail polish, perfume, movies, the dessert gum... only 5 calories! Gavin got gloves, books on cd, movies, biking jacket, another controller for his ps3, coke, jumper cables, board game, summer sausage, chocolate and chocolate, tie. There was nothing too big we really wanted this year, but we basically got everything we wanted.

We spent Christmas Eve with our great friends Bri and Pat. They moved up here from Idaho Falls to train to run their own Buckle, cute huh? They are the nicest custest couple ever and we love hanging out with them. Bri is such a sweety and gave me the cutest clock and frame for our bathroom! The clock is needed since I have a hard time being on time... all of the time.

A couple nights ago our next door neighbors Chris and Jamie came and made ginger bread houses with us. We had so much fun since our families do it every year, we had to keep that tradition going.

Things got a little messy

I decided to do a tree instead of a house and I am so happy I did... I love it

Diesel is getting so big! he is well over 100 lbs. now, which can be overwhelming sometimes. We ordered a training kit online and should be getting it soon, we cannot wait!

Major Update

2010-12-25T15:02:00.000-07:00

First off... MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!! This is my most favorite time of year. I love christmas music and it is constantly playing at home, work and in the car, so I guess you could say Gavin has had enough. Our house has all of our christmas decor out and I have Winter Wonderland and Christmas Cottage going in my Scentsy's all day. We are sad that we arent able to go home for the holidays, but excited to start our own traditions!

Santa came early to our house. I came home from work one day and found this

At first I was confused, but I guess it is a pretty sweet gift. Of course that was our whole Christmas, except for stockings. And it wasnt something we really needed, but we like it. Gavin graduated with his bachelors from Weber State a couple of weeks ago, and he is the happiest boy ever. Not just because he is graduated, but because his mom and I went in on a Playstation 3 for him. So I mostly find this after dinner...

Our Christmas gifts to our parents were a paid trip to come and visit us. Jill and Gaynard came a few weeks ago, and my parents are waiting til it is not below freezing here. It was nice to have them in town, and to have a little change in pace. We took diesel on a walk, went swimming at their hotel, hung out, watched a movie, went to dinner and had amazing food, and mostly enjoyed the company. Here are some pics from their trip.

The Christmas gifts I made for some local friends are homemade coasters! Easiest, cheapest yet cutest gift ever! I got the idea from my amazing older sis and everyone that received them loved them. They are made with Christmas napkins, tiles, and cork, with some awesom ribbon of course.

In my spare time here, coming up with new decorating crafts has become my hobby I guess you could say. I havent loved that the only color our bedroom was is chocolate brown. I decided to change it up and make it more homey. I found this idea to take some old frames, spray paint them and hang them with ribbon on some cute knobs. I really like that I did it, since we dont have much of a head board. Its amazing what a couple of throw pillows does too!

It's Been A Long Time

2010-11-27T21:03:00.000-07:00

Wow, it has been a while since I last updated. Where to start? Well, we are all doing so great! The snow is here and I love the holiday season. The past week or two it has been below zero so we loved that it got up to 20 degrees today. Diesel is getting so big so fast. He is six months old and weighs 97 lbs. He is good when he wants to be (which is hardly ever) and has gained all of his adult teeth. He loves to chew on everything he is not supposed to: our new kitchen table, entertainment center, bookshelf and floor boards. Although he is a huge troublemaker, we love him so much. Gavin is doing fabulous. He has been busy driving all over Montana for work and got his first sale the other day! I am so proud of him. He also graduates December 10, which he cannot wait for. I am doing just as good. I intereveiwed to be the visual merchandiser at the Buckle, and was chosen. I love working there and have made some great friends. I am working full time and taking 18 credit hours online through Weber State, so I am very busy. All in all we love living here. I have made some great changes to our cute little apartment and can't wait to post pics.We miss all of our family and friends at home and can't wait for next spring for when we can come and visit!

A New Blog!

2010-09-28T22:00:00.002-06:00

Sooo... I have been thinking lately. Gavin and I love cooking, and cook something different almost every night. We love trying new things but would like to keep them all in one place! I decided, why not start a recipe blog to keep track of our favorites and print it off at the end of the year? I kinda got the idea from my friend Abby Bryner who does a recipe blog with her friend (http://www.adashofdelish.blogspot.com/). Mine will mostly be for me to keep track of my own recipes, but feel free to look whenever you would like. The site is http://www.linsleyfamilyrecipes.blogspot.com/.

If you don't succeed...

2010-09-28T10:46:00.000-06:00

So a long time ago I had store credit at the wood connection and purchased this frame with a stand that says "Return with Honor". I have always liked the many meaning behind this saying, but with Gavin it means a lot more. Jill and Gaynard have this group of friends that they have known since they were kids called the "party group". One of the kids passed away years ago and ever since then this has become the party groups saying. Anyway I put off doing the craft forever because I was too lazy. Since I am not employed yet I though what the heck, why not just do it. So I went and bought the paint and the crackle texture to do it just how I would like it... and it sucked. It was seriously was a failure, the crackle didn't show through the paint, the red was too bright and I hated it. I was annoyed, took the frame outside and sanded it down to start over. This time I loaded on the crackle and decided to use a mustard yellow, more suttle right? Nope. The crackle worked better this time, it just doesnt seem right to me still. Here you go you can see for yourself.

I guess it doesnt look that bad, our living room is just filled with black and brown we need to start being open to different colors. Anyway if you want it I will sell it to you. So out of this I learned, If you don't succeed try try again, and then after that get over it.

Fun Pics

2010-09-26T16:40:00.000-06:00

Here is some fun pics from this weekend.

So the other day in the mail Gavin received his awesome new business cards. We were so confused at first why they were all blank, then we realized, they printed them microscopic! We sat and laughed together forever, oh the small things in life.

We go on a lot of walks since Diesel doesn't have a yard to run around in. Yesterday during our walk Diesel received groundation for a couple of days. We were trying to get him into the back of the truck and in his kennel and he kept running away. He went and hid behind this car and was staying there, Gav and I didnt think much of it at first until Gavin went over by him and yelled at me Catch Him! When I looked up I saw Diesel running down the street with a huge piece of pizza and Gavin chasing after him. I was laughing so hard but we had to let him know that was bad. Anyway he is grounded for the weekend (which makes no difference) and we now call him pizza man.

Aren't these the best part of fall? I can't wait to see all the different colors that Missoula has to offer!

Our first trip to Kalispell

2010-09-26T10:49:00.000-06:00

As you know Gavin travels a lot for his work, which is good news for diesel and I cause we get to tag along! We headed up to Kalispell which is about a two and a half hour drive, and a long way for a little puppy. After going about ten minutes in the wrong direction, we turned around and were on our way. We drove through the prettiest mountains and tunnels, it was nice to get out of town for a little while.

That big crack isn't in the tunnel, that is our wonderful windshield. We haven't been able to budget that in yet, gotta love Dave Ramsey!

We drove around this lake almost the entire trip, it was huge. It's Flathead Lake and it was beautiful. The houses all along the shore had their own docks and boats, we loved it. Diesel was such a good boy the hole ride!

Here he looks a little tired... poor guy

whenever I put my arm around Gav, he would rest on it.

He had tons of fun when we would roll down the window. He would stick his head out and open his mouth and the wind would throw his head back. He was so confused so kept doing it, haha. He also loved just sitting and starring out the back window as we drove, that would make me car sick! We decided to take the car instead of the truck to save some gas even though we invested in a truck to carry him around and a new travel kennel, oh well. We just layed down the back seat and put down a blanket for him to sleep. We all loved Kalispell and hope we get to go back soon.

Our New Home

2010-09-24T19:35:00.000-06:00

Earlier this week Jill and Janiel came to visit us at our new home. We had a lot of fun shopping for clothes, shoes and new home decor but the only thing we ended buying was a new kitchen table.

We shopped around forever and finally found one that we could all agree on. We ended up finding it at furniture row. Its really nice to have the marble inlay, it helps us to avoid the glass marks.

Here is how we set up our new apartment

Our kitchen, bathroom and bedroom aren't anything too great so pics arent really needed. I guess in order to see the rest of our house you will have to come and visit. Our complex is really cool, we have a work out place, swimming pool and they just got bicycles! Yes I know right bicycles? Well they got two new townies that you can borrow to ride around town, run to the store or anything you want. I was very excited to see them, but of course mr. LOTOJA over here thinks the bikes are to wussy to ride.

Jen and Preston

2010-09-19T14:41:00.000-06:00

Jen and Preston came and visited us this weekend! It was so fun to have them here. We went swimming and shopping and watched movies and went on a walk down by the river. Missoula has a river flowing right through town with a bunch of streams coming off of it. The boys had a fun time playing in the water.

Preston built his own "Teepee", it was a working progess.

since there is so much water running through town, they have some really cool bridges

We miss Jen already but Jill and Janiel are on their way here!

Home Sweet Home

2010-09-19T14:31:00.000-06:00

We made it. We finally are moved up to Missoula and have everything unpacked we just need to get things hung up on the wall. It was a nice drive up here all packed up, except that since we have two cars we had to each drive alone. It was hard for me to stay awake! My mom and dad helped us get most of our stuff up here on Monday and then Gaynard and his dad Owen followed up on Tuesday with a 27 ft. trailer full of our stuff. It was so nice to have the help from them, there is no way we could have done it alone. Everyone went home on Wednesday and it was a sad goodbye. I was pretty sad, but didnt start crying until I saw that Gavin's Grandpa left us some famous homemade buttermints. After that I just lost it, I was going to miss all our family so much. Gavin looked over at me and was so confused, until I showed him the cup of mints, then we had a cute family moment crying together. After a couple of days though we are doing great. We love having our own little apartment with our stuff and we are starting to like Missoula alot.

We have gone on a few hikes and walks since we have been here and its so beautiful. I have applied for two jobs, one at pier one and one at buckle. Not careers of course, but just something to help us out. Gavin has already started work and he is liking it more each day. He has had a hard time getting in to see doctors, but isnt giving up... trust me :)

LOTOJA 2010

2010-09-19T14:16:00.000-06:00

Gavin rode 95 miles this year in the LOTOJA (Logan to Jackson Hole bike race). He rode with his cousin Blake and his buddy Jason. They took six place in their catagory, which is awesome. It was a lot of fun this year to hang out with just the adults. If you have never been to Teton Village, it is such a fun vacation spot. I love going there with the mountains and the fun shopping. We didnt get to go to Jenni lake this year since we moved up to Montana the next day, but the lake is beautiful and so clear!

GO GAVIN!

Here are some fun pics from last year

Last day of FHA

2010-09-19T14:06:00.000-06:00

So it came, my last day at Froerer, Hunter and Ahltrom law firm. It was a sad day but I was over it pretty quick. Here are just some pics of my long lost coworkers.

Charles and Shane. Charles was one of my fav's, he was fun to laugh at, even when he was mad. And Shane, he is just a thug that is obsessed with coffee

Shane Heather and Sherri. Sherri was always fun to talk softball with and I loved her sassy attitude. Heather, she took my spot up front, I wish her luck.

Matthew Zane and Mike. Matthew was like the nicest ever. Mike is going to be a great attorney. And Zane?? Well have you ever seen the chip munk movie, the real life one, and the guy that like steals the chipmunks... that is Zane to a T. I will miss my friends there, it was a good experience but its nice to move on.

The Weekend

2010-08-30T09:26:00.000-06:00

This weekend was a fun one. We didnt have anything planned, so we could finally do whatever we wanted. We were lucky enough to go to Preston and Tyler's soccer games! They did so good. Preston scored 2 goals, and Tyler is one of the fastest runners.

Preston and his teammates

Cute little Tyler. My boys got to take a nap while I did my homework.

They were the sleepiest boys ever. We went down and hung out with my family, I am going to miss them so much when we move. Yesterday we had a going away party for Gavin's aunt. They just bought a new house down the street, but you can never have to many parties in the Hadley family.

I Forgot to Mention

2010-08-27T13:28:00.000-06:00

While blogging last night I forgot to metion that we got a new truck! We bought it a while ago, but it has been in the shop for some final touches. We needed something to carry Diesel around in when he grows up, and we needed something 4wd for when we move to Montana. It's a really nice truck. Gavin even took the time to build a bed for Diesel, out of wood and covered in carpet, that we can slide in and out when needed. What a handy man.

We got a great deal on it, and are very happy with the investment.

First Day of School

2010-08-26T20:58:00.000-06:00

School started Monday! It might be weird that I am excited, and it might change soon. I am taking all online classes from Weber State so that I can still go to school while living in Montana without paying out of state tuition. For my niece and nephews, their first day of school was yesterday. They all looked so cute!

South Carolina Aqarium

2010-08-26T20:51:00.000-06:00

Before we went home we went to the South Carolina aqarium. Gavin had never been to an aqarium before, so we had to be there. Here are some cool pics!

These fish look fake... but they arent!

This is an albino alligator

Can you see the little alligators?

Did you know that the bald eagle was taken off the endagered species list in 2007?

A chicken turtle

Its funny to see fish we have in our mountains in an aquarium

I know sick... sorry

I call this little guy a spider Crab

This was our favorite guy!

We had a blast! This trip was such a fun ending to a great first summer being married!

The Big S.C.

2010-08-26T19:51:00.002-06:00

After my Grandma's birthday party, Gavin and I headed to the airport for our trip to Charleston, South Carolina. Can I just tell you how much we loved it there?! It was so nice to just be together with no stress, no work... and the best part we didnt have to pay for it! This was the trip I won on the radio, so it was all free. When we arrived in South Carolina after our layover in Atlanta, the humidity hit me like a wall. I could almost not breathe it was so strong. Our hotel was beautiful, it had such a southern feel to it with the big ceilings, harwood floors and large doorways.

They gave free breakfast, but we never woke up by ten to go down and eat, so we just skipped breakfast the whole trip. We arrived there Friday morning, which gave us all day to play! We walked everywhere since we didnt get a rental car, and we were sweaty the whole time, haha. Just across the park next to our hotel was the Fashion District named King Street. It was the cutest street full of fun botiques and shops.

All of the shops looked like this. We went here and got a bunch of cow tails... our favorite! It is such an old town, but they do a great job to keep it up to date. There is a college in town so there are a ton of young people, and bicycles everywhere. While we were shopping King Street Thursday night, it starting pouring like crazy. The thunder and lighting were right above us and it was sooo scary.

We were stuck in front of this store for almost 30 minutes, until we decided we weren't going to let a little rain get in the way of our vacation. We decided to run through it a few blocks to get some dinner.

We ate at Bubba Gump's, which is our favorite vacation dinner spot. Saturday morning we slept in as long as we could before we were completely starved. We decided to go get some lunch when we ran into a farmers market in the park right next to our hotel. It was so warm outside, the perfect day for stroll around the park. We got some crepes and lemonade there, it was kinda different and a little good, not my fav.

We were sweating so bad by the end we decided to go swimming back at the hotel.

beautiful right?? Before the concert, we decided to scope out the town some more. We stopped and got a couple of cup cakes from this cute cupcake shop.

Gavins was called black and white... delicious, and mine was key lime, even better!

We hung out in the park and ate our yummy cupcakes while waiting til nine for the concert to start. When we picked up our tickets, we had back stage passes and front frow standing seats. Since I had already met Lee before and Gavin didnt care to meet him, we decided to not go backstage. Yet Gavin didnt want to give them away to someone else, selfish boy! Anyway, the concert was good but really loud!

This is Luis Brice, he opened for Lee, I am guessing a relative.

I really do love Lee Brice's music. I am such a country fan, and his music is so clean, I love listening to it.

We had such a fun trip. Who knows when we will be able to go that far away again. Gavin is truely my best friend.

Happy 80th Grandma!

2010-08-26T18:44:00.000-06:00

Last weekend my family through a big birthday party for my grandma's 80th birthday! I am so happy that Gavin and I went, almost my whole extended family was there. My aunt and uncle from Virginia were in town and same with my cousins that live in Japan. We miss them all so much, they are such a great part of the family. I love spending time with my family and I am so lucky we are such good friends and get along.

My Sister and I are such good friends! I love her to death. And my number one cousin ever! She always has such good advice for me, plus she gets me.

These are my "cousins" that live in Japan. Are they not the cutest ever?

This is Jennifer, my cousin, the mother of the kids above. She is super cool and a lot of fun to talk to. Oh ya and my Most Favorite Uncle in the world Clair. He is the cutest guy ever. Plus he shaved his moustache... I love it.

Squint really hard so you can see my cute Grandma in this pic. She raised me such a great dad, I am so thankful for her... and all her treats!

Bye Bye Shy Shy

2010-08-18T23:10:00.001-06:00

Gavin and I are going to be out of town this weekend, which makes me way sad because Shyanne will be leaving for school this Saturday. I can't believe she is so grown up! When I think back to the day my mom and dad dropped me off at school in Ventura, I want to cry! It was one of the most devastating, lonely moments of my life, but I know Shyanne will do great. She is heading down to Snow College for their Culinary program. She is amazing and got a few scholarships which is way nice. Since we were missing her going away moments, we decided to take her out to dinner. She picked Zupas, which is a great pick, one of my fav's. Her dream is to open her own cupcake shop. So, I stopped by the Vintage Cupcake shop on 24th street and picked a couple for her.

The one on the left is cookies and creme, the one on the right is BTA, which stands for better than anything... which is true, it was.

What can we say, us Jones' arent always photogenic, it runs in the blood. We had such a fun time with Shyanne, and I am going to miss her so much. If you want to keep track of how she is doing at school her blog is http://www.shyannejones.blogspot.com/... Love ya Sis!

Our Trip to Missoula

2010-08-18T23:01:00.000-06:00

Let me just begin by saying, I was pretty confident that we were going to find a place to live heading up to Missoula. We had a fun drive. It wasnt too bad, its mostly a straight shot from here to missoula. Gavin is such a great husband and drove almost the whole time!

On our way there we stopped for some dinner in a small town called Dylan. We were the only ones in the McDonald's so I decided to text my fam and said, "We are at McDonald's and the only ones here... Never happens." So remembering that I gave my little brother and sister the Toby Keith tickets I won, my little brother wrote back saying, "We are at a concert and the only sober ones... always happens" haha he makes me laugh, so here is a pic of them enjoying my winnings.

We got to Montana pretty late saturday night, which only gave us Sunday, Monday and half of Tuesday to find somewhere to live. We had only a few requirements of what we wanted in a place. We wanted to rent a house, two or three bedroom, newer, nice area, allowed 200 lbs. dogs, with a garage and under $1000.00 per month. Too much to ask? Yes, we learned that very quickly. Sunday we drove around looking at houses from 9:00 am to 9:30 pm with no luck. At first we tried just driving from neighborhood to neighborhood looking for the "for rent" signs. LUCKILY Gavin has the smartest wife ever! We stopped and bought a newspaper, got the classifieds, and a map, and made our search a little more efficient. I learned a lot about maps, but not everything. I got us very lost a few times so Gavin did the driving and the mapping, I just gave my opinion here and there... it was safer that way. But by the end of the day my hopes were almost lost. Before bed we said our prayers, pleading to help us find a house so we didnt have to make another trip this month. After laying in bed for about 5 min. I couldnt hold it in anymore. I just started bawling! It is so important to me for us to find somewhere safe where we had good neighbors and could be in a great ward, and I was so discouraged. I dont want to live somewhere that I dont feel comfortable raising my family and I guess crying was the only way to let it out. Luckily, Gavin was there to help me understand that everything was going to be okay. The next morning we woke up bright and early to take advantage of the day. After looking at over 50 houses, apartments and duplexs, we ended up signing a lease for a 1 bedroom apartment that is only about 900 square feet. Pretty small and not exaclty what we had in mind. But we were humbled and realized that with living there all of our needs will be met. Plus the complex didnt have a weight limit on dogs... good news for Diesel! That night we celebrated by having a mexican fiesta meal at a cute little local restraunt.

Gavin was so happy to be done looking for houses and was so excited for dinner. I ordered this fatty burrito and Gavin said if I ate the whole thing then I could get a new church outfit.

I didnt finish :(... oh well. Our new home is so beautiful. Missoula is a valley surrounded by mountains packed with pine trees. There is a way sweet river running through town that just brings the city to life. One part of Missoula is old fashioned yet classy, and the other part is new and starting to become developed. We are excited to move. We dont know how long we will be gone, but we are going to love it.

Our car was completely covered in bugs!

Happy Birthday Preston!

2010-08-13T11:28:00.000-06:00

Last night we had a swim party at the neighbor's for Preston's Birthday. All the kids had a blast with the diving board!

Quinn could fit through the middle of that tiny tube

I wish I could put sound effects with this picture

Birthday Boy

Jazzy's twist

and the other kid... Gavin

Two of my sista's

and the wrest of the fam damily!

We are going to miss the fun get togethers with our families!

We're Moving!

2010-08-13T11:13:00.000-06:00

We found out this past weekend we will be moving to...

Missoula Montana

We are so excited to start our new life up there. It will be so much fun to just be our cute little family.

Again?

2010-08-05T10:20:00.000-06:00

So everyday after work while driving home at 5:00, K-Bull 93 has a give away. I call in everyday and try to win. The only problem is you have to be caller number 93 to win. Which is impossible right? That is what I thought at least. But yesterday while driving home, I won Toby Keith concert tickets for next weekend! Gavin is so happy he married me now. We leave in a couple of weeks for South Carolina for the Lee Brice concert in Charleston. If anyone dog sits let us know. Diesel needs someone to stay with that will love him for a couple days. Here are a few pics of him lately. He now weighs 26 lbs. And starts puppy classes next Saturday!

Summer Nights

2010-07-26T23:04:00.000-06:00

Gavin and I had a great 24th of July. On Friday we packed, jumped in Put-Put and ventured down to Alpine to plaster a foundation, I guess you could say thats our second job. I love riding in the truck because it is a bench seat and I get to sit so close to my boys.

Diesel just hung out all weekend while Gavin and I worked, he was a pretty good dog, but he eats everything in sight! When he knows he is not supposed to eat something he looks around to make sure we aren't looking and snatches it as fast as he can!

After we finished the foundation we headed up to my parents house for Gavins Birthday dinner. Diesel played all day and was so tired he fell asleep on me like my little baby boy

It was such a nice night to just sit on the deck and hang out with my family, I love them so much. It's the nights like these that make me love summer. On Sunday I had the privilige of speaking in church on the youth spectacular. I loved that program so much and my testimony grows each time I think about it. That night the kids were over and we decided to do a fire for the nephews.

It was so nice to sit back and chat with my best friend while roasting huge marshmellows. It was so relaxing and those moments just make me realize how lucky I am to have the husband that I do. And I am so lucky to be an aunt to some way awesome kids.

We had a blast! It's summer nights like these that make great memories.

My Two Boys

2010-07-21T22:12:00.003-06:00

My two boys are growing up so fast. I can't believe a year has already gone by since Gavin's last birthday! On his birthday day we went to dinner with Gaynard and Jill. I know I say this all the time but they are so great to us, I will always feel in debt to them. Gavin chose to go to Tepanyaki, it was a good choice since I hadn't been there since high school. We had a lot of fun.

I love Tepanyaki mostly because your food is so warm and delicious, made freshly in front of you. Mmm..

Gaynard had been in Hawaii for 3 weeks Stuccoing the Hawaiian LDS temple in Oahu. We love having him back home with us safe and sound.

My newest little boy on the other hand is growing so big and too fast! He is now 17 lbs. and I can barely hold him. Don't get me wrong, I love dogs. I have always loved dogs and have begged for one ever since Gav and I got married, but I am now starting to second guess our decision. He is so cute sometimes, like today he was playing with me while I was watering the garden and we had a blast!

He is starting to run a lot, the only problem is his legs arent strong enough to hold up his huge body.

So there are those times when I look at him and my heart melts and I love him. However, there are times when inside all I can think about is how I miss the days when it was just Gavin and I and we didnt have anything else to worry about. Like for example today, when I was trying to get my A.D.D. dog to stop eating bark and dirt and flowers and he swung his head over and CHOMPED on my arm.

Not just my arm, but the sensitive spot where all my veins are. UGH.. I started bawling, I didnt know if I was hurt, mad, scared or if my feelings were just hurt that he would bite me. Anyway, I sat and cried while he was in his kennel and he just looked at me. I dont know if he has any real feelings yet, but I hope he felt bad. Speaking of kennel, the dog has taken over our room...

Can you believe that one day he will fill this thing? Hopefully by then he will be able to show a little self control and not want to bit everything that has flesh. So I guess we will see how my feelings change about him as he gets older... if they ever do, the butt head.

Happy Birthday Eve Gavin

2010-07-18T22:21:00.001-06:00

Gavin's Birthday is tomorrow, but we celebrated with his family tonight. For dinner his mom made Gyro's.... random, but that was what Gaivn requested. Of course it was amazing, Jill always goes all out for birthday meals. Gavin didnt want much for his birthday, mostly just work clothes... and a new dog. So what did he get? Yes a new dog.

Everyone meet Diesel. He is the newest member of our family and he is an English Mastiff. Here in this picture he is 6 weeks old. We didnt actually get him today, we got him on the fourth of July Gavin just couldnt wait any longer to get him. We had been looking on the ksl classifieds for about 6 months and it just seemed right, so we went and picked him up from Richfield, Utah.

I know he is a boy, but I love bows! He is growing up so fast, his dad was 200 lbs. and Diesel should get up to about 250 lbs. He is such a good puppy, we got him a huge kennel and he sleeps almost all night. He wakes us up about 3:00 and 6:00, and we can't wait til he sleeps all night. He weighed about 10 lbs. when we got him, we have had him 2 weeks and he weighs 15 lbs. already.

I know he is so spoiled, but I love making him happy!

Arise and Shine Forth

2010-07-18T22:00:00.000-06:00

The performance came at last. In the end there were 3,500 youth in 33 stakes. The Performance was at Weber State and we broke the record for the amount of people in the stadium at one time. The Spectacular was one of the most spiritual programs I have ever been a part of.

These are some of my young women that participated in the program. It was such hard work and I am so proud of them. The finale was my ultimate favorite part. All of the kids faced the south endzone, while a picture of Christ came down the goal post and knelt at his feet. It was such a spiritual moment it brought the stands to tears. Its the programs like this that the church puts on that gives the youth memories for the rest of their lives.

4th of July!

2010-07-18T21:49:00.001-06:00

This Fourth was so much fun! That morning we went to the Lindley home for a delicious big breakfast. All of Jill and Gaynard's good friends are so great and their families are so adorable, I'm pretty much out of place when we all get together. After breakfast Kam, Shontel and Parker met at our house and we headed out to go boating. It was so nice to be out on the lake, especially since there were hardly anyone out there. The boys liked to go on the tube and be all crazy, Shontel and I just liked laying on the boat and relaxing.

It was a little chilly on the fourth so we didnt feel like we were getting any sun... as you can tell Gavin got way too much!

After we went boating, Gavin and I decided to go down to Moroni and hang out and camp with my family. My camera was dead almost the whole time so I am sad I didnt get any pictures. But we there were 35 people and 10 dogs down there. We were all like a big huge family!

1st Anniversary!

2010-07-02T10:55:00.001-06:00

Isn't crazy how as you get older, time seems to go by so much faster? I can't believe it has already been one year since Gavin and I got married. All in all the first year has been a blast. We have both learned to much about eachother and have become so close. He knows how to calm me down when I get frustrated and I have learned that even though he is big and strong, he still needs nurturing.

For our anniversary, I was lucky enough to get the day off of work. Gavin got stuck in Idaho in the operating room for work until four o'clock in the morning of our anniversary, so we didnt get to spend the morning together, but that's okay, life just happens sometimes. We headed down to salt lake, made a couple of coffee stops for some of Gavin's doctors and headed to the temple. The salt lake temple is amazing! It is so beautiful and historic I loved being there. After spending a few hours there, guess where we went for dinner? where else except Gavin's ultimate favorite place and the place we had our luncheon... Tucanos! Don't get me wrong I like the place too, but Gav is such a meat lover.

While we were eating, they servers brought around chicken heart! I was for sure not trying it, but Gav was brave enough to give it a shot. He said it wasnt that bad, but everytime he thought about it being a chicken heart he gagged.. haha.

Gaynard and Jill have a HUGE tree in their yard. It so nice to have in the yard, its always full of squirrels birds and gives a lot of shade. But this is what I walked into on my way to the car this morning. Poor little egg. It is such a beautiful blue color, it didnt even have a chance to live, and think how sad the momma bird is!! I was feeling bad about it, but then I though, I am sure eggs and nests have been falling out of trees since the beginning of time. Well, this week has gone by fast, but I cant wait until the 4th!!

Peach Pickin'

2010-06-26T17:52:00.002-06:00

I always knew the church was amazing, but I never realized how smart they are. When I moved up to countryville, USA in North Ogden and was sitting in sacrament one day, they announced that it was tree trimming time again in the orchard. I thought they meant tree trimming around the neighborhood. However, Gavin explained to me that the church owns this huge orchard just down the road. The orchard is split up in catagories by Stakes and Wards, and we are in charge of taking care of our share. When it comes time for harvesting, the church cans them and distributes them throughout families in the church that needs food or even throughout the world. Amazing huh? The first time we went to help, I was amazed at how many trees there are. I have never been in an orchard so big. Our ward is in charge of about 80 trees out of basically 1000, seriously that big. The trees were still dead from the winter, it was freezing cold outside and I was the only girl, so it wasnt very enjoyable. Well last sunday Gavin volunteered us to go help this past week again to do some thinning. I learned that thinning the trees means to even out the fruit throughout the tree so there is room for the peaches to grow without breaking the branch. They handed us a flier as we pulled in with these sweet peach pickers. The fliers had these rules on them:

Rule #1: No throwing fruit

Rule #2: Be on the ladders only if necessary

Rule #3: No horseplay

So what does my husband do right as we start? Starts throwing hard, unripe fruit at me. He is such a butt. We had a lot of fun though. The trees were so pretty with all the green leaves on them.

Jill and Gaynard have been wanting to take us to Tucanos for a long time. That is Gavin's ultimate favorite place to eat and we also did our wedding luncheon there. So before Gaynard leaves for Hawaii we took a trip to the Gateway. Gavin's parents have been so proud of him for his sucess in school and his hardwork with his new job... and so have I.

This past friday was my sister-in-laws last day of work. I am going to be so sad and lonely without her. I am so excited that she got a new great job with a law firm in Salt Lake. She is such a hardworker and definetly deserves it. I guess I do have Shane to hang out with though.

Friday was also my Brother-in-law's birthday! Woop Woop the big 25 now he can get a rental car without getting robbed. We had a great time hanging out and seeing all their friends. My sister is such a good wife and her and her friends are so gorgeous it makes me jealous. But I am lucky to have such a fun family.

LeE bRiCe

2010-06-22T08:51:00.001-06:00

Last night was the concert for Lee Brice in Salt Lake at the Westerner (a country bar in salt lake). I have never been to a bar before and the bar part wasnt that cool to be honest. BUT we had so much fun last night! Before we headed down to Salt Lake, we decided to make the whole night free of charge and stop by Subway to use our points. Hey we are poor college students we have to do what we can. Gavin was so sweet and let me get a Davids ice cream treat. For all you people that havent been there... you have to try it!

When we got to the bar we ran into some of Gavin's friends from school and hung out with them all night. When they walked up to us they were telling us how they got back stage passes! I was jealous, we needed to meet him if we were going to fly across the country to see him. So I walked up to the counter and was like "I won the fly'away! I have to meet him" so they gave me a wrist band... I was like "what about my husband?" but they refused. So Gavin's friends and I went back stage and poor Gavin had to hang out alone for a while. I was a little nervous, but I knew he would be okay.

I told Lee how I won the fly away, he was like "you did? thats awesome we have to keep in touch and hang out when you get there! thats my home town." I was excited, but now that I think about it, he was basically wasted and I doubt he will remember me when he wakes up this morning. Oh well Gav and I are still so excited for our fly away it was a great concert!

Fathers Day Weekend

2010-06-20T23:13:00.001-06:00

This was a crazy weekend. Not only was it the first weekend that Gavin was out of town for work, but it was the first big "Spectacular" practice at Weber State. There were about 30 Stakes there and over 3,000 youth! we learned he grand finale of the program and it is going to be so great!

Karlee, Brigham, Me, Drew, Kennede and Maddy

After the "Spectacular" practice that went from 7 am to 1 pm, I went home to hurry and get ready for my nephew's birthday. He turned 4 years old and had a Super Mario Bro. party. My sister-in-law had these cute mushroom cupcakes made, arent they adorable. I swear Gavin's sisters always go all out for everything, I hope I will be able to keep up with them when I have kids.

Isn't this the coolest party ever?

The kids had a pinata and broke it open the first round. Tyler wanted to keep hitting it until it was completely distroyed.

We celebrated Father's Day with my family on Saturday. My dad requested Santa Monica Pizza and seeing the movie Karate Kid. So on my way to Salt Lake I picked up Gavin from the airport. It was so much fun to hang out with my family. My little brother Jake rode with me to get Gavin and he is growing up so fast and is becoming such a great kid! We celebrated with Gavin's family on Sunday. We went over to his aunts house and had a picnic dinner with almost the whole fam. All of Gavin's cousins are around our age so it's always fun to sit and hear everyone's stories.

What a Handsome boy, this is my tribute to my future children's daddy, Love you Gav!

My tribute to my Father-in-Law, you crack me up Gaynard!

And my tribute to my dad! Love you Dad, you really are the best dad ever, I cant get over how hard you have always work for us and still do. Thank you for everything! especially for your friendship, I never want it to change! Love you dad. This weekend was fun, busy and went by way to fast!