hallelujah

Guess what.

 I am now officially a college graduate!

I can't believe it. These years have flown by and as stressed as school makes me 

I was quite sad driving away from campus today. 

The University of Utah has been good to me and I will never forget the memories. 

But now I can celebrate the holidays stress free!

Well maybe not completely stress free... since we are moving to California the day after Christmas.

 

I am going to cuddle up and listen to *NSYNC Christmas

and prepare for our white elephant party on Saturday.

oh how I love this time of year...

Brunette

Never have I ever been a brunette until this moment...

I am a wimp when it comes to change so this was a huge deal for me.

 Luckily I have the best hair stylist in the world who I trust with all my hair needs. 

And I would have always wondered if I had never done it. So I took the plunge.

I mean brunettes have fun too right?

catch up

This was taken on our way down from the Hawker's cabin in Park City. If you haven't, you must go up the canyon and see the beauty of the changing leaves!

Fall is such a busy and beautiful time. I am just trying to savor every second of it so please excuse me for my lack of posts. But here is a little bit of what we have been up to lately..

1. this is my last semester at the U and it is keeping me quite busy with 18 credit hours!

2. I was promoted from intern to wedding planner assistant. woohoo no more long unpaid days

3. trying to cram in hawker family time as much as we can before the big move

4. cooking parties, date nights & motorcycle rides (before it gets too chilly)

5. a week ago we were sadly released from our duties as the sunbeam teachers. I was heartbroken. I literally cried as I heard the news. Every-time I walk into class I feel their love. They are my sunshine. I will always treasure the Sundays we had full of learning & whispering. I am also grateful that I got to serve with husband

 

Next up is the never ending search for the best Halloween costume & the construction of fall decor!

What is keeping you busy this fall?

year twenty-two

yesterday was my twenty-second birthday. i can't even believe it. 

it was a day full of love, relaxation and of course presents. 

but the best present was being able to celebrate with ben the whole entire day.

 i also got to wake up to my mom calling and singing happy birthday to me. birthdays are a huge celebration in my family and i am so glad ben has carried that on. 

can't believe this is my third birthday celebrating with ben.

sir troy

• This is the man that coached almost all of my soccer teams when I was little
• He is responsible for my flat feet and double-jointed fingers & elbows
• He taught me to laugh at life and always be true to myself
• He decided to serve a two-year mission at the age of 19 when his family was not active in the church and his father nor older brother ever served a mission
• He was on the waiting list for Harvard Law School. He is the smartest man and most eloquent speaker I know
• He is the man I wanted my husband to be like (I am so lucky Ben has some of his qualities!)
• He should be a professional dancer
• He loves my mom unconditionally and that's the best thing he can do as a father of four daughters

My dad is one of the most fun people to be around, especially on the dance floor. I admire him so much.

So here's to you, dad, on your golden birthday. May this year bring much love and laughter! 

sorry i'm not sorry

can i just brag a little bit and show you some of the cutest pictures of my little nephew Henry? i know everyone thinks they have the cutest son/daughter/niece/nephew but let me tell you, this little one should be a gerber babe. i miss him so much. 

i wish we lived in the same state as any one of my sisters. tragic really but that is a whole other story. 

yes he wore a tux with shorts to marisa's wedding. everyone couldn't get enough.

can't wait to be reunited with my whole family next month!

the saints

the next day we had the opportunity of exploring st. thomas. 

it was so much fun to shop around and have a brief sight seeing tour before ending the day at the beach. the color of st. thomas' water is like nothing i have ever seen. it was heaven.

And then our last stop was st maarten!

st. maarten was similar to st thomas with the assortment of shopping and beautiful beaches. 

we went on a snorkeling excursion & stopped at a local beach to get exfoliated the island way. it was an experience.

bermuda bahama come on pretty mama

i do realize that we went on our hawker cruise nearly a month ago but since this is the best journal i have i am still going to blog about it.

this was my first cruise and so i was very excited and a little skeptical. would i get sea sick? i hope not.  

we departed from florida and traveled on the freedom of the seas cruise ship. boy was it lovely. not to mention the luxury of getting food any time you wanted (even room service was included!). 

let me tell you for mass produced food (which i am usually not too fond of) it was quite tasty. 

our first stop was coco kay island in the bahamas. it is an island owned by royal caribbean so it was not very impressive. i mean it was beautiful but our whole cruise ship of people going to one little little island was a bit claustrophobic. nonetheless we had fun and even got to rent a catamaran for the second time! (which was a dream come true for ben who learned how to sail in cancun)

next stop st.thomas

367 days ago i married my best friend for time and all eternity. 

i can't believe it. time has flown by. 

but i can honestly say this has been the best year of my life. i knew i was head over heels for ben before we got married but i never knew how much greater this love could be in just another year. 

this first year has been pure bliss. bring on eternity!

i am also so glad i got to celebrate with all my best friends.

ps i know i should probably change my blog header now that it has been a year. just savoring it for a few days longer.

see you in zwei

yesterday was so bittersweet.

we had the opportunity to go down to provo and drop off ben's little brother at the MTC.

he will be serving a mission for the church of jesus christ of latter day saints in frankfurt, germany for 2 years.

i am so so excited for him that he made the decision to go but i love adam so i will miss him a ton. 

adam is kind, caring, thoughtful & fun. 

ben & adam are such good friends i know it will be hard on ben. 

but we know he is where he is supposed to be. germany is lucky to have him!

so see you in zwei (two) adam!

freedom

today, ben officially graduated from college. 

(technically he graduated in december but today he walked so i think it makes it much more official)

my parents even flew out to celebrate with us, which made it that more special. 

i could not be more proud of him. 

he worked so hard to finish school as quick as possible and still managed to get on two honorary academic lists!

congrats ben!

PS we leave tomorrow for florida where we will board our cruise ship on sunday. wow it came up so fast and at the very perfect time. never been on a cruise so i am excited to see what it is all about! see you in a week

a quarter of a century

this little one turned twenty-five thursday.

i can't believe it. seems like yesterday i was driving up to the hawker home for one of the first times to celebrate his twenty-third. 

but his twenty fifth was one for the books

 & i was so lucky that i could spend the whole entire day with him.

we started off the day with mcdonald's breakfast in bed, since that is the birthday boys favorite.

i then blindfolded him and took him to the airport where he rented his first car as a 25 yr old. 

i had a convertible all saved but ben quickly asked for a camaro instead.

After, we raced (literally) over to pick up Adam for lunch at the kyoto.

 Ben then insisted we all go back to his parent's house and play super smash brothers. 

oh the demands of such a simple birthday boy. 

After smashing both Ben & Adam (thanks to my handicap), Ben & i headed up emigration canyon to see what the camaro could do. we are lucky hertz doesn't check the tires when you return the car because Ben was drifting around every curve possible. 

We then headed to the tennis club to play a few games. it was perfect weather. 

later that night Ben insisted he didn't want a fancy dinner but rather just pizza so we grabbed pizza to go and ate at the park. it was the perfect end to such a fun day. 

i loved surprising ben by having the whole day planned. he was in heaven.

i won't bore you with 25 reasons why i love ben or anything but i will say i never knew i could love someone this much. he is the best, most fun best friend/roommate/husband/lover. i love how every night feels like a sleepover & i love how he makes me laugh so very much.

there's been a murder

Ben is turning 25 on thursday and so we decided to have a murder mystery party last night to celebrate. the story was set at an old western saloon. it was such a blast to really get into character and guess the murderer (who ended up being the birthday boy himself!)

meet the moneys. montgomery, elizabeth and our daughter minnie

harry & henrietta high-stakes. we missed you emma!

matches spelled out 25 and lit themselves one by one as requested by the birthday boy

this was the first birthday cake i have ever made from scratch. icing and all. laura would be so proud

i love birthdays. my mom has always made them such an amazing event & now i am doing the same. this is just the beginning of ben's 25th celebration. can't wait. i love spoiling my little ben.

lala

• This is the woman that made me breakfast every morning before school even when I took zero period seminary and had to be at the church at 5:30a
• She is responsible for my freckles
• This woman came to all my dance recitals & cheer competitions with flowers in hand
• She taught me the piano even though I refused to practice
• She taught me how to cook, to clean and to love unconditionally. She taught me the power of prayer
• This is the woman that is always up for desert no matter how much we ate for dinner & always up for a late night of family fun no matter how little sleep she had the night before. 
• She is the first person I called when I knew that I would marry Ben
• This is the woman I strive to be more like everyday
• I have never known a woman to love the Lord like she does

I cannot say enough wonderful things about my mother. She is the most amazing, beautiful, fun-loving person. Happy Birthday Mom. Can't wait to celebrate many more with you!

xo

betty

i have been on a cooking phase lately and wanted to share some quick delicious recipes we have enjoyed over here.

last night we made this. we loved it so much! but we also love pesto added to pretty much anything so i knew it would be a winner.

and a couple nights before that we made this pesto/avocado pasta. it was also a hit! yes you could say we seek after pesto inspired dishes.

for lunch another day we decided to try this chicken salad with avocado dressing. oh my gosh it was was the best chicken salad i have had & it makes great leftovers!

thanks pinterest for all the great recipes. 

you have really sparked my love for cooking

back to reality

last week at this time we were making our way back to salt lake city from orange county. and now that we are back it feels as though nothing has changed. almost feels like san jose/los angeles was a dream. 

but, i am glad to be back. i am also glad the weather has been so nice that i may never really have to experience winter this year. 

my older sister got married one week and one day ago. can't even believe it. it was such an amazing celebration. she looked gorgeous and so happy. i am so glad she has found someone that understands & loves everything about her.

 just look at that smile

PS there are many more cute pictures where this came from. check it out.

Oz is such a talented photographer and so much fun to be around. he also shot our wedding and that is when Marisa knew she had to have him.Oz captures not only the visual event but the feel of the day. I strongly recommend him

my mind rambles

• leaving san jose tomorrow (can you believe it?) and currently dreading all the packing that needs to be done (hence the post)
• my sister is getting married in three days. it doesn't even feel real. so excited for her new adventure!
• can't wait to go back to salt lake partly so that i can do some easter crafts. 
• B's 25th is coming up next month and i am already thinking of ways to make it perfect. it's such a big year & i love birthdays so of course i have to start thinking about it now right? 
• i get to hang out with my family so soon and i am so excited. most of all i can't wait to squeeze little henry
• can't wait for summer to approach so we can go on two tropical getaways! we are going with B's family on a caribbean cruise in may &  going with my family to hawaii in july. ah please come soon
• B is done with his internship tonight and so we will celebrate. no more late nights at the office woohoo
• i am puppy crazy. i have been looking at puppies for sale in salt lake. unfortunately our apartment complex won't allow it. but i want one so bad. can't decide on the breed. so many options. wish pomsky breeders weren't so rare.

last

it is our last weekend in san jose. 

i don't really know what to think about it, but i do know i am gonna savor this 70 degree weather for as long as i can. 

i really love san jose and i can't wait to move back here next year. 

i like not knowing anyone and meeting new people.

i like how it's in a sense "our city" where we can make our mark and maybe buy our first house together. 

i love the weather & the amazing trees. 

i like how even though i grew up in southern california this feels nothing like it.

i like how both of our families are close enough to drive to but far enough so it really is our own adventure.

hope you all have a great weekend!

just bibs

last night we went out to dinner with my father-in-law who was in town. 

i was in charge of picking the restaurant so naturally i wanted something new and different. 

i decided on this little gem located in very south san jose. 

we were not disappointed and it was an experience i will never forget. 

you order seafood by the pound tell them the sauce and how spicy you like it. they then bring it out to you in a clear plastic bag. 

no silverware. no plates. no nothing.
 just bibs.

oh yeah and everything comes out with shells & heads still on it so you have to be the one to get down & dirty. 

the shrimp still had eyes attached! talk about fresh.

we ended up ordering 1.5 pounds of shrimp & a dungeness crab.

(always get the whole shabang sauce!)

ben & tim were skeptical but ended up really enjoying it.

overall it was fresh and well cooked seafood. not too bad of prices either!

we bonded over shelling everything and i am sure this will be a meal the three of us treasure. 

(we forgot to take a picture with tim. so sad)

it was so much fun to see a familiar face & catch up on everything that's happening back in salt lake.

thanks for visiting us tim!