Katie's Wedding and Our Weekend Away

Last weekend we had so much fun going to Vegas for Katie and Kyler's wedding! We made a last minute decision to split the drive up and go to Cedar City on Thursday night, and then finish off the drive on Friday morning. This was the BEST idea I think we could have had, it gave us more time to have a much needed mini vacation :) We went out and ate ice cream before settling into the hotel, because I'm Jade and always need to get ice cream. This cute pup really wanted my ice cream and I almost cried because he was so cute! Emotions are high these days
 
 

The next morning we ate our breakfast and got ready for the rest of the drive. You would think this part of the drive would be so much easier because it was only a couple hours....but it wasn't. We were both tired and grumpy and didn't want to be in a car anymore! BUT before we got grumpy we stopped at Zion National Park and drove through their scenic route. It was gorgeous!! I couldn't believe it. I wasn't feeling up to hiking or anything but just seeing it was good enough for now. We will definitely be going back to do some hikes this summer before I blimp up :)

We finally made it to Vegas! My initial thought was that we would go somewhere exciting for lunch since we were in Vegas, but like I said we were tired and grumpy so it was In N Out and that was just fine by me. After we had some food we were feeling much more energized and decided to go to the Aquarium at Mandalay Bay!

We aren't very good at selfies...blame the height difference

It was a lot of fun to see all the fishies and sharks. Just the way they had it all decorated made it feel like we were really outside in the nature with the fish! I LOVE going to Aquariums so this was the perfect way to spend my afternoon after the drive. 

We still had some time to kill before we could check into the hotel so we drove down the strip and people watched :) It's what I do best. When we got back to the hotel we decided to take a quick dip in the pool. We were not used to the Vegas heat, and it was so refreshing to be in the water! Unfortunately it was also VERY VERY windy, which meant that after we were in the water it was freezing, but it wasn't hard to warm up in that heat. 

By that time we were hungry, it was still early but our bodies were used to eating right after work. Our hotel has a lot of restaurants in it so it was easy to find food. We decided it was fine to splurge and go to a fancier place since we hadn't been able ot go out for a while. For some reason, we always end up at the fancy restaurants in flip flops and T-shirts but we were hungry and didn't care. I got crab cakes and lobster bisque, and Curtis got a veal chop with cauliflower mash. I was very impressed with the food! It was so good, and then we split a berry creme brulee. The perfect end to our evening. By the time we got back to the hotel I was EXHAUSTED. It was rough, I tried so hard to stay awake but it wasn't happening. By 7:30 I was sound asleep....in my defense though that's 8:30 my time which isn't AS bad. Curtis got to stay up and watch basketball though so I'm sure he didn't mind that I was out. 

The next morning was wedding day!! The day that we had all been preparing for for months. I couldn't believe that it was actually time. Of course I was up by 6 since I went to bed so early so I went out and brought back some breakfast. then it was time to get ready. Here's a selfie because I felt so good about getting ready for the first time in a long time...

Of course we left our temple recommends in Utah so we had to go to the wedding early so they could look us up. It was such a fun sealing, and it just reminded me of how I felt on the day that I got sealed. So many great memories, and I can't wait for Katie and Kyler to experience all of the emotions of marriage :) After taking the pictures at the temple, we had about 5 hours before the reception started. Katie's friend Mariah, Curtis, and I spent the afternoon together getting lunch, watching a movie, and walking the strip! I just had to get my bag of blue M&M's, and they were such troopers to come with me. 

Note to self, don't walk the strip in flip flops, I had major blisters for a few days but it was totally worth it! We thought we were making great time, but of course I put in the wrong address that took us in the opposite direction. As a result we were 45 minutes late to the reception....fail on my part. But the important part is that we made it and got to party with the newly weds!

I was so glad that I got so much sleep the night before. I'm convinced that's why I had so much energy that day, and it was amazing!! I miss being able to do anything without having to go home to lay down. It was a fun day, and I'm happy that we were able to go down for it. The next day was depressing knowing that it was time to go home. Our hotel was so nice, I just wanted to stay there forever, but alas we can't always get what we want so we packed up and got in the car to make the journey home. Poor Curtis drove the whole way while I primarily slept.....the day before just got to me I guess. On the bright side, we got back in time to go to my parents house and enjoy a fun dinner with my family! I'm excited it's summer again so we can grill outside and play in the grass. Plus my brother brought his new puppy and I about died watching him run through the grass and trip over himself. Just look how cute he is!

In the end, it was the perfect getaway that we very much needed. Thanks for getting married Katie so we could have an excuse for a mini vacation! 

First Trimester!

Now that the word is out that I'm pregnant, I can catch up with my blog posts! The past few months have been real rough for me. Morning sickness is definitely an all day thing, that I did not enjoy. Luckily I had Curtis by my side the whole time, and let me tell you he did absolutely EVERYTHING for me while I was sick. Made dinner, cleaned, watched endless shows, grocery shopped, etc.  I don't know what I would have done without him there to help out. 

Now I'm 13 weeks and starting to feel better! Still a little nauseous occasionally but I can eat most foods again which is really nice. Especially meat, that was one thing I knew my body needed but there was no way I could touch it. Unless it was in a Taco Bell taco which was the only thing that sounded good when I was really sick. If you know me, you know I hate Taco Bell, so this is definitely Curtis' child inside of me :) 

The doctor that I go to doesn't see you until you are 12 weeks along. How cruel is that? For the first 12 weeks I felt miserable but wasn't able to get any joys of hearing a heartbeat or getting an ultra sound. They tested my blood but that was it. All I wanted was some validation for why I felt sick, the pregnancy test wasn't enough. I wanted real proof that there was a human growing inside of me! Everyone said I knew I was pregnant and that should be enough, but it wasn't....I just felt like I was sick for no reason. 

Needless to say, by the time it was my first ultrasound I was so nervous that they would find something wrong! I couldn't sleep the night before and was shaking all day at work up until it was time to go. Curtis stayed so calm throughout all of it which was good because it balanced out my craziness! The doctor turned out to be one of the sweetest people and I'm so glad that I go to her. She answered all of my questions calmly and did everything to make me feel comfortable. Then we did the ultrasound! First things first, the heart...I wasn't sure what she was doing until she finished and said here you go, your baby has a nice strong heartbeat. That alone was the biggest relief I could have gotten. Then I looked at the monitor and saw the little baby just chillin and got really excited. I made her count all the limbs twice to make sure that they were all there, and then lil babes waved to us! I instantly felt so much better about everything! It wasn't until I was looking at the pictures when I got home that it actually clicked that it was inside my belly growing. It was the best realization :) 

And now because I can't help it, here are some of the pictures we got back from the visit! So excited to welcome lil babes into our lives this Halloween!

    

6 Months :)

February 15th was our 6 month anniversary! After work Curtis took me out to a sushi dinner in Provo, and then out for ice cream at Coldstone. It was perfect, especially after a busy weekend. We were so tired that we came home and were talking and both fell asleep in the middle of our conversation and didn't wake up until the next day.

Luckily we had the day off of work so sleeping in was acceptable. We spent the first half of the day with family and then we came home and rode our bikes because the weather was so beautiful outside!! I can't wait for it to be spring and summer so that we can spend more time outside.

In the end it was a small celebration for our 6 months but it was perfect. Just having a date night, and seeing so much family in a few days was a great way to celebrate our own little family that we have started. I'm so grateful for Curtis and everything that he has brought into my life. I can't stop thinking how lucky I am right now. We have truly been blessed in these first 6 months of marriage and I can't wait to see what is in store for us over the years!!

Ella's Competition and Valentine's Day!

This was one of those weekends where I wasn't sure if there would be enough time for everything that I wanted to get done. But of course, everything worked out perfectly and we had so much fun! We got to have some of Curtis' family come and visit with us this weekend because it was their daughters first cheer competition in Salt Lake! She's 6, so it was really fun to watch her get ready and practice her tumbling :)

The amount of glitter on her eyes was kind of crazy, but she definitely rocked it.

On the way to the competition we stopped at Einstein bagels to get some lunch with Curtis' Grandma Darlene. I always love being able to see family that you haven't been able to see for a while. Ella convinced Curtis to ride on his shoulders pretty much the entire day, and it was adorable.

They did so good at the competition! I was having so much fun reminiscing of all the dance recitals I made my family go to. Also, watching little tiny girls in their costumes was probably the cutest thing I've seen in a while. We were there for a long time, so we treated ourselves to some shaved ice while we watched the performances.

And the best part was that her team got 1st place for her division! Just an added bonus to the fun family weekend.

After it was over we all went to Golden Corral to celebrate. The little kids loved it, and it was fun to have time to sit and talk with family. My camera died right after the competition so that's it for the pictures from the weekend. After dinner we drove home with Ella and Charmaine and they told us some pretty great jokes for the entire drive. It was fun having the two of them with us for an entire weekend, and as Charmaine would say, "The weekend just went too fast."

Sunday was Valentines day, and usually I like to go all out for holidays. This weekend was different though because we were so busy that I kind of forgot about it being a holiday weekend. I woke up and made some heart shaped pancakes for Ella and Charmaine, but that was just the best I could do that day :) I also had to speak in church that day so my mind was focused on trying to make my 7 minute talk into 15 minutes. Luckily that all worked out! It was sad to say goodbye to everyone later that afternoon. I really liked having an apartment full of family, and playing games and watching movies. I'm excited for the next time!

Ice Castles

For some reason, finding time for a date is so much harder than I thought it would. And of course when we find ourselves with a moment free we don't know what to do! Curtis is still in school so that alone takes up most of the time. I fill my days with work, cleaning, and random crafts I find :) But my absolute favorite thing to do on the weekends is to go out on dates with my husband. We are getting better at setting time aside for date, but it's definitely hard, and we don't even have kids yet! We bought tickets to go see the ice castles in Midway, Utah and I was so excited. We were finally going to escape if only for a few hours.

Last year we went to the ice castles at night, and it was fun but they were pretty small. It was a very warm winter and they were only open for 3 days because it was melting too much.

This year has been much colder, and we knew that we wanted this to be a little tradition with our new family. We got our tickets a week in advance and the only times still available were in the early afternoon. I was excited to be able to see them during the day and see the difference. I'm SO glad that we did, and I might go during the day every year now. You couldn't see the colorful lights, but you could see the amazing details of the icicles. It was gorgeous!

Once you got in they were playing frozen music, and it truly felt like you stepped into a whole new world.

       

They have two different water fountains, and they were WAY bigger this year, I was shocked. Of course my first stop was the hot chocolate station. I didn't plan very well and didn't layer so I needed to warm up (plus the hot chocolate was super chocolaty and delicious)!

We had fun going through the little maze, and the slot canyons. We even got down and crawled through the tiny tunnels that were clearly just made for kids. We couldn't resist. Last year we went on the slide but got so wet and cold that we decided to skip it this year. As we were leaving we noticed that this year they gave you trash bags to sit on so you didn't get wet! By then it was too late, so that will have to wait until next year.

The workers were so nice and proud of their work! I asked them how they did it, and they laughed and just said water and ice. Apparently harvesting icicles is a real thing. We even got to witness a cute couple get engaged! It was so precious, and I couldn't help but sneak some pictures of it :)

Then it was time to go. I didn't want to be driving home in the dark because it was snowing a little. That was a good call too because the roads through the canyon were terrible! At one point we were all stopped dead just waiting because there was an accident up ahead. It's hard to get those cleared up when you are on the side of a mountain :) Luckily we made it home safe and sound. In the end, it was a much needed date day of getting away and escaping into a whole new icy magical world for an afternoon.

CAKE

Starting a blog was something that I never thought I would do, but then I got married and realized I need a better way to document my life. I've tried the whole journal thing but never stuck to it. I also just really want pictures with my posts about life, so I'm determined to stick to this!

What better way to start my blog then to talk about one of my favorite things. CAKE! And when I say favorite things, I don't mean to eat. I actually have a hard time eating cake now, but I do love to decorate it! For our church Christmas party we had a service auction and the only thing I could think of was to auction off a birthday cake. I was excited to find out that the person that got it got it for her 5 year old son's birthday. They wanted a Minecraft birthday cake, which I of course had no clue what it was. I knew it was a popular game but I didn't know anything past that. After looking up some ideas online, I was excited for the new challenge.

The sword was the most exciting and most difficult part, and I was terrified that it would be too heavy.

But everything worked out really well, and I think the end result turned out pretty great! The family wasn't there when I dropped it off, but I hope they loved it as much as I did.

One day it would be great to do cake decorating full time, stressful, but great. I still have a lot to learn, and right now it's a great side hobby. I need more practice, so if you know anyone that needs a cake just let me know! And for fun, below are pictures of some of the other cakes that I've done for friends weddings, birthdays, and of course for school assignments. Enjoy!

Tiered 

   

Single Layer