My Dad the Goofball

In honor of my dad's birthday today, I thought I would share a few fun memories I have from growing up with such a weird guy. Some of my strongest memories are from funny things my dad did with me when I was a kid or a teenager. When I was about 10 or 11, he helped me make a Pinewood Derby car (the girls were having their own race) and he made it just how I wanted it. We painted it purple and rolled it in glitter, and put a Polly Pocket doll in the driver's seat. I don't remember how well I did in the actual race, but I remember spending that time with my dad and how fun that was.

Whenever I had friends over, he would make sure to do something weird that was borderline embarrassing--almost like he was testing my patience! I remember one time when I had a friend over and we were in my bedroom, just sitting on my bed and talking, when he suddenly burst in without knocking and made a VERY loud entrance. I was completely unphased, but it nearly scared my friend to death! He stood there for a minute just staring at us, yelled "HI!" and left, shutting the door behind him.

My dad, along with my two brothers, spent hours and weeks setting up our backyard for our wedding reception. While this was going on, my dad was having a lot of issues with his back, which we ended up discovering a while later was the result of several cracked vertebrae in his spine. Needless to say, he was in a lot of pain. But he didn't let that stop him from making my wedding reception as beautiful as he possibly could.

My dad installed the fencing around part of the batting cage in our backyard (yes, my brothers are THAT obsessed with
baseball) he did this on a permanent basis: the fencing was cemented into the ground, so the process took several weeks. He also hung the lights from the poles (including the chandelier I made from a hula hoop and two embroidery hoops).

I'm so grateful to have had a dad that makes me laugh, and taught me how to not take life TOO seriously, because what's the fun in that? Happy Birthday, Dad!

Rexburg Doesn't Know It's Fall

The weather here in Rexburg has been SO FRUSTRATING for me! It's October, which means we should be having very chilly mornings, slightly warmer days, and back to chilly at night, but no! It's been in the 60s and 70s for the most part, so I don't think Idaho knows that fall has arrived...hopefully soon we will have some real fall cold!

Zoe loves "hanging out" with us!

This week was another "dull" one with lots of homework and classes, cleaning, church stuff, and the best part of our days was spent with Zoe and each other, of course. Our exciting story for the week would have to be on Friday night, when we were settling in to watch a movie with dinner. I'd made calzones, and poured the sauce on top of them instead of inside. I was attempting to get Zoe off of the couch so Jake and I could eat without her trying to climb onto our plates, when my plate started to slip and chaos ensued. I grabbed my calzone in midair, but pasta sauce splashed EVERYWHERE. Oh it was such a mess! Thankfully my hand didn't get too badly burned from grabbing something hot and holding onto it, and Zoe was pretty well-behaved for a dog that basically just had a free buffet deposited on her living room floor. We cleaned up the mess and laughed it off, but man it was BAD!

Since the weather is still "summer-y" (grumble grumble) Jake and I have still been enjoying taking Zoe on walks every afternoon or evening. Saturday we decided to walk to the grocery store down the street to grab some snacks, and of course we brought Zoe with us. It was only about a mile there and back, but poor little Zoe was so exhausted on our way home that Jake had to carry her for a few blocks. She definitely enjoyed that--getting to smell the air around her and see everything that was going on, but without all the work! We sure do love our little furbaby. 

Five Productive Ways to Spend Time With Your Spouse

Read together.

I don't mean each of you sit on the couch with your own book, although that's fun too. I mean pick out a book you both want to read, and take turns reading aloud to each other! Jake and I just finished reading Firefight by Brandon Sanderson, and it was so awesome. I loved sitting cuddled up on the couch next to him, listening to his voice.

Play games.

I found this great list of fun two-person card games a while back, and Jake and I have really enjoyed playing King's Corner! We've also had fun playing Checkers, Pictionary, and other two-person games. It's fun to play stuff from our childhood now that we're "grown-ups" and enjoy them together, since we didn't know each other when we were kids.

Teach each other.

Jake hasn't had a chance to teach me something he knows yet, but he's loved me teaching him how to do crafts or even give him some writing tips. Teaching each other something you love is an awesome way to get to know each other better, and to grow closer!

Design your dream home.

Jake and I have actually found this to be a somewhat challenging activity, since we have fairly different ideas of what makes a home look beautiful or inviting. We've had fun looking on Pinterest and other websites for design ideas like paint colors, fun things for the backyard, and what we want the furniture in our living room to look like.

Share old stories.

The best way to do this, I've found, is to pull out old yearbooks or photos and reminisce together. Yearbooks or photos can help spark our memories to tell a specific story, and it's been so much fun to learn about the crazy stuff Jake did in middle school or tell him about the adventures I had growing up in California. And of course, who doesn't love looking back at dorky school pictures?!

A Busy Week + General Conference

This week was another hectic one with lots of homework, classes, cleaning, and of course spending time together with Zoe. The weather in Idaho right now is still pretty wonderful, so Jake and I have enjoyed taking Zoe on walks almost every night this past week!

This past weekend was General Conference, and I loved every minute of it. Jake had to work on Saturday so he wasn't able to watch those sessions with me, but Zoe and I cuddled up on the couch together and enjoyed hearing from church leaders and being inspired. Over the past few months we've lost three apostles, and over the weekend three new ones were announced! I can't wait to learn more about the three great men that have been called to help lead our church. Hearing them bear their testimonies on Sunday morning was so touching!

My favorite talk was given by Sister Neill Marriott, one of the counselors in the General Young Women Presidency. Her talk was so sweet and I felt the spirit so strongly as she testified to us of the power of pressing forward in difficult times, and shared her own personal experiences with trials that have tested her faith. I can't wait to go back and read her talk again once it's online!

I LOVE FALL!

It took me until very recently to discover that fall is my favorite season. Probably because Idaho actually has normal fall weather, as opposed to California where it's either summer or winter! Here are some of the reasons that I love fall:

My mulled cider candle

hot chocolate

leaves changing colors
air that's cold and crisp, but not TOO cold

sweaters, scarves and boots

cuddling