here are some things that have been on my mind lately...

• summer is winding down and i am having a hard time containing my excitement for fall. it is my favorite season and i love nothing more than getting the house cozy with candles burning that smell like fall.
• i love married life. it is so awesome to spend all your time with your best friend. and to have someone to come home to everynight and wake up next to everyday. and it's even better that i get to have him forever.
• i feel like martha stewart lives in my head. i have this obsessive need for everything to be "just so" and perfect, but i can't seem to get my act together to actually have everything done the way it needs to be. but when things are in order, it's oh so delicious.
• i am baby hungry. like crazy baby hungry. last year at this time, i was still terrified at the idea of having kids. but now, i can't get them off my mind. weird.
• i love living in utah. steve and i went to denver over the summer. it's an awesome city, but it made me realize how much i really do like it here. nature is so in your face here and i love that.
• i think i have the cutest stinking dogs in the world. they really make me so happy. sometimes i think they are even better than kids because they can't talk back.
• i love my life. it's so far from perfect, but i savor every moment of it. it's way better than i ever thought life could be. and i thought life could be really great.
• someday, i hope to make more money, so then life will be even better than it is now.
• during this time of year, i wish i was a forever student in school because i love buying back to school supplies.
• i used to want to be a teacher before i wanted to be a nurse, and during this time of year, i always wish i was a teacher so i could have my own classroom and supplies for all my students.
• i am beginning to realize i am way more neurotic than i ever thought i was.
• i have this overwhelming need to take care of people. maybe it's the baby hungry thing acting out.
• i think my husband has a love/hate relationship with the above statement.
• my husband wants kids, but he wants them when they are old enough to do chores.
• i secretly laugh inside at how he will be with a newborn.
• but then i get sad because i realize i will be the one getting up in the middle of the night with a kid. and i love to sleep. then i get scared to be a parent. but then i see a baby walk by and i am baby hungry again. seriously folks, it's ridiculous.
• then i start thinking about funding children and i realize that i really need to make more money, like NOW.
• i am itching for a getaway. maybe to california. i miss it there sometimes.
• the hubs and i love to travel and have so many places we want to go. i really hope after kiddos come along that we can remember to take trips and spend time with each other.
• i never believed in soul mates, but i am pretty sure there isn't a person on this earth i could get along with better with than the mr. he is the coolest man alive.
• i think ikea is the greatest store ever created.
• i have so many blessings in my life it's ridiculous. but i am grateful for them all.

HAPPY END OF SUMMER. BRING ON THE FALL!

seriously?

how is this comfortable?
i swear this dog sleeps in the most twisted and contorted positions.

V-E-G-A-S

last week we got to spend a few days in one of our favorite cities. las vegas! this trip was especially fun because we got to do more touristy things than we usually do. my mom, sister, and her kids met us down there, so there was fun for the whole family.
4 glorious days of...

• lighting fireworks off on the indian reservation

• laying by the pool. swimming in the lazy river.

• walking the strip

• seeing shows {frank caliendo. very funny man}

{after the show, my very mature husband wanted to take a picture with the naked lady statues in the back. man i love that guy}

• eating fabulous meals. i didn't get a picture of our food, but if ever in vegas, eat at diego in the mgm grand. so yummy, i'm still full from it.

• and splurging on things that are much too expensive...see above pictures for steve's $8 glasses he bought at a gas station on the way to vegas. our dear puppy ate his $150 pair before we left. then my sunglasses i've had for 5 years broke while we were in las vegas, so we both got a new pair of overpriced oakleys :)

• and not to mention, seeing our good friends eric and jackie. we had a fabulous 3 hour meal of all you can eat sushi and managed to not get one picture of us. in fact, i didn't get a lot of pictures on this trip. busy having way too much fun.

we had such a great time in fact, i think we are planning another trip in september!
oh, and not to leave out, we saw this little roadside fire on the way down. and i thought vegas was HOT.

navajo lake

a couple weeks ago, we took off for a short trip to one of our favorite places. navajo lake is a little gem outside of cedar breaks. beautiful scenery, good fishing, some good hikes nearby, and the camp sites are yummy. we went with steve's brother, ray, and 4 of his 5 kids. it felt so good to just get away and soak up some sun, lay in the hammock, and enjoy nature.
steve and i went here last year, and it is quickly becoming one of our favorite getaways. not to mention the dogs love it too.

{cedar breaks in the background}

{marley is not a fan of water. so when we threw a stick out too far, he would walk until he couldn't touch, and wait for jack to swim out and get the stick}

{then a game of "keep away" would ensue}

{and it would end with marley getting the stick and bringing it back to me to throw again}
{turns out jack is quite the swimmer. and the ham. trying to get in all the pictures}
{he doesn't look so big when he's all wet}

{nothing better than spending an evening fishing on the lake...}{turns out our 6 year old nephew caught the biggest fish of the trip}

{our sweet campsite. up against the hill by the trail head of a gorgeous hike that goes along the lake}
{view of the lake from the campsite}
{we had some visitors at dinnertime}
{goodbye navajo lake...until next time}
{and the pups slept all the way home}

summer is in 'da house

Summer has arrived. as if the official first day of summer wasn't enough to mark it, perhaps the 95* heat is. either way, i'm stoked. not so much because i love the unnecessary heat it brings, but the sun and water are two of my favorite things, and now i can play in them for months!

steve and i have been super busy the last couple months with work. steve is in the middle of 11 days of work, including training. i have been picking up overtime here and there. we rented our house out and moved into my sister's basement the middle of may in hopes to save some moolah for the future. you know, to build our dream home and before those little rugrats come along. despite how busy we have been, we do have a few exciting trips planned for the summer.

navajo lake outside of cedar breaks. awesome fishing. we went there last year and can't wait to go again.

zions/st. george. just for one night, but hopefully we will get a hike or two in, and take in the scenery.

fabulous las vegas! enough said.
Lake Tahoe. Floating down the Truckee river and seeing an awesome car show. i'm stoked. i haven't ever seen tahoe without snow, so i can't wait.

Denver. Never been but excited to see a new city. and a prospective place to settle down?

And hopefully in the middle of all of these trips, a LOT of this...

HAPPY SUMMER EVERYONE!!!