Top 10 of December and the start of a New Year

December's Top Ten:

1. I finished my last semester in Logan. I have one more semester to go and then I will be completely finished with my Bachelors Degree in Elementary Education.

2. I got my student teaching placements. I will get to spend 2 months in a 3rd grade class and 2 months in a 5th grade class. I am beyond excited! I can't believe that I have only one more semester to go until I am officially a College Graduate. I can't wait to have my own classroom and to b able to do things my way!

3. Brandon and I are FINALLY living together after being apart all semester long. I think we might just have the craziest start to a marriage ever. But I guess that' all part of the Military lifestyle. 

4. We got to spend 8 days in sunny, warm California this Christmas season. We got to spend so much time with Brandon's family and it was wonderful. The weather was perfect and we had such an great time. 

5. I got to go to my first ever professional Hockey game. We watched the Anaheim Ducks play the Los Angeles Kings. It was the best game to watch! It ended up going into overtime and then into a shootout! The Ducks lost in the shootouts but it was still so cool!

6. I got to spend my very first Christmas with Brandon. I haven't ever gotten to celebrate with him on Christmas and I feel so very blessed that I finally got my Christmas. I know this is only the beginning, but the beginning feels SO good. 

7. I got my very own SEWING MACHINE!! I'm so excited to start using it!!!

8. Brandon and I got an Ipad 2 for Christmas from his family. It is so fun to play with. The possibilities are endless! Brandon's taken his claim on it but he's pretty good at letting me use it (when he's not home hahahah).

9. After California we spent 5 days in Idaho with my family. I love going back home! We had a blast hangin out with my parents. I went shopping with my mom and got to start using my new sewing machine! Brandon got to go golfing with my dad. I know I know golfing in JANUARY in Idaho is pretty unheard of! 

10. We spend New Years with my sister and her husband. We played games and hung out. Got to see the baby's nursery. I can't wait for that little bundle to get here! 

That's our December. Lots of driving (I mean LOTS!) and so much time spend with family, which is exactly how it should be. 

Our new year has started quietly. But let me tell you there are a couple of BIG (and I mean BIG) things happening soon. I'll try really hard to keep you all up to date! Love you all tons!!!

Thanksgiving Top Ten

Where to begin? I've vowed to become better at blogging. Honestly most day's I don't have too much to write about and at this point in the semester, there is very little down time. But I've finished all my work for the week, packed my bags and I'm ready to go for tomorrow so I decided now would be a good time to catch you up!

Today is the very last day of November. I've looked for November everywhere, under couches, under blankets but I can't seem to find it! It passed SO quickly! I'm not sure if that's good or bad, but it's the way it is! November was filled with school, job searching, hanging out with family, and starting to play volleyball with some awesome neighbors every Saturday morning (which ends up with me hobbling around for the next few days with dang sore muscles!)

Thanksgiving was a BLAST! I had almost a whole week off for break (I had to go to school Monday but that's it!) It was glorious to have some down time. We took of on Tuesday to Idaho to spend Thanksgiving with my family.

Here's my Thanksgiving Top 10 List (not in any specific order besides #10. It just happened to be my favorite part of Thanksgiving):

1. Starting and COMPLETING some of my final projects for the semester
2. Crafting my butt off!
3. Starting Christmas presents---> Brandon even helped me out! I'm such a lucky wife =]
4. Spending lots of quality time with my Mom and Dad (whom I miss very much even though I have it lucky and get to see them usually at least once a month)
5. Spending time with G&G (my grandparents)
6. Spending the most time in a while with my Sister and her husband
7. Getting to feel my niece Lyric Lashawn (sp?) Lacey kick when I talked to her!
8. Deciding that when my niece is little she will say, "my name is Wywic Washawn Wacey! hahaha It will be the cutest little thing EVER
9. A little Black Friday shopping (not early with the crazy crowds) and getting some great deals!
10. Spending it with my Husband for the very first time. 

I am so thankful for all that I have. I have the worlds BEST family. I would invite anyone to try and say I don't because I will win :) One thing I am especially thankful for is to have Brandon home safe and sound this year. For the past two years Brandon has been away from all of his family. In 2009 he was in Fort Jackson in the middle of his Basic Training for the Army. Last year (2010) Brandon was in Afghanistan, on his first deployment, fighting for our freedom. I am so thankful for him. My heart goes out to all of those soldiers who couldn't be at home this holiday season, and to their families who are missing them dearly. I know what it feels like and I wouldn't ever wish it upon anyone else but I am so proud to know that we are some of the few that stand behind that brave 1% who serve their country so that we can eat and be thankful in peace. 

If you remember, set the table for one extra person this Holiday season for a soldier who can't be home with his/her family this year. We remember you and all you do!

Here's some of my latest crafts and a Thanksgiving picture :)

Christmas Craft #1: Glittery Ornaments

Santa Ornament

Christmas Craft #1: Glittery Ornaments

Christmas/Winter Craft #2: Holly's snowflake wreath

Hard at work, sanding Christmas presents (can't wait to show you what they become!!)

Did I forget to mention this is my mom and dad's new toy?
We got to drive it around all week =]
ps: its REALLY fast!

Happy Thanksgiving 2011!

Falling into the Seasons: Halloween recap and a new Wreath!

Halloween has come and gone. (Luckily without the usual snow!) Don't worry though we have made it through fall and it is now the beginning of winter. We had our first big snowfall last night. The temperatures have dramatically shifted and there is NO questions to what's on it's way.

Halloween was a blast. We carved pumpkins the Saturday before with some great friends. We spent the first part of Halloween with our cousins and Shan and Todd. I love being around little ones at Halloween, there is just something so fun about it! We took the kids trick-or-treating. I ended up being a cowgirl but Brandon stole the show with his "Dale" costume. Dale is my dad and Brandon's hero! I wish I had a picture but I don't :( just take my word for it.. it was AWESOME!

randon with his "Monster Punkins" 

Georgie and Brandon playing with Molly, the new kitty.

The girls making "mummie dogs"
Charley-Musketeer
Beau-Ariel
Blake- Masquerade girl

Georgie the bat (she wouldn't wear the rest of the costume) =]

Me and my "Psycho" boyfriend!

Cowboy Brandon and Beau

Along with my schoolwork (which is piling on as we near the end of the semester!) I have been working on a new wreath for my sister's good friend Danika. She wanted a fall wreath and this is what I came up with:

close up of letters and flowers 

Tis the season to be thankful. I'm so thankful for all of my family and friends. I never could have made it to where I am without their support. I love each and everyone of you!

bubble, bubble, toil and trouble!

I don't know about you but I LOVE Halloween. I don't know what it is but there is just something so fun and magical about this time of year. Stories of ghosts and goblins, witches riding broomsticks and
jack-o-lantens lighting up the night. I LOVE seeing all of the trick-or-treaters, the little costumes are fabulous.
Another favorite is decorating. I love getting out the decoration boxes and pulling our piece after piece telling stories and reliving memories. Now that we are on our own, as a new family we don't have many decorations but like our marriage, we're starting small and will get grander =].
This year we only have a few pieces, I got the cutest halloween blocks in a giveaway and they are sitting on our tv stand.
I made us a halloween wreath and I love it SO much! it was really easy AND cheap (my two favorite things when it comes to crafts).

Here is mine! It's made of black tulle and the letters are mog pogged and say EEK (if thats a word!) and the button is sewed on!

And this beauty is my sisters. We are both on pintrest and had seen a black tulle wreath on there (thats where my inspiration came from!) and once I did mine and she saw it she had to have one too. Her's is the same as mine but her letters are BOO instead. They both are SO cute! Can't wait to see what she thinks of it.

Well, Hello Stranger =]

Almost 2 months have gone by since my last post, oh dear!! Okay, so then I guess it's time for me to catch up! The summer is now gone and books and school bells are back in session.


We finished up summer with a great trip to California. We spent 8 days (2 of those were traveling days) with Brandon's mom. It was amazing! We had SO much fun and the weather was beautiful. We love getting to see a bunch of friends, especially Amy and her beautiful family! This was the best trip. It was so hard to leave and say goodbye but we know that we will be back (Christmas here we come!!)
We spent our time...

Playing on the freeway =]

It was a LONG car ride!

Playing with Max (and Shadow, Daisy and Shady too!)

Watching my first Major League Baseball game! The Angels won!

Boogie Boarding at the beach.

Practicing a little golf.

Riding bikes on the beach.

More time in the sun at the beach. 

Brandon is still working for the National Guard. Lot's of his weekends are taken up with recruiting events. And he always has lots of stories when he gets home from work. He is hoping to get another MOS (A specialty in the military, like his Medic status) sometime this winter and Is already set to go to a 2 week leadership school next March.


I am back up in Logan finishing up my schooling. I have one more semester on USU's campus and then I will be student teaching in the Alpine school district. This semester will be pretty easy, most of my classes are the general classes that I put off until now! I have 3 music classes, so hopefully, maybe I'll come out of this semester a little less tune def!


It's not to fun to be living 2 hours apart but I know that we'll make it and in December when we are living together again, life will be that much sweeter! We are strong and can make it through whatever life throws our way.


"Fear not, for I am with you. I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." -Isaiah 41:10

What a way to start July!

I sit here, on the couch in a VERY quiet house thinking to myself how lucky I am. I've been replaying the events of the last couple of weeks. Both myself and Brandon have been blessed to be working at great jobs. They might be frustrating at times, we both might think that it's not worth it, but honestly those times are pretty few compared to what our jobs give us. They give us peace of mind and the ability to save for our future. We also are so very fortunate to be surrounded by friends and family. It is so great to be around loved ones and get to share in their triumphs and downs. I've found that family and close friends are what make life so enjoyable! But honestly I'm most lucky to have married my best friend, and to know that I will be with him forever. I love Brandon so much, sometimes I can't believe that I was so blessed to have a soul mate this good. He works so hard for us, to make sure that we don't have to stress about how to pay the bills. He alway can make me laugh, even after coming home from a tough day at work knowing he has to be up at 4am the next morning for another long day. His love for me never falters and I know that we will be together forever. I can't wait to grow our family together!


So, we've been busy... like always! The first part of this month has been a whirlwind of events. We had a great 4th of July weekend. We had BBQ's with the family and lit off fireworks (Brandon's FAVORITE part!).

I made Red White and Blue cupcakes! They were delicious!

 We celebrated the 4th with Lindsay and Michael Ryan and of course their brand new bundle of joy Braden. (He's seriously the cutest little boys EVER!)

Our new little nephew Braden Michael Ryan <3

The next weekend we got to celebrate with my sister and my new brother-in-law. They got married on July 9, 2011. Really though, Akilah was already apart of the family. In my mind the only thing that REALLY changed was Holly's last name (its now Lacey). The wedding was beautiful and went so smoothly. Holly is a champ at party planning! We had tons of fun. It stunk that Brandon had to work late friday night and early Saturday morning so he had lots of late night driving and didn't get to hang out with the family much. I was a failure and didn't get good pictures but I can't wait to see the pictures from the photographer!

My bridal shower present to Holly

Brandon and I after the wedding (sorry its a little blurry!)

This last week has been much of a get back into the swing of things week. The reds are as crazy as ever and Brandon's work is full of up and downs too! I keep telling myself I need to update this more often, but life ALWAY has a way of getting in the way =] I'm leaving you with a couple lines from one of my new favorite songs. (I wouldn't mind being this kinda lady)


"He loves his wife and she’s that wife that decorates on the Fourth of July. But says every day's Independence Day. She's golden rule, teaches school, some folks say it isn't cool but she says the Pledge of Allegiance anyway."


-Toby Keith, Made in America

sweet summer time

I am completely in LOVE with summer, and it's in full swing here.

My nanny job is a tough one. The "reds" like to push the limits and it has been very interesting trying to set up a discipline system with a 7 and 8 year old! The girls are SO sweet but do not like to hear no! It is going to be an interesting rest of the summer and I'm sure everyday will be a new learning experience!

Brandon just started a job in recruiting with the National Guard on Wednesday. So far he's enjoyed getting back to work. I'm sure that (like with any job) there will be highs and lows but I know that there will be lots of fun times ahead for him.

We got a long weekend last weekend and had the opportunity to spend it with my parents in Lake Powell for a couple of days. We had SO much fun. I loved getting to show Brandon some of my favorite things since this was his first time ever.

Brandon flying the air chair

Trying to jump on the Air Chair

Mom wakeboarding

Boogie Boarding

Brandon skiing for the first time. 

Learning how to drop a ski his second time up

Brandon Slaloming  for the first time!

The end of Cathedral Canyon

It was a short trip but we packed a lot of fun into it! We got Brandon up on ski's for his first time. Sometimes it makes me sick how stinkin good he is at EVERYTHING! He got up on his first try and by the second time up, we had him dropping a ski to ride slalom. The next day he tried and got up on one ski. (Something that took me a whole summer to perfect!) I hope that our children get these amazing genes from him one day!! We saw Rainbow Bridge, and explored some really cool canyons. The best one we went through was Cathedral Canyon. The walls got so narrow that the boat barley squeezed through even though the depth was still 70 feet. The red rock in contrast with the warm green/blue water and the bright blue sky never  ceases to amaze me. This is honestly my favorite place on earth.

The rest of the summer has been filled with hanging out with friends and family. It's been a really relaxed summer and that's exactly how i like it!