I wait all year for the 4th...

If there's one day in the year that I seriously know how to "live it up", it's definitely the 4th.

And if there's one holiday that completely deserves a double x-l long post, this one is it and I didn't disappoint.

I freaking love everything about the holiday.  

I especially love fast and testimony meeting during the month of July. (I'll never forget how Sarah Stelter hit it home for me this year.)

I love taking the time to think about what freedom and being American really means.  thank you chris. 

I love waking up to run an early race, cheering at the parade for who knows what just to get that one piece of taffy, barbecuing and pooling it in the afternoon, playing and acting as though no one is watching as the sun slowly fades into the dimness of the night, the anticipation for the first big boom and lit sky, the smell of smoke in the air (yep I really just said that), and of course the grand finale- the kind that in this case the city of Bay Village spent way too much money on- but was well appreciated.

Really though, I.freaking.love.all.of.it.

It's on cold long winter days that I dream and wish about the 4th.

So when it's here, I kind of feel like it's deja vu, the entire day, and I hate it when the day comes to a close.

This year was especially fun.  

Caleb and I flew to Ohio again.

Nothing beats fireworks over the lake and chasing cute kiddos who we definitely don't get to see enough of.

And extra bonus, Andy had the entire week off to entertain us, or more like make fun of someone just because they forgot how to spell the word rink. Oh wait who won that Qwiddler game?! That's what I thought.

Playing and waiting for that first big boom.  Totally feel so lucky that we got a group shot.

A NORMAL picture of the chief and me.  Say what?!!  Yep, normal, it is possible.

I seriously love my brother so much and feel like it's an honor to claim him as such.  I loved being introduced at church as Andy's little sis.

Maybe one day I'll be half as cool, kind, wise, loving, hard-working, super-heroish (any person who saves other people's lives on a daily basis should be called a super hero right?) and funny as he is.

Love her.
Can we please be neighbors?!  No more of this 2,000 miles away crap.  Texas needs doctors too.

And we had fun attempting to get a picture of me and all the spunkiness that surrounded us for 6 days.
 Notice how Caleb rocked it on the face painting this year.

Hottness. end of story.


And even more hottness.
It boggles my mind that we are standing in front of a lake, not an ocean.
Caleb thought Jaws was going to be in full-attack mode any moment because the lake is just that big.
And we decided that lakes in Utah are way too over-rated and should be called puddle hoppers.

Marin.  Couldn't get enough of her.
And please don't ever burn your fingers again.  Your mom and I might just have a heart attack.

 

We loved us some beach time and humidity time.  And Tessa and Carlee loved them some mermaid time.

 

I love summer nights.  The feel of being content and knowing that life is good.  Porter feels the same way, especially when Caleb is around. 

And it ain't no 4th of July without some funnel cake loving, horse riding, money wasting, carnival sporting, good time.   

 

I loved this trip.  It was the perfect summer recipe.  

Caleb is still wishing Tessa could've been our lap child on our flight home.  She has a good time telling Caleb your mom jokes.  We forget that she's just two.  

Buffalo wild wings, Quiddler, Settlers, and the food was a hit, just like always.  

Thanks Andy, Shay, Porter, Tessa, Carlee and Marin for adding the perfect week to our summer.

And yes I'm already counting the days til next year's 4th.

Proud to be American are we. 

365 times 3

caleb and i celebrated three years.
i will never forget the first time i saw caleb- i had major butterflies and became a true believer in love at first sight.
i wanted him so bad.
apparently caleb wanted me too, so thanks to his friend's smart thinking, caleb's keys were chucked at me and we exchanged numbers.
i then went on a date with the man of my dreams and thought about him every second of every day.
we went and saw pick-a-dilly-cowboy and kissed, and i was head over heels. 
i started skipping class for this crazy boy- something my mom couldn't ever get me to do on days "she was bored" when i was in high school.
i cut myself from the track team, cuz suddenly, hanging out with a cute boy was way cooler than running for three hours everyday.
we bought air soft guns, went on slurpee runs, hiked the Y, dressed up as if we were going to the prom-only to find out we weren't (thanks elliot and danny), sat hand-in-hand at general conference, cooked dinner together, became a frequent visitor of "the park", tripple-dog-dared each other to do the stupidest things, danced in the moonlight under the stars, sang our hearts out to "You have Stolen My Heart" by Dashboard over and over with the windows rolled down, stayed up way too late, hiked the hot springs, cheered proudly at the BYU football games, told stories of our past, had fun living in the moment, dreamed about our future, and best of all, fell in love! 
never in my life had i wanted anything more than for him to be mine.
after a year of dating, the stars aligned, and my fairytale wish came true.
had i known then, what i know now, i would've wanted him even more, and that is something i didn't think was possible.
may 1, 2008, he became mine for forever.
and because of all this, i am the luckiest.
we celebrated by going to vegas, again.

escaping just the two of us is the best thing ever- even if all we do is master the art of sleeping and eating.
caleb even figured out the best time to go to the buffet... 
10:30. you can get your fill of breakfast food, then if you wait long enough, they will bring the lunch food out and you can eat lunch in the same sitting.  we definitely worked the system.  and i'm pretty sure we both ate enough calories to not eat for an entire year.  gotta love vegas buffets. 
caleb is beyond the best husband i could've ever dreamed up.
he makes me dinner (more than i make him dinner), never misses a friday night date night, works super hard in school (15 credits of engineering this semester often turned into a 60 hour week for him), listens to me, gives the best advice, makes me laugh all the time, makes me feel safe, helps me clean, lets me buy another pair of running shoes just because they're pink, wins the favorite uncle award every sunday, will one day, hands down, make the best dad in the world, and my most favorite thing...
he loves me no matter what.
i thank my lucky stars everyday that he is mine.
and here's one picture from the special day.
it's not the best picture from the day, but in a way, it's one of my favorites because we were so happy... and it shows in this picture.

and that happiness continues to grow more and more each year.
happy three to us!
love ya babe!

I wonder... are krispy kremes free in heaven?

Anyone who knew my Grandma knows she loved Krispy Kremes.
In fact it was one of the last conversations I had with her.
It was back in February and my Grandma had just fallen.
The hospice nurse who had been so graciously, honorably, and delicately taking care of my Grandma's tired body knew her time was short.
So my mom encouraged me, and all of the siblings, to spend some last precious moments with the most amazing grandma a grandkid could ever dream up.
I will forever be grateful that I listened to the wise words of my mom and I will always cherish those last moments.
I climbed into her bed to help keep her warm- the same bed that I sat on just a week prior to for the weekly bachelor roundup party where my Grandma told me her oh so sure prediction of who Brad would pick- and we carried on a spacious conversation.
It was clear to me that a piece of Heaven was close to her.
She kept saying there were too many people... there's just too many, she said.
I asked her if she had seen Grandpa yet, and she excitedly, but quietly said not yet, I keep looking. (It seemed like she knew she would see him soon, and that thought makes me so happy.  No one ever deserves to be a widow.)
My Grandma then tried to sit up in bed- something she hadn't done in almost 24 hours- to get her krispy kreme.
So I tore off a tiny bite sized piece of her all time favorite treat/ breakfast meal and placed it on her tongue.
She then said ewe, what's that?! Maybe if I knew how to make her a cup of coffee, it would've tasted more normal to her.
It was then, that I knew we were losing her...
So last week she had a birthday.
Her 87th birthday to be exact.
As I drove past the Layton Hills exit I was talking to my dad on the phone and he told me I had to stop and bring some home in hopes of brightening the gloomy day for my mom.
The only reason I ever got off that exit was to get the grandma great her krispy kremes.
Something I tried to do at least once a week the last few months.
I ordered six doughnuts, rather than twelve, to share with Caleb, my dad, and my mom, knowing that the other six could be shared in Heaven.
I pulled up to the window after ordering and waited, and waited, and waited.
Finally after five minutes of sitting there an older gentleman opened the sliding window and asked how he could help me.
I told him I ordered six doughnuts and wanted to pay.
He then closed the window and came back with twelve doughnuts.
He handed me the box and said, these are on me today.
I then got a little teary eyed because it was one of those moments where a- I was already emotional because I had been thinking about the grandma great all day, b- he had no clue why I was even there, c- I get extra emotional when people do something really nice when I'm already emotional- especially when it's someone like an old man- shouldn't i be doing the kind act for him?!, d- that pill does crazy things to me, and e- getting something for free is so sweet when you live off a teacher's salary :) and f- I totally knew my Grandma so played a part in this.
It's just too ironic how it all happened.
The poor guy probably was wondering why he gave such a crazy person twelve free doughnuts.
I told the gentleman that my grandma was his bakery's #1 fan.
I also told him that she had just passed away and today was her birthday.
He simply replied with, bless you and your family.
I love this story.
I love the little things in life that help keep the memory of those who we love and have lost, alive.
I keep thinking about "You never know what you got til it's gone."
Yep, I love my grandma great more and more everyday.
My turn, Love you more!
In memory, we celebrated.