Once Upon a Time

We celebrated my mom's 50th birthday! It was a lot of fun getting together with family for the day.
Mom and I met my gma at City Creek and had lunch at the Nordstrom Cafe.
My advice? DON'T go there on the weekend. Unless you are okay with tons of people that don't walk very fast.
Later that evening mom and her kids {minus Tia} had dinner at Cucina Toscana {I think that's what it's called..}
It was nothing short of delicious! And to top it off, my gpa from Washington flew in to surprise the birthday girl :)
I'm so grateful for you, mom! Thanks for being the one who calls me more than anyone else, even though I'm horrible at answering the phone. Thanks for loving me unconditionally and always reminding me how lucky I am. Thanks for helping me still feel like a kid at times. Thanks for being at events that were important to me while I was growing up. Thanks for always believing in me. And thanks for buying kfc in St George 5 years ago and sharing it with my feller {haha}
You.da.best.

Ps. if you haven't seen the show Once Upon a Time on abc...you're most definitely missing out.

Wednesday Thoughts

Cleaning the oven has GOT to be the worst chore ever.
I think I'll consider that my work out for the day.

I wonder how those gross stains got on the bathroom walls?
Surely my feller didn't miss the toilet by that much.
{I know he didn't. and he might kill me now..}

The one good thing about the Logan mall? Pretzel Maker.
Jon is allowing me to go once a week until we move
...well, that's what I'm telling myself. Hopefully he's okay with it.
It's getting awkward because the same two girls are there every time. ineedadisguise.

I listen to Beyonce radio on Pandora while getting ready everyday.
More like Jay Z, Rhianna, Aliyah, and everyone else other than Beyonce.
Come on, Pandora.
{Current fave: End of Time. mmmhmmm}

Our apartment needs some serious pest control.
Somehow bees are getting in and they just chill in our small living room window and bake
..to death.
I'm also getting tired of wasting our Windex on ants.
Good thing we're leaving to go sell pest control. ha.  


Speaking of bees- I think I'm wearing something that attracts them.
I can't seem to get into my car without looking like a freak,
because I'm constantly trying to jump in there before any get in with me.
I'd hate to be a bee.
I can't think of one person that actually likes them.
It must get lonely.
{weird?}

What are your thoughts today? 

My Favorite Kinda Day

was yesterday.
Mostly because it consisted of
time with my feller,
jimmy johns,
a blanket on the grass,
cuddling,
playing pass,
two swings,
packing {not so fun, but productive!},
movie night,
aggie ice cream,
and a walk along the temple boulevard.
All of which included my handsome boy :)

Oh yes. That was my favorite kinda day.

End of Chapter

I feel weird. Way weird.
Ever since I was sixteen years, nine months and ten days old I have been a
true Maxxinista.
aka: I've been employed at Tj Maxx.
HELLO, that was almost six years ago!
A few months ago a customer asked me how long I worked there.
My face went hot and I felt embarrassed to say 'almost six years.'
That's when I started to feel ready for a change.
I've had that feeling before, but not like that day.
Luckily changes were in the works for Jon and I!
We'll be leaving Logan in two weeks and only coming back to visit family.
{and hit up our favorite restaurants, of course}
I'm sure gonna miss the beautiful Cache Valley...
We're set to arrive in Texas on May 9th,
and we'll start working our little bums off the next day.
Three weeks later I'll be heading to California for some training,
then back to Utah to begin managing Yogurtland in Bountiful.
{opening day is planned for June 11th-ish. Get ready!!}
I'm so excited for this opportunity, thank you Josh, Amber and Jed!
Jon and I won't see each other for about 2 1/2 months other than a family reunion in July, and a possible quick-trip to Texas for me in August.
What a challenge it'll be!
SO anyone in Bountiful/Salt Lake, let's hang out :)
Change is good, right? I've learned so much working for the TJ's and
I'll be sad to say goodbye to my friends I have made...
but I'm happy these changes are positive.
This Thursday will be the end of a good chapter,
and the beginning to an even better one
:)

Lately {in Pictures}

 Health challenge: drink two of these a day 

{that's 66 oz, people!}

 Playing with Jon's hurr

 I park under a tree everyday...

 Mini German pancakes, anyone?

 Dying eggs we'll never eat

 You'd think they would look better...

 Pretzel Maker, I'm gonna miss you

 Sadness

 G.P.'s again, we love'em

 Mr. Feller lookin' goooood

 Trying new 'dos

 Who else hates packing?

 Finally got around to washing the bird poop off.

We are so attractive.

Cosmic Love

Once upon a time I was in seventh grade.

I was all about punk boys, messy buns, tight v-necks,

pink {yikes!}, skater shoes...and dreams of cheerleading.

After try-outs that year I was shocked to see my name on the list.

Monkey limbs, no coordination, a ghastly toe touch...

Maybe they liked my giant messy buns ;) 

Looking back to those years, I know I made it for a reason.

I needed a good friend.

Days after I entered my "glory years" (haha)

my parents told me they were going out of town. 

Which meant I needed to find a place to stay.

I didn't have any close friends that I thought my parents would trust me staying with for a week,

but I did have a good feeling about one girl that also made cheer.

We had known each other since sixth grade,

 had one science class together, 

but we were typical girls that had opinions about one another.

Anyway, I called her up...

"Hi Jamie, this is Ashley Christiansen. We had science together,

and I just saw you at cheer orientation...can I have a week long sleepover at your place?..."

I'm not sure what she was thinking on the other side of the line, 

but she was cool with it!

Long story short, we were instant best friends.

I prayed my parents would go out of town {not really} so I could 

have sleepovers at Jame's house on school nights! 

Through the years of jr high and high school we did basically everything together.

Cheer {you know that already, sorry}, office, dance co, choir, 

graduation {i'm soo funny}, and guess what? 

We came up to USU together.

and we're bff's married to bff's.

Holler.

Well Jame is on the university's dance companies, Full Circle and Velociti.

Tonight I got to watch her fourth and final concert, 

{she's graduating next month}

Jame, you are an amazing dancer, and friend to me!

I'll admit it, I shed a tear or two watching you tear up that stage.

Who knew we'd be here 11 years later?

Thanks for the week that was the beginning of something

 I'll always cherish. You've been there for me
no matter what stupid things I've done.

Love you add.dork.#1.

 Oh yes...

 Lovers

 She's still dancing!

 2008

Good job Jamester!

I think I'll go stretch for the first time in like 4 years.

I wanna move like Jagger!

Since our anniversary is during a super crazy time of our lives this year,
we're celebrating early!
We just reserved a night/day at anniversary inn.
Cool? Gross?
Fun!
We chose Juliet's Balcony Suite.
After that we'll be busy packing, packing, cleaning, packing...
Know anyone in Logan looking for a great apartment to rent?
Hit me up!

In other news...
On Friday we headed up to Idaho for Heidi and Ty's graduation.
They both received their Bachelor's degrees and got to walk together!

We're so happy we could be there! We don't have much time
before they're off to Med school.
Did everyone have a hOppy easter?
I am so grateful for this holiday and it's true meaning.
I know that Christ lives and so will we. We are in eternity.
I'm thankful for my life that was saved by Him.
If you have 7 1/2 minutes to spare, watch this

I have the next two days off of work...
May they be productive!!!

Every Six Months

Every six months we are fortunate enough  to hear talks from our

 prophet and apostles. 

This conference was so powerful to me!

I was able to take something from each talk 

and find ways I can apply it to my own life.

Here are some of my favorite quotes from this session of conference: 

"Don't judge me because I sin differently than you!" -President Uchtdorf

"Could an explosion in a book factory create a dictionary?" -Elder Nelson

"...would you ask someone who was drowning

 'let me know how I can help you'

or would you jump in and save them?" -Elder Rasband

"We enter mortality not to drift through the waters of life.

 We have the power to reason, think and achieve." -President Monson

 "Wise parents raise their children to get along with them...

ultimately children need to depend upon the Lord,

not their parents." -Brother Wilson

"Don't delay. It's getting late." -Elder Holland 

"Acting on even a twig of faith allows God to grow it." President Eyring 

"Persistence is the answer, and a sense of humor helps." -Elder Cook

"You can't be right by doing wrong. 

You can't be wrong by doing right." -Brother Soares

"Family time is sacred.

 It must be protected and respected." -Elder Packer

Gotta love conference :) 

Heavenly

Two weekends ago we were lucky enough to go to the Salt Lake Temple
to witness our dear friends, the Lister's be sealed as a family.
 It was seriously such an amazing experience! 

I love the temple. 

Being there gave me a stronger desire to do my best in all things,
for my family. 

Thank you Brooke and Brady for having us there! We love you guys!

Later that evening Jon and I joined my fam for some
good ol' fashioned bowling!

Have you been to Fat Cats? Helloooo delicious pizza! 

 Little munchkin Ave

 Mamacita

 My Honey drinking rootbeer

She'll go pro. Just watch.

 Yeah Boi! Strike

 We love bowlinggg

 Mom and Ty

 My sis is a beauty

Cute Holts!

We have lots of memories of bowling when we were younger,

so this was a great night!

I just need a little bit more practice, then I'll be back to my

8-year-old-striking-days 

:) 

Sometimes

Sometimes I wake up in the morning, realize how late I slept in, feel really tired, 

and go back to sleep.

Sometimes if I don't have work until five, I'm THE laziest person until about 3:45.

Then it's crunch time to get ready for work.

Sometimes all I want to do is lay in bed and play games on my phone.

 Or read blogs. 

I love our bed. 

Most times...I want to do these things ALL THE TIME.

Help me. Motivate me. Inspire me.

And maybe, Sometime, I'll change my ways. 

But for now? I prefer pj's over real clothes Anytime.

ps. I know what you're thinking.

"this girl will never survive having children!"

I am aware...

and just as nervous as you are.

;)

Our Vacation

We stayed at an all inclusive resort in Cancun.
All you can eat, drink, swim, sun-bathe, play, etc.
Awesome, right? Yes.

This is our hotel room. 

King size bed. Couch. Tv. Mini-Fridge. Ocean View.

Need I say more?

Our walk to and from our room was an adventure in itself!

 Are you a reptile lover?

We all spent a lot of time on the beach.

Reading, talking, napping, playing catch and volleyball.

 I'd be okay with a beach as a back yard...

We ate.

and ate.

and ate.

The resort had lots of different restaurants.

Mexican. American. Japanese. Italian. a cafe. Seafood. 

and a buffet that was always switching it up!

The ice cream was one of my personal favorites. 

I probably had 17 cones. at least.

Italian

Japanese

Japanese. again. {our favorite}

Some of us took some really awesome action shots...

See for yourself :) :

 We are weird.

and SO fun to be around!

;)

 Jon and Dave got in a little fight...

 Jon's smile after the punch...haha!

A few of us got pretty sick, if you know what I mean. 

Let's just say I had to go to the bathroom about every 15 minutes. 

We couldn't figure out how we got it...

because we had eaten totally different things that morning.

and I thought I was being careful!

2 weeks later, I was back to normal! :)

We were able to go to church in the city.

It was a cool experience not understanding anything anyone was saying

other than "hermanos y hermanas"

But the spirit was totally there, I loved it.

 On our way to la iglesia

On the fourth day of our trip we took an excursion to 

Chichen Itza and Ik Balam

We went with the group, Mormon Encounters.

Our tour guide, Carlos, was so awesome!

He was able to tie each site back to the Book of Mormon. SO cool.

The day we went was when the nastiness hit me the hardest,

so I had quite a hard time paying much attention to what Carlos was saying.

But I did take some pictures ;)

 Cichen Itza

Balam

In between the two places, we visited an awesome

Cenote

It was so beautiful! And oh-so refreshing!

 

We all got to be cliff jumpers for a minute

If you ever go to Cancun and want to go on an awesome tour, 

check out Mormon Encounters. 

Carlos was so great! He really knew his stuff.

 Thanks, Carlos!

I thoroughly enjoyed being on vaca 

with the one I love most :)

 A HUMONGOUS thank you

to Jack and Margo for making this amazing trip possible!

We had so much fun spending time with everyone,

this was such an unforgettable experience.

We love you guys!

 That's one good lookin' group!