Our First Christmas






Starting to unravel



 This was the first Christmas that Evan and I have  lived together, our first Christmas married.  It was the most fun ever, watching Christmas movies every night and getting our first Christmas tree.  Granted we didn't exactly know where to go, so we went to the local Rite Aid and purchased our bundled Christmas tree.  Here are some pictures for the unveiling of the first Christmas tree.

Then Christmas Day approached.  We were extremely excited to get Kerry's kids up early and open stockings.  This is a Howard tradition, and I was excited to be apart of it this year.  Also Evan was a bit excited to use his new camera.  So you will now notice the difference in camera quality for the rest of our blogging years, thanks to this year Christmas and to Sharon and David!  Thanks again!  The kids were adorable, and half awake and I think we took a million pictures.  Enjoy!

The morning stocking opening

Jackson opening all his gifts.

This was the cutest thing ever, Wyland LOVED his bike and started opening his presents on it.

                                

                                  See?  They LOVED their bikes.                            

 We made a stop at my parents house for Mimosas and a quick nap from the early morning festivities.  Evan got an awesome avalanche beacon, which I think I'm more thankful for then anyone.  Now we can find him if he gets caught in one during his crazy back country adventures.  I got an amazing sweater that I had been eying for months, and lots of other goodies.  We had a wonderful Christmas and it's always wonderful to be with family this time of year.  It also was nice that the sun was out that day, made for a beautiful Christmas morning.

After we left our parents we got news that Oliver (my adorable new nephew) is released from his sun box.  Sorry I don't know all the proper terms, all I know is Kerry was super sad that he had to be in this horrible thing and we were all hoping the little guy could get out for Christmas and he did!  It was the best Christmas present anyone could ask for.  Also that meant that Evan and I got to cuddle him for a lot of the afternoon.  He is the cutest little thing in the whole world.                                            

                                   



And no people let's not get any crazy ideas.  We love our nephew to a million pieces and are perfectly happy with living through Kerry of having the most beautiful baby ever.  Keep in mind we still have these two little kids.  They never tire either!!



Christmas

Needless to say we had a whirlwind Christmas with minimal sleep because we were extremely excited to spend it with our families.  I have tons of pictures to post since we got a new camera for Christmas!!  Thank you Dave and Sharon! 

Also once I get home to post pictures we have finally finished our bathroom.  When we moved into our townhome, we have a dome shower.  It was tiny shower with a dome on top, weirdest thing I have ever seen.  I showered it in maybe once before Evan and I both agreed this was never going to work.  Keep in mind my husband is 6' 4 and I'm 5' 9, we aren't exactly short people, especially Evan in a dome tiny shower.  So we ripped everything out and have been in the extremely expensive process of making a walk in shower that is now 3 feet wide and 5 feet long.  It is a dream boat and looks 500 times better.  Tonight is the wonderful night that we will be 100% finished building this, with my Dad's help of course.  We couldn't have done any of this by ourselves without his knowledge of anything.  Stay tuned for lots of pictures!!

Christmas so far...

Well besides having pictures I have yet to post we have had a wonderful month.  It began with Evan's special day and all his friends coming up for a fun day of skiing, grilling hot dogs, and a relay race in the parking lot.  I laughed so hard because Evan was once again allowed to drink and he was on cloud nine.  We went to Canyon Inn that night and his friends all came out to show the support of him conquering TB.  I am so proud of him for honestly only drinking twice this whole 6 months.  It had to have been hard.  Thanks to my parents for coming out to the bar that night and hanging out for the most of the night, that was such a great surprise! 

The next weekend we had my company Christmas party which are always so much fun.  Evan and I have had really good luck at every party with Rossignol and winning prizes.  Last year we won a one night stay at the Newpark hotel which is extremely nice and we used that for our honeymoon.  So we were extremely excited for this year.  They had it at Jupiter Bowl, which is an extremely nice bowling alley.  They have lounge couches, a giant bar and awesome food, all while you bowl there are giant screen TVs playing sports, ski clips, etc.  It was so much fun.  At the end of the night, we won the grand prize!!!  What are the chances??  I was screaming and danced my way up to get our prize, which is two round trip tickets to anywhere in the domestic United States.  All our close friends know that we are planning a two week trip to Europe so this will help us get there.  We are so so so excited.  Counting down the days until July.

Last weekend, I know I already posted this, but my amazing sister in law Kerry had an adorable baby.  Oliver is gorgeous and Kerry looks awesome.  We of course had to see the baby the day he was born, and Kerry was up and talkative.  I was shocked, if I would've been in that position I would've been dead, gone, and not near as cheery.  Kerry you are amazing!  Since Kerry and Jeramie were busy watching over their little one in the hospital, Evan and I took Jackson and Baylee to Yogi Bear.  Those kids crack me up, Jackson and Baylee sang to us the entire way to the movie theater and we love those kids. 

Overall we have had a wonderful month with family, surprise gifts, and skiing every weekend.  It's been wonderful and we couldn't ask for a better family and how blessed we are.  It makes you realize how blessed you are when you see how little people have.  Evan reminds me of how lucky we are, especially with the people he works with it's nice to be reminded of how blessed we are.

New Baby

This gorgeous little boy was born yesterday and he is so wonderful and cute.  Congrats Jeramie and Kerry, he is positively gorgeous just like the rest of your children!  I love him to pieces already and he is only 2 days old.

A Little Christmas Cheer

I love the movie Elf, not just love but LOVE.  Evan and I like watching Christmas movies.  I will post the pictures we took of putting up our tree with ornaments, it was rather festive.  So of course we turned on any Christmas movie we could find which ended up being "Fred Claus".  As a side note, that movie is actually pretty funny.  But I think Vince Vaughan is hilarious though.  Getting back to my Christmas cheer sharing, here is clip from Elf.  I love Zooey's voice and every single time I laugh hysterically at the end of this clip, ENJOY!!!

PS.  I get an adorable little nephew in two days!!!  I'm so so so excited!!!!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycAmi3r2rWM

Terrible Ending to a great day...

In case no one knows the history on our dog Torre, I will give you a brief summary.  We adopted her March of last year and she was a rescue dog.  We didn't really know her history because Humane Society basically said have a nice day and off we went.  It started with close to a 1,000 dollars in doctor bills for her with having kennel cough which led to pneumonia, which led to her overnight stay at the vet because she got so sick at Humane Society.  We found out she really doesn't like other dogs, which I have a feeling came from her previous owners.  Torre is the most loving dog ever, ask any of my family.  She loves my nieces and nephews and doesn't bit or do anything that would scare the kids.  She loves being petted, cuddles anything to do with love.  The only problem we have with her is the other dog issue.  We have tried socialization classes and it honestly did nothing.  Whatever her previous owners did to make her this way I have no idea.  Some days it's frustrating but for the most part she is a loveable dog and we wouldn't change anything about her. 
Sunday was an awesome day, Evan and I skied all day in the sun and came home to get ready to go to family dinner.  We had an awesome time at dinner celebrating Winter's birthday and then started to head home.  Keep in mind we take our dogs everywhere.  We arrived back at our house and someone was in our parking slot (this is my biggest pet peeve ever) so we had to park in the common area.  This always makes me nervous, with Torre's past etc. but she is super good about listening to Evan.  So we all started to unload the car, I let the girls out and started to head back to our house since it is a longer walk.  Before we knew it we heard barking and yelling, and Evan was incredibly quick to yell for Torre to come back and she ran back to us with the owner swearing at us (classy right?)  So Evan is telling him we can't hear him because he is continuing to yell at us and we are concerned with getting our dogs inside, considering this has never happened to us before.  As soon as we get inside we go about our normal business and Evan goes back outside to get the rest of the stuff out of the car.  To his surprise he is met by this man and his wife demanding our names, phone number, etc and will be calling the police since our dog apparently attacked him and his little rat dog.  Evan comes back inside and tells me all this and we both are in a giant state of anxiety.  We have never owned dogs by ourselves, let alone having any trouble with the law.  Sharon calmed us down a bit when we went back over to her house, but I couldn't sleep.  So at 11:30pm last night we have a pounding at our door with a cop needing to file our paperwork for this "attack".  He gave some smart remarks to our dogs considering they were barking at him, which he commented we don't need two attacks tonight (um, hi you are the one at my door at 11:30 at night, they have every right to bark at you)  I didn't find him nice, helpful, basically nothing.  He couldn't give us any information except for the guy  has a laceration on his hand, which Torre has NEVER bitten a human ever.  I can guarantee he put his hand in the way, which of course makes our dog look worse for biting a person.  The whole thing is completely upsetting and I'm well aware our dog was off the leash so we are in the wrong, but I'm still allowed to be upset.  So if you feel on commenting on this blog, please don't give me the 10 cent comment about how bad we are as owners having our dog off the leash.  Trust me we have gotten plenty of that.

Step in dog poop kind of day...

Have you ever had days that start terrible?  Then it's hard to wrap your mind around being positive the rest of the day.  My morning started off with my jeans dragging in dog poop.  How you might ask that happens?  Well Alta decides that grass isn't good enough and pulls moves like pooping on our sidewalk...classy.  Anyway I discovered this little present while I was filling up my car with gas and got it on my hand.  Yes, the whole chocolate/poo phrase (Baby Mame quote) came to mind but I was busy thinking dirt/poo.  Well it was poo, and I wasn't exactly the happiest person at 7:45am at a gas station realizing there is poo on my pants.  Long story short, good thing I stole my husband's Monster or else this day would've been a 0.  Miraculously I am having a perfect 10 kind of day, thanks to sugar, oh and the fact that Evan didn't drink his last Monster.

11 months...

Now I'm not trying to say I'm some kind of expert on marriage but I have learned a few things over 11 months.  Evan and I next month will be married one year.  And we have learned a lot about each other.  Some things I think are majorly important:

Always make each other smile, no matter the time, day, whatever

Make an effort to compliment each other, you married each other because you couldn't live without each other, so it should be easy to do.

Try to make a dinner you know they like at least once a week, the rest of the week you can be selfish and make food you like.

Take an interest in each others hobbies, yes sitting on the couch all day Saturday wathcing football is not my number one favorite thing to do, but being with my husband is my number one favorite

Actually pay attention when they share interesting facts, yes Evan quizzed me on the bowl match ups and I do believe we are rooting for the exact same teams in every bowl match up.  Ps, he could've rigged the system though.

ALWAYS make time for cuddle time.  (It's my favorite)

If your special someone likes taking walks at night, and it's freezing, put on another coat and go with.  It's those times alone, outside that are the best times.

The joys of being a couple without kids, you can enjoy being poor and trying to save every penny for projects, trips, a big purchase because eating mac n' cheese every night doesn't get too old.  Only after week 3 does it start to taste a little weird.

Enjoy a good song, whether you sing it to them or vice versa.

Always offer to help even if you may not be good at the project.  Normally when I offer to help, Evan prefers I sit while he tackles it because it involves tools.  Not exactly my strong point.  But I always think it's the thought that counts.  He may offer to help clean, but gives me that smile that gets him away with murder and yes instead I bring him either pink drink, or Pepsi and he continues on his merry way with ESPN.

Date night-enough said.

I'm sure there are people out there that have years of experience over me, or may think some of these ideas are stupid.  But I can without a doubt say I love my husband more today then I did last year and I know it will just get better every year and day.  Love ya Ev!

New Kitchen

Evan and I have very exciting news, we have FINALLY gotten our cabinet boxes back and now we can FINALLY move forward with our new kitchen.  It's been a long process of basically just waiting around, so it's nice to have them home and be able to move forward with our home improvements.  Excited to have our friends and family over to show off the new goods.  Merry Christmas to us!!


Also Evan's big day is in 2 days.  It's been a long process for him of taking pills to make sure the virus was gone and he has been more then diligent.  I would personally like to thank him for all the times he has been the designated driver for friends, family, and myself.  I hope everyone does decide to come out on Friday at Canyon Inn around 9 to celebrate with us that he is done with having the scare of tuberculosis and for his dedication.  I am so proud of him and this is such a great way to celebrate.  If you see him, want to post on his facebook wall, text, please congratulate him or better yet show your support by coming out with us. 

Thankful

With this being the start of Thanksgiving, I thought I would start with what I'm thankful for.

I'm thankful for my wonderful husband, he takes care of me when I'm sick, makes me Macaroni n' Cheese at 9 o'clock without any questions asked and does it with a smile, he may or may not do some salsa moves in the kitchen so I can laugh, always willing to help clean, cook, watch HGTV with me, have late night cuddle sessions that are always needed :)  He is my best friend and we do everything together whether it's skiing, going to eat, run errands, he is always willing to try something new and I would be lost without him.  He is my number one person I am thankful for.

I'm also thankful for my amazing family.  On rough days I know I can always call my Mom, Dad, sister, grandparents and always get that added boost that I was missing.  They are always there, and always supportive and always willing to help if we have home improvements.  The many nights of football watching with my parents bringing pizza is always greatly appreciated and we always love the company.  We love you guys!

I'm thankful for my house, when you hear the wind blowing so hard and watching branches fall off of trees it's nice to know you have a place to call home that you are warm and cozy and have made your own.  I'm extremely thankful for the location we are at, and the friendly neighbors we have.

I'm extremely thankful for my wonderful dogs.  They are my kids.  I love them so so much and couldn't ever imagine a day without them.  Alta is the baby of course, and Torre is the best cuddler ever made.  They have turned into such amazing animals and apart of our family.  They have the funniest personalities and it just makes them that much more special. 

I'm also thankful for a job that I love.  It's so nice going to work and hanging out with friends all day and talking about stuff you actually are interested in.  Who can say they get powder mornings from their work to get first tracks and come in for a half day?  I have become a better skier, and have thoroughly enjoyed getting free product and seeing how excited Evan gets when he gets his jacket in or a pair of new skis, it makes my job so much better seeing how much Evan loves skiing because of the benefits we get.

Overall, I'm thankful for all the people that have touched our lives.  Whether it be my parents helping me get through college, or my friends that are always there to go to dinner or shopping with me.  I love all my friends and family and have no idea where I would be without them.   Everyday is a blessing because my loved ones and I are healthy, happy, and well provided for.  That's all I can ask for.

Who is to blame?

Well people it's that time of the year again. The time when individuals start letting their standards slip. T-shirts begin to get a bit taller, and jeans start to get a bit skinnier. Kids pull out their 3 foot long sloppy, I mean floppy, beanies, you know the ones they would never be caught dead in any other time of the year? Yeah those ones. This is the time of the year when the kiddies start bringing out their new ski jackets that they are so proud of but the only problem is A- they look like the time your dad let you wear his coat and it went down past your knees, but you still felt it was cool because it was your dads, and B- The fact that they look like they were made from the same carpet the Red Garder uses on their casino floor. This phenomenon is called “Broism” normal innocent kids begin to turn into Bros after the first fall of snow. Their morals get thrown out the window and everyone is left wondering why. Did we the people do something wrong? Am I responsible for this? Who is to blame? I have a finger and I really want to point it at someone. All I remember was watching an old ski film and thinking “Yikes see those flaming hot pink goggles, and I am so glad I didn’t live my prime in the 80’s. Today I look to my left and then to my right on the ski lift and believe it or not there they are again, I feel like im skiing with Dave Marshak and John E Rowland from the 1990 hit movie Ski School.  I will leave you with this: When you see these people, please start taping them on the shoulder and asking who is to blame for this. Someone needs to be held accountable.

Stay plain my friends.

E-

Music to my ears

If none of you who read this blog knew this, Evan and I are ski junkies.  I think I look forward to the winter all year long.  It's the time where we both get in the best shape because Evan pushes me to become better everytime we go.  I can't wait until more snow comes and then you can sled, ice skate and do all sorts of fun winter things.  I love love love winter.  The best time of the year.  In case anyone was wondering, Snowbird is opening more lifts, which makes my day even better.  Evan sent this is an email to me this afternoon and I do believe I squealed when I opened it because I was so excited:

Lift Status*


Aerial Tram(9am-3:45pm): Trip by trip

Baby Thunder(9am-3:45pm): Closed

Baldy Express(9am-3:30pm): Closed

Chickadee(9am-5:00pm): Open

Gad II(9am-4:00pm): Closed

Gadzoom(9am-4:00pm): Open

Little Cloud(9am-3:45pm): Closed

Mid-Gad(9am-4:15pm): Opening 11/22

Mineral Basin Express(9am-3:30pm): Closed

Peruvian Express(9am-4:00pm): Opening 11/26

Peruvian Tunnel(9am-3:30pm): Closed

Wilbere(9am-4:30pm): Opening 11/24







Here's to a wonderful winter!!

Ski Season

Just a little heads up for all you people that love to ski/snowboard, and also for the people that hate it (this is to spite you and piss you off)

SNOWBIRD OPENS TOMORROW!  so please, do not try to call Evan or I because we will not be answering our phones until around 3 or 4.  We will be way way too busy having the best day of our lives at this place:

Day Blogs

I've honestly really been trying to keep on the Day blogs, but they are somewhat depressing and weird.  Because seriously who wants to know in detail what I did during a whole day.  (This is one of the examples).  So I decided I'm jumping ship, I figure I made it half way so maybe if I find another one of these surveys I will stick to it.

This last weekend was pretty crazy.  On Saturday morning bright and early at 5am we headed out to ESPN Gameday.  Personally, I don't see what the big hype wonderfulness of this is, but hey I do stuff for my husband that he loves.  He was like a kid in the candy shop.  He wouldn't stop talking about the time he went in 2004 so I figure by going this time I have another 6 years before the next one?  Anyway, it was pitch dark when we got there, the only thing I remember is my Red Bull was gone way too fast.  But there were about 100 signs with different sport quotes, which I didn't get.  So of course Evan being the wonderful husband he is, is attempting to explain the joke on the sign.  When even after explaining I still didn't get.  Oh well, thanks honey but I'm a lost cause.  All in all, it was a cool experience and I'm glad we went seeing how our poor Utes lost miserably.  Broke my heart watching that game.  Then later that night we went to the REAL game which they had to get 2 points in order to advance to the next round and of course they lost too.  But we had a great time with wonderful friends, and will for sure make chili next time so we can be in the cook off. 

Sunday, Sharon was sweet enough to let us borrow her carpet cleaner and Evan gave our carpets a deep cleaning.  I seriously love love love having a clean house.  So while he did that I did bathroom control.  So by the end of the day we had a sparkling house and it was pitch dark with daylight savings. 

Overall we had a great weekend of laughing nonstop, spending time with wonderful friends and their dogs :) and spending quality time together which I always love.  10 days until opening day at Snowbird!!

Also, if no one has read the Hunger Games I highly, highly recommend it.  I just finished the last book and it took me I think 5 hours because I wouldn't put it down with it being that great.  I recommend this book for everyone who just wants a book to read and isn't too specific.  I plan on reading more Suzanne Collins books because the Hunger Games was just that great.

Day 13 and 14

I figure I'm behind on days so I thought I would do two.  13 and 14 are my favorite outfit and favorite shoes.  I don't really have a favorite outfit, but my favorite shoes are anything boots.  I love boots.  And I figured since this blog is super boring I thought I would share 10 fun facts about my Dad.

1) He drinks his Starbucks as fast as he can because he doesn't like when it gets luke warm.  So you know that first sip you take and it feels like your tongue just got a 1st degree burn?  Well Mark drinks the whole coffee that way.

2) He won't chew gum longer then 10 minutes.  He doesn't like when it loses it's flavor in the least bit.

3) One of his favorite sports is skiiing, my Mom taught him how to ski once they got married.

4) He loves hunting, anything to do with hunting, whether it be his Wii game or the real thing he loves it.

5) He laughs exactly like his two brothers and Dad.  It's really funny when all of them are together and they get going.

6) When I was little, I used to order food that I knew he liked because I could never finish my meals and I would give him my food after I was done. 

7) He loves almost every dessert I like, especially German Chocolate anything.  Mainly the pie.

8) Animals love him, well mostly dogs.  Our family dog used to pee everytime he would come home from a trip.

9) He loves projects, mainly house projects.  My Mom and Dad have totally remodeled their house so clearly either they have to move, or fix up mine, or start re-doing projects they have already done.  And as a side note, his projects turn out amazing.  I have no idea how he learned how to do all these things but he is extremely good at handy jobs.

10) Swamp cooler and the snow shack.  That's all I have to say about that one.  My family will know what I'm talking about :)

Love you Dad, hope you're having a great day!

Day 12

This blog is supposed to be about something I'm OCD about.  I'm really not sure what I'm OCD about, but one thing I do everyday is sweep our floors and clean the kitchen.  I don't know what it is about crumbs and dirt on the ground from our dogs, or leafs brought in by shoes but it absolutely drives me nuts.  At first Evan would try to help but I think he realizes now it's just something I do and let's me do my tasks and then get on with the night.  One of my biggest pet peeves, I can't cook in a kitchen that is already dirty.  It utterly grosses me out.  I don't know if this was passed down from my Mom but growing up our kitchen was always clean.  And I'm big into smells, so I have a specific cleaner that I like using because it smells like lemons and then I have a Scentsy which makes our house smell yummy.  So I guess I am rather OCD about certain things, but hey at least it's about cleaning right?

Happy Halloween! 2010

From the Howards

 Michael "Squints" Palledorous and Wendy Peffercorn, 2010

Day 8

Day 8 is supposed to be a picture that makes me angry/sad.  I didn't want to post one because what makes me beyond angry and extremely upset is abuse to animals.  There are numerous sites out there that if you really want to see a picture I'm sure you can google it and find info.  But the commericals they play that show animals that don't have control who their owners are, they are defenseless yet they are the most abused by mean terrible people.  This topic makes me sick, this goes from anything to Barnum and Bailey, which abuse their animals to extremes.  Please, please do not go to the circus.  You are supporting people that beat elephants and torture them to extremes.  I can post a link, but I almost cried when I was watching and had to turn it off.  So there you have it, I am an animal activist.  Ask Evan, I'm all about wanting more dogs.  I think they are the most percious animals and are always happy to see you and are extremely smart, despite us thinking they are dumb 99% of the time.  Anyway, for such a sad blog enjoy a puppy picture of Alta!

Day 7

So just as a clarification, Evan covered Day 6 blog because I was swamped at work.  Today, I am doing Day 7.  We like to keep people on their toes.  Day 7 is a photo that makes you happy, I have two because the first one literally made me laugh when I saw it, and the second picture are the people that are nearest and dearest to me, and that was the best day ever of my entire life. :) 

Day 6

Day 6 is twenty of my favorite things. Family, friends, and dogs are all obvious ones so I’m not going to waste the numbers with things you already know.


1.) Skiing- There is really no way to explain what a day on the slopes means to Rach and I. So relaxing, so much fun, and such a good exercise so you feel great the rest of the day.

2.) Traveling- Trips are always so much fun, and i love looking at the pictures and being able to say I’ve done that or I’ve seen that.

3.) LA Dodgers- They are the best team in the world so get over it.

4.) Utah- It's one of the best kept secrets if you are down with the outdoors.

5.) Jackets- You can never have enough of them, the more pockets and gadgets the better.

6.) Backpacks- Also can never have enough, their is one for every occasion.

7.) Man vs. Wild- Best show on television, if you disagree Bear will fight you.

8.) Hiking- being out in the wilderness is always nice and especially if the dogs can join.

9.) The Blog Lost Angeles- Read it and make it one of your 20.

10.) People falling over- Nothing is more funny. Fall in front of me and i will laugh at you. Possibly point.

11.) Will Farrell- I dare you to tell me he isn't the funniest man to ever live

12.) Quiznos- I hope someone finds a sewer rat in Jimmy Johns so they will close and stop buying out al the Quiznos in the valley.

13.) Pepsi- Coke is for people who have no goals in life

14.) Video games- If you don't like them you are clearly just not good at them.

15) All sports- They are so great you can bet on them, it gives you an excuse to get drunk, you can always bring it up when you are around someone you have nothing else to talk about.

16.) Letting my dogs lick my armpits, and the bed sheets were my armpits have been. This is in Rachel’s top 20 as well

17.) Letting out a silent fart in bed, and waiting for Rachel to get in. The suspense almost makes me blow it every time.

18.) Drinks- if you ever see me i will have a drink in my hand. It gives me something to do with my hands if I’m in an uncomfortable situation, so i always stay prepared.

19.) BBQ- It's so much manlier to say i like barbeque then if i told you im a salad guy.

20.) People- The guy trying to get around you on the one way road because you’re going 35 in a 40. The guy who picks his nose and thinks nobody can see him. The girls singing at the top of her lungs when they are alone in the car. The guy who gives me the double flip off when he finally gets around me on the 40 MPH road. The guy who yells at the hockey game like he thinks they can hear him, when even if they could they wouldn’t give a shit. The drunk girls in their mini skirts at the bar thinking they look so good "What if your mom walked in and saw you like this?".

Day, 3, 4, and 5

Yes yes, I am behind.  But I don't even look at a computer during the weekend.  People that are Facebook 24/7, and the Internet during the weekend not saying being on the Internet for a couple of hours is bad, I'm saying the people that are on ALL THE TIME.....hate saying this but sad.  It's the weekend, go out and do something, detach yourself from your phone.  That goes for vacations too, shouldn't you be enjoying your vacation rather then facebooking?  Enjoy the people you're with.  Evan and I had our phones off for our entire honeymoon because that's the point.  You are alone with that person and only that person, not the rest of the world.  Sorry, getting off my soap box now but I have to hope that there are people out there that agree with me on this?

Anywho, Day 3 Favorite Television Program:  This has been a recent change since it's a brand new show but it's

BEST SHOW EVER....that's all the explanation it needs.

Day 4: Favorite book:  I just barely finished the first and second and yes all the talk is worth to listen to,

I'm not even going to talk what the book, and the trilogy is about.  Just go read it.  Seriously.

Day 5: Favorite quote:  This is from my Dad and honestly it's the most true quote, well quotes.

Here is something to live by:

"Life isn't fair, get over it"
"If you aren't bleeding, you shouldn't be crying"



Other then that, I got a free treadmill from some very dear friends of my parents and of Evan and myself.  It was such a surprise and blessing to get a phone call from my Mom saying they wanted to get rid of it and wanted to give it to us.  We called immediately and went and picked it up and now I'm able to run every morning before work rather then driving 20 minutes to the gym and back.  It's been super great, minus our dogs trying to attack it.  Sorry Evan for the early morning garage sound!!



Day 2 Favorite Movie

My ultimate favorite movie of all time is, An Affair to Remember.  I love this movie so much that I only watch it when I'm alone.  I don't like people talking through it, or asking me questions even though I have the whole movie memorized.  It's just one of those things.  When you're having a bad day, watch this movie and the day gets better. Also, this movie is a classic.  It's referenced in Sleepless in Seattle and who knows how many other movies, plus it has Cary Grant.  Sorry other movies, you can't beat this.

30 Days of Fun Facts

I saw this posting a friend from school did, and it was a month long post everyday on fun facts about her.  So I decided to play the game as well.  Enjoy!

So Day 1 Favorite Song.

Well this song used to be in my top 5 but since it was the first song Evan and I danced to when we were married, it is "Then" by Brad Paisley, if you don't know the song the lyrics are below!

I remember, trying not to stare the night that I first met you

You had me mezmorized
And three weeks later, in the front porch light
taking forty-five minutes to kiss goodnight
I hadn't told you yet
but I thought I loved you then

And now you're my whole life

now you're my whole world
I just can't believe the way I feel about you, girl
Like a river meets the sea,
stronger than it's ever been.
We've come so far since that day
And I thought I loved you then

And i remember, taking you back to right where I first met you,
You were so surprised
There were people around, but I didn't care
Got down on one knee right there once again,I thought I loved you then

I could just see you, with a baby on the way

And I could just see you, when your hair is turning gray
What I can't see is how I'm ever gonna love you more
But I've said that before



Favorite song, makes me cry every time yes I'm a softy. 

Life as of late

I've been getting complaints that we haven't been updating our blog.  Well, nothing exciting has happened so that's probably the main reason. 
Last Sunday we celebrated Evan's birthday at his parents house and he got some super cool stuff.  If no one knows Evan very well, he is a jacket and back pack whore.  I mean that in the most loving way possible.  The kid LOVES backpacks.  And he is hilarious to shop with when looking for a new one.  He tries them on and asks how it looks.  Well my typical response is, it looks like a backpack?  How are you supposed to answer that?  So he got a new ski backpack that has a camelpack in it and he is super excited.  He also got a couple new shirts, thank you Kerry and Sharon.  They fit him like a glove.  And a mug, even though he doesn't drink coffee, it's cool though!  Some new pants, Tele Scarpa boots, and some saw horses.  It's so funny that when we moved into our house we literally had nothing.  It was beyond pathetic.  We had our drapes held together with a roller brush.  And now we have furniture and are getting things that we will use in the future, it's so crazy how almost a year of marriage everything will change.  And of course change for the better.
Last Saturday I had a reunion with a ton of my good friends from college up at Utah State.  It was so great to see everyone and laugh about all the stupid stuff we used to do and the late nights and amazed how all of us are still alive.  Thank you Mom for being understanding during those years.  Utah State was the definition of college town.  Everything was within a 5 minute drive and you could walk to campus from where you lived and you knew a big chunk of campus.  It really was a great experience and I hope my future, way down the road, kids will be able to experience that.  Switz and I however really did miss Kiera.  The third amigo.  But I hope you are having a blast in Key West :)
Other then that, we both are looking forward to Thanksgiving when my grandparents and sister come into town.  Haven't seen my grandparents in almost a year and it was complete last minute that they decided to come.  Extremely excited, and Courtney we rarely get to see her with her busy schedule of becoming an amazing doctor. 
Hopefully in the next month we finish the shower, it's only taken a year!  It's amazing when you are completely unexperienced the amount of money you don't realize something will cost.  Hopefully it turns out great, because as of right now just having the floor tiled and it being 3 times the size it was it looks awesome.  Thank you Mom and Dad a million times over for all the hours you have helped.  Well basically just my Dad and Evan had actually put the shower together.  I entertain my Mom will movies I find, and skinny cows.  I make dinner too, that's helping right?

Overall it's been a wonderful month and we both can't wait for ski season to start, down to a month left as of today.  Hope everyone else is having a great month.

Happy 25th!

It's Evan's birthday.  Well, it's been his birthday all week.  I personally think birthdays are a HUGE deal so this being the first year we are married and it's his first married birthday celebration I decided to make it extra special and start new traditions.  We took a surprise trip that I kept a secret for almost 2 months, with the help of my parents ordering everything in private.  That was a just because trip that just happened to be before his birthday. Then there is the birthday week.  I left little presents for him throughout the week so he could have little treats or buy himself lunch for the whole week.  It was a nice build up to today!  Saturday we had all our friends over for a birthday party, thanks everyone for coming we love you all!  And last night he got his presents, because let's be honest Evan is pretty convincing when it comes to getting his way.  And he really really wanted his birthday presents :)  Anywho, Evan is the most generous, caring person.  He never has a bad word to say about anyone and always stands up for his loved ones not matter the circumstances.  I am so blessed to have such a wonderful husband that makes me laugh everyday.  Whether it be gross or funny, we are always laughing and goofing off and I couldn't ask for anything more.  This year has been wonderful and I have seen a whole new side of Evan that I didn't know before we were married and everyday is better and better.  I can't wait for all the years ahead and all the birthdays we get to celebrate together!  Happy birthday bubs love you to pieces!.

Hiking, one of his favorite things to do.

With our little baby!

Vegas, Evan..well being Evan :)

All the Howards

Lake Powell 2009 with his bff Jeramie

One of the very first times we hung out.

He is number one in my book!!!

Evan's Birthday Week

In case no one took note of this, this week is Evan's birthday week!  So please be sure to make it extra special for him because we are sure having a blast at our house.  Love ya Ev, Happy Birthday week!!

My Mom

This doesn’t happen often for me, but right now i really don't know what to say. I have so many different things running though my head and i really don't know where to start. Today is my mom's birthday and what better day to brag about her then on her very own day, personally picked out by her. There is no combination of words to explain my Mom. She has done more and sacrificed more for me then i can ever imagine, and she rarely got a thank you for it. She has bent over backwards for her family, moving away from friends and family to support her husband. My mom would spend hours and hours sitting in the freezing cold and blistering hot, to watch me play sports, coming to every high school football game even when she knew i would never actually get in the game. Planning family trips that she knew we would all love, but what she loved was just a chance to spend time with all of us together.


You know you have a great mom when your friends call her mom as well. I have heard countless times from my friends how awesome my mom is and "Your mom knows more interesting information then anyone I’ve ever met". Very few people get the opportunity to have such an inspirational person in their life, and i know for a fact my mother’s personality has rubbed off on me, and has given me all of the opportunities to be successful in life.
They say that a young boy will look to marry a woman that most resembles his mother, and i feel that is true. Many of the things i love abut my wife are things i love about my mother.


I love you very much Mom, thank you for everything you’ve done for me.

Go Dodgers!

So I’m turning 25 on October 11^th. It’s not even October yet, and this has already been the best birthday I’ve ever had. Last week Rachel hands me a little bag full of folded up papers and yells “Happy Birthday!”. The first one I open is two plane tickets to Denver, the second was a one night stay at the Sheraton, and the last was two tickets to see the Los Angeles Dodgers play the Colorado Rockies. I could hardly believe it. I have never been given a whole trip for my birthday let alone tickets to see my favorite sport team of all time play.  Rachel and I planned on going to spring training to see them at the beginning of the year, but couldn’t because we were just married and getting moved into our new house, so I didn’t think I would get a chance to see them play this year. Rachel did such an excellent job planning the trip, even getting my shifts covered at work. She did all of this without me even getting a hint of what was to come. So Monday morning we were off to Denver we regrouped in our hotel room, and headed out for a walk down 16^th street to find some food. It is tradition for Rachel and I to eat at breweries when we leave the state, so the first one we saw was a place called Rock Bottom Brewery. We ordered our usual wings and burgers and it was the best wings we’ve ever had. I say it a lot but these were really the best ones ever! We then took a walk down the river walk in Denver until we saw an aquarium. We decided to give it a try and it was actually really cool. They had Sharks, Turtles, Stingrays, Tigers, pretty much everything under the sea plus Tigers. After the aquarium we went to the hotel room to have a few beers before the game and they were not just any beer it was “Coors Lights”. We took a free shuttle to the game and enjoyed all the people harassing us for our Dodger Blue attire. Rachel has never been to a pro baseball game, and I have never been to Coors Field so it was a first for both of us. The stadium was awesome, so big and so crisp. Words can’t explain what a Major League baseball stadium looks and feels like; it’s just something you have to experience. I have been to every type of pro sport event and baseball is by far the most unique experience you can find. It was awesome seeing the players I brag about on a regular basis and it was even better to see them kill the Rockies and set the tone for the rest of the night. Rachel and I have some friends who live in Bolder, so they drove down for a few beers and to catch up. All in all it was a great trip and I would not have changed a thing. Rachel always has the best ideas for things like this and is the best wife in the world.