Island Park and Yellowstone

We had such a fun camping trip! I thought I would put some highlights on my blog.

We got to camp and set up, and then we got to meet Smokey the Bear. My younger cousins loved it! He gave a good lesson on "only you can prevent wildfires!" Although, that didn't stop my cousin Trevor from being a total pyro. He loves throwing stuff in the fire and making it get really big! haha. We spent time sitting around the campfire and talking and laughing. My dad took us out on the boat for a day and we went tubing. I don't really like tubing, so I went with my cousin Daxton so that we could go slow :) Josh and Megan on the other hand, liked to be thrown around. My dad and Josh got the worst sunburns. Josh's back had huge blisters and he could barely move because it hurt so bad. He should have worn sunscreen!

Yellowstone was beautiful! It was a lot of driving... by the end of our trip we had driven a total of 25 hours. I am glad I have a husband who will do all the driving! We saw buffalo and elk, and at one point the buffalo had backed up traffic so much we spent an hour and a half driving only ten miles. I guess that's what you get in yellowstone! We went on a few hikes and saw the most gorgeous waterfalls. One of the hikes was a mile up, and when we finally got to the top it started downpouring rain and of course I was wearing flip flops. We were soaked by the time we got back down! Old faithful was cool, none of my cousins had been before so they were way excited.

We had a lot of delicious food while we were there! Before the trip, I was on a roll and had lost 4 pounds (good for me, I can't seem to lose weight fast). when we got back, of course I had put 3 back on. So annoying! But all the s'mores were worth it :) now it's time to kick myself back in to shape!

My favorite part of the trip was the night when we all were around the fire and we all shared our favorite family memory, and we gave Josh advice for his mission. My cousin Ryan (age 7)  raised his hand when we were giving Josh advice, and started to cry. He said "Josh... I love you!" That was his advice. At that point we were all crying! Josh is so good with kids. He plays with them and includes them in the "big kids activities". We are going to miss our Josh. He was always the peacemaker in our family. I remember a night at our house when the whole family was in distress. My dad was having a rough time at his former job, and was looking for something new. We felt the tension in our home, everyone stayed in their rooms and never came out. Josh was the one who told us all the come together and he led us in a family prayer. He prayed for our family to grow through our trials and he prayed for the spirit to be in our home. I will always be grateful for that night, because he took initiative and pulled his family together. I know he will make a good missionary, he has always strived to be worthy of his preisthood and practice it often. I am so grateful to have a brother like him! ok, I got way off topic there... haha.

Overall, this trip was an amazing time! We made so many great memories that I will always remember.

 

Things i've learned about life so far...

So, I googled fun blog topics. It gave me a huge list of things I could write about, and this is the topic I chose. It may bore you, but I thought it sounded fun.

The most important thing life has taught me so far, is that family is everything. When I was in high school, I barely ever spent time with my family. I was always out with friends or locked up in my room sleeping. I kind of regret that now, because when I graduated, I said to myself.. what now? I really didn't know. Soon after that I learned that the majority of your friends from high school you won't hear from ever again, besides a few (Hailey and Tessa). I now cherish the time I get to spend with family more then anything. My love for them has grown so much.

Next thing i've learned about life... probably the hardest lesson for me to learn... is to not take things so seriously. My feelings get hurt easily, I won't lie. But about 99 percent of the time, whatever hurt my feelings, wasn't intended to. I have had nights where I just sit up and wonder why something happened... when really I shouldn't be worrying about it. I would say its kind of just my personality to be that way, but I have learned the hard way that I need to not be so sensitive!

Another thing i've learned about life.. you can't get through it without the gospel. It should always be the center of our lives. When I haven't been to the temple in a while, I can feel it. I feel as though i'm missing something huge in my heart that nothing can fix besides going to the temple. I am grateful for the blessings that come from it! I am so happy that I have a husband who can take me there. I am grateful to have the priesthood in my home, it gives me peace of mind. What a blessing it is to know we have a Heavenly Father who loves us, no matter what.

Those are just a few lessons i've learned! Anyone agree with me? ;) Have a good day everyone!!!

Life's many milestones..

Summer has officially began! You know what that means... birthdays and graduations galore. In my family, Josh's birthday is May 30th, mine and my father-in-law's bday is the 31st, my sister Megan's bday is June 6th, Mom's is June 9th and we just celebrated my brother in-law's bday today! Holy Craziness!! We have also been to quite a few graduation parties for cousins, aunts, friends, and even my own brother's.

Josh's graduation was so awesome! I'm so glad Garrett and I could go. We had a graduation party for Josh and had his favorite... Costa Vida. I think he liked that! I am sooo proud of him for all he has accomplished. He was voted best male lead at RMHS, given the Distinguished Student award (which gives you a $5,000 scholarship and $500 cash) graduated with honors, has about a million friends, graduated from seminary, and has chosen to serve a mission. He is going to Dallas, Texas! We are so excited for him. I know he will do great things on his mission. He has always been a great teacher. He reports to the mtc September 17th. I am glad we have the summer to spend with him!

Another exciting thing happening in our life.. we bought a car! We got a 2013 Ford Escape. You could say it's Garrett's new favorite toy! He loves it. It took us a long time to find the right vehicle, but it was worth the wait. I am sooo glad we are done car shopping. So not fun to me! So far it is very fun to have. Garrett says one day it will be my "sexy mommy mobile" :) haha!

Let's see.. besides that, we have been taking lots of bike rides and enjoying the nice weather. This past weekend we were in salt lake and went to the temple. It was my first time going to the slc one! I loved it. The celestial room was gorgeous. Garrett was showing me all the small details and how amazing it was that they hand carved almost everything in the room. I can't even imagine the time that was put in to it! We spent time with Gar's parent's.. his mom took me to smith's and gave me my first lesson on flowers. I got a cute flower pot to put outside our door and now know a little more about gardening! If any of you didn't know, Chris is like the queen of flowers... her yard always looks amazing. So i was glad she could teach me a little!

That's all that's going on in our lives right now... See ya next time!! <3

Our Cruise!!

Our Cruise was absolutely amazing and so much fun! It was so nice to get away for a week and even turn off our cell phones! When we got on the boat they had lunch ready and we went and got our room all set up. One of the funnest parts of the cruise was the nice dinners! We sat at a table with a couple who was on their honeymoon and a group of four older women who were best friends out on a cruise. One of the lady's was our entertainment... well, she never shut up! and it was great haha we pretty much laughed through every dinner. Catalina Island was absolutely beautiful! I would love to go back there. When we went parasailing, you could see the whole city and it was gorgeous. We also saw dolphins on our parasailing adventure! Garrett is scared of dolphins. So he kept his feet as far away as possible, even though they were still way far down! After parasailing we just walked around and also tried their calamari at a little fish shack right off the pier.. It was hands down the best calamari I have ever tasted! We also got to try some crazy things at our dinners.. I had escargot.. and alligator and eel. All of them were good! I was the only one at my table who tried the escargot and they all watched me try it thinking I would spit it out.. but I definitely did not! I thought it was pretty delicious. Another great part of the cruise was just lounging by the pool.. We would go grab a drink and just fall asleep in a chair under the sun. They had a pizza bar that was open 24/7 so we munched on that a lot! I also loved their salad bar.. A lot to choose from. And of course the ice cream cones! Those were Gar's favorite! We took a nap almost every day which was awesome.. because we never get naps! They are unheard of! Free room service was awesome too, I will admit I ordered cheesecake a few times :) Ensenada was interesting. We walked up main street and there were tons of people selling things. I bought a pair of flip flops from a lady who was selling them for $30, but Garrett talked her down to $11! Crazy huh? We got Garrett a t-shirt and then just decided to go back to the boat. When it was time to get off the boat, we were sad. We didn't want the fun to end! We got to the airport at about 9:30 and our flight didn't leave until 4, so we were there fooorrreeeevvvverrrr. I took a nap on the uncomfortable airport chairs, and Garrett.. well I don't know what he was doing while I slept. HaHa. But it was definitely such an awesome vacation! I am so glad we saved our money and went. Here are some pictures if you haven't already seen! Love you all!!

God IS looking out for you!

There have been big changes for Garrett and I in the past few months! All for the better. I am sure some of you are wondering.. "Where does Sammy work?" All you've seen are little bits and pieces from facebook! Let me walk you through the story.I worked at Walmart as a pharmacy tech. I had no set schedule, and I would usually work the evening shift, which meant I didn't get to spend time with Garrett because our schedules collided. I was constantly down, I felt like I had no structure in my life because my schedule was all sceewompus (Is that how you spell that?:)) Anyway, I had an opportunity come available to transfer to another walmart where I could have a set schedule and work at the same time Garrett was at school and work. I was soo excited! I thought, wow this is what I have been waiting for. The transfer was approved, and I was all set to move over. Two days before I was scheduled to transfer, I got a call saying I would no longer be allowed to transfer because they hired too many people at the new store. I was so devastated and angry. I felt like I was never going to find a place where I could be happy, and I felt like I had been praying to my Heavenly Father and my prayers were not being heard. This is where the blessing comes along. I went to bed the night they told me I couldn't transfer. I was playing around on my laptop, checking ksl and craigslist for jobs. I saw a post for a medical receptionist in Orem. I thought, why not, and sent off my resume. The next morning I get a call from the family practice I had sent my resume to. They wanted me in for an interview right away, so I got dressed and went right over. I walked in, and immediately was offered the job. Now let me explain to you why I decided to take the job. First of all the schedule is magnificent! I work m-f 8:15-5. I do not have to work major holidays and we are closed on the weekends. Because of my past work experience as a pharmacy tech, he offered me a starting pay equivalent to what I made at wal-mart. I know some of you may be thinking I am silly for not using my pharmacy tech license, which leads me to tell you I will be working one saturday a month in the pharmacy (either at walmart or central utah clinic, not sure yet) to keep my tech skills up and be able to renew my license every 3 years.

I really feel like my Heavenly Father had this job planned for me. I am so grateful for prayer, and the opportunity to be PATIENT. When something great doesn't fall in to place, it's because God has something better in store for you.  I am a firm believer in that! I love my husband more then words can explain! He supports me in all that I do, and loves me all the way through it. I am so proud of him for going to school so eventually I won't have to work and can be a mommy! But, one thing at a time right? I don't think I know any person more patient and loving then Garrett. I make mistake after mistake, and he just forgets about it. He is the perfect example to me! I really, really love him!

We are getting VERY excited for our cruise coming up in May! We are ready to get away from provo and enjoy the sunshine. Other things we have been up to? Well, my parents came up a few weekends ago and we spent time with them. My dad and Garrett worked on his truck, we did insanity in our living room, which was pretty awesome! And we spent time with aunt rachel and her kids. I love when they come to visit me. I love how well my dad and Garrett get along. I think I really did marry a guy just as awesome as my dad! I am so lucky to have both of them in my life. They couldn't move back to Utah any quicker! I am looking forward to our family trip with them this summer to yellowstone!! It will be so much fun!  This past weekend we spent with Garrett's family. We watched conference, slept in, went to a delicious dinner at red lobster (I had crab legs---YUM!!!) and planned out our awesome family trip to St. George. We went on a double date with Josh and Hillary to the jazz game, and then went to ihop after! We always have the funnest time with them. We laugh until our stomachs hurt, and we have so many insiders that nobody would even get! I am lucky to have siblings so close. Anyway, I know this was a really long post. But here are some pictures. I hope all of my family and friends reading this know how much I care about each of you and that you are such a blessing in my life!