"I'm in love, I'm in love! And I don't care who knows it!!"

Today has rocked. It's my boys birthday and we were able to spend the entire day together. I love my boy. He is incredible. So, for my boy's day I posted, on facebook, thirty (of the bah-jillions)reasons why I love my perfect-for-me husband of mine. I did this through out the day, kind of fun for me. Hopefully fun for him?!?

Because I want the whole world to know why I love Trav so much, I thought I'd post them here as well as facebook. I know, you're SO lucky!!!

Here they are:

Reason #1: I love your incredibly beautiful, perfect smile. You're smile grabbed me and stole my heart from day one. I love you.

Reason #2: I love your amazing eyes. I've heard it said, "eyes are the windows to your soul". Well, your soul is amazing...just like your sunflower-colored-eyes. I love you.

Reason #3: I love your gift for art, whether it be creating or appreciating it. You have taught me a lot about the world of color, design, balance, expression, and interpretation. I am so grateful for this outlook on life. It's so much richer and more beautiful. Thank you. I love you.

Reason #4: I love your laugh! It's the MOST contagious laugh...almost music-like. I can't help but to smile and giggle when I hear you. I love you.

Reason #5: I love and deeply appreciate how seriously you take your calling as a son, brother, uncle, husband, (future) father, and friend. You are an honorable man full of goodness and strength. I have long admired your genuine, good character. I love you.

Reason #6: I love how positive and laid back you are. You don't get flustered easily. You're VERY in control of your emotions. You truly think things through before saying/acting. Many love you for this. Many look up to you for this. It is a unique gift. I am one of the many who love and admire you. I can see, as I have witnessed, the great blessings that come from being so positive and slow to anger. I love you.

Reason #7: I love how you are a respecter of women, whether it's me, your mom, sisters, Grandma, or a complete stranger. You are respectful. You are a gentleman. You open doors. You are aware of the women surrounding you and find it a priority to respect them. You are uplifting. You are kind. I love you.

Reason #8: I love your "no closed doors" policy. This mentality has allowed our marriage to grow (and will continue to grow) into something beautiful. No secrets. No humiliation. No lies. No judgements. Just honesty and straight-forwardness. Thank you. I love you.

Reason #9: I love and appreciate (more than you know) how neat and clean you are. It may sound silly, but it has been an enormous blessing for me. I'm not one who loves clutter, dust or ANYTHING close to it. I'm so grateful you are the same way. I love you.

Reason #10: I love how important it is to you to be the provider of our home/family. I don't like how stressed you get over it, but I love how serious you take it. I love that this is something you care deeply about. The sense of security I feel about our future, because of who you are, is beyond words. I love you.

Reason #11: I love how fun you are. You really are the life of the party! Between your random outbursts of laughter, your crazy dancing, or your spontaneousness...you're a riot! I love, love watching you! I love laughing with you. I just love you.

Reason #12: you are BY FAR the best travel buddy I could EVER wish for!! You and I just get one another. I love traveling with you, whether it's to Park City, Mexico, or Europe (hopefully in our near future!). I love you.

Reason #13: I love how you call a cookie a pastry so you can get away with eating it for breakfast. Clever, my love.

Reason #14: I love that you're all little boy inside! It's so fun to watch you play/tease your nieces and nephews, truly becoming like them. Hehe. It's inspiring. I love you.

Reason #15: I love and appreciate how you value your word. It is everything, more than your signature. You follow through with what you commit to do. You keep your promises. You are dependable. You are a hard worker. I love you.

Reason #16: I love that you introduced me to "movie marathons".I know it's been a while since we've been able to, but I love hitting up the dollar theater and seeing movie after movie with you (and sneaking in dinner)! I love you!

Reason #16: You're the only guy I know who has worn his aunts thong while doing a cannon ball into a swimming pool (but not before running around the back yard shakin' your booty). Bahahahaha! No shame, and I love it! And yes, this is a completely true story.

......accidentally posted two #16's. Ah well. :D

Reason #17: I love how patient you are with me. Even in my moments of ugliness (not speaking physically only) you wrap your arms around me and tell me you love me. You ability to be comfortable with tears, sorrow, grief, and hurt is something I cherish. Thank you for gently comforting when it has been desperately needed. I love you.

Reason #18: I love your dedication to the Minnesota Vikings & Minnesota Twins. It's inspirational. I love how you're NOT a fair-weathered fan. It goes to show you're in it for the loooong haul. I like thinking you'll treat life the same. I'm really not worried. :) I love you.

Reason #19: I love that when you get discouraged you cry. You don't get angry. You don't lash out at others. You just release the tension. You accept hugs. You hold tight to hope. You're humility is admirable. I love you.

Reason #20: I love your quarky sense of style. It's different from others but not enough where one feels like you're trying to make a statement. You're subtle in your ways. You've got style, my love. My handsome prince. I love you.

Reason #21: I love that you enjoy talking. You don't shut down after a hard day. You don't shrug me off. You don't selectively listen. You're a great conversationalist. I love it! I know I never have to "pry" or push for information about work, school, or life in general because we BOTH talk to one another. I love you.

Reason #22: I love how determined you are to share the greatest blessing in your life with others, that being the message of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. You graciously share it because you truly believe in the principles taught. You share the hope, light, peace, and the many answers the church has to life's questions. You're a marvelous missionary. You set a great example for me. I love you.

Reason #23: I love our pillow talk. I know I never have to worry about you surprising me with a television for our bedroom because you value our pillow talk as much as I do. I love it when we talk and laugh just before calling it a night. Or before getting up to face the day. The reassurance and support you offer is more then I ever imagined. Thank you. I love you.

Reason #24: your sensitivity to those who are different is a blessing in my life. Rather than sit and stare you offer assistance. You find the goodness in those who may look or act different rather then judge, roll your eyes, and walk away. Again, it's your humility that kicks in. Your love of people. I love you, handsome.

Reason #25: I have been able to confide in you without fear of rejection or judgement. You simply listen and gently advise. I have told you things many don't know about me. And you have welcomed me in your arms regardless. I am so grateful for your unconditional love. I am so grateful for your acceptance of me and my faults/weaknesses. I love you.

Reason #26: I am so grateful you aren't too man enough to allow silly activities to take place while chillaxin' with Marin (10 year old niece for those wondering) I'm referring to your beautiful glitter toe nails Marin painted for you. Just lovely. ;)

Reason #27: I love doing nothing with you. Actually what I love more than that is just BEING with you. It doesn't matter what we do, so long as we're together. "Your my best friend! And I love you!!"

Reason #28: I love your incredible interior designing eye. You can make a pile of crap look like gold. How? I don't know. But you have the touch. And I'm grateful. Otherwise we may be living in space that looks a little similar to..well I'll let your imagination run free. I LOVE your style.

Reason #29: I love how much you love your parents. "They've" always told me I would know how my future husband would treat me based on how he treats his mother. I have honestly, truly, NEVER worried. You are so good to your mom. You are so respectful and kind. I've never heard you raise your voice or talk back. You take their advise and run with it. You are marvelous, Trav. I love you.

Reason #30: You are perfect. Absolutely. Completely. Thoroughly. Perfect. I love you handsome. Thank you for spending your special day with me. You are the love of my life. You are my best friend. You are mine forever. I love you.

Happy birthday my handsome prince.

iN a NuTsHeLl

I'm sorry! I sort of disappeared. Life has been busy. Between work, school, family, vacations, grieving, practicing, and just trying I haven't had time to blog. Because I don't have time to blog I am going to make good use of my sister, Ashley's blog and refer you there. She has pictures of me & Trav with everyone else...doing what everyone else was doing.

CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT OUR GOINGS ON IN JUNE
To answer your question before you even ask...YES! Trav & I were clowns too. I must say it was a lot more fun than I thought it'd be. My favorite part was making two boys scream like little girls after they called me Chucky (and Chucky isn't a clown!). I ran towards them with my hands in the air, screaming. Hahaha! It was freaking hilarious (as opposed to just hilarious). Honestly, I think I'm going to be a clown for Halloween! Too fun.

The rodeo was fun too. Trav & I have never been to a rodeo together. It was interesting, to say the least. Trav refused to wear the cowboy hat unless he was in a picture. Little stinker.



AND CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT THE BEGINNING OF JULY
And this trip was amazing. I agree with Ash. The only thing that would have made it better is if Trav could have come. But he's plugging away at his classes too, trying to get his teaching certificate. What a hard worker.

The trip was pretty darn smooth. Okay, that's a lie. Other than losing my wallet and having to correct multiple charges totaling $1,700 on my credit card, we also got lost in Des Moines for three hours (looking for a pitiful Walmart), locked the keys in our wretched rental car (a Kia Minivan - horrid thing) which not even a lock smith could get unlocked, got lost a few more times because we were following Ashley's GPS rather then that map ("Dwight"..hehe!) and nearly died in a killer fog/rain/thunder/lightning storm!

Okay that last one is a bit of an exaggeration, but not much. :) Ash was driving and there was so much fog and rain we couldn't see very far ahead of us. We also couldn't see the Mississippi River (which we were driving next to without any fences to stop us from driving into it!) It was a wicked-crazy storm. Terrifying. Kolton was freaking out in the back seat - which didn't help Ashley's nerves. It was funny. Both my parents and I were telling Ashley she could do it...but to be honest with you I think we were all pretty darn scared.

Okay. There you have it. Now I'm asking for your forgiveness for my lack of updates. Pretty please???

My Friend, My Mentor, My Foundation

My Grandmother passed away May 22nd. While this has been yet another mountain to climb I am determined to live and become the way my Grandmother would want me to. You see, my Grandmother is so much more to me then a relative who gives me money on my birthday and a gift at Christmas. She has been a trustworthy mentor and one of my closest friends. She has been such a stability in my life.

I'm a bit emotional and know that as time goes on it'll only get harder before it gets better. I am slowly realizing that she's REALLY not here anymore. I still can't believe it...

But I find great pleasure and almost joy in knowing she is with my Grandpa again. For 17 years she has wanted nothing more then to be with her best friend. Now she has what she has patiently waited for. I'm so happy for her.


My Friend worked many, many hours on this program. I keep telling her she has a gift. She really knows how to capture beauty, dignity, uniqueness, and love. I am so grateful she was willing to work so hard on these for us. A huge service I don't know if we'll ever be able to repay. She also did the program for Mercydez'es funeral. Absolutely beautiful.


Isn't she beautiful?





The Funeral Service was absolutely amazing and dignified. Everyone left feeling uplifted, loved, and inspired to be better. This is how my Grandmother was and this is what my Grandmother would have wanted.




The New Three Musketeers





I love you.

beloved & extinct

Here are the pics. Like I said before, it's not NEARLY as bad as I thought. But it's still heart braking. I will say, yet AGAIN, how much I prefer the car be totaled then Trav be injured. So, I post these with gratitude to have a husband who didn't even suffer whiplash (miraculously).
















It could have been so much worse, especially considering the speed he was going. I am so grateful he had a special little Angel watching over him...I like to think so anyways.

Information

So we were able to go take a look at our car last week. We got a few pictures but I keep forgetting to bring my camera to upload 'em on the blog. I'll for sure do it within the next day or so.

I was shocked. I thought the car was going to be mangled but it's not - AT ALL. It's beat up, don't get me wrong, but it's nothing like what I imagined. I guess it's considered a "total loss" because the way our car hit the other car damaged our engine enough, it would cost less to buy a car then to fix it. It's bitter-sweet. We took AMAZING care of our car! :(

Anyway, like I said before, I'll post pictures tonight or tomorrow. Cross my heart.

I wanted to put in a good word for my school too. KEEP READING BEFORE YOU ROLL YOUR EYES AND BLOW IT OFF! ;)

UVU's Ballroom Dance Company will be on Dancing with the Stars this week (tomorrow night to be exact). They were selected by Dancing With the Stars to compete against other collegiate Ballroom Dance Companies. What I'm saying is this completely ROCKS! But they need people to vote for them - since they are competing. So if you can, turn on your television tomorrow night at 7pm on ABC. I guess tomorrow is the results show and tonight is the competition for the regular cast. But tomorrow is UVU's BIG NIGHT!

SO WATCH AND VOTE! I'M SOOOOOO EXCITED!

Ironic? You Tell Me...

So I posted some ugly pictures yesterday of an accident involving three individuals. Two were in a car and one was on a motorcycle (see below). Well, yesterday around 4:30 Trav was involved in a car accident on the highway (Interstate-15). Thankfully he is okay. Both he and I were shaken a bit - as there are many accidents on the freeway that end up...


Watch this. It's jaw dropping.


Trav had his seat belt on, thank goodness, because our airbags didn't deploy. On impact the seat belt locked and kept Trav from head-butting the steering wheel or possibly the windshield. What a blessing. However, since he was going approx 35 or 40 MPH on impact he did hit his head near the driver door window, close to where the seat belt goes into the side of the car (does that make sense?).

I'll post what I understand happened, but know I may have some corrections in my next post.

This situation involved THREE cars and ONE truck. Trav was headed south bound on I-15. He was three cars behind a truck. The truck tire blew and as far as I'm aware, the driver of the truck ended up stopping in the middle of the freeway. I don't know if it was too dangerous to drive far enough to exit on the blown tire or what. All I know is he stopped. The car behind the truck obviously had to stop as well. The car behind the truck and car (if this is making sense) swerved into the other lane, missed hitting the car (behind the truck) and went on his/her merry little way. That left Trav. All Trav remembers is seeing brake lights, slamming on his breaks and hitting the car. There was very little time to react. Trav said he was going between 60 - 65 MPH but because he slammed on the brakes he hit the car, he's guessing, around 35 - 40 MPH (as I stated above). Our car tried to fish-tail, but thankfully, Trav was in the INSIDE lane (aka "the fast lane"). So, as the car started to fish-tail it hit the median separating north bound traffic from south bound traffic. This prevented the car from going into other lanes of traffic.

Thankfully no one involved was hurt. Possibly some whiplash but no broken bones, no cuts, etc. What a miracle. This could have been so much worse. I get a little emotional thinking of how it could have been. I am so grateful Travis is okay. When he called me, he was in shock and sounded worried. After getting little information Trav had to go (the police were arriving on the scene) and I, of course, hung up and started bawling. I am so, so grateful he's okay.

While we may not have a car to our name for the next little bit, I am at peace. I would rather have Trav by my side, healthy, happy, and okay then have a car. Any day.

Travis was not on the phone when the accident happened. Can you imagine how bad it potentially COULD have been if he was?

PLEASE SILENCE YOUR PHONES WHEN YOU DRIVE. DON'T ANSWER CALLS, DON'T MAKE CALLS, DON'T TEXT. JUST DRIVE. FOCUS ON THE ROAD IN FRONT OF YOU.

I'll post pictures as soon as we're able to get to the towing company. I still haven't seen what our car looks like. We'll find out in the next 48 hours if it's considered our fault or not. We'll also find out if our car is "totaled" or not.

I love you Cutie. I am so grateful you're okay. I know I keep saying that, but that's because I really am so grateful. I don't care about the car. We'll be fine in that regard. I care about you.

PS Food for thought: Tires are the ONLY part of your car touching the road. I know this may be a "duh" statement, but REALLY THINK ABOUT IT. Tires are the only part of your car touching the ground. I know there are freak-like-situations where tires just blow out regardless of condition - but please do all you can to take care of your tires. If you lose one of 'em on the road, you may lose your entire car. Heaven forbid, maybe more then that.

(sigh) I am SO grateful...

Look & Listen - so I'm not talking AT you

I have a friend, Caroline, who has been advocating the importance of turning your phone to silence while driving. No texting. No calling/talking. Nothing. Just turning it to silence and leaving it in your purse/pocket until you get to your destination.

I have been thinking about this for a bit now. I am trying my best to break the habit of talking on the phone while driving. I try to NEVER text or read a text unless I'm at a red light, but even then it's distracting.

I thought I'd post some pictures to show why it's important that we ALL break this habit. Believe me. I'm busy too. Very busy. It's wonderful getting multiple things taken care of at the same time - but to what end? How much does it have to "cost" until enough is enough? How many horrific pictures do we have to look at, traumatic stories heard, before we decide "ENOUGH - No more"?

I am posting these pictures because I am determined to turn my phone to silence when I drive from now on. I'm hoping you will too. Look & listen (even if you roll your eyes first).



Do you see the motorcycle?




Now do you see it?





The Honda crotch rocket rider was traveling at approximately
85 mph. The VW driver was talking on a cell phone when she
pulled out from a side street, apparently not seeing the
motorcycle. The riders reaction time was not sufficient
enough to avoid this accident.
The car had two passengers
and the bike rider was found INSIDE the car with them.
The Volkswagen actually flipped over from the force of impact
and landed 20 feet from where the collision took place.

All three involved (two in the car and the bike rider) were
killed instantly. This graphic demonstration was placed at
the Motorcycle Fair by the Police and Road Safety Department..
Pass this on to car drivers or soon to be
new drivers, or new motorcycle owners
AND ESPECIALLY EVERYONE YOU KNOW WHO HAS A CELL PHONE!!!!!
A picture is worth a thousand words.

Save a life…

Stop talking on Cell phones and Texting while trying to drive.
The life you save may be your own..... or mine...