Summer time, and the livin' is easy

As soon as school was out we headed back to California for the first time since we have been married. We stayed at my Grandma's house while she traveled the country visiting all of her other grandchildren. Lucky for us Grandma lives down the street from my parents so we were able to spend a lot of time with my family, but also have our own space. We worked hard and played hard for a month. It ended too soon. I already miss my family. There are no words that can describe the feeling of coming back home.

Green Valley: More to come on our California trip soon

After five short weeks in California we headed out East.  We spent five days on vacation in Virginia Beach with Chris's family and then moved in with his brother where we will be for the rest of the summer.

On a ferris wheel with b&w at Virginia Beach

Chris is preparing to work with Brandon for State Farm for the next few months and I am staying home with Whitney helping her with their sweet 8-month-old twin boys.

Christian and Connor

My summer will most likely consist of babies, online classes, volunteering at the local summer camps, girls' nights out, and lots of reading. I'm really excited because this is the first time in awhile that I have had extra time to read.

endless bookshelf

Please tell me what your favorite books are!

Happy Birthday to Chris!

Chris turns 23 today.

So, naturally, we celebrated with Michael Jordan.

Chris isn't a big fan of his own birthday parties, so we kept it simple.

In his own words: "I don't like to be the center of attention when it's supposed to be about me. I like to be the center of attention when it's supposed to be about other people."

Clearly.

Lucky for him, his birthday started early this year because his best friend (Joey) came into town the night before and stayed with us. He and his brother Donovan went to Zupas with us and afterwards we enjoyed ice cream and late night chats.

In the morning Chris had to wake up early for a few final reviews on campus. I took this opportunity to go to the store and decorate the apartment with streamers, confetti, Happy Birthday garland, and pictures of Michael Jordan.

We ate chocolate chip pancakes and then Chris played basketball, played basketball video games, watched basketball (Heat vs. Bulls), and watched Space Jam.

We enjoyed a delicious homecooked meal as per Chris's request: rolls, mashed potatoes, and fried chicken. We finished the night off with birthday cake, chocolate ice cream, and a red box.

It was a very 'Chris Redfern' birthday.

March Madness

This isn't a post about basketball. I haven't been paying enough attention to really know what I'd be talking about. Chris could do that for you.

This month I created my own march madness goals based off of a few challenges I found at the end of february: Mad Abs March and Conference Talk March Madness. I'd invite you to join if it wasn't already the end of the month. (I meant to write about this a few weeks ago...whatever)

I started off really strong, but somehow started to slack on both of the challenges last week. I think the mad abs thing is a lost cause. Although doing 300 sit ups and push ups to catch up is possible, I'd rather do them on my own time. But we are catching up in our conference talk readings. It has been a great reminder to prepare for this upcoming conference.

What else. St. Patrick's Day. We didn't really do anything special for St. Patrick's day. I had a soccer game and a group project to work on. Chris had to take a test and then played basketball. Boooring.

I did, however, think a lot about my Grandpa Bennion. He would always love to talk about the Irish and eat Irish ice cream (mint chocolate chip.) In fact, he told all of us granddaughters that we were Irish princesses when we were growing up. And I believed him for 12 years of my life! Embarrassing. He was like the dad from my Big Fat Greek Wedding, except he would talk about Ireland and Scotland. I love and miss his crazy obsession.

I also got excited thinking about the fun things to do when I have kids. There are so many cute holiday treat ideas on pinterest that could be fun. I want to be one of those moms who makes every holiday amazing. My Mom's sister Sara also has a love for Ireland and from what I hear she goes allll out on St. Patrick's Day. She carries around green food coloring all day and turns things green when the kids aren't looking. Making tiny leprechaun footprints in cereal bowls, bathroom sinks, etc. The kids try extra hard to catch the leprechauns and it is fun and exciting for everyone. I hope I can be that awesome.

Do you have any fun St. Patrick's Day memories or ideas?

let's talk about pinterest

it's great right? i was addicted from day one. it's the fastest growing social media site ever and there is no mystery why. i wish i knew about it before the wedding -- instead i had to download and save all the pictures from the internet into my photo albums. but now you can just pin it with the click of a button! it's the perfect place to find cute ideas. outfit ideas, home decorating ideas, craft ideas, recipe ideas, etc etc etc. it's like eye candy, am i right?

but alas, among all the amazing things that pinterest has brought, i do have some pinterest pet peeves.

this blog talks about a few that I definitely agree with. (too many words in the captions, not pinning from the direct source, etc.) But I want to focus on one. My biggest pet peeve: girls pinning other half-naked girls onto "fitness motivation" boards.

i want to throw up in my mouth.

STOP PINNING SUPERMODELS IN THEIR UNDERWEAR.

if you obsess over looking like that you will live a depressing life. we need to learn to be happy in our own skin (myself included.) don't get me wrong, I don't want everyone to be lazy. i am 100% a fan of taking care of our bodies and being in the best shape that we can be. (heck, i just got home from the gym.) but you can be healthy and beautiful without being a size 0 or having the muscles of a professional weight trainer. our bodies have their own 'ideal' and sometimes that doesn't match up with the world's 'ideal.'

there is nothing wrong with pinning a quote or a motivating picture or some cool tips for exercising. whatever. I just hate to see pictures flying around pinterest of girls that are either models or anorexic. I usually unfollow those boards as soon as i see them, but more and more keep showing up and it's driving me crazy.

i laugh sometimes when i see people pinning picture after picture after picture of 'skinny motivaters.' you have been on pinterest for an hour, it obviously hasn't motivated you enough to take a run. am i the only one that feels this way?

sorry that this post has a negative tone to it. i don't mean to offend anyone. it just saddens me that society has put so much pressure on women to look a certain way. we have it tough enough as it is. we should be grateful for our bodies (again, myself included.)

i realize that i am 'skinny,' but i still don't view myself as the 'ideal' image. i hate it when people say things like, 'oh, you're skinny you don't have to worry about stuff like this.' i think that is ignorant. everyone is affected by the world's view on women. we should all try to change it. it starts with us.

What time is it?

(teen girl squad)

I know Valentines Day was so two days ago, but this week has been way too busy for me to keep up. (I am currently running on 3 hours of sleep. and a total of 8 hours in the last 48.) It turns out today is actually a special day for us anyway, so it works out.

Four years ago, today, Chris came home from college for President's Day Weekend. This was the weekend that we realized we couldn't live without each other.

We dated for a year in high school until September came around. Then he was gone. Thousands of miles away. Having a blast at college while I was stuck finishing up my senior year. I was miserable. After five long months of being apart we both felt like something was missing. We decided to try out the long distance relationship thing.

After that day there was a spiraling turn of events filled with goodbyes and i miss yous. We knew that if we kept this relationship going now, it would only be more goodbyes in the future (a mission.) Those three years were filled with many emotions and unexpected twists. I had some of my very best times in those years, and some of my very worst. I didn't always think Chris was the one for me during those years, or even right when he returned. About five months after he returned from Mexico I realized that I had always known. Ironically, the date was very similar to todays.

***

It seems like we are alternating when we celebrate the day of love each year. (That makes it easier for busy schedules, right?) Last year we celebrated February 16--I rewrote a flight of the conchords song with a lot of our inside jokes--it was awesome. This year we celebrated Valentines Day. I bought tons of chocolates to have around the house and Chris planned the perfect date for a week night. Not too lovey-dovey, but not thrown together at the last minute. Even though we were swarmed with homework and projects and tests, we reserved the night for some steak dinnnerrrrr at the Outback Steakhouse. My favorite.

The plan was to eat and get back home to finish some assignments. After we sat down I grabbed the pile of coasters at the edge of the table and started playing with them. I spread them out so I could play a game with Chris and to my surprise found two tickets for The Vow. Chris had somehow sneakily slid them in there. It is a Big deal if someone can surprise me. I mean BIG. I am always expecting the unexpected--even in the weirdest of circumstances. And if someone tries to surprise me, I usually just fake it. It's a curse. But that night I was very surprised. Even though it was something super small, I loved it.

Chris had been very vocal that he did not want to see that movie unless it was in the dollar theater. He even suggested that I see it with a few girlfriends. Lucky for him that didn't work out, because the day before Valentines Day he decided to try and surprise me. The part that tipped it off was that we had just found out that his brother was taking his wife to see The Vow and so I was teasing him about not taking me. Little did I know.

I won't say anything about the movie itself in case anyone who is reading this hasn't seen it. I hate hate hate when a story is spoiled. But I will say that I loved our date! It was amazingly simple and romantic. I hope you had a great Valentines Day, too!

This was supposed to post last week.

xoxo

six months

We've been married for half a year, as of yesterday. It has gone by so fast. I can't believe it's almost been a year since he proposed. Time flies. But, at the same time, I can't remember what life was like before august fifth. It seems like we have been married for forever. We have known each other for years now, so there weren't very many surprises or any major adjustments that needed to be made. I can honestly say I knew my man before i married him. But, even with five-six years of history behind our backs, it is amazing how much we continue to learn about each other with each new day. There is always more to learn because we are always changing, growing, and becoming. I love that I get to be married to my best friend and I am excited for what the future has to bring.

photo by julie parker

guilty pleasures

Last weekend we went to Zupas. and the week before that. and the week before that. If there is ever an excuse to go to Zupas, we're there. Mom's in town? Zupas. BYU basketball game? Zupas. It's our go-to, our guilty pleasure, our addiction.

I'm not trying to say that we eat out all the time. Not true. We try to limit ourselves to one outing a week, if that. But when we do go out, there are only a few places that we usually consider. And Zupas is number one. Being married to the pickiest eater alive, i kind of lucked out with his obsession for a soup/salad restaurant. right?

this is why we love it:

The paninis are my favorite. The worst part is having to choose between the Turkey Bacon Avocado and the Ultimate Grilled Cheese. No one should have to make that decision. No one.

The soups are pretty amazing, too. Good luck picking just one! My personal favorites are the Tomato Basil and the Chicken Enchilada.

And then you finish the night off with a refreshing chocolate covered strawberry.

It doesn't get much better than this.