Making the Bed

Growing up, I never made my bed. I just didn't see the point. I was going to get back into bed again in a few hours, so why waste my time making it every morning when it would just get messed up again. Despite my moms attempts to help me understand the vast significance of making my bed, it made no sense to me and could not be justified, so I refused to do it.

my bed in college

Then I went to college and roomed with Krisann. She always made her bed. Even better, she would make my bed! But then I felt bad that she always had to make my bed for me, so I started doing it. And then I understood why anyone would ever want to make their bed every single morning. There is just something about it that starts your morning off right. Things are in order. It looks nice. I don't know, it's a mental thing, but I grew to love making my bed and I very rarely don't make my bed now.

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

Then I got married.

(The first minute of this is a joke about pillows on the bed. 

You can continue listening if you want, but it has no relation to this post.)

I had never seen Clayson's bed made neatly. His mom told me he has never made his bed and I shouldn't hold out hope. He shares the same feelings I had growing up of making the bed being a waste of time. Although I no longer agree with him, I fully understand where he is coming from, because it was once me as well.

Guess what?

Our bed is almost always made.

Guess what else?

More often, I am not the one making it.

And on those few occasions that it is not made, guess whose fault it is?

Mine.

There was no big argument, or discussion, or agreement.

No big hoop-la about it at all. 

Clayson knows that I like the bed made, so he makes the bed 

(He also knows that if he doesn't do it, I will, and I'm usually already running late getting to work)

I know that every time he makes the bed, it is purely for me because he could care less about it.

This is the kind of person the he is.

Our unspoken agreement: When he makes the bed, he gets to arrange the pillows any way he wants.

Clayson's greatest pillow creation "The Backwards Bed"

We have been making the bed together for a whole year now! 

I am so blessed that he is mine forever  <3

Kylee Ann Photography

Because love is in the little things.... like making a bed.

Turn, Turn, Turn

My room is empty except for my bed and dresser. Sunday was my last time in a singles ward. 

This week we will be in Burley for our reception and the week after that we will be married. It is so crazy!

I am so excited to take this next step in my life, but it is also a little bitter-sweet.
I have loved being single and living with and meeting such amazing people. I have learned and grown so much.

I have had so much fun!

I will miss staying up until 2 in the morning talking

Prank wars

Tetris

Facebook stalking potential boys 

Making videos at 1:00am

More Prank Wars

Girls nights

Shopping trips

Kid History 

More Tetris

Pinterest parties 

Sleepovers 

and Just being with girls.

How will I get ready for church in the morning without three other girls to help me put an outfit together? 

Girls are so weird and I love it!

I feel like a season of my life is closing and another is beginning. It will be a beautiful season, but it will be different.

I probably won't be up until 2 in the morning talking anymore, and I will miss that.
But on the bringht side, I probably won't be up until 2 in the morning talking anymore  :)

I keep having this song play through my mind:

I am one who is always looking to the future. However, I try to remember to find joy in the journey.
To live in the moment and enjoy what I have been given, because soon it will be gone.

I'm looking forward to this new time in my life and I'm so glad I can say that I have truly enjoyed the journey.
And I fully intend to enjoy the road ahead even more  :)

Wedding Reunion

Last weekend I got to go to Kandaces wedding reception. I am so happy for her!

I literally ate at least five plates full of food. So good!

Kandaces wedding
(Quiz! Who was Photoshopped into this picture because they were too busy eating?)

One of the best parts of going to weddings is getting to see some of my favorite people! 

Susie & Dan / Jessica & Kevins weddings

We all got really close in college and created a kind of family. 

We have so much fun when we get back together! It's just like old times.

Logans wedding

Who's next to get married so we have an excuse to get together again!?

Bring It!

When I was about 12 I started climbing with my older brother, Logan, who was about 18 at the time. I am amazed that he (or the people who worked there!) ever trusted me to belay him. Every time he fell I would go flying up and we would meet half way, but I never let him fall!

Just before Logan left on his mission, he and my dad took me climbing outside for the first time. I made it to the top without much problem, but it took at least 20 minutes to get me to back down. I still hate having to come down. It terrifies me to have to let go of the rock and let someone else hold my life in their hands. I hate not having control.

Once my brother left, I kept climbing here and there, but nothing much. In college, I took a rock climbing class with my cousin. We had so much fun! I started climbing more with friends, but I was never consistent.

Now that I don't have school and homework to worry about anymore, I have finally decided to start climbing on a more regular basis and maybe even get good at it! This week I climbed my first 5.10! I've been working towards it for a while, so it was pretty exciting. I felt so energized, like I could take on anything! Bring it on!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

I know I'm a little late for the whole "New Years Resolution" post, and I don't believe in setting goals anyway, but I do have a few thoughts on the year 2013. If you tilt your head to the side and squint a little, you can kind of see the relation to rock climbing. I guess I could explain it a little better, but I need to get back to work and don't have time, and I'm not good with words anyway. Just use your imagination and draw your own conclusions  :)

For me, the year of 2013 has been about pushing myself - going out of my comfort zone, trying new things, letting go a little and giving up control, pushing myself a little harder to go a little farther.

Let me tell you, it is not always easy, and it is definitely scary! 

I find myself wondering, "Is it really worth it?"

Every time the answer is "Yes!"

I am so grateful for the experiences that I have been able to have and the ways that I have grown.

2013, bring it on!

Thoughts on Friends

I have never been great at staying in touch with friends after we part ways. I haven't talked to most of my friends from high school since graduation. Our lives moved on and it was fine. I didn't expect anything different.

In college, I got closer with my friends and we formed a kind of family. I wondered what would happen after college graduation.
Would everyone just disappear like high school? 

Now, a year and a bit after I've graduated, it's interesting to see who I still keep in touch with.
Some I expected, but others are friends I thought I'd never talk to after the semester ended, let alone a year later! Still, I have other friends that I thought would always be there who have completely drifted away. It's been interesting for me to see who sticks around and who moves on. 

I know it goes both ways, and I have left friends just as much as they have left me, and I don't think anyone is to blame.
Life just moves on. These are just the thoughts in my head and nothing more.
But for those who have made the effort to maintain a friendship, thank you! I really do appreciate it! I should be better. 

I love the random texts, Facebook posts / messages / pokes, phone calls and visits. 

They make my day  :)

You guys are the best!

<3

Journal vs Blog

There was a time when I was an awesome journal writer. 

All through high school and all the way until about November 4, 2010

What happened on that fateful day? 

I got this blog.

And nearly all journal writing ceased from that day on.

November 17, 2012 I decided it was time to bring the journal back.

Isn't it cute  :)

You may notice that about that time my blog posts have been pretty lame for the most part.

I just can't do both!

I am proud to report, however, that (other than trips when I'm not home) I have not missed a single day of writing in my journal!

The Neighbors

Soo.... this ended up being kind of a long post. oops.

A few months ago, we got new neighbors.
They are three guys - Rich, Jake, and Corey - who are all going to grad school and already have good jobs. They are all very charismatic.
I was immediately impressed.

We gave each other tours of our houses. They have two deer heads and a foosball table. In their garage they have 2 trucks, 4 four wheelers, a cabinet, 2 garbage cans, and I think they also might have 2 dirt bikes or something like that. All in their garage. Crazy! 

So now that you get an idea of who these guys are, I'll tell you what happened.

Nothing.

Nothing happened.

After our initial meeting and house tours, we never really did or even saw any of them again. 

Sometimes we would think, we should invite the neighbors to our game/movie night or whatever the occasion might have been.
But they were never even home!

However, on the rare occasions that we did see each other at church or ward prayer, they were always very good at saying, "Hey neighbor!" (It's a good thing they were good at this because I honestly wouldn't have had a clue who they were otherwise. That's how often we saw them.) Then we would talk - I would give him a hard time about never being home and being bad neighbors, and he would say "Just come over!" But I don't "just come over" because I think it's awkward, so nothing ever happened.
And that was how it went. The end.

After a while, we gave up on ever being actual friends with the neighbors. They were too out of our league.
Jake had gotten a girlfriend, so he was a lost cause. Corey traveled a lot for work and Rich was busy with school.
They would just be nice acquaintance friends and we would be happy with that.

Then, last Monday, we went to home evening at the Bishop's house where we were combined with another group, and who do you think was there - Corey! (the good news is I actually recognized him this time) He greeted us with his usual "Hey neighbor!" and we had our standard conversation. He told us to "just come over!" I responded with "You're never home! How about you guys come over! It would probably work better." And that was it.

Chelsey and I joked, "What if they actually came over. Haha! That would never happen!"

But, the next night around 10:30 something happened. There was a faint buzzing noise that sounded through the house. It was odd and it took me a while to identify the sound as our doorbell, which is apparently broken. 

It was Corey! 

I just stared at him. I think I was in shock that he was actually at my door! I finally offered him a brownie, which I had made earlier that day. We talked for a while and then we said goodnight and he went home. I was amazed! He had actually come over!
I went upstairs to share my shock with Chelsey who was equally as surprised.
Were we were actually making friends with the neighbors? Maybe it was just a fluke. Better not get our hopes up.

Thursday, Richard added me as a friend on Facebook! I was making real progress! It was probably the most exciting part of my day.... until around 10:30 that night when the doorbell/buzzer went off again. This time it was Corey and Rich! Holy smokes! We talked and they casually invited us over for Sunday to watch Home Improvement which they apparently watch on a regular basis. I couldn't tell if it was a real invitation, or just a "one day that might happen" kind of an invitation. We decided to wait and see if they re-invited us.

Friday, I was at work, but apparently Rich and Corey showed up and jumped Cate's car for her. 

Tonight (Sunday) Cate was playing nintendo and I was working on a photo shoot I did yesterday. Around 10:30 there came a now familiar buzzing sound. Corey had come to invite us to watch Home Improvement! I told him we were playing nintendo and that was all it took. Who can pass up the original Mario!? I tell you what, Corey has some impressive Mario skills.

So, in conclusion, I don't know what happened, but we are suddenly friends with the neighbors!
And I think they're pretty cool. 

It is exciting  :)



p.s  I tried to find a Mr Wilson "Howdy Ho Neighbor!" but I guess youtube decided not to put any of those clips up. oh well.