VEGAS VACATION 2012

We had a blast on our first road trip as a married couple. We had to stop in Cedar City at a car wash because the car decorators did a mighty fine job at making it difficult to see while we drove.  But we cleaned it up and headed to St. George for our getaway. (Dallon's fam all chipped in to get us a pretty sweet deal at one of the hotels, lucky us!) The next morning we headed down to the sunny and warm Las Vegas.  We got all checked in at the Excalibur and then went out to sight see. We decided to go to an aquarium and to the Titanic Musem! Dallon loved the aquarium and I loved the museum. It was a win-win outing.

Dallon found a Brazilian restaurant relatively close to where we were staying, so we walked on down and ate us some delicious food. (It was delicious, but we will probably NEVER go there again because it was pretty pricey).

The next day was filled with sight seeing, eating, walking, and exploring. We saw the Tournament of Kings show...dinner and a show....it was great! We were seated in the Spain section and watched jousting, fighting, and other fun medieval stuff. All the while eating our dinner without utensils. It was a fun time.

We also made a stop at the M&M Factory/Store! It was so cool to see all of their merchandise as well as the interesting people that Las Vegas has to offer.

The next day we decided to see the pretty flowers at the Bellagio. It was so cool to see all of the artsy stuff all created out of flowers. My favorite was this portrait, entirely made of flowers.

We also stopped by the Coca Cola Factory where we tried over 20 different types of coke. It was really interesting to taste just how different things are in other countries. Our minds were blown.

We also saw the world's largest chocolate fountain! Talk about a lot of chocolate! It was so cool.

We decided to eat lunch at Panda Express and Dallon just so happened to get this fortune in his cookie! How fitting right?? I sure love this guy.

The next day we ventured to Planet Hollywood for dinner and a show. We saw a comedian who was hilarious! We ate some delicious food and then went around to look at the cool movie artifacts.

 

Before we headed back to reality, we decided to go see the temple. It was quite the expedition because neither one of us had a GPS, but we finally made it and it was totally worth it. The grounds were gorgeous. We are so grateful for temples and the work that takes place in them.

FEBRUARY 2014

Danielle Baker, a dear friend, had her bridal shower this month and I was able to attend. It was so great seeing the Baker and Maples girls! I sure have missed them! We had a great time at the shower playing games and chatting.

 

This month also brought a baby blessing. Darci had Jaxx Scott Brown in January and asked Dallon to bless him. It was a beautiful blessing and I'm so grateful that Dallon was able to do this for Darci. Jaxx is such an adorable baby! We now have 3.5 nephews (Stockton in April) and 5 nieces.

 

February also brings state basketball!! We ventured down to Richfield just in time to catch some great basketball. We went out to eat at Pizza Hut in between the 'good' games and had a great time.

 

Dallon and Jeep LOVE hanging out together to help combat the estrogen battle. They can talk nerd for hours, (ie phones, computers, science, random facts, etc.)

 

We also were able to celebrate Trex and Daezia's birthday. Daez made an awesome super hero cake for the two of them. It not only tasted delicious, but it looked amazing too!! Daez is so talented in the cake decorating department.

 

JANUARY 2014

January brought basketball games, remembering our loved ones, a bridal shower for my cute friend Jessica, a sad Kam, (he was mad at Kiana for moving to Kentucky) and a sister picture.

 

MahLee played against one of her bff's from Escalante while were visiting and we even got to see Daez play some tenacious D. It was great to see Nisha's commentating skills live. She does a great job and I especially am grateful for this technology when I'm up in Logan.

 

The holidays always bring happy memories of family, but they also bring sad memories. I truly miss my Grandpa every holiday season because he was the epitome of being Christ-like. Yes, it's not the same without him, but I'm so grateful for his legacy. The holidays also make me think of my awesome Uncle Rob. I will never forget the news we received that Christmas morning, but am so grateful for his loving example, and for the chance I had to know this amazing man.

 

DECEMBER 2013

Our finals were gruesome to say the least. Dallon was busy as usual, studying for math and his other intense finals. I was busy finishing up project after project for my classes. I felt a huge sigh of relief as I was able to complete the last of my 'formal' classes before I start student teaching in January. The most difficult item I had on my plate was an intense sewing project, a business jacket made out of wool, 98% of it being hand-sewn. I have never been much of a sewing person, but after advanced sewing, I feel like I can hand sew anything (not that I would want to). It feels like the light at the end of the tunnel is finally obtainable. For my student teaching, I was placed at Spring Creek Middle School, located in Providence.

 

Once finals were over, Dallon and I were lucky enough to arrange our schedules so that we could visit both families during the holiday break. We started out the Christmas holiday in Wayne where Santa came to visit Maddi and Luxi. They were so adorable as Santa explained how they should be good all year, not just on Christmas. Luxi didn't quite know what to think for awhile and just stared. She finally got enough courage to sit on Sharon's lap by Santa.

 

Michael and Sharon got the girls matching snow suits; which were absolutely adorable! They immediately tried them on and posed for some pictures. Luxi also had fun teasing all of the adults by putting out here hands like she wanted someone to hold her. Right when someone would reach out to get her she would turn away and laugh. She is one crazy girl, but we sure love her and Maddi.

 

 

Christmas in Milford started out just like any other. We watched our cute nieces and nephews open up a few of their presents at the Spaulding Residence. Here are a few snap shots of the fun filled morning.

 

We then headed down to Tribal Headquarters to open more presents. Kam LOVED his bat cave and constantly asked Dallon to 'pway wif him' and his bat cave. Tay got a jewelry making kit and made me an awesome necklace. She also loved playing with the Lincoln Logs they got from my mom and dad. Trex was sportin his new ninja turtle beanie and Kin loved her bandalooms!

The highlight of my Christmas was when I opened my present from Dallon. He got me a cotton candy maker!! I could barely contain my excitement and made a batch as soon as I could. Dallon could not contain his excitement also when he opened up his Monopoly game (the electronic version, complete with debit cards).

Overall, Christmas was a wonderful day. Not only were we fortunate enough to receive gifts, but we were able to give gifts as well. Dallon and I would much rather give gifts to others because there are so many people who do so much for us. We try our best to remember what Christmas is all about; our Savior Jesus Christ, the reason for the season.

During the break, we had the opportunity to catch one of MahLee's basketball games. Kam chatted Dallon's ear off as we watched the intense game. We also played Monopoly, which Dallon and I won! (Thanks in large part to Daezia, for making some sweet deals).

OCTOBER 2013

October had us busy like usual. Between school, work, and road trips, we rarely had a minute to spare. Here is another documentation of our license plate findings....somebody loves football and decided to put TCHDOWN on their plate. Dallon the football junkie greatly appreciated it.

 

We had the opportunity to show our support on senior night during halftime of a tiger football game. Daezia and Sherri represented the cross country team very well. I can't believe Daezia is a senior! It seems like just yesterday that her and MahLee were dressed like twins from head to toe. They both have grown up to be gorgeous girls, inside and out.

 

I don't know why people make me so irritated at football games....If the whole campus and town have been advertising about a "WHITE OUT" game...then why would you wear red?? I don't know why this bothers me so much.

The last picture of this collage was taken on a visit to see my sweet Aunt Diane and cousin Melanie. My mom, Nish, and Jeep drove up from Milford and met Dallon and I in Utah County. My Aunt Diane had just gotten surgery and we wanted to come visit her to show our love and support. Oh I how love Aunt Diane hugs! She is someone that I have always looked up to throughout my entire life. She is one of THE most loving and thoughtful people in the whole wide world. At the time of this picture, I did not know that this would be the last time I would get to see her before she passed away. My heart still aches whenever I think about her and the sweet person she was. I will miss her dearly.

 

One of the many reasons why we love October can be summed up in two words, DEER CAMP. We love camping! Here are a few highlights of our camping trip with the Livingston/Spaulding crew.

I'm pretty sure Trex got the first bite out of Kam's doughnut. Deer camp just isn't deer camp without my mom's homemade doughnuts. They are so delicious!!

 

There's never a dull moment when we all get together. I just love to see the different facial expressions people make in these pictures. It definitely shows their personality.

 

I had the opportunity to drive down and watch MahLee compete at The State Cross Country Championships located in Salt Lake. Every time I watch these races, it takes me back to when I had the chance to compete. MahLee ran very well and represented Milford wonderfully.

After the 1A races got over, they gave out the awards for individual finishers, team winners, and Academic All-State. Daezia, along with Maggie Ellet, (a long time family friend) were fortunate enough to make the All-State team! After it was all said and done, we took some family pictures and then went to eat at Golden Corral.

Also, Daezia is a dork and likes to steal my camera to take tons and tons of selfies. (Exhibit A shown above).

Right before Halloween, we decided to throw a pumpkin carving party! We invited some friends over and had a great time. Taylor and James did an outstanding job with their pumpkins!

Colin and Sara made an adorable pair of pumpkins. Kelsey and Justin stole the party with their combine efforts on their pumpkin. We are so lucky to have such great friends in Logan!

 

At the end of October, we were able to go and support Nish, Daez, and Mahls at state volleyball. We have coined this weekend as sister's weekend and love spending time together watching volleyball.

SEPTEMBER 2013

In September we became an aunt and uncle again! We went down to Orem to meet Navy Michael, Derek and Krista's beautiful baby girl. She was just so petite and angelic. We already love her to pieces.

 

Remember how I said living in northern Utah had its perks? Well, Nish scheduled a volleyball game with a school in Ogden, and needed some help coaching. I jumped at the opportunity! I miss coaching so much! Anyway, we drove down and watched the tigers play St. Joe. Like usual, Kam was in charge of keeping Dallon entertained. We then went to dinner with my mom and dad. It was great seeing those two love birds, as well as laughing at the hiwarius Kam. (Kam always tells us when things are hilarious).

 

The last picture is of a random guy dressed in yellow at football game. Sometimes these kinds of people make me mad....I just want to walk up to them and be like, it's game day....you wear your game day shirt ya duh, but I don't. Other than this random guy, we love going to Utah State football games. Dallon has finally converted to enjoying sports and it's awesome! We also get great seats because of his security job. Go Aggies!

 

 

Towards the end of the month, we had to opportunity to go down and visit The Tolbert Family in Salem. Jim offered to take us up to the towers located just southeast of his house. It was so much fun riding the four-wheelers through beautiful mountains! I sure picked a great guy and a great family to marry into. Here are a some pictures of our adventure.

 

 



AUGUST 2013

One of the many perks of living in northern Utah, is that we get to attend a lot of the sporting events that take place along the Wasatch Front. The tigers had a game against a new charter school and so we made the short trek down to go watch. I LOVE being able to watch my sisters perform. Dallon's least favorite sport is volleyball, so my mom and dad brought Kam to keep Dallon entertained. Kam spent the majority of the time pretending Dallon was a set of monkey bars. He loves to wrap his arms around Dallon and see how long he can swing. Oh and he also loves to play pemple wun (temple run) on anyone's phone.

Daezia, Chandler, and Kennedy are such amazing girls. They are gorgeous, inside and out! They are so fun to watch because of how well they work together. I'm glad they are such good friends. MahLee is a big time freshman and works hard to do her best. Dallon and I are so grateful for the time we get to spend with our families, even if it is in a gym.

Dallon and I had the opportunity to go visit Wayne County this month. We planned our trip around the Wayne County Fair. Dallon had the brilliant idea to go for a four-wheeler ride on a beautiful afternoon. Don't Michael and Sharon have a front porch gorgeous view? We love being able to visit the Durfeys, Browns, and Andersons on our Wayne County trips.

After the awesome parade we headed down to Grover to meet Ian Anderson, Gavin and Stephanie's new handsome baby boy. He was so much fun to hold! Dallon also got to have a mini jam session with Brick and Gavin. I sure love hearing those boys play their guitars.

After our barbeque/hang out session in Grover, we went to the demolition derby and saw a pretty great show. We also stayed to watch the  awesome firework show. Wayne County does not disappoint when it comes to derbies and fireworks.

On one of our many exploring adventures, we found The Benson Marina located on Cutler Reservoir. It is here where I caught this monster catfish. I still to this day cannot believe I reeled this sucker up onto the dock. Every chance we get, we load up our stuff and head out to the marina to do some night fishing. We even get to listen to country! Well....A country song-Fishin' in the dark.

After doing some research, we found that this catfish was just two inches off of the lake record! Close in length, but no where near the record in weight.They sure are nasty to look at, but when Chef Dallon cooks the fillets up, they are a delicious meal.

Towards the end of the month, we got to go down to Orem for Krista's baby shower. Shanda, Darci, and Sharon decorated the clubhouse with adorable decorations. We had veggie trays and fruit pizzas, which were to die for! We had a great time playing games, laughing, chatting, and eating. Dallon and I are so excited for Krista and Derek! We can't wait to meet baby Navy.

MAY 2013

Every time we go on a road trip, it seems like we see a unique license plate. A lot of the time I sit in the passenger's seat wondering what in the world people are thinking and then other times I think, huh....that's interesting....so when we were on our way down to Milford to celebrate Memorial Day we found this license plate gem. Also, as we were eating Reese's Pieces, I found this oddly shaped piece and wanted to document it's uniqueness. On our travels, we made a stop at the Hill Aerospace Museum. I thought it would be boring, but it was actually really cool inside.

 

 

After our stop at the museum, we headed south to Milford to celebrate Memorial Day. We went to the cemetery and remembered those that had gone on before us. Words cannot even begin to describe just how much I miss them. I'm so grateful for their wonderful examples of love, courage, and support.

 

We must have worn Kam out, because he barely finished his lunch before he dozed off at his desk.

JULY 2013

Having married Dallon, a former employee of the beautiful Capitol Reef National Park, I get the opportunity to see incredible sights and learn about this amazing park. On our trip down to Wayne for the Fourth of July, we decided to make the short hike up to Cassidy Arch. We made sure that started early in the day so we didn't bake like toasted cheesers. 

 

 

Dallon is wealth of knowledge when it comes to the park because he grew up right next to it and then worked there for a number of years. Michael Scott also knows pretty much everything about the mountains/landscapes in Wayne County. So between the two, I get to hear a ton of stories about the park's history. I love to hear not only about the history of the park and surrounding areas, but also about their hiking/camping stories in said areas as well.

The Fourth of July is probably our favorite holiday and we had a great time celebrating our nation's independence Wayne County Style. Here's our top ten list of why it's our favorite holiday:

1.We love to celebrate our freedom.
2.We love summer.
3. We love parades.
4. We love cotton candy (me more than Dallon, it's my kryptonite).
5. We love barbecues.
6. We love fireworks.
7. We love family time.
8. We love 'Merica'
9. We love traditions.
10. We love cotton candy (yes, I know I already said it, but it's so nice you gotta say it twice).

This year our cute niece Maddix decided to participate in the WC  Fourth of July Talent Show. She sang a Taylor Swift song and did an outstanding job! As you can see, she was the smallest girl, but what she lacked for in size she made up for in talent. We were amazed by her courage to stand up in front of all those people and sing by herself! She rocked it to say the least.

While we were visiting in Wayne, we got to spend the day at Fishlake! I've always wanted to go fishing there on a boat! I remember back in the day when we would load up in the Astro Van and run in the annual Fishlake races. I started out running the kiddie race around the trailer park, then graduated to the 3 mile road race a few years later. Whenever we would run these races, I would look out at the beautiful lake and see a ton of boats, hoping that someday I could go fishing/boating there. Who would've thought that I would end up marrying a guy who practically grew up living at Fishlake?

Anyways, it was a beautiful day full of fishing, (Maddix won the battle of catching the most-probably around 40-50 perch catch and release style), sun bathing, deer sightings, chatting, and laughing. We had a great time with Shanda, Darci, Kelton, and Maddix.

JUNE 2013

Disclaimer: I'm trying to play catch up on documenting our lives together, so our posts might seem a little out of order. I know we're about two years behind, but we've got to start somewhere right? I hope you enjoy the recent and the not so recent events of our lives.

 

With being new to Cache Valley, we are constantly exploring every place we can get. Dallon knows how much I love Sunday drives, so he suggested we pack a lunch and go for a drive. We decided to go to the south end of Cache Valley, towards Paradise. We found Porcupine Reservoir, a beautiful lake surrounded by pretty mountains. While we were exploring, we found a cute little stream to have our lunch by and soaked up the cool mountain air.