Reflecting Back On 2009...

I can't believe how fast 2009 went by. I got thinking about it and decided that because I started my blog at the end of last year, and missed a lot of memorable events that happened earlier, I thought what better thing to do then to recap some of the highlights we had during the year. So here is a couple moments from our past year.

*JANUARY*

• Dallas had his 23rd Birthday, and got his PlayStation 3.

*FEBRUARY*

• Debbie, Ashley, and I all went to the Celine Dion concert.

*APRIL*

• Spencer had his farewell.
• Spencer left on his mission (Estonia).

• I turned the big 21...and for my birthday present my cute husband surprised me with my cute new car.

*MAY*

• Celebrated our 1 YEAR WEDDING ANNIVERSARY!!

*JUNE*

• Bryson and Kailee graduated High School.

• Went to Huntington Beach, CA with the family...we went to an Angles baseball game and Knotts Berry Farm.

• Kailee, Dallas, and I went to The Fray concert.

*JULY*

• We went to Stadium of Fire with Devin and Emily.

• We enjoyed being able to be apart of Adam and Ashley's wedding.

*AUGUST*

• Went to Lake Powell with family and friends.

• Bryson got his mission call.

*OCTOBER*

• For my wedding anniversary gift Dallas gave me tickets to the Dallas Cowboys vs. Denver Broncos football game.

• Bryson left on his mission (Tacoma, Washington).
  

• I was a bridesmaid for one of my very BEST FRIENDS wedding.

*NOVEMBER*

• Celebrated a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with all our families.

*DECEMBER*

• Another good friend, Emily Meyerhoffer (Ross), got married.
• Had a fabulous Christmas.

• Went on an UNBELIEVABLE vacation with the Boyce family on a cruise to the Caribbean.

• and of course we rung in the new year.

Caribbean Cruise

Over Christmas Dallas and I went on a cruise to the Caribbean with his family, and it was so much fun! I had never been on a cruise before so it was exciting to try something new and be with the whole family. Here is some pictures of our trip...

*Day 1: we got into Puerto Rico, checked into the hotel and just hung out. When we got to the hotel our room wasn't quite ready so we relaxed outside, which was right on the water. Once our room was ready we took a nap then after we went out for dinner. We went to a little Mexican restaurant in the town...and it was alright.*Day 2: we boarded the ship, walked around and checked everything out. I just remember being so excited and happy to experience something I had never done before with my wonderful hubby. That night we went to dinner in the dinning room for the first time to meet our waiter (Oliver) and Adam and I ended up getting a little sea sick. We went down to the doctor and got ourselves some "motion sickness" pills and once we took those we were fine.
*Day 3: this was our first day on sea and we cruised all day. We spent majority of our time laying out, and eating.*Day 4: was our first excursion...we went to a beach in Barbados.*Day 5: our port was St. Lucia...this day we didn't have anything planned. We slept in and once we were all ready we got off the ship and walked through the city to all the little shops. At night there was a game show that we went to..."The Love and Marriage Game Show". While we were sitting there waiting for the show to start I told Dallas that we should have auditioned for it. Well once the show started they hadn't auditioned yet so they were looking for couples to come on the show. When I was faced with going up there I got shy and didn't want to do it anymore, but Dallas got us to audition. We had to do our best "Dirty Dancing" dance, and I have to admit that I got so embarrassed and couldn't even dance. It was between us and another couple. When the audience cheered for the 1st couple I totally thought they won, but when they cheered for us the crowd went crazy and I was so shocked.So it's safe to say that we won and got on the show. The show was basically like the Newlywed Game. Even though I was supper embarrassed I look back on it now and I'm happy that we did it. They even gave us a DVD of the show...so we have the whole thing on tape.*Day 6: we were in Antigua and we all went on a catamaran, where they took us to a beach and gave us lunch. Once we got to the beach they offered snorkeling to everyone, now I had never done this before so I thought why not give it a try. Adam, Dallas and I all geared up and set out for this adventure. Before you go out they tell you not to touch the coral, so as I'm swimming out I came up for air and when I went back down the coral was way close to me so I tried to get farther out, but the ground just dropped into nothing so it freaked me out because of sharks and stuff so I chickened out and went back. It was definitely fun though to say I did it. This day was also New Years Eve...of course we had formal night and we went to do the count down and we did it in Spanish.*Day 7: New Years Day...we cruised all day again.

*Day 8: we were in St. Thomas...the guys went golfing and the girls went shopping. I got a super cute purse from bebe.*Day 9: was our final day. We had to get ready to get off the ship really early and once we were off we went straight to the airport. Once we got to the airport I went to pack some more stuff into my bag then noticed that I didn't have my toiletry bag and realized I had left it on the ship. Normally this wouldn't be such a big deal, but I had all my jewelry in there as well as my new makeup, which wasn't cheap. So my sweet husband and mother-in-law hurried and got back in a taxi and went back to the ship for me to get it. When they got back they said they had no problems.

We had so much fun on this trip...thank you family for such a wonderful time!!

P.S.
Just so we never forget here are just a couple memorable moments from our trip...
*Meeting our friend "Northey"
*Churo and Speedometer
*"BONIQUA!"

Our Very Merry Christmas...

Like every other Christmas it came and went very fast, but we had such a great holiday! To start off we went to Grandma Gerda's house for our traditional Christmas Eve dinner, and opened 1 present. I got a cute shirt and Dallas got a gift card to Chili's. After Grandma Gerda's we went to my dad's house and played games. Then we went over to Mark and Debbie's to talk to Spencer. It was so good to hear from him, and he also sent us presents that we got to open...thanks for the presents, we love you Spen!! We also got to talk to Bryson...I love my brother so much and I'm happy for his decision to go on his mission!! We were both very spoiled this year...thank you to our wonderful families that made our Christmas so much fun!! We love you all, and hope you guys had a very merry Christmas too!!

Finally Finished...

My kitchen wall is finally finished!! After a whole week of my house looking like a construction zone, painting, and my husbands hard work here is our end result...

Finally...

Throughout this whole week we have been having a little renovation at our house. Ever since I saw this design in the model home I knew it was something I wanted to do. Finally...we are getting rid of the red wall in my kitchen!! So say goodbye red wall...

Almost done...

Love Him...

My Favorite Time of Year...

This is kind of a long post, but oh well..All weekend long I have been working really hard around my house to get it decorated for this holiday season, and I'm finally done. I love this time of year so much! There is something about being with family, and friends, eating good food, putting up our Christmas tree/decorations, snow etc. that really makes me happy!! What I also love about this time of year is it really gives us a chance to look into our lives and see what we are truly grateful for. In my life I have a million things to be grateful for, but here is just a few of the important ones...

• My husband: I'm so eternally grateful for him because he is constantly doing everything he can to make me happy! He works very hard not only at his job, but at school too. He is a great provider for our family, and he is a man who honors his priesthood. He always tries to find the good in every situation, and is constantly making me laugh. The one thing, however, that is most important to me is that he loves me back no matter what! Dallas...I love you with all my heart and I'm grateful for all you do for me!!


• Our families: I'm so thankful for each of our families and all that they do for us. Each of our family members do so much for us...they offer us support, they are always there when we need them, they are our best friends, and they love us unconditionally. I'm especially grateful for the Boyce's...you guys are awesome! Thank you for making me feel so welcomed, and included in your family. I couldn't ask for better in-laws.


• I am thankful for my house, our jobs, for the opportunity Dallas has to go to school to better his education, and I'm evermore grateful for the church...and for the privilege I have to be born into it.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We started the holiday over at Mark and Debbie's house...there we ate, and after we went over to my Aunt Gina's house to see my family. We ate some more, played some games, and enjoyed each other's company. Unfortuantely, I didn't take any pictures from Thanksgiving, but I did take some of my Christmas decorations...so enjoy!!

**P.S. here are a couple pictures of Dallas's eye.**