4th of July!

This past year's 4th of July was one for the books. Now that I have half of my family living in Utah, Tanner and I split the day in half and had an enjoyable time with both families.
I love the 4th of july. Since living in Utah, I have learned that people LOVE to celebrate our nation. It makes for a very patriotic, fun, and tiring day!

We went up to the farm in Oakley, as usual. We rode the rangers, watched the cute little town parade, had a good BBQ and saw all the cute little piggies, horses and cows. The most fun part was riding in Tanner's Grandpa's plane. He bought a plane a little awhile ago and we spent some time flying in it. It was truly one of the coolest things I've done! I have never been in a little plane like that and it was so fun to see the beautiful scenery and enjoy that time.

We headed back to the valley and hung out with my nieces/nephews and siblings...and of course we had MORE YUMMY FOOD! We had some serious dance parties, played in the water and hung out. My sister's neighborhood does this amazing firework show--truly one of the best firework shows I have ever seen and it was just in their neighborhood. We will be hitting that up again!

I am so grateful for the freedoms that I get to enjoy while living in the USA. I know that there are many issues that need to be resolved, that's for sure, but I am still grateful for the men and women who fight for those freedoms that we get to enjoy. I am grateful of the beauty of this country and many things that encompass it. I am grateful that we get to PARTY on the 4th! Haha.

Hope your holiday was safe and enjoyable!

photos via instagram 

My Word for 2017.

Honestly, 2016 was pretty good for me, personally, even though the rest of the world seems to think that it fell apart. Ha. I loved looking back on 2016--some of the best moments and posts that it encompassed (post HERE). As I look to the upcoming year, I want to pick a word to work towards and focus on. I am not huge on New Years Resolutions. I love making personal goals, but I feel like on NYE, people overdo it. So, I am going to choose a word to focus on this upcoming year and try to incorporate it into every facet of my life. I, also, like last year, want to talk about some REAL, NOT-SO-GREAT Resolutions (look for that post on Friday!). Because, let's be honest, by January 4th, I am over most of NYE goals ;).

Let's do this! My word of the year....

That's right. You read that correctly. My word and goal that I want to focus on for 2017 is patience. Those of you who know me very well are probably laughing out loud. Patience is not something that comes easily to me. I want to work on my patience in every aspect of my life. 

I want to become more patient with my husband. T Money is not perfect and I tend to have extremely high expectations from him. I want that patience to be worked into our marriage. 

I want to be more patient with my students and in my career. Being a sixth grade teacher comes with many challenges. I feel like I am more of a therapist than a teacher to these students: emotionally, socially, and academically. I want to work on my patience as a teacher. I am starting to feel a little "burnt out" and I need to remember why I became a teacher in the first place and be patient with my students and myself in my career. 

I want to be more patient with my Savior. I tend to get impatient when He doesn't respond to my prayers or questions, or responds in a way that I don't necessarily want. I want to be more patient with my fellow church-goers, neighbors, ward members, and other members of my church. I know that the LDS church is looked at really negatively right now and I don't think that my negativity helps. 

Along with that, I want to be more patient with people that I deal with on a daily basis. Whether that be strangers, coworkers, friends, my own family members,  etc. I want to work on being more patient and not automatically assuming the worst of others.

Mostly, I want to be more patient with myself. I need to use that patience in times of doubt or frustration with myself. I tend to be my hardest critic. I want my body to be where it used to be. I want my life to be at a certain point. I want T to be done with school and I want to think about starting a family. But what I want isn't necessarily what is best. I want to use that patience towards my physical health. It will not come automatically. All I can do is the best I can. I want to use patience towards my spiritual well-being. I am not going to be perfect, but I can try. I want to practice patience in my intellectual and work life. I want to use patience in my mental and emotional health. I get frustrated with myself when I get emotional or when dealing with my Depression. I want to remind myself about PATIENCE during those times. 

Being patient with others even when I am tired and stressed is something that I definitely need to work on. I honestly believe that most people are just doing the best that they can and I need to remember that, even during times of frustrations. 

I encourage you all to pick a word to focus on for the New Year.
What is your word? I would love your thoughts.

Happy 2017, friends!

Winter Break and How I Realized That I Like My Life.

Portland. Sigh. So pretty. 

My family now has 21 people in it. That is a whole lot of people. This is what happens when you are the youngest of five children, and all of your siblings are married/have children. Those Mormons, I tell ya. T Money and I went home to Oregon for Winter Break and spent time with all of these hilarious, crazy, ridiculously good looking people.

I won't beat around the bush: being home was hard. I love Portland. I love the Northwest. I love the air that I breathe when I get off of the airplane. I love the green trees and the long walks that I get to take with my mother. I love the Oregon Coast and Mt. Hood. I love the memories that come back when I am there. But, it's just hard. I realized the other day that it marked seven years since I had moved to Utah. I now officially call Utah home. Which is weird. I love Utah. I love the mountains and the weather and my life here. My life is HERE. And I think that was part of the problem. When I was in Oregon, it wasn't my home.  I didn't have my adorable brick home and my own bed; I missed my doggy because she wasn't with us. I missed my own separate LIFE. I felt micro managed by my parents and fights happened between sisters. It was hard.


But, it wasn't all bad. I love being around family.  I loved staying up until 3 AM playing Cards Against Humanity with my siblings and laughing so hard I nearly peed my pants. I loved going on walks with my mom in the forests. It's a catch-22. I want to be around my nieces and nephews and brothers and sisters. I don't live near most of my family so it is fun to catch up, but then I am also reminded how different I am from them. While lying there one night, I remember thinking: "We were all raised by the same people?" It's almost like you didn't know it in some regard. Maybe I am like my nephew, Dane, when he says "I Don't like nobody." See the hilarious video here. 


I love my family. I am grateful for their example and love. Every family has their dysfunction. But, I guess, what I'm trying to say, is that I love my life. I like what I do day in and day out. And I like doing it in my own way. I don't like being told what to do or not do or to be judged so harshly by those around me.

I am proud of who I am, despite the challenges that I am faced with, physically and financially and emotionally. I struggle every day. I am not perfect. I am an adult when I am on my own and in my life. I feel like a teenager when I am with my whole family; I revert back to being the youngest child. Does that make sense?

Anywho, this post is all over the place. I apologize.
Overview: I love my life. I love visiting Oregon. Families are wonderful and complicated all at the same time. All is well.

While in Oregon, T Money and I took a mini escape to Cannon Beach, one of my favorite places. It was cold, rainy and gross in Portland, but the beach was BEAUTIFUL and not windy at all, which made it completely splendid. It was cold, but not near as cold as the city. I walked along the beach and saw all of the dogs and missed my Saylor girl. I had my hot cocoa and dreamed of living along the Oregon Coast. It was a perfect day and I couldn't stop taking pictures, as I'm sure you all saw from my Instagram last week.

My nieces and nephews made me laugh a whole lot. It is so fun to celebrate Christmas with the excitement of little children. And it helps that they are all so freaking adorable.

Papa is slightly obsessed with my niece, Wembley. She is the FUNNIEST and cutest little girl. 

Nephew. All of the heart eyes. 

Tanner was a huge hit with my sisters' boys. They wouldn't leave him alone. He's definitely the favorite. So not fair. 

And then, there are just pretty pictures of Oregon (so gorgeous!).

Meanwhile, my brother in law in Utah sends me this photo of Saylor loving her life in the million feet of snow. Ha! 

I love the open fields and wide open spaces in the outskirts of Portland. Lots of beautiful land! 

But I also love downtown Portland. Such a historic, beautiful, clean city. 

Winter Break was good. And now I want it back. I am waking up every morning with a horrible cold that my husband and students gave to me....welcome back to reality. This is a hard week, the first week back after Winter Break. Its cold, dreary, everyone's tired and sick and it's just one of those months. But we can do it! I got this, guys.
Happy January. Here comes a month of beautiful snow, and hopefully a lot of skiing (see, I turned that around made it positive. Boom.)

My Christmas Wish.

I cannot believe that tomorrow night is Christmas Eve. Where does time go? I am currently surrounded by nine million nieces and nephews in the Pacific, Greeny, rainy Northwest. I was raised here, so it has been so fun to be home, but I definitely miss my Saylor doggy and my home!

I have a lot of wishes for Christmas.
And none of them are presents.
I don't say this to toot my own horn, but because I truly mean it.
My favorite aspect of Christmas encompasses the music, feeling, and fun festivities that are associated with this season.

My Christmas Wish is peace. I know that sounds so cliche, but I am so tired of reading, hearing and seeing all of the negative hatred, prejudice and anger that is shown throughout social media and in my everyday life. It breaks my heart to see all of the angst that so many people possess.

My Christmas Wish is to budget my money better. We are not horrible at budgeting, but it is definitely something that T Money and I could improve on. I want to be more secure in our finances. We are so lucky to have bought a home this year. This was a huge step in our relationship and phase of life. We are so blessed with this and I want us to improve on taking care of the things that we are blessed with.

My Christmas Wish is to see the positive in other people. I tend to look at the negatives regarding other people; it's not a good habit of mine. I tend to be sarcastic and cynical and negative at times (hey, we can't all be perfect!), and I want to remember to see the best in others.

My Christmas Wish is that everyone gets to spend Christmas with the ones that they love. This time of year can be a lonely time and I pray that everyone gets to spend it with a dear friend, family or loved one.

This christmas, I am dying for a new camera. But a $600 dollar camera isn't exactly in our Christmas budget, if you know what I mean. Luckily, we know people who make awesome videos and take beautiful photos all around us in Utah. My good friend, Helam, has a new start up company called "Focus Creative". He is not only my husband's old mission companion, but him and his wife are two of our favorite people. If you are looking for holiday photos this season, make sure to check out Focus Creative on Instagram and Facebook!



What are some of your Christmas Wishes? 
What do you wish for yourself or for others? 

Oneonta Falls // Hiking (Oregon)

It's Friday!!!! Woo Hoo. I am going to go for a hike!

Speaking of hikes, on our last day in Oregon, I  continued my hiking excursions! It was so fun to hike this with family in the greenery.  This wasn't exactly a "hike" but more like a "Water Excursion." You need to climb up and down logs, through water, etc. We brought my little nieces and nephews and it was difficult, but they did great. 

I'll let the pictures do the talking of the beautiful scenery. 

We packed up the car the next morning and headed home. It was a great trip and I and am so happy that we got to spend some time with family. 

Other Hikes: Summit Trailhead AF Canyon Hike //  Bells Canyon // Horsetail Falls // Battle Creek Falls // Lame Horse Trail 

Pictures from Instagram: 

 Other Oregon Posts:  Crater Lake // Bend, Oregon // Crescent Lake, Oregon (cabin) // Downtown Portland // Cannon Beach //