Rise and shout!

Tonight I went to my first BYU game with my cousins. It was a blast and they actually won!

Two Years Already!

This year we had a couple bumps in the road, 1 our actual anniversary was on a weekday which is always hard, and 2. we are still financially recovering from all the vacations this summer.
So we kept it low key and cheap. We celebrated our anniversary on Saturday. We spent a majority of the day unpacking our new home, running errands and cleaning. Romantic huh? We needed to get as much done as possible so we can finally live there. After all that we came home and got ready for our date. We went to a place called Communal in Provo for dinner. Its a very yummy and interesting place where the menu changes every night. Then we ran to see Lion King in theaters and it was wonderful. We came home and I made brownies for my Sunday school class while Zach played Xbox.

Are we old and boring yet?

Monday was our actual anniversary and what a busy day it was. I left for work at 5am and Zach headed to a full day of school. I got off work around 4 and he met me at home. We ran to a quick early dinner at CPK ( one of our faves) and we were the only two people there. It was actually kinda nice. Then Zach had to go to a meeting at the hospital for a couple hours, so I went home, attempted to clean, chatted with my dad, and got sidetracked with everything. I waited for 45 minutes outside the hospital to pick up Zach because his meeting went long. I didn't mind because I have now picked up reading and crocheting. Really good time killers. Since our new home does not have TV yet, we have to be very creative with things to do at night. But we watched a couple shows on my phone and then .... had a wonderful evening.

Yes, this was a very low key anniversary but honestly, I loved it! Its just nice to get to spend time with your husband when you don't see him a whole lot.
Two years later and I still love Zach more than anything in the world. I'm excited to see where the next 100 years take us and what adventures we have in store. He is my best friend, my love and my everything.

"Our song" this year is by Rascal Flatts called Wont let you go.
Its not exactly a love song but we just both really like the chorus because we will always be there for each other:

I will stand by you
I will help you through
When you’ve done all you can do
If you can’t cope
I will dry your eyes
I will fight your fight
I will hold you tight
And I wont let go

Where were you when the world stopped turning?

Today we remember the 10 year anniversary of 9/11. What an amazing and scary day in American history. The images still bring a lump to my throat and tears to my eyes.

I was in 7th grade at Cerro Villa Middle School in Orange California. I had just woken up and turned on the TV as usual while I got ready for school. It was about 6:30 in the morning when the breaking news hit. I remember standing there in my room unable to move. I didn't really understand what was going on, but I knew right away that this was bad. The first tower had been hit and I watched smoke pour out of the building. I continued getting ready and fifteen minutes later the second tower was hit. I sat in my living room and cried thinking of all those people who had died. At first we thought it was a huge accident, but as the second tower was hit, and then the pentagon a couple hours later, we learned that it in fact, was a terrorist attack.

Mom took us to school. I remember minutes seemed like hours as we all stayed glued to the television. Parents took their kids out of school to be home with them. Afraid that something might happen to our little city and they wanted to be together. The teachers were instructed to keep televisions and radios off during school hours so they would not scare the students, and to "carry on our day as usual. " Carry on our day as usual? Are you kidding me? Did you NOT see what just happened? There is no such thing as normal anymore. A couple teachers would not turn on their TVs but the majority did. Silence fell over the students as we walked the halls. After school I went to a friends house to work on a school project and again stopped everything to listen to the presidents speech that afternoon.

I don't remember much more of that day. But I know, what I do remember, I will never forget. We have been at war ever since.

Four years later I visited Ground Zero with my mother. There still stood a pile of rubble with a chain link fence around it. Messages and pictures all around of the brave men and women we lost. I could not help but cry. I could imagine what it felt like being there on that day. Ash and soot filing the air, debris falling from the sky, people screaming in pain and fear.

This hell on earth that had come to life.

Ten years later, we are beginning to heal. Families and friends remember this scaring event, and I'm sure every year the wound is re opened and the feeling of pain is back. We know with time all things heal. We are thankful for the military men and women who risk their lives for our country. We are grateful for the service men and women who gave their all to help on 9/11. We remember the hero's, we remember the loss, we remember the fear and we remember the fight.

There is a concern with today. Osama Bin Ladin was killed in April, and we have heard threats concerning this weekend that bombs may fly and bridges will collapse. We can only pray that this does not happen and is an empty threat.

We have constructed a monument to those lost in that tragic day and plan on building a building bigger and taller than the World Trade Center.

We are proud to be an American and we WILL fight.

We Will Never Forget.

Today I met you..

Today I met someone that truly inspires me. Her name is Stephanie Neilson, she is sort of a mini celebrity around these parts. She has four adorable children, a very loving husband and lives here in Provo. Why does she inspire me? Several years ago she was caught in a near fatal plane crash that burned 80% of her body. She was in a coma for several months after the crash until her body was healed enough to be woken up. Her husband was also in the crash and was burned as well, but when the plane hit something inside told him "get out now, you're wife will be ok, but you will DIE if you don't leave now" With that scary thought he jumped from the flames and rolled away to safety. Stephanie did escape as well.

Fast forward to now: Stephanie writes a very sweet blog. ( http://nieniedialogues.blogspot.com ) I am addicted to reading her posts. Her love of life and the gospel are so inspiring to me and make me want to be a better person. To see someone overcome such trial with a smile on their face, is amazing. To make things even better... she is expecting her 5th baby! What an amazing blessing for their family. She truly is the person I want to be.

All of that being said, I ran into her today. Now I try to pretend to be pretty "cool" when meeting famous people, but lets be honest I always end up being completely star struck and speechless when I see them. So in walked Stephanie and my heart started racing. I knew I had to go up and talk to her and tell her how much she meant to me. So I did. And the words came out " I just wanted to tell you I love you" What?! Oh wow, embarrassing. But this sweet woman told me I was sweet, gave me a hug and chatted with me for a few minutes as her kids ran around.

Wow! My heart is full. I am grateful for the wonderful examples in my life, my friends, family, and those I only stalk on the Internet, for showing me how to be amazing. I am grateful for the gospel in my life and the knowledge that we can all be perfect again, emotionally, spiritually and physically. Our trials may seem hard at the time, but remember God only gives you what you can handle. You will make it through anything with His help.

A few reasons I love being an aunt.

My real reasons:
Max Finleigh Maizy


And my adopted reasons:
Payton, Jayden, Laith, London and Jaxon

We've Moved!

As Google maps will show you....

Literally we moved 5 houses, walking distance. I know its a little silly, but its a beautiful home and a great opportunity for us. So after almost two wonderful years of marriage we're moving. We are excited to have a space of our own. Mostly, the dog is excited to be out of a basement apartment and be able to stare out a window all day while we are gone.

So in reality, we did it for her. Man, she is spoiled!