Fourth Festivities

Every year I feel like my heart grows more and more for the Fourth of July (not that I don't normally love me some Independence Day!). I found myself thinking multiple times this last weekend, Man! This might be my favorite holiday after Christmas... and can you blame me? Summer! Fireworks! BBQ! Family! America!!! It's all just so happy and magical.

I think going to the Stadium of Fire is really what sparked my spirit for this year's Fourth... There was definitely some ugly crying going on in LaVell Edwards Stadium during the national anthem + when the jets flew over. Okay, okay... and maybe a few tears when Tim McGraw ran out on stage. Also, can we talk about how good Tim is and his tight jeans?? But in all seriousness, being there made me truly appreciate those that serve our country and fight for all the freedoms I get to enjoy daily--so proud to be an American!

The actual Fourth of July was filled with the usuals.... fishing with the Gourley's + eating way too much delicious food + mama Sanderson's ribs + pickleball + fireworks from Tom and Martha's deck. 

^Always my favorite picture to take up at Strawberry... Chris helping the kids drive the pontoon!

Can't think of a better way to celebrate being an American than all of that. . . 

Hope you all had a fabulous Fourth!

Love is...

Love is. . . 

Falling asleep on the couch at 8:00...on a Friday night.

Giving me the last bite of your sugar cookie.

Going out of your way to bring me my keys and whistle that I forgot on my way to work.

Pretending to be interested when I tell you about work.

Completely saving the day + having a mutual love for white trash food:

Using "bob" or "bobber" as a term of endearment.

Knowing what "I'll be ready in 15 minutes" really means.

Trying your best to set the pillows how I like them when you make the bed (and not saying anything after I adjust them anyway).

Holding hands in bed every single night.

Kissing with onion breath.

Trusting me to shave the back of your neck.

Complimenting my "Shakira" eyeliner (winged eyeliner) after lots of not-so-subtle hints.

Watching Modern Family with me every night.

Having your own language that involves words like "curney,"(corner) "curter," (quarter), and "fer" (fire).

Telling me I am a "twig bi" when I am feeling my worst.

Surprising me with my favorite old fashioned cake donut for no reason at all.

Leaving your shoes and socks outside (ha!).

Giving me food instead of flowers for Valentine's Day.

The reason we celebrate today!!!

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Happy Love Day to my favorite lover dover bobber! 

It's crazy to think that if weren't for Valentine's Day 4 years ago, we wouldn't be here celebrating it together today! I love our love.

xoxoxoxo

'MERICA

I never remember how much I love the 4th of July until it's finally here. Like, how can I not remember that BBQ's + family + fireworks make for the best day?!

This year we started our celebrations early by going camping Thursday night. Camping was a lot scarier, sweatier, and not-as-sexier than I thought it would be (my fantasies of Chris + I under the stars were crushed after poppin' a squat in front of him in the woods. hello 2+ years of marriage!), but the perfectly toasted s'mores by Chris made up for not being asleep more than an hour at a time!

Just look at that golden brown mallow!

We woke up bright and early on the third to go fishin' up at Strawberry on the pontoon with Tom G and others from the Gourley gang. I love this tradition! Mostly because I can justify slamming a fistful of Doritos in my mouth at 9 in the morning, but also because Chris is so chipper while fishing! + he's so cute when he lets the nieces and nephews drive the boat. 

Be still my heart.

Now for the actual fourth of July! I started my Independence Day as every American should: Diet Dr. Pepper! From McDonald's! And pulling forward in the drive thru because apparently making two more drinks requires a wait... I'm sure it's fine. Anyway, the rest of the day was filled with little victories such as getting Chris to put gel in his hair, wearing red lipstick, and managing to eat ribs, chicken, and a hot dog covered in mustard and NOT spilling on my white shirt. GOD BLESS AMERICA!

Then we went and watched the PG fireworks + hot tubbed. If you think watching fireworks is fun, try watching fireworks in a hot tub (you can thank me later).  

But wait! The celebrations didn't end there! 

Yesterday the Gourley gang got together for ice cream + a firework show courtesy of Mikey! We had some minor kinks, like Emily getting hit with a firework, but I think with a few adjustments this could become a Gourley family tradition! It was so fun and made it that much harder getting back to reality today. 

I think it's safe to say that after this weekend it's going to be a little harder for me to forget how much I love the 4th of July... 

America, why you so great?!

LOVE DAY!

After this weekend, I've come to the conclusion that Valentine's Day should just always be on a Saturday, because we basically got to celebrate Valentine's day for two days! And I'm all about twice the love + twice the food (Chris just gets me). I'm happy to say that this year I definitely felt the love...and I'm still feeling the food. I'm guessing Chris is too, since he just walked in and suggested we go on a cleanse (ha!). 

I feel like our Valentine's this year was pretty low-key, meaning that a good 75% of our weekend was spent in sweatpants. We started off our Valentine's weekend on Friday by eating at Apollo Burger--because we are classy like that-- followed by some cuddling on the couch and watching basketball. I also surprised Chris with some bath time crayons (Chris takes a bath every single day), which we now use to leave dirty messages for each other in the shower, again, because we are classy like that. 

I think the only thing not low-key was Chris' gift for me this year. I was so, so shocked + surprised on Valentine's morning when he brought it into me! All week he just kept saying, "So you're in charge of Valentine's this year, right?!" Chris must have known that the only other way to my heart (besides food) is makeup. I think Chris might be regretting setting the standard so high for Valentine's gifts after this year, though. 

Saturday afternoon was spent at Discovery Park with the Gourley gang, which was nice, because I'm pretty sure we would have just spent the day on the couch if we didn't have that excuse to get out and go play. After the park we went back to mama and papa Gourley's and had pizza, a Valentine's pinata, and cake for Tessa's birthday. 

After hanging out with the Gourley gang, we went home and (accidentally) enjoyed a 2 hour nap (romantic or what?!). When we woke up, the battle of "What should we do?" "I don't know, what do you want to do?" started. Luckily, I won that battle because Chris came up with the idea to go visit our spot, Tidbit. Unfortunately when we were driving up there, we realized that the road gate wouldn't be open yet, so we wouldn't be able to go visit our spot. At least Chris was "lucky" enough to remember his binoculars in case he needed to look for some turkeys. It also worked out for us because we got to go visit my cutest cousin in the hospital and her new baby boy, Ridge! (kickin' myself for not getting a picture with him now...)

The rest of our Valentine's Day consisted of a food crawl: Bam Bam's BBQ for Swachos (just do yourself a favor, and go get the brisket ones), Brassa's for some good ole street tacos (that aren't $11!), and then of course, SWIG, because hi! It's US. 

Speaking of us...I love us! There's no one else I'd rather be an "us" with than Chris Gourley. 

I hope you all were able to spend your Valentine's Day with your own Chris Gourley! And if you haven't found your Chris Gourley yet, keep lookin'! I'm sure he's out there... lookin' for turkeys or somethin'.

  

The Resolutions Post

Happy New Year!!!

And yes, I'm four days late saying that.

But today feels like the first official day of the New Year, because it's Monday, aka back to reality aka no more sweatpants.

I've decided to shoot low with my resolutions. Think: LESS. 

Less phone, less Dr. Pepper, less negativity.

Wish me luck? 

We enjoyed our holiday break way too much. We spent time with family, ate way too much food, went to bed way too late, and got way too comfortable in our sweatpants (fact: we went out to dinner in our sweatpants). Can you see why my resolutions revolve around the word 'less' ? 

Bring it on 2015! Because as soon as I buy my grownup pants (my only fear of becoming a teacher), I'll be ready for you! 

Christmas Highlights

It's so weird to even be talking about Christmas now that there isn't a single trace of Christmas left in my house as of 10 o' clock this morning, but I thought I should at least document some of the highlights from this year.

(from left to right)

+ On Sunday we celebrated Christmas with the Gourley's. My favorite part about celebrating there is watching Tom G give out the presents to everyone. You'd never take Tom G as the acting type, but he totally nails it every year when he yells, "Oh, Martha! We forgot some presents!!" It's seriously the best. Also, how cute are the batman pajama's all the boys got from grandma and grandpa?!

+ We were crazy enough to haul our king-sized mattress downstairs on Christmas eve so we could sleep by the Christmas tree. This idea was so cute and Christmassy on paper, but definitely not so cute and Christmassy hauling it down the stairs. I'm guessing Santa didn't hear me cursing under my breath while doing so, because I still woke up to presents!

+ Since Chris is a muddblood to Orem, he had never seen Sebastian's Christmas lights. So on Christmas eve, I had him drive past the amazingness. I think Chris was more interested in the neighborhood's average income, but he still enjoyed it!

+ I love Christmas eve at my parent's for two reasons: 1) the crazy amounts of finger food 2) my mom's gifts for the grandkids. I seriously don't know how she does it, but she manages to out-do herself every single year, including this year with the cutest little sleeping bags for all the kids! Also, can you see why I have her wrap my presents? She is the cutest!

+ My dad got Nerf guns for all the boys this year--the gift that just keeps on giving (...welts).

+ That last picture was taken before going to sleep on our mattress in the living room. I want you to take note of how happy and excited we look, that's because I thought we were going to fall asleep with the Christmas tree lights on (Chris put the kabosh on that reaaal quick), and we both didn't know our furnace was going to wake us up every single hour of the night. We're thinking it'll be easier to just bring the tree up to our room next year.

Obviously there were a lot more highlights to our holiday this week, but I was terrible at documenting. If I could go back, I would have been sure to capture Tom G sitting on the whoopee cushion and popping it, my mom tearing up at her Christmas present from all of us kids, and Chris' face when he opened up his gun safe from me!

Basically, we had an amazing Christmas this year (besides my fantasy of sleeping by the tree being squashed by our furnace). I hope you all did, too!

December-Do List

Despite the fact that the first three days of my December have consisted of stress, top-knots, yoga pants, and 44 oz of Diet DP daily + the caffeine shakes, I'm still surprisingly pumped for this month! Maybe it's because I'm two weeks away from being done with Biomechanics? Or because I don't have to sing Feliz Navidad , or any other Christmas song for that matter, under my breath anymore? Or maybe it's because Pinterest and Instagram showed me inspirational quotes and pictures telling me that I need to make the last month of 2014 a good one? For whatever reason, I'm ready to indulge in all things December! Which is why I made myself a December-Do list that includes things I want to see/do. Also, I feel the need to tell you that there's things on my list that I've already done or know I'm going to do this month, because I'm totally one of those people that puts stuff they've already done on their to-do list just to cross it off. Here they are:

:: Make caramels! Or just eat the ones my mom gets from the neighbors. Probably just eat, though.

:: Go ice skating! That was one of mine and Chris' first few dates, and we haven't gone since (sometimes I miss pre-married Chris and Shayli-they were so adventurous and nervous to hold hands + really skinny)

:: Sleep out in the living room with the Christmas tree lights on. 

::  See Annie & Unbroken (better yet: BOTH in one day!)

:: Walk through Riverwoods. I would say Temple Square, but that's going to take a lot of convincing for Chris since we did that last year and I made him miss his rec league basketball game + my brother's car got broken into...

:: Serve someone!

:: See Thanksgiving Point lights (Wooo Gourley gang!).

:: Pass Biomechanics (this isn't Christmas-y, but it's totally going to require a Christmas miracle).

:: Try the Peppermint shake from Chic-fil-A. 

:: Visit my grandma and grandpa Sanderson.

:: Give the hand to my DDD at Swig, and actually try their dirty hot chocolate this year.

:: Trap Meet Chris under the mistletoe (but seriously, where does one find mistletoe??).

:: Actually wrap a present by myself.

:: Festival of Trees! (and NOT cry reading about each tree and who it's dedicated to...)

:: Celebrate meeting Chris 3 years ago on December 30!

Here we go Decembrrrrrrrrr!

a little late, but still thankful!

I guess I missed the memo from Instagram that said I needed to post a cutesy picture with my significant other on Thanksgiving and tell everyone how thankful I am for them. So, like everything else in my life, here I am!...two days too late. But that's only because I was having way too much fun stuffing my face with food and spending time with my family and um, stuffing my face with food. 

Now I know I said you wouldn't see anymore thankful posts from me this month, but I feel like it's kind of necessary, because somehow I got skipped at the Gourley table when everyone was going around saying two things they were thankful for. Maybe being "skipped" wasn't by chance, though. You see, I'm socially inept when it comes to casual conversation and tend to yell things out like, "SEX!" while everyone's gathered around the dinner table. Well played Gourley gang, well played. 

Anyway, since I never got to tell my Gourley family on Thanksgiving, I just wanted to let them know that I am so thankful for all of them! Since the very beginning, I've been welcomed in with open arms and treated like one of their own! I love that everyone acts excited when we come over + interested in what's going on in our lives. Thank you for always pretending to be interested in my school schedule and Chris' work stories--it does not go unnoticed! Oh, and I'm thankful that Mama Gourley always has a supply of dirty diet. DP on-hand + is genuinely concerned that I didn't get enough to eat even after I've devoured 3 plates of food. 

Obviously I couldn't do a thankful post and not mention my own family. I know not everyone can say they are best friends with their family, and I definitely know not everyone can say that their only friends are their family, either ;) I'm so glad I have a family that eats 4 servings of anything like I do + makes dirty jokes while playing Settlers of Catan (Does anybody got wood?!) + shows affection by making fun of you. I love my people.

Last but not least, I'm thankful for Chris--the constant in my life. The constant teasing, tickling, sweatpants-wearing, and smiling that's become part of my life. I'm thankful he agreed to put up with me for eternity, because I don't think many others would have been up to the challenge. You're my person, Chris! Even if you don't understand the significance of that phrase.

To sum this (corny post) all up, I guess what I'm trying to say is that the things I'm most thankful for in my life aren't things.

Life is good.

Sorry, mom.

Dear mom,

I did something crazy last night, and I feel like I need to come clean about it. I'm not sure what caused me to do this crazy thing, but I have some theories...

Maybe it was pre-setting FM 103.1 on my radio after getting home from Disneyland.
Maybe it was waking up to snow yesterday morning.
Maybe it was my impulse purchase of candy cane kisses (and my impulsive act of eating half a bag in one sitting).
Maybe it was not skipping over Justin Bieber's Christmas album when my ipod was on shuffle.
Maybe it was Pinterest blowing up my feed with things like, "50 stocking stuffers for men" and pretty pictures of neatly packaged gifts (we know why that was suggested for me-my wrapping is the pits).

All of these are probable, but the direct cause remains unknown. But yes, it's true--I put up my Christmas decorations before Thanksgiving.

As I was putting up my tree last night, I couldn't help but feel a little guilty, because ever since I can remember, you have always put yours up the day after Thanksgiving. You never directly told me it's a rule to put them up after Thanksgiving, but it was just kind of implied, you know? Kind of like how it's a rule to go to the movies and get popcorn or watch Dirty Dancing whenever it's on TV even if you've seen it a thousand times--you just do it.

So I hope your mom-heart will forgive me for being unfaithful to this unspoken rule of yours, because my garland is out, my JB Christmas album is on repeat (no shame!), my bowl of candy cane kisses is half empty (not half full! no optimism when candy cane kisses are being reduced!), and my tree is up and beaming! And thank you for noticing the two different sizes of lights on the tree, because Pinterest told me it makes it look better. What Pinterest didn't tell me is that hanging lights on a Christmas tree is a freaking B, and that you need to buy two boxes to wrap the entire thing, or else you'll have to take your one strand of lights and just zig-zag it back and forth in the front and hope that no one ever looks at the back of your tree...

WOW. That felt good to get off my chest(..nuts roasting on an open fire...).

Even though I've broken the Christmas decorations after Thanksgiving rule, I promise I won't break the other rule you have: Christmas decorations come down December 26th.

...at least I'm pretty sure I promise?

Sorry to let you down mom. I tried so hard to stay strong! I really did. But I'm also kind of not sorry, because my house smells like a pine tree and the glowing Christmas lights give me tingles! The same kind of tingles that I get from watching Ellen--the tingles that bring tears to my eyes!

I'm not sure if I'll break this rule every year, but I just hope you understand where I'm coming from this year, and that I'll still be allowed to come over and eat all of your Christmas treats from the neighbors + steal dad's BYU truffles he gets from work every year and tries to hide in his nightstand.

F words

Fishing - The Gourley gang got up way too early for a holiday and headed up to Strawberry to go fishin' on the pontoon boat. So crazy, so cold, and so fun. 

Family - The people we got to spend the whole day with.

Food - BBQ, of course. We had the best ribs ever (which is saying something, since my family doesn't eat meat off the bone) and you can find that yummy recipe here. Oh, and Chris made his amazing grilled pineapple. Double win.

Fireworks - Watched them in good ol' Pleasant Grove, where we had a random sprinkler attack right as the show started, and I got to kind of live out my fantasy of watching the fireworks with a cute boy on a blanket. Thanks, Chris!

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Hope you all had a fabulous Fourth and were able to take better quality pictures than I did ;)

Easter Weekending!

Easter did so good this weekend. So good, that it almost made me forget that I still have three finals I need to do this week. Almost...

On Saturday we went and watched our nieces and nephews do an Easter egg hunt around my uncle Tom's mortuary. I'm pretty sure I had more fun than the kids watching them hunt for their eggs. It didn't hurt that they were all willing to share their candy with me, either. 

Today was a noteworthy Easter Sunday for two reasons: 1) We made it to church early and 2) I said the closing prayer in sacrament meeting--I'm still shaking. It was a good reminder for me that I need to grow a pair of "eggs" (since we have an Easter theme goin' here) and not be so afraid to bear my testimony in front of others. Baby steps... ;)

Chris and Joelle had some deep bonding moments this year...

After church we had a party with my mom's side of the family, which I love because you know there's always going to be so much delicious food and even more laughs. Every year when we get together for Easter, my aunt Joelle puts on an adult Easter egg hunt. These ain't your average hunts though--there's always some crazy, borderline dangerous, twist. This year, we had a three-legged race (thanks to me, since I got the idea from our Gourley Easter party the week previously!) that involved Hoola Hoops, Oreos, bubbles, and lots of running/swearing. Sidenote: If you want to evaluate your own/someone else's marriage, just do a three-legged race together--it's a great assessment tool. The egg hunt lived up to it's standard though and was so much fun! We ended up scoring two gift cards to Subway and Taco Amigo, because we haven't eaten enough this weekend already. 

I loved this Easter. Even without all the fun activities we did this weekend. Maybe it was all the #becauseofHim messages I was seeing on Instagram, but I felt like I was able to keep the true meaning of Easter in the back of my mind a lot more easily this year, and I think that made all the difference today. 

I love this holiday and all that it stands for. 

Love is...

-letting me eat the last fry

-kissing me every morning (even when you're only semi-conscious)

-letting me pop your zits and pluck your eyebrows

-agreeing to take a picture with me so I can post it on Instagram

-texting me every morning

-driving to Swig with me every Friday night

-complimenting me when I feel my worst

-watching How I Met Your Mother with me every night

-talking in your nasally voice to me

-encouraging me to study (multiple times)

-surprising me with food instead of flowers

-pretending to be interested in my rants about clothes, makeup, and Pinterest

-admitting that I'm funny (even if you think you're funnier)

-starting my car for me on cold winter mornings

-making me waffles on Sunday

-loving me even when i'm hangry

-wearing your "ball smasher" pants because I think they look good on you

-making me laugh with your dance moves

-patiently waiting for me to get ready for church, and not saying anything after I make us late

-when you make me want to be a better person

-commuting to Salt Lake everyday because I'm not done with school

-always putting me before yourself

-the reason we get to spend eternity together

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I love you Chris Gourley! And I love our love.

because we're an old married couple

Does going to dinner the night before Valentine's Day to avoid the crowds make us an old married couple? 

Answer: it does.

 We were so proud of ourselves for coming up with this plan! The only problem with that was the fact that all old married couples think alike. 

Hence, the 45 minute wait at Outback tonight... and hence this picture I made Chris take with me while we waited outside for a good 30 seconds before Chris suggested we go to our car to wait. 

So waited in the car we did! On our phones... not saying much to each other... romantic, right? Don't worry, once we cured our hanger with 4 loaves of bread (ask me about my bikini-ready body for our cruise... I dare you!), we were all kinds of cutesy! 

And to top off the night, Chris took me to Yogurtland! Chris isn't the biggest fan of that place, so we don't go there very often, so I made sure to take full advantage of our visit there by filling my cup to the brim with cookie dough bites and gummy worms. Which didn't last long. I pounded that ice cream on the drive home. Seriously, pounded--it wasn't dainty.

 Sigh... I love this pre-Valentine's Day tradition we've started. 

Happy New Year!

Here's to another year of trying to become better and thinner people! 

We started the New Year by waking up at 11am, and have no intentions of putting real pants on... 

so I guess you could say we are off to a pretty good start.

 Bring it on 2014!

Hope the rest of you have a fabulous New Year!

I'll meet you at the gym ;)