Britton & Aubrey

Our Summer Vacation!

2010-08-22T19:12:00.001-07:00

We went on a great vacation for 10 days at the end of June. My dad is from Arkansas so we went to visit family there. Then we went to Nauvoo and a bunch of church sites. It was great.

Day 1- Saturday, June 19th

We left on Saturday, June 19th. We flew into Kansas City and drove 4 hours to get to our timeshare in Branson, Missouri. We got there pretty late, but saw the coolest rainbow and cloud (the cloud seriously looked fake) while we were checking into the timeshare. We also spent the rest of the night watching and catching fireflies and watching the most amazing lightning storm off of the deck of our room. It seriously lite up the whole sky. It was awesome.

Waiting at the SLC Airport to head to Kansas City.
Courtney, Blake, me, Britton, and Dad
Driving in the car from Kansas City, Missouri to Branson, Missouri -
this was only the beginning of the long road trip

Cool rainbow and cloud in Branson, Missouri - right by our timeshare

Day 2- Sunday, June 20th

We left Branson early Sunday morning to get to 10:00 church in Mountain Home, Arkansas. It was a 2 1/2 hour drive. We went to church with family and then had dinner at our cousins house. We then drove around Mountain Home to show Britton where my dad grew up. It was Britton's first time there. He loved it. He asked if we could move there. It is so beautiful and green and there are lakes and rivers everywhere you turn. There are also a lot of different churches out there. In Utah you rarely see any other kind of churches besides LDS churches. Then we went to visit my grandma. She has dimensia and doesn't really remember us. She has a lady that stays at her house to help her. My grandpa died in May and she doesn't even know that he died. She knows he is gone because she always asks, "Where is that man?" It was great seeing her. I love her so much! We then went to visit my grandpa's grave. We then had to drive 2 1/2 hours to get back to Branson to go to bed. We were already sick of the car, but we still had 8 days to go.

This was one of the churches that we had to stop at a take a picture. We love all of the crazy names of churches out here. It's great!

Visiting Grandma VanderStek.
(Mary Lou - her care keeper, Mom, Linsey, Blake, me, Britton, Dad, and Grandma)

Grandpa's grave

Day 3- Monday, June 21st

We went to Silver Dollar City on Monday. I LOVE Silver Dollar City. It is an Ozark version of Lagoon. There are tons of shows and rides. This was my 5th time to Silver Dollar City and Britton's first time. It just keeps getting better everytime! My sister and I performed there 17 years ago. I was 8 and she was 11. We were on a clogging team that went on tour that summer to Silver Dollar City. It was so fun and we even got payed for it! The only issue is the weather there. It is SO HUMID. I love my dry Utah weather. After Silver Dollar City we went to Branson's Landing (a big outdoor mall that has a cool water and fire show). It was so nice walking around right next to the river.

Silver Dollar City - the Wildfire and the Powder Keg. Those were some of our top roller coasters we have ever been on.

This ride is The Lost River of the Ozarks.

Britton and I were put in jail at Silver Dollar City. Obviously Britton was very excited to be in jail. Me...not so much.

Branson Landing - so pretty and right by the river!

Day 4- Tuesday, June 22nd

This day was full of fun in the water. My dad had to go to a meeting with his brothers about what was going to happen to the family estate now that grandpa had passed away. So Britton, Blake, Courtney, and I rode with him to Mountain Home and went to a Norfork Lake to go swimming. I love the lakes in Arkansas because the water is so warm. We then went to Cotter Springs to jump off the rope swing. We had a lot of fun trying to do tricks and flips off of the rope swing. Some were more successful than others. We had to be really careful going off the rope swing because there was a snake pit just to the left of the spring. A few snakes came out of the pit just after we had jumped and when I heard people talking about them that was the end of rope jumping for me. Then the rest of the family meet up with us to go boating. We went back to Norfork Lake and met mom, Derek, Linsey, Braedon, and Daxton. After boating we went to my Uncle Jess and Aunt Beth's house for a BBQ. They live on 300 acres in the middle of the Ozarks. It is so pretty. We rode their 4-wheelers around their land (we didn't get pics of this...sad).

Little brother Blake and his girlfriend Courtney
The water at Cotter Springs was COLD. It was definitely not like the lake water.

Britton going off the rope swing at Cotter Springs

Boating on Norfork River - Britton, me, Braedon, and Derek
Swimming in the nice warm lake!

Day 5- Wednesday, June 23rd

Wednesday was another day full of water and fun. We went canoeing on Norfork River and we ended at this cool place called Dawt's Mill. Dawt's Mill has a fun shop with homemade goodies. We bought apple butter, BBQ sauce, and ice cream. Yummy! After canoeing we went to my cousin Paul's house that is right behind my grandparent's house. He made a yummy pasta dish for us and we just sat around chatting all night.

The crew getting ready to go canoeing - Aunt Beth, Blake, Courtney, Britton, me, Dad, and Uncle Jess

I love the scenery! Beautiful! We saw snapping turtles, snakes, and crawdads.

Landing at Dawt's Mill

Day 6-Thursday, June 24th

We left bright and early from Branson so we could head off to Nauvoo. We drove through St. Louis and saw the arch. We then stopped at a cute park right next to the St. Louis Temple and had dinner. That part of St. Louis is so pretty and green. After dinner we kept driving and finally made it to Nauvoo around 10:00 that night. That was a long day in the car!

St. Louis Arch

St. Louis Temple

Day 7- Friday, June 25th

Friday morning we went to Carthage Jail. Joseph Smith arrived at Carthage Jail on June 24, 1844. It was really neat to be in Carthage Jail exactly 166 years since Joseph Smith was actually in the jail. His martyrdom was on June 27, 1844. It was cool to hear that the jail keeper and his wife looked up to the men in the jail and tried to protect them. We then went to Nauvoo and walked around and saw the shops and homes and all of the historical sites there. That night Blake, Courtney, Britton, and I went to do baptisms at the Nauvoo Temple. That temple is so pretty and it is amazing how they rebuilt it to be just like the original Nauvoo Temple. I have been to Nauvoo 5 times before and I remember when I was little and we would see the original foundation of where the Nauvoo Temple was. Now it is amazing that we can go to the Nauvoo Temple and do temple work.

Entering Carthage Jail

The door of the room that the mob shot at where Joseph, Hyrum, Willard Richards, and John Taylor were staying

The window that Joseph Smith jumped/fell out of when the mob shot him. The well below is a replica of a well that was there that Joseph landed right next to.

The statue right next to the Mississippi River where Joseph Smith is showing Brigham Young that the saints need to head west.

After doing baptisms

The beautiful Nauvoo Temple

The cool statue of Joseph and Hyrum as they are leaving and heading to Carthage. I love the sunset.

Day 8- Saturday, June 26th

Saturday morning we woke up early to go do sealings at the Temple. This was a wonderful experience that I got to share with Britton, mom, dad, Linsey, and Derek. Then while the rest of the family went on a carriage ride through Nauvoo, Britton and I went to a nearby city Keokuk, Iowa. We rented a plane and Britton flew over the Mississippi River and over Nauvoo. It was so beautiful. I was a little scared because it was windy that day, but Britton is a great pilot and I trusted him. We had a great time up there. It is definitely beautiful land. That night we went to a play that is put on by the Senior Missionaries and the Young Adult Performer Missionaries. Then Vocal Point, an acapella group from BYU, performed. They were really good!

Look how cute he looks flying that plane!

The Mississippi River

Flying over the Nauvoo Temple

The city of Nauvoo

The beautiful land!

Waiting for the show. That night was HUMID & HOT!

Watching the show. I don't know how they could wear those long sleeve dresses in that heat.

Vocal Point

Day 9- Sunday, June 27th

We started making our way back down towards Independence, Missouri from Nauvoo. On our way we went to visit Hans Mill, Far West, and Adam-Ondi-Ahman. It amazes me all that the saints had to go through and how many times they were driven out of the land that they called home. They had to move and rebuild so many times. We then arrived at our hotel in Kansas City, Missouri. When we arrived and checked in...guess who we saw? We saw Sister Thompson from the General Relief Society Presidency. She was with some other sisters from the General Relief Society Board. We said hi to her and told her that we were from Utah and we were visiting the church sites.

It is really hard to get to Hans Mill because it is off of a dirt road and it really muddy. So we just stopped off at the Hans Mill Memorial that is located in a city next to Hans Mill.

This is a mill stone from Hans Mill

Adam-ondi-Ahman

Looking over the valley on Tower Hill

One of the Far West Temple cornerstones
The saints built 4 cornerstones to start the Far West Temple. The four cornerstones still remain today. They were driven out of Far West before they could start the temple.

The Far West Temple site

Day 10- Monday, June 28th

That morning we went to the Independence Visitors Center. Kitty-corner is the temple site for the Independence Temple prophesied by Joseph Smith. Then we went to the Liberty Jail Visitors Center. They have built a visitors center around the original site of where Liberty Jail was. They have rebuilt Liberty Jail, but have the original headstone above the door.

The Independence Temple lot

The original headstone over the door of Liberty Jail

We flew home that afternoon. What a great trip! We had a wonderful time. It was great to see family and visit all of those church sites. I can't wait until we can go again!

I'm a SLACKER!

2010-08-22T15:07:00.000-07:00

Yes, I am a slacker. I haven't updated this blog since March. Life just gets too busy and putting off updating the blog gets easier and easier. So here I am ready to update you on life since March.

April
I turned 25! I was off-track on my birthday so I spent it shopping with my mom and then Britton and I went out to eat that night. Nothing too exciting. Birthdays just aren't as fun when you are old.

Britton and I celebrated our 3rd Anniversary. We didn't do anything fancy because I was back on track teaching and Britton was in the middle of finals. We just went to Olive Garden and then rented a movie.

May
My Grandpa VanderStek passed away on May 6th. He fell two weeks before that and was in the hospital and had to have a hip replacement. He was 87 years old and his body just couldn't recover from the surgery. My mom, dad, sister, two brothers and I went out to the funeral in Arkansas. It was a sad time, but also a joyous time because we hadn't seen most of our cousins for over 4 years (and some even longer than that). We had a great time getting together to reminisce about the good times we had with grandpa. I know families are eternal and I will see my grandpa again someday.

June
Britton turned the big 25!

I finished my 3rd year teaching school! I love my job and can't believe that I had taught for 3 years. It goes by way too fast.

My family went on a trip to Arkansas, Branson, and Nauvoo. We had already planned our trip out to Arkansas before we knew my grandpa was going to pass away. Britton was very sad that he could not meet my grandpa. My grandpa had been a pilot and Britton wanted to talk to him about flying and hear about all of his stories. Britton was able to talk to a lot of my aunts and uncles about my grandpa and his flying days. It was fun to hear all those stories. I will be posting more about this trip later...and LOTS of pics!

July
We celebrated the 4th and 24th of July with friends and family.

Britton and I wrote the song for Trek this year. The theme was "All For the Kingdom of God."

Started my 4th year of teaching. I teach at a year-round school (Jordan Ridge - the school I went to when I was little). Met my new class and am loving teaching! I can't believe I am starting my 5th week of school tomorrow!

August
Britton went on the High Adventure with the priests. They went to Jackson Hole and he absolutely loved it!

We had a family "camp-out" in my parents backyard. It is just easier to camp that way with little kids.

Well I hope you enjoyed the update. I will be posting more about some of the things you read up above. I will be better about posting...I PROMISE!

My New Nephew!

2010-03-27T09:26:00.001-07:00

My brother and sister-in-law just had their 4th child on Thursday! His name is Matthew. He is so cute! His older brother Tyler wanted to name the baby Batman, but of course they were not going to name him that. So now they call him Mattman. It is so funny! I love this new little addition to our family.

Drew, me, Matthew, Mandy, and Britton at the hospital

Tyler conked out on the hospital bed. He was so tired.

Cute baby Matthew!

Happy New Years!

2010-01-05T20:36:00.001-08:00

We had so much fun on New Years Eve! Our awesome friends Janessa and Jordan invited us over for a New Years Eve Party with yummy food and Karaoke! Here we are singing our hearts out...

Dean got totally into it! He rocked it!

Dean's cute wife Holly! She didn't want to sing, but she did! She is so cute!

Jenny!!! She did amazing considering that she says she doesn't sing. Whatever Jenny!

Jenny's husband Peter! He's a great singer too!

Natalie singing, "Straight Up" by Paula Abdul! We all got into that one!

It's almost midnight!

Jordan rocked it too!

Megan shaking her booty! Wahoo Megan!

Megan and Gillis

Rob and Natalie

Janessa, Claire, and Jordan

Rachel and Jonathon

Peter and Jenny

We had a lot of fun! Thank Janessa and Jordan for letting us party all night long! You can check out Janessa's blog to see some real footage of our karaoke skills.

More Busy December...

2010-01-05T20:10:00.001-08:00

Look at the post below to see what we did at the beginning of December!

Britton and I got to go to Rachel's (Britton's aunt) Special Needs Mutual Christmas Program. We are so glad we got to go see her in the nativity. She made a beautiful Mary! She was wonderful and had the biggest smile the whole time. We love you Rachel!

(sorry the pics are blurry)

Now onto Christmas...

We got an early Christmas present this year. Since Britton broke his foot right before Thanksgiving, he couldn't put up Christmas lights this year. Well, at least on the top of our roof. He was so bummed because we did it last year and loved it. So one day we put up the lights together right above the garage and on the tree. Our sweet neighbor Lana came over one night when Britton wasn't home and said that she was going to have her son Parker (who works with Britton) put up the lights on the top of our roof. She knew Britton wanted them up there so she said he could do it. He did it while we were at the BYU/Utah game. We came home and the lights were on the roof and Britton was shocked. He was so happy. Thanks Lana and Parker! You're great!

Okay...so Britton wanted to take a picture of me when I woke up Christmas morning. I hadn't even had a chance to look in the mirror. He just said, "Stop, let me take a picture." He is so mean! Well, this is how I look when I wake up I guess!

Our Christmas tree with all of our presents. We are spoiled!

Britton's sister got up this cool ice cream set. We are excited to use it!

Britton and his brother Preston made a movie before Britton went on his mission. They had saved it on the computer, but it crashed. They thought they lost it, but Preston found it and edited it and sent it to Britton for Christmas. It was the sweetest Christmas present ever! Right after Britton opened it and saw what it was, he immediately put it in to watch it. I have only seen Britton cry once before. Now I have seen him cry twice. He totally cried while he watched the movie. It was so cute! He is really close with his brother even though they are 9 years apart. Thanks Preston! You made Britton's Christmas spectacular this year!

Britton's parents sent us Reynolds Wrap! This is an ongoing tradition. Our first Christmas married, Britton's mom called and asked what we wanted for Christmas. I was cooking dinner at the time and told her that I needed foil because I didn't have any to make dinner. She laughed and said that she couldn't help me right then. Well, for Christmas that year they sent us Reynolds Wrap. Then when we went out for Christmas to Denver last year they gave us more Reynolds Wrap. I love this tradition because I will always need foil!

Britton got this sweater from his parents. I had bought this sweater for myself for Christmas. We laughed when we looked at our new clothes for Christmas. So we had to wear them that day. This is what we looked like on Christmas day!

Busy December!

2010-01-05T19:59:00.000-08:00

December was super busy! I'm sure it was for all of you too! It's just that time of year I guess. Well, here is how December started...(warning-picture overload!)

We started out December with a family service project. Every December our family gets together and thinks of a service to do. This year we decided to go to a care center and decorate doors, make gingerbread houses, and sing songs for the people staying there. The doors turned out cute and the people loved having us there. We had a lot of fun serving them.

Then on December 12th - Janessa, Holly and I threw a baby shower for our friend Jenny. She is due on January 11th. Who knows when little Elijah will come! I am so excited for her. Here are some cute pics of the mom to be...

The Big Game!

2009-11-29T15:08:00.000-08:00

Well, yesterday was the BIG GAME! As most of you know, Britton is a Utah fan and I am a BYU fan. My parents have season tickets to the BYU games. My dad didn't want to go to the game so he let Britton and I have their tickets. He thought we would enjoy it more. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves...well, at least most of the time. The game was kind of crazy. The officiating was horrible throughout the whole game. They had to review almost every play and they even threw the flag two or three times even though there wasn't a penalty. There was even one play that the officials couldn't tell us what # the penalty was on. It was weird. Both teams didn't play so hot, but BYU was the lucky one to come out on top. Well, lucky for me I guess. Britton was so cute. He was a little speck of red in a big sea of blue where we were sitting. People didn't really give him a hard time. They were actually quite nice to him. They all thought it was cute that we are married, but cheer for rival teams. Britton was a good sport. He didn't really get upset when the U lost. Overall, we had a fun time together. It was fun going to the game. I love watching football, but I do enjoy it more when I am actually there.

Waiting for the game to start. As you can tell, we got there super early. There was only 1 guy sitting right behind us. We went early to beat traffic and because we didn't want to try to walk through the crowds with Britton's broken foot and crutches.

Watching BYU warm-up - I loved their uniforms for this game!

Rushing the field after the touchdown we made in overtime

Scoreboard - It was such a close game!

Thanksgiving!

2009-11-29T12:48:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year! My parents had 26 people at their house for Thanksgiving. What a crowd! We enjoyed each others company, good food and fun games. This year I am thankful for so many things.

I am thankful for:

My sweetest husband - He is always doing sweet things for me. He makes me laugh and we have so much fun together. I love him so much!

My wonderful family - I love every single one of them. My parents are the best! They do so much for us! I also have the best siblings and brothers and sisters-in-law. AND...I absolutely adore my nieces and nephews! They are the cutest!

My Friends - I have made some really good friends in my ward. I am grateful for them and all that they have done for me. I am also grateful for those friends that I have known forever. We have had good times together.

My Job - Even though some days are rough, I love my job. It is so rewarding. I love seeing the lights click when my students learn something new.

Good Health - Yes, I have a few health problems (mostly migrains), but overall I am grateful for my health and that I can still do all of the things that I want to do.

My Calling - I love being in the Primary Presidency. I love the ladies that I serve with. I love serving the children in our ward and hearing their testimonies.

I am thankful for so many things, but those are my top 6.

Here are some pictures of our wonderful Thanksgiving!

Mandy showing off her homemade turkey and homemade Indian feathers.

They Indian feathers were put by our plates for our place cards.

Mandy took a picture of me. I have the Indian feathers on my head,

but you can't really see them..

Britton and Mandy

Britton wearing his Indian feathers

The 3 stooges. They all had beards so they had to get a picture together.

Derek (brother-in-law), Blake (little brother) and Britton (hot husband)

Good News & Bad News

2009-11-22T11:40:00.000-08:00

We will start with the good news...

On Thursday, November 5th Britton got his Pilot's Certificate. This was a long task for him. Britton goes flying two times a week which seems like a lot, but overall it takes FOREVER to build hours. Britton studied like crazy for this test. He was super nervous, but I knew he would pass. He started with a oral test where an examiner sits down and asks questions to test his knowledge. Then he went on a flight test to show off his flying abilities. Overall, the test took him 5 hours. I am so proud of Britton and this accomplishment. Now he can take anyone flying with him. Any takers?

Now for the bad news...

Britton broke his foot on Tuesday, Nov. 17th. He was playing church basketball. Britton went up to rebound the ball and take it back down the court. He jumped up to get the ball and when he came down he landed wrong on his foot. He said that he went straight down and couldn't get up. He got light-headed and felt hot. Some buddies helped him up and he drove right home. He came in the room and told me he was hurt. Britton doesn't usually complain so I knew something was wrong. We iced his foot, wrapped it and elevated it thinking it was just a sprain.

When he woke up the next morning he said that his foot felt fine. That was before he tried to walk on it. He got up out of bed and then immediately fell back on the bed. He couldn't put any pressure on his foot. I knew then that something was really wrong. So I told him to get ready and that I was going to take him to Urgent Care on my way to school. Well, we arrived at Urgent Care, but it didn't open until 9:00am. So luckily my mom just lives down the street. I asked her if I could drop him off there and if she would take him back at 9:00am. Of course she said yes. My mom is so great! My parents also have crutches from when my dad had ankle surgery, so Britton got lucky and is using those. Well, the doctor at Urgent Care said that he had broken his foot. So he put on a soft cast and then told Britton that he had to go to a foot specialist to get a boot or a real cast on.

Luckily, Britton broke his LEFT foot so he could drive himself later to the doctors. This whole ordeal as been crazy. I feel so bad for Britton. I don't like to see him in pain. He will have to wear a boot for 6 weeks. The sad thing about this is that he can't go fly. He is really bummed about that. Well, we will make it through these next 6 weeks. These things just happen!

Our Engagement!

2009-11-15T11:51:00.000-08:00

3 years ago today we got engaged!

I'm mostly writing this so that down the road we can read about our engagement. I know that I will always remember how Britton proposed, but I wanted to write out each detail so we don't forget about the "little" things that happened.

November 15th is a very significant date for us. As most of you know, Britton and I met when we were 14 in seminary. We obviously couldn't date, but we were good friends. Right before we both turned 16, Britton's family moved to Denver. So we never got to go on our first date together until we were 18. Britton came back to Utah to go to college. We started hanging out and eventually he asked me out for our first date. Our first date was on November 15, 2003. We went and saw the movie Elf and then went to eat at Silver Fork Lodge up in Big Cottonwood Canyon. Afterwards we went to get hot chocolate at 7-Eleven that is at the bottom of the canyon. It was a great first date!

So...now to the engagement part...

Britton got home from his mission in July 2006. He obviously went back to his Denver home when he returned from his mission. So we would mostly talk on the phone every night and he took a few trips out to Utah during the next few months. We eventually started talking about marriage each night on the phone. He came out to Utah in October for General Conference. I thought he was going to propose then, but he didn't. I knew he was moving back out to Utah at the end of December so he could start the next semester at UVU. So I figured he would propose then. Well...he totally surprised me and came out in November. I had no clue this was happening. He had told my parents and all of my siblings that he would be proposing on Nov. 15th. They had all kept it a secret from me which impressed me because my family shares everything.

That weekend before, my parents called me to ask if I could come home on Wednesday (Nov. 15th) to take my grandma out to dinner. Nov. 15th is my grandparents wedding anniversary and my grandpa had passed away the year before. So they said the whole family was going to take my grandma out to dinner since it was their anniversary. I told my parents that I had class that night, but I could email my professor to let him know I wasn't going to be there. Well...later I found out that my parents had already emailed my professor to tell him that I was going to get engaged that night. So he already knew I wasn't going to be there, but me not knowing that emailed him to tell him I was going to be in South Jordan that night. So he emailed me back and said that was fine and he would email me the notes from class later.

So...on Nov. 15th Britton flew out in the morning. He met with my dad to have lunch and to ask him if he could marry me. Then he took the rest of the afternoon to get everything together for that night. That night I drove home to my parents house. When I got to my parents house I got in their car and started heading up the street. Then all of a sudden my dad took a left at the light instead of a right which was the way to my grandma's house. I asked him why we were going this way. He said he needed gas. So we headed down the street towards the gas station. Before we got to the Sinclair, which is right next to South Jordan Middle School, my dad turned into the school parking lot. I asked him what we were doing. Then all of a sudden, I saw someone walk out of the seminary building holding flowers. I couldn't tell it was Britton because it was dark outside. I said, "Who is that?" Then it hit me that it was Britton. I was seriously in shock. I didn't know what to do. My parents finally said, "Get out of the car." So I got out and ran to him to give him a hug. Then he led me inside where he decorated the seminary classroom where we had met when we were 14. He had our favorite country music playing and had twinkling lights and candles everywhere. He asked me to dance. Then he got on his knee and said some cute stuff then asked me to marry him. Of course I said yes. I was so excited! Then he told me that he had to propose on a day that meant something to us. Then he told me we were going to recreate our first date. So we went up to Silver Fork Lodge and had dinner and then watched Elf. Then he told me we were going to start a new tradition. He bought the cutest snowflake mugs for hot chocolate. We got hot chocolate at the same 7-Eleven and poured them into our mugs. Our new tradition is to drink hot chocolate out of our engagement mugs every Nov. 15th.

I loved that Britton surprised me! He is the sweetest. I am so glad I married him! I am the luckiest girl in the world!

Halloween!

2009-11-04T19:47:00.000-08:00

Halloween was very fun this year! We went over to the Nowell's house (Britton home teaches them) for dinner. We had potluck and everything was so yummy. Then we went over to my parents house where all the grandkids were in their cute costumes. They were all so adorable! Then we went with our friends Jenny and Peter to a corn maze and afterwards went to their house for hot chocolate. It was a very eventful and busy Halloween! We loved it!

Mandy, the cute witch!

Braedon was Batman!

Daxton was Robin!

Drew was an astronaut!

Tyler, the cutest elephant ever!

Updates!

2009-10-30T17:56:00.001-07:00

Sorry I've been away for awhile. Our computer charger died so we had to order a new one. Finally I can check all my emails and check out all of your blogs.

Let's update you on some of the things we did in October.

Potato Pickin' - Oct. 17th

Every October we pick potatoes up at the farm in Herriman. It is a family tradition and we love it. The weather was perfect! I have picked potatoes before in snow and rain before, but luckily the weather was GREAT this time!

Daxton had fun playing in the dirt.

Tyler and Mandy sitting on top of the heaps of potatoes we picked.

Tyler and Drew - cute kids!

Pumpkin Carving - Oct. 23rd

Some of Britton's co-workers were having a pumpkin carving party. We had yummy chili and breadsicks and watched Hocus Pocus. Then we carved pumpkins. Britton carved SpongeBob (he has always loved him) and I carved the words "Trick or Treat." My pumpkin took forever to carve so I actually didn't finish it that night. Here are the beautiful and crazy pumpkins we carved that night.

Britton and I had to be festive for our pumpkin carving experience. So he wore his jack-0-lantern shirt and I wore my pumpkin pajama pants. I think that helped us with our carving!

School Halloween Day - Oct. 30th

Today was our Halloween Parade and class party at school. Here is my great 3rd grade team!

New Haircut!

2009-10-02T16:50:00.000-07:00

I have been growing out my hair since 9th grade. I have become really attached to long hair, but recently I have found myself thinking how nice it would be to have short hair. So after much contemplation, I decided to get my haircut. My cute friend Amberly cut my hair. She is amazing. She gave me lots of tips of how to style short hair because it has been forever since I had it. I really like it. Britton says it makes me look more mature. Now only if it made me act more mature! :) Thanks again Amberly!

Keith Urban Concert!

2009-09-10T18:04:00.000-07:00

Britton gave me tickets to Keith Urban for my birthday back in April. I have waited for this concert all summer! I love Keith Urban! I have seen him before, but Britton has never seen him and has wanted to. So the tickets were kind of for him too! :) Thanks hun for the great night!

Taking a bow...great concert Keith!

Glitter Toes Party!

2009-08-26T15:42:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone! My sister does glitter toes! I absolutely love them! Mine just came off after a month. Since I need some new ones, I figured I would make a party of it! Here is the info...

DATE: Saturday, August 29th

TIME: 10:30am - 4:00pm (Hopefully it won't take that long. My sister just has to leave at 4:00.)

LOCATION: My house
If you email me at aubv_412 at hotmail dot com I will let you know the exact address.

WHAT TO BRING: Already cut and polish-free toes AND a snack/dish to share with everyone.

COST: $10

RSVP: Please email me at aubv_412 at hotmail dot com

It will be a blast. Feel free to invite family members or friends that might want some glitter toes too. I hope everyone can come!

Corn and a Concert!

2009-08-23T14:21:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a busy day. We went over to my Uncle Bruce's house to pick corn. He has an amazing garden. It was a lot of fun picking and shucking the corn. Yummm...I love corn on the cob! Thanks Uncle Bruce for letting us invade your garden.

Tyler was so cute! He worked on this piece of corn the whole time. What a hard worker!

Drew showing off the corn that he picked!

Mandy working hard on shucking the corn.

Later that night, Britton and I went to the Toby Keith Concert. Britton got Toby Keith tickets from his friends at work for his birthday. Britton has wanted to see Toby Keith for forever so his friends were so nice to get him tickets. We had a lot of fun! Thanks everyone!

Trailor Choir opened up for Toby.

Trace Adkins also opened up for Toby

Getting ready for Toby!

Toby and Trace singing during the encore

Last Weekend!

2009-08-15T15:04:00.001-07:00

Last weekend my nephew Daxton turned 1! He is the cutest thing ever! My sister and brother-in-law planned an "under the sea" party for him. It was so cute and creative. They served "seafood" there...aka submarine sandwiches, goldfish crackers, and watermelon. My brother-in-law Derek made the cakes for Daxton's party.

Daxton's cake that he got to dig into!

Daxton eating his watermelon and goldfish for lunch!

The kids also had fun fishing for prizes and playing "under the sea" musical chairs. They also got cute gift prizes at the end of the party.

Daxton was the cutest when he got his cake. He did not know what to do with it. He put his hands on the cake and then just dove in with his mouth. He didn't know how to eat it. It was so cute!

Later that night, Britton and I went up to the South Weber Days Fair. Britton's old Young Men's Leader from Colorado lives up there now. He has some way cute kids and has started a family band. Britton used to teach his kids the drums when he lived in Colorado. So we went up to see them play at the fair. They were great! It was fun to see them again!

Girls Camp!

2009-07-31T15:54:00.000-07:00

Britton went to Girls Camp this week! Let me explain....

Britton and I were called by the Stake Presidency to be the Stake Girls Camp Music Coordinators. What a perfect calling! We were asked to write a theme song for camp. Their theme this year was "I Can." Britton sat down the night we were called and came up with most of the lyrics. We added the guitar and a melody and it turned out great. We have tried to write a few songs together before and we get half way through and tend to get stuck. This song came so easily and we know that our Heavenly Father was helping us and giving us inspiration.

Britton was also asked to learn some hymns and camp songs on his guitar so they could sing other songs at camp. We were both really excited to go until I switched tracks. I was teaching D track, but then I got moved up to 3rd grade and A track. My first week of teaching school was this week and so was Girls Camp. So I told Britton that he was going to have to go by himself. He was a little hesitant at first, but then he warmed up to the idea and decided it would be fine.

We went around to each ward to teach the girls the song before Girls Camp so Britton wouldn't have to try and teach them the song up there. It was really fun to hear each ward sing the song that we wrote. I had Britton video tape the song while he was up there so I could hear it with the whole stake singing it. Here it is...

After he filmed the song, Britton had all the girls say thank you to me. It was so sweet. I got all teary eyed when I heard that. I wish I could have been up there, but I had to start teaching those 3rd graders! Britton loved being up there and he had some really spiritual experiences. Thanks honey for being so brave to go without me. I'm glad you had fun!

Sorry...the movie of the song is having a hard time uploading. I will keep trying to post it.

Family Camp-Out!

2009-07-25T20:50:00.001-07:00

We decided to have a family camp-out for the 24th of July. We decided since we have little kids in the family that it would be best to have it in my parents backyard. It was so fun and relaxing. We set up the tents and then we set off homemade rockets. My brother-in-law made a homemade rocket launcher the other day, so we all decided to make rockets instead of do fireworks.

Derek and Britton getting ready for the 1st launch

Braedon showing off his homemade rocket!

Tyler and Mandy showing off their homemade rockets!

Don't worry...Britton got on the roof and got his rocket down!

After launching a few rockets and having them land hard onto the ground and breaking, we decided to get out the parachute and catch them. Derek and the kids weren't fast enough to catch them. It was worth trying though!

Mom and Daxton enjoying the rockets. Every time we launched a rocket Daxton would laugh so hard. He loved it!

The Three Stooges (aka...Derek, Blake, and Britton)

After launching the rockets, we had a yummy KFC dinner. Then we had some more fun! We got out the silly string and started to attack! Some of the little kids got in the way of us adults, but they loved it!

It's War!

I'm pretty sure I won! Sorry hun!

Daxton was in the middle of it all. He is such an easy going baby that he could care less if he got silly string on him. He is so cute!

We ended of the night with my dad's and nephew Drew's birthday party! Happy Birthday you two handsome guys! Then we cleaned everything up and got in our tents to sleep. And then...it started raining! It was a crazy night. There was on and off rain the whole night. We didn't really care, but Britton did tell me that we have a leak in our tent and it was right over his head. I'm sorry honey. He didn't have a good nights sleep! Overall, it was a great 24th of July!

4th of July!

2009-07-05T16:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning Britton wanted to take me up in an airplane to see him fly. Of course, I was super scared, but I also trust Britton and I wanted to support him in his flying. So I decided to go up with him. It was actually so fun! It was really cool to see the Salt Lake Valley from above. Britton did an awesome job up there. I have to say that I got way nervous before we landed. I always get nervous before the landings even on big airplanes. So I was holding on for dear life with one hand and video taping Britton's landing with the other hand. The landing was awesome! I have never felt anything so smooth. I was very impressed! I am so proud of Britton and how hard he is working on becoming a pilot.

The Olympic Oval

South Towne Mall

Rio Tinto Stadium

Britton's cute head!

Jordan River Temple

Oquirrh Mountain Temple

Later that night, we went over to my parents house to have a bbq and watch fireworks. We had so much fun. We had a very yummy dinner and then all of us cousins played a very competitive game of soccer. It was boys against girls and of course the girls got smoked. But oh well, we were just playing for fun. Then we roasted some marshmallows and watched fireworks. It was a great 4th of July!

Me and Mandy getting ready for some yummy dinner!

Britton :)

Cute baby Daxton!

Mandy, Derek and Braedon

Tyler and Drew roasting their marshmallows!

Tyler and his mom Lori

Lori got everyone these cool glow in the dark bracelets and necklaces.

Goldie had to join in the fun! Do you like her bracelet around her collar?

Here is Braedon showing off his cool bracelet and necklace!

Tyler eating his s'more

Blake and his friend Audrey

Look at those awesome fireworks!

Today was a good day!!!

2009-07-02T18:38:00.000-07:00

Today was great! It was the last day of school. I have mixed emotions about this. I loved my class this year. I had some really good kids. Of course I love when school is over so I get a break, but then I also have to loose my really cute class. I will really miss them. Good thing I am teaching 3rd grade next year so I will still get to see them!

The other great thing about today was that Britton got to fly solo for the first time! About 3 weeks ago his instructor told him that he was ready to solo. He was so excited! Well, the weather has not be very cooperative lately. So he has been waiting and waiting to fly solo. So today when he left to fly, I asked him if he thought today was the day. He said yes, but then he has said that on other days so I didn't really think of it. Then...I got the text message at school that he did it! I am so proud of him!

Good Weather (for one day) and Birthday Party!

2009-06-13T13:41:00.000-07:00

On Friday we celebrated all of the June birthdays in our family. We have a community pool in our neighborhood so we figured it is June and the weather will be nice so we can have a swimming party. Well this whole last week the weather was rainy and gross. We kept watching the weather and it showed that Friday was the only day that the weather would be decent. Well, lucky for us it was! It was a beautiful warm/almost hot day! Definitely a perfect day to go swimming. Here are some pictures of the fam going swimming!

me and my mom and grandma

My sister Linsey swimming with her cute baby Daxton

Tyler, Britton, Braedon and me

After we went swimming we went back to our house for some yummy dinner. After we ate dinner we opened presents!

Britton and Mandy waiting patiently to open their presents. Mandy calls Britton her boyfriend. She loves Britton so much!

Britton helping Tyler open his presents.

Mandy opening her presents.

Guess what Britton got?...

A barbeque grill! We are going to have to cook up some good dinners on that!

Happy Birthday Britton, Tyler, and Mandy! I love you all so much!

Blake is Home!

2009-06-01T19:29:00.000-07:00

My little brother came home from his mission on Tuesday, May 26th. He went to the Belgium, Brussels/Netherlands Mission. He served all of his mission in the Netherlands and spoke Dutch. Blake is such a great example to me. I am so glad he is home and that our family is all together again.

Blake with his mission buddies at his homecoming

Road Trip!

2009-05-21T20:01:00.000-07:00

I had some trade days to use with another teacher from school so Britton and I decided to take a road trip. We headed down to Arizona to visit Britton's sister and her new baby. We headed down on Friday and drove 14 hours to get there. It took forever, but it was totally worth it. We had so much fun with Erin and Lylah! We were really sad that Dave wasn't there, but we understand that he had an air show. On Saturday we went out to Davis Monthon Air Force Base to see where Dave is stationed. It was fun to see the A-10 Warthog that Dave flies.

After spending some time at the Air Force Base Britton went to the Pima Air and Space Museum and Erin and I went to do what girls do best...shopping!
On Sunday we went to church and then enjoyed a yummy roast made by Erin. She cooked it in a Solar Oven.
Those things are so cool. Britton and I totally want one. Then we just enjoyed the rest of our Sunday by playing with Lylah and roasting marshmallows.

On Monday morning we started heading back. We made it to Prescott, Arizona to fill up on gas and take a bathroom break. That town is so pretty. Britton and I loved it. As we were driving around we found a street sign that has my name on it. So of course we had to get a picture of it.
We kept driving for a few more hours and then made it to Hoover Dam. That place is huge! We didn't get out to take pictures because it was so hot so we just took pictures from the car.
They are building a huge bridge over the dam. It was amazing to see.
We decided to stop in Las Vegas and stay the night. It was really nice to break up the 14 hour trip. So that night we hit the strip.
We went to the Paris Hotel and went up to the top of the Eiffel Tower. It was so cool to see the whole strip from up there. Oh, and of course we had to have a kiss up on the Eiffel Tower.

Then we went to see the Flamingos.
As we were in the Flamingo Hotel we saw these big posters on the wall of Donny and Marie. These pictures are for you mom!

Here we are waiting for the Volcano to erupt at the Mirage.

Then we went to the Bellagio to see the fountains.

On Tuesday morning we went to M&M World and then we hit the road.
On our way home we stopped at the St. George Temple. Then we had to eat at In & Out Burger. I've never been there so I had to experience it. It was yummy!

Our road trip was so much fun. I have never laughed so hard before. It is crazy some of the things that come up when you drive for 14 hours! I love you honey and I had so much fun with you. I will always remember this fun time we had together. (Break the stick - *inside joke*) I love you baby!

Happy 2nd Anniversary!

2009-04-28T06:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Britton and I celebrated our 2nd Anniversary! I can't believe it has already been 2 years! Britton is the best! I am so blessed to have such a wonderful man in my life. I can't imagine my life without him. I would have never guessed back in 9th grade when we meet that I would be marrying him 7 years later. I am the luckiest wife ever! I can honestly say that I love Britton more today than I ever have before. I love you so much Britton! Here are some pictures of our beautiful wedding day...

To celebrate our Anniversary, Britton and I went to Thanksgiving Point to the Tulip Festival. We went with my sister Linsey, her husband Derek, and her two kids Braedon and Daxton. They bought a membership to Thanksgiving Point and their "guests" get in half price. So when we told them we wanted to go to the Tulip Festival they told us about the discount. Of course we couldn't pass that up. So they came with us on our Anniversary date! We loved it. We love spending time with them. Don't worry...Britton and I went out to dinner afterwards just the two of us. We went to Goodwood BBQ. Yummm! Here are some fun pictures from the day!

*All of the pictures of the flowers were taken by Britton. Once I showed him how to use the close-up button on our camera, he couldn't stop. It was funny. We would be walking along and then all of a sudden we didn't know where Britton was. He was way behind us on the ground or kneeling next to flowers trying to get good shots of them. Oh, he is so funny! I love him!

Jazz/Lakers Playoff Game!

2009-04-25T14:02:00.000-07:00

Britton and I went with some friends to the Jazz game on Thursday night. Let me tell you...it was so intense. Of course I love the Jazz and want to see them win all the time, but I have never yelled so loud and wanted them to win so much as I did on Thursday night! That game was so fun! The arena got so loud that my ears we ringing at the end. I'm so glad we beat the Lakers!

Peng bought this Korver bobble head doll. Yes, we all think it is funny that Peng has a doll!

Some Catching Up to Do!

2009-04-25T13:28:00.000-07:00

These past few weeks have been crazy. We have had so much going on PLUS Britton and I both got sick. So I'm sorry that it has taken forever to post what we have been up to.

On April 10th we had a get together at our new house. We have lived in our house since November, but this was the first get together/house warming party we had. It was a lot of fun. We ate food, played Catch Phrase (hilarious) and, of course, sang karaoke! A party at our house would not be a party if we didn't have karaoke! Here are some pics of the fun night!

Steve, Keira, me and Britton

Nicole, David, me and Britton

Nicole and David are engaged and they are getting married in June! We are so excited for them!

Matt and Ben singing a lovely duet together!

Krissi and Austin

Matt and Kelsey

Ben singing and holding his fruit kabob in hand. He loved those things!

Then came Easter and my birthday!

Easter and my birthday fell on the same day this year! It was a lot of fun. Britton got me Keith Urban tickets, Darryl Worley/Josh Gracin tickets, clothes, sunglasses and Over the Top Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Cookies! Oh those are so so so yummy! Then we went to church and had a great Easter program. Britton and I both sang in the ward choir Easter program. I'm grateful that Britton comes with me to ward choir. He is the best! Then we taught our primary class about the real meaning of Easter. It was great to reflect on the resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ. After church we went to my sister and brother-in-laws house for Easter dinner and birthday celebrations. We had a very yummy dinner! Then we had an Easter egg hunt for the little kids.

Here are the kids (and Britton) ready for the Easter egg hunt! I love this picture of all of them with their blue on. It is so cute! Britton helped Tyler find his Easter eggs. All of the nieces and nephews just love Britton. He is going to make an awesome dad one day!

My 2nd Grade Birthday Party!

2009-04-09T07:58:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of the year, my 2nd grade class makes a graph of all of our birthdays. We make a tally of how many birthdays are in each month and then we make a graph and keep it by our calender and birthday sign. They wanted to know when my birthday was so we could graph it too. My birthday was the only one in April. So...last week when April started one of my students asked, "Who's birthday is it in April. There is only one person. Who is it?" None of my students raised their hands. Then I reminded them that it was me. I am almost 24 and I don't make a big deal out of birthdays like 7 and 8 year olds. They got so excited that it was my birthday. They started writing birthday cards that day in class. I know that a few of my students went home and told their parents that it was my birthday because then I would get notes in their planners telling me Happy Birthday. Well, on Monday my room mom came in and asked if she could come in on Wednesday and do a Spring craft/activity with the students. I told her that would be great. Well...Wednesday morning I got to school and my whole classroom was decorated with yellow signs, balloons and streamers (yellow is my favorite color). My room mom came after school on Tuesday to decorate it. How nice huh? I thought that was enough to do for my birthday. But that wasn't the end of it. My students all came in the at the beginning of the day with yellow roses. Each student was holding a yellow rose. My room mom did it again. She handed out the yellow roses while the students were in line outside waiting to come inside. So I got 24 yellow roses! How cute! And that still isn't the end of it. Well she came in an hour later to do the Spring craft/activity with the students. She told me that she really didn't have anything planned for a craft/activity. She was actually throwing me a surprise birthday party. She brought cupcakes and icecream and cards for each student to write something to me. She also had her husband email my husband some questions about me (our husbands work together) to spotlight me for my birthday. So my husband even knew about this. These were the spotlight questions:

Favorite color: Yellow
Favorite food: Baked potatoes
Favorite treat: Reeses Peanut Butter Cups
Favorite TV show: So You Think You Can Dance
Hobbies: Aubrey loves to sing. She has been singing since she was a little girl and she will blow you away with her voice.
Favorite movie: How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
Favorite activities: Aubrey loves to go to country concerts. Last year she met Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift. Aubrey also enjoys country swing dancing and spending time with her family.
Something special about her: Aubrey absolutely loves children which explains why she is such an amazing teacher. She wants the best for her kids and is always willing to go the extra mile for them. There is a lot of behind the scene stuff that she does that her students and parents will never know of. Aubrey truly cares for her students and I believe they will remember her as one of the best teachers they have ever had.

Isn't that cute what my husband said? As my room mom was reading that I started to cry. My students asked me if I was sad. I told them that I was crying because I was happy and what my husband said really touched me.

We ended the surprise party by playing birthday BINGO. My room mom is the best! She has done so much for me this year.

I later read the cards that my students wrote for me. Oh, 2nd graders are so cute! Here are some of my favorites...

You are a sparkle in my life!

You are the best teacher ever and I mean it. Even my mom thinks so.

Roses are read, violets are blue, I have the best teacher and so do you!

You are the best. You are so nice and cool. I love it when you teach me. When I grow up I want to be a teacher so so so bad!

I think you are special because you are the nicest person I know and prettiest person I know and the prettiest singer I know and the sweetest person I know.

THAT WAS THE BEST BIRTHDAY EVER (even though it isn't until Sunday)!

Craft It Forward!

2009-03-14T13:37:00.000-07:00

So today I got in the mail my winnings from Julie's Craft It Forward. Look what I got...

Isn't it cute? I love it! Thanks so much Julie!

So....
It is now my turn to

CRAFT IT FORWARD!

Here's how it works. The first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive, at some point during the year, a handmade gift from me! What it will be and when it will arrive is a total surprise! The catch is that if you win, you must then CRAFT IT FORWARD as well. So hurry and post a comment and then post a CRAFT it forward on your blog so the fun can continue! Remember that only the first 3 comments will receive a gift from me, so be quick!

If you are one of the lucky winners, email me your home address at

aubv_412 at hotmail dot com

Bowling!

2009-03-14T12:57:00.000-07:00

Britton planned a bowling party for his chat team at work. So last night we went to Sandy Allstar Lanes. It was a lot of fun hanging out with his buddies at work. We played 2 games. The first game I bowled 105! Can you believe it? I have only bowled over 100 three times in my life. I got a 108 and 112 before and now a 105. My 2nd game wasn't all that great. I bowled a 78. Boo! Oh well. We also saw a lot of people that we knew. We ran into some people from our old ward and then we saw Julie Tucker (Jack Tucker's sister). At least Britton and I were pretty sure it was her. We haven't seen her in a long time. Well, Julie (we think) was bowling with Angie Larsen from ABC 4's Good Things Utah.
I love Good Things Utah so I was 99.9% sure that it was her. So Michelle or Jack- if you are reading this, let me know if Julie knows Angie from Good Things Utah. Then we will know for sure that it was Julie. Thanks! So Julie and Angie with some other friends were on one side of us and guess who was on the other side of us? Larry H. Miller's wife and family.

They were celebrating one of the grandchildren's 13 birthday. Britton and I wanted to go talk to her, but we didn't want to interrupt their family party. So it was a star struck filled night! Haha!

The girls from 1-800-CONTACTS

Rachel and I - This girl is awesome!

I love him so much!

Britton, Tony, and Brian

My Mom is a Star!

2009-02-18T13:20:00.000-08:00

My mom was on Studio 5 today. The producer of Studio 5 is in my parents ward and a while back she asked my mom to be on Studio 5 to talk about being an awesome Grandma. My mom did a great job. She told me she was so nervous, but she was a natural! Go mom! Click HERE to see her and get all of her ideas!

Flower Making!

2009-02-09T10:28:00.000-08:00

On Friday, my sister invited me over to make flower bows for little baby girls. My sister is so funny because she has 2 boys and no girls. She is always looking at little girl clothes, bows, shoes, etc. at stores and is always looking for cute projects to do. Well, my sister-in-law just had a baby girl and so we decided that now was the perfect time to make bows. Here are the pictures of the bows we made and Erin you will be getting some, including the headbands, from Linsey.

After we finished making bows. Linsey asked if I could stay a little longer to watch the boys while she cleaned a little bit of her house. Of course I said yes, because I love Braedon and Daxton. Here is a picture of them laughing at each other. Braedon is such a cute big brother. Daxton was laying down and Braedon came next to him and started saying, "Hi baby Daxton!" Daxton started laughing at Braedon. They love each other so much. It is so cute.

This is a cute picture of Daxton sleeping on my hand. I had him sitting next to me and he was playing with my fingers. All of a sudden he stopped playing with my fingers and was laying on my hand. I asked Linsey if he was sleeping and, as you can see, he was! Isn't that cute and funny?

Jazz game and good friends!

2009-01-29T20:49:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday night Britton and I went to the Jazz game with a few friends. We sat at the very top of the ESA. I am serious...there was a wall right behind us. It was fun though. We had a great time cheering and getting into the game. The game was close the whole time, but we lost. Oh well...at least we had fun with great friends!

When we started losing we had to keep ourselves entertained somehow. So we decided to start taking weird pictures of us.

Our friends...Brenda, Tracee, Peng and Rusty

On Wednesday Britton's friend Chris, from Colorado, came to visit us. We had a great time catching up on each others lives. And of course, the guys had a great time reminiscing about the good old days!

Christmas in Denver!

2008-12-28T18:22:00.001-08:00

This year Britton and I went to Denver to spend Christmas with his family. We left Tuesday night. Our flight was supposed to leave at 6:10, but we didn't board the plane until 10:30 that night. So we had fun talking and learning how to play sudoku while we waited at the airport. Well, we then finally made it to Britton's parents house at 1:30 and went straight to bed. We had a lot of fun with family on Christmas Eve.
We had a big Christmas Eve dinner. Here is the table all decorated. (Good job Dave for folding those napkins so nicely!)

We then sat around the Christmas tree and Britton's dad read us a picture book that had the story of Christ's birth. Then we opened our PJ's to wear Christmas Eve night.

We also had a lot of fun on Christmas Day! Here is a picture of us kids in our cute pj's!

Britton's little brother Preston got Guitar Hero: World Tour for Christmas and, of course, that is pretty much what we did the WHOLE day!

The next day we all went to see the movie "Marley and Me." I loved it! I cried like a baby and Britton said that he held back his tears. After the movie we got together with some of Britton's friends that are still in Denver to catch up and play some games. We love Linsday, Ben, and Brittany!

It was fun seeing Dave and Erin again. Erin is so cute pregnant and Britton and I are excited to have a niece soon!

Christmas Before Christmas!

2008-12-28T18:08:00.000-08:00

Every year my siblings pick names of who to give presents to. This year, Britton and I picked Derek, Linsey, Braedon and Daxton. Since we weren't going to be here for Christmas we had them come over earlier so they could open their Christmas presents. Here they are at our house opening their presents.

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The BIG Game!

2008-11-22T13:31:00.000-08:00

Well, today is the day...BYU vs. U of U! As most of you know Britton is a Utah fan and I am a BYU fan. How do we survive without killing each other? Well, we both love our teams, but we do not get fanatic about it. I think we both realize that it is "just a game."

I found this shirt at the BYU Bookstore 3 years ago. I bought one for myself and I bought one for Britton and sent it to him on his mission. This shirt describes our situation perfectly!

Carrie Underwood Concert!

2008-11-22T11:15:00.000-08:00

Britton got us tickets to go to the Carrie Underwood concert this last Wednesday. I was so sad because I had Parent Teacher Conferences that night. I told Britton that I couldn't go. He felt so bad, but then we decided that he would go to see the opening act and then I would just hurry after PTC to meet him. I made it right in time. I got there and sat right down...not even 2 minutes later they started the countdown for Carrie to come on. I was so happy that I could go. Our seats were right next to the mini stage that Carrie would walk down to get to her other stage. She slapped our hands every time she would walk past (which was about 7-8 times). We had so much fun!

Britton got to see Little Big Town

Our New House!

2008-11-08T23:41:00.000-08:00

Sorry this post has taken forever. We have been so busy trying to get everything moved in and organized. And on top of that, I went back on track and then had Parent Teacher Conferences. So I finally have time to actually sit down and blog about our new house. We moved into our new house on Halloween! Moving is rough, but it is so worth it when you are done. We love our new house in Riverton (especially the 2 car garage)! Our house has 3 bedrooms, 2 full baths, and a half bath. Our house is still close to where I teach and where Britton goes to work. We haven't had too much time to decorate, but that all comes with time.

AAAAHHHH! A Snake!

2008-10-30T22:26:00.000-07:00

Tonight when Britton and I got home from my aunt and uncles house we found a snake on the stairs. I actually didn't notice it and walked right over it. Then Britton came in after me and said, "Umm...there's a snake." I thought he was joking until I looked at the stairs that I had just walked down. Then we thought it was a Halloween prank that was pulled on us by our landlords (because they are goofy like that)...UNTIL it started to coil up because it was scared. I flipped out and jumped on the couch. Britton started walking down more stairs to get closer to it and scared the snake. It started to move and I flipped even more. Finally, Britton saved the day. I got him a glove and he picked up the snake and took it outside and threw it in our neighbors front yard (so hopefully they aren't reading this)!

Family Home Evening!

2008-10-28T12:00:00.000-07:00

Once a month my whole family gets together to have a combined Family Home Evening. Linsey and Derek were just in charge of the FHE in October and we had a lot of fun. The kids were able to go on a scavenger hunt. At the end of the scavenger hunt the kids got bags of Halloween treats and the adults got AUTUMN blocks. My sister is very crafty. She made the blocks for every family. She is great! We then had dinner together and then made caramel apples...yum!

Pickin' Potatoes!

2008-10-18T12:20:00.001-07:00

Every year my Uncle Arvid plants a farm full of potatoes. Every October our whole family gets together and we pick potatoes. Thinking back on the past years that we have done this it is usually raining or it is freezing cold. Today was a beautiful day. It started out a little cold, but gradually got really warm. It was the perfect day to pick potatoes.

Braedon, Mandy, me and Drew

Braedon picked a potato

Braedon putting the potato in the sack

I love this picture. The kids took a lunch break in Grandma's van. They all sat in the back and they were silent the whole time. They must have been really hungry.

Tyler liked to pick the little baby potatoes

Rachel's Birthday!

2008-10-18T12:08:00.000-07:00

Last night Britton and I went to Aunt Rachel's birthday dinner. We went to Tucanos Brazilian Grill up at the Gateway. We love Rachel and we hope she had a wonderful birthday.

Rachel

Mary, Rachel, Grandma, Britton and I at dinner

We got Rachel a BYU sweatshirt for her birthday. She got a U of U sweatshirt from Mary. It is a good thing that Rachel likes BYU and the U.

Hubby Tag

2008-10-17T20:06:00.000-07:00

1. Where did you meet?
We met in 9th grade. We were in the same seminary and English class. We instantly had the hots for each other!

2. How long did you date for?
8 months

3. How long have you been married?
a year and a half

4. What does he do that surprises you?
he likes to clean and he ALWAYS surprises me by going in for a kiss and then all of a sudden he kisses my chin - he is so weird!

5. What is your favorite feature about him?
his smile and his green/blue eyes

6. What's your favorite quality about him?
he makes people happy and he has a great sense of humor

7. Does he have a nick name for you?
baby ruv

8. What is his favorite color?
blue

9. What is his favorite food?
eggs benedict

10. What is his favorite sport?
football

11. Who said I love you first?
he did

12. When and where was your first kiss?
Jack Tucker's house - it was actually very romantic!

13. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple?
We love going to country concerts and love to go country dancing. We also like watching The Office together.

14. Do you have any kids? How many?
We don't have any kids, but Britton sure acts like one! :)

15. What is a hidden talent of his?
He is awesome at handstands...he has won many random competitions!

16. How old is he?
23

17. What is his favorite kind of music?
nothin' but country

18. What do you admire about him?
he never judges others and he is always kind to those around him

19. What is his favorite pastime?
hanging out with best friends and doing random/crazy things

20. Do you think he is going to read this?
most likely

Whoever is reading this - consider yourself tagged!

2nd Grade Halloween Party!

2008-10-14T21:05:00.001-07:00

Today was our 2nd grade Halloween Party. I teach D track so we are off track on Halloween day. Therefore, we get to have our party early. We had so much fun! I dressed up as a witch. Here are a few pictures of me standing by our class poster of homonyms that we made. Isn't it fitting?
P.S: I really like my purple and black tights!

Babysitting!

2008-10-12T14:53:00.000-07:00

Britton and I babysat my sisters two boys last night. We babysat Braedon who is 2 1/2 and Daxton who is barely 2 months. Britton and I had a lot of fun with them.
I was downstairs changing Daxton's diaper and I could hear Britton and Braedon laughing upstairs. After I was done I went upstairs to see what they were laughing about. Braedon had dressed up Britton with star glasses and a fireman hat. I thought it was so funny that I had to get a picture of it.

Braedon thought it was so funny that I was laughing at Britton that he decided to dress me up next. Of course we had to get Braedon back - so we dressed him up.

It was time for Braedon to put his pajamas on because it was almost time for bed. I was in the bathroom when I heard a little knock at the door. When I opened it there was Braedon with his pajama pants on top of his head. He said, "I've got my pajamas on Aubrey." What a funny kid. I don't know how he comes up with these things.

My Mom's 50th Birthday Party!

2008-09-03T20:06:00.001-07:00

Sunday was my mom's 50th birthday! We had a wonderful family party for her. She really enjoyed herself. She is the greatest mom ever. I love her so much! Here are some cute pics of the family enjoying time together.

Family Night

2008-08-19T18:40:00.000-07:00

For family night we went up Mill Creek Canyon to have dinner and roast marshmallows. It was fun spending time with Britton's family since we don't get to see them that often.

Preston playing with his airgun

Britton's dad playing with fire

Rachel and Grandma Lang

Britton's mom

My awesome brother-in-law Preston

My Handsome Hubby!

2008-08-19T17:37:00.000-07:00

Britton and I got all fancied up to go to Nick Jarrett's wedding reception. I was in the bathroom fixing my hair when Britton walked in. He looked so handsome! I loved what he was wearing. I told him to pose so I could get a picture of him. He probably thought I was weird, but I loved his outfit and he just looked so handsome. Don't get me wrong, Britton always looks handsome. We then decided to take a "sexy" picture of us. That picture really isn't sexy of us. We just kind of look goofy, but oh well.

My Awesome Husband and Mom!

2008-08-15T18:24:00.000-07:00

So today I had to go to school to set up my classroom. I had been working so hard when my husband and my mom showed up. They helped me so much. I would have been there for many more hours if they hadn't come. I love both of them so much!

My New Nephew

2008-08-13T10:57:00.000-07:00

My new nephew Daxton Blake was born on 8/8/08 at 6:57 am! He was 7lbs. 4oz. 20 1/2 inches long. He is so adorable! Here are a few pictures of the family holding Daxton.

Cute Braedon. He is now an older brother! He is so small My awesome sister Linsey recovering from a c-section.

Braedon was so excited to hold baby Daxton

All of the cousins together - Drew, Daxton, Braedon, Mandy, and Tyler

I love them all! They are so cute!
Cute Daxton
Look at that blonde hair
Getting ready to go home
Finally Daxton is home. Look at that cute family!

Nashville!

2008-08-12T17:10:00.000-07:00

Britton won a trip from the radio to the CMA Music Festival back in June. We spent 4 days in Nashville, Tennessee going to concerts, meeting country stars and having the time of our lives. It was the best trip ever!

Britton at the Nashville Airport

Nashville Skyline
Opryland Hotel - it is beautiful inside. There are gardens everywhere.
About to go into the Grand Ole Opry House!

In front of the stageWe actually got to sing on the Grand Ole Opry!

We saw them filming the finale of Nashville Star

Waiting in line for the front row to the nightly concerts

Inside the Opryland Hotel

Little Big Town
Little Big Town
Rodney Atkins
Trace Adkins
Alan Jackson

Yeah!!! I got to meet Carrie Underwood!
Country Music Hall of Fame
Craig Morgan
Little Big Town
Little Big Town

Faith Hill
Keith Urban
We got to hold Taylor Swift's guitar!
I got to meet Taylor Swift! She is so sweet!
Britton is in heaven! Taylor is his 2nd favorite girl!

Lady Antebellum
Miranda Lambert
Carrie Underwood Josh Turner
Julianne Hough

We met Trent Willmon
We met Jimmy Wayne
We got to meet Alan Jackson!
Isn't his wife beautiful?
Jack Ingram

Taylor Swift
Sugarland's big entrance!
Sugarland
We met and interviewd Jeremy McComb on GAC
We met Carolina Rain

Montgomery Gentry
Kellie Pickler
Jewel Rascal Flatts

Marriage!

2008-08-12T16:03:00.000-07:00

Since we just started blogging, I decided to update all of you on how Britton and I got back together after all of our years apart. As most of you know, Britton and I met when we were 14 in 9th grade. We had the biggest crushes on each other. He moved to Denver towards the end of our sophomore year. We kept in contact through emails and phone calls, however we both actively dated other people.

After high school graduation, Britton moved back to Utah to go to school at the U while I was attending BYU. One day we were able to get back in touch and Britton came down to visit me in Provo. We instantly fell in love again and started dating shortly after that.

Five months later Britton moved back to Colorado to get ready for his mission. He left for the Canada, Calgary Mission in July 2004. Over the next two years we wrote back and forth and when he returned we started dating again.

We got engaged on November 15, 2006 and then got married on April 27, 2007. We have loved every moment of being married and look forward to future years together.