i need a new camera

back when i started this blog my old digital camera was dying and then died, so i switched to kyle's old digital camera but it could only take about 5 pictures before the new batteries i had just put in it would be drained. but then my dad gave me his old digital camera annnnnd that only lasted a month and a half. BUT! right then (almost as a sign from God that he wants me to record some of my life) i was called as the ward picture-taker and given a digital camera to use. which i conveniently used for my own purposes as well as the ward's.

alas i was released from that calling in january and had to return the camera. which means i've pretty much stopped blogging. it's a lot harder for me to blog without pictures, so i usually wait till someone else takes pictures for me--like my parents in february.

but march has been pretty boring anyway, so there's not a lot to update about.
here's some things i can remember:
-kyle took the GRE and did AWESOME
-we had a fun sushi double-date w/ chels + david
-i joined kyle and a bunch of his guy friends in playing some basketball, and didn't completely embarrass myself
-we had a fun ward party at a gymnastics center
-i had a fun lunch with my friend elisa
-some spring weather finally arrived and me and kyle have started going outside again! playing tennis, basketball, soccer (kyle), frisbee at the park, etc
-we used a free bowling coupon one day and BOTH of us bowled TURKEYS! kyle even bowled TWO!
-saw the hunger games and LOVED it!
-lacey came to town and we had such a fun breakfast at communal w/ elisa, danielle, bethany + chels
-me and kyle babysat our friends' baby the other night while they went to the temple and it was so fun! emery is an 11-month old little boy and it was so cute seeing kyle interact w/him--melted my heart a little<3
-and today after a great day of conference, delicious food, cinnamon rolls, and time at the park, we had a fun time at a reunion for kyle's mission. kyle's first district of missionaries that he taught in the mtc just got home and were at the reunion tonight! it was fun for him to see them and catch up on tahiti news. and i always enjoy  hearing all the crazy stories from the mission.

well i think that was most of the excitement for march, but we have some fun things coming up in april and it should be a good month, so i'll try to blog a little more!

love, shoes, & family

our love day was great. it had all the fixings of a romantic valentine's: special home made meal, pesto, pasta, fresh salad, love notes, chocolate covered strawberries, annnnnd my parents. and missionary brother. ha!

my little brother reported to the mtc the day after valentine's day, so we were able to spend monday evening thru wednesday evening with my wonderful parents. they treated us to quite a few meals out, took me grocery shopping, and after we dropped my little brother off at the mtc on wed, my mom (with tears still in her eyes) took me to the mall. and after eating a big chocolate brownie and buying herself a new pair of shoes my mom declared that she felt much better! Oh and don't worry about me, my generous mother bought me 2  pairs of new shoes!

and on saturday kyle took me out for a v-day dinner just the two of us. i wore my new shoes and we celebrated a year and a half of marriage over pizzeria's 712's delectable offerings. afterwards kyle let me choose wherever i wanted to get dessert. and i chose krispy kreme. yep. nothing does it for me like original glaze. mmmmmm.....

here's a few pictures of my handsome little brother. he'll be spending the next two years in long beach, california serving a mission for the LDS church, i'm so proud of him but i'm sure gonna miss this guy!

so this is the new year

after reading everyone else's end of year re-cap and new resolution blog posts i feel like i need to post something too. i'm usually really in to making new year's resolutions and such, last year kyle and i even sat down, talked and made a few as a couple. i can't remember what they were anymore... but we made some! but for whatever reason this year i just wasn't feeling it.

i feel like we're kinda in limbo right now. we're sort of just waiting. waiting for this chapter in our lives to end and to start a new one. and until that new one starts and we have some idea of what that life will be, its hard to make future plans and goals.

ok i just read what i wrote above and its sounds a little depressing. but i promise that is not what life is like right now! its actually really good. i've been getting more temp work, kyle's really enjoying his internship, the weather has been WONDERFUL, and we're both healthy and happy. so in lieu of resolutions i think i'll just do a few highlights of the past year and a few future highlights:

2011

• i graduated with my BS from dental hygiene school--yayyyy!
• family reunion w/ kyle's family in utah
• family reunion with my family in montana over the 4th of july
• our 1 year anniversary
• california for danielle's wedding/disneyland
• i dyed my hair brown, and it magically grew long and luscious 
• thanksgiving in houston
• kyle finished his last semester of undergrad classes
• and he quit his job at the MTC right before christmas
• and then he stopped shaving
• christmas in fort worth

2012

• kyle will complete his internship at the hospital in june which means...
• kyle will graduate from BYU in june!!
• we will move to texas in july
• where we will both find full time jobs. that we love. (hopefully)
• then we will find a cute place to live that has a little bit of outdoor space so we can plant a little garden
• and i will soak up the texas sun, and get a major tan, and my teeth will look really white next to my tan, tan face
• kyle will apply to PA schools, interview and get accepted into a texas (hopeful)  PA school
• meanwhile we both work our butts off at our jobs so that hopefully by the end of the year we can pay off all my student loans. this one's a little ambitious, but we're hopeful. how many times have i used that word now?

yup i think that pretty much sums it up. we're kind of just waiting for kyle to graduate so we can move on with our lives and see where the future will take us. but life is good right now, and we are trying to enjoy it, so here's to a great 2012!

merry texmas

down here in texas we've been enjoying the break! we went to a christmas concert, watched the help and ate chocolate pie, played with nieces and a nephew, spent many afternoons at the park going for walks, playing frisbee golf, feeding the ducks, watched cowboys and aliens, got together with my brother and his wife and played some games, road-tripped to college station to visit kyle's brother and his family, got together with old high-school friends, played lots of rounds of pass the pig and speed scrabble, went to an imax showing of polar express with our niece, introduced my in-laws to food inc, ate a lot of food, celebrated christmas eve and christmas, watched football and relaxed! its been a great visit, and here's a few scenes of our trip:

all the stockings were hung by the chimney with care...

our little nephew autsin, loved playing with this nativity set!

classic kyle: computer in his hands, soccer ball in his feet

the beautiful christmas tree

the beard. after he took his last final at BYU, and taught his last day at the MTC, kyle put his razor down. this is the hairiest i have ever seen my man! but i kinda like it...:)

christmas morning!

santa came and the stockings are filled!

christmas booty! a puzzle, some spice jars, a car talk calendar, keychain light, an a gift card to academy! 

we also got a super soft, cuddly, blanket, and a fhe chart with 2 blank hearts for future children!

my father-in-law, sister-in-law, my ADORABLE nephew austin (i loved playing with this little guy), my cute niece addie, and her dad who is putting together the bike that santa brought her!

3...2...1... blast off!

the week before christmas we took a road trip from dallas to houston to join my parents in celebrating my dad's birthday. the weather was beautiful in houston, and we arrived just in time for lunch. then we headed to church, my parent's ward is filled with young families and the 835 or so (slight exaggeration) chattering little toddlers made sacrament a little nosier than me and kyle are used to:) but it was a great meeting nonetheless, and on our way home from church we picked up chelsea, and after 5+ years of being best friends i finally saw her house and met the rest of her family! then we had a delicious birthday dinner, opened presents, and played a couple games.

the next day we rode bikes, and looked at more model homes--so fun! soaked in the hot tub, played lots of ping pong, and spent some quality time in the media room. but i think the highlight of the trip came the next day when we visited NASA. me and kyle had both been as little children but couldn't remember much other than that it was a lot fun. and years later we weren't disappointed! we watched a couple short movies on space and astronauts and toured the dark museum, then we watched the living in space presentation, and then it was time for puzzles!! they have all kinds of games and puzzles and brain teasers and we all had a blast trying to figure them out, even though we ha 4 grown, college--educated adults working on them, there were some we could just NOT figure out!

we sure had a blast at NASA, and on the way home we stopped at oh la la bakery and picked up some scrumptious treats. thanks again mom and dad for such a fun visit!

in front of the command center

rocket ship!

my wonderful parents--unfortunately the flash didn't work

astronaut liz

touching the moon stone and then fixing the satellite

four people use four ropes and work together to land the hot air balloon in different locations, this game was seriously so fun! and the bottom picture is me working on another puzzle

our treats from oh la la! they included carrot cake, an italian cream cupcake, candy bar cheescake, a cannoli, and a s'more cupcake! mmm...

a texan winter

i love texas. bluebell ice cream, blue blonnets, and best of all the weather!! since we arrived most of our days have been sun-filled and in the 60s. we've taken walks, played frisbee golf, basketball, and gone for bike rides in the beautiful weather. it looks more like fall than winter here, and i couldn't be happier about it!

pizza and ninja men

my friend elisa is great. she also enjoys farmer's markets, she speaks french, norwegian, and icelandic, she has made a bjork swan dress halloween costume and she plays the cello. we lived together for 2 glorious years, traveled around london and paris together, and she was one of my bridesmaids.

and this past week she hosted a christmas gathering where we drank hot coca and Glögg (a scandinavian version of apple cider), talked about funny christmas memories, and decorated and ate ninja men! (instead of gingerbread men hahaha!!)

ninja men!

me, my baby, and the christmas tree!

elisa and me!

and the next day kyle and I celebrated kyle's first day of freedom from school by going out to lunch at our favorite place--pizzeria 712! before i remembered to take a picture, we had gobbled up the pitas and spicy hummus, and the frisee salad with gouda and allred orchard apples, yum! but i managed to take a picture of our delicious pizza--hooray for the first day of christmas vacation!!

kyle's striped sweater is the other christmas present i got him! isn't it cute?!

                                                                      yummy pizza!