Life Changing

I have been thinking a lot lately about all the events that have transpired in my life just within the past year. Almost exactly one year ago, on March 9th, I started dating my BFF. He is awesome. We have experienced so much together already, and we have definitely built a love and a friendship it almost blows my mind a little bit. I share things with Tyler that probably even the CIA wouldn't be able to find out about me :)

The very beginning.

I think what is really awesome about our whole dating experience is that the entire time we were dating, there were only 4 days where we didn't see each other. The first 2 were the first two days we started dating. Tyler went to Las Vegas with some friends for the basketball tournament. The second 2 were when I went to Green River for a visit.

That's just how much we love eachother!

We loved each other so much in fact, that we decided to get engaged!!!

And then, we were so crazy in love, we decided marriage was going to fit us just right!!!

After our wedding, with such amazing support and love from our family and friends, we had an incredible summer. Neither of us had jobs holding us down, so basically we just spent every second together, went on vacations with family, had an awesome honeymoon, and took advantage of the summer.

Tyler was planning on working and going to school in the Fall, so he signed up for classes and got hired at a call center, but came down with the craziest case of Mono that I have ever heard of. Every time he would go get tested, the test would come back negative for Mono. That lasted a miserable month, and Tyler eventually had to drop out of school because he had missed so much. He got an amazing new job at Goldenwest Credit Union in Provo as a teller in October and really enjoys it. He's learned so much about interest rates, mortgages, and finances, and always comes home to share new things he's learned at work.

What a blessing it was for me to get a job again at the school I worked at last year! I love teaching fifth grade, but am still on a one year contract, so I don't have a definite plan for next year yet. I love my school though, and hope and pray that something opens up for me there again next year. Teaching is such an awesome profession.

When we first got married, we got an apartment in Springville, which turned out to be not such a good move for us. The commute to work for both of us took around 25 minutes both ways, and it started to really wear on our financial situation and just was not convenient. Orem is where we needed to be. So we asked, more like begged Tyler's parents if we could move in to their basement on Labor Day weekend. We promised that we would be out by the time we found a place of our own, but that June would be the latest. They of course said yes, and that is where we're still at today. His parents are so awesome. Marilyn and I take turns cooking dinner. This has also helped us save a ton of money. I love it most of the time, just because we all get along so well. But sometimes I feel like I just want to move anywhere because I want to start a life with Tyler. We have actually looked at a few houses, and we recently put an offer in on one that we really love, so hopefully that goes through, but if not, we still have options. Our realtor is very helpful and encouraging and is trying to help us find a place that will meet all of our needs. I JUST WISH WE WOULD HEAR SOMETHING SOON!!!

Our most recent news happens to be something that I have been very hesitant about sharing, but most of the people who look at my blog (which I don't actually know if anybody still does), know what I am about to share anyways. From the very beginning, Tyler and I knew that we wanted kids, preferably little tiny babies first, because they are so cute, but kids nonetheless. So needless to say, we were not really preventing it from happening, but didn't expect it to happen as quickly as it did. We found out on December 27th that we are going to have a little tiny baby in August, and we are thrilled!!! I am currently 15 weeks into my pregnancy and have already experienced more that I ever knew I could. Here are just a few of the wonderful joys of my pregnancy so far:

FOOD

I used to love to eat everything. As of now, I still can eat a few of my favorite things, but my tastes have definitely changed. Some of the things that I still actually like are cold cereal, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, apples, bananas, and yep, that about covers it. I have gone through several food stages. December was my orange stage. January was my chicken noodle soup stage (which eventually got to where I never want it again). February was my bagels with cream cheese stage. And now in March, I don't really have a specific item that I constantly want. I ate chicken enchiladas on Monday night for dinner, and they were SO DELICIOUS!!! A few of the things that I thought I liked, which didn't turn out well were spaghetti and rigatoni. One night I could eat them and loved them, and the next night I couldn't keep them down. I don't like going out to eat anymore. My love and affection for desserts has completely disappeared. I don't even enjoy chocolate. Sad. And cheese is definitely a no go.

EMOTIONS

Sometimes I find myself in the most interesting situations, and after the event is over, I label myself as a crazy person. The first event I love thinking back on happened on a beautiful, or maybe actually not so beautiful day in January. Tyler had to work and so I decided that I would go get a library card from the Orem Public Library so that I could check out a book that I really wanted to read. All I wanted was a stinking book so that I wouldn't be bored while my husband was at work. Isn't reading a great activity? I thought so too. But apparently the man at the front desk of the library did not think so. I knew beforehand that I needed to take some mail in to the library in order for them to issue me a library card to prove that I was a resident of Orem. They like to know that you are going to bring your library books back. Well, duh. Do I look like someone who would come to the library, get a bunch of books, and take them home and never bring them back? Or heaven-forbid, take them home and destroy them or something? Apparently the man at the front desk thought so. My mail was not good enough. I could not get a library card. I could not check out a book. I said to him, "I am really annoyed right now, and I am probably never coming back." And I walked out. I have never been back since. I called Tyler right away in tears. He was on his way to work. I explained the situation. All he kept saying was, "I am sorry Babe." I hung up on him. I wanted him to say that he was heading straight to the library and that he was going to injure the man at the front desk and burn the library down. That's why I called my mom. She knew exactly what to say, and then she sent me the book I wanted to check out so that I wouldn't have to ever go back to the stupid library again!!! What an awesome mom. So I get emotional sometimes....doesn't everybody? :)

BODY

My body has not changed much at all. In fact, if you didn't know, you probably wouldn't be able to tell that I was pregnant. However...my back has started to ache a little bit now and then. (Tyler is so awesome and massages it for me). I am more susceptible to illnesses. (I have already gotten the stomach flu and am currently battling a cold AND a cold sore) (EW). I hate any pressure on my stomach at all. (Still not sure what to do about that situation). I am exhausted all the time. (I go to sleep around 8 or 9 every night). I still have not gotten over my "morning sickness" which should never be referred to as "morning sickness" because I have it 24/7. I have even lost 9 pounds in the process. And my most recent discovery is that fiber and anything bran related are going to be my very best friends from now on. I had Tyler call my principal this morning to inform him that I was going to be a little bit late for work because I was not feeling very well and was still getting ready (aka, I was stuck on the potty for a half an hour and couldn't get anything to move, if you know what I mean). That was one of the worst experiences I have ever had in my life.

All in all though, I am still super excited, and so is my family. I couldn't be more happy about the opportunity to be a Mom. All of the women in my life who have raised me to be who I am have inspired me. I hope I have half of the qualities that they have when I raise my kids. We find out the gender of the baby on the 29th of this month, so I will hopefully keep my blog more updated than I have been doing recently. I just knew that this post was coming soon, so I didn't want to spoil the beans before I was ready. I still haven't told my students yet, or my coworkers (except for 2), and I don't know when I will be ready to do that. Tyler keeps saying to wait to tell my students until they ask me if I am getting fat. He is so awesome.

Locks, Cookies, & A Get-Away

We have had a really great December so far! School was great in December, and now I am happily but rather lonely celebrating for two whole weeks away from school! It has been a blast. But again this year, my students were so gracious with their gifts! I love my students. They are amazing. I hope they are all having a great Christmas Break! We had a really fun last day of school by having pajama day, a read-a-thon in the morning. We watched the movie The Best Christmas Pageant Ever after reading the book. So funny. We took a spelling test. We had a way fun gift exchange and ate treats, and then our entire school met in the auditorium to have a Christmas Sing. Each grade got a turn singing two Christmas songs that they have been practicing for the past couple of weeks. We sang Pine Cones and Holly Berries, and Nuttin' for Christmas. We even heard through the grapevine that our choreography and singing was the best out of the whole school. 5th grade rocks!

We decided that we needed to put a lock on our door downstairs, and Tyler thought that the best time to do that would be at midnight. We had to do some sawing and drilling and it was a little bit bigger of a project than I think we anticipated. But we finally finished and by the time we were done, I think I looked like a zombie.

We made delicious cookies to take to work parties and such. We made homemade oreos, peanut butter yummy cookies with hershey's kisses, and sugar cookies with candy cane kisses. They were all delicious. Tyler just gets too excited about the size of the cookies so we are working on making the cookies a little bit smaller now :) He is so cute.

For a quick get-away, we left for Ogden on the 19th to stay in Tyler's parent's condo. We only took comfy clothes, because we were planning on a few days of pure laziness and relaxation. We did bring our new sleds because we were hoping that it would snow and we could have some fun outside, but we were sad to only experience the snow on our way out the door to head back to Orem. We did buy delicious food to cook while we were there though. We made tacos, biscuits and gravy, but our favorite was spaghetti with italian sausage and yummy salad. We bought tons of snacks and just enjoyed our time together. We even got to go hot-tubbing! It was definitely a great get-away that hopefully we can do again soon!!

We know how to have a good time with our family. Tyler is always tackling everybody and tickling them. It's one of the things that I love most about him. He has the best sense of humor. Everybody else loves the tackling and tickling too (said sarcastically).

And last night, we did not want to cook, so we just made one of my Grandma Slaughter's specialties; Cereal, toast, and hot chocolate. She used to make that for my every time I would go over to her house or whenever I stayed the night. It is one of my all time favorites!!

And finally, in just a few short hours, we are heading to Green River to spend Christmas with my Dad's side of the family!! I can hardly wait! We are going to have such a fun time! I just hope that the roads are good and that we can finally use our sleds! Christmas is such a fun time of the year, and I can't wait to spend my first Christmas being married with Tyler!! He was so excited about the things that he got me for Christmas that he might have already showed me everything he got me. He thought that since he showed me my presents, that I should show him his, but I definitely have not, and he is just going to have to wait till tomorrow, or at least until tonight! He keeps telling me that I don't love him, but it's because I love him so much that I haven't shown him! Yay for surprises, family, love, and Christmas!

One more thing. We have become addicted to the show Prison Break. It is so intense and so good!! We love it and have even gotten coworkers addicted to it as well. It is on Netflix, so if you have netflix, you should watch it too! It is just so sad that we are on the 4th season and don't know what we are going to do after it is over!!! Who knew you could become so close to and supportive of convicts trying to break out of prison :)

Cel-e-brate good times, Come On!!!

There have been so many wonderful things happening lately. I can't wait to share! First of all, we celebrated my wonderful husband getting a new job at Goldenwest Credit Union by going shopping all day one Saturday for new clothes for him, and my my my is he the most handsome teller there now or what!!! Just a few of my favorite outfits that he got :)

Today we had the amazing opportunity to share Chelsea and Greg Sloat's special day with them. My wonderful cousin Chelsea got married today to Greg Sloat, and we had the opportunity to go to the temple and attend their sealing. They are now blessed to be with eachother as husband and wife for time and all eternity! Congrats Chels and Greg! I can't wait to hang out with you guys once you get back and all settled in! Here are a few of the pictures that Tyler and I took throughout the day!

Tyler made me yummy french toast this morning!!

Watching football...hmm...should be going to get a haircut :)

Out to eat at California Pizza Kitchen!

The remnants after our delicious crispy mac' n' cheese!

Tyler made the #3 :)

The only picture that I got of the Salt Lake Temple.

My awesome cousin Erika!

Our amazing friends Ruth and Steve!

My beautiful cousin Chelsea and her new husband Greg!

Now we are safe and sound at home, doing what you may ask....watching the BYU game of course! But at least we got some treats to enjoy while we watch! I love my sweet husband!

October Fun

We have had some really fun days in October so far, and I just thought I would share. Tyler and I slaved over the hot stove making delicious chicken tacos for dinner last week, and all Melissa and David had to do was bring over two very inexpensive pumpkins that we could carve for our date night. It was really fun though. They carved a very "Lady Gaga" looking pumpkin, while we stuck with the traditional scary face pumpkin look. You will have to vote which one you think is the best Halloween pumpkin. Let Melissa and David down easily though :)

Of course we watched the BYU versus Idaho State game on Saturday! What a win BYU had! Not that that's any surprise or anything :) BYU Rocks! And it just so happened that some of my favorite people were at the game. Of course the love of my life Tyler, but then Melissa Hart, Melissa French, and Kammie Morris! I just love those girls. It was fun to be able to spend some time with them during the tailgate before the game. We just visited and laughed and enjoyed the beautiful weather. At half time, Kammie met up with me and Mel and we gawked as the BYU basketball team forged their way through the crowd. We managed to get a sneaky picture with Brandon Davies! Oh my goodness, oh my goodness!

And of course me and my silly husband had to get some pictures! We just look so good together, it's almost unreal :)

What a geek burger :)

I wonder where he gets it from? Hmm :)

They won!!!

A Date...Finally

The past three weeks have not been fun. It started with fevers, headaches, and body aches for Tyler. We tried to figure out what was wrong by going to the doctor, and they knew it was mono before they did any blood tests. But when the first two blood tests came back negative for mono, we didn't really know what to think. They told him that it was just a virus that was just going to take time to get rid of. So miserable. But then one night, we really couldn't stand it any longer. Tyler was so sick, and feeling so awful, that we decided to go to the ER and see if they could find something that the doctor couldn't find.

In the waiting room at the ER.

They took more of Tyler's blood, if he had any left (he swears that they took 14 gallons of his blood), and again the blood tests came back negative for mono even though they were "positive" that it was mono. So we started to think of other things that he might have. Lymphoma, cancer of the immune system, was one of Tyler's first thoughts, which literally gave me a heart attack. His mom also suggested diabetes because of some of his symptoms. The doctor called and wanted to try taking his blood one last time. And FINALLY the blood test came back positive for mono. Hooray! They were able to give him some medicine for his symptoms, which really helped. And at last, 23 days later, it is looking like he is almost back to normal. Something kind of hilarious that I thought that I would mention was something that happened while we were in the ER. The doctor said that Tyler really should rest and not do anything very active to preserve the small amount of energy that he does have. I asked if that meant that he shouldn't go to the BYU game against San Jose on Saturday night, knowing full well that we were going to go anyways. The doctor was a big BYU fan as well, and said that was something that I would have to discuss with Tyler. We totally ended up going. My choice of course. :)

It was so cold! I was wearing 15 layers of clothing.

This brings me to the title of this blog. A Date...Finally. Tyler was so miserable during the mono infestation because he really is such an active person, always wanting to go outside to play catch, or go to Provo Beach Resort, or just get out for a while. He just didn't have enough energy to go out and do anything. So last night, after feeling tons better, he asked me if I wanted to go out. And so, we definitely took advantage of that. We went to Firehouse Subs, a delicious sandwich place that Tyler discovered on his mission in Georgia. YUM! We went to the mall, just to walk around. We went to one of our very favorite places, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory to get a caramel apple to share. A good caramel apple just gets me into a happy mood no matter when I eat one. To top it all off, we went to Provo Beach Resort! Tyler won at croquet and then I made him buy me ice cream so I could stop crying after such a sad loss. Delicious. I love spending time with my sweetheart. He is so funny and fun, especially when he is not sick :)

You will never guess what we are doing at this exact moment. If you guessed spending time with one another you are correct. But if you guessed watching another BYU game, you are even more correct. My favorite.

So Sick :(

My poor husband has been so sick the past week. It started last Thursday, and is still going strong. We decided on Sunday that enough was enough. We wanted to know what was going on. We never expected the doctor to say what he said though. They took some blood tests, and after a strep test being negative, the doctor told us that Tyler has mono. What the heck? How in the world did he get mono? I don't have mono, and we have heard that it is called "the kissing disease" for a reason. So who has my husband been kissing? Just kidding. I asked how you can contract this evil mono, and the doctor said besides kissing, you can get it from any kind of saliva from anywhere. Everybody is always sneezing and coughing and spitting all the time, (what a lovely picture I have in my head now) so it is kind of understandable. But boy has Tyler been sick. Cold sweats, fevers, headaches, backaches, fatigue, weight loss (maybe a good side affect?), and spleen enlargements, are just a few wonderful side affects of this awful sickness. Please pray you never get it. IT'S AWFUL! And after they took his blood, my poor husband needed a juice box and and band-aid and a kiss on the forehead to make him feel better. He didn't even have to go to work or school this week. Lucky. But I am the best wife ever, and I have taken good care of my boy. I hope he is feeling better today...cause we are going to the game no matter what :) By the way, BYU won last week 24-17 against Central Florida! Woo Hoo! I knew I would have good news after that game! Go cougars!

Isn't he so adorable? I think so :)

Rise Up

Last Saturday was supposed to be magical. It was my very first BYU game. Ever. We were all pumped and ready to cheer for the Courageous Cougars. We did our tailgating, we ate delicious food, we played really fun games, and we got to spend time with our family and friends. Tyler and I had pretty good seats in the stadium too. How much better could it get. Well besides getting to see Jimmer and President Dieter F. Uchtdorf... We watched the band, we saw the gigantic flag brought out by the military men and women, and then we screamed and cheered when the team ran out on the field. It was altogether so exciting, I almost couldn't control my excitement. Tyler can attest to that. But then the game started. By half-time, we were really thinking that BYU had a really good chance of winning, but by the 3rd quarter, we just wanted to hide under the bleachers. All you could really do with that game is feel so embarrassed for BYU. Secretly I wanted to start cheering for Utah. How terrible is that... But we feel strongly that BYU will make a serious comeback with their game on Friday. Hopefully I will have better news to share than a terrible loss of 10-54 this weekend! Good luck Cougars!

Our matching Rise Up shirts. So cute.

Holding our prized season tickets!

Our awesome seats on the South end!

Jimmer!!!

The football field sized flag!!!

Tyler's excited face!

Here they come!

They won. Boo.

President and Sister Uchtdorf!

On another note...We had a really fun block party on Thursday. There was a bounce house. Need I say more?

So exciting!!

The queen!!

I thought he was going to bounce right off of that thing!

But he is my superman :)