Aj and Kami Garner

Sienna's Birth Annoucement

2012-01-08T14:03:00.000-08:00

Our Newest Addition

2011-12-19T16:26:00.000-08:00

Sienna Anne GarnerBorn November 17, 2011 at 11:49 pm

7 lbs 10 oz 21 inches

My Nursery

2011-11-16T17:23:00.000-08:00

I'm past my due date now, and this little girl hasn't decided to show, so my doctor has set me up to be induced this Friday. So now i'm just finding things to fill my days so I don't sit and go crazy, so i'm posting some pictures of our nursery. We decided to go with yellow, because we didn't want to go with a pink or purple. I also had the great idea to put bead board up on the bottom half, which turned out so cute thanks to my husband's handy-ness, although he swears he will never do it again because it was pretty hard to put up. But overall I love the way it turned out!! I made all the bedding myself and the matching curtains. I had looked and looked for some bedding that I really liked and couldn't find anything that wasn't overly expensive, so when I found this fabric that I loved I decided I would make it myself. It was harder then I thought but it turned out pretty good and it cost me less then 150 dollars to do everything, including curtains! (if you know how much baby bedding cost, you know that is a pretty reasonable price) Here are some pictures so you can view our handy work and hopefully this little girl decides to show up soon and we can post pictures of her!

Maternity Pictures

2011-10-16T18:44:00.000-07:00

My amazing friend Liz, who I swear can do everything, offered to do some maternity pictures for me and I LOVE the way they turned out. I'm 35 weeks pregnant now and only have a couple weeks left. I'm getting so excited to have this little girl!! Being pregnant has been hard but I have loved being able to experience all the good things about it along with the bad, and soon enough its going to be a whole new adventure for me, and I can't wait!

Baby Shower

2011-10-13T21:51:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago I had a baby shower with my side of the family. We had it at my parents house and it was a lot of fun. All my sister's came into town for it and it was so fun to be all together. My mom and sister's put a lot of work into it and everything turned out so cute, thanks everyone for everything you did for the shower, and I got some great stuff!

3-D Ultrasound

2011-08-03T20:27:00.000-07:00

At our appointment last week we had what they call our "Target Ultrasound" which means they send a ultra sound tech from the hospital to our doctors office and they go over the whole anatomy of the baby with you. So they did that and everything is looking great with our little girl. They also take a couple 3-D pictures so we got to see what our little girl is really starting to look like.

22 Weeks Belly Picture

2011-07-28T15:33:00.000-07:00

I haven't really taken too many pictures since I got pregnant but I thought I'd post one of my little belly. This is me at 22 weeks, i'm now 24 weeks and only have about 16 weeks left!

20 Weeks and Half Way There

2011-06-27T15:21:00.000-07:00

So here I am 20 weeks pregnant/5 months along. Which means I'm half way there but, if you do the math that means a total pregnancy is 10 months long, so what is this 9 month business? Any who up until now its been kind of a rough road. I have had really bad morning sickness and have had a hard time finding anything to eat that sounds good or doesn't make me throw up! Along with that, if I do find something that I can eat more than likely I'll get some heartburn or have really painful gas pains. So needless to say "morning sickness" has been a lie for me because it lasts all day 24/7 and yes people I have tried everything to ease the nausea, everything. But now here I am at 5 months and I finally feel a little bit better. Sometimes I have an appetite sometimes I don't, I don't gag over everything anymore and I'm finally starting to get a little belly. Even though I'm still under my pre-pregnancy weight, its nice to see some evidence of my little girl growing! She is almost 1 pound now and i'm starting to feel little things here and there that let me know she is moving around. Nothing that is a good kick to the bladder or anything but little flutters here and there. I can't tell you how excited I am to meet this little girl, I can hardly wait the 5 more months I have to carry her. Thank heavens for my husband through this whole thing. Withouth him I would be a bigger mess then I already am. He has been so patient and understanding when he has to list off 100 different types of food before I find something that sounds remotely good. He has rubbed my back as i've thrown up for the 20th time that day, and held me when I cried that this was harder then I thought it would be. He has helped me smile through the hard days and gotten me past the worst moments. I'm so glad to have him by my side through everything and I know he is going to be a great dad when our little girl comes along!

Ribbons and Bows

2011-06-13T18:03:00.000-07:00

We are having a Girl

We've Got a Secret

2011-05-01T14:11:00.000-07:00

Well we decided it's time for our little family of two to become a family of three. Baby Garner #1 Due November 11, 2011! We can't be more excited! All I have ever wanted was to be a mom and I can't wait to meet this little person!

I'm Gettin Crafty

2011-02-08T19:37:00.000-08:00

So this past month I have been working on my very first ever attempt at refinishing a piece of old furniture. My sweet Grandmother passed away last July and I was lucky to get something that will always remind me of my grandparents. I loved the potentional that this cute little desk had, and I just knew it would look great in my hallway upstairs, but I had NEVER tried to refinish anything, so attempt it I did. And it turned out amazing if I do say so myself! I sanded it down, put some primer on it, painted it a bright cherry red, and antiqued the edges.

Some before and after pictures. I want to find something cute to put on it but I haven't find anything I really like so far. But I love the way it turned out and it fits perfectly in our little house!

My only advice to anyone who might try to refinish something, wait until summer to start. Working outside in my garage in the middle of winter = very cold! But totally worth it in the end. I miss my grandparents sometimes when I realize they won't be around when I have my first baby or when my little sister get's married, but I am lucky to have the memories that we created and I love that I will always have this to remind me of them.

Happy Anniversary

2010-10-11T19:59:00.001-07:00

Last week we celebrated our 3rd anniversary. Can't believe it's already been three years. We celebrated the weekened before by going up to Logan for the BYU and Utah State game. We went up the night before and spent the night in a hotel. Then the next day we slept in, went to lunch at Cafe Rio (one of our favorite places), then we went to the mall and saw a movie. After the movie we went golfing at Birchcreek with our friend Kenny and then went to the game. It was such a fun day to just hang out together. And even though BYU lost big time, we still had a geat time. Our actual anniversary was on Tuesday the 5th, so we both had to work but after work we went out to dinner to the Melting Pot. Neither of us had been there before and it was so fun and yummy!This is one of the first pictures of me and AJ when we started dating, and even though I don't look cute at all, I love it! And this picture we took on our cruise just this year! We have done a lot in three years, AJ graduated from school, we bought our first house, lost a job, found a job, and loved each other every day. Three years later and I love him even more then I did the day I married him!

Our New House

2010-10-11T19:53:00.000-07:00

So after all the hassle we went through with our house we finally closed about a month ago and have been so busy painting and putting things together and moving that I haven't had time to post any pictures. So here are a few just to give you a little idea of how much painting we did the first picture is an example of what the entire house looked like. Everything was white, the walls, ceiling, trim, doors, everything was exactly the same boring shade of white. So we knew that was one of the first things we were going to do. The very next week after we bought our house we spent every day painting. But not all day, we would go after work and work until 1 or 2 in the morning and then get up and go to work and do it all over again. Thanks to AJ's brother Clint, we got it down faster than we ever would have. He was over here every night with us working away. It was a ton of work, but totally worth it!So this is a picture of one of our back bedrooms. There are 3 bedrooms total in the house, so as you can see this one isn't painted, and we decided we aren't going to paint until until we are needing a nursery, and nope we don't need one yet. This is our living room. We painted the ceiling, and trim just a brighter fresh shade of white and did the walls this dark tan color.

Here is our kitchen, we decided to add a little color, but we didn't want to do a red wall like everyone does, we like to be different so we decided to go with this pretty blue color and I love the way it turned out. As you can see I'm still working on decorating, but I have a few things around.

Just another view. The main floor is totally open which I love, it makes it feel so much bigger and we have 9 foot ceilings which makes it that much more open. My mom gave me this cute rug to go under our dinning room table which looks so good with the blue paint!

I have never painted more in my life! This is the hallway upstairs looking from our bedroom. We are still working on painting doors and putting things together....slowly but surely we will get it all put together.

Overall we LOVE our new house so much!! It is so nice just to have our own place and all our own stuff. We can't say how much we appreciate AJ's parents for letting us live in their basement for a year to save our money, without them we wouldn't have been able to put as much money down as we wanted. Thanks to everyone who helped us paint and move, it was a lot of work and we really appreciate it!

Busy Couple Weeks

2010-08-28T18:51:00.000-07:00

This Summer has been pretty busy for us, and I haven't really had time to post anything lately. Couple weeks ago we were gone three weekends in a row. First weekend we went up to Bear Lake with a couple of our friends. We had a lot of fun, we hung out at Bear Lake all day. The guys ended up making a soccer field on the sand and attracted quite a crowd to play against them, while me and Laura just hung out and got some sun. Then we went back to Clark and Laura's cabin and did dutch oven dinner that AJ made and it tasted really yummy. We were only there for two nights but we had a blast. Thanks Clark and Laura for planning it!!

Then the next weekend we went up to Lava Hot Springs with my family to have some family bonding time. That was really fun too. We had a four wheeler and a go cart so we rode on some trails. I don't think AJ has ever had so much fun! We also went to the Lava Hot Springs pool. There was some diving platforms that you could jump off of, but first you had to sign a release form, that right there let's you know its really safe. Anywho I wouldn't jump off the highest one but my little sister was brave enough to jump off, and it was really fun until we saw a little girl jump off and get hurt, that kills the fun real fast. The big water slides were a blast though and overall it was a really fun day. The next day we went tubing down the river, the water was super cold but luckily the tubes were big enough that you didn't get too wet. We were having a blast on the river and they had some little waterfalls, well AJ thought it would be fun to go down like a 10 foot waterfall. So we were heading down the river me, AJ and my brother and as we start to go over the edge I realize this is going to be a bad idea. We go over and are completely perpendiciular to the water. I end up in the front, my little brother ends up on the back and we end up knocking heads pretty bad, and it hurt bad! After that I was done tubing. Overall the little trip was a lot of fun. We had fun hanging out with the family. Thanks Zach and Jess for letting us visit the cabin.

The next weekend we headed back up to Bear Lake with some of AJ's family to go camping. And I mean real camping. We headed up Friday after work, Clint and Jamie and Kenize and Joe were already there and had set up the tent trailer and everything. Clint had scoped out a sweet spot up in the moutains right next to a little stream. The next day we went down to the north shore to hang out on the beach. The water was perfect, there were a million people there that day because it was the saturday before school started, but we had so much fun just chilling on the beach. Then we got some delicious Raspberry shakes on the way back to the campsite. After dinner we went on a little hike up to some natural springs and we saw a moose and her two babies, which was pretty cool. The next day before we got ready to pack up and leave we went hiking into some ice caves and explored. Overall it was a really fun camping trip and we were glad we went. I even leared to pee in nature, sorry if its TMI, but I have never peed outside before and I was pretty proud of myself! I don't like being dirty, one reason I don't like camping very much but we had a lot of fun and I will definitely go again.

Anyway things have been busy for us this summer. We still haven't closed on our house, were working on it, that should be our main project in the next couple of weeks. But its already coming to be fall and summer just went way fast.

Me and Laura hanging out on the beach.
It was so fun and relaxing even though the water was pretty cold.

We tied the Kayak to the top of our car to get it down to the beach and AJ thought it was so awesome!

Me and AJ exploring the ice caves

I want to be a Spy

2010-08-02T18:38:00.000-07:00

By far the best show on TV!!

Me and AJ love it. If you haven't seen it you really should, if it doesn't make you want to be a spy, nothing will!

I hate waiting for what I want... I'm trying to be patient!

2010-08-02T13:09:00.000-07:00

Our First House

2010-07-12T19:16:00.001-07:00

We are buying a house!!

We just found out today that our offer has been accepted, so now we have to do the last few things. Like get lending and sign our lives away but we should be able to close within a month and then we can move in. We love the area and we can't wait to be a homeowners for the very first time.

Graduation

2010-04-24T15:19:00.000-07:00

AJ is done with school!! He has finally graduated with his degree and I'm so proud of him and all the hard work he has put into school. It seems like forever I have been saying AJ only has two more semesters left, AJ only has one more semester left and now he is done and I'm so happy. Good job honey, I'm proud of all the hard work you have put into your schooling. I love you! Now we can move onto phase two with our lives! Yay!

He looks so cute in his cap and gown!

Our Cruise

2010-02-15T14:22:00.000-08:00

We got back from our cruise last Sunday and it was so much fun. The weather was great almost everyday that we were gone and we were just able to relax and do whatever we wanted the whole time. Here is a little bit about what we did.
Day 1
We flew out of Salt Lake on Saturday afternoon and flew from Salt Lake to Houston and had about an hour layover there and then we flew the rest of the way to Miami. We got to Miami about 11 there time, and by then we were tired from traveling. As soon as we walked out of the airport we could feel the humidity in the air, but it was nice and warm and the humidity doesn't bother me as much as it bothers AJ, he was already hot! We got a shuttle to the hotel we were staying in and waited for Clint and Jamie to get in. They got into Miami about an hour or so after us.
Day 2
We didn't need to be to the port to get on the ship until about 1 or 2 in the afternoon, so we slept in had some breakfast from this pastry shop that the guys had found near by and got ready for the day. Then we took another shuttle from the airport to the port. It was amazing to see how big these ships are when you get up close. There were 3 different ships in the port that were leaving that afternoon as well. After we got there we got in the huge line that takes you through security and they check your passports and your boarding passes. Then we moved to another line, where we check in and get our ship cards, which are very important. These cards are what you use to buy anything on the boat and they are also your room key and your I.D to get on and off the ship at each port. After we checked in we got into yet another line to finally get on the ship. It was amazing how beautiful and ornate these huge ships are. We went down and checked out our rooms, which were surprisingly a lot bigger then we were expecting them to be. There was a king size bed with nightstands on each side and enough cupboard space for all the crap you take with you. Even the bathroom was bigger than I thought I would be and everything was really nice and clean. The bed was really comfortable and the guy that cleaned our room did a great job. It seemed like every time we left the room he had come and cleaned it again. Then we decided to go grab something to eat for lunch. We had some hamburgers and fries and they were great! Overall the food on the ship wasn’t that great, but the hamburgers were pretty good we had one almost every day for lunch. After we went up on deck so that we could watch the boat leave. It was a pretty chilly day in Miami and it was overcast all day long and even started raining as we were leaving. The boys wanted to stay up on deck all day but me and Jamie were pretty cold after a while and we finally went back inside. We decided we would explore the boat a little bit until it was time for dinner. It is amazing all the stuff they have on these boats. They are kind of like little floating cities. They have dance clubs, lounges, a casino, stores and restaurants. They even have a gym and a spa. So we walked around and explored, then we went to dinner for our first dinner in the dining room. They have the yummiest dessert called a Chocolate Melting Cake. We had one every night after dinner it was so so good. After dinner we went to the show. They have a different show each night in the theater which we went to every night. The first night was the Carnival Valor dancers and singers. When they came out it was pretty funny. They are ok dancers not great, but the funniest thing was that the main singer guy in all the shows was our safety instructor that earlier that day had showed us what to do just in case we needed to evacuate the boat. It was pretty funny I couldn’t stop laughing for a good 10 minutes, but overall the show was fairly entertaining. After the show we went to bed. We kind of thought it was interesting that everyone says Carnival is a party ship, because after the shows at night, there was like no one around, everyone had gone to bed! Me and AJ were probably one the youngest couples on the ship by like a good 5 years. It was definitely not a party ship, which was actually really nice.
Day 3
This was our first full day on the ship. Me and AJ slept in way late. Our rooms were interior rooms and so there is no way to tell what time it because there are also no clocks in the room. So by the time we got up it was time for lunch already. So we went up and grabbed some lunch and went back to the pool area. I was looking forward to spending the whole day lounging in the sun reading a book or something, but of course it was raining still. So we spent most of the day inside. Me and Aj decided to play some blackjack just for fun and AJ actually ended up winning about 120 dollars. So he really enjoyed that. That night was our first formal night. So we got dressed up for dinner, which I thought was really fun, how often do you get to get all dressed up for dinner. That night we had lobster for dinner, and they had this really yummy strawberry soup that me and Jamie had for an appetizer, and of course melting cake. Then we wondered down into the lobby area, where they had a couple playing the piano and singing and a lot of people were dancing. We got the guys to dance with us. It was so fun because you kind of feel like you are going to prom again or something, because you are all dressed up and go to dinner and you get your picture taken and then you go dancing, but it is even better because this time your date is someone you actually love! Then we went to the show, which I think was another dancing and singing show by the Carnival Valor dancers, then after the show we went up by the pool and played cards.
Day 4 Grand Cayman
This was our first port stop in Grand Cayman. We woke up and got off the boat pretty early about 9. It was beautiful. The water was so blue, like turquoise blue and it was perfectly clear. It was gorgeous weather too, nice and warm and blue skies. I was amazed because it is actually true all the pictures that you see of the Caribbean aren’t lying. The water is really that blue!! So we got on shore and had about half hour before we needed to meet up with your excursion group. So we walked around and saw some of the shops. The boys wanted to find some polarized sunglasses but didn’t find any that they loved. We wandered back and met up with our tour guides, then they loaded us on a boat and we headed off to go swimming with the sting rays. We booked all our excursions through this website called Shoretrips.com and they were great. All of our groups were nice and small, our tour guides were great and knew exactly what they were doing and the price was a lot cheaper than the cruise ships prices. So I highly recommend this website if anyone is going on a cruise. So we are driving through the town and the tour guides was telling us about the island the whole time, which was really interesting. Then we got to this place where they loaded us on a little boat and we headed out into the water. It was about a 20 minute boat ride to where the sting rays are, and the tour guide gave us instruction on the way there to make the most of our time in the water. When we got there, it was this shallow sandbar in the middle of the gulf and the water was clear blue! We got off the boat and these huge sting rays were swimming around us. Some of them were like 5 or 6 feet across. They were huge it was crazy and they would just come up and brush their slimy fin against you. It was so crazy but they let us hold them and feed them. It was awesome. We were there for about 45 minutes and then we got back on the boat and they took us over to this place called Coral Gardens to do some snorkeling. The snorkeling there wasn’t great, but we did see some cool fish and it was amazing just to be out there. After that they took us back into town and had about another hour to do some shopping before we got back on the boat. That night we went to dinner and then the show. That night they had a juggler, which he did a great job and he was really funny and then they had a comedian. It was a great show, one of the best ones the whole time.
Day 5 Honduras
The next day we were in Honduras, which was by far my favorite place of the whole trip. When we got off the boat they had some people there that were dancing and playing the drums. In Honduras we went zip lining which was a blast. We drove up this big hill and at the top they stopped and let us out and that is where we got geared up. With each group they had four instructors with you and we just went back and forth across this huge like ravine and it was awesome. We were so high about the ground and you could get going pretty fast, it was just so much fun. There were like 12 different zip lines that we went on all the way down the mountain and the view was amazing from up there. Definitely the best way to see the jungle. After that they took us down to this small secluded beach area, where we were able to hang out for a couple hours. The boys went out and went snorkeling and me and Jamie just hung out on the beach and relaxed. It was one of those picture perfect beaches with clear royal blue water and white sand. So beautiful! When we were sitting there a bunch of little boys came over to sell us some jewelry which of course we both bought some and I also got my hair braided. It was painful! Ha-ha but the lady wouldn’t stop asking me and finally I just gave in and had it done, but I had to take it out the next day because it was giving me the worst headache ever. We walked down the beach and there were a lot of little shops that people have to sell their stuff and we ended up buying a few things there as well. AJ bought a Frolex, aka fake Rolex and a T shirt and I bought a few bracelets. It was my favorite stop of the whole cruise. The island itself was beautiful so green and lush and covered with beaches and beautiful water. When we were driving through the little town of people that live there, it was quite a cultural shock for me. I have never really been anywhere like that before and it was amazing to see how poor some of these countries are. People just live with whatever they can find, barely making enough to get by. It was pretty interesting to see.
Day 6 Belize
Belize was our next stop. Since the water around it is so shallow we had to tender pretty far from shore and then get on a smaller boat that takes us to shore. It’s about a 20 minute boat ride so it’s pretty far from shore. In Belize we went Cave Tubing. It’s about an hour drive through the city out into the jungle. We got in this big club wagon van with about 8 other people. Our driver was a little crazy and they have no speed limit there so you just go as fast as you want! So when we finally got there we were all glad that we were still alive, but we were the first ones there, so we couldn’t complain about that. We picked up our tubes and our lifejackets and then it’s about a 2 mile hike through the jungle to where you get into the river. Our tour guides were great though. All along the way they told us about Belize and then they pointed out different plants in the jungle and what they were used for, it was really interesting. Once we got to the river they helped us in, the water was pretty cold, but they put us in chains of 5 each and then did all the work, so we were just able to enjoy the ride. But all through these caves they pointed out cool stone features and what the Mayans used them for, so there was lot to learn and it was pretty cool in the caves. After the tubing they had a place where you could eat, there were two restaurants one that was 12 dollars for lunch and the other that was 5, but our tour guide said they were basically the exact same food, so we were like ok, well 5 bucks sounds good. So we go into this little like shack hut place and the lady is like we have 2 things Rice and Beans or Beans and Rice. I was like is this a joke? Because to me that sounds like the exact same thing, just said backwards right? So we all just kind of looked at her like are you serious? Ha-ha but come to find out they are actually two different things and they were both delicious. It was some of the best food that we had the whole trip. When we got back into the city we had time to do some shopping and we found some cool things, but man some of the people are annoying. They won’t leave you alone the whole time you are walking by; you almost have to be rude to them to get them to leave you alone. But I did find a cool wood carved statue that I really liked and bought. Then it was back to the ship. On the way back, there was this lady that must have just got off the ship and been drinking the whole time, because she was totally drunk, and she just kept talking the whole way back to the boat and she kept touching this guys face that was sitting next to her and he was like stop it, and she just kept doing it. It was pretty funny, we were laughing.
Day 7 Cozumel
In Cozumel we didn’t have any excursion planned so we thought we would just get off the boat and see what there was to do, because at every port there are tons of people just standing there with signs, so you could easily find something to do. When we got off we decided we would go Snuba, which is part snorkeling part scuba diving. So we signed up for that but we had about an hour before the group left so we did some shopping. They had tons of stores there and I found a black pearl ring that I loved and we also found some t-shirts that we liked. Then it was time to go and it ended up just being the 4 of us in a group, so it was practically like a private excursion, it was really nice. They took us down the street to where they had their little spot, which had a store and a bar and a restaurant. We sat in a class for about 15 minutes that explained how to snuba. Me and AJ had never done it before but Clint and Jamie had gone before so they already knew how to do it. After the little class they took us in some shallow water to practice and I have to admit it was kind of hard, and I was kind of freaked out. But after a while I finally got the hang of it and we saw some cool things. We saw a puffer fish, which our guide got to puff up and we saw a little sting ray and some other cool fish. So it was actually pretty fun, even though I was nervous. After that Clint wanted to do some scuba diving so the rest of us sat on the beach and ate lunch in their restaurant. The food was so good! It was the best food we had all week. We loved it so much we had nachos, burritos, tacos and quesadilla between the 3 of us! It was delicious. It was a blast!
Day 8
This was our last day and it was our second full day at sea. And lucky enough for me the weather was sunny and warm. I spent the whole day on the deck soaking up the sun and reading. AJ also hung out on the deck with me, but he doesn’t love lying in the sun quite as much as I do! It was the perfect last day on the boat. In the afternoon we did go to the newlywed game that they do. They find three couples from the audience. The youngest, the oldest and a couple in the middle and they have them come up and ask them questions. It was pretty funny the oldest couple was hilarious the guy kept saying the funniest things. That was also the second formal night. So we got dressed up and went to dinner. Our server was pretty funny. He was from St. Vincent and it was pretty hard to understand him a lot of the time, but he was great and few enjoyed getting to know him. Some nights at dinner the servers would do a show. The first formal night they sang to us, the third night they danced and then the last night they sang and danced. It was pretty funny! Then we decided not to go to the show that night and instead we went and sat in the hot tub for the last time. In our rooms they have bath robes for everyone, so we decided that it would be pretty funny to put on our robes and go up to the hot tubes. So we did and it was pretty funny. Some people give you the funniest looks.

Overall the cruise was so much fun. It was nice to have a whole week to relax and we got to see some really cool places and do some really fun things. Thanks Clint and Jamie for going with us, we had so much fun with you guys! I can’t wait until we can go again, which hopefully won’t be too far away.

One Week Countdown

2010-01-23T16:03:00.000-08:00

In exactly one week, we are finally going on our Cruise!! YAY!!! We have been planning it forever it seems like and now it is finally almost here. I am so excited to leave this cold crappy weather and head to somewhere warm and sunny. Caribbean here we come.........

Whats Your New Years Resolution?

2010-01-05T19:03:00.000-08:00

So of course we all make new years resolutions of things we either want to change or things we want to learn or whatever. So what is it this year that you want to change or learn? Of course there is always the typical lose 5 pounds or start eating healthier (here is a good tip for eating healthier, go get a root canal and you won't ever want to eat again, seriously) but really those are the typical answers, what did you really pick...
Mine
1. Be better at writing my brother who is serving a mission in Mexico
2. Cut soda out of my diet period. (its not good for your body or your teeth) but its really hard
3. Be better at reading the scriptures with Aj

So those are some of mine, feel free to share yours.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

2009-12-28T15:37:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope everyone had a great holiday and are looking forward to a new year, I know me and AJ are. We are hopefully going to have a lot of changes in the up coming year of 2010. AJ will be graduating and hopefully finding a new job (cross our fingers with the economy) We are also hoping to be moving into our own place after he graduates, so that not for another six months or so I'm sure, but this next year should be pretty busy for us. We just want to wish everyone a Happy New Year, and I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas.

Oh Fall

2009-09-14T18:00:00.000-07:00

So fall is almost offically upon us, and it is so sad to see Summer go. The last couple years it seems that summer has been so short and gone by so fast that we haven't even been able to do most of the things that we wanted to. This summer we were able to go on one little vacation, just me and AJ down to St. George for a couple days. It was so nice and relaxing we golfed almost every day. In Mesquite we golfed at Wolf Creek which is an amazing course but really hard, so I just drove the cart and AJ actually golfed. We also golfed at Sand Hollow which is way the heck out there, but I actually golfed that course and we had a lot of fun. We also just hung out at the pool every single day, which I loved. We went out to eat and even did some shopping. So that was the funnest thing we did this summer. Now AJ is back in school and busier than ever. He only has one year left and May can't come fast enough. He is in class on Tuesdays and Thursday and works every other day and by the time he gets home I'm getting ready for bed. So we haven't had a lot of time together but hopefully this semester will go by in a flash.

There are a few things that we are looking forward to in the next 3-4 months:
1. Our 2 Year Anniversary, which is on October 5th
2. Christmas and everything that comes with the Season
3. The first snow fall of the year
4. Our Cruise in January to the Carribean, which will then be a nice break from the Snow

....well that is what I am looking forward to in the next little bit and then hopefully after that we will be moving into our very own house, if we can find one we love and can afford and AJ will be done with school. Let's just cross our fingers that we can get to there!

2009-06-02T17:51:00.000-07:00

so i was at my parents house today and i was looking through some old pictures on the computer and i found a bunch from high school that i had forgotten about! as i was looking through them i remembered a bunch of fun memories that me and my best friends had together. so i thought i would share some of these pictures with you............if you find yourselves bored at home, i know this is a stretch since we all have very busy lives, look through some of your old pictures and see if you can find any high school memories that you want to share with everyone! ENJOY

my best friend Karly and I getting a close up after the senior powder puff game. lets just say we won as juniors and we won as seniors too. the seniors were so mad at us the year we won as juniors that they threw eggs at everyone in the victory mosh pit, and all the seniors got in trouble that year and they seriously considered stopping the powder puff program....glad they didn't!
does everyone remember their all night party the night they graduated? remember when five o'clock finally came around and you were so happy that school was really over but sad at the same time, but you didn't know which way to feel because you are too exhausted? well if you took a picture it would probably look something like this. haha i'm so glad karly had her dr. pepper close by

ok..........i just have to say how often do you get a picture where it looks like you have wind in your hair even though you are standing still............enough said

on senior skip day a bunch of us went up to pine view to go boating and let me tell you what, first of june not so warm that year the water was butt cold! but we had a blast and were nice and red for graduation

me and anikka...she is one of my other best friends and i love her to death.....and another great picture haha

who doesn't want matching white trash t-shirts with their best friend....to wear to girl's camp....and carry around a barbie lunch box?

this night was so much fun! it was our senior dinner and they had it on the 23rd floor of the wells fargo building. after dinner they had dancing and i remember there were so many of us and we were all jumping up and down having a good time and they had to tell us to spread out because the floor was starting cave in or something. it was one of the best nights during that last year of high school!

I suck at blogging...

2009-06-01T18:19:00.000-07:00

Ok so I know that it has been like 2 months since I have blogged, and I guess because I feel like nothing really exciting is happening to us, we are just going about our normal lives staying busy with work and AJ is still and forever it seems like going to school. I guess there have been a few changes, we moved up to Kaysville about the first of April. We found this great house in this great neighborhood, and it just so happens that AJ's parents live upstairs. Ok so that is my way of saying we moved into AJ's parents basement to save up so money so that we can hopefully buy a house by the end of the year and take part in all that great money the government is giving away (we will keep our fingers crossed that there is some left for us when it comes that time). But seriously we are really grateful to them that they are letting us live here for a little while! My brother left on his mission first of May, and it still is a little bit weird to not have him around, but my whole family is so proud of him, and I'm sure there isn't another missionary in the MTC that gets as many letters and packages as Elder Tripp! Both of my sisters had their babies and it is so fun to have two newborns in the family everyone loves them to death. Summer finally feels like it is here and I can't wait to go to the pool with my sisters and grandma that is my favorite thing about summer, and I'm trying my hardest to convince AJ we need to go on a summer vacation even though he reminds me we have no money to do it (I'll keep trying).
Also this last weekend me and AJ tried sushi for the first time, and I will tell you what. I definitely like me meat nice and cooked! Ok it wasn't actually horrible, some of it was actually pretty good. It was something new to try and it made for an interesting dinner with one of his mission companions! So that is just a little blurb about the recent events of us!

Temple Weekend

2009-03-25T19:49:00.000-07:00

All the girls!

My two prego sisters, due about 2 weeks apart. Jill is having another little boy and Heather is having a little girl. Its so exciting and they look so cute!

All of the boys, except my husband of course

Dad and Wesley just before they left for the temple

We had a great weekend this last week. My little brother Wesley went through the temple for his first time in preperation for his upcoming mission to Mexico. The whole family was in town, Molly and Christian from Kansas, and Jill and Danny from St. George. It was so much fun to be with the whole family. The only crappy part was my husband had to work of course so he couldn't be at anything. But we all went up to the temple to the 2 o'clock session and it was a great feeling to be in the temple with everyone. After the session we went to dinner at the Mandarin. Let me tell you it takes a big table to get the whole Tripp family on one table. But we had a lot of fun together. I am so proud of my little brother for making the choice to serve a mission. I know a lot of his friends that choose not to go, and it makes me sad because they don't realize the opportunity they are missing. We are so excited for you Wesley and we love you!

Aj's New Job

2009-02-09T19:48:00.000-08:00

So recently we have had a few changes in our life, but mostly the changes have been happening to AJ. Today AJ started his new job at Sprint. He is going to working as a Spanish Sales Rep at the store on Riverdale Road. Aj got layed off from his job about three weeks ago and we were blessed enough to have found another job by the following week. Thank heavens for small miracles because on my income alone we wouldn't be able to pay the bills. Believe me I have a stronger belief in prayer and tithing more than ever. Anyway I guess that is really about the only thing that is different. Me and AJ are both still going to school this semester and let me tell you what it sure is fun!I'm still working at L-3, and on Friday nights i'm working at the Mandarin to get a little extra cash. That is about everything that is keeping us busy right.

Christmas

2008-12-28T18:45:00.000-08:00

We had a good Christmas this year. We spent Christmas Eve with AJ's family, where we had a nice dinner and played some funs games. Then Christmas morning we opened our presents and then went over to my parents house for lunch. My whole family was in town this year, so everyone was there, which was really fun to have everyone together. We played some games and exchanged gifts, and then we went up to AJ's parents house to do the same with his family. We had a fun day and we loved that it snowed that night, made it really feel like Christmas. Hope everyone had a great Christmas!
Me and Scott had a sweet Nerf gun fight, but we stopped shooting each other for a second to take a picture.

AJ and I went on a ride in the Go-Kart and it was really fun, until we ran out of gas up at the park and had to push it all the way home! Luckily most of it was down hill!

Me and AJ looking good in our new Christmas clothes!

Just us girls, looking cute on Christmas!

Whats New with Us

2008-12-07T19:58:00.000-08:00

So I know I haven't posted in forever it feels like, but I have just been pretty busy, but here is a little catch up. Thanksgiving was really nice we spent the day with AJ's family this year, because my family was going out of town. It was a nice day full of eating and relaxing. The day after we went and got our Christmas tree with his family as we do every year, and we already have it decorated and up in our apartment. Other than getting ready for Christmas we have been really busy with finals in school. Both me and AJ have had a long semester and we cant wait until its over and we are able to enjoy the holiday season. Oh also my birthday was this last week. It was on the 2nd and I'm the big 21! It was similar to a normal day though since it was Tuesday I worked all day and then went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner (my favorite place to eat!) I did get some good gifts though, AJ gave me a Jazz jersey (because I am a huge Jazz fan!!!), some bindings for my snowboard, a box of chocolates, and a Gift Card to Ross! I also got some great gifts from both mine and AJ's parents. It was a great day, but I don't really feel any older! Anyway so that is really all that is going on with us lately.

Thriller

2008-10-31T11:08:00.000-07:00

This is the Christmas Countdown that me and Jill made. We thought it turned out pretty cute!

Last weekend me and AJ took a trip down to St. George to hang out with my sister and her husband and go see Thriller out at Tuachan. It was such a fun weekend. Me and Jill went to the What Women Want Expo on Saturday morning, which was a lot of fun. We saw some really creative craft ideas, that we decided to try to make on our own. We ended up making a really cute Christmas countdown board and we had a lot of fun making it. Then that night we went out to the show and even the boys seem to somewhat enjoy it. My favorite dance is always the mummy dance with the Egyptian dancers. It was a great weekend. Thanks Jill and Danny we always love to hang out with you guys, thanks for letting us stay with you!

ROCKBAND LIVE

2008-10-20T18:43:00.000-07:00

So last Thursday me and AJ and his buddy from his mission went to the Rockband Live concert in Salt Lake. It was so much fun, and it was my very first concert ever! (Yes I know I need to get out more) Anyway it was a blast, Dashboard Confessional were playing and were by far the best band there, but there was also Panic at the Disco, The Cab, and Plain White T's. The music was so loud my ears were ringing the rest of the night, but it was totally worth it. I can't wait until the next concert my husband will take me to!

Weekend in Causey

2008-10-19T20:17:00.001-07:00

AJ and Jackson looking cool for the camera. They dared to venture into the cold for a four wheel ride through the snow! Way to be tough boys!

Me and AJ on the four wheeler. We took a ride just when it was starting to get dark. It was alot of fun because it was snowing, but man it was cold!

We went up last weekend to my sister-in-law's family's cabin for the weekend. We headed up there on Friday trying to beat the snow up there. We hung out with everybody, played cards, watched movies, and played in the first snow fall of the season. We had so much fun and can't wait til we can head up to Causey again next year. Thanks Clint and Jamie for the good times!

Weekend in Park City

2008-10-05T19:35:00.000-07:00

For our one year anniversary, AJ treated me to a weekend in Park City. We stayed at the Park City Peaks Hotel and had such a great time. We didn't get to the hotel til late Friday night because we stopped at the Cheesecake Factory for dinner and then went to Mission Reunion to catch up with some old missionary buddies of AJ's. On saturday we of course slept late, and then went to the Park City outlet stores. Me and AJ had fun shopping and spent probably more than we should have, but got some great deals on some cute clothes (studly clothes for AJ). The rest of the weekend we just relaxed, went out to eat, and spent some time in the hotel hot tub. It was such a nice weekend just to get away and spend some time just the two of us. Of course it rained the whole time it was up there, so it really felt like fall. The leaves were already changing and it was gorgeous. I however did not take my camera, so have no pictures for you, but just imagine alot of vibrant yellows and oranges mixed in with dark green, it really was breathtaking. AJ is so good to me and we had a great time up in Park City.

One Year Mark!

2008-10-05T19:21:00.000-07:00

We made it! Exactly one year ago on this day, me and the love of my life were married in the Salt Lake Temple for time and all eternity. To think that was the happiest day of my life was thinking wrong. Everyday to me is the happiest day of my life, because I get to spend it with my husband. Everyday he makes me smile and laugh and reminds me of everything that made me fall in love with him in the first place. He tells me everday that he loves me and I can't imagine my life without him. Everyday I love him more and more and am so grateful for him and everything he is. Love you babe!

2008-09-18T20:07:00.000-07:00

You Are Jasmine!

Independent and adventurous. You don't want much; just to break out of the guilded cage society has put you in and experience life to the fullest. Following orders isn't really one of your strong points, and you would rather live a life of poverty than being forced into something that you hate.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

TAG

2008-08-21T19:22:00.000-07:00

Soooo....apparently I have been tagged by my sister-in-law, which is great, however I don't get the point of this game of tag we are all playing, but hey I am not one to be a party pooper so I will happily comply....

A- Attached or single: Happily Attached
B- Best Friend: My Husband AJ
C-Cake or Pie: Well that depends on my mood, Yellow Cake with Fluffy Frosting is my favorite, but so is Sour Cream Lemon Pie from Marie Callanders......it depends....ask me something easier
D-Day: Any day I'm not working and can hang out with AJ
E- Essential Item: Everything I take everywhere (for example: chap stick, cellphone, gum)
F- Favorite Color: Pink
G-Gum: Stride, Sweet Cinnamon....can't live without it
H-Home town: Bountiful, Utah
I- Indulgences: Chocolate from Mrs. Cavaughans
J- January or July: July for sure
K-Kids: not yet, one day though
L-Life is incomplete without: My husband and our families
M- Marriage Date: October 5, 2007
N- Number of Siblings: 3 Brothers, 4 Sisters, 4 Sisters-in-law, 6 Brothers-in-law wow that's a lot O-Optimistic: Yes, I believe there is still some good left in everyone
P- Phobias or Fears: Losing someone I love, Leaving this earth before my mission is over
Q- Quote: "I sleep in a bed by myself, its fantastic"-Nacho Libre
R- Reason to Smile: The good things in life. The look my husband gives me every time he sees me!
S- Season: I'm all for warm weather, so Summer I guess, but I couldn't really appreciate Summer without all the other seasons
T- Tag Three: See below
U- Unknown fact about me: I get up every morning for work at 5 a.m. and it just about kills me.....every single day it just about kills me
V- Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animal: I could eat steak everyday....does that answer the question
W- Worst Habit: Picking at my arm.....Aj hates it
X-Rays or Ultrasounds: Ultrasounds, if there's a baby!
Y-Your favorite food: Cafe Rio, Chocolate and Dr. Pepper
Z: Zodiac Sign: Sagittarius

3 Joys
1-My Husband
2-Hanging out with my sisters
3-Chocolate

3 Fears
1-Losing a loved one
2-Having something happen, that I'm not strong enough to deal with
3-BEE's

3 Goals
1-Become a better cook, OK fine actually start cooking!
2-Get out of debt
3-Become the best person I can possibly be

3 Current Obsessions
1-Cafe Rio
2-Blogging
3-America's Got Talent

3 Facts About Me
1-I try to go to bed most days at 9, 10 at the latest. I know right I'm only 2o, since when was that old!!
2-I could eat Cafe Rio everyday, if my husband would let me
3-I have a gym pass, but very rarely hardly ever go to the gym

Whew! I completed the Tag Task and now......drum roll please.......I tag..........Jill, Jessica and Brittani! (its actually kind of fun so enjoy)

2008-08-10T18:53:00.000-07:00

It was just before dark and we saw this beautiful rainbow right behind us. It had been somewhat cloudy all day and had just started to sprinkle, but there was just enough sun that reflected this rainbow! It was so great to be up in the fresh mountain air, with a warm fire and great temperature up in Mueller Park Canyon.

So Wesley was having a rough time of getting his hot dog and soda into his mouth and not onto his shirt, so I had to take a picture of this nice red stain on his crisp white shirt. Wes also managed to fall backwards over a log that we had made into a bench. Yep, all the way backwards onto his butt, me and AJ could not stop laughing!! Thanks Wes for always providing great entertainment!

This is the look I get when I pull out my camera, in his head AJ is saying, "How many more pictures can you seriously take for your blog, really?" But because I'm now pretty much addicted to blogging the picture taking will continue babe so deal with it.

I decided that I was ready to change my hair, so here is my new hairstyle. It is quite a change from my long, very blond hair! What does everyone think, do you like it or did I look better blond?

My brother and sister-in-law Zach and Jessica posing for a quick picture. They love camping and are always happy to join us for roasting dogs and marshmellows!

Carson, my nephew is just over 1 and he loves to run around. His dad had quite the time chasing him all around the campfire. He is just too cute!

Me and AJ love to go up to Mueller Park and roast marshmellows and hot dogs. We have gone up quite a few times this summer and hopefully can make it up a few more times before fall comes and school starts for both of us for another semester.

Special Sunday

2008-08-03T19:46:00.000-07:00

.....Our husbands, very bored with our conversation!

Me, Molly and Heather having a good conversation on the swing, meanwhile.....

Me and Aj going to dinner at Mom and Dads, just a cute picture. I'm not a big fan of AJ's hair in this picture. I don't really like it cut that short, and I am usually the one that does the cutting, but he managed to buzz his own hair one night when after I had gone to bed! Believe me I was thrilled, but hey, its just hair and it will grow back, right?

Here is Wesley and AJ's arm. It was supposed to just be Wes, but thanks babe.

Today we went over to my parents house for a special dinner, because Brookelle's birthday is this Friday and Wesley was ordained an Elder today in church. So all of us that could, got together and came for dinner.

Weekend in Bear Lake

2008-08-03T19:31:00.000-07:00

Aj looking cool, on the beach!

While trying to take the jet skis out for a final ride before the sun set, Jarum managed to get the bronco, pulling the jet skis, stuck in the sand on the way out to the beach. Needless to say it took all the guys, one four-wheeler, and one big SUV to finally pull it out of the sand. And like all good wives we sat on the deck, laughing until we were crying and taking pictures of our brave, strong men! Good work guys!

Jarum, Aj and Reed hanging out on the beach, just having a good time.

The Beautiful Bear Lake scenery from our lake side cabin.

Every year Aj's work, Your Employment Solutions, goes up to Bear Lake for the weekend to have some good 'ol employee bonding time. Everyone comes and brings their families with them. This year there were about 25 of us. Me and Aj and their secretary Brook were the only ones without kids, but we managed to have a good time, without having to chase kids around! We all stayed in a Cabin together and spent the day boating and jet skiing and catching some sun. We had a great time and can't wait til next year!

Indian Dancing

2008-08-03T19:03:00.000-07:00

The girls, and my nephew Carson, just waiting for the dancing to start.

Molly and Christian, don't they look like they are having the time of their lives?

This is me and my Grandma McLean, we have so much fun being with her. Every other friday we go to her pool in the Camelot Trailers and swim, occasionally going shopping. We love when she is around.

Me and Aj, just enjoying the show! Aj being cheesy, as usual!

Appache doing the Lord's Prayer, he dedicated this dance to my Grandfather who passed away in August of last year.

On Friday night the 1st we went up to Zarahemla to watch my great uncle, Appache McLean (and yes, believe it or not that is his legal name), do his authentic Indian dancing for my brother's ward camp out. He did such a great job, and even at the age of 77 he moves better than most people in their twenties. He has been dancing for many years mostly in the Grand Teton Region, but he also does it locally for people who know about him. Most of my family went up to see him dance including my Grandmother. We had a great time getting together and watching him perform!

A Few Random Pictures

2008-07-28T20:33:00.000-07:00

I think this is the very first picture, Aj and I ever took as a couple. Its not a great picture but it is special to me.

The very night before our wedding, we went to get pumpkins at the pumpkin patch to set around our reception and create our harvest-like feel for the wedding. Aj was so excitied to marry me, can't you tell from his smile;) haha!

Getting our very first Christmas Tree together, just 2 months after we were married. We woke up about 7 that morning to drive up Weber Canyon and cut down our tree. We found the perfect one and had such a great time decorating it and watching Elf that night.

Aj took me snowboarding for the first time this past Winter. It took us about an hour to get down the hill the first time, because I just could not stay up on my board. But all the sudden on my second round, I stood up and it just clicked. That would have been nice if it had clicked the first time, it would have saved me a sore butt and entire body for the following week!

Me and Aj on our Honeymoon in Cancun! It was so much fun!

So I was looking through my camera and since a don't really have any thing new to post, I found a bunch of cute pictures of me and Aj that I thought I would share with all of you.

2008-07-28T20:23:00.000-07:00

Aj works at Oakridge Country Club about twice a week, and he golf for free on Monday Nights. This time, he actually wanted to take me, even though I am not the best golfer I am getting better, with the help of my pro husband!

So I know I haven't blogged in awhile, but I am ones of those crazy girls that like to put pictures with my blog. So nothing lately has really happened. I started my new job about a month ago at L3 and I am really liking it. I just sit in my little lobby and keep myself busy. Occasionally it gets pretty boring, but there is always someone walking by and I have made some great new friends. Aj is doing good, just working and continually spends his life golfing. But I love him, so he can golf all he wants!!!

Family Vacation 2008

2008-06-27T20:38:00.000-07:00

All of us in the Hot Tub! Just our family took up the whole thing!

AJ found this great shirt at Ross and insisted he wear it because he was going to get so dirty hiking at Zions. His shirt came out much cleaner than he thought!

Our family recently made a trip down to St. George for the weekend. We had a great time playing in the pool and hiking around Zion's National Park. We also did a little shopping while the boys went golfing and then we all went to Pine Valley to spend the day four-wheeling and horse back riding. It was a lot of fun and great to get the whole family together.