Laos

Remember the holidays I invented? Well, January started things out right with "Celebrate a Country day" (I really need a better title...) Last year we remembered last minute and threw together a night featuring Italy, because, well, pasta was easy and quick to make. This year was much better though!

We celebrated Laos. For dinner we had some Laotian shish-ka-bobs, lemon grass soup, coconut milk, and for dessert- mangoes and sticky rice (more a Thai dish but close enough) and a rice and banana type sushi. It was great!

Scott gave us a brief history lesson and Buck gave a language thought. I shared some photos and fun facts. Then Alyse, who has been to Laos, shared her photos, facts, experiences, AND southeast Asian outfit. Oh and I got to use my Thai table cloth my friend Leah got me!
(don't mind the poor point and shoot camera photos.)

Don't know anything about Laos? Go look it up! It deserves to be known about.

Oh. You thought this post was over? Well, it was but I just decided to keep writing. I was thinking back to why I love cultures and countries so much. Felt like sharing. See, one day when I was, I don't know, maybe 14 years old or something (?) I was looking at a map. I looked closely- looked past China and Brazil. Past Russia and France and North America. You know, the regulars. And then I saw them.

Kazakhstan.

Turkmenistan.

Tajikistan.

Uzbekistan.

Kyrgyzstan.

What.

The.

Random?!

Had those countries always been there? Why hadn't I ever heard of them?! Who lived there?! What were they doing?! How could there be countries that existed that I didn't know about- that nobody seems to know about? I became obsessed. I wanted (and still do) to go meet these people. I needed to see them, to know them. It became unacceptable to me to not know about these other children of God. 

And thus was born my love of culture and people of the world. This love has grown and morphed over the years and has somehow landed me in my home, knowing that I'm not going to meet anyone outside of American Fork Utah for a while. And that's okay. But still. I dream of going to these places. And until then, I'll continue to learn about them ALL and have a day to celebrate the random places of this earth. I was thinking that next year we should celebrate Belarus. You know what I'm saying? And if I had more money and energy I would celebrate a different country every month. But either way. 

Here's to Laos.

Running away

I dream about it often. Getting in our little car together and running away somewhere together. Even just for a night. I love spending time with my best friend and lover. I need it. I've always known that this would be important to me in a marriage. Getaways. Who June is and what she has added to our life is remarkable. But it's nice to give all our attention to just the two of us sometimes too.

And this is why Buck got me the best Christmas present.

A one night stay at an Inn at Bear Lake.

We were able to sneak away Friday night. One of the only reasons we were able to do this and were able to enjoy our time was because we had great friends whom we trust fully watching our little June Bug. They helped us to relax knowing she was probably getting better care with them than when she's with us! ;)

So we got to steal away that day. Thanks to those same friends who let us borrow their snow shoes, we were able to stop in the canyon on the way there and go snow shoeing for a little bit. Which was fun. I mean, as fun as it gets in the snow and winter...

And we laid there a bit. . .

And talked about this

Once we got to Bear Lake we found the busy summer lake-side town to be dead and silent. It was perfect! The deep teal water against the white mountains was reverent and we enjoyed talking as we drove along the shore.

We ate some pizza at the one restaurant open in town.

And other than that we took the night off- relaxing. We watched a movie, sat in the hot tub, ate snacks, played air hockey, and read from some journals together. It was perfect. PERFECT. Buck even left me a love letter. (last week we somehow got distracted reading through all of our old love letters we wrote to each other while dating and being engaged. It crazy how love feels now. It's fun to see the difference from those letters to ones we write now. I can't wait for the next 50-something years)

And the place we stayed was awesome! (and 50% off! Go! This lasts until the end of April!) The owners were super friendly. It was like a bed and breakfast more than anything. They had snacks for free and games and movies to borrow. The place was pretty new and felt clean and nice but cozy. The rooms had mild themes. We got the bohemian room and I loved it. Big pillows and sheer curtains with rich, thick colors.

The only complaint I have about the whole thing is that it didn't last longer! :) But even so- I am so grateful for the time we had. What a blessing. And then what a blessing to be able to come home and see our smiley baby girl. How did we get so lucky?

Leggings

Don't worry- I'm not becoming a fashion blogger. (haha yeah right) But I'm posting this to let those who care in on the secret.

The secret of shopping in Korea...

 

After I "pinned" these suckers, June (buck) got them for me for Christmas. 

They were $5! And then shipping was only a few dollars! Cheaper than our stores here!

You better believe that one day I WILL purchase this beauty:

And there are so many cute things!

Okay now CLICK HERE for the website and enjoy!

(and don't even ask me what that face is that I'm making in this photo. Buck just snapped it and walked inside before I even knew what was happening...)

Book of Mormon Stories

I hope that as June hears us reading from this book *everyday that she will come to love it the way we do. I can't wait to teach her the stories. I can't wait for her to ask questions. I can't wait for the day when she decides if she believes it's true or not. I hope she'll always know what I believe and know.

I love reading the Bible. Especially the New Testament, feeling like I get to walk along with Christ.
The Book of Mormon is special to me in a different way. For me it is more than a wild story, it is more that scripture- it really is another testimony of Jesus Christ- it is proof.

I don't have to read much to know that there is NO WAY that Joseph Smith made this book up. I know he translated it. I believe these ancient voices. I know that they were real- their stories are true. Which means that when they write about Christ coming to visit them after he was crucified- when they describe him coming down from heaven, through the clouds, lighting up the darkness and calming the chaos- when they say that they saw Him and touched His hands and feet- I believe them. And if I believe them, if that really happened then do you know what that means?

That He lives.

That Jesus Christ is real! He lives and He is our savior! All of this is true! Our whole purpose on this earth, all the answers I have found in Him, they are all real.

I believe that you can determine the good or bad of a tree by the fruit it gives. And so it is with Joseph Smith- having translated this testament of Jesus, knowing that it's true- that can only mean one thing. that He WAS a prophet of God. He saw Them. He restored that same church and gospel that was of Moses and Noah and Adam and Christ Himself. But this isn't all so much about Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, or other prophets- what the point to all these people and words are is that we can know that God lives.  That is the reason for it all.

I know this is true.
And nobody has been able to change my mind yet. And it's because of the Book of Mormon and the witness it gives of Christ and its companionship with the Bible. Whenever a doubt is in my mind I think back to this book and those doubts flee.

And besides, even if this wasn't all true I don't even care because this life has made me so happy. Others find members of this church "restricted." But those of us who live it feel so FREE. I will die happy no matter what. I haven't missed a thing worth having.

Anyway, I'll end my little rant here. I don't normally get like this on my blog, and honestly, I don't know why. Why not? I guess I figure the few people reading already know my thoughts on this or don't want to hear it. ha. But this is something that shapes my whole life, why not talk about it more?

But okay, I need to go now anyways. June Bug is awake.
and she wants to type something now too...bnv n bh ,    k   b     lzxd k bvmmfguugvhh       cvhxs l opn o
or in other words- We love you all and we hope you're having a happy day! :)

*So we try and read everyday but we're not perfect people.
Also, aren't these photos of June to die for? I love them! 

6 Months!

Today is June's six month birthday! 

From day one:

5.7 lbs, 18 inches long

 To today:
13.9 lbs, 25 inches long 
 

We are proud parents. She started out beautiful and somehow grows more and more beautiful every day. And this is only at 6 months. To think what the rest of her sweet life will bring!

Doctor says she is doing great, following along in the 10th percentile! He thinks she'll start getting teeth in the next couple weeks! Ahh! I'm not sure I'm ready for that. And she is beyond her age in sitting and standing. (forgive me for the silly proud mom moment. In reality none of this stuff matters when we're adults. We don't sit around asking who did what first, now do we? I get it. But still, I was proud of her anyways. ) :)

This whole baby/parent thing has been hard. But it's easy to find the words for that. Hard, draining, confusing. Whatever. But it's more difficult to find all the right words for how heavenly it has all been. I'd try and use words like rewarding, fun, and sacred- but even then, there's something missing, some word that doesn't exist to describe it all. I suppose I'll spend my whole life trying to find it. But for now, as far as I'm concerned, the best word would be June. Our little everything. Now we've just got to survive another one of these 6-month things and we'll be to the first year! Crazy!!


We love you June bug.

The Un-Birthday Strikes Again!

This time we got my sister!

And so, okay, this happened almost a week ago.

The un-birthday girl

 

The presentation:

Now, you're probably wondering "what kind of a bizarre set up is this?"

Well. I tried to make brownies, which I did, but they were so good that the pan I baked them in tried to eat them and I was forced to claw it out from its metal jaw... So I give you:

The brownie... mound...

And pretty colored Jello. . .

And these are the reasons why I will never have some popular blog that shows up on Pinterest. All those fancy parties and creative ideas. Over here all I've got up my sleeve is a baked mess and lots of Jello.

Thankfully we made up for the randomness with a grilled pork dinner with a side of grilled and glazed and caramelized (and majestic) pineapple. (Go Buck.) Ooo, it was good. At least the table cloth is cool too (because it's from Armenia.)

Well- till the next Un-birthday! Watch out- it could happen to YOU.

5 Years (part II)

As you may have observed on this blog, Tuesday was our 5 year mark of when we met. And you know us, (me) we had to celebrate somehow. To do this, Buck came home and surprised me with flowers (one of my favorite things) and then we went out to eat.

It was really nice because I had a friend over that day and she just volunteered to watch June while we were gone (Her son is basically June's little boyfriend so I'm sure she had fun over there anyways. ha)

We went and used a gift card at Texas Road house. It turned out better than I thought it would. We ended up asking each other "first date questions" the whole time. Things like "what's your favorite music and movies?" and such. It sounds weird since we already know those things about each other but we know them just because we know each other, not because we ever really had to ask. By the time we ever went on a first date, after our missions of course, we already knew each other and had a friendship so we never had to ask. (Our first date, we consider, was during a mission reunion weekend. A group of us went out to eat at Denny's and Buck bought me the sausages I ordered. haha) . . . (SO I have weird cravings sometimes...)

Anyway, it was fun because for some reason answering those questions, the way we would have had it been a first date, made us feel a little awkward and silly. It was strange but it made me feel closer to him. I felt like had that been our first date I would have started falling in love that day. Buck is a dream boat I tell you.

It's always going to be funny to look back on how things started. I always wonder what I would have thought if somebody told me back on my mission that Elder Harrison was my future husband. I just always thought about the shock value this news would have brought but really? I think I would have been so happy, even then with what I knew about him as a fellow missionary and friend.

I always say that Buck is nothing like who I thought I'd end up with BUT that somehow he is everything I ever could have wanted.

A Very Merry Un-Birthday

 

Monday night Buck was surprised when he got home from school. As he walked into a crepe paper and Kung Fu Panda balloon kitchen he was greeted with a "Very Merry Unbirthday" song clip from Alice in Wonderland as I danced around like a savage. Why? Because it was his unbirthday, and had been for quite some time now, and it needed to be celebrated.

He even got presents, that lucky son-of-a-gun.

The confused (and very handsome) un-birthday boy

So for dinner I made cake batter pancakes with sprinkles and a glaze. And this Jello masterpiece. 

haha

So here's to us all! I think it's basically everyone's unbirthday today. (that I know)

So...

!!!