2009.

It was a pretty good year, if I do say so myself. It was full of lots of exciting moments. Geoff and I got married in June and honestly, I can hardly remember the months before that. I do remember starting off the new year right. In January I started school, then quickly took a week off to go to Hawaii (Gracias, Bryan Family) and then a couple weeks later on Jan. 31st (Thank you Geoff for remembering, if I had known at the time that he was going to be a permanent part of my life I would have tried to remember more) I met Geoff for the first time. That was after about 30 minutes of lame pick-up lines on FB chat, a trip to the gym on my part and then two hours later he walked into my apartment. I made him grilled cheese, to which he promptly fell in love with me. Then he tried to kiss me (geoff will tell you its the other way around, but hes wrong) and I turned away and then he left. Thankfully after all that, that boy had the courage to call me up the next day to see if I would go to a basketball game with him. After that the rest is a blur...

I do remember meeting his family for the first time and trying to figure out why I was so blessed or how I could feel so comfortable.

I remember picking out an engagement ring for three hours while jones and geoff sat on the couch talking sports.

I remember trying to find the perfect wedding dress. Finding it. Loving it. Then absolutely hating it and sitting in my dress, in my moms room crying and crying. Then falling in love with it again. (sorry mom.)

I also remember trying to focus in my classes but instead always making lists of things that needed to be done. And sharing all my wedding details in one of my late night classes--it was a small class and my teacher and all the girls loved asking me questions about it. It was so funny.

And then June 13th came along.

Then I remeber standing in the temple alone after Geoff and I had been sealed for time and all eternity and looking to him and asking him if he felt any different. He said no. I didnt feel any different either.

Since, then

We've moved twice and are much happier with our new townhouse.

We went through an entire season of football. Which included and is not limited to, traveling for games, organizing family and tickets, buying more beaver gear, keeping geoff motivated, and cheering my heart out.

------I do have to say that football does make it pretty easy on me by feeding Geoff and doing his football laundry. yuck. which only reinforces what a good mom Shellene is for doing all those boys sports laundry.

We made it through summer school, fall term and fall camp.

We we're able to see Geoff's family every month since we've been married, which is such a blessing.

I've been on planes more in the last year than I have in my entire life.

We had our first holiday season together.

The more I look back on 2009 the more I love it. It started out great and ended great with a lot of good stuff in the middle.

Happy New Year everyone!

"all this to walk in the snow and eat chili?"

We went snowshoeing the other day. Geoff wasnt so keen on the idea, especially once he realized that my sisters family wanted to stop and eat chili out of a thermos in the woods (as part of my own beliefs--I dont eat chili from a can) but it sounded like a fun idea and something new to try out (minus the chili part)---and dont worry, we didnt eat chili in the woods, we went to a pizza place after we were done.

Geoff ended up having a pretty good time once he stopped complaining and forgot about the fact that he was walking.

It was so beautiful out there.

Geoff hadnt quite embraced it yet.

nor at this point either.

But then I think that the flavor of his hat started to come out and with the combination of his beard started embracing his inner woodsman. (does that sentance even make sense?)

strong.

Look closely, someone decorated this little tree with some christmas ornaments.

so sweet!

almost perfect, if air jordan hadnt decided to accompany us.

snow kayaking.

its a very dangerous sport.

backgammon.

From morning until night...

these boys cant stop playing backgammon.

They are so competitive with each other.

Spotlight on...

My mom. She painted The Nichols house in watercolor as a gift for them and made prints of it for me and herself. Their home was the perfect location for our wedding reception--and my mom did a great job of painting it. It was her first time taking on a project like this.

way to go mom!

I'm on a boat!

Sarah got a kayak for Christmas.

After all the presents were opened and done,

We decided to celebrate by busting out the See's chocolates.

Merry Christmas!

Las Vegas pt. DEUX

Went to Vegas again...

This time instead of the Sienna Suites (gracias SG), OSU (thanks for the free trip and flight) gave me a Venetian Suite:

The grand canal shops were pretty neat too.

This time I avoided the "statues"

Instead of scaring me this time they only winked at me

Geoff got to catch up with an old mission companion "Laidlaw"

Panama is the only things these boys have in common. They are so different but they have the best time together.

Fianally these boys (plus Jones) came in and rescued me from my misery (Vegas isnt exactly my city).

Oh, and I have to slip in this photo.

Video roulette much, boys?

The game was a bust. It was so much colder than the civil war. Jones, Brian and TC stayed for the entire thing.

I love my husband I do, but my love was not strong enough to get me though that game. I found my way down to the field, past the lady asking me for my credentials (for which I have none other than geoff--I dont think that was enough for her but I looked like I was about to cry and I dont think she wanted to deal with me), found the team bus drivers, partied with them for a bit by their fire/bbq, then they gave me a blanket and let me on the bus to watch the rest of the game.

I made lots of new friends that night, including the guy guarding the locker room. I had to relieve myself of the ton of hot cocoa I drank to try and warm up--which didnt work btw.

All in all it was a pretty good time. I got to learn lots about the players personal lives--I dont know if I can say thats a good thing, but that plane ride is in pretty close quarters.

Needless to say i'm (and G too) glad to be back in Oregon.

diy christmas.

I love this DIY Christmas tree idea. One day I will do it for my own tree.

Skamania, we love your good eats.

Over the weekend we went to Skamania Lodge for their Friday Night Food Madness (thats not the technical name, and technically, I dont know the name for it). Anyway, its a whole bunch of prime rib and salmon and seafood and really, really good desserts delieved via everyones favorite way of "all you can eat" (Can you see how great this place is for Geoff? He loves this place). I love this place too for its food but also for its beautiful lodge setting and scenery--it also so happened to be where G and I took some of our sweet wedding photos. Here are some photos I was able to catch from that evening.

Geoff was trying out his "sexy moves" in this picture--which would have come in handy earlier when Manny the crepe making guy was trying out his moves on me.

all in all we had a pretty fun time.

we entertain.

Went to my parents ward Christmas party this weekend.

We may or may not have assisted in the entertainment portion of the evening which may or may not have included singing.

injured list.

You know how when you have a set of love birds and one dies, and then the other one dies because of a broken heart? Im applying that principal to Geoff's injured knee and now my own severly sore knee.
You see, he hurt his knee and therefore I hurt my knee subconciously, so that I can be more sypathetic to his situation and go through what he is going through--because thats just the kind of person I am. (or maybe I shouldnt have taken up running this week? But who can really make that determination.)

our first tree.

Oh, Tannenbaum!

Yes, that is the mirror I bought at Hobby Lobby and dragged with me on the plane from AZ to Portland.

And, yes I did make my own pipecleaner snowflakes.

 Merry Christmas!

Its here!!

Welcome to our new home!!

Please ignore our mess. I cant be perfect all the time.

a very important error.

Can I point something out? Take a looksies at this:

Those are the only set of drawers in my current kitchen. So if I gave you this:

Naturally, you'd want to put it in a drawer, but you couldnt. Because that doesnt fit in this:

Im not going to miss keeping my utensils on the kitchen counter. Im just not.

be grateful.

November is the month for thanks and I have a lot to be thankful for.  Facebookers are devoting status to thanks and so are bloggers. So why not me too? I want in on the fun.

I am thankful for...

• FAMILY, these people will love you the most and never let go of you even when your at your worst mood. Im so grateful my family got bigger in June when G and I got hitched for all eternity, which means his family is stuck with me and im not lettin' go  :).........And the awesome family I grew up with and all the things they do for me.
• GEOFF, he brings so much joy into my life and we continue to grow closer everyday. Marriage has taught me about balance and compromise and most of all love and selflessness. I never knew how much I would want so much happiness and good for someone else other than myself. 
• RELIGION, it brings meaning and blessings into my life and makes me the happiest person I can be. I know who I am, what I stand for and where I am going. How many people my age can say that?
• TEMPLE MARRIAGES, we're in it to win it and theres no turning back. I have never seen more blessings in my life since i've been married and its a direct result of preparing and partaking in a temple marriage.
• SCHOOL, its been the hardest and most rewarding time in my life. It gets, hard, mundane and sometimes my professors dont have it all together, but I love learning and gaining knowledge of all the things around me and for that I feel greatly rewarded. I hope to always be a lifelong learner.
• MOVING, with a new place we will have more room to grow in many ways including foodstorage and babies (dont worry, not now, but someday im going to have to fill that extra bedroom with something other than holiday decorations :)
• HEALTH, with no health insurance and campus facilites that are free, its nice to know i'm healthy and will always be taken care of.
• FRIENDS, these people laugh with me and enrich my life.
• AUTUMN, its a beautiful time of year and makes my heart happy when I look around and see all the beautiful trees accenting all the brick buildings on campus. 
• WINTER, its the most wonderful time of the year! Snow is on the ground, christmas songs are played and everyone is bundled up and warm and surrounded by people they love. (plus Elf and Charlie Brown Christmas :)
• FOOTBALL, it has its ups and its downs but it brings us closer to Geoff and unified in something to do together and gather for.
• TECHNOLOGY, it allows us to keep in contact so easily, go around the world in less than 15 hours, take tests online in pajamas, and send stupid/funny e-mails. Its a curse and blessing.

and for the things that need less explaination:

big gatherings

junk food

twizzlers

popcorn

hobby lobby

crafts

decorations

perfect days downtown portland with my mom

jobs

church

the gym

cute clothes

goals

meeting goals

tori spelling reality tv

shoes

books

sweet treats

osu shuttle

sales

farmers market

games

DIY

my parents

blessings

tender mercies

kind people

nature

Del Taco.

not your mothers christmas cd's.

Lets face it mom, you have a clear-cut addiction to buying christmas CD's. You could fill my whole apartment with the amount of Christmas CD's you own. I realize my place is small, but that still quite a lot. Anyway, I have my own solution to getting my Christmas fix without spending the cash. Pandora.com! I'm sure everyone already knows about it, buts its the easiest way to get any type of Christmas tunes that you are looking for. Just search under generes for Holiday music and pick my personal favorite "Swingin' Christmas" which fills your home with the smooth sounds of Nat King Cole and Company.

Lets bring on the holidays!

Castle Rock

A couple weekends ago, my mom and I went up to Castle Rock, WA to my aunts house to make christmas wreaths. I dont have any pictures of the wreaths but I do have some incredible shots of her property that I wanted to share. She has a wonderful home and a beautiful "backyard"--if you can call it that. Its more like a personal forrest. Check it out below.

I love going to her house just to be able to look out her windows. Last time we went it started to snow while we were outside in the gazebo making wreaths. It was incredible.