This Really Means a Lot to Me.

Scott and I have had this beautiful picture of the temple framed in our home ever since we got married.



I love it.

My best and most constant friend Emily painted this for us when we got engaged and gave it to us as a Christmas card. We put it in a 4x6 frame in our living room.

Over the past couple weeks, Scott and I have looked for a picture of the temple to frame, one large enough to put on our wall. I haven't seen a single picture of the temple that I like more than this one. It's gorgeous. And it means so much to me that Em would paint it for me. Scott says she could sell it. I know she could... but I kind of like that it was painted just for me!

So tonight I blew it up with my home scanner and printer. And I will now put it in a frame on my wall. Scott wants to take it somewhere special and put it on canvas. Until then, I'm putting up a temporary copy. My crumby printer doesn't really do the painting justice... but every time I look at it, I'll think of Em AND Scott...my two best friends!

With this guy???

Scott had a dinner tonight for work with his grad program, so he's brutally left me to fend for myself on this fine Friday night while he eats delicious steak. Scott and I are one of those freaky couples who spends all of our time together... so I'm trying to figure out exactly what I should do tonight.

Earlier this week, I got Scott a bag of pear jelly bellies to congratulate him on his awesomeness. I gave them to him with the promise that as much as I love them, they are HIS jelly beans and I won't eat em all up in one sitting. I told him to take them to work so they'd be all his.

So he, being the charming and wonderful sir that he is, left for his dinner by smiling and putting his jelly beans in the little communal candy bowl we have by the door. NOOOOOO!!!! All I can think about is the candy... and pray I don't eat them all.

He left me all alone with this guy???

These Boys.

I absolutely love these boys.
Keek, when can they come hang at my house again??

Today is Thursday.

I love today.

Not circus-ing.

In other news, my amazing Mr. Hannay has had a wonderful week of success! On top of the hard work he puts in during the day and the fun we've been having going skiing and climbing and spending the evenings together (plus Scott had to put up with A LOT of violin this week)... this week Scott heard back from his MBA program with an interview request!!!!! That was supposed to be the great news of the week... but we just found out that he also passed the Foreign Service Exam!!!! On to round two in both! I'm so happy to be married to Scott. I don't know many people who are as well-thought of as Scott is. In our three and a half years of friendship, before and after dating and marriage, I have only heard wonderful things said of him. I am not the only one who thinks the world of this boy.


I'm so proud of him! All this... AND he can juggle!

Circus-ing

Happiness is not just a state to arrive at, but a manner of traveling. Margaret Lee Runbeck














I sure love this boy.

I may risk offending everyone...

or whoever the heck reads these things...

But I am HAPPY it is snowing right now.

Scott and I have one more day at Snowbird... and that day is TOMORROW! I couldn't be happier about the weather than I am right now! And for everyone out there who is infuriated by the fluffy, white visitor (I'm talking to the nap-takers on BYU campus who are all tanning on the grass outside the Wilk)... calm down! Spring will come, and it will be warm. And then summer will come and it will be hot! It happens every year! There will be plenty of time for sunshine! Eat your cadbury eggs inside. Get some tulips for your kitchen table. It can be spring inside your home. But March, in my opinion, is still fair game for snow!

Happy...

St. Patty's Day AND Happy Birthday to my second mom! Scott called you this morning at 5:30 your time (6:30 our time... he was just getting to work) so he could be the first to tell you happy birthday! I was kind of mean and pointed out that Margy had been up in New York for two hours longer than we had been up, so she might have been the first one. But then I felt bad about saying that, and I hope you enjoyed your birthday message from your son! Happy Birthday, Lynne! I hope you have a wonderful day!



Lynne happens to share this day with my cute cousin Lizzie (on the right). Happy birthday Lizzie! I think she turns eleven today. I can't believe how old these girls are getting! I have the cutest cousins! I just have the best family in general! This picture is from our wedding.

Schtuff.

We had such a fun weekend. We did a lot of getting our house organized(yes... so we've lived here since November... but it's always a work in progress to put everything together).

Friday Eric came down to our place. It was really fun to catch up with him, and he was a good sport to put up with me doing all my little house projects.

We spent almost all of Saturday at Momentum working out and climbing. We were certifying on the lead wall and learned that Scott needs to skip his first anchor all the time or else I'll get sucked into it when he takes a fall. That was a good lesson to learn. Saturday night we went down to Provo to hang with Adam, Beckah, Matt, Loral, and Andrew.

Sunday we were able to go up to Kirsten and Nick's for beautiful Sarajane's blessing. When we came back from the blessing, we had a fabulous Sunday nap, booked our flights for our summer trips, and made some curtains for our living room. Sounds fun, huh?

Sarajane Evans

So glad this happened too...
Sarajane is such a beautiful baby! She was so sweet throughout her entire blessing. I have never heard her fuss at all, now that I think of it. When Kirst and I were getting her into her dress (the same one Kirst and I both wore when we were blessed... oh so sentimental we are...), I showed Sarajane what she looked like in the mirror and told her how pretty she looked. She just started smiling at herself. I couldn't help but laugh. Such a girl.

Andrew does not keep still! It's so hard to catch a picture of him! He was putting on a concert for all of his cousins, grandparents, siblings, and aunts and uncles. He put the crown on his head and said, "Now I'll be in charge!" As if he wasn't already the center of attention. He is such a funny kid.

Ben and Scott are two boys who never fail to make me laugh! I can't stop watching Ben to see what he'll do next. And I love watching Scott be such a great uncle. I just love this whole family!

Congrats Kirst and Nick! Hopefully this will tie you over until I put these pictures on your computer for you.

Does anyone know why the picture format gets so wacky sometimes?

Best. Day. Ever.

So glad this happened...

Trips

Scott and I are already getting excited about the fun trips we have coming up.

We're doing our annual river trip this May. Last year we were on the Grand. The year before that was the Rogue (not to mention, I lived on a river for four months). We'll be running the Jarbidge River in Idaho with our good river friends. I hope to see everyone... Chuck, Jim, Jeremy, Nelson, Sherri, Sam, Rob... and many other old and new friends! It's so fun to get everyone together from so many parts of the country. I need to look into the kayaking possibilities of this river... because it'd be so fun for Scott and me to make our way down this river in our little yaks instead of a raft.

In June we're off to San Diego/LA area for a weekend for Robbie and Kelley's wedding. This is going to be such a fun party; we are so excited for them! It'll be the perfect time to get together with all our good Santa Barbara friends and celebrate with everyone. The surf isn't up to par for Scott during the summer... but maybe we'll be able to hit some good Lindsey waves so I can practice... in warm water!

We'll make our way up to Canada in July. Scott's half-brother John is getting married in Vancouver. We're making a good trip out of this one. We'll get to spend time with Scott's extended family, people he hasn't seen in years! I'm excited to meet everyone, see the city where Scott was born, and explore the whole area with Scott. He's so excited. He already has a list of things to do and people to high-five while we're there. I can't wait! Everyone knows I'd be down with living in Canada.

I'm hoping we pull together our trip to Israel this Christmas. We have just enough vacation time from work to make all these trips happen... so hopefully we can handle getting everything planned and put together. we'll be going to Israel with Scott's parents, Lynne and Rick; Scott's sister Margy and her husband Oliver; and Scott's Uncle John and Aunt Jana and their four kids. Hopefully we get everything organized because it would be the most amazing opportunity and good timing!

Despite my love of winter... we're ready to move on into the sunshine so we can bike, hike, climb, and take all these fun trips!

Dear Other Mean Neighbor,

Or punk kid driving past my house...

Please don't egg my car again. The Jeep and I have been through a lot lately. You're kind of sucking the fun out of life.

Perfect

Fantastic clear day. Unbelievable powder. Wonderful best friend. Delicious Barbacoa Burrito. Happy Day.

Ski Ski Ski...

Okay. I'm not ready to put my winter clothes away just yet. This is a gorgeous storm! (But winter can go away after Saturday.)

By the way

Today is a sentence. March Forth!

Dear Mean Neighbor,

I have wondered for a few weeks now whether or not I really go through that much fuel going to Sandy every day. I found it hard to believe that I had to fill up so often. Jeeps aren't cheap.

Yesterday I drove home from work, got home around five, and left the house again around seven. It seems I've underestimated your stealth because somehow within that short time frame when everyone is coming home from work, you managed to siphon out ALL of the gas from my car, leaving me on empty. Thank you for being so classy.

Just to let you know, my car will be parked in the garage until I can find the time to purchase a key-locked gas cap. Great... another key. Hopefully this will steer you away from your evil-doings.

Stupidest thievery ever. Who steals gas out of a car?

When Monstro clears out.

I think things like this:

Ready for rivers.
And summer.
And sun on my skin.

You know you love your friends when their blog update is titled "Burp Cloths" and you're still dying to read it to see what's new. I love you, Lar!

Ready to go to Vancouver.
And surf.
And hike.
And climb outside.

Ready to write in my journal more often (and guilt-ridden for slacking).
Ready to cook an artichoke for my dinner tonight.
Ready to take a nap. But not planning on it. But I should.

I love living in a home with no TV. Though my friends at work think I'm an alien, I love my quiet little life with Scott (does anyone out there who knows me believe for a second that our life is actually quiet?). I love not having noise. I love not having TV blaring in the background, and I love that Scott and I spend all our together time actually interacting instead of plopped on a couch staring at a screen. We read together. We play music together. We look each other in the eye when we talk. (I know that for a lot of people, TV is a great way to spend time together. I'm not putting anyone down!)

Ready to store my winter clothes at mom's house (pretty pretty please?)
Ready to start taking a daily vitamin (Kirsten's preaching)
Ready to start writing letters. I need to visit Target. Is there a target nearby?

If I were to write a story right now, what would I write about (not for lack of ideas, but for an inability to decide which one to start.)
I wish I had the box set of all the seasons of Friends.
I want to build a closet organizer.
I should probably print some wedding pictures (more than one year later).
I would love to make a quilt. It's been a while.

Would brownies made with black beans really taste normal?
Why don't I put lotion on my hand anymore?
How can I clean the little underside of the diamond in my wedding ring.
Wow... what a beautiful ring.
I love Scott. So glad he's mine.

Now I can't think about anything else.

Ain't gwine drink a no more, no more...

Run here mama, run here quick. That old fool liquor has made me sick. Ain't gwine drink a no more, no more... ain't gwine drink a no more.

Stuck in my head. Always.

Except the few times my brain can't stop singing about Monstro the Whale.

Down on the bottom of the ocean, someone has caused a big commotion, a whale of a whale, and Monstro is his name....
He's the despair of all the whalers; oh what a scare he gives the sailors, better beware or he'll give you the same...
When he was just a little fellow Monstro was precocious. Now he can snort and spout and bellow, and he's so ferocious...
Who can make the jellyfish shake and make the sharks go pale? It's the undersea public enemy of Monstro the Whale.

Why? Why fifth grade? Why?