this weekend-

-lunch with jenni from high school tomorrow. 

-my friend katie is coming over to hang out, go walking and see a movie with two other couples. katie's man is also deployed...we're each others date.

-on saturday, katie is coming over again and we are spending the day watching Army Wives. 

that's my whole weekend.

and i'm excited about it. 

is that bad?:)

wk 16.

Miramar Air Show 2010.

amanda came and spent the weekend with me so that we could go to the show.

we were both 100% amazed. it was awesome.

Candy Inspired Goodies.

Today I am having a guest blogger!
It is my dear friend Emma. 
We have known each other quite sometime now.
We went to high school together and have stayed friends.
Many of you know her and know that her blog is one of the cutest!
She blogs about baking, fashion, cooking and life with her cute husband.
(who was the disc jockey at our wedding)
I asked her to share some fun treats on my blog, and she said that she would!
Here is the post from Emma the Joy.


With Halloween just around the corner I have loved getting in the mood by baking yummy treats filled with my favorite candy.  It totally beats trick-or-treating...which I seriously miss...

Twix Cheesecake Pie

Ingredients:

2 8-ounce bars of cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

2 large eggs

8-inch chocolate cookie pie crust

1 bag fun size twix candy bars

Preparation:

With an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese with the sugar and eggs.  Mix in 16 chopped twix bars {about 2 cups}; pour into the chocolate cookie pie crust.  

Bake at 325 degrees until set, 40 to 45 minutes; cool.  Sprinkle with 6 chopped twix bars; chill until firm.

 Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

Ingredients:

 1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup {1 stick} unsalted butter, room temperature

2/3 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 12-ounce package small peanut butter cups, coarsely chopped

Preparation:

Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment or wax paper.  In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.  

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars until creamy.  Add the egg and vanilla and beat to combine.  Gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated.  Fold in the peanut butter cups.

Drop tablespoon-sized mounds of dough 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.  Bake until light brown around the edges, 8 to 10 minutes.  Transfer to a baking rack to cool.

These are both super delicious and are sure to please all you candy lovers out there.  Enjoy!

Recipes adapted from Real Simple.

19 days.

gone 19 days and it feels like at least a month. i guess it almost is. 

what have i been doing for 19 days?

i've been going to the gym very frequently.

amanda and i decided to go 5 times a week

my new girlfriend, lindsey, and i go 5 times a week together. i feel great.

i've been trying to cook. i cooked chicken for the first time. ever.

i bought herbs and started a garden! 

(no one of my plants hasn't died already.)

i've been spending lots of time with other couples. its more fun than it sounds.

will, tranique, and i went to a crazy diner. 

the tables were glow in the dark. i still can't figure out how this worked.

i made a new friend! she came over and we made packages to send to our loves ones. her marine left a couple days before jon did. she's very fun.

rumbi gets in my way allllll day long.

i didn't put that paint on her face. 

we finally got a rainstorm! it was POURING rain! it was really pretty.

then afterwards....i saw a rainbow.

a double rainbow in fact.

it went all the way across!

i don't know what it means...?

and lastly, i've been watching movie after movie.

Date Night--So so funny. I loved how they portrayed marriage.

very cute movie.

The Back Up Plan--typical J.Lo movie, but pretty good. I love those cheesey movies.

In Her Shoes-Kind of graphic...it was rated PG-13 though. It was cute and VERY long. I don't know how many more times i could ever watch it, but i'd definitely recommend it.

these are all the movies i borrowed from lindsey.
they'll keep me busy for a week or so:)

weekend fun/wk 15.

my weekend spent in huntington was so fun. 

i got there late friday night. not too late to miss out on amanda and nephi's yummy homemade pizza though.

we ate and watched the not funny episode of the office. 

ugh, it's so awful. they should have stopped after season three. 

saturday morning, we woke up before the sun.

got ready for the hike, and left.

it was a "moderately easy" hike that i struggled through.

nephi posted about it here.

yes, we saw a live tarantula. (!!!)

it was such a fun weekend. 

my favorite part besides the food, beach, hike and family time was singing on rockband.

i also loved seeing nephi really rocking out on the 'guitar' while amanda sang T swift.

St. George

at the end of July, jon and I went to st. george with my family!

it was such a ball. we spent most of the time...in the pool.

but we also wore swimsuits backwards and stretched our limbs.

and we compared muscles. sorry jon...

on saturday, we hiked the narrows. 

i usually don't like to hike, but this was so fun.

i wonder why i don't like hiking? here...let me hold that for you.

twin moms and cute babies.

i thought this was so funny and cute. little robbie.

here are all the kids! this was at the beginning of the water hike.

<3

i seriously loved hiking through the water.

and i loved playing with the doll.

(I meant to type this doll. the doll is pretty darn funny though.)

she is so precious.

and so is he. look at my boy, sleeping away.

two cuties.

(see how good jon's new picture smile is?? so handsome!)

here is the whole group. such good company.

doesn't this look like a paparazzi shot? or maybe i just want it to...?

we hiked as far as we wanted, then turned around. jon, sam, and I decided to get all the way in the water and just float down the river. it was so relaxing. and cold. 

the rest of the weekend was spent reading, nintendo-ing, and playing who wants to be a millionaire.

swimming!

and eating, obviously. 

yummm.

since i LOVED the hike soo much, this guy invited me to go hiking this weekend. 

it's called the bridge to nowhere. 

it is somewhat similar to the narrows, we'll be passing through water.

and it is ten miles. 

ten. 

miles. 

i haven't asked nephi yet if its ten miles in, ten miles back. 

i dont think i'll ask him until we finish.

oh, and i guess she can come too.

nephi talked me into it by sending me this email-

"I think this commenter said it best:

"After passing through the river a bunch of times (so much fun!) and about 4.5 miles in, we called it quits. Why? We got a late start (2 pm) and it was starting to get a bit dark... 

Upon return, we realized we were a mere 10 minutes-ish away from the bridge.

Though we “gave up” and never found the Bridge to Nowhere, we built a stronger bridge — a metaphorical bridge that connected the five of our hearts. A bridge we’ll never forget."

that could be US!!"

eat, pray, love...again.

I saw the movie tonight.

i liked it. i knew i would.

i usually hate the movies everyone loves, and love the movies everyone hates.

I like the worst movies. "Because I said So"? One of my favorites. 

i liked it because it made me think. a lot.
i typed a whole blog.
turns out, it was really personal.
i made a journal last night at relief society.
I've been writing in it. i'm going to give it to jon when he gets back. 
so he won't feel like he missed out on anything.


there was one part in the movie where she was describing a building.

"A friend took me to the most amazing place the other day. It's called the Augusteum. Octavian Augustus built it to house his remains. When the barbarians came they trashed it, along with everything else. The great Augustus, Rome's first true great emperor. How could he have imagined that Rome, the whole world as far as he was concerned, would be in ruins? It's one of the quietest, loneliest places in Rome. The city has grown up around it over the centuries. It feels like a precious wound, a heartbreak you won't let go of because it hurts too good. 
...
Then I looked at around to this place, at the chaos it has endured - the way it has been adapted, burned, pillaged and found a way to build itself back up again. And I was reassured, maybe my life hasn't been so chaotic, it's just the world that is, and the real trap is getting attached to any of it. Ruin is a gift. 
Ruin is the road to transformation."

this goes along with this entry.

then here is a quote from the book. she is referring to God.  

“I’m here. I love you. I don’t care if you need to stay up crying all night long, I will stay with you. There’s nothing you can ever do to lose my love. I will protect you until you die, and after your death I will still protect you. I am stronger than Depression and I am braver than Loneliness and nothing will ever exhaust me.”
— Elizabeth Gilbert 

one of my all time favorite quotes here. 


and lastly,

"To lose balance sometimes for love is part of living a balanced life."

i miss jon tonight. in a good way.

i love him.

the day after we got married.