Football Fans and Family Pics

We had a fun weekend:) though they are never quite long enough. On Saturday, Bruce and Christine had a bunch of people over to watch the BYU vs U Texas game. You can see who we were rooting for...
Turns out, as BYUI alumn, we feel no strong connections to BYU. But it was still a great game. Besides that, it gave me an excuse to make these tasty treats I spotted from a blog on pintrest (new obession. yes, I do know it's unhealthy).

Strawberries, dipped in chocolate, piped with white chocolate to look like footballs. Maybe not my best piping work, but hey, I'm not Spenser. Either way they were truly delicious. Easy, and highly recommended.

So back in July, Bruce and Christine got married. Can't believe it's been two months. But they just got their pics back which means we get some new family ones...

A little un-traditional, but that's just who we are...
Great picture, but DEFINITELY missing Tay. Can't wait to photoshop him in :)

Labor Day

oh my goodness, what a week! Monday came as a shock to our systems after driving back from CA. Spenser started school, and I resumed my normal work schedule. By Tuesday, Monday felt like a breeze. Spenser started his bakery job Tuesday. His hours are now from 5am-9am. Wooo! So we get the blessing of being up at 4:30 am daily. Nice, right?

But, we lived through the first week, things can only get easier from here, right? haha Well, regardless, we were grateful for a three day weekend!

We bought the movie RIO and had date night in on Friday. It was a really cute movie! Saturday, we were THRILLED to sleep in until 7:30. We felt so well rested! So we cleaned the house from top to bottom, I had two appointments at work and then Spens and I got our workout on;)

AND THEN... we decided it was time to shop for a washer and dryer. 6 months without, and we were finally ready to look seriously! A couple stores later, and we found these beauties at RC Willey outlet at Labor Day Sale price:)

I still cannot believe we actually bought them!! We had to wait till 4:30 on Monday for them to be delivered, but it was well worth the wait! I got up for work Monday morning, worked out with Spenser, came home and we completely cleaned out the downstairs bathroom in prep for machines! And here they are, installed and ready to use!

Starting that first load of darks was like the best day ever. Happy Labor Day :)

Brittany is Here!?!

Oh goodness. Once upon a time, there was a younger sister named Brittany. I don't know when it happened, but somewhere a long the way, she grew up and graduated high school. So mom drove out and dropped her off at BYU.

It was so much fun to have my family here!! This is during the time that Spenser left me for California, so I was really pretty happy to have anyone in the house, but even better, MY MOMMY! It was a good week. We got to visit, Brit got moved in, and then we went to Ikea.

Oh Ikea. We made it out alive. I actually scored some pretty cute placemats and an ironing board (finally, right?). Appearently mom was unhappy with my choice of mugs for glasses at my house, so she insisted on getting us some new drinking glasses, as well as a fabulous reading lamp for the living room (it's in use right now:)

So glad they could come and play. Sure wish Chelsea mom and dad were closer!

Glad your here, B! (See the mats and glasses? ha)

DISNEYLAND!

As usual, I am playing catch up from posts past, but I can't pass this one up! Speser took most of the month of August to go to California to stay with Sheila and Ken and Becca and Jon. When the car broke down at Christine's wedding, Ken took the car home to fix and Becca bought us plane tickets home. So we had a lot of debts to pay.

Spenser got to spend just over a week working and playing with Ken and Sheila. Lots of time on the boat and at the shooting range. Thanks for taking such good care of him!

Then he headed to LA to work with Becca and Jon. When I realized that they were just a short drive from Disneyland and that Spens had not been in many years, something had to be done!!

So arrangements were made, and when I flew in on Friday night, I let him know I would be accompanying him to Disneyland the following day!

We had a blast, of course! Becca and Taryn came to play for the day from open to close. We made it all around both parks. We went and got picnics for the World of Color show. Seriously, if you have the opportunity, GO SEE THAT! it was amazing! Watched some fireworks in Disneyland before making it to a few more rides and having to call it a day.

Best way to wrap up summer and prepare for another school filled fall :)

June 2011

Working at Gold's was now in full swing for me. It became a challenge to collect new clients and adjust to the demands of short hours in the gym mixed with long hours of homework and set up. We continued settling in to our home and buying fun items to furnish it:)

We ran into some fun trials with the breaks on the Alero, but it has been a huge testimony builder on how the Lord provides ways for money to find its way to our wallets when we are living in a way that is pleasing to him.

Spenser's semester finished for the summer, and his boss has been keeping him busy working full time, something I am especially grateful for (since his work alone pays for almost all of our monthly expenses).

We have had a lot of fun getting to know the Utah county area. Shopping, playing at the water park, and mostly enjoying the time that we've had together. We celebrated our 6 month anniversery. I cannot believe how quickly time is passing by! We are loving and making the most of every moment :)

May 2011

May brought new and different challenges. Spenser was continuing with school and work. I was encountering the hardest time landing a job. It was a very trying time for me. I finally scheduled my certification test, and began interviewing with three different companies. I successfully passed the test, and when my first two jobs didn't pull through, I finally landed a job as a personal trainer at Gold's gym in Provo. It was a rocky start, but I have been loving it since. It has been great to put my education to use and finally be working in an industry I am passionate about.

Spenser has been such a trooper through school and his roofing job. Thankfully, June would wrap up the semester:) We began settling into our ward and enjoying meeting new friends and reconnecting with old ones. It has been so nice to be living closer to family now. Especially living around the corner from Bruce and Christine.

April 2011

My dear friends and family have been so great about keeping their blogs up to date that I've finally got some motivation and inspiration to start regularly updating ours again. So here's what we've been up to the last few months:

April was pretty crazy. As always, the first weekend in April brought general conference which meant a trip to Utah, but this one was pretty special. We loaded up both our cars with as many household belongings as possible, and began the 4 hours drive. As a special treat I got to stop at SLC airport and pick up my Dad:) We made it into Provo pretty late, and had a lot of help from Dad, Christine, and Bruce all weekend to start moving into our new little condo. Conference was amazing as usual!

The week continued in craziness. Dad flew out of Idaho Falls Monday evening. Spenser and I spent the week packing, and Thursday I left for a research conference in Eugene, OR. It was the first time I had been away from Spenser since we'd been married, but even worse, I was leaving him behind with our ENTIRE move. Luckily Bruce and Christine came to the rescue again.

We had a week to unpack and move in. Spenser began school and started a roofing job while I studied like crazy to prepare for my personal training certification and began searching for jobs...

Weekend Giggles...

So I haven't been feeling to great this weekend. And it's clearly been affecting my brain. So I thought I would share a few of the laughs Spenser and I have had this weekend...

Saturday we went to the Rexburg Temple. I was waiting in the lobby for my husband. Twenty minutes later we were walking to the car. When I sat down, I realized the ENTIRE SIDE of my dress was unzipped. Failure on everyone's behalf for not telling me.

Failure on my behalf for being a 22 year old who can't dress herself.

After being couped up packing all Friday night, Saturday was date night. We enjoyed dinner at Ying Yang, but finished with almost 2 hours to spare before heading to the Paramount to see The Green Hornet.

We stopped by the grocery store to buy some crackers and proceeded to the duck pond to share our tasty snack.

TERRIBLE IDEA!

These are not nice ducks.

These ducks would eat your face off.(Slight exaggeration, not really though)

Spenser and I had to leave a cracker trail to the other end of the park to clear the ducks far enough away to be able to get back in the car. He had geese on his heels the entire way!!

(We also greatly enjoyed the green hornet!)

Sunday. OOOOh Sunday. I woke up early (seems we have 2 small children living directly below us). I thought I would be a kind little wifey and bake some cinnamon rolls. Two hours later, I had 2 dozen beautiful bronzed rolls sitting on the counter awaiting Spenser's special cream cheese frosting (again, he's amazing!)

I took a large bite in the first roll. SALT! Really? yup. Salt. 6 tbsp of Salt instead of sugar. awesome.

Think you're weekends been weird? HOpe you can enjoy a laugh at our exspense!

A Week of Recipes to Share!

Tuesday was my day off: I had the pleasure of shopping with my beautiful bestie, Lara Keyworth--soon to be sister Keyworth of the Fort Lauderdale, Florida mission--for some stunning missionary attire!

When I got home Spenser and I made some AWESOME chicken chili--seriously, you gotta try this stuff:

Combine: 3 15-ounce cans of white kiney beans, 2 1/2 c. of cooked chopped chicken, 1 chopped onion, 1 1/2 c. chopped peppers, 2 fresh chili peppers, 2 cloves minced garlic, cumin, salt, oregano, and 3 1/2 c. chicken broth

Cook in a crock pot on high for 4-5 hours. SO DELICIOUS!! And it makes so much! I ate left overs for the rest of the week!

Tuesday night we went and saw Gnomeo and Juliet. Fun twist on a classic. We loved it!!

Wednesday, thankfully, was another day off. We had fajita night with Lara and Kyle. Complete iwth chili lime steak and mango black bean salsa! (ps my husband is a fabulous cook!) try these out!!

steak rub: 1 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp coriander, 1/2 tsp oregano, 1/4 cayenne pepper, 3/4 tsp kosher salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper, juice of 1 lime, 1 tbsp olive oil

mango salsa: 1 can black beans (rinsed and drained), 1 medium mango (peeled and diced), 1/2 c red onion, 1/2 c chopped cilantro, 2 tbsp lime juice, 2 tsp red wine vinegar, 1/2 tsp sugar, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp kosher salt, 1/8 tsp black pepper, 1 med. avacado (diced)

truly the yummiest week I've had in a while!!

The Last Two Weeks...

Have been so crazy! We are getting prepared to move! It is madness, I can't believe it is only three weeks away. I am studying for my personal training certification, working part time, managing StorageBay, and trying to cope with a move. Spenser of course is the ever-calm presence in our home.

We were excited to find out last week that he has been admitted into the Dietetics Program at BYU for Fall 2011! It is most exciting!!

I have been so good about going to the gym every morning:) I read one chapter of my personal training manual on the bike every day. It takes about fourty minutes. I'm pretty impressed with myself. But I guess if I am really going into personal training, I might as well act like one.

Lastly, here is a little treasure my sister in law Whitni just sent over! When we were in Houston for the open house, Whitni took some AWESOME family picts! My first ones with my new family:)

Check it!

More from the wedding and open house soon :)

Moving to Utah

We spent Friday-Sunday in Utah and it was a BLAST!

Spenser had his interview with BYU Dietetics on Friday morning. We will know the results soon! Can't wait:) Then we drove up to Sandy to get my hair cut and do some shopping. It was a good break.

We went with Christine and Bruce to get dinner at Sweet Home Chicago. HUUUGE pizza. It was so so tasty! And saw Rango. Pretty funny.

Saturday: chaotic, stressful, amazing Saturday...

After much driving and looking and working, we FINALLY found somewhere to live! Cute little condo in Orem. We love it! Here are some pics:

Kitchen Area

Dining Space

Bedroom

Upstairs Bathroom

Front Entryway

Crawl Space

Downstairs Bathroom/Laundry

Living Room

Stuffed Apple Cinnamon Rolls

For Christmas, Spenser's mom bought me a fabulous cookbook! It is called Our Best Bites--written by two LDS girls who started off as a blog.

We were dying for something tasty to eat for breakfast: Spenser found this delicious recipe. (But to put the facebook comments to rest, I definitely made it! haha)

Ingredients:
1 pkg refridgerated pizza dough (or your favorite home-made pizza or breadstick dough)

Filling:
2 Cups shredded green apples
3 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 Teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 Tablespoon flour

Topping:
1 Tablespoon melted butter
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/4 Teaspoon ground cinnamon

Glaze:
6 Tablespoons powdered sugar
1 Tablespoon melted butter
1/4 Vanilla or almond extract
1-2 Teaspoons milk

Pre-heat oven to temperature specified on your bread dough

Spray a pie plate (or similar dish( with nonstick cooking spray and set aside

On a lightly floured surfce, roll dough into a rectangle (about 12x18), cut dough into 3-in squares

In a mixing bowl, combine the ingredients for the filling and mix well.

Spoon filling onto each square of dough. Use your fingers to close each square of dough, wrapping dough around filling and pinching to seal shut forming a ball. Place balls seam side down in pie plate.

Combine the toping ingredients and sprinkle on top of the dough. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the rolls are golen brown on top. Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes

While the rolls are cooling, whisk the glaze ingredients until smooth. Drizzle on top of rolls and serve.


As simple as following a recipe--and super super yummy:)

HE DID IT!

In December, Spenser submitted his application to BYU in hopes of being admitted to their dietetic program.

On Friday, step one was complete! SPENSER GOT INTO BYU! We are so happy!

We've spent all weekend celebrating... pizza party with friends, chinese food and movie date, and apple filled cinnamon rolls (SO GOOD! I'm totally posting the recipe!)

So exciting.

On Friday, Spenser will have an interview with the Dietetic program and we will wait to hear of his acceptance for that. Until then, we are in the midst of house hunting, moving prep, all over again.

I am so excited by the thought that we might finally live somewhere for more than 4 months!

Not to mention--Spenser let me go get my iPhone 4 on Friday.

Best. Weekend. Ever!

Meet Penny

While we are especially grateful for our Honda Accord, Franklin, we fear that he might be in his last stages of life. He is currently clocked at 236,000 miles, and several cosmetic defects. We love him, but we needed a back up plan!

This is Penny!

We had been doing some car shopping, and on our way home from Idaho Falls on Saturday, we stopped in at a local used car dealership. We drove some accords that were far above our price range, and then came across this little gem. An Oldsmobile Alero. We brought her home today. LOVE IT:)

Whale Watching

While in Ventura, we decided to go on a whale watch. Gray whales migrate through the Santa Cruz Islands, just a few miles off the California coast. We shipped out at 9am in search of some whales! Spenser and I set sail on the Islander with about 20 others. We sailed around Anacapa Island, the furthest south in the chain of 5 islands. We saw these cute guys on our way out of the harbor!
We were told to watch for steam like jets shooting off the ocean, and sure enough, just before reaching the island...

The first of two gray whales seen on our expedition. They are HUGE! I have never seen anything like it. Except at SeaWorld maybe. But this was so much cooler. Gray whales shoot their spout straight up, and it falls back in on itself, making a heart shape.

Can you see it?

We finished sailing around the island, found another gray whale, some awesome landmarks, and nearly froze to death. It was time to head back to the harbor when the boat captain got a call that there were some killer whales in the area. They are in the dolphin family, and are just as curious! These guys jumped around the bow of our boat and showed off for a bit before heading out to find lunch.

We returned to the harbor after the best whale watching trip EVER!

So We're Married Now...

Naturally the next thing to do would be to start a blog...

Our wedding was on December 28, 2010 in the Fresno, CA Temple. We had a reception that evening with all of our family and friends. It was lovely.

The next day, we drove down to Ventura for a couple days. We stayed in the Harbor, ate all the seafood we could, biked on the beach, and enjoyed some warm weather before heading back to the depths of Rexburg.