Family Pictures!

They turned out pretty cute!! Check out this link. Hint... you have to click on the picture to start the slideshow. And keep watching because it doesn't repeat, even though it looks like it sometimes! Let me know what you think!

http://www.photodex.com/sharing/viewshow.html?fl=3084080&alb=0

Sorry... no pictures. YET.

I've waited too long to update and now I'm going to forget things. I was hoping for some more pictures to post from this weekend. Unfortunately my camera died, and waiting for other people to send me pictures is like waiting for rain in a drought! Maybe in a few days I'll get some of them.

This past week/weekend was a fun one. Zach "accidently" had almost the whole week off of work. He's had some real trouble getting to work by 6 AM, only because he can't fall asleep early enough to get any rest. The first day he didn't wake up until around the time he was supposed to be leaving. He decided to just call in sick. When he went to work the next day, they told him they didn't want him spreading his germs and sent him home for his fake illness. The following day they had changed his schedule and he wasn't allowed to login when he wasn't scheduled so he got sent home again. It was sort of fun to have some down time, and he's making up all the hours he missed so it worked out. It was kind of funny though.

All the sushi lovers of Utah might be excited to know that there is a sushi place on Center Street in Provo called DeMae (I don't really know how to say that) but on Tuesdays and Thursdays it's only $3.50. So last Thursday night we went for dinner and that was fun, and cheap. Only my second time ever having sushi but I finished my whole roll AND ate it with chopsticks which I've never been able to do! Add that to my list of accomplishments!

Early Friday evening, Zach's parents flew into town. Zach's niece and nephew have birthdays a couple months apart so they are celebrated together in March with a joint party for the family. Friday night we all had fun playing Wii Fit at Tashina's house, even the kids. (We had to help them out a bit, and everytime the Miis would get sad faces after doing poorly in a game, the kids got so sad. It was funny but I felt bad)

Saturday morning we had family pictures with a photographer in Layton. We were instructed to all wear black, and the girls should have a splash of color. I couldn't figure out what to do so I ended up wearing a pink flower clip in my hair, and I think it turned out cute. (Thanks to Mauri for her detailed instructions on how to do a curly side pony with the clip!) We took some pictures of the whole family, and then some of Zach's parents, the two of us, Tom/Tashina/the kids, and Mashaela by herself (poor girl in a family of married couples). Finally the photographer did some singles of the kids and they were so cute. Hallie can't get enough of the camera, she is such a little ham, posing and smiling every which way. Chase knew how to turn on the smile for the camera but turned it right off as soon as pictures were done. They were so funny to watch! I'm excited to see the pictures, we are supposed to see them online by this weekend. If I can post any I will.

We went to lunch at Paradise cafe, and that evening we had Costco pizza, cake and presents for Chase and Hallie. They were so spoiled, got so many new toys, and even new bikes for both of them. Their reactions were so funny, they were so excited about everything. This is the part where I wish I had pictures!

Sunday we all had a delicious dinner together and then it was time for the in-laws to head out. A short trip but a fun one! Back to real life on Monday, my first day at Teleperformance, where Zach works. Granted I won't be there for long but we thought an extra paycheck or two wouldn't hurt, so I am just sitting through training every day. We got to eat lunch together the past couple days which is a good way to break up the work day.

So... c'est la vie! Now we are just waiting for conference weekend and,

of course,

Florida.

Alanis Morrisette had it right: Life does have a funny way.

I'm on a mini-spiritual high right now and just thought I should say that I am so grateful for church. Zach is finally done with his training for work and got his new schedule, and while we don't have to stay up until ridiculous hours anymore he now has to work every Sunday. I was really bummed, it's been hard enough for us to get to church the past few months already and now I have the added weight of having to go by myself! I was really dreading having to go by myself each week to a ward that I swear only counts in even numbers. But of course I went and one of the brothers in our ward bore his testimony just for me. His cute wife and kids are out of town and he talked about how he has realized that without them he has nothing. He talked about how hard it is when your spouse can't make it to church and how it's discouraging to go alone, but that we should because we know it's where we need to be. Sunday School again was just for me... D&C section 25 to Emma Smith. Gosh I just needed to hear everything. I'm so glad I can feel the Spirit so strong at church especially when I haven't been able to feel it as much in my personal life lately. Thank you thank you thank you!

On another note :o) We found out this week that we are going to Ft. Myers Florida for the summer! And leaving April 1st... what?! I know. It has totally snuck up on us and all of a sudden we have to figure out what we are doing with our apartment for the summer and where we will be when we get back and now we have to clean so we can take pictures to post on craiglist and we have to pack and and and... oh life has a funny way of catching me off guard. I am really excited to get out there though, for obvious reasons (warm weather and a beach 10 minutes away... hello!) but also for a change of scenery and a chance to not feel like we are stretching each paycheck to the max. Zach has a goal of selling 350 accounts this summer which let's just say will be more than enough for us! But on top of that I will be working in the office each day 3 PM to 10 PM. (That's actually nice because Zach probably won't get done until around 9 anyway and it gives me a chance to hit the beach or pool before I go to work.) It sounds pretty good right? I hope I can stay this optomistic once we get out there!

That velvet white sand is actually imported from... somewhere. I can't remember. I still don't get how it doesn't just wash away... but I plan on spending plenty of time here.

Another bonus is that my sister-in-law and niece and nephew will be out there as well so I'll have somebody to hang out with. Un-bonus: we have to hang out with everybody we know here in Utah before we leave in 3 weeks! If you're here... please call us. We'll miss you. I hope you'll still be our friends in August when we get back.

My life is COMPLETE... thank you Rascal Flatts.

Alright, so the concert last night was amazing! It seems like every time I go to a Rascal Flatts concert I have the best of luck. Coincedince? ...I think not. Love them.

So we get to the "Energy Solutions Arena" AKA Delta Center. As we're walking in and up the stairs to portal CC I'm talking to Zach about how someday I can't wait to have front row seats so I can walk in and down the stairs instead of up to the nosebleeds. Someday...

When we meet the ushers at the portal they look at our tickets and ask us if we'd like to be down on the floor. "Yes we would." I replied without hesitation. In fact these two nice older men laughed at me because I answered so fast. I actually thought they were joking, but then they said "Well you'll have to stand all night." We said that was definitely fine and to our surprise they pulled two tickets out of their jackets, exchanged them for our home-printed ones, gave us wristbands and told us to head on down!

So we take the elevator down to the bottom and we're directed to the floor. The stage is set up in a square, with people sitting in the middle. We find out that we get to stand right next to the stage in the back and that the band would be wandering around it all night. What!? It was awesome. We were actually directly behind the lighting techs, which turned out to be a bummer for some pictures but seriously... who cares right?

Jessica Simpson opened, in her custom Daisy Dukes and platforms. Finally a scene appears on the screen of a forest at night. A comet shoots across the sky coming closer and closer... suddenly a huge real life explosion of fireworks and down drops Rascal on a platform from the ceiling! AWESOME! And I'm going crazy.

So it basically just gets better from there. They really were walking right in front of us all night. I think I only used the 'zoom' feature on my camera twice. And to top it all off... he touched my hand!!! (Proof is in the clip below... I happened to be recording it! Lucky lucky...) Does it get any better than this?

Amazing. Could not have asked for more. Oh, and please check out my facebook for the REAL pictures, a lot of them were too small to post on here. DO IT!

I'm just a ruiner.

So, I hate to be cliche and post about Valentine's Day, but I should have the right to brag about my husband a little bit right? We had a pretty laid-back holiday. As I mentioned our friend Jeff was in town over the weekend but he was great about everything. We all slept in VERY late on Valentine's Day (remember that Zach doesn't usually go to bed until it gets light outside, because of work) but he dragged Jeff and went and got me flowers anyway, he's so cute.

Now I am a surprise-spoiler, I guessed where we were going for dinner on the first try: Cheesecake Factory. Even though I felt bad that we are tight on money, Zach's philosophy is that if we go out we go all the way. So I got a pina colada with no guilt! I also had quite possibly the best meal I've had there. Every time I go I get the Chicken Madeira which is AWESOME and big enough for 3 people. This time I switched it up and got the fish of the day, which was Mahi Mahi on mashed potatoes with the most delicious salsa on it... It was wonderful! I don't think it is even on the menu, which is a shame because I LOOOOVED it! I'll ask for it next time, and maybe they'll love me enough.

Turns out having a 3rd person for dinner works out nicely for pictures!

Finally, my biggest surprise was another one I spoiled: tickets to the Rascal Flatts concert on the 26th! Zach had apparently ordered the tickets the first day they came out. Long story short, I got into his email account about a week before Valentine's Day to read a confirmation email for something he had asked me to register for, and there accidently saw the ticketmaster emails as well... oops! He was a bit upset (ha!) but he rarely has anything in his email so I didn't think anything of it. It was made worse by the fact that I always tell him how impossible I am to surprise because I figure things out, and this time I had tried to play it safe so as to not catch on to anything I wasn't supposed to know. I felt so bad I didn't even tell him I ruined the surprise, but he knew that I knew and confronted me in front of a Walmart cashier in Rexburg. Thankfully the lady behind us in line defended me. We all had a laugh- after he made me admit that I WOULD have been surprised, if I hadn't checked his email. Oh well. It doesn't change the fact that I am super excited! Good work, honey.

World's Best Chocolate Cake?

This past weekend Zach and I went up to Rexburg to visit some friends at BYU-I. We left Provo Saturday morning and stayed until Sunday night, so it was a short trip but it was nice. We stayed with his best friend Pablo and his wife Megan. They've been married since October so their apartment is about the size of ours, but it was fun, relaxing and cozy. We also spent time with Jeff, Zach's other best friend (who's not married, but is a good sport). We did go out to eat, but the rest of the time was spent hanging out in the apartment so unfortunately I didn't take any pictures. Here is an older one though:

Jeff, Pablo, and Megan

Jeff is actually coming down to stay with us for this weekend, so we didn't feel too bad saying goodbye. I'm still not sure how that is going to work out for Valentine's day...

On Monday night I got to have a girl's night with my SIL's. We went to Johnny Carino's for dinner first. I recommend the Sicilian Firesticks if you ever go for an appetizer. They were gooood. The meal wasn't bad, either. We all ordered Angel Hair with Artichokes. And for dessert? The chocolate cake! Now I am not a huge fan of chocolate, or cake really, and after a big dinner didn't think I would have more than a bite or so. But we really cleaned that plate between the three of us. It has cocoa powder of some sort sprinkled on it. In short... it was DELISH.

After dinner we went to He's Just Not That Into You. I am still not sure whether I liked it. Maybe that's not a good sign? Call me idealistic, but I like a movie with a happy ending. This movie was too realistic for my likes, and not as funny as I was hoping. It wasn't horrible, but not what I expected. We had fun anyway.

Girl's Night

Wiiiiii!

After reading cousin Katie's blog about how EVERY post must include pictures, even if they are not related to the subject at hand, I decided she was right, and wondered if maybe readers are BORED with my pictureless posts! So I have prepared several pictures for this post and despite the formatting that I CANNOT figure out, I hope it makes it more enjoyable.

Speaking of enjoyable... here is the mountainous laundry I spoke of in the last post that we had to take care of.

Well... big news! We got a Wii! Zach and I have been wanting a Wii for months now and decided it took a backburner to, I don't know, food. But thanks to our good friend Katherine we found out that RCWilley sells Wiis, AND you can actually finance your purchases if you qualify. So thanks to Zach we qualified, bought a Wii, and now I can actually build a little credit. It's a win/win situation! We also purchased 4 controllers, 3 nunchucks (an odd number on accident... we didn't realize one was already coming with it) and WiiPlay and MarioParty 8. We looked for MarioKart at RCWilley and Walmart and both were out, so we'll keep looking. We have already had tons of fun with it and we are excited to get some more games. Recommendations are welcome.

First thing, we had to invite Matt and Katherine over to share in our Wii glee.

Additionally, our TV has been on the floor since we've lived here, and since the Wii sensor on top of the TV needs to be a little more elevated we got this little entertainment center, thanks to brother-in-law Tom. It was still in the box so Zach had to put it together. I am pretty sure he felt manly afterward... he loves fixing things with his hands.

This is the entertainment center that Zach built. And yes, Jon & Kate Plus 8 is on. Love.

This weekend we headed up to see cousin Katie and Corey's new house in Herriman for the Superbowl. Their new house is gorgeous, and only made us more excited (envious) to get our own. (We have big plans for after this summer!) We had great food, great fun, and even played Guitar Hero during halftime. Oh, and we had to stick around to watch The Office afterwards.

Mmmm... food.

Mmmm... Max.

How 'bout a smile?! Or am I cheesin' enough for the both of us?

Awww. The cuddly Christensens

I made Zach get a picture of me winning.

We think he's happy!