Antelope Island

Last weekend, Michael and I made a pretty large purchase. We decided that if I really wanted to be a photographer, I need to start practicing. That being said, we found someone online who was selling their camera and jumped on the opportunity! 

Wanting to take the camera out for a test run, we headed out to Antelope Island! If you haven't visited before, it is definitely worth the trip! Maybe these pictures will convince you to go!

Sorry there is kind of a lot but it was seriously gorgeous!  

Michael has mad hops!

This rock was just begging for an Ariel picture!

And how often do you get to climb on a wrecking ball!? 

Although we have never seen the music video and never plan on seeing that  

D I S G U S T I N G   F I L T H  we had to take advantage of the opportunity!

I thought these pictures were gorgeous and I was pretty excited they turned out so well! Maybe

I actually do stand a chance at becoming a photographer! 

I've certainly got a long way to go, but I am going to work hard! 

X O X

Show Shoeing

 Michael and I haven't had a chance to get out snow shoeing this season yet, so when we realized we had a complete day with nothing to do, we reserved it for snow shoeing! We had never gone in Ogden up until now, so we did some research the night before and found a place to go, then set out Monday morning. We were running out the door. Make up from the night before and all!

Poor Michael. I make him take so many pictures, 

but some of them turn out pretty rad! He's got mad hops!

My jumping picture didn't turn out nearly as cool... Apparently I stick my tongue out when I try to concentrate, so this is the next best thing. Snow Shoeing in action!

The snow was so deep! This is me underneath of a picnic table!

It took quite a time for me to get underneath of it but I'll do anything for a cool picture! 

How beautiful is this world we live in!? Seriously! Look at this! 

This was our path! I couldn't get enough of it!

This was where we sat down and had our own little picnic! Super romantic! 

And a "selfie" because in the couple of hours we were up there, my freckles doubled! 

X O X

Valentines Day 2014

Perfection. That is the only word I can think of to describe our Valentines Day experience. I have never experienced a more amazing day. (Aside from our wedding day  O B V I O U S L Y ! ) It started out like any normal day. Wake up, change, go potty, take Michael to work. You know, the usual. While walking out the door, Michael stops me and claims he "forgot his wallet." So he ran back up stairs to get it. Then, off to school we went. When I got home, I walked in the door to see this...  

Story Time: A week earlier, Michael and I had decided to walk 25th street for like the 20th time, and explore the antique shops yet again. While my favorite store, I came across this window! I absolutely fell in love with it and was so heart broken to have to pass it up. Shock. Shock is what I felt when I saw this beautiful window sitting on our couch. He really surprised me with this one. 

T H E N !  As if that wasn't enough, I go into the Bathroom and see this beautiful message:

Again, I was completely blown away by his thoughtful message! AND as if that wasn't enough, I went to get onto the computer to write on my other blog when the first thing that popped up was this:

Michael had "forgotten" his wallet just so he could surprise me with all of these sweet messages! I was floating on a cloud all day while he was at school! I thought this was the most thoughtful thing a man could have ever done. 

When Michael did finally come home, we had decided to give presents. I was absolutely bursting to give him his present! I had been collecting it for months, and if any of you know me, I am not any good at keeping a surprise. Especially from Michael so I was so relieved and excited to finally be able to give him his CDs. In high school, all of his CDs were stolen out of his car, and he has always wanted to be able to rebuild his collection. So... I collected half of it. 

It doesn't look like a lot, but the bands that I got multiple CDs of were stacked up. I got him a total of 23 CDs! He was so happy!

Then it was my turn. I had no idea what to expect because he had already done so many kind things for me that day! He had me close my eyes and wait for him to bring out my gift. He brought out a  S E W I N G   M A C H I N E ! That was the last thing I expected! I was so happy I literally started crying. I know that happens all the time, but I couldn't help it! It meant so much to me! I immediately grabbed some fabric and went to work figuring it out! 

My favorite part of this present is the note he wrote on it to stay forever. Michael has always has such an amazing way of expressing himself and that is one of the things I fell in love with first. I told him even if this sewing machine breaks, I am keeping it forever. I have never felt more spoiled. 

Then it was off to Olive Garden for dinner. Look at that handsome man! 

After dinner we retired to our home for some Wii and a little Indiana Jones. A perfect way to spend a day celebrating our unconditional and eternal love. This man makes me feel like something I've never felt before. Being married to Michael has helped me learn more things about myself that I probably should have learned years ago. He makes my entire world better. I will always be forever grateful for that night at Betos 2 years ago. I will never forget the 7 days it took for me to know I wanted to be his forever. I love you Michael Linley.

X O X

Mikey's favorite!

A couple of months ago, I found a recipe for a dessert called Gorilla Bread, and Michael cannot get enough of! So... I figured I would put it online just in case a fire were to occur or something and I couldn't access this recipe! It has been so fun perfecting this recipe to our own favorite taste!

I N G R E D I E N T S

• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 3 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 c (1 stick) butter
• 1 c packed brown sugar
• 2 12 - ounce cans refrigerated biscuits (10 count)
• Chocolate Chips

I N S T R U C T I O N S

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray. Mix the granulated sugar and cinnamon. In a saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar over low heat, stirring well; set aside.  M A K E   S U R E   N O T   T O   B U R N   I T !
2. Press the biscuits out with your fingers and sprinkle each with 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon sugar. Place some chocolate chips in the center of each biscuit, wrapping and sealing the dough around the chocolate chips.
3. Place half of the prepared biscuits in the pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, pour half of the melted butter mixture over the biscuits. Layer the remaining biscuits on top, and sprinkle with the remaining brown sugar mixture.
4. Bake for 30 min. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Place a plate on top and invert.

We ended up buying some cheap dough, and it was SUPER sticky and frozen, they took a bit of extra softening... So naturally I pretended to be  I R O N   M A N !  I saved the world. Don't you fret.

On the left is before we cooked it and the right is after cooked. Normally it doesn't look as red, but for some reason the picture came out super red! 

 X O X

Drill.

This weekend was Michael's weekend to be with the Marine Corps. Normally I would go to Orem and spend time with my family, but this time, due to finances we opted that I would stay in Ogden. Lonely as this may be... I have accomplished so much this weekend! Our home is very small, and although it was some what organized... If it isn't perfect, it drives me  C R A Z Y !  I am not a psycho, I just enjoy a neat home! So here is my weekend in pictures!

Our closet is one part of our home that  A L W A Y S  manages to get messy. It has been one of my biggest frustrations, so I refigured how our clothes fit into the closet! hopefully Michael will be able to find his clothes!  

 We also don't have a medicine cabinet in our bathroom, just open shelving. It is nice to have the extra storage, but keeping our things looking nice and not cluttered is super difficult! So, I went to Joann Fabric and picked up these boxes for $3.99 and look how clean it looks! I am so happy about it! 

 This is our little "office" station. It is small and gets cluttered super quickly. So, we put these baskets in there and it hides the mess really well! 

I just needed to give a reorganizing to the space above the washer & Dryer. Regardless, it is looking a lot better than before! 

Frank was a huge help this weekend... ;) 

Not really but what is a blog post if it doesn't include this pup! 

Michael sent me this picture this weekend. They one of a kind huh? This is how I make it through these times without Michael. Pictures. Thank goodness for pictures!

X O X