Happy half-birthday to me :)

Two days ago was my half-birthday and we had lots of fun celebrating!!!

We ended the day with cupcakes and a candle on top for me to blow out.

I don't really remember when I starting celebrating my half birthday or even why. 

Sometimes I think it has to do with the fact that I love numbers/math. 

Sometimes I think it has to do with the fact that I love birthdays. 

Random fact #1: I also celebrate the 22nd day of every month, but not with a cupcake and candle. I get excited because I'm one month older...and wiser too. Random fact #2: I get really happy when I look at the clock and it is 12:22 {December 22} because it's my birthday day time. So there you have it, random facts about yours truly. Some people think I'm strange, I think I'm just me :)

A Life Update...

Since when did it become June?? 

Wow, we must be really busy with that thing called life :)

I am still trying to be very diligent about training for my triathlon. 

I'm down to about seven weeks so I've got to make the most of the time that I have. 

Paul has been the best support system throughout my training.

We have gone on many bike rides together to make sure I'll be ready for race day :D

We have had quite the number of vehicle problems in the last few weeks :(

First it was the Suburban, then it was the Saab.

Lucky for me, my husband is quite the handy man with automobiles.

This has saved us a great deal of money and it has given Paul lots of learning experiences.

And the California can collecting continues!!! {See the beginning here}

We are so excited for our trip to California at the end of this month SUMMER.

There are tons of fun and exciting adventures that await us in "the golden state".

Not to mention we will being visiting some of our very best friends!!!

Paul and I were both given callings in our still new-to-us ward.

{In our church, callings are opportunities given to the members to serve in various positions.}

Paul teaches the 10-11 year old kids during Sunday school.

I am serving as the ward primary pianist.

I am loving the weather we have been enjoying here in Salem.

The flowers around our apartment are so pretty and colorful.

This has given me the inspiration to have a little patio garden of my own.

Hopefully more details on that coming soon...

This is big news y'all, my baby sister is a high school graduate!!!

I'm so proud of her and I'm so sad that I couldn't be there to celebrate with her.

I must have said something good about my college experience because she plans to attend BYU-I in the fall.

She will be majoring in Music and I know that this pretty lady will be successful in life :)

Silver Falls State Park.

Over the weekend, Paul's family came for a visit so we decided to take them on an adventure to Silver Falls State Park {which happens to be less than an hour away from Salem}. There are 10 waterfalls and plenty of walking trails throughout the whole park. It was amazing to see all the different waterfalls which ranged anywhere from 30-180 feet tall. Another amazing thing about the waterfalls is that you could walk behind some of the falls. Yes, we did get wet but it was fun :) We had a great time exploring the outdoors and we loved seeing all the GREEN Oregon has to offer...I guess that is one good thing about all the rain.

Poor Paul...

For the past SIX {or more} months, there has been a pile of Paul's clothing sitting next to my sewing machine. All of these clothes either need to be patched, hemmed or are missing a button. Really, if you think about it, they are all relatively 'quick' fixes but somehow I always have let other things get in the way of me spending just a small amount of time mending my husband's clothing. Last Sunday, Paul wanted to wear his favorite short sleeve shirt to church and he asked me if it was fixed and I embarrassingly had to say no. I finally realized that it was time to take care of the pile...something that was WAY overdue! 

Paul was SO happy when I told him that everything was mended and ready to be worn again. He now has THREE more pairs of pants that he can wear to work, a pair of shorts for the summer months, his 'working-on-vehicles-and-bicycles' pants don't have holes in them anymore, he can finally wear his short sleeve shirt to church, AND his dearly loved pajama pants are fixed!!!

Here is a side note about Paul's pajama pants: He absolutely loves these PJ pants and was so sad when they ripped and got a huge hole in the knee. I told him that I would love to use my sewing skills and make him a new pair of pajama pants. He said that he would rather have me fix the pair he already had {that's how much he loves them}. So here's how they turned out with a patch over the knee. I took the privilege of personalizing them so everyone would know that they belong to him. Sometimes I feel like I treat my husband like a five-year-old child :) I think he is happy to have his favorite pajama pants back in his life!

Another side note: I used this helpful blog for instructions on hemming Paul's pants. Very fast and easy.  

Happy Mother's Day!!!

On this special day, I just want to say that I'm so grateful for my wonderful mother. I consider her one of my greatest blessings. She is always giving me good advice and helping me through my life's struggles. She is always there to share a laugh or a funny story. And these isn't a day that goes by where she doesn't tell me that the Lord answers her prayers. As she shares her testimony of the gospel with me, my own knowledge of the gospel is strengthened.

SHE IS THE BEST EXAMPLE OF MOTHERHOOD A GIRL COULD ASK FOR :)

{I don't know what is more embarrassing...the fact that I'm wearing the same sweatshirt in both pictures 

OR the dirty dishes you can see in the background of the second picture. I'll let you decide}

Feeling a little nostalgic.

THREE years ago today, Paul and I sat on this very bench at the Nature Park in Rexburg.

We had a very serious conversation about our 'friendship' and what was to become of 'us'.

I couldn't take the seriousness any longer, so I just came right out and asked Paul to be my boyfriend.

And that was that.