Our Third Anniversary

Today is my anniversary. Colt and I have been married for three years.

I wish I could say that the road has been smooth and that every day has felt like a fairy tale in which we are living happily ever after with all troubles and worries far behind us, but I can't.

If you're married, you know what I'm talking about. You know how it is.

No marriage is easy, especially when it's one between two people as stubborn and spoiled as Colt and me. No marriage is without its challenges and Colt and I are most certainly not the exception to that rule. Still, we are both here, as committed, if not more so, than we were three years ago when we stood together in a courthouse, tying our lives together, for better or worse. We have been through some pretty intense, nearly heartbreaking, things together, and since saying 'I do' in 2011, we have truly worked (and worked hard, mind you) through our differences. There have been days when it felt like we would never see eye to eye about some things. There have been days when I've felt hopeless. There have been days when I wanted to throw in the towel. There have been days when I pictured myself as a single parent.

But, thankfully, those days have been few and far between and have truly paled in comparison with the good days- the days of fun and laughter, of growth and learning. Colt and I have come so far together. We have learned so much. We have learned how to argue without hating each other at the end of it. We have learned how to turn to one another instead of the other friends/family in our lives. We have learned how to love one another, despite all quirks and shortcomings. We have learned how to laugh over the little things instead of turning them into big things. We have learned how to show love and respect for one another. It's been a challenging road, but I wouldn't have had it any other way. Our challenges have made us better. Our challenges have made us stronger. I am so proud of us and the marriage that we worked to have.

I know that we haven't seen all of the hard times or faced all of the challenges that are in store for us, but I believe that the things that we have taught one another over the past few years have prepared us for almost anything. They have made us strong and have stood as proof to both of us that this is where we want to be.

In honor of our special day, here are a few of my favorite photos from our wedding day. I'm hoping to get a couple of photos tonight so that you can see how much we have changed (or in other words, how much Colt's beard has grown) over the past three years.

We celebrated our anniversary last weekend with a getaway to Park City. Someone gave us a weekend at Westgate Resort and it was wonderful. Tonight, we took it pretty easy with dinner and a movie, which was perfect since dinner and a movie is one of our favorite things to do.

Not as Big as She Seems

Sometimes it seems like Harper is about as grown up as a four year old can be. She writes words, ice skates by herself (we went on Sunday and she was so much better than the first time- she skated by herself and even tried a few tricks), has her ears pierced, and watches all of those insanely annoying Disney tween shows (Jessie, Austin and Ally, and Dog with a Blog are her favorites).

But then something like this happens and suddenly, she isn't quite as big as she seems to be.

I hope that she will never be too big for her Scout.

Christmas 2013

We had a really busy holiday season that left me feeling stretched kind of thin. I usually take my camera to every party/event but this year, I kept forgetting it. I did manage to get photos from a few of our holiday activities...

Harper is still in love with Pierce, her "baby cousin." I'm pretty sure you can see why. The little man is adorable beyond words. 

On Christmas Eve, we took Harper out to sushi (her favorite- she is crazy about miso soup) and ice skating. She'd never been before and did really well for her first time. She was really nervous at first and insisted on holding onto both of us, but by the end, she was comfortable going with just me (which works better since Colt is so tall that he was basically dragging both of us behind him) and even tried a couple of "tricks." She is taking lessons a little later this month and can't wait. Ever since we went to Disney on Ice, she has been obsessed with ice skating.

Santa brought Harper a dollhouse (heaven knows that the thirty-something princesses/Barbies she has need somewhere to live), a mirror for her room, some clothes, and a few other fun things. It's hard for me to hold back when shopping for Harper but I try to keep it simple, especially considering how many presents she gets from everyone else in her life.

You think she is happy about a new toothbrush? You should have seen her face when she saw that Santa brought her some pink towels. She has been wanting pink bath towels for a while now and was probably more excited about receiving those than anything else.

Slowly, but surely, Harper's bangs are growing out. I don't even notice how short they are anymore. They have kind of grown on me. I actually think they are kind of cute now. 

Harper, Julie (Harper's doll), Emma, and Tiffany (Emma's doll) have been having fun together since Christmas. The four of them even went on a little lunch/shopping date earlier this week. The girls and I took Julie and Tif (as I like to call her) to Target for some new duds. I may or may not have treated myself to a few things as well. If you saw the sales at Target this week, you know that you can't blame me for that. I'm a sucker for 50% off!

A few days after Christmas, we took Trax downtown to see the lights and have dinner at City Creek. Harper had a great time. She liked the lights but the train ride and the escalators at City Creek were definitely the highlight of the night for her.

Notice her new earrings? She is so proud of them and can't wait for six weeks to pass so that she can get some ice skate earrings. 

That is just about it for our holiday season. It was a good one. Harper made sure to make every part of it fun and magical and Colt and I enjoyed spending some quality time together. The three of us spent New Year's Eve at home, watching movies and making cookies, and I didn't take even one photo. You'll just have to take my word for it that we had a good time. :)

Ice Fishing for the First Time

One of Colt's favorite things to do is go ice fishing. He's been offering to take me since we met and this past weekend, I finally said yes. Colt and I, along with a few of our friends, left the valley at 4:30 last Saturday morning (true story- I still can't believe I was up and out of here that early) and headed for Starvation Reservoir. 

The boys set Whitney, Ann (my friend), and me up in Colt's ice hut with a heater so that we would be nice and comfortable for the day (Colt is tougher than I am and prefers to do his fishing "out in the element"). I caught one fish (I didn't touch it- I wasn't ready for that big of a step yet) and had a great afternoon talking and laughing with the girls. I even took a little nap in my chair. It was a good day and I had fun experiencing one of Colt's hobbies with him. 

Colt and his friend Tyson love to shoot their guns and rarely leave the house without them. We hadn't been out of the truck for five minutes before both of them grabbed their shotguns and went after a rabbit (it got away, bless its heart).

I've always thought that ice fishing sounded like a lot of work. I was right. You have to pack everything up into a sled, put it in the truck, haul it to your spot, set everything up, make the holes (lucky for Colt, we have a gas-powered auger), catch the fish, pack everything back up, haul it back to the truck, drive home, unpack the sled, and gut/filet the fish. Colt did all of the work for our day on the ice and made sure that everything was perfect for me.

 

It was a beautiful day, but was it sure windy. The wind was freezing cold, making me even more grateful for the ice hut and heater.

I don't generally like to wear a lot of layers and I hate socks. I was so bundled up for the day that I felt a bit claustrophobic. I wore three pairs of pants and super thick socks. When we got home, I was really happy to shed everything and feel normal again. I do want to point out my snow pants, though, because they are one of my best thrifty finds to date. Whitney convinced me to get them at Goodwill last year. They cost me a whopping $3 and were absolutely perfect for ice fishing.

Whitney made sure to document my fishing nap by grabbing my camera and snapping a photo. This nap did me some good. Waking up at 3:45 in the morning, driving for two hours, and getting set up in the freezing cold air and wind did me in. I needed a refresher to make it through the rest of the morning. I caught my fish right after I woke up.

Whit, Ann, and I were laughing away when my line started bobbing. Whitney pointed it out and I quickly set the hook. I was so excited that I was screaming like a crazy person, which was a good thing since Colt heard me and came in to hold my fish and take the hook out of its mouth for me.

The boys alternated between fishing and shooting at geese. The truth is that Colt and his friends are just a bunch of great big kids. They like to have as much fun as possible and shoot/catch as many things as possible (no matter what I say/feel about it) whenever they have the chance. I'll spare you guys the dead goose photos.

We brought my fish (a rainbow trout) home and ate it for dinner that very night. We love fresh fish tacos and make them all the time with Colt's various catches (I like trout okay but walleye is my favorite so far). He filets and cooks the fish (he likes to pan fry it in a bit of lemon-pepper panko) while I prepare the sauce (cilantro-lime dressing) and some mexican rice.

I had a lot of fun ice fishing and would definitely go again, especially if Whit and Ann were going to be there. Catching a fish was fun and all but hanging out with them was the best part of the day. Colt and I also really want to take Harper sometime this month. We know she would love it.

2013 Bucket List Review

2013 was the first year that I chose to skip resolutions and make a bucket list of fun things to do, read, and learn instead. It worked out really well and even though I didn't cross everything off, I feel really good about the things that I did personally and the experiences we had as a family.

Personal:
take a photography class- I didn't do this in 2013 but have plans to take a SLCC course with Whitney this year! I really want a new lens but won't let myself splurge on one until I've taken a class.

go back to school- also happening this year! I didn't really know what I wanted to go back to school for. I fiddled with the idea of becoming an elementary school teacher but then realized that wasn't really what I wanted to do. Once I took a long look at my strengths and passions, I realized that I should probably be doing something that involves writing, reading, or teaching English. I'm meeting with a counselor this month to make a plan.

find and go to a yoga studio in our new neighborhood- I'm hoping to find time for this in 2014. I am busy almost every day and finding time to indulge in yoga is difficult. I need to do it, though. It's time that I start making room for yoga.

update travel journal It was hard to do this because some of my trips were over a decade ago, but I wanted my travel journal to be complete. I have recorded favorite memories from all of my piano tours and trips with my parents.

find a church for harper and me

outline both of my parent's histories I have this done and am just trying to get my parents to open up. There is so much I want to know about them and the lives they lived before I was born. I am especially curious about my dad. He has had a pretty interesting life.

spend at least 208 hours (4 hours a week) at the piano- I didn't meet this goal but I did practice a total of 146.5 hours in 2013, which is a lot better than nothing. I loved being at the piano this year. There was no pressure to prepare for anything. I learned and reviewed what I wanted to. I really enjoyed working with some simpler pieces and playing around with pop arrangements. I feel like I made practicing a habit in 2013 and am looking forward to spending more time at my piano this year.

plant (and hopefully grow) something (flowers, an herb garden, etc)

run 312 miles (an average of 6 miles a week)- I almost made it. Strep throat and a busy holiday kept me from hitting 312 miles. I ended the year with 299.2, though, and feel pretty good about it. I love the time I get to spend running/walking with Hazel and Tucker. I swear that it keeps me sane.

meet my penpal- Roya and I met on September 2, 2013. It was one of the best moments of the year!

write letters to five people that have changed my life

Family:
take at least one family photo each month
(Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.)

have professional family photos taken- this didn't happen and I'm blaming Colt's beard and busy schedule

go camping at least once

take harper on trax

go to the children's museum at The Gateway

visit the new Natural History Museum (see the post here)

spend a night/weekend in Park City with harper (possibly for my birthday)

take harper to swimming lessons

purchase a Utah hiking book and try at least three new hikes
1. Lake Mary- July 10, 2013
2. Twin Lakes/Lake Solitude- July 22, 2013
3. Bell Canyon Reservoir- August 2nd, 2013

hike Cecret Lake July 14, 2013

hike Lake Blanche July 11, 2013

make homemade play dough

visit temple square at Christmas

have a picnic in the mountains

take harper horseback riding  (see the post here)

take harper to the ocean (August 31, 2013)

send out Christmas cards (since we are the only people who don't do this already)

visit This is the Place

go to Miss Utah

take Harper to Thanksgiving Point

take Harper to at least 3 live performances (Tuacahn doesn't count since it's already a tradition) 1. 2. 3.
     1. The Little Mermaid ballet
     2. Miss Utah finale
     3. Disney on Ice
     4. Bonus: The Forgotten Carols!

Literary:
read/re-read the following:
   War and Peace
   East of Eden
   The Great Gatsby
   Les Miserables
   A Farewell to Arms
   A Soprano on her Head
   Great Expectations
   Crime and Punishment
   The Bible
   A History of God
   The Chronicles of Narnia (with Harper)- we only got through The Magician's Nephew
   The God Who Weeps
   Jesus the Christ
   A Severe Mercy
   The Year of Living Biblically

I am putting my 2014 Bucket List up today. I am excited for a fun and productive year!