announcement!

Attention Attention!

We have some very exciting news!

I'm currently 10 weeks pregnant and we couldn't be happier!

Our baby is due July 26 2011!

Congratulations....you now know our secret!

Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving this year we celebrated at my Grandma and Grandpa Paulson's house in Ogden. Every year for Thanksgiving my Uncle Chris and his family come down from Washington to spend the holiday with us, so it was really fun to see them! It's crazy to see how much my cousins grow up in just a year!

My grandma made such a delicious dinner, really was probably the best turkey I've ever had! And even Ryan ate the delicious sweet potatoes that she makes each year (and he's not a sweet potato kinda guy!) I really love my Grandma's cooking...she's so great!

Savannah, Grandpa, Dad, Mom, Annie, Jack, Clark, Jeanette, Royal, Jill, Trish

Alison, Emily, Clarice, Sam, Lauren, me, Ryan and Tommy

Savannah and Chris

Savannah and Nick

After dinner we all headed downstairs to decorate the gingerbread houses. We've done this for the last couple of years, and it's really become a fun tradition! We usually buy a couple kits and team up with each other on the houses while decorating; this year though, my mom found a couple kits that were village and had a couple mini houses in each set, so we all did our own, as well as the big normal houses. They turned out so cute too! My cousin Alison was in there for about 2 hours working on her house, it was adorable!

Alison, Chris, Grandma, Annie, Jack, Me, Tommy and Trish

Jeanette, Emily, Clarice, Mom, Savannah, J, and Michelle

Savannah and her cute house

While there was a majority of us making the houses, the rest were found watching football in the family room. Ryan didn't move from this spot except for dinner!

Grandpa, Royal, Ryan, and Dad

Annie, Nick, Clark, Lauren and Grandpa and Royal again

Before everyone took off for the night, we did manage to get a big family picture all together! It's been a couple years since we've had one, and it's crazy to see how big our family has gotten!

Front Row: Emily, Alison, Clarice, Tommy, Savannah, Scott, Michelle, Jordan and J

Back Row: Chris, Trish, Sam, Chirstian, Jill, Royal, Lauren, Nick, Dad, Mom, Jack, Clark, Jeanette, Annie, me, Ryan, Grandma and Grandpa

Go Giants!

In honor of the San Francisco Giants being the World Champions this year....please enjoy!

We love this song so much, and now it's a Giants song too! Even better!

2nd Annual Park City Shopping Trip!

A couple weeks ago I went to Park City with Ryan's cute mom and sisters for the second year in a row. It was so much fun, we decided to go earlier in the year this time so it was warmer while walking around the outlets, and I think it was great!

We got to Park City Friday afternoon, and went to just a couple of the outlets, and then went to dinner at Red Banjo Pizza on Main Street, the same place we went for dinner last year. It was just as delicious again, and we ordered too much food like always: a couple appetizers, 2 different pizzas, and salads!

me, Lauren, Kim, Julie, Kristin

Red Banjo Pizza

After dinner we checked into the hotel, we stayed in a different hotel this year, and it was beautiful! It was the Escala Lodges at the Canyons. Our room was a 2 bedroom suite, with 2 bathrooms, a full kitchen, dining room, living room, 3 fireplaces....the WORKS! It was just gorgeous! We all brought swimsuits to go hot tubbing, but we just were enjoying our suite so much that we never made it down!

me, Lauren, Julie and Kristin

The Escala Lodges at the Canyons

Before dinner that night, we went back to the same bath and body store we had gone to the year before and got the same Mother Earth face mask, and we put them on again that night in the hotel. Again, this was the funniest part of the whole trip! There is something about those masks that just makes you laugh uncontrollably! It was so much fun!

Julie, Lauren, Kim, me and Kristin

The next morning, we slept in, and took our time getting ready and eating breakfast, we checked out around 11, and then took off for a full day of shopping at the outlets! We did quite the amount of damage and found some great deals! I took $160, and this is what I came home with: 1 pair of jeans, 6 tops, 2 sweaters, perfume, and 2 pairs of boots! I think the boots were the best deal we found! They were from the Bass outlet, and they were having a buy one pair, get 2 pairs free...plus for that day only you could take an additional $15 off the one pair, and we had a 10% off coupon they let us use on top of that too! So when all was said and done, we were getting $100-$140 boots, for just $20-$30! It was AWESOME! Between us we walked out with 7 pairs!

For dinner that night, we went to Good Thymes, a cute and quiant little cafe there in Park City, it was delicious and well devoured after a day full of shopping!

me, Kristin, and Kim

Lauren and Julie

Good Thymes

This years trip was so much fun! I already can't wait for next years trip! I need to start saving now! We did ourselves proud though, and again, filled up the trunk of the Murano (we decided that next year, we may need to drive separately for more space for packages!)

Lauren, me, Kristin and Julie...after about 10 hours of shopping!

back in action!

It's been 2 months since my last post, I promise we haven't dropped off the face of the earth, we've just been super busy! But here are updates of what has been going on!

SEPTEMBER UPDATES

Last time I posted here, we were in the middle of moving. I'm happy to say that we got moved out of our apartment. Everything is now in a storage unit, and we've moved into Ryan's parents house, and it has been great! We have tons of space down in the basement, our own big room and bathroom, and a small kitchenette. They have been so good to us and let us share their entire home with them too though! We love it here! Their dog Tillis has become my little sidekick, while everyone is gone during the day to work and school, we hang out at home, go on walks/runs, he runs errands with me and everything.

I also graduated from beauty school on September 30! It was a very exciting day, that was long awaited! I graduated the same day as my good friend Julia. We started school the same day, June 9 2009, we had stations next to each other the whole way through, and graduated the same day. We have grown really close so it was fun to share the day with her!

Julia and I, the new graduates!

my parents and I. They have been so supportive for me. They made the drive from Ogden to Logan just for a quick haircut, and they'd always take me to lunch afterwards, they are the best!

The four of us are inseparable! Julia, Annie, Melanee, and me. I love these girls and so many of my greatest memories of school are shared with them!

Ryan and me! He has been the greatest supporter for me, always listening to every story I come home with, understanding of my crazy emotions, and of course he put up with my ever changing hair...even though I know he didn't want it to ever change! Such a good sport! I LOVE HIM!!!

For graduations you get to have a couple friends speak about you, Melanee, Annie and Julia were all so sweet, they all made me cry, I'm going to miss being with them everyday!

Me talking for Julia's part of the graduation. I'm pretty sure we both just started laughing because we were sobbing so much it was ridiculous! We are just going to miss each other so much!

OCTOBER UPDATES

Ryan turned 25!! His birthday this year was on 10.10.10! Very exciting! We celebrated by doing Ryan's favorite thing...watching a lot of sports! We went to Salt Lake on the 8th with our friends Dallin and Morgan to watch the Giants in the playoffs. We watched them play at the Skybox restaurant, so we had a delicious dinner and were able to watch the game on the big screen! The didn't end perfectly, because the Giants did lose that game, but at least they ended up winning the series!

Ryan, me, Morgan and Dallin (Giants vs. Braves fans, dun dun dun!)

Saturday night I had to work, and then on Sunday (his actual birthday) we watched the 49ers, and the Giants, complete with game day snacks and everything! That night, his oldest sister Julie and her family came over for dinner with us, his parents and younger sister Lauren. It was a great party weekend!

Then to end out the month of October, the Giants made it to the World Series vs the Rangers and they WON!!!!!! We watched the last game with a couple of Ryan's friends Matt and Jordan. I made dinner and snacks for everyone, and then we watched history happen! GO GIANTS!!!

cleaning supplies???

In the midst of cleaning my house out for the move, I've found out that I have an INCREDIBLE amount of cleaning supplies! All of this was hidden below 3 sinks...the kitchen, and two bathrooms (one of which is only a half bath!)

So by the looks of it, I should have the cleanest house in all of Logan...hopefully by the end of tommorrow it will be once we're officially all moved out. :( so bittersweet.

3 years

happy anniversary Ryan! I love you so much, and I couldn't have been happier for the last 3 years! I can't wait for a lifetime and more with you!

3 years baby! - make slideshow

I PASSED!

Today I took my state board exam for cosmetology/barbering and....

I passed!

I'm so excited, I've been SO stressed over this day coming, and I can't believe I actually passed it, everything that could have gone wrong...went wrong! The nail tip on my mannequin finger popped off right at the beginning of the sculptured nail portion, I forgot to drape and protect the hair on my mannequin during the basic facial portion...until after I'd already applied the cleansing cream, and I didn't know we were not supposed to use trimmers to go around the edges of the hairline on the men's haircut...and I did! Oh my heck! I was dying, and I thought in my mind that at least I was getting really good practice for the next time I'd have to take it, and when we left the building and got to read the results I was honestly the most shocked I've ever been! I couldn't be any happier right now! There were 4 of us girls who took it today from my school, and all 4 of us passed!

And to top it off, when I came home, Ryan had gotten me flowers and a cute card to congratulate me, and left it on the counter for me! Such a great day!

inspiring...yes. humbling...absolutely.

I grew up with Natalie and have known her ever since 3rd grade. We were in the same primary, and Young Women's groups all growing up, spent many a sleep overs together and play dates, countless experiences at Girls Camp...she is such an amazing girl, and such an inspiration! If you can make to her Brooke White concert benefit, that would be awesome...or even just buy tickets even if you can't make is so that she has more funds to go towards her last wish. She is amazing, and she deserves it after such a long battle.

I love you Natalie! (her blog here)

my life according to Coldplay.

This was a fun couple of minutes....try it! Using only song names from ONE ARTIST, cleverly answer these questions. You can't use the band I used. Try not to repeat a song title.

your Artist:
Coldplay

Are you a male or female:
we never change.

Describe yourself:
easy to please.

How do you feel?:
bigger stronger.

Describe where you currently live
in my place.

If you could go anywhere, where would you go?:
violet hill.

Your favorite form of transportation:
parachutes

Your best friend is:
one i love.

You and your best friend are:
lovers in Japan.

What's the weather like?
daylight.

Favorite time of day:
sleeping sun.

If your life was a TV show, what would it be called?:
green eyes.

What is life to you?:
life is for living.

Your last relationship:
such a rush.

Your fear:
things i don't understand.

What is the best advice you have to give
God put a smile on your face.

Thought for the Day:
death will never conquer.

How I would like to die:
swallowed in the sea.

My soul's present condition:
viva la vida

My motto:
careful where you stand.

24th of July

this year the 24th of July was so great! I didn't have school or work all day! I really don't remember the last time I actually had a 'real' Saturday, it was so great! We slept in, went out for breakfast at Village Inn, and went grocery shopping together. Then later that night, we drove to Salt Lake to go to the Salt Lake Bee's game with our good friends the Davis'!

Alex has an internship as an Athletic Trainer with them for the season, so he was able to get us great tickets right behind home plate! He was in the dugout with the team the whole time, so Danielle and I just chatted, chatted, and chatted the whole time while Ryan watched the game...I don't think we watched one second of it! It was SO great to catch up with her, I've missed having her up in Logan SO much!

After the game, we went down under the stadium and met up with Alex, and then came out onto the field through the Bee's dugout, and watched the fireworks right next to it! It was such an awesome view, and a great fireworks show!

The whole night all together was so much fun! I loved spending time with Danielle and am so blessed to have her as such a close friend!

California

Our vacation started out in Capitola, CA. We stayed at Ryan's Granparents condo again, the same place we stayed for our honeymoon almost 3 years ago! It was just awesome! The views are GORGEOUS, the condo is right on a cliff looking over the ocean, and we'd go out and just watch all the boats, we had breakfast out on the benches overlooking, and just enjoyed the fun California breeze! It is also just the cutest, and most quaint little town I've ever been in, such fun and unique little restaurants to eat at, and little boutiques to walk around. I really just LOVE this little town and I'd move there in a heartbeat! We had such a great time there!

This is the view from the condo parking lot...talk about to die for right?

The first day we were there was Monday the 21st, we went to the grocery store to get some food for breakfasts and picnic lunches on the beach, then we headed down to Capitola Beach and layed out and played in the sand, it was so much fun!

Ryan helped me make a sand castle, but then the tide started to come in, so it got too mushy and wet, so we gave up and wrote our name :)

After the beach, we decided to go out to dinner and movie! We at a yummy place on the beach in Capitola, The Stockton Bridge Grill, and then after drove up to Santa Cruz and saw the movie Toy Story 3...so stinkin' cute, we loved it!!!

these were our delicious dinners from Stockton Bridge Grill, we ate like kings and queens for the whole trip! mmm!

Tuesday Ryan took me to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, and it was so much fun! We bought tickets and then rode tons of rides! We rode on the Sky Coaster, the Ferris Wheel, the Swings, the Double Shot, the Roller Coaster...so much fun! After we ran out tickets, we got some yummy fair food for lunch, and walked from the Boardwalk right down to the beach behind it, and just layed out all day. We saw a bunch of sea lions out in the water playing even!

After a day at the Boardwalk, we were pretty tuckered out, so we just went back to the condo, and Ryan grilled us up some yummy kabobs on the grill, and we watched the movies Valentine's Day, and Sherlock Holmes, then off to bed!

Wednesday, we were planning on going back to the Santa Cruz beach, but didn't want to pay to park again, so we ended up going to a beach right between Capitola and Santa Cruz called Twin Lakes and it actually ended up being our favorite beach of them all! We stayed there almost all day and had a yummy picnic on the beach of some fruit and cheese and crackers, we took a couple naps in the warm sun, and actually got in the water here...but it was so COLD, so we got out and warmed up in the sun again! We saw more sea lions here too, they were so cute!

Thursday we were just a bit sunburned, so we decided to just hang out in the condo, and watched the Giants game, then headed up to Santa Clara to a huge mall and did some shopping....more than we expected actually! We found a store called the Giants Dugout, and ended up buying some hats....and some shirts....and maybe more tickets to the last game of the series against the Red Sox! haha! We actually got a free MLB beach towel for spending over a certain amount, sheesh! So after that store, we decided to be done shopping, and got some yummy dinner at California Pizza Kitchen, and then went back to the condo, and rented another movie to watch, The Informant, then off to bed again!

Friday morning, we woke up earlier and got all packed up, and then drove up to San Francisco...and holy cow! We WEREN'T in Logan anymore! That city is so so so busy and crowded! So many cars, backed up traffic, people walking everywhere, huge buildings, cars honking! It was too crazy! We finally made it to our hotel, got checked in, and then we walked down to get lunch at Chipolte, and then walked down to Fisherman's Wharf, some candy shops, saw Lombard Street, the trollies, so many classic San Francisco sights!

Lombard Street

The Salt Water Taffy store, yumm-O!

The fishing boats at Fisherman's Wharf

That night we went to the first game in the Giants vs. Red Sox series. Our ticket were great! We were on the front row, in right field! It was definitely a classic San Francisco night, the breeze didn't let up, and there was a mist from off the ocean hovering over the field during the whole game. So we ended up getting a big and comfy Giants blanket to keep up cozy! That night we had some yummy hot dogs and garlic fries for dinner...such a fun night of baseball!

Saturday morning we headed down to Ghirardelli Square and walked around more little shops, got some more delicious lunch at a cute Italian place, saw Alcatraz off in the distance...beautiful day!

The game that day started earlier, so it wasn't nearly as cold, it was actually perfect weather that night! We had seats in right field again, and on the front row again, just in a different section. They had a special ceremony before the game to retire the number 20 from the Giants organization. It was for Montey Irvin, he played way back in the day, and now his number is retired! It was so cool to watch and listen to the speakers, and then they had some little boys from the Boys and Girls Club unviel his number, and had a balloon release!

After the game that night, we went to a fun little restaurant called Delancy Street. It was fun to eat there because all the proceeds of it go to the Delancy Street Foundation which helps people who are less fortunate get back on their feet, and find jobs, homes, etc. So we ate for a good cause!

Our last day in San Francisco was Sunday, we went to the last game of the series to see Tim Lincecum pitch, Ryan's favorite pitcher. It was a HOT game! We had seats about 20 rows up on the 3rd baseline.

This was taken after the game, we were super hot, and they had just lost, so we weren't the happiest at this point.

We took off for home right after the game, and saw the Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge on our way out. We really had SUCH a great time, and are sad that it's over! We've been looking forward to this trip since January, and we couldn't have planned it better...well, the Giants could have won all 3 games, and that is the only thing that could have made it better! We're happy to be home safe and sound now though!