yesterday morning...

was not the best morning i've ever had.
let me explain.
first of all, branson left early morning on a flight to colorado.
like 4:30 in the morning early.
for a week.
so i woke up all by my lonesome.
i hate not waking up to him.
i decided to start my day off right with the gym.
i was cleaning here and there while getting ready.
i realized our sheets were due for a wash.
i pull all the sheets off the bed.
stick them in the wash. WITH bleach. (keep them white and bright)
then get all ready to run out the door.
look around for my phone...
can't find it anywhere.
start freaking out.
look in the wash and what do i find?
yep. my poor little iPhone.
wrapped up in the sheets.
drenched as can be.
all i can do at this point is laugh.
no sense in getting upset.
ish happens.
so, i see a bag of rice in the pantry (i've heard it helps absorb the water)
i go to grab it, thinking it hadn't been opened.
well, it was open. and rice went EVERYWHERE.
the whole bag.
once again i just laughed.
couldn't believe it.
i write B on FB telling him what happened.
then went to the gym to run off my frustration.
after getting home from the gym i realized i forgot my headphones/dropped them somewhere.
no phone to call and ask
too lazy to go back.
laughed again.

that was really the end of the crappy morning. it may not seem that bad, but it just was one of those days. i couldn't catch a break. but i tried to stay positive and sure enough my day got better. my friends mandy and melissa came over for dinner. we had a little girls night since B was out of town. that definitely cheered me up :)

we cooked these awesome buffalo chicken tacos... [Pinterest find by Mandy]

click HERE for the recipe.

then, i get the nicest little surprise from mandy when i got home today. a sweet card and a little gift that she knew i was needing. a gift from the heart-my favorite. thanks Man, i really love you!

bad news is i am still phone-less. and husband-less. so i can't even bum off his. it's actually been a little peaceful. but now i've had enough peace and i'm ready to be able to communicate with the world. besides on Facebook.

two years ago today...

marks the day that Branson asked me to marry him.  

what a wonderful day that was!  

we were lucky enough to be in beautiful cancun, mexico...

  the story is pretty funny...here's how it all went down. branson asked me to go for a walk on the beach.  i said yes, and as we are walking out, our friends all said they were going to get ice cream. so, of course, i look at B and say, 'I want ice cream!" (i made things pretty difficult.)  after realizing that i wasn't gonna pass on ice cream, our friends just told us that we would all go after branson and i went for a walk.  i thought it was a little weird, but didn't think much of it.  so while we were out for a stroll, all of our friends were back at the hotel setting up [not really getting ice cream after all.]  branson's plan was to spread rose petals and candles on one of the beds on the beach. however, it was way too windy so nothing was staying put. instead, they moved everything under a big pavilion that was right on the water.  our friends john and kelsy walk past us and john starts talking to branson in spanish. of course, i know absolute nothing that is being said, so after he passes us, i asked branson for a translation.  he told me that john was going to tell kelsy (his girlfriend at the time) that he loved her. real smooth. i believed every word.  anyways, branson thought everything would have been set up by the time we started walking back, so we headed to the hotel and he starts walking towards the pavilion and i suggest soaking our feet in the pool.  that, of course, wasn't part of the plan either, so he just says "no, let's go over here." confused, i say okay and we walk down these stairs to the pavilion.  as we are walking down i see a bunch of people running and i look over and see a blanket with half lit candles and a few rose petals. my reaction was "babe, we are ruining someone's surprise!" he laughs, looks at my like i'm an idiot and says, "shell, no we aren't."  i'm still confused for a minute until it dawns on me. and then i start to ball, he gets down on a knee, and it was history from there :)  the engagement obviously didn't go just as planned, but it was still perfect. i was so surprised and we were at one of the most beautiful resorts i've ever seen. 

i am a lucky little lady.

 we brought a camera with us on our walk. this was just before he proposed.

we have had about five friends get engaged in the past couple weeks and it's so exciting!

there's just something about this time of year <3 

Bang Bang.

It was a warm(ish) day last Saturday so we decided to go shooting up the canyon at Squaw Peak.  The boys all went shooting just a few days before for an elders quorum activity so we had some extra clay pigeons and shells left to take with us.  Once we got to the shooting range, we got out of the car and it was FREEZING!!  It was crazy how much colder it was up there.  So, of course none of us were dressed right, except for cute little AnnaBelle.  Regardless, it was a fun little Saturday activity.

The boys. 

Poor Branson- He was in shorts! 

Britt and Lynds

She's starting young...

 Oh I love that little face...

 We are obviously all obsessed with that little one.

bangs + wind = no bueno

I LOVE going shooting...I must take after my pops :)

P.S. For all you Californians reading my blog, notice the complete absence of snow!? Yeah, it's been wonderful.

Tootles.

cuban black beans.

If you're anything like me then you love quick, healthy and delicious meals.  Well, my mother-in-law gave me this recipe and it was too good not to share.  It's basically just black beans thrown in a crock-pot... doesn't sound all that exciting but we love it-plus it lasts us for a while! Branson actually said that it was one of his favorite meals...I was shocked because usually if it doesn't contain some sort of meat, he isn't havin it.  I was happy to hear it.  It cost me less than 3 bucks to make and I hardly did a thing. 

So...here it is!

Cuban Black Beans

1 lb. black beans 

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves minced garlic

6 C. water

1/2 C. olive oil

2-3 tsp. salt

Cook on High 6-8 hours

-It recommends to add 1/4-1/2 C white vinegar about an hour before serving.  However, I left this out because it had a ton of flavor without it.  It tastes delicious served over brown rice or even quinoa.  

We add a little cheese, tomatoes, some sautéed veggies, and...

 voilà! 

[not my photo but it works]

real life.

This past week it has hit me that in just a few short months Branson and I will be college graduates.  I never really thought the day would come.  I feel like it was just yesterday that I was graduating high school. Time has flown by!  It's even crazier to think about how much our lives are going to change.  We don't have any definite plans as of yet, but we are so ready and excited for what is to come.  

Until then, I am going to enjoy the time I have left.  We have been incredibly blessed with the best ward and the greatestttt friends.  We will miss living in the same apartment complex with so many of our favorite people.  

Speaking of which, I just came across this beauty... 

(B and I bought our iMac and the neighbs came by to try it out with us)

We look like gophers and I love it.

Anyways, we are excited for our lives to really begin.  Reality is a bit scary, but we are excited to be thrown into new experiences, new jobs, new cities, new everything. The best part: We get to conquer the world- together! :)

Commitment.

Branson and I had the opportunity to speak in church this past Sunday.  We were given the topic of "covenant keeping."  This had been the reoccurring theme for the past month, so when I heard the topic I thought it would be difficult to find more to talk about.  Boy was I wrong.  I LOVED studying about the covenants we make and how important they are to our eternal happiness.  How important it is to stay committed to everything we do.  I came across this one particular story that really hit home to me.  I thought I would share it with all of you.


It's a story of Abe Lincoln.  I found it in Elder Marvin J. Ashton's talk "The Word is Commitment."


"Most of us who have ever heard of the great American leader Abraham Lincoln will recall what he said of his mother: “All that I am, all that I hope to be, I owe to my Angel mother.” But how many of us know what his mother’s last words to him were? They were “Be something, Abe.”
Aren't those simple terms, but, oh, so powerful? "Be something."  I think it is interesting that she didn't say, "Be someone."  She said, "Be something, Abe."  There is a significant difference.  In the dictionary someone is defined as "an unspecified person," while something is identified as "a person or thing of importance."


I love this because it shows that true happiness comes from becoming something.  I've realized how much I really value accomplishment.  I love to set goals and then try my hardest to accomplish them.  Doesn't that just feel so good? It brings me so much happiness to know that I worked hard for something and lived up to my true potential.  Running a half marathon, for example.  I never pictured myself accomplishing something like that.  When the opportunity came up, I realized it was something that I really wanted to do and that it would be a real challenge.  So, I committed to it.  The next thing I know i'm crossing the finish line. It's so important to be committed to everything we do.  We can't become something without commitment.  


Just one of my little life lessons :)

"To be a winner, all you need to give is all you have."

iPhone.

I have a ton of random photos and videos from my phone that I thought i'd post for keepsake purposes. Just a heads up...quite some random shenanigans ahead.

Lovely little reunion with the old roomies in Murrieta. 

Tryin the red lip thing at Sephora.
<3 them!

Nielsen's Frozen Custard-Chocolate with brownie bites.
Mmm Tasty!

Went up to Idaho a couple weekends ago to cheer on Preston at a few of his basketball games.

 Britt this past summer in Chicago with the cutest pup ever.
Miss/love you Britt!

 You betcha!

BYU game! Co COUGS!

 Doug's nice little stance on the subway in New York.
Made me giggle.

 Lyndsey Lou introduced me to these nummy treats a while back.
I can't wait for summer...

 Green smoothie mustache.
Girl after my own heart....

Saweet view of the Utah mountains from my plane window.

One of my favorite things to do when I'm home...

Love me some late night Rite Aid ice cream.

"National Geographic!"


Annabelle dancing it up.

Lyla sending her love the night before we babysat. Cutie pie.

Finally nailing "the Bischoff"


Branson's championship intramural basketball game.
[sorry for the bad filming and loud screaming]



HAHA! I sure get a kick out of this boy...
He won some new Beats by Dre this summer and was giving them a little test run.
:D


Hope you enjoyed!