Grant and Zaundra...

Baby Shower and Hiccups

2012-02-09T07:13:00.000-08:00

This baby gets the hiccups ALL THE TIME. Yesterday, 3 times that I noticed. Poor thing... and they're so fast and close together. I hate the hiccups, but I LOVE watching hers, holy cow. I have a little under 5 weeks until my due date. Crossing my fingers that I'm like my mom and she comes right on time! New pregnancy symptoms are:

-I love this baby so much. I can't believe I get to have her forever. I cry when I think about it.

-I also cry when I think about puppies, Grant, old people, pretty flowers, you name it.

-I feel like a bus/whale/train all the time

-I found one stretch mark, tiny, but still there and on the top of my stomach what?!

-Babies movements are getting less crazy, she's running out of room to sprint from one side of my uterus to the other.

-Baby lifted Grants head the other day like a serious bench press it was hilarious.

-Heartburn is getting better

-Skin is breaking out

-CAN'T sleep, my poor poor hips

-I pee when I sneeze, or laugh to hard

-I still only have to pee 2 times a night usually (sorry that's it about pee)

-Grant found the most adorable (and best deal) on a crib, dresser, and pack and play. And he assembled what was supposed to be a 6 hour crib project, in.... wait for it, oh 30 minutes. What a stud.

-All the baby necessities are here and ready for her arrival!

-One day this random lady told me I should be a pregnancy model, I wanted to kiss her.

The ladies in my ward threw my an AWESOME french style baby shower. It was so great. Especially since I've only been here a few months, I couldn't believe the amount of people there and how generous they were. I feel so blessed to live where we do.

My friend Audrey is a cake boss we'll just say. She made this beautiful cake for me, not only does it look amazing, it was the best cake I've ever tasted. Victorian sponge cake with lemon/raspberry filling.

A side story: Grant is from California, and three of his close friends from high school all moved to TX. Their wives are GREAT. This is Kelly, she made me that gorgeous grey and yellow blanket in the belly picture and this adorable frame for the nursery. She's also given me boxes of Zantac, a prenatal yoga, and a hypnobirthing book, no not for my baby shower, just because. Did I mention everyone loves her, because they do.

Another side story: Our three husbands all sold pest control for Grant's bro in years past, and now we all live in TX too! See people everyone wants to live in TX, you should too. Eli (on the right) is exactly one month behind me in her pregnancy! And Dani came even though her and I are just barley getting to know each other. Nice friends eh?

And this will be me, all day, oh so soon. Believe it or not I can't wait.

32 Weeks

2012-01-15T12:57:00.000-08:00

Here she is! I didn't realize how big I was until I was taking the picture, woah! Not a lot to report out here in Texas. We're loving the warm winter. It makes the crazy summers worth it. Our house is finally getting put together and it feels so nice! Grant and I actually did our first day of yard work on Saturday. It reminded me how much I like doing yard work on a beautiful sunny day. We had some flower beds that needed serious cleaning out and bushes that needed cleaning up. It looks so much better. Sadly, I've been researching what kinds of flowers and plants grow well out here... umm nothing. No tulips, no daffodils, no lilacs... sad day. I'm just going to have to get creative! The newest pregnancy symptoms:

-the kicks are starting to hurt

-heartburn follows every meal

-I can't paint my own toe nails

-she is so fun to watch moving around

-she loves early morning and late night, lucky me

-she still prefers to kick my ribs on the right side

-my shirts are very quickly becoming belly shirts, I might finally have to buy maternity tops

-dry skin all the time

Grant and I have been enjoying lots of time together, running errands and doing stuff for the business... and some fun stuff too. We are happy the Mavericks are finally stepping up and playing better, it makes it way more fun to go to the games. The first game we went to was a nightmare, but last night they played awesome! Sorry Jimmer we still like ya, but we gotta stick with our Mavs.

Tonight I'm making Cafe Rio's sweet pork salads, not quite the same, but it'll have to do. And yesterday I would have killed for a J Dawgs. Missing Utah food that's for sure.

Changes

2011-12-13T05:11:00.000-08:00

Something I've noticed during this pregnancy is the fact that changes don't happen over a week long period slowly, they happen all of a sudden. For example, all of a sudden my belly is huge and everyone asks how far along I am, but seriously the day before no one could tell I was pregnant. Or one night I'm sleeping just dandy and the next I'm tossing and turning, and turning is suddenly very difficult. One day I could eat whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. Now I seriously have a nightly ritual of 2 Tums at about 5:30 for the heartburn. Baby used to give a kick every few days, one day last week she just decided she would kick all day long. That part is actually pretty cool, especially feeling what part of her body is where. I can now tell the difference between little feet and a big bum that's stuck in my ribs. I've found she enjoys the right side of my stomach and especially my right ribs, she must feel safe there. I wonder what the next changes will be? Not being able to tie my own shoes all of a sudden?

I'm officially done with college! I finished my student teaching last Friday and I feel so free. Sure, I have a TON of stuff to do for the business, but it's my own time now and I love that. The last day of school was really sweet. Those kids are the best, I'll post about them soon.

A birthday girl

2011-11-06T14:10:00.000-08:00

My sister has a big birthday today. I so wish I could be with her to celebrate and eat lots of yummy food and dance around together. Instead I want to tell you why she is an amazing sister.

Always there to play dress up with. I don't know anyone else who I can always count on to dress up with and not need an occasion for it, I love it.

A true testament of an amazing sister. When I moved to New York City she came to visit me and it rocked. We got to see Phantom of the Opera, eat lots of yummy food, and walk around the entire city. Let's go back.

Another reason we're sisters. No one else can make as great of faces and poses as my sister and I. It must be the dancer in us.

I really shouldn't have posted this picture, my head looks ginormous. I have always been bigger than my sis. The joke was if I stood behind her my shoulders would still stick out, what can I say I have football player shoulders.

Thank you for pushing me up to level hard on Rock Band CoCo!

Did I mention she is seriously beautiful?

We look alike. That face wasn't planned, we're just that good.

CoCo I love you I'm so glad I got to be your little sister growing up. I'm glad you used me to play dress up and loved me so much. I'm especially glad I get to be not only your little sis but your friend now. I can't wait for you to be the best Aunt to my little baby the world has ever seen. Happy Birthday!!!!

Happy Halloween

2011-11-05T06:45:00.000-07:00

Grant is not the easiest person to photograph. He doesn't love taking your "normal" picture. Don't get me wrong I love a good crazy face picture, they are SO fun. But there are times when I want some pictures for memories sake. This particular Halloween at the pumpkin patch was too good of a photo op to pass up, so we made a deal.

Grant got to choose the first pose. The looks on our faces tell all. (Get it my belly as the giant pumpkin?)

But...

I got this festive gem out of it, I'd say the trade off was worth it.

A belly

2011-10-30T10:27:00.001-07:00

There's the belly at 21 weeks. She is growing growing growing! Friday night I could see her moving around and poking her little limbs out. This whole pregnancy thing is pretty cool I must say.

More about the baby

2011-10-27T16:06:00.001-07:00

If you haven't noticed this baby takes up a lot of my thoughts! I'm just so enraptured by her and the fact that she's inside of me. I love it. Here's some awesome pictures, I'm sure she'll love me posting pictures of her little privates! During the ultrasound today she was SO shy with her little face. She kept turning it away from the ultra sound so we couldn't get a good profile. She finally turned just right only to stick her little arm in front of her face. So naughty already! But oh so cute. She was not nearly as shy about other parts... let's just say we have plenty of good shots to let us know she is DEFINITELY a girl. All of a sudden this pregnancy seems like it's going to take forever. I am so excited to meet our little baby girl.

On a totally different note, I can't forget to write about my little second graders. My naughty, yet adorable second graders. I have days where I come home just wishing spanking was allowed in school. Other days I come home feeling so refreshed and fulfilled. It's such a roller coaster. Even if I come home not loving them so much, the next day they will greet me with big hugs, smiles, and compliments about how cute I dress. They also LOVE to poke my belly. They are on constant belly watch and are not shy to let me know when, "Mrs. Romney you really look pregnant today," or on better days, "Mrs. Romney I can't even tell there's a baby in your tummy." They are so excited and ask me almost everyday if I will please bring her back when she's born in March. I totally will! It's been such a good experience being with them. It's been emotionally draining a well. Most of them come from such broken homes where either mom or dad, or sometimes both have left their lives. A lot of them talk about being home alone or with a sibling until 5 or 6 at night. Some of them come to school in the same clothes from the day before. I wish I could take them all home with me. I guess that's the hardest part, watching them walk right back into a home where they really shouldn't be. I have to learn to let go of the job, but it's so hard when I love them SO much.

Other then baby growing and teaching life is pretty normal. Grant is running our business like a champ and Texas has officially cooled off which I LOVE. We move into our new house in just over a week and I'm thrilled! I still don't really believe it's real, and I probably won't until we're sleeping there!

Traumatic

2011-10-15T18:30:00.000-07:00

The last couple days have been a bit traumatic, but there was a wonderful, beautiful light at the end. Let me start from the beginning. I went to school on Friday just like normal. The day was fine, but at about 1:30 I felt this sharp stabbing pain in my left side straight through my back, within a minute I was on the floor rolling and screaming in pain. My mentor teacher Marnie took control and had the kids go out for recess and she knelt next to me and let me grip her hand. The next 20 minutes were filled with the most excruciating pain I have ever felt in my entire life. It felt like someone was sticking a knife straight through my side through my back and moving it around. I could barley breath and I was drenched in sweat. They proceeded to call 911 and informed me to hold on for just a few minutes and the paramedics would be there. I literally thought I was dying and I was freaking out about what would happen to my baby. Marnie called Grant and told her what was going on and that he should hurry up here quickly. At won't point I lost feeling in my hands and feet, the paramedics later informed me that this happens when your body goes into shock because of such a high amount of pain. I kept wishing I would just pass out so I wouldn't feel the pain anymore. Well in the ambulance I remember hearing the paramedic call the hospital and fill them in on what was happening. They asked if they could give me anything for the pain, but the hospital said to wait especially since I was pregnant. I about died! 20 more minutes of this pain seemed like a lifetime. They kept asking me what is your pain scale and all I could do was hold up 10 fingers I couldn't get any words out. Marnie came in the ambulance with me and waited in the emergency room until Grant got there holding my hand the entire time. We got to the hospital and they informed me they would run some tests. The minute Grant walked through the door I started bawling, I was so scared, I didn't know what was happening to me or my baby. They finally started me on morphine, but because the pain was so high it took 3 doses to even lower the pain at all. After a lot of tests and A LOT of waiting in a hospital room the ultrasound technician finally came to check on the baby. I was so nervous, but Grant kept reassuring me that it would all work out. She instantly showed us the baby and saw the heartbeat, I cried some more. My baby was ok. After about 30 minutes of checking my kidneys through the ultrasound she said ok lets check all the stats on the baby, and asked if we knew the gender yet? We said we would find out in 2 weeks. She said ok good because I'm not allowed to tell you. Now I don't know if it was the sad, pathetic puppy dog eyes I was giving her or the fact that every time she pushed the ultrasound tool on my stomach I cried out in pain and she felt guilty, but she said if we promised not to tell anyone at the hospital she would tell us the gender. No brainer right? Yes Please! We asked her if it was too early to tell, she said she already knew.

It's a GIRL!!!! I beautiful, precious, miracle of a girl. Grant and I just looked at each other with this look of complete satisfaction and excitement. I still can't believe it, I can call my baby a she instead of an it!

At about 6:00 pm the doctor came in to talk to me. He said there was an 80% chance I had kidney stones. The only way to know 100% would be to give a cat scan but they can't do that while you're pregnant so there was no way of knowing. He gave me the option of staying in the hospital for another day or going home with a heavy dose of pain meds. He said the only reason to stay in the hospital would be to manage the pain because it would be pretty intense until the stone passed. I figured I'd rather be in pain in my own bed. While I was waiting to be discharged I asked the nurse if I was a wuss or if kidney stones are really this painful. She informed that a lot of women have said it's worse then child birth. I sighed a sigh of relief at that. While I know that child birth won't be easy, especially since I plan on going au natural, it was comforting to know I could make it through extreme pain.

Today has been A LOT better, I think the stone has worked it's way out and I've avoided taking any pain meds all day. And on a brighter note, I've spent the day bonding with the little sweetie in my stomach. This morning Grant and I had a little chat with her, and today I've thought about her ALL day long. It all seems so real now, I got a little choked up thinking about her first steps, first day of school, first date, first heartbreak, and all the firsts in her life. She is a real person and she is all Grants and mine. Life is good and hopefully I'm now kidney stone free thank goodness!

Naps and Vinegar

2011-09-05T12:53:00.001-07:00

That is the best way to describe me lately. Vinegar! It sounds SO good all the time. Salt and vinegar chips, cucumbers in vinegar, vinegar poured on my sandwich, french fries in vinegar, you name it. It's hard to describe the intensity of a craving to someone who has never been pregnant. Like the other day at the movies, I REALLY wanted popcorn, but it's so expensive so I told myself no. But the entire movie all I thought about was the popcorn, and didn't really enjoy the movie. And I was angry with anyone I heard eating it, it's really intense. On top of my love of vinegar, my second love is naps. Saturday night I slept for 9 hours, took a 2 hour nap on Sunday, and still was exhausted by 9 o'clock Sunday night. Oh the joys of pregnancy! On a happy note look at that bump! Not much, I know, but hey this momma is feeling pretty proud. Other then I had to wear a skirt to school on Thursday unzipped. Not my proudest moment, but I covered it up with a cardigan. I guess it's time to go SHOPPING, who's coming with me?

This picture doesn't do it justice, it's way bigger than that!

The nausea is also finally gone gone gone! Ugh, that was a doozy, but I feel fortunate that it only lasted about a month. It comes back occasionally (I did throw up the other day while taking out the garbage), but other then that I'm feeling pretty good. Did I mention vinegar gives me nasty heartburn, shoot. Fulfill the cravings or feel the burn, pretty sure the burn is worth the joy vinegar brings me, and I just pop a couple Zantac.

I get to go to the doctor again on Wednesday, oh wait that means giving more blood. Scratch that, I have to go to the doctor on Wednesday. I'm pretty excited to hear the heartbeat again though, there is nothing in the world that compares to hearing another persons heart beat inside your belly.

I started my FINAL semester in the teaching program on the 29th, student teaching baby. It has been really fun so far, also very hard, but I knew it would be. The kids are the dang cutest things I've ever seen, but they are tough. The school is 70% Hispanic, and in my class there are just 7 white kids. That creates a lot of language barriers we are trying to break through, but I'm remembering some of my Spanish from high school and my little second graders are helping me out, it's pretty cute.

Grant is running our business like a champ. For a week there he was the only employee we had. Between 1 tech being let go, 1 tech moving away, and me starting school he was the lone man standing. Fortunately, we've hired 2 techs and today is their last day of training so Grant just has to man the office.

Oh, and I can't forget the happiness news of all, today the high was 83. It hasn't been 83 here since like May, and that is including night time. This morning I even went for a walk... outside! It was incredible. Don't worry it's only been over 100, 63 times this year. 63! Is that a joke? Oh Texas I promise I will love you again when you are beautiful in the winter.

Time to go drink some vinegar!

Still Suprised

2011-08-23T09:22:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I catch myself still in a state of shock when I remember I am pregnant. As most of you know, that is exactly what I am, pregnant! There was a time when I was seriously doubting whether or not I would be able to get pregnant, and that is the reason for this post. I never want to forget the miracle of this little baby.

From fairly soon into dating Grant and I had discussed how many children we thought we would want and how soon we would want them. Once we were engaged we talked about it more seriously and thought 2 years of marriage would be a good amount of time, but we both knew I should finish school as well. In January of 2010 I started feeling a little antsy about having children, I kept having a feeling like maybe it was time to start trying. Although, both of us knew there would be no way for me to finish school if we did have a baby so we held off, but I never stopped thinking about it. In April I went off birth control because I wanted it out of my system in case we did decide it was time (and I hated being on it). I still remember my first pregnancy "scare," I guess you could call it. It was 2 months since I'd been off the pill and I still hadn't had a period. My sister in law Christy gave me a pregnancy test to take and I remember being SO excited and SO nervous to take it, I knew it would be a huge life changer. Then I remember the let down when it was negative. It felt like I was opening up a birthday present only to find an empty box. My periods finally came back, but never super regular.

Grant and I both felt very strongly that we should start trying, or at least stop preventing in August of 2010. I never tracked my periods, or ovulation, I just figured it would happen. But then it didn't just happen, and continued to not happen. By the time December rolled around I was getting a little worried about it. I went to a doctor's appointment in January for a UTI, and she asked if I was pregnant. I told her I could be and that my husband and I were trying. She asked how long and I told her 5 almost 6 months. And then she gave me this look as if she was saying something is not right with you then. Apparently at BYU the whole "wait a year" thing isn't the norm. She told me to wait until the end of the month and then she would refer me to the fertility guy. That was the pointed I started to panic a little bit. A month later I went to a dermatologist appointment and she informed me that she thought I had PCOS, or Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. Why would a dermatologist know anything about this? She didn't, nor should she have even said that. But, the seed was planted and I knew from ALL my research on infertility that PCOS was a HUGE factor in a lot of women being unable to get pregnant. At that point I became terrified. I called Grant on my way home and just started bawling and after he consoled me I called my mom and bawled some more. I was devastated. My hopes of getting pregnant were dashed right then.

Did I mention the entire would was getting pregnant during these months. I swear everyone I knew was announcing their pregnancies and as happy as I was for them, a part of me wanted to yell at them for being so insensitive to my problem (ridiculous right)?

The next few months consisted of more pregnancy tests and more throwing of pregnancy tests at the wall. I finally went to the Temple, duh Zaundra why didn't you go months ago right? In the Celestial room I just had the feeling of calm down, everything will work out and you will be happy. I felt peace about the situation. In April I was finally reunited with my husband after seeing each other once or twice a month for 4 months. My positive attitude was still intact. Then I started my period at the end of the month and all that positivity was out the window.

By the time June rolled around I was beginning to think we would be adopting our children and I was trying to come to terms with that. Grant and I decided that if we weren't pregnant by September we would see a fertility doctor. On July 9th Grant and I were grocery shopping and I was 6 weeks late, so I went to get a pregnancy test. Grant, trying to protect me told me not to worry about it, he didn't want to see me disappointed. But I told him "for some reason I can't give up hope, I'll just take it tomorrow and then at least I'll know," because not knowing was driving me crazy! Sunday morning I woke up knowing it was time to pee on my hundredth stick. I was just waiting for no line to appear, but then it did. I read the ENTIRE instruction manual to make sure I did everything right, I really thought it was a mistake. After a few minutes I went out to Grant in a daze and mumbled, "I think I'm pregnant." His response was really? I sat on his lap and cried for a moment and then we went to church and I couldn't stop thinking about it. I took 3 more pregnancy tests in the next day, all of them coming up as a clear positive. I WAS PREGNANT! It actually happened! The next week the nausea kicked in and I knew this was the real deal.

During this time I felt like I was the only person who couldn't get pregnant and it was super easy to put blame on myself and wonder what was wrong with me? But recently I've known a number of people who didn't have an easy road to pregnancy. It really is normal to take a while for everything to align just right, but if it's meant to it will, and the wait will be worth it. I realize a year really isn't that long compared to a lot of people who struggle much longer, but when you are wanting a sweet little baby, even a month feels like forever! I'm so grateful to be carrying this little babe and the amazing blessing and miracle that it is.

We're here... just busy.

2011-07-13T17:56:00.000-07:00

So apparently starting a company takes a lot of time. I guess I should have known that. In between the work we've managed to squeeze in lots of family time. We love Texas, it's hot... real hot, but it's been good to us. Happy summer, maybe I'll be back to the blog world in full swing in August.

The Last 4 Years

2011-04-28T15:26:00.000-07:00

Today I received my grades from my last semester at BYU. And while I was secretly terrified that somehow I was going to fail a class and not graduate, my fears were unnecessary. GPA: 3.9, my highest yet. I couldn't help but think back to my first semester at BYU. Winter 2008 GPA= 1.66. Woof. Not my proudest moment, but look where I've come!
Fall 2008: 3.0
Winter 2009: 3.5
Fall 2009: 3.6
Winter 2010: 3.81
Fall 2010: 3.86
Winter 2011: 3.91

So I'm not proud of the 1.66, but I am sure proud of the progression.

The grades aren't what I'm most proud of though. I'm proud of the friends I made, the husband I met, the life-skills I learned, and the hard work I put it. I'm done with college classes, my time at BYU and in Provo is done. I get teary eyed just thinking about it because I really did love my time there. So many amazing, life-changing things happened in that little town.

Lived with my best friends. We only got in a few fights and we're still friends, hallelujah.

Met a cute boy.

That cute boy became my first love.

Then we got married.

I made the most amazing new friends.

Became a teacher.

Met a family that will be in my life forever.

Utah was good to me. I have so many great memories of my time there. As I took my last walk across BYU's campus I couldn't stop crying. I'm so happy I got to do all that I did and experience all I did. Those 5 years will always bring a smile to my face.

Now I get to start a new chapter in Texas. I'm so happy to be back with my husband and continue our life together and make new amazing memories here.

Inspiration for Me

2011-02-24T22:09:00.001-08:00

This semester has been interesting. Grant is in Texas and I am here. It's tough I won't lie, but I feel like I am learning and growing so much as a person. Let's just say when it rains it pours, for some reason trials in my life come in packages, is it that way for everyone? This quote just seems to tie it all together for me. Things really do fall into place, Heavenly Father really does have a plan for us, and He really does love us. I guess tonight I am just overwhelmingly grateful that I've finally come to the point of gratitude instead of sadness for having to go through the struggles in my life right now.

Thanksgiving

2010-12-09T10:07:00.001-08:00

We went to Idaho for Thanksgiving this year.

We cooked:

I was in charge of pies, pecan, caramel pecan, and butterscotch custard. YUM

We ate:
My brothers long hair inspired me to dress him up. Once a big sister, always a big sister I suppose. And look how cooperative he was!

We played games:
Killer Bunnies is always a big hit!

We relaxed:

And we tried to open a massive jar of pickles:
Who would have thought this was the only way to open them. Dad, Brian , Jaron, and Grant all tried and couldn't get the dang thing open.

And we saw friends:
Bests friends for life!

H-Dance Force (minus a few). Sarah (far left) and I talked about everything together, Hailey (the red head) was my dance teacher for 12 years, Mikianna and I have danced together since we were 6, and CoCo my amazing sister who was the only reason I started dance in the first place!

And then we drove home:
A normal 6 hour drive took us 10. Thank you winter snow storms.

Last Teacher Post For A While

2010-11-23T16:14:00.001-08:00

Monday was my last day with my adorable 3rd graders at Orchard Hills Elementary. I cried to say the least. They were all giving me sad pouty faces all day long telling me they wished I didn't have to leave. I felt so loved. They surprised me with a book of notes they each wrote to me. I wanted to share a few.

Dear Mrs. Romney
thank you for the fun seince (science) you taught us. Thank you for helping and teach us. Thank you for coming will you come again. Thank you for being my friend. I hope you have fun playing at BYU. Ther's one more thing I want to say. you rock.
your best friend,
Hunter

Dear Mrs. Romney
Thank you for every thing you have taught me so far. I really hope you teach here. You are one of the nicest people I know. I hope your class next year will listen to your lessons. Remember your beautiful.
Sincerley,
Isabelle

dear Mrs. Roumy
I love the sience progecs that you had us do they wer so fun... I want to do it again I ber that you will be a good teacher. I bet evry one in the class likes you even me. You are so nice and you wil always be. You are ready to be a techer.
Love
Amber

Dear Mrs. Romney
Thank you for everything and teaching the class science. And helping me with everything I needed help on ever ciencs (since) you bin hear. Your my best friend forever. I love you and I allways will. Forever I will always cepe (keep) you in my heart I will never forget you threw (through) all my heart. I now (know) I can allways ceme (keep) a seacret with you allways I never had a best friend like you. I like you forever.
Love,
Autumn

Here they are

Pretty adorable right? Man I will miss them.

Grant and I are sitting at home trying to wait out the crazy blizzard that is supposed to be heading this way, worst one in 7 years they're saying. But really we just want to be driving home for Thanksgiving. Dang it snow. Anyways wish us luck, 7 am tomorrow we're braving it! Until then we'll probably just read Harry Potter, our newest obsession.

I'm in love

2010-11-02T15:56:00.000-07:00

It's true, I absolutely love, love, love my third graders. They are each so unique and special to me. I can't even describe how much I look forward to seeing them everyday.

You see for the past week and for the next three weeks I will be a 3rd grader teacher in Santaquin. This is a required experience for my Elementary Education major at BYU. I get to teach at least one lesson a day and give individual attention to my hearts content. Can I just say how magical it is when you see the light bulb turn on for a kid. It's truly one of the most rewarding experiences I've ever had.

Today, I was sitting in my classroom observing all my students and I suddenly had to fight back tears. I was overwhelmed with such a strong testimony of how special each and every student sitting in front of me was. Some are shy, some are silly, some give me the most heart melting smiles I've ever seen, some are stinky (but still so loved), some learn easily, others not so much, but all of them are sons and daughters of Heavenly Father and that is so special. I can't believe I could get paid to take care of these little ones everyday. I know some may be skeptical that I really love it this much, but I promise this is the coolest experience I've ever had. I'm not saying I don't ever get frustrated, because I do. Some of those kids can really test me, but I know they are doing the best with what they've been given and what they've been taught. Teaching little chiclets has got to be the best job in the entire world!

The first day I was with my class they were convinced I was a vampire, especially with Halloween right around the corner. But they've realized I'm not scary so I've been promoted to a fairy, which I'm totally fine with. My students think I can fly, so basically I'm their superhero right?!

Speaking of kids, that's me in 3rd grade.

Teacher Pants

2010-10-26T13:06:00.000-07:00

Usually Halloween kinda just comes and goes in this house. But this year I've been making a point to be a little more festive. I've come to the realization that traditions don't just happen, but you have to make them happen so I'm doing my best. We carved pumpkins with a few really good friends and I must say it was the best pumpkin I've ever carved!

Can you guess whose is whose?

We've gone to 2 haunted houses this year. Nightmare on 13th and a $1 haunted house in Provo. Both were nice a creepy! We're going to the play Dracula on Friday and I think that should do it for Halloween spookiness.

I also started teaching today. Hence the "teacher pants" as the girls in my major like to call them. I met my mentor teacher and she is wonderful. I think it will be a great experience and hopefully I will learn a lot.

My first day of school! Teachers can't wear jeans... lots of "teacher pants" and skirts for the next month!

Jumbled.

2010-10-05T21:06:00.001-07:00

Warning: there will be no coherent order to this post.

I am loving this semester. I finally have 3 of my greatest friends all living near me! So we decided we need a monthly dinner in which attendance is mandatory. September's was fab. We ate Chicken Cordon Bleu, salad, potatoes, asparagus, rolls, and peanut butter bars. Yum. Then we played...

Yup you guess it, Quelf. What a grand time we had! Here are some of the favorite pictures of the night.

Meet Aaron. The poor kid had to do all the most embarrassing tasks of the night. (He's my friend Caitlin's, remember the returned missionary, boy toy.) What a good sport!

Jordan was banished underneath the table for a little while, love the face my friend!

Erin and I had to creepily slow dance with each other, circa high school. I'm so creeped out, look at that face.

This handsome guy was a beautiful miming ballerina. Look at those lines!

Oh Aaron you poor thing. He was, I believe a mime stuck in a box on this one. Thanks for all the laughs though!

We also played a rousing game of Guesstures in which the boys pummeled the girls. We were so certain we were going to win too. Bummer.

I love my friends! Jordan is working her fanny off at dental hygiene school, amazing right? Erin is working as a dental hygienist, plus being a mom of the cutest one year old boy I know! And Caitlin just worked her tail of for a year and a half as a missionary. I am one lucky girl to have such incredible friends.

Last weekend I went on a girls getaway to St. George. It was so fun and so nice to get to spend more time with my sister-in-law Elizabeth and her two funny girls. You can read all about the trip here. Basically we went to Tarzan at the Tuacahn, an amazing outdoor theater. We shopped, ate, talked, and watched some seriously amazing people run a marathon.

With the girls. Tarzan was SO good, I cried... multiple times. Who doesn't cry when they hear "You'll Be in My Heart?" Such a good song.

Thanks Betsy for SUCH a fun trip!

Funny side story. As I'm sitting waiting for the play to start, my lovely friend Dantzel comes waltzing in front of us and literally sits directly in front of me. I haven't seen this girl in at least a year... and we both live in Provo! Who would have thought we'd see each other in St. George of all places. Needless to say we resolved to have lunch together more frequent than once a year.

Oh and I dyed my hair a lovely shade of brown. It was time for a change. I'm slowly adjusting to the strange girl looking back at me in the mirror! Change is good right?

Other than that we're just schoolin it up, Grant's murdering his tests... 100%? Ya, he's a stud. Fall hit this week, I actually felt cold once or twice. This morning I walked outside took a big sniff and thought to myself, fall is here. Fall just smells different ya know?

Behind...

2010-09-14T20:00:00.000-07:00

Again.

We've been alive the last month or so, although it may not seem like it.

We left Texas with a bang in August. Grant decided to be a rebel and skip out on the first 2 days of school and we spent some time in Dallas with the fam. It was a really nice way to end our summer and have a few days to relax before starting school.

I know, I obsess over my nieces and nephews. I can't help it they are the cutest kids in the whole world. You'd think they were mine.

Grant and I drove the 20 hour drive home like champs. Straight through. I fiddled around with

Artsy eh?

I also got to experience Grant with a "beard." I call it a beard because it's the most facial hair I've ever seen on him! I thought it was pretty sexy if you ask me.

When we got back to UT one of the first things we did was camp. Well we ate at Cafe Rio first... but then we camped. We ended up at the same area we went to last time, it was beautiful just like always. We planned ahead this time and brought our extra sleeping back for some cushion. We both slept MUCH better.

Oh and we roasted GIANT marshmallows. I highly recommend these puppies.

Since then we've done a lot of school and homework. Grant's teachers are trying to kick his fanny, accounting does not sound like a fun major to me. So much reading. But Grant is a stinkin hard worker so he's doing awesome... LAST SEMESTER BABE!!

We've spent a lot of time with our lovely friends Bridger and Jordan, we even played another round of Quelf, (remember this game) and laughed our heads off like usual.

It's always joyful being back in Provo, only this time it's slightly bittersweet. I'm noticing everything is my last! My last fall semester on campus, meaning no more beautiful changing leaves. My last semester living in UT with Grant. My last fall in UT. My soon to be last winter in UT, although that isn't really all that sad for me.

For those of you who didn't know, Grant is moving to Dallas in December to start up a pest control company. I, however have one more semester left at BYU so I have to stay behind. Yup, 4 months apart. It will be worth it we know, but still sad. In April I will giddily join him in Dallas and we will make a little life for ourselves there. Woot!

On a side note... we're always looking for people who need or want a summer job to come sell with us. Let me know if you're interested!

Life is good for the Romneys here in Utah!

She's back

2010-09-07T19:47:00.001-07:00

After a LONG 1.5 years, this little peach is back and you better believe I'm so excited to see her!

Dear Caitlin,
You have been missed dearly. I will give you a giant hug when I see you.

Reunited will feel so good....

Suckas LOVE YA!

Favorites

2010-08-18T17:15:00.000-07:00

#1. A quick visit from our babelicious friend Courtney.
#2. The absolutely delicious dinner we had at the Braken Store Cafe.

(Can I just tell you, best burger and onion rings ever.)

#3. This season of So You Think You Can Dance and basically every dance on it! Sooo good.

#4. My favorite summer reads:

#5. Late night swims and chats with him.

#6. Mostly just that guy up there. Ya, he would have to be my number 1 favorite.

Nightmares

2010-08-09T11:25:00.000-07:00

It has been a LONG time since I had a nightmare. I had forgotten how horrific they can be and how real they seem!
I was walking into a grocery store at night, it seemed like Albertsons, with my friend Caitlin. All of a sudden this white truck comes charging at me. I managed to jump out of the way, but in my dream I threw some profanity at the boys driving it. THAT MADE THEM SO MAD!

Stupid dream Zaundra doesn't know when to shut her mouth.

Anyways, it was this truck of 4 boys straight from Hotel Rwanda, machetes and all. I remember running into the store just as it closed so they knew I was the only one inside and had to come out sometime. I was in an office in the back of the store with the only store manager still there when all of a sudden we hear the vroom of the truck as it's slowly passing by the back of the store. Then the boys starting banging their machetes on the windows looking for me.
I wake up at this point, but my heart is racing and I'm sweating. I have to open my eyes look around and cuddle up to Grant to make sure it's not real.

So... I fall back asleep and it starts AGAIN! I'm still hiding I'm imagining all the horrible things that could happen. I call the cops, but my dream doesn't want the cops to come so somehow they never arrive and I'm stuck. My dream must really want me dead, it's horrible.
I woke up I again opened my eyes cuddled next to Grant again and tried my very best to think of happy things like flowers, Hawaii, the ocean. And luckily the dream doesn't come back.

Needless to say I'm exhausted today.

Nightmares suck.

To Remember Summer

2010-08-06T15:51:00.000-07:00

This post is for selfish purposes. I've realized my only posts from this summer have basically only been about bugs. Gross. Personally, I would like to remember this summer for more reasons than just those.

Texas really is beautiful. It isn't Utah or Idaho mountainous beautiful, but it has it's own unique beauty.The sunsets are glorious here. No mountains to block them!

This was the scenery during our drive home from Dallas last time.

We've joined in on some of the local Texas fun. First we went tubing on the Comal River.... well river in Texas standards. The river goes right through the city. I wasn't so sure about the lack of nature, but I'm biased (the Hathaway's are hardcore river rafters you know).

This is not an exaggeration of how many people were there. Texas is HOT people, and cold water seems to be the only way to survive. Needless to say the river isn't the cleanest, or really even clean at all, but we had an enjoyable time. The whole sales team came and we just relaxed and laughed at all the crazies on the river.

There is this little concert hall/bar that I pass by on my way to work everyday. Much to my surprise and excitement Jerrod Niemann's name was listed on the billboard as an upcoming artist playing there. Jerrod Niemann sings one of my favorite summer songs "Lover Lover."
Jerrod was a slight disappointment. His songs were fun, but all he wanted to talk about was which ladies were going home with him that night. Really Jerrod? I mean your cute and have a very nice voice... but not everyone wants you. It was worth it just to hear him play "Lover Lover." You know that happy excited feeling when you hear your favorite song on the radio, well this was like that times 10! I totally smiled the whole time and sang along at the top of my lungs. It was an outside concert and it started about 8 so it was nice and cool..... er.
By the way, Texans totally dance!! I've never seen people dance the way they did, I can't even describe it. They get real close together and kinda shuffle around the stage, it looks slightly boring and mostly awkward. I felt the urge to line dance and Miss Caitlin Walton if you were there we would have rocked it.

We have eaten A LOT of yummy food, mostly stuff I've gotten to make. Here are some of our favorite new recipes:

Butter Brickle Amazingness
S'mores Bars
Sugar Cookie Bars
and
these White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies

So we really like sugar and goodies in this house.

We had dinner with Micah and Katy, and they're adorable baby Madison, some great friends of ours from Provo. I loved catching up with them and seeing them in Texas, if only we could live close by forever! It was so fun to hear how life has changed for them in Texas and how well things are going. I finally learned how to play Settler's and I'm basically hooked!

Oh and the bugs are still here, don't worry. Yup, that is a bag of crickets. Did you know crickets smell like dirty rotten diapers when they die. Grant gags every time he goes out to our porch because of these little suckers. Oh, and our washer and dryer are on the porch so occasionally our clothes smell like dead cricket diaper because yup you guessed it they figured out how to get in the washer.

San Antonio you've treated us well. Let's keep it that way for our last 2 weeks here please.

I promise there are more exciting things in Texas

2010-06-16T17:03:00.000-07:00

The bug stories are just too good not to share. Monday morning we woke up to a nice surprise in our sink. Until Monday I had managed to steer clear of the dreaded cockroach. Not only just a cockroach, but a half alive cockroach. Grant started messing with it and it started hopping around. I screamed and jumped and did a bit of a "getting attacked by a bee" dance. It seriously creeped me out.

The story in TX is that where there is one roach, there are more. Grrreeeeaaatt. Well here's our roach. It is NOT a small roach.

Yup that roach is nearly the size of Grants pinky, and no Grant's pinky is not small.
Oh and ya that's the roach IN A BAG. Grant wanted to bring it to show and tell at work. (He is a pest control salesman you know.)

How did we kill the roach without smooshing it? Grant attacked it with bleach. It worked.

What a guy huh? Grant didn't scream, but I know he was freaked out.

(Notice the plate of cookies in the background. I may or may not have made homemade cookies every Saturday since we've been in TX)

I do promise that there is more to Texas than bugs, but there are A LOT of bugs. Come visit, I'll show you.

In Case You Were Wondering

2010-06-04T19:24:00.001-07:00

I have the ABSOLUTE most adorable nieces and nephews in the world. Grant and I spent the weekend in Dallas and let's just say it was EXACTLY what I needed.

Look at that smile! haha. Phoenix is a fun fun kid. He is always up for a good tickle fight. He would just run and throw himself at me, I loved playing with him!

Paige has the most friendly and bubbly personality. She gave me the BIGGEST hug when she saw me this weekend. It was a rare thing to see Paige without a smile on her face.

Scotty is becoming a little man. He wanted to hold my hand the whole time we were grocery shopping in Costco. What a lovable guy!

I kept catching myself staring at Romney. He is the most beautiful little boy. He's a very calm and serious little guy, so mature for a baby.

Daniel and I have a special bond. Well at least I do with him. He was my baby last summer. He has the cutest little raspy voice. I could listen to this kid talk for hours. His scream doesn't really even bother me because I'm just so obsessed with this little guy.

I didn't get a picture of Stacy and that describes her pretty perfectly. She is always all over the place so energetic. Stacy and I had a rough start, I'm not used to children defying me. But Stacy is a smart cookie, she can really have an intelligent conversation. Stacy was cracking me up all weekend.

And Chase. I wish I had a picture of Chase, but whenever he was awake he was in my arms so I didn't have any free hands to take a picture. What a SWEET baby!! I miss holding him already.

I loved this last weekend in Dallas. I'm so excited to live so close to my awesome in-laws. I really can say they are close friends as well! Only one more year and we're here for good.

I reek

2010-05-12T19:03:00.000-07:00

... literally.

*caution grotesque image below*

Tonight I stepped on one of these nasty boogers. All I wanted to do was get the laundry. Every night I walk out on our back porch I see tons of these creepy insects, and every morning they're all belly up. Tonight the beetle won the battle.

I took a step...
I felt something squishy and squirmy under my BARE foot.
I instantly knew. I instantly freaked out.

I raced back inside and sat down to breathe. And this STENCH fills my nostrils... it's coming from my foot. Yes ladies and gents, here in Texas these are called stink bugs and I squashed it, unleashing all it potent juices onto my bare skin.

Best part... the smell won't come off no matter how much I scrub.

If I were you I would stay away from apartment 8107 tonight. (sorry hubs your not allowed to stay away ;) )

Goodbye Utah... see ya in September

2010-05-06T17:27:00.000-07:00

We left Utah again and here we are in SUNNY, WARM, TEXAS! I'm actually surprised we made it on time.
Grant was busy with finals ALL week long (he did really really really well this semester) and I was packing ALL week long.

Back up. So the weekend before we left Grant and I watched London and Layla, well Grant studied and I watched them, but it was fun to have him with me in the evenings. I love these girls.
London loves LOVES music. Her favorites, "willy wonka willy wonka the amazing chocolate chair" I guess chocolatier isn't in a 3 year olds vocab yet. One day she came up to me and said "bow chicka wow wow!" And my favorite, "Zaza your hair is wild!" (7:30 am just rolled out of bed)

Layla makes the funniest faces and was basically a doll to watch, when she wasn't screaming for me to hold her.

Hard to resist right? haha

Can I tell you how AMAZING it was to get to hold a baby in my arms every 3 hours to feed her.

Yes kids are EXHAUSTING, but holy cow it was awesome to wake up to her smiling face every morning.

Yes, we were busy, but don't let it fool you we still had time for fun. There is ALWAYS time for fun!

Jordan and Bridger came over for games and hamburgers. We broke out our newest addition to our game family, QUELF. IT. WAS. SO. FUN. We captured some great moments from the game below.

Bridger had to lick a piece of paper and get it to stick to his forehead for 30 seconds. EASY.

I had to drink a glass of water from the opposite side of the rim that you normally drink from. HARD-ISH. Thank Grant for this amazing shot, nice view eh?

Grant had to roll 3 3's all while having his finger in his nose. HARD. (He gave up)

I didn't have a picture of Jordan from the game, but she had to say "I have you now," everytime she made eye contact with someone. HILARIOUS, and awkward. haha. (This pic seemed to fit)

We got to see a lot of Grant's family. Between visit's for Womens Conference and weddings he had 3 siblings in town and his mom. Basically I loved it. Womens Conference was SO what I needed. Thanks Karen for the ticket! And I was totally reminded of how EXCITED I am to live in Dallas with Greg and Christy and Mer and Bart and all the kiddos after seeing all of them!

Then Grant and I got in the car at about noon on Friday and drove straight to San Antonio. 22 hours baby. We rock (at driving that is). We took turns sleeping and driving and I ate A LOT of sunflower seeds to keep me awake between 11 and 4 am.

Spring Things

2010-04-18T14:28:00.000-07:00

Spring time brings a long list of great things! After birthdays is Easter and Conference. Our good friends Nate and Kelsie were in town so we went to dinner with them! Kelsie and I had some much needed girl/shopping time while the boys went to priesthood.

So after about 1 month of being married to Grant I figured out that if he says lets not get each other presents for a holiday, he'll get me a present anyways. So for Easter I said lets just not get each other anything. But, sure enough we both got each other something anyways. At least Grant was surprised this time. He got me the new Lady Antebellum cd and I got him a pair of tennis rackets and some tennis balls. We have gone twice and let's just say I've come leaps and bounds since the first 10 minutes I played. Grant has been very patient with my tendencies to hit the ball over the fence, into someone elses court, making him run back and forth because I hit the ball out of the white line more than in it, and not hitting the ball over the net. I'm not good yet, but I'm no longer horrible. I love it! We have so much fun together just going and playing tennis!

I made homemade cinnamon rolls and little quiche's for breakfast on Saturday. The Cinnabon recipe from allrecipes.com is the best I've found yet.

The semester ended, which was actually kind of sad for me. I made such good friends this semester and had SO much fun and next semester we're all getting split up so I was bummed. A bunch of girls from my program planned a big group date at a park. We barbecued, visited an old tree, danced like fools, played (or tried to) volleyball, and got hit in the head with a football to top it all off.

This is Melissa, Carly, Whitney, Me, and Caitlin visiting the old tree. I'm so glad I met all these girls this year!

I rewarded my self with my biannual hair appointment. It was so nice to go and get pampered for a few hours!

When we're bored we play with our camera, but this shows the hair too. It's just blonder, nothin spectacular!

I FINALLY took a dance class this year! I went with my buddy Ky Ky and a girl from school who used to dance. It FELT SO GOOD to dance again. I actually wasn't as bad as I thought I would be. It's amazing how therapeutic it is for me. But it is no cake walk! That bruise the size of my knee cap is from the class I took. Why is it I love getting battle wounds, I feel so tough.

We're moving to Texas in about two weeks for another summer. I have one more final on Tuesday (out of a whopping 2) and then it's packing, nannying, cleaning, and womens conference with Grant's mom and sisters. Hopefully these next few weeks are filled with lots of outdoorsy adventures because it is BEAUTIFUL!

Playing Catch Up!

2010-03-29T14:41:00.000-07:00

We have been having so much fun with my new camera, we basically take it everywhere... like a child, but quiet. We had a little reunion with some of Grants old roommates and they were instantly sucked into Mario Kart Wii (you would be too if you came over).

Look at the JOY on their faces! So much happiness, I love it!

A couple weeks later SPRING HAPPENED!!! It was a glorious day when I didn't have to wear a winter coat outside. Grant and I celebrated by walking to a nearby park and playing Phase 10, all the while trying to figure our camera out.

We also watched the little girl, London that I used to nanny and her new sister Layla. We had so much fun, but watching 2 little ones is definitely more work than watching 1! I am amazed by you moms out there!!!

Look how happy we are to be reunited again! She still tells me I'm her favorite (and Grant of course).

These kids love stories!

And last, but definitely not least we celebrate Grant's 26th birthday! So if you know Grant you know he loves to surprise and is IMPOSSIBLE to surprise. Well ladies and gents I did it!!! :)
Thursday Grant came home from school and I said get in the car. So we drove up to Midway to this GORGEOUS Bed and Breakfast and Grant had no idea!

I didn't take this picture and it wasn't this green, but still so beautiful. I had been researching Bed and Breakfasts for a few months and I just couldn't find anything prettier and cozier than this one, Johnson Mill. We both highly recommend it. Comfy beds, fireplaces in each room, jetted bath tubs, beautiful views, and YUMMY breakfast!

Us on the deck of our room.

What is it about a fireplace that just makes everything cozier?

Friday we went to Alice and Wonderland and relaxed A LOT, then finished with dinner at The Old Spaghetti Factory (I'm not a big Italian fan so Grant likes to pick those places for his birthday) and then had cake at our house.

Chocolate frosting of course, poor guy it's the only time he gets chocolate in this house! I'm so selfish.

Whew. Well needless to say we've been having a wonderful spring, now summer is just around the corner!

Maybe it's the sunshine...

2010-03-15T15:33:00.000-07:00

maybe it's the nap, or the music, or the yumm-o left over pie from pie day I enjoyed, but life is good. I had a moment today while cleaning the kitchen, I am happy. It was simple, but glorious. Lately it's been easy for me to stress about my future, will Grant make enough money, will I have a nice house, will I ever get a new car? Grant is deciding what it is he actually wants to do after he graduates in December, and I've come to this point where I just want him to choose what makes him happy. I have to admit it's a little embarrassing admitting how prideful and materialistic I've been, but I'm pleased to announce I've changed! Like I said, maybe it's the sunshine creating a sense of euphoria, but I realized if I can be happy (like really really happy) in this little, old, dusty apartment, heck I can be happy anywhere. If I can be happy (like I said before extremely happy) driving my multi-colored 97' Honda I can be happy driving anything as long as it gets me from point a to point b.

As long as I have this:

laughs with my silly husband!

And this:

the Savior Jesus Christ.

And someday maybe a few of these:

(I guess they ALL don't have to be ballerinas)

I know I will be happy, no matter where I live.

A wonderful, wise man said this in November 2008 Conference:

"This is our only chance at mortal life-here and now. The longer we live, the greater is our realization that it is brief. Opportunities come, and then they are gone. I believe that among the greatest lessons we are to learn in this short sojourn upon the earth are lessons that help us distinguish between what is important and what is not. I plead with you not to let those most important things pass you by as you plan for that illusive and non-existent future when you will have time to do all that you want to do." -President Thomas S. Monson

Happy Birthday to Me

2010-03-06T13:54:00.000-08:00

I've been lucky this year and had 2 birthday celebrations! I went home for my grandma Louise's 90th birthday party this past weekend and while I was there my family celebrated my birthday which was so nice! We had pizza and angel food cake with strawberries and presents. It was great being with my family on my birthday.

But my real birthday was on Thursday, the big 22 (which just happens to be my favorite number)! The girls in my major at school are so sweet, one brought me cookies and I was sung to in all my classes! A good friend even let me use her umbrella to walk home in the snow because it was my birthday, what a good friend!

Grant took me out to dinner at PF Changs that night. I've been dying to eat there and Chinese isn't really Grant's favorite, so it was yummy to go! Then we came home and had cake (baked by Grant) and presents. He spoiled me rotten yet again.

I've been drooling over a really nice more professional camera for months and sure enough he got it for me. I was so surprised! I'm so grateful for a husband that is so thoughtful and giving, he never buys anything for himself and yet gives to me and others constantly. Now I'm trying to learn how to use it. We took it outside yesterday and I've been experimenting with some of the settings, I love it and I can't wait to take beautiful (hopefully) pictures of my families!

Now I have to start prepping for the hubbies birthday March 26th! I love birthdays.

Valentines and Pictures

2010-02-22T15:27:00.001-08:00

Valentines this year was super fun! We decided to go on a Valentines date on Saturday night, I was in charge of the planning this year. We went to Tucanos and Comedy Sportz with some friends of ours the Weimers and it was so much fun! We love the Weimers for sure! We ate yummy food and laughed until our stomachs hurt. We were privileged to have a table in the middle of 3 tables full of highschoolers going to a formal dance. I couldn't stop wondering, was I really this OBNOXIOUS when I was in high school... probably. Comedy Sportz is always a great place to go, those actors never cease to amaze me with how witty they are!
Sunday I woke up to a GIANT sugar cookie frosted just for me and a beautiful frame with a picture of us inside (that was super special to me because I have hardly any pictures of us hanging up in our house). I made a dinner that night I knew Grant would love! I suggest both of these recipes as well as everything else on the blog!
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars
Pepperoni Pizza Twist
Both of the delish recipes can be found at my new favorite blog thegirlwhoateeverything.blogspot.com
Monday we had a special treat of Red Robin for dinner, Karen's treat. It is always so fun having Karen in town to visit. We wish we could see all our families more often.
We had a great long weekend together doing hardly anything, but enjoying one anothers company.

We are so lucky to have a wonderful photographer in our ward take our pictures for us!
slushphotography.blogspot.com
It is so fun to have professional pictures taken of our little family of two. I think she did a wonderful job and who would guess we were just at the Provo Library. I sure love this hubby of mine, SO handsome.

\

Ya that's right we're smooching behind a book entitled "A General Theory of Love."

Obsessions

2010-02-09T19:11:00.000-08:00

Grant and I have fallen into a trap...

It is INTENSE and we LOVE it. It freaks us out and well it doesn't make any sense at all whatsoever, but once you start you can't stop. We are already to Season 4 and we started it this semester... slightly pathetic, but we just can't get enough.

Our second obsession as of late is

and it is so so fun. We get competitive and yell at the screen and laugh and it's pretty amazing.

So that is how we've been wasting our time and well... it's been wonderful.

A Month Later...

2010-01-29T12:05:00.001-08:00

Christmas did happen for this Romney family and it was a hoot!

Our second Christmas together. We stayed at my sister and Brian's house for a few nights and they were the greatest hosts. Can I just say Brian made us the BEST bacon I have EVER had in my life. I dream about still. Both nights consisted of all 4 of us rocking Guitar Hero, I've officially moved up to hard... go me!

We always take a family picture when all the family together and this is the first time in a long time! It's always fun to catch up with everyone.

One of the best parts of the trip was seeing Miss Hailey! I love her so much and she's always so fun and inspiring to be around. Hailey is definitely one of the most positive and uplifting people I've ever been around, I'm so grateful to know her! My sister and I have known Hailey for about 17 years, such great friends!

My beautiful, wonderful, hilarious dance team met and had dinner at "our" restaurant, Casa Mexico. It was just what I needed! We always laugh till it hurts when we're together and could reminisce four days at a time. I miss us and the endless hours we used to spend dancing together.

I got to see my best friends in the whole world, Ashley, Jordan, Jessica, and Jesse. We played Guesstures which is always a good laugh and then basically just sat and talked while our husbands were probably bored to death. I love these girls so much!

After Christmas it was off to California for some playtime. We went to Grant's parents house and had the whole place to ourselves, (they were off gallivanting on a cruise). It was our one year anniversary so we spent the day in the city.

For our anniversary we went to the Museum of Science in Golden Gate Park. It was such a cool museum! They had a rain forest, a huge aquarium and a bunch of other neat things to see.

In the simulated rain forest.

These poison dart frogs were just sitting on leaves throughout the rain forest. We could have totally touched them (if we wanted to).

My sexy husband at the bus stop, we totally rocked the bus system.

We spent the rest of the day shopping, well me shopping and Grant being an amazing husband and following giving his expert advice! San Francisco is such a fun city, I really love visiting cities, but they are not for living... at least not for me.

We ate on the patio of the Cheesecake Factory overlooking Union Square. I love California for that reason, you can eat outside in December.

The next few days we traveled down to southern California with our friends Nate and Kelsie, and little Luke. We stayed at John and Whitney Vantassle's house and were spoiled rotten. Let's just say delicious Italian food (on them), and a whole day at the spa for Whitney, Kelsie, and I (also on them because John manages his mom's spas). Then we went down to Newport and spent a few glorious hours at the beach, 80 degree weather I might add.

Our first time to the beach together and I think it's our new favorite place to say. We had a long conversation about retiring on the beach, oh wouldn't it be nice!

We had a great two weeks and now we are constantly busy (hence the lack of blogging). But we're having fun and can't wait till our next vacation!

Thanksgiving

2009-12-26T20:55:00.000-08:00

This is late... but it must be posted so I can move on with my blog. Thanksgiving really was wonderful. We loved the warm weather, the food, and especially the family!

Being a Kid 101

2009-12-08T16:39:00.000-08:00

Remember this...

Ya that's what I did today for an hour...

in college.

My major is seriously amazing.

Horribly Amazing

2009-11-07T12:07:00.000-08:00

The title says it all.
My amazing friend Jesse came to stay with me for a weekend and horribly amazing things happened.

Amazing:

Laughing so hard till we cried. (Notice the tear running off my nose)

Laughing even more.

Taking pictures for an hour straight of only ugly faces. This was the winner.

My adorable new clothes courtesy of Jesse's large American Eagle discount. Minus the scarf, we spent forever trying to tie that scarf in the new-trendy way... couldn't figure it out.

The best way we could figure out. Beautiful.

Out cute matching friendship hair clips.

Super fun trip to the Lagoon! Jesse's first roller coaster!

Progressively getting more and more terrified of the not so scary roller coasters.

Jordan is a little freaked out!

First roller coaster ride in 5 years, I totally forgot how scared I get.

We also ate an enormous bag of peanut butter M&M's. Stayed up until 4 am talking. Danced A LOT to the Black Eyed Peas "I Gotta Feelin"... I'm obsessed with that song.

Horrible:
This is where the pictures end. Why? Well what happened... we went on the craziest straight up and straight back down roller coaster. It was sooo fun. Because of the craziness we decided to go on a little more relaxed ride that just spins you around in circles. As we're on the ride we think lets take a picture. Jesse can't find her camera or her keys (she drove). We realize at this moment the keys and the camera are somewhere at the bottom of that horrific ride, but we can't do a thing about it because we're strapped in. Jordan drooled on me, we laughed probably the entire time and then got really sad because we realized without that key we have no way to get home. The next few hours consist of us eating nasty "fair" food while trying to figure out what we're going to do... Oh ya we didn't bring our cell phones, they were locked in the car. We eventually get change use a pay phone call AAA and wait.

Jesse's camera was found... smashed to bits. (Did I mention it wasn't Jesse's camera, but her roommates 200$ camera that she borrowed... oops). The key was never found.

All in all I think it was more amazing then horrible.

Heart Attack?

2009-11-02T15:59:00.000-08:00

Last night Grant started complaining about chest pains. So we get on the ever-so-trusted WebMD symptom checker (our first go-to source in times of illness). Grant proceeds to list his symptoms and with three of them a warning sign pops up that says seek medical attention IMMEDIATELY. Ohhhh great. As of right now Grant has no health insurance so he decides he'll be okay not going to the doctor. Meanwhile Grants mom is telling him horror stories over the phone of husbands dying in their sleep and teachers hearts exploding in class!!! (We love you Karen) Grant please get health insurance and please don't die in your sleep or in class... or at all for that matter. Stress.

I thought this picture summed up our feelings pretty well. Grant hiding from his health problem while I just sit there sad and worried.

It Was Bound to Happen

2009-10-28T17:11:00.000-07:00

So I have no immune system. Zero. I got a cold 4 times in 3 months last winter. This winter is starting off strong. Turns out H1N1 (more commonly known as Swine Flu) has found me. Last night it hit me hard. All of a sudden it felt like my whole body was bruised, my throat hurt, and my nose got all clogged up. Today I can't stop sneezing and it hurts to be touched. It's a wonderful little virus living in my body. I went to the doctor today, only to find out "ya, you definitely have H1N1" and "well if you see the doctor he will prescribe you Tami-flu, but it's 90$ even with insurance." No Tami-flu for me. Instead they told me to take Ibuprofen and stay away from school for 3 days. The problem is I have a test tomorrow. So I guess I run into the testing center and try no to breathe on anyone. Ugh. Swine Flu I hate you.

Instead of homework

2009-10-22T20:21:00.000-07:00

Ya... I did it. Instead of doing homework tonight I copied a friends idea and went to this website to see what Grant and my children will look like. Most of them turn out pretty deformed so this isn't bad! To be honest it freaked me out when I first saw the picture. It doesn't look like either of us... and yet it does at the same time, but in a weird "I'm 3 but look like a 20 year old" kind of way. I can't tell if that's red hair... but I'm pretty sure that doesn't run in either family. This website is seriously fun!

Where did she get that luscious brown hair?

Grant thought they were absolutely hideous. Let's hope our kids don't actually look like this. Otherwise Grant won't think they're cute!

Oh and I did get my homework done. Go me.

Something to Look Forward To!

2009-10-06T18:48:00.000-07:00

So you have your friends and then you have the friends who get you more then even your family sometimes. I'm fortunate enough to have a great group of those kinds of friends. Two in particular I am getting so antsy to see! I have a treat to get me through the next 2 weeks of school... and that is looking forward to the re-uniting of this lovely bunch...

And they will be here in less than 2 short weeks!

A more normal picture for us.

And just a little more normal.

I can't wait for them to be here for a whole weekend!!

Enjoying it while we can

2009-09-27T20:18:00.000-07:00

We didn't get much of a summer, so since we've been back we've been trying to get in as much of the outdoors as we can. I don't want winter to come. Usually I'm excited about snow and Christmas time, but this year I'm not. Maybe it's remembering how cold and sick I was all last winter. Yuck! One thing I am looking forward to is our one year anniversary, how fun that I have an anniversary! I never even had one of those with a boyfriend(I never had a boyfriend that lasted longer then 2 months before Grant), this will be my first time celebrating an anniversary! But this post is focused entirely on sunshine and the BEAUTIFUL, mild, Provo weather. The first weekend we were back we planned to go on a hike. We drove up, couldn't find the trail head we were looking for, turned around and drove all the way back down the mountain to fill up with gas, drove back up, still couldn't find the trail head, finally decided to hike around and find some kind of trail to hike for a few hours before it got dark. Well.... turns out we found the most beautiful little trail! It follows this creek and is so green!

The trail had all these fun bridges made out of cut logs to cross the creek in certain places.

The next weekend we decided it was time to camp. The Sunday of Labor Day weekend we loaded up after church and drove up to the Nebo Wilderness. It was GORGEOUS. We followed Payson Canyon up to a place called Maple Lake. It was pretty busy because of Labor Day, but we found an awesome spot for our little tent.

Our campsite

All we had was this small little hatchet so Grant put his manly muscles to work and chopped our firewood. I tried, after about 3 whacks I was too tired and my arms hurt... what a wuss.

I was the "gatherer" I found the best kindling out there... and even a few logs.

Teamwork

Maple Lake looks like a dirty pond/swamp... but it was still nice to be around water.

I LOVE this picture! I can just picture this look on our kids after they've been caught doing something naughty.

Frolicking through the cat tails.

We had the yummiest hot dogs for dinner. I love campfires... the best part of camping by far!

Smores

Night lover love.

Good morning. ha. I forgot how uncomfortable sleeping on the dirt is. I think I slept for max 1 hour at a time before waking up feeling like that side of my body was bruised. Growing up we always had the thickest and nicest foam pads, but our camping budget didn't fit that purchase for this trip. Next one for sure!

Snuck in a game of phase ten before we had to get back to finish homework... oh homework always ruining the fun.

Camping with Grant was one of the best experiences I've had with him. It was so fun just the two of us in the mountains. I don't think I've laughed so much in a while either. I love this boy.

Summer?

2009-09-15T17:47:00.000-07:00

This summer Grant and I sold pest control in Dallas, TX. Let me tell ya about it...
It was hands down the most demanding experience of my life. I also learned so so much along the way about myself and about life. From the outside this job looks really hard, don't be fooled, it is crazy, ridiculously hard. You walk around, barge in on peoples daily lives, annoy people all day, listen to people tell you no all day, while sweating your brains out because it's over 100 degrees outside. Below are a few of my top favorite responses from people on the doors...

My #1 favorite was this older man...
Me: "Hi, I'm with Romney Pest Control!"
Him: "OH REALLY!?..... WELL GOOD FOR YOU!"
*SLAM!!!*

The most common response
Them: "I'm not interested."
Me: "Oh are you already with a company?" (said very innocently and doe eyed I'd might add)
Them: "I'm not interested." (As if I hadn't heard them the first time!)
Me: "Oh are you taking care of it yourself right now?"
Them: "I'm Not Interested!"
*SLAM!*

It always seems to end with a door slamming on my face.

Lastly was the most irritating, the dreaded teenagers.
Me: "Hey can I talk to your parents?"
Them: "What can I help you with?"
Me: "Oh I just need to talk with your parents thanks."
Them: "Well they're not interested."

So what would be your reaction? If I knocked on your door in the middle of your busy day how would you treat me?
This summer has really made me evaluate the way I treat others, especially those people who initially don't seem to matter, like the door-to-door salesman. It's also made me realize that everyone in life is trying to sell you something, and you do not have to buy it! Also, you never have to pay full price... if you haggle with someone long enough you'll get a GREAT deal. Lastly, I had to overcome my deathly fear of talking to people I don't know. The first month or so of the summer I would literally shake at every door. I dreaded ringing the doorbell. By the end I was still nervous, but I knew it wasn't the end of the world and all I had to do was talk to another person and people can't be THAT scary.
Overall I learned one heck of a lot and did something I NEVER EVER thought I could POSSIBLY do in my LIFE! I can't help but smile when I look back and think how tough I was. Granted I shed a LOT of tears, but Grant was great... even though the crying made no sense to him (boys don't really care what other people think do they)? I admire Grant SO SO much after this summer. Six summers really? He's a stud.

So what do ya think? Does that sound like summer? Isn't summer supposed to be filled with swimming, popsicles, friends, lakes, rivers, camping, and so much more? Ya well in this family we say no to summer, but yes to 8 glorious months of no work and you better believe I'm basking in EVERY minute of it! What I can actually have time to fold laundry now and not just leave it in the dryer until I wear it? I can cook a meal that doesn't consist of corndogs or frozen pizza? I actually have energy to talk to my husband at night and not just pass out? Sounds like Bliss, pure bliss.

Happy Birthday Baby!

2009-03-24T08:24:00.000-07:00

Today is the love of my life's birthday! Big 25!! Why do I love this hubby of mine... let me show you.

He's dead sexy

He doesn't take life to seriously... or pictures for that matter

He's a GREAT dancer and LOVES to dance!

He's a true gentleman

He's a manly man.

He's a good kisser

Ok so I love him for a lot of reasons. I can always count on him to make me smile. He brings so much silliness and fun into my life and reminds me not to be too serious. He's the hardest worker and so dedicated. He's dedicated to the Gospel, me, work, and many other things!

Happy Birthday Love! Here's to many many more. I love you!

12.20.08

2009-02-09T12:08:00.000-08:00

So the wedding day was a success! It was an amazing day and we are so grateful. We're grateful that we somehow had the only day without snow in weeks. We're so happy that the day was peaceful and just fun. We are surprised that we managed to not forget a thing (minus the Cd's for the reception, but lucky for friends)! We are blessed to have had such an amazing experience in the temple and to have been surrounded by so many people who love us.

Even though the wedding was perfect, getting the pictures is an entirely different story. Our photographer (who was amazing), had some computer problems, it crashed and everything was gone. As his friend was trying to get the pictures off his computer he completely wrote over them. Luckily our photographer is smart and saves them to a back up area on his computer as well, but oh wait that got written over too. So after about a month the pictures were restored and now everything is good. Phew. Needless to say I nearly had a heart attack while Grant was just sittin' easy. So here are a few pictures from our day!

Temple

Grant being a gentleman

Kisses

My bridesmaids, maid of honor, and I in the elevator

Pheonix, photographer captured a little flirting! :)

The cake and bouquet, I absolutely loved both!

Oh Happy Day

2008-10-28T08:54:00.000-07:00

So it happened, I'm ENGAGED!!! I am so so so happy right now I can't believe I'm marrying someone as amazing as Grant. We've been dating for nine and a half months and now I get to be his wife, I'm so grateful.

20 reasons why I want to marry Grant:

1. He makes me smile and laugh all the time

2. He teaches me so much everyday

3. His love of God

4. His willingness to change and grow

5. He never settles

6. He's organized... (I'm not! At all)

7. He treats me better than he treats himself

8. His strengths are my weaknesses

9. He lets me lean on him for the strength that I don't have

10. He's HOT!!

11. He works so hard

12. He doesn't judge anyone

13. He's sensitive

14. He has the most amazing eyes

15. His family is incredible

16. His testimony

17. He makes me feel like I'm the most beautiful person alive

18. He's open with me

19. His sweet ride :)

20. He supports me

Ok so I'm sure your dying to know how this happened! Here it goes. It started Saturday... we had a date planned and he was going to pick me up at 3:00. He brought me a dozen red roses, the most beautiful roses I've ever seen, I wish I had a picture cause I can't describe them well enough. So he took me to the Thanksgiving Point gardens, one of the prettiest places! This is the best picture I could find online!

After we went to eat at Cheesecake Factory, the yummiest restaurant! This whole time I'm just waiting for him to propose, I knew it was happening! Then we go carve pumpkins, mine was hideous... I wish I had a picture of that too. Then we went and looked at the stars in a park... then he took me home! That was it! I was a brat that night and was so frustrated that he didn't do it and all my roommates assured me that he just chickened out or something.

Monday roles around, I'm wondering if I just made this whole getting engaged thing up, maybe he's NEVER going to. I knew I was being impatient but I had been wanting to marry this boy since summer! So Monday after school were just talking and he has the idea to go on his motorcycle. I didn't think anything special of it cause it was a GORGEOUS day and we go riding a lot. He took me up the canyon to this park that we like to go to. It was the first place we talked about marriage, we argued whether or not we would have a dog. Side note: that conversation was months ago and we still haven't compromised on that decision! So we found this trail along the creek that runs through and hiked up it. We found a bridge crossing the creek to sit on and were just talking and enjoying how stunning it was in the mountains with the yellow trees and leaves falling. It was perfect! In my head this whole time I was thinking maybe... maybe... and then I told myself to stop it because I always let my hopes get too high and then nothin happens. Grant said hey I found something along the trail I want to show you. He moves over and I'm just sitting there, then I look and he's on his knee!!!!!!!!!! I think the biggest grin just flashed over my face at that moment. He told me he wanted to marry me and that he wouldn't be perfect at it and would need to lean on me at times and he loves me. Then came the words every girl dreams about hearing, "will you marry me?" I've never felt so much joy and gratitude! I feel so grateful to get to be with him! Here are some pictures from our day together!

I made him get on his knee so I could have a picture... I think he's begging!

I think I must be happy!

Kisses!

Of course I had to take a picture of the ring... I don't deserve to wear something so beautiful, it's perfect!

Sunday!

2008-09-28T14:43:00.000-07:00

I love Sundays!!! This week has been... good in most ways, a little trying, a lot tiring, but good. It's been one of those weeks... you know those weeks when you feel like you have more weaknesses and issues then anyone on this planet. Yup, I'm feeling that for sure. I'm beginning to realize that I'm my own worse critic, but at least it keeps me striving and working right? Although sometimes I feel like I have so many weaknessess it doesn't seem possible to fix them all. One at time... it's a good thing I'm a positive person, otherwise I might feel a sense of "doom" lurking over me! And it's an even better thing I have the Lord to help me out and to lean on. The gospel gives so much hope! #1 reason I'm grateful to have the gospel this week is hope. The world just seems so crazy and bad things happen to so many people, but I have such hope that Christ will come and make it all right and that makes life sooo good! It gives me something to live for, and that is a great blessing.

So this week school has been taking over! All my first tests are within the next few weeks so wish me luck! I already took a physical science, the class has seemed easy all semester, but then they go and put the test questions in the strangest context. I'll just say all the studying in the world couldn't have prepared me for that test. Better luck next time, Grant assures me that I'm not stupid... as much as somedays I'd like to debate otherwise. Statistics is coming up on Monday, wish me luck! Then come American Heritage, which I hear is a killer. The good thing is I love that class so incredibly much. So my recommendation to everyone is watch A Man for All Seasons. But get the clean flicks version if you can cause I think it's rated R. BYU got the rights to show the clean one on campus every year I think and I'm so grateful! I've never learned so much from a movie before. I made Grant watch it with me and we both walked out of it wanting to be better people. We had like an hour conversation about it after... so watch it!!

I realize I have no pictures on this blog so I'm probably pretty boring to most people! So for a little visual stimulation I'm gonna post some pictures from my best friend Jordan Turnbull's wedding, which was one of the most beautiful weddings I've ever seen, I'm so happy for her! I was lucky enough to be a bridesmaid and get my own custom made dress... ya there were no limits to this wedding, she's the only daughter and the first child to get married. So here's my absolutely gorgeous friend Jordan and her new husband Bridger married August 23rd!

The Gorgeous Bride!

Just married, Boise Temple!Adorable Flower Girl

The Bride and her Bridesmaids!