Flowers, ice skating, and "jumpalines"

I've tried to grow things in the past, but always seemed to kill them off remarkably quickly. Since my schedule isn't even close to as crazy as it used to be when I was a full-time student with a part-time job, I figured maybe I'd give it another shot and plant some flowers. I'm planning on trying some more flowers, and maybe some veggies and such as well. We'll see how that goes... :)

I've always loved Bachelor's Buttons... I think my mom used to have some
when I was little. They're so whimsical and colorful. :)

Yesterday, I got to hang out with my family. We went ice skating. :) 

We had the whole place to ourselves! That never happens. 

Can you believe this kid is only 2 years old? He is huge! That
made helping him skate quite the workout... haha

Jumping on what my little siblings call the "jumpaline" ;)

My brother Isaac loves to bake and surprised me
with a homemade paradise pie! Oh, so good.

I love Arizona sunsets! 

Temple and Krispy Kreme... what else do you need?

We went to the Valley this weekend. There was a youth temple trip that Dallin needed to go on (he's assistant scoutmaster and in the stake young men's presidency) so I went along to help. Afterward, we did an endowment session.

I like his face. ;)

There really isn't anywhere quite like the temple. I love how it feels when I am there.

There's just something so peaceful and familiar about this place. When I'm there, I always feel happy even if I was stressed or worried about something before.

 Plus, it is one beautiful place! And it was perfect weather when we were there too. :)

We also got to see Dallin's brother and his family who live down there. I gained some adorable nieces and nephews when I married Dallin, that's for sure! ;) I should have taken some pictures when we were there.

I'd also been craving Krispy Kreme for a really long time, as in I hadn't had any in like... a year, maybe more? I know it is ridiculously unhealthy, but it is one of my biggest weaknesses! They're the only doughnuts I like, so I justify eating Krispy Kreme by not eating any other kind... most of the time, at least. ;)

It was a little bit out of the way for us, and we were kind of anxious to get home, so I told Dallin that we really didn't need to go. Even though I definitely wanted a glorious, fresh doughnut I figured it wasn't really worth it. His response to that was, "Woman wants Krispy Kreme; we're goin' to Krispy Kreme." Yeah, he's a keeper.

There's not much new in our neck of the woods. Just living the life, I suppose! And it is definitely a good one. :)

Motherhood, Womanhood, and Ann Romney

This video about Ann Romney has been going around the internet today in response to some comments made about her and the fact that she is (was) a stay-at-home mom. I thought it was pretty interesting. 

It got me thinking about the subject, and how motherhood is viewed by many people today. In the video, Hilary Rosen basically said that Ann Romney can't really know about the economy or what women in America are concerned about since she, quote, "Never worked a day in her life" and just stayed at home raising her kids. Oh, geeze... since stay-at-home moms never leave the house, have little or no education, and are completely uninformed about the world, right? 

What I really liked about this video was that Mrs. Romney really stressed that she chose to be a stay-at-home mom. Here's what she said about that:

"This is what's so interesting about this. My career choice was to be a mother, and I think all of us need to know that we need to respect choices that women make. Other women make other choices -- to have a career and raise a family -- which I think Hilary Rosen has actually done herself. I respect that. That's wonderful. But you know, there are other people that have a choice. We have to respect women in all those choices that they make."

This reminds me of an experience I had in one of my classes a few semesters ago. It was a speech communication class, and my instructor was kind of a slacker. Most of the time, he would start a discussion about some random subject (usually sausage, sex, or Mormons) and then he would pick someone to get up in front of our small class and say something about it. 

One time, he asked me to get up and talk about what I look for in a man or what I want in my future husband. I mentioned something about how I want him to have (or be actively pursuing) a job that would allow me to stay home with our kids. The way that my classmates reacted, it was like I had said I like to eat pork rinds and listen to Alvin and the Chipmunks or something shockingly disturbing like that. ;) I mean, who in their right mind actually desires something like being a stay-at-home mom? Aren't I in college so I can do something with my life, like have a successful career and make a difference in the world?

Here's what I think they failed to recognize: The desire to be a full-time mother in the future is my choice. No one is trying to push it upon me; it's something that I want. Isn't that true feminism -- to allow and encourage women to do what they know will make them happy? It seems like so many people think that being a full-time mother is a demotion, and that those poor souls who have been lead to believe that giving up a successful career for dirty diapers, runny noses, and little muddy feet is a good idea simply need to be taught to see the light. However, I feel like nothing I can do in any career would be more important that doing all I can to raise my future children to be good people. (Just a side note to clarify my opinion, I highly appreciate all the wonderful women who have chosen to pursue careers, and know that the world and our country is a better place because of them. I especially appreciate the female professors I've had and I learned so much from them.)

Kind of along the same lines, here is an excerpt from Sister Kristen M. Oaks' talk in a CES Fireside from Sepetember 2011. You can find the whole talk here. 

Never waste one minute of this precious life. Prepare for the future. Go forward. Get educations, and prepare for an occupation or profession to support yourself and a future family. 

I also give a word of caution. In my day only 6 percent of the women did not marry, and it was unusual for a woman to get advanced degrees and enter the workforce. It is very different now. A much larger percentage of you will not marry during college and may get advanced degrees and have marvelous career opportunities. Some of you will remain single, but often I hear of young women who wish to fulfill themselves in the workforce first and only later proceed to become a wife and mother. 

I am speaking personally here. From my own experience as a woman who has a doctorate and had a marvelous career traveling the world, I can sincerely say that no matter how exciting or fulfilling a career, you should never sabotage your eternal happiness by sacrificing marriage for a job opportunity. If true love comes at a seemingly inopportune time, look to the long-term consequences, and call on the Holy Ghost for guidance. Marriage and motherhood can be as fulfilling and wonderful as you choose to make them. The Lord will provide a way for you to balance your ambitions with the blessings of marriage. Worldly honors and corporate success offer small compensation when compared with the joyous affection of family and children.

I just love that, especially the last few lines. Isn't that the truth?

Now, on a little more personal note, I want to talk a little bit about my own family. I come from a large family. There's 10 very energetic kids (I'm number 4) and two saintly parents who put up with us. :) My mom always wanted to be a stay-at-home mom, and I will always be thankful for that. I would have missed out on so many opportunities to learn from (and play with) my mama if she needed to divide her attention between a career and our family. Of course it wasn't easy. It's hard to live on only one income when you have so many kids, especially since half of us were adopted and that isn't cheap! :) What I learned from my parents was that it is worth so much more to live simply and frugally than to give up all the blessings that would come from giving my mom the opportunity to focus her time and energy on our family. 

I'm so thankful to be a woman, and I firmly believe (to quote The Family: A Proclamation to the World) that "gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose". I know that one of the biggest (if not the biggest) parts of my eternal identity and purpose is to be a mother one day. I'm so grateful to have had wonderful parents that are such good examples to me and helped me become me, and for a husband that supports me in all ways. 

To finish up, here is one more quote that I love by Sister Julie B. Beck from her talk "Mothers Who Know".

The responsibility mothers have today has never required more vigilance. More than at any time in the history of the world, we need mothers who know. Children are being born into a world where they “wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12). However, mothers need not fear. When mothers know who they are and who God is and have made covenants with Him, they will have great power and influence for good on their children. 

Two months down... part II

I surprised Dallin with a candlelit dinner last night when he got home. 

Of course I made sure to make the most romantic vittles in existence (haha)... the beloved burgers to rule all burgers that we discovered a couple weeks ago. :) Aren't I an awesome wife? :P

A couple minutes before he got home

Cherry limeade tastes even better when you drink it out of  fancy glasses. :)

I think he liked it... that looks like a happy face to me!

Two months down...

...an eternity to go! :)

Time is an interesting thing. On one hand, it is crazy to think it has already been two months since we got married. On the other hand, it seems like it has been so much longer than that.

Either way, the past two months have been so good. :) I knew I was going to be really happy, and that I was getting an incredible man, but it just gets better as time goes by. I still don't know how I got so lucky.

He makes me happy. :)

In other news, we went canyoneering this past weekend with some friends. We did two canyons (Salome and Parker Creek) and were very, very tired by the time we finally got home. It took a bit longer than we anticipated. Totally worth it though! They are both incredible canyons.

These pictures are from Salome.

Can you tell we were all kind of having a hard time keeping our balance? 

We love waterslides!

That's me going down this one. :)

"Honey, where's mah supah-suit?"

Another waterslide... wahoo! 

This was one of my favorite parts. And no, not entirely because Dallin was there.  ;)

Swimming out

The rest of the pictures are from Parker Creek Canyon.

The beginning of some sweet narrows

Even more waterslides!

There were a few rappels. This one was pretty short. 

A 50-footer

Another shot of the 50-footer

The 80-footer. Can you see me? :)

Climbing (literally) out of a drainage to get to the car

The view of the canyon we were in with Roosevelt Lake in the background

This world is a pretty amazing place, isn't it? While we were doing this canyons, I kept thinking about how beautiful and varied the earth is, and how thankful I am to be physically capable to do things like this that enable me to enjoy God's creations in this way. It makes it even better to get to do it with my partner in crime. :)

Happiness and Veggie Tales

There's a lot of reasons why I love my husband, but the way he dances and sings to Veggie-Tales music in the car (uh, not that we ever listen to that...) has to be pretty close to the top of the list.

I'm thankful for a husband that makes me happy and keeps me laughing. :)

 

(This is the particular song he was dancing to. I'll have to 

sneak a video next time he starts busting moves... :P)

He's definitely a keeper. :)

The burger to rule all burgers

We really like making food together. 

Lots of food. 

Lots of unhealthy, delicious food. 

Here's photographic evidence of yesterday's dinner. 

We made the burger to rule all burgers, and dang was it good! 

Notice we are still in our running clothes... we had to justify this indulgence somehow. :)

Start with some ground beef formed into a patty-bowl

Fill the patty-bowl with lots of cheese

Wrap the cheese-filled patty with plenty of bacon, and toss it on the grill. 

Add lettuce, tomato, avocado, and Henry Weinhardt's root beer
(the huge beer steins make it even better :P)

Yum.... :D Definitely the  best burger I've ever had with the perfect amount of bacon, cheese, and burger in every bite.
I think it was well worth the years we're taking off our lives, don't you? ;)