Birthday!

my yummy birthday restaurant :)

so i am finally 20!
no longer a teenager...and james did awesome at making this weekend a wonderful birthday weekend. i felt like i had a birth-3-days instead of just a birthday.
friday night he took me a beautiful restaurant called Luna Bella then we went to cold stone for some yummy ice cream (cake batter ice cream with crunch bar and crunched inside to make it really crunchy)
then on saturday james invited over some awesome friends and surprised me with a fun party!
sunday we had a bbq with some really good friends and got to catch up on being young and having fun.
Monday was the big day and pretty much i worked all day and then went to see the awesome movie inception at night.

the very good and cute cake that the office shared with me at work on monday :) thanks ladies!

so stinkin delicious! and so pretty too!

I had a wonderful birthday and i love that i got to spend so much time with my baby james :)

Under Construction....

Ok so...it's a work in progress and i am still learning, but this is all i can do in one day...if you have any feedback please feel free to share! one day i will get this blogging thing right! :)

and just for my sheer enjoyment i would like to share a few pictures with you that i love:

Long time no see....

it has been a super long time since i have posted anything....last night the young women had a personal progress party and my friend loni showed a mormon messages clip that inspired me to post again- and to make it habit...kind of like journal writing. so when i woke up this morning with a terrible stomach ache and the wonderful feeling of well...ya....i decided that i would re-vamp my blog and make it something i enjoyed doing. i decided that blogging needs to be something that is part of my journaling, something that will be kept for future generations to read about.
i feel that once i have kids, my blog will become more interesting but for now, i have other joys in life that i would like to share and things that i feel blessed about.

This summer has been one of the best. even though i had summer school, james and i have been able to do some pretty fun things.

to begin with, james' sister Becky was married on July 4, 2010 to Tyler :) it was fun to help with the planning and hectic chaos of making a wedding happen but it was even more fun to in the same room that james and i were married in and here the amazing words of the sealer saying that they (and remembering that we) can being together forever.
james' family stayed with us for almost a month during the wedding time. thankfully james and were house sitting for a good two weeks of that time so the family kind of had our place to themselves and we could have our together time. we miss being close to james' family and we are grateful for any opportunity we have to be with them.

I started working full time as soon as school ended and it looks like that's what i am going to be doing for a while. i like working at my dad's office- it's fun to interact with different people and hear what different things people have to say about things.
a couple weeks ago my dad and i were sitting on the beach watching my brothers and james play in the ocean and my dad kept making comments on people who would walk by and different clips of the conversation we would hear or the expressions on their face that we would see but had no story as to why it was there. it was pretty fun to imagine why they were saying the things they said or why they looked they way they looked. it also made me realize that 1- my dad really enjoys people watching, and 2- each one of us truly is a little bit different than the next person. we all came from the same place and from the same eternal parents but we are here because of a certain purpose.
one of my young women gave a talk couple weeks ago and she said something that i thought was pretty profound. she said: "there is something that we are each here to do that no one else can do." talk about such a divine role!

continuing on...
james and i been married for one year!!!! i can hardly believe how fast it has flown by and how wonderful it has been. we have definitely had our learning moments but i think that is pretty normal for the first year together.... :)
for our anniversary we went to disneyland with my family and had an awesome time! there is a new show at california adventure that i HIGHLY recommend and i think i want a copy of it so that i can project it on my wall at night while i fall asleep. --ok maybe that's a little bit too extreme but it is pretty incredible! the show is called World of Color, and if you have the chance to experience it, please do! ( oh and coming soon to california adventure? RADIATOR SPRINGS!!!!- for not so fluent Cars freaks, that's from Disney and Pixar Cars :) my "secret" obsession)

we also spend some time at the beach and just driving along the coast. it was a much needed vacation and we had a lot of fun!
i have been to disney several times in my life and it has yet to lose its magic for me- but each time, it's a little bit different. :)


coming up in our wonderful summer- we are working a lot so weekends are pretty welcomed around here. we will probably do a lot more swimming, maybe a few bbqs, hopefully a birthday party (please james?!), going to merinci (sp?) to visit some dear friends and their precious new one and at the end of the summer we are going to colorado for becky and tyler's open house (yay for weather that is not killing hot!).





that pretty much wraps it up in the " this is what we've done department" and in the "what's next aisle".

i feel so blessed to be the person that i am today- i enjoy so many things in life that sometimes, actually a lot of times, it becomes kind of overwhelming. last night at our personal progress party we learning about faith, divine nature, individual worth, knowledge, and choice and accountability. even though i am old and i have graduated from the actual program, i learn something new every single time i sit down to either prepare something for the girls or teach a lesson. this program is not only for the girls from 12 to 18, it is for every woman that lives in the beautiful world. it is a gift to us from our heavenly father.

with that: things that i am joyful about
* my dear husband
* my family -both near and far
* a fun summer!
* being done with school ;)

until next time!

Busy

My life is just busy. But I love it. And I love my husband. We are finally upgrading to a bigger place and things are just really good right now.

I also want to say, that I love that I have amazing friends and family.

Hope everyone is having a happy spring!

<3

Time

Dear Time,

I am 19 years old. I am married. I have been married for like ten months! (HoLy GoOdNeSs!!!!).

It is now 2010. I have been alive for almost 2 decades!---that makes me feel kind of old.

I am almost starting my Sophomore year of college. I still remember my Sophomore year of high school like it was yesterday-kind of. Sophomore year of college seems to have less drama but costs more....I haven't figured out which one I would rather live without.

And even though I have dead lines and I am always late because of TIME, I also have a lot of thanks that goes to TIME. (oh and because of no time, no one but James and my parents know what has been going on in my life....)

School is so crazy. Thank goodness for no homework Sundays that give me a break from the constant school demands. James and I both are either going to school or studying for school...and when we are not doing either of that we spend our time making a little money to help pay for school.

Since I have been so stretched for time I will give a quick summary of what has been going on in our lives lately:

-Let's start with December

*James and I finished our semester strong and very glad that it was over. We quickly

packed up the car and our suit cases and got in the car with James' sister Becky and drove to

Colorado. It was an ok drive- I strongly dislike driving- but I made it ok.

*James and I spent Christmas with his family and had a TON of fun. Sadly it wasn't a white Christmas

which we were all hoping for, but it was definitely cold and it was so good to be with family.

*For Christmas presents, we gave Kaeti and Gloria "new rooms". It was hard work but I think they really

like them. (I hope they do anyway...)

*James and I also got to spend some really good time with his grandparents. Although situations weren't

exactly ideal, we all came out stronger in the end.

*And probably one of the most important things about the trip was David's baptism. Way to go David! James got to baptize him and his dad did the confirmation. What a special moment for all three of them :)

*Our time in Colorado was short but sweet. But we had to come home quickly to get to two

really good friends' weddings. Both brides were beautiful and both grooms looked very happy. Congrats to

them both and thanks for letting us spend time with you on your special days.

-Happy New Year! (January)

*Shortly after we returned to Tucson from our holiday travels, James' family came down to visit us!

It's so fun to be with family and friends for holiday seasons and thankfully we got to be with both families

when we brought in the New Year

*Also during their stay here, we were able to throw a surprise party for James' dad where a lot

of Willcox friends came down. We all had a wonderful time and we actually managed to make it a real

surprise!

*Sadly all vacations have to come to an end...I had to go back to work, James had to go back

to school and our house needed to be cleaned really bad.

*School started up again and after that, time just seemed to fly....next thing we new, it was February!

-February

*Not too much happened in February...we spent countless hours working and going to school

and thankfully we got to play with friends on the weekends :)

*I am the Personal Progress leader in Young Womens and for the I was able to go to the temple

with the youth and be the leader for the first time. It was such a special experience. I can't remember how

many good temple trips I had while I was in Young Womens and I am so grateful to be able to be apart

of these girls lives and the experiences that they have at the temple.

*Valentines Day brought some fun events. Aro Hale (my mom's nephew) was baptized

and the whole family on my mom'sside had a family party. Also, James and I had a fun dinner

with some of our good friends. We also were able to see Becky, James' sister, shortly after

she was swept off her feet and agreed to marry her prince charming, Tyler. Yay!

Two weddings in row for James' family! James and I were able to spend a quiet night together-

he got me some nice bath salts and a chick flick that he agreed to watch with me (which is a HUGE deal!)

Over all, Valentine's Day was very, very good!

*The end of February brought my Dad's parents. I so LOVE when Nana and Papa come. They

were able to be here for the Candler's priesthood ordination. Candler, finally turned 12 and is officially a

Deacon. It was good to have all of the family together and to see Candler so happy.

*Along with Nana and Papa's visit, was a wonderful Family Home Evening lesson from Papa.

The told us all great stories form when he was a boy and things about his family that none of ever knew.

Thank you so much Papa for sharing your stories and also your testimony with us. And thank you both

Nana and Papa for coming and sharing your time with the family.

*Oh ya, and Becky has been so wonderful and has let me help her with some wedding plans.

So during Rodeo Break, Becky and I went to Mesa to look for a wedding dress. :) Found one! But I'll let her

do the showing of her special dress.

-Now...March

*One of my classes is ending (next week actually) and so my life is going into double time for a

week. Hopefully I will make it through...

*The week after next is Spring Break and James and I are going to IDAHO! ...ok sounds weird

but I am excited because we get to see Chase. My cousin who has been on a mission and he is finally coming

Home :) Oh and, we get to ride on and AIRPLANE! I may hate driving, but I love flying!

So I think that's about as good of an update as any...Time sucks sometimes but for the most part, I am thankful

for time. For the time I get to spend with James, my family and such great friends. For the time I have to learn

about good things and about the wonderful gospel.

Sorry for the forever long update but I hope you enjoy!

~Ness