top five friday.

i'm going to try something a little different here on the blog.
this is my introduction to "top five friday"; a weekly post where i will share five things that i love.

here are this week's:

#1. zachary and i both didn't have to work today. {and don't have to for two weeks. holla!}

#2. this video from david archuleta:

isn't that just the sweetest thing ever? i may or may not have cried a little with him the first time i saw it.

#3. these super easy christmas tags:

after using up our entire christmas budget, i realized we forgot to buy present tags. what's cheaper AND cuter than some kraft paper already on hand and stamps?

#4. this photo found on pinerest, captioned "this is why you marry your best friend."

pretty much sums it up. i'm so glad i married my best friend that makes me laugh everyday.

#5. new jammies. we do a christmas pj swap every year and i've dubbed these as the ones i want. think this is a big enough hint to the hubs to let him know which ones to get?

{found at target.com}

what are your favorite things this friday?

-the wife

o christmas tree, o christmas tree...

we've tried super hard to make it feel like christmas here. it feels so different having sunshine and 60 degree weather in december. {i really can't complain} we've tried to decorate and do christmas activites to get us in the mood though and we even got our very first christmas tree! behold:

ain't she a beaut? i got all excited at the beginning of the month thinking it would be cool if i made all of our ornaments. yes, those are homemade, but as you can see, there is a serious lack in the number of them.i got so burned out in making things these last couple weeks that i don't even care how shabby it looks anymore. all that matters is that it is a real tree and nothing less. {i joke, i joke. fake trees are cool too...kind of.} although i am mighty proud of that tree skirt. lots of fabric and multiple hot glue burns later gives you this:

i followed this pattern and thought it didn't turn out half bad. i've seen it in burlap and red too and it's super cute.

i'd be lying if i said the holidays aren't making me a bit homesick. we agreed on going home for thanksgiving and staying here for christmas, since the air force wasn't going to give zachary much time off. so i was sad not to be with our family, but at the same time i was super excited to have our very first {married} christmas together and be able to start our own traditions. now i just want to bag the whole idea and drive to utah tomorrow. good thing zachary is planning us a sa-weet anniversary trip three days later, or i might do just that.

anyway, happy sunday.
i hope it was merry and bright.

-the wife.

happy pioneer day, y'all!

to most people, today is just july 24th.

but to us mormon-folk, today is pioneer day!

this is the day that the saints entered in to the salt lake valley after the 1300 mile long journey from nauvoo, il, using nothing but covered wagon and oxen.

i imagine, they didn't have much to eat on the road.

it's not like they could stop by mcdonald's and order ten double cheeseburgers and three happy meals to feed their starving families.

in celebration of this holiday, zachary and i decided to eat how we thought they might
 have eaten back then:

porridge, hard biscuits, and dirty water.

{ok, maybe the biscuits weren't hard, but rather hot and fresh out of the oven. and that porridge you see right there, is actually cream-of-wheat, which happens to be a favorite meal here in the averett household. and the water was really red and green food coloring.}

it was kind of fun, pretending that we were living in the 'olden days' and had to fight to survive.

it got me thinking though, what if it wasn't pretend?

what if we really lived during that cold winter of 1846 and had to leave everything we had?

would we do it?

i am in awe at the great faith of those pioneers that did everything that was necessary

to keep their religion alive.

to keep my religion alive.

i can't begin to count the ways that the gospel has impacted my life or even think about

where i would be without it.

it has given me faith in trying times and hope in moments of despair.

it brings me more joy than possibly imaginable.

i couldn't be more grateful for the two mormon missionaries that knocked on

my dad's door nearly 45 years ago.

without that single event, i may not have the greatest blessing i have 

now; the true gospel of Jesus Christ.

"How can we pay our debt of gratitude for the heritage of faith demonstrated by pioneers in many lands across the earth who struggled and sacrificed so that the gospel might take root? How is thankfulness expressed for the intrepid handcart pioneers who, by their own brute strength, pulled their meager belongings in handcarts across the scorching plains and through the snows of the high mountain passes to escape persecution and find peaceful worship in these valleys? How can the debt of gratitude possibly be paid by the descendants of the Martin and the Willie and the other handcart companies for the faith of their forebears? The descendants of these pioneers can partially settle the account by being true to the cause for which their ancestors suffered so much to be part of."

-James E. Faust

i love The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and i am proud to be a member of it!

i am grateful for the pioneers that paved the way for my eternal happiness.

i am grateful to know that through the gospel of Jesus Christ, i can be with my family forever.

-the wife

the beehive state.

we just got back from a week long vacation in good ol' utah. we dropped off the plane and it was a whopping 80 degrees. that's a 25 degree difference from what we've been living in! it felt heavenly. we made it there just in time for the eaglewood fireworks on saturday:

 {sitting on the lawn, waiting for the fireworks to start with our special brother derek.}

    

{they were huge! 2nd time i've been able to go to these. definitely a tradition i want to keep up.}

on monday the fourth, we went boating with our pal vince and his familia:

then went to the the manti parade:

 {this picture made me laugh...only in sanpete.}

and we were lucky enough to be able to see double fireworks for the weekend:

 {it made for a really pretty view with the temple in the background!}

The rest of our week was spent fourwheeling,

playing in the snow up skyline drive,

eating snow cones and ice cream,

going on picnics,

having mallow roasts with the cousins,

going on walks,

playing bocce ball,

and croquet

and making tin foil dinners.

one of the biggest highlights of the week, was being able to go to my best friend's wedding!

she looked absolutely gorgeous! the entire day was beautiful. needless to say, i think we packed everything good about a vacation all in to one. it was so good to see our friends and family! besides getting sunburned multiple times, we couldn't have asked for a better trip. it will definitely go down as one of our top five favs.

-the wife

happy birthday.

today is a special day.
today is my best friend's birthday!
she's turning the big 2-1!!!
sadly, it is the first birthday in 9 years that we haven't been together for.
i have been through thick and thin with this girl.
we are a team.
like bert and ernie.
superman and clark kent.
milly and vanilly.
this once in a lifetime friendship started back in the 7th grade.
she had just moved into town and i'll be honest...i couldn't stand her. i thought she was loud and obnoxious. we started 7th grade and it turned out that she had every single class with me.

awesome.

a couple weeks later, i broke my leg. thank goodness kaitlyn liked pulling around wheely backpacks! she wanted nothing more than to pull mine around. she stuck with me for the next six weeks, getting my door, carrying my tray for me at lunch, waiting for me when class got over after everyone else left me in the dust. i realized that maybe my first impressions of her weren't the best ones. we have been inseparable ever since. i can't even count the nights that were spent sitting in her basement cuddling and watching movies, just the two of us, or the number of phase ten games we've been through {a freaking lot!} or the gallons of ice cream that we have eaten because of stupid things like boys. i honestly don't know how i would have gotten through life without her. she is seriously like a sister to me!

here are some of the things that make kaitlyn marie averett so great:

she throws super great tea parties!

she doesn't judge me when i look like poop squish from having a gigantically swollen face,

blood shot eyes, and a broken collar bone. 

she goes shopping with me, just for the fun of trying on ugly clothes.

 she has been with me for every big event in my life.

she's my number one home slice.

she keeps me young by stuffing me with junk food. always. caramel popcorn in particular.

she's been on just about every single vacation i've ever been on.

she makes me laugh.

 she is there for me when i do scary things.

 she is so pretty!

every girl deserves a "kaitlyn" in their life. someone that they can count on to be there no matter what. i am so grateful to be able to call this girl, not only my best friend, but now my cousin! she will be getting married in just 56 short days and i can't wait to see her again. she is going to make such a beautiful bride! j-dawg is one lucky boy. happy birthday katymay! i wish i could be there to celebrate. love ya.

-the wife

happy mother's day.

dear mom,

i know that you never {ever} read my blog, but i want to let the cyberworld in on a little secret about you. you are the best mom that a girl could ask for. thank you for all the things you have done for me, that at the time may have gone unappreciated. like ripping me out of bed every morning so that i didn't fail high school. or telling me to put on sunscreen before every soccer game so that i didn't get skin cancer. or making sure that i am dating the right boys, so that one day i could marry the right boy.

along with that, i want you to know the things that i have always appreciated about you. like all of the times that you gave me gas money, seeing that i was the worst money manager in the world! thank you for your thoughtfulness in bringing me treats from the grocery store, or from provo, or from anywhere you went really. thank you for making me breakfast all growing up, and still making zachary and i breakfast when we come to visit. thank you for cheering me up when i am sad. thank you for being my number one fan. thank you for being the prime example to me of what it is to be selfless. thank you for your positive attitude towards life. thank you for raising me in the church and never letting your testimony waver. and thank you for giving me comfort in knowing that you are going to spoil my kids rotten someday, as the best grandma in the world. if i could be half the mother you are, i will consider my life a success. i love you mama. happy mother's day.

love,
sarah

p.s. thank you also, for showing me how to be a hard worker. congrats on earning your masters degree!

happy easters!

this has been one of the best easters yet!
partly because it is my first one spent with my husband!
we went shopping on friday and got stuff for each other's easter baskets.
we may have gone a little overboard, but that just means that we love each other. right?

zachary was really sweet with his.
i've been wanting things to decorate our house with, so he got me a cute
little black sign that says "laugh". i love it.
everyday, i struggle with the fact that my purse is falling apart, but i feel like
 my wallet is too big to want to carry around by itself.
so he got me a new purse with a wallet built in.
it was so thoughtful!
he gave me a bunch of candies as well along with a 12 pack of fanta zero {yum!} and
some other items that i don't feel are appropriate to talk about on this blog. ;)
he was very kind in picking out my stuff.
i feel like he knows me oh so well!
i got him a stone pizza cutter that he has been wanting for a while,
along with some slippers {his feet are always cold}, a new shirt that he is going to
look smokin' in, the movie baby mama {so freaking funny!} and a
bunch of his favorite candies.
i felt like we were five for how excited we were about seeing our baskets.

i was given another easter surprise yesterday when i got a call from someone
asking me to teach relief society in church today.
yes, i have only been to this ward once.
i was terrified!
i barely even know anybody there.
it sure doesn't help when i am the youngest person in the room either.
i felt like i was surrounded by spiritual giants!
when all was said and done, i felt like it went alright.
at least i used up enough time!
my lesson was on this talk.
it's amazing.
you should most definitely read it.

zachary did an amazing job at preparing the best easter dinner in the world!

{don't mind our sorry excuse for a kitchen table...we are working on that}

it consisted of the most incredible roast, rolls, and veggies.
did i mention that i love it when he cooks? because i do.

we then got a little creative and attempted to make these little beauties:

i've posted a step by step tutorial on how to make them on this blog.
we spent the rest of our night just loving being together.
oh, i did cut zachary's hair!

i felt like it didn't turn out half bad either!
we spent a lot of time watching lost and eating ranch popcorn while snuggling,
trying not to think about the dreadful day that is tomorrow.

in all of this, i loved being able to take a moment and realize why we have easter.
what the whole meaning of easter is.
it is to remember the resurrection of our Savior and Redeemer.
the man that suffered for our sins.
that died for us.
that rose again after three days.
i am grateful for Jesus Christ and that He made it possible for us to live
with our Father in Heaven again.
may we all share our gratitude this day.

happy easters from us:

-the wife

it's that time of year...

no, your eyes are not deceiving you.

we haven't even had thanksgiving yet, but my blog is now decorated for 

christmas!

this is my most favoritest holiday that there has ever been.

there is something about it that is different from everyday life.

i don't mean just christmas day either. i mean all of december.

i love the music that makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside.

i love how everyone is happy and cheery.

i love the christmas movies that come around once a year. {ok maybe i don't always save those for just christmas time. elf is a year-round fav}

i love having an excuse to make hot chocolate and cuddle up in my pajamas.

i love all of the christmas decorations, especially the lit up houses.

i love eating candy canes. {they're like christmas in your mouth} 

i love decorating our christmas tree.

i love the gift exchanges.

i love the thoughtful kind hearts of others that seems to be more openly shown around this time.

i love the focus that we are able to have on our Savior, Jesus Christ.

i love the all around good feeling that accompanies this joyous month.

along with the things listed above, this christmas just got even better, 

believe it or not.

the reason being that just three days afterwards,  

i'm getting married!!!

oh what a blessed fantabulous day!