in recent news...

we have had an eventful couple of weeks. so eventful, that this post is probably going
to be way too long to keep you entertained. in attempts to avoid boring you to death,
i will just tell you about the highlights of our experience!

you are welcome.

1. we were able to go to utah to attend alex and jodi's wedding! oh my goodness, this
wedding was so beautiful! don't ask me why, but i didn't take any pictures.
i am sure kickin' myself now! here are a few though, compliments of my sister-in-law...

don't they just look so in love! i am so happy for them!

our very large family!

 zachary, me, and arika at the luncheon.

my beautiful sister-in-law, arika, and her parade of boys...just kidding!

these are her brothers.

arent they so handsome?

2. all of the averett siblings got together to have a memorial night for their mom.

she passed away 6 years ago almost to this day. they shared stories and memories

about her and everyone made a dish for dinner that reminded them of her.

it was an incredible experience for those of us that never had the chance to know her!

back l to r: arika, alex, jodi, michelle, kelby, me, autumn, and deven.

front l to r: jayden, kloie, papa averett, triston, and brin.

{we skyped/called zachary}

3. i got to go to ephraim and spend time with my family and friends!

 i got to go to lunch with my wonderful parents!

 i helped my brother paint his house.

 and i was reunited with this girl!

 ...and ate way too much junk food. we are really good at that.

4. i was able to see my aunt and cousin when i got back to alabama.

i haven't seen them in almost ten years!

5. my cute boy graduated from asbc!

6. we made the long trek from montgomery to del rio. we stayed at air force bases along
the way and tried to make a vacation out of it. my favorite part was when we stayed in
mississippi. we went to the beach that night and just laid there, cuddling and talking,
while we listened to the ocean waves. i'm so glad i married such a romantacist.

{i could just eat him up!}

this was when we went to the back bay restaurant in gulf port, ms.

story time:

i look at the menu here and decide to get a chicken wrap.

i tell the waitress what i want and she stops and looks at me and says,

"honey, you are at a seafood restaurant.

you have to get some seafood."

{sidenote: i hate seafood.}

i kindly tell her that i am not a fan and i will stick with what i had in mind.

she was very adamant that i had to try some seafood though and wouldn't let it go.

zachary gets after me about being "close minded" when it comes to food.

so after all of her coaxing and persuading and a guarantee to be able to get

something else if i didn't like it, i ordered the special of the day:

mahi mahi topped with shrimp and vegetables.

one bite and i thought, "okay maybe seafood isn't all so bad."

two bites..."this is funny tastin'."

three bites..."i may just hurl."

i can honestly say that i gave it my best shot,

but i just couldn't stomach it.

i didn't want to be rude, so i thought i would just try to bear it.

that is until the lady next to us got up to leave with her husband.

she excused herself and told me almost sternly, that if i didn't like my meal,

i had darn well better get something different because that waitress talked

me into getting what i did.

i don't think i would have done anything about it if she hadn't said something.

zachary found someone and they kindly gave me a different meal.

needless to say, we didn't see our waitress much for the rest of the night.

moral of the story: don't let anyone talk you into getting something that you
know you don't like!

moral two of the story: don't be a push over! it gets you nowhere in life.

7. we are now official texans! we made it to laughlin afb yesterday and so far,

everything is going really well. we took some time to drive around town yesterday and it

is actually a lot better than we were expecting. it feels like we are living in a little mexico!

we can't move into our house for a couple of weeks, but we just found out that we

get a 3 bedroom/2 bath house. we are really excited about all of the room!!

as for now, we will spend our time gorging ourselves with these yummy mexican candies...

and seeing this every night...

-the wife

 p.s. we are looking at getting a puppy. so far, we are leaning most toward one of these

white german shepherds...

your thoughts??

the sunshine state.

this last weekend, we were lucky enough to visit the fabulous state of florida! and by fabulous, i mean sunny, beautiful, warm, and delightful. our friends brigham and chelsea moore and baby andrew came with us to visit one of zachary and brigham's friends from rotc, casey chappell.  he is stationed at hurlburt field and he was kind enough to entertain us. he gave us a tour of the base which was pretty dang sweet.  i don't have any pictures, because i didn't know if it was kosher or not to take any. so i played it safe and now i have nothing to show for it. sorry!

we went to the beach afterwards and loved it so much that we stayed for four hours! the water was a bit chilly, but that didn't stop us.

 {please don't mind the fact that i look like an albino next to my husband. i am self conscious enough as it is.}

this was great. zachary, brigham, and casey buried me and shaped me in to a mermaid. i've never been buried before, but just a word of warning to those that are claustrophobic...don't do it! i'm not claustrophobic, but if anything could make me be, it would be this. it's hard to breath or move because the sand is so heavy. kinda scary!

we spent the rest of the day in a town called destin.

i am now in love with this place. i honestly hope that we get stationed there someday. we ate at a bbq place called hog's breath. *highly recommended* then casey took us to this place on the coast that had a bunch of shops and a live band.

the whole atmosphere was incredible. it's so cool that while some people fly here for spring break to bask in the sun and enjoy the warm weather, we got to do all of that just in one weekend! we definitely experienced the epitome of the florida life...

-the wife

i'm a piranha. they live in the amazon.

so...i know i already posted about the zoo, so this post is going to look like we are some freaky animal lovers or something. but i don't think it i'd be right to go to the worlds largest aquarium and not say a thing or two about it.

first off, atlanta is fabulous. it reminds me a lot of what i would imagine the baby version of new york city to look like. you pull in and there are towering skyscrapers all over with the most beautiful architecture. the charm of this metropolis was overwhelming to me. you head downtown and it looks like someone just plopped these gorgeous parks all over the city. one of these parks {centennial olympic park} was actually our first stop. we packed peanut butter and banana sandwiches and ate here...

{i love this picture}

the park had a really pretty waterfall area too:

it was a little bit rainy, but still beautiful nonetheless.

the only other thing we did in this awesome town was, yes, the aquarium.

it costed about 20 bucks each to get in, but it was so worth it.

 we got to pet sting rays and sharks:

and there were real live pirahnas:

they had a huge variety of animals like otters:

penguins:

octopus:



whales:



and seahorses:

our favorite part though, was the 6.3 million gallon tank that housed whale sharks, zebra sharks, sawfish, leopard whiprays, bowmouth guitarfish,  humphead wrasses and schools of tarpon, pompano and cownose rays, just to name a few.  not to mention, the occasional scuba diver. almost everything in there reminded me of finding nemo, which made it even better!

"let's name the zones, the zones, the zones. let's name the zones of the open sea!"

"i am a nice shark, not a mindless eating machine. if i am to change this image, i must first change myself. fish are friends, not food."

"this one's a little tougher..he either said, 'move to the back of the throat,' or 'he wants a root beer float...'"

we had a lot of fun in georgia. now we can check off another state on our quest to visiting all 50! next stop...florida!

-the wife

that's what i love about sunday.

i think that song paints a pretty good picture of what sundays feel like.

here's what i love about sundays:

going to church

having time to write in my journal

not having to exercise

dinner and games with friends

writing mission buddies

going on walks

naps, naps, and more naps

and a recent favorite: going on picnics with my husband

zachary took me to a {gorgeous} part of base yesterday.

it had trees and picnic tables next to this lake, with swinging chairs.

we planned on eating lunch and reading our books,

but we ended up talking and laughing non-stop for a couple of hours.
it was the perfect sunday activity!

what is your favorite thing to do on sunday?

-the wife

lions and tigers and bears, oh my!

zachary had president's day off, so we spent it at the montgomery zoo!

before we got there, we made a list of things we thought we would see.

this list included a:

lion

double stroller

dip-n-dots

an orangutan

tiger

camel back

bear

chimpanzee

boa constrictor

foreigner speaking a foreign language

baby elephant

an i <3 (insert state) t-shirt

boa constrictor

gorilla

spider monkey

hot dog

peacock

sunburned individual

person eating an ice cream cone

parrot

zebra

golden eagle

camel

child on a leash

we then made a 5 x 5 grid and placed each one of these in a square and played

{zoo bingo!}

i really have never had so much fun at the zoo in my life! we determined that the loser owes a 15 minute back massage, along with having to do the dishes for a whole 2 days.

guess who lost?...yes. me.

after lurking creepily around the lunch tables, trying to see what different people ordered, zachary spotted his final object {a hot dog}. the lame part was that i could have won 3 different ways, but 2 of the animals that i needed, the zoo didn't even have! i tend to get pretty competitive, so i will admit that at first i was a little bitter. that wore off quickly though and we were able to enjoy a cute little train ride.

the good news is: i only have 1 more day of dish duty!

another fun thing we did over the weekend, was go to a mardi gras parade. they threw out candy, mardi gras beads, and moon pies {random!}

we topped off the night with some good ol' cici's pizza.

my family used to go there when i was a kid all the time! it sure brought back some good memories.

well, until next time my friends! sayanora.

-the wife



grateful.

we are still loving it out here in 'bama-ville!
i feel like we have been so tremendously blessed in how easy it was to adjust to all of this.
zachary is loving asbc, despite the long hours.
he gets to do fun stuff like shoot guns at the firing range.
see what it's like to be struck with tear gas.

       {....ok maybe not so fun.}

and yesterday, his flight had a big soccer game.

it was fun to go watch and support him.

i am loving being with him every chance i can.

i actually met a few other wives this week and we've hung out almost every day.

i haven't known them for very long, but they are some incredible girls!

i am amazed at how welcoming they are and at how much they have to offer.

they have been my saving grace out here.

days can get pretty lonely when you are stuck in a hotel room by yourself.

i am so grateful that i was able to meet them and become friends with them,

because they are such wonderful people!

i have really been opened up to the tender mercies of the Lord while being away from utah.

it is easy to overlook how much he blesses me each day.

i thought for sure that i would get here and more homesick than ever!

while i do miss my family and friends a whole lot, i feel like i've been able to stand my ground.

that alone tells me that i am being watched over and cared for everyday.

what are some of your blessings? don't be afraid to spill your guts! :)

-the wife

Valentine's Day

So, I frequently tell people (Sarah) how much it drives me crazy to see things such as this on Facebook, blogs, etc:


"Shnookums, I'm so happy that you are the sweetest little love-bug that I've ever smooched."


or


"Happy Anniversary lover-baby-google-bunches!  I hope to look in to your dreamy eyes for eternity!!!"


or


"I have the hottest husband/boyfriend/fiancé!  I can't wait to kiss him later!! *giggle giggle*"


It seems to me, to do such twitterpated blubbering in front of any creepy and insincere eyes completely cheapens the emotion of love.  Not only that, but I was always one of those folks that felt uncomfortable when others were lovingly-blubbering between each other. Yes, I know, that's MY problem.  If you don't want to hear it, stop reading.  Otherwise, humor me and continue... it will get better, I promise.


So am I going to write a post on Valentine's Day and not say anything about my wife?  No.  In fact, quite the opposite.  For one thing, Valentine's day is about selflessness, and me holding back from telling the world how much my wife means to me is selfish.  Maybe marriage has made me softer.  Maybe my wife has broken my manly shell.  Maybe I have seen the light... I don't know.  Or, maybe it's okay to tell others how much someone means to you every once and a while.  So here it goes...


My heart melts when I wake up in the middle of the night to Sarah wrapping her arms around me.  I'm nearly overcome when I come home to her and see the genuine (always so genuine!) smile that she has to greet me with.  My heart skips a beat when I see her from a distance and realize for the billionth time that she is all mine.  In fact, let me share with you a story.


Today I was walking out to the workout track here at Maxwell Air Force Base with a bunch of flight-mates.  Suddenly a silver car drives by and - in a matter of a few milliseconds - the following thoughts raced through my mind:


Wow, that's a pretty woman driving that pretty car -- Crap!! Zach, you're married and can't think like that anymore -- Oh wait!! -- That's my beautiful wife!  Yes!  Zach, you are married and you CAN think like that!


One of the other guys said, "that girl was smiling lots, who's girl is it?"


Proudly (oh, so proudly) I say rather unintentionally-dreamy, "Mine."


That is just one moment out of a dozen I experience every day with Sarah.  Perhaps the thing I love most about my sweet wife is just knowing how lucky I am to have her.  I know it's cliché, but she is my other half. No, I take that back, she is my other three-fourths!  My life is so much better with her in it.  I will always be grateful for her courage in following me into the wild blue yonder, just so she could be with me forever.  I will always be grateful for her care.  To be blunt - but honest - I will always be grateful for how hot she is too (talk about a self-esteem boost - she picked me!!).


There you have it folks... I've done it.  I've confessed to the world how much I love my wife.  I've shared something special with the masses.  That mass of people could include friends, loved-ones, enemies, and creepy stalker people. But let's be honest, 75% of the reason I wrote this post was for Sarah, 20% for me, and maybe 5% for you.  If that offends you, then you might really be offended by this:  I don't love you nearly as much as I love her.


To all those people that have someone, share with THEM how much you love them.  If the most romantic thing you do today is write on Facebook: "I love my Bear-Bear so so so much I could spit!" - shame on you.


To all those people that don't have someone, let the love-struck fools in the world blubber a little.  I promise, you have the stomach for it even if you don't want to admit it.  Some day it will be your turn and you will be a teency bit ashamed to admit that it's kinda fun. ;)


-the husband

a chance for change.

after 30 excruciating hours in the car, we finally made it here to Maxwell AFB!

we stayed at our cousins' house the first night and loved it!

they are actually my best friend kaitlyn's brother and sister-in-law, but since i am now an

averett, they happen to be my cousins!

that is so cool to me! :)

anyway, we had a good time catching up with them.

the next night we stayed in some little run-down hotel in memphis.

it didn't look run-down on the internet, but let me tell you, looks can be deceiving!

we seemed to manage though.

there's no need for anything more than a bed when i've got my cute boy sleepin' next to me.

the next day it was only five more hours {that felt like a breeze!} of driving and we made it to Montgomery.

while driving in, i became a little nervous of the big city.

there are freeways, buildings, and one-way streets everywhere!

i remember being so anxious about how big everything was when we stopped in memphis.

i found myself looking over my shoulder every couple minutes for some dude with a knife.

or saying a silent prayer that when we got back to our car, it would be all in one piece.

it was a relief being able to just leave the next day.

while staying here though, i have nowhere else to go!

to help with this, zachary and i have spent the last two days just driving around,

catching a glimpse of what the south is all about.

it has been simply delightful!

when you hear the words:

{southern hospitality}

 that is no exaggeration.

people that you have never met are so nice, so friendly, and so excited to

learn about your life!

it's sad to say, but it feels so unnatural.

i don't remember ever feeling like that much in the last 11 years living in utah,

let alone being like that.

so, that is what i am going to do.

from now on, i am stepping out of this shy, invisible bubble that has been around me

since before i can remember.

the one that has been keeping me from meeting so many people with something good to offer.

so...no more awkward silences as i am standing in line at the grocery store.

no more trying to find a seat in public that will keep me secluded from unwanted company.

and certainly, no more trying my best to avoid eye contact from a passerby.

this is goal of mine.

put into writing.

a goal for change and improvement.

i will be sure to let you know how this turns out.

wish me luck!

-the wife

my electronic world.

yay for the iphone!
boo for at&t

i hate at&t.
i don't think i have ever met a person that had decent reception with them.
yes, verizon is getting the iphone this month, but del rio is the only place in the world
that doesn't have data coverage with them!
let's compare:

 = no reception

 = good reception (the only place within a hundred miles)

it wouldn't surprise me if after the iphone comes to verizon,

at&t goes under completely.

we're hoping they will make some major adjustments and try better to

accomodate their customers.

until then, don't get mad if we never talk.

this time, it really isn't my fault!

-the wife

are we there yet?

in only two weeks from today, we will be driving across the country...again.
the day after we got engaged, zachary and i hopped on a plane to florida
to help his brother and sister-in-law move home from selling security systems.
the only flaw in this fabulous vacation was not getting a plane ticket back...

okay, i can't really be honest in saying that, because it was one of the best trips
ever! {despite being in the car for 36+ hours.}

I had a blast meeting my soon-to-be brother and sister-in law and their a-freaking-dorable baby girl:

{kloie}

anyway, call us crazy, but we will be driving to maxwell air force base in montgomery, alabama.

it is estimated to take a whopping 30 hours.

good thing zachary just stocked up on a bunch of new games on his phone, because i

think that is the only thing that will keep me sane!

we are wondering though if any of you have any good suggestions of things to do down south? he will have the weekends off, so we want to go take a look around the area. if you know of any fun places to go or things that we just gotta see, then please let us know!!

-the wife

one good steal of a deal.

today we made one of our very first steps to being grown-ups.

we bought a couch.

not just any couch though.

the perfect couch.

we walked into rc willey hoping to find something in our price range.

that's when we spotted this little beauty:

we fell in love with it instantly.

it was only $599 and we thought we could do that, but wanted to keep lookin'.
we then went to the 'scratch and dent' area of rc willey and let me tell you...

that place is the most amazing place ever invented.

we found this exact couch for only $400!

not only that, but the guy that sold it to us knocked off $50 even!

so for only 350 big ones, we purchased the couch of our dreams.

do you want to know why it's the couch of our dreams?

1. it is a sectional. LOVE them!
2. it's very comfy.

3. can you see how wide those cushions are? = some good cuddlin' with the lieutenant.

4. we loved the colors of the pillows. they will be easy to color coordinate decorations

    for our living room!

5. did i mention it was only $350???

we are super excited about it!

next step...washer and dryer.

any suggestions?

-the wife

integration.

tadah! we decided that it would be more convenient just to blog together.

now you can be updated on both of our lives at the same time!

today marks the 2 week anniversary of our blissful married life.

{and by blissful, i mean absolutely 100% fantastically wonderful}

we were suppose to move to del rio, texas on january 4th.

right now...we are living in north salt lake, utah.

as you can see there is some serious confusion in these two scenarios.

it's a long and complicating story, but the gist of it is:

we will be in utah until february 6th! yay!

this gives us a lot more time to see family and friends, as well as a moment to
breathe and enjoy being together as newlyweds.

i know i've said it before, but being married really is
everything i ever wanted it to be and more.

i'd be lying if i didn't say it is different trying to incorporate two lives into one.

not hard.

just different.

but there is nothing more worth it.

i love being able to snuggle up to my cute boy every night,

and waking up to this face every morning...

delightful isn't it?

he takes such good care of me.

i fall more and more in love with him every day.

i can't believe that i am actually living this life!

-the wife

do you believe in magic?

i sure do now!

to me, magic is waiting your entire life for your wedding day
and having it go perfectly.
magic is being able to spend time with more family and friends
than imaginable and relishing every moment of it.
and lastly, magic is leaving the party that was thrown just for
you and your honey and being ten times more in LOVE than
when the day began.

everything was so wonderful all day long.
i've heard so many times that it can be a stressful day and we may
not even have time to think of each other,
but it wasn't like that at all!
i owe it all to my handsomely incredible husband.

{husband}
        that is so fun to say!!

i have an overwhelmingly extreme feeling of love.
it feels like i am going to burst at the seams any minute now.
this boy that i have been in love with for months is
finally mine forever!!

being married is everything i could ever want and more
and our wedding day will most definitely go down in history as
the most magical day of my life!

{more pictures to follow shortly}

-the wife