flashback.

let me take you back to april 10, 2010:

it was a rather warm day for spring in cache valley, utah.

i was here with my family, visiting my grandma in paradise.

{yes, that is the name of a town. and yes, it is just as heavenly as the name suggests.}

i woke up that morning so excited/nervous for this day.

i showered and got ready and tried my best to look perfect.

why do you ask?

i was going on a date.

i had butterflies that were as big as the moon.

i wasn't sure what to expect from this guy.

i had actually heard a couple weeks before that he was interested in another

girl, but i secretly hoped and prayed that he'd drop her like a hot potato.

i was already twitterpated over him.

we met at the mall. {romantic right?}

he took me to a cute little toy store where we picked out the coolest

kite that we could find. {a shark...awesome!}

we spent an hour or so at the park trying to fly the thing, but that is nearly

impossible to do when there is no wind.

so we gave up and did something cooler.

he took me on a motorcycle ride.

it was dreamy.

being able to wrap my arms around him was like heaven on earth.

he took me up logan canyon and we hiked to this weird little concrete building.

we stayed up there for hours talking and laughing.

we hadn't even been together for a day and i felt like i'd known him my whole life!

then our stomachs began to growl.

we pulled ourselves away from bliss and hit up the cutest thai restaurant that

you ever did see.

he was so charming as he taught me how to write my name in cambodian

on our plastic table cloth.

we topped off the night playing cards.

the loser had to make a trip to ephraim.

i won.

that was the first of many trips to ephraim for him actually.

and now a year later, i never thought i'd be lucky enough to be married to this boy.

yes, that's right.

this "boy" happens to be my cute zachary.

i can still remember that date like it was yesterday.

i'm bringing all of this up because this last sunday marked the one year anniversary of

that life changing date. {i know sunday was forever ago, but i haven't had internet this whole week!}

in celebration, we went on a date on saturday that just might have exceeded the

awesomeness of that first one.

we started it off by going to the san antonio LDS temple.

this temple was beautiful!

i loved the waterfall out front.

it was the perfect start to a wonderful day! 

next we went to dinner at a thai restaurant.

we decided to make this a tradition for every april 10th.

i had the best curry that i have ever had in my life here.
and you can't have dinner without dessert.

we went to tcby and got frozen yogurt!

fyi: cotton candy yogurt + sour gummy worms = heaven

if there is one thing that zachary and i are addicted to, it would be frozen yogurt.

while living in salt lake, we went there every day for a week!

it will get you hooked.

last, but not least, we were able to go to the spurs/jazz game!

we searched literally everywhere we could think of for jazz shirts in san antonio.

we had actually called around the week before and were told that a store in the mall

had them, but when we showed up they acted like we were crazy.

so we got creative and made our own t-shirts.

we were pretty proud.

we got a lot of weird looks.

i'm not sure if it was because of the ghetto shirts or because we were the only

jazz fans in the entire arena.

i would cheer when we made a basket and it was so quiet, that for

a split second, my heart stopped because i thought i was doing something wrong!

it was a lot of fun though.

to top off the night, we stayed at randolph afb.

we called to make a reservation and the only room they had

left was a v.i.p. suite.

darn... {not!}

we helped ourselves to all the drinks we wanted.

it's crazy how fast time flies, but i'm grateful that i will

always have zachary as a constant in my life.

here's to you babe.

thanks for a year of pure joy.

-the wife

at a standstill.

for over two years now, i have been dead set on becoming a pharmacist.

i love math and science, but i don't do blood.

pharmacy falls nicely under both these stipulations.

along with that, every pharmacy employee has told me that the working hours

are fantastic. {huge plus if wanting to raise a family one day}

and i will be honest, the pay for a pharmacist isn't one bit bad either. 

but now...i'm kind of starting to have my doubts as to whether or not i should

keep pursuing this goal of mine.

i'm struggling to find a program that is possible for me to do online and

i'd be lying if i said i wasn't nervous to hold people's lives in my hands everyday.

i feel pretty lame to have been out of high school for nearly three years and

now i am basically back to square one.

i want to do something that i am passionate about.

something that will make me be excited to go to work!

something i can actually see myself doing...

the problem is, finding that something.

i've stooped as low as taking those tacky "which degree is right for you" quizzes and

googling "the perfect career", but surprisingly {or not surprisingly} they did nothing.

i guess what i am wondering here, is how did you pick your career?

how did you find the one degree that you knew would fit you like a glove?

i'm willing to accept all the advice i can get...

-the wife

an overflow of reflection.

i had a dream last night.

in this dream, i walked into a room and i saw my friend feleicia.

feleicia is on an lds mission right now, so i was very confused as to why she was here.

she told me that she came back early because she wanted to

catch up and talk and see how i was doing.

as we began our conversation, in walked two more of my friends, shandi and stephanie.

they are on missions as well, so i was shocked!

they said that they were given permission to take a break from their missions

because they wanted to come see me too.

i told them about my wedding and how i couldn't have asked for a more perfect day. 

i showed them pictures and said over and over how i wish they could have been there.

i talked about moving to alabama and how scared i was, but what a
rewarding experience it ended up being.

i told them how much i miss them and that we needed to have a girls' night soon!

and then i woke up.

sometimes there are dreams that you wake up from and you don't think twice about.

it's easy to forget about them and move on with your day.

this wasn't one of those dreams.

i woke up feeling almost sad over how much i miss my friends.

not just feleicia, shandi, and stephanie, but lacey, emily, kaitlyn,

jena, amie, and alyssa too.

this isn't meant to be a "woe-is-me" kind of post.

i do miss them a lot, but i am here to tell you why i miss them really.

these are some of the most incredible girls you could ever meet in your life.

i have known these 9 girls since i was 11 or 12 years old.

we have been stuck together like glue since.

sure, we have had our fair share of drama.

what group of girls hasn't?

but i can't begin to tell you all the memories i have of decorating each other's

lockers after school for a birthday.

or going to pollies brainfreeze and staying for hours talking and laughing.

or all the basketball/football games we've been to together.

or trying to watch a movie, but ending up talking the entire time instead.

or going to california for spring break and still wondering how we made it back alive.

these girls are a huge part of my history, of my life.

it hit me harder than ever this morning, how much they really mean to me.

we have graduated junior high, high school, and college together and i have

seen them go on to do great things.

4 of these 9 girls are currently going to school to receive their bachelor's.

i know a lot of women who stop after they get their associate's.

sometimes even before then!

they are smart and motivated and will be a great asset in their career someday.

the other 5, are currently serving lds missions.

nobody is forcing them to do this.

they made this choice and a righteous one at that.

i am grateful for their examples in wanting to spread the gospel to the world.

my point in sharing all of this, is to tell you how deeply humbled i am to have been

blessed with such wonderful people in my life.

elder jeffery r. holland said in a talk once, "...not all angels are from the other
side of the veil. some of them we walk with and talk with—here, now, every day."

these girls have been angels in my life.

i firmly believe that we were meant to be friends for a reason and there is a
purpose in us in being close for this long.

i am grateful for each one of them and the impact that they have had on me.

i can't say that my dream was sent from God as an inspiring message to help me realize 

how blessed i am, because i also had a dream that zachary and i rode horses to
salt lake city...certainly not your idea of something that is heaven sent.

whatever the source though, whether it be God or randomly firing neurons, i do feel His

love each and every day to having been given the angels in my life that i call friends.

   

-the wife

a taste of heaven.

picture this:

you are sitting with your husband watching t.v. and you get an overwhelmingly
intense craving for a candy bar. {this seems to happen to me quite often}
so you go to the front desk of the hotel that you have been staying in
for eight freaking days now {boo!} and check out your options.

*payday, reeses, kit-kat, snickers, zero bar, twix, almond joy, etc.*

there are so many kinds, which one do you pick?
uh, hello...pick the zero bar!
despite the fact that they have been around for almost 100 years,

i just had one of these babies for the first time in my life.

let me tell you...it was like heaven in my mouth!

i don't think there is anything better than a

caramel/almond/peanut nougat covered in white fudge.

go ahead.

try one.

it's calling your name.

you know you want to.

and just a piece of advice: it is delightfully scrumptious when frozen.

-the wife

the next food network star.

i am a bad cook.

in fact i would venture off to say that i don't even deserve a title with the word cook in it.

i am not a cook.

now with that said, can i confide in you a little bit?

the idea of not being able to cook stresses me out. a lot.

to be a great wife, you are suppose to be a great cook. am i right?

what kind of wife burns pre-cooked bread sticks anyway?

*eyes looking around shifty/guilty-like*

comparing yourself to others is like that "one step forward, two steps back" concept.

just when you think you are doing alright in something, you may see someone else doing

it better and it topples any self-esteem you just built up...plus some.

well that is a problem that i have even in my own house!

zachary is an in-freaking-credible cook.

put him in a kitchen and he is bound to amaze you every time.

i am not saying this because i am resentful about it by any means.

i actually really enjoy it.

he made me steak for valentine's day and for

the first time in my life, i didn't have to use steak sauce because it was that good!

my only frustration in this, is feeling like i can't make a meal
half as well as he can.

so...i am here to share with you a couple secrets.

i may not be a brilliant chef with 30+ years of experience like rachael ray and i may

not be able to make an appetizer, entree, and dessert in an hour

like bobby flay, but i sure can follow a recipe!

of course i love the food network.

who wouldn't love something that has millions of dollars invested into it,

for your entertainment?

but i just want to give credit where credit is deserved to two of my personal favorite  food

blogs that i believe are two of the best ones out there!

 #1. HOWE TO COOK

i don't even remember how i came across this blog.

i'm sure i was blog-stalking a friend {which friend, i can't even remember} and voila!

 i have been following it ever since.

they are really good at keeping up on their blog, which is nice.

especially when you are in the mood to try something new.

another plus is that they happen to be from my hometown!

holla!

#2. CHEF IN TRAINING 

 

this one is my very favorite!

the best part about it, is that this blog is actually run by my sister-in-law, nikki.

i think that we are on the same page a lot,

because she puts up recipes of things that

always look good to me.

in fact, last year when i was living on my own at utah state university,

i am pretty sure that this blog is what

kept me alive!...i'm being serious.

p.s. just for starters, try the wingers chicken recipe and the eclair cake.

you won't regret it!

i'm not sure that these opinions have much validation coming from someone who

just confessed how bad of a cook they are,

but i hope you will check these blogs out anyway!

i've realized that the hardest part of cooking is

knowing what to cook, so if you are anything like me,

they will help you out more than you can imagine.

also, if you have any recipes that you love and want to help a sista

out, please comment below with the recipe!

please and thank you.

good luck with your cooking adventures!

-the wife

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