top five friday {link up now included!}

i just got back from utah and it was definitely the highlight of my week. along with these 5 things:

1 - having a girl's night with the sister-in-laws. there was only one of us missing. {wish you were there katie!}

{l to r: jodi, me, nikki, arika, michelle, autumn, katie}

{all four of us have a birthday within 2 weeks of each other, so our mother-in-law made us a cake to share!}

we ate dinner at zupa's, glitterfied our toes, and stayed up way too late making girl talk. i sure do miss these girls! i don't know if a day goes by that i don't wish i lived closer to them. i guess it makes times like these that much sweeter.

2 - i played in a soccer tournament while i was in utah and despite it being freakishly hot and exhausting, i had a blast. and to make things even better, we took first place! take that north sanpete.

and i couldn't leave without getting a cheesy picture with the bestie. gotta keep up the tradition!

{2010 - single and a lot more in shape}

{2012 - married and sucking for air every two minutes}

3 - bbq's and good company.

 

{can you see why i love this place so much?}

4 - winger's sticky fingers - homemade style. back when the mr. and i were dating, i met his sister-in-law for the first time and she made us the most divine crepes i've ever had. this girl is a cooking genius. i know her as nikki, but {literally} thousands of people know her as chef in training. pretty cool huh? i feel like a superstar being related to her. anyway, her blog is incredible and i refer back to it often, but i think the recipe that i've made the most and have never gotten tired of is her infamous winger's sticky fingers. seriously, if you want something easy and cheap, you've got to try this recipe.

{for the record, sticky messes do not mesh well with white pants.}

also, for the best homemade baked fries you've ever had, go here. you're welcome.

5 - thunderstorms. we got hit pretty hard here in cheyenne these last two days. we were on tornado watch and flash flood warning for the majority of the time, but luckily we didn't see any of that - just lots of rain and hail. at one point, morgan, zachary and i turned off all the lights in the house, stuck our noses to the door, and just watched. there's nothing like a thunderstorm that will set my nerves on fire, while at the same time leaving me in pure awe.

hope you have a wonderful friday folks!

-the mrs.

p.s. i've had a few people say they want to link up for reals, so grab this button {yay for new and improved buttons!} and fill out the form below, so everyone else can see your stuff! thanks y'all!

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smell the roses.

it's monday and that means it's time for another smell the roses link up! this week's task is to show appreciation for your job. yeah...about that. i still don't have a job here in little cheyenne. and since i was busy with birthday festivities last monday and didn't have time to link up, i'm going to do a little substituting and fulfill last week's smell the roses task: make a bucket list. is that cheating? i hope not. i'd like to think of it as being resourceful. {don't be mad jesssica!}

anyway. *ahem* to the bucket list. on our trip to alabama last year, is when zachary and i started making our bucket list. it's our goal to to have 101 things to do eventually, but here's what we've come up with so far {in no particular order}:

1. go to europe.
2. hike a national park.  {8/27/2011}

{yep, that's us. way down there. bryce canyon, ut}

3. go fishing in alaska.
4. have kids.
5. watch the jazz play in a town other than slc.  {4/9/11}

{jazz vs spurs in san antonio}

6. go to a major league baseball game.
7. read the standard works.
8. go skinny dipping.
9. own a truck.
10. be in a christmas pageant.
11. save enough money in change to buy a ticket to disneyland. {3/3/12}

{$2 in gold dollars, $73.75 in quarters, $22.10 in dimes, $8.35 in nickels, and $5.55 in pennies}

12. visit all 50 states.
13. celebrate new year's eve in times square.
14. go to a professional football game.
15. ride in a taxi cab.
16. go panning for gold.
17. buy a puppy and train it. 
18. bury a time capsule.
19. go to a broadway production.
20. ride in a limo.
21. run a half marathon.
22. see the northern lights.
23. talk with an accent for an entire day.
24. go to a professional soccer game.
25. get married in the temple. {12/28/2010}

{manti, ut temple}

26. go camping  {10/8/2011}

{big bend national park-tx}

27. go on a cruise.
28. carve our names in a tree.
29. get professional massages.  {12/31/2010}
30. teach someone the gospel.
31. go to the hawaiian temple.
32. plant a tree.
33. build a house.
34. go to the circus.  {8/30/2011}

{del rio, tx}

35. plant a garden.
36. go on a mission.
37. ride a train.
38. milk a cow.
39. own a urinal.
40. fund a non-family missionary.
41. achieve our ideal weight.
42. chop down our own christmas tree.
43. go on a 4-wheeling extravaganza.  {7/4/2011}

{ephraim canyon-ut}

44. go to tahiti.
45. build a birdhouse.
46. send a message in a bottle.
47. fly first class.
48. go horseback riding.
49. visit the pike place fish market.
50. go to an ellen taping.
51. ride a gondola.
52. visit a volcano.
53. take a hop to somewhere we've never been.
54. go snorkeling.
55. attend an olympic event.
56. take a shower under a waterfall.
57. take a picture in front of the white house.

this was our list before our trip to hawaii. now, in the last month, we've crossed off 4 more things:

53. take a hop to somewhere we've never been.

31. go to the hawaiian temple.

54. go snorkeling.

6. go to a major league baseball game.

we're making some pretty good headway if i do say so myself! any suggestions on how to fulfill the other 44 slots?

-the mrs.

{link up with me here!}:

top five friday.

1 - my most favorite thing this week was definitely my birthday. is that self-centered at all? probably. but in my defense, it was so fantastic to me because it honestly felt like the first time in a long time that i was able to spend the entire day with the mr. and not have to worry about our finances, work, or whether or not we are wasting time. it just felt really good is all.

2 - sandals. i've been on the hunt for some cute sandals for literally months now. i have this problem called really-fat-feet-that-don't-fit-into-anything and for some reason all the sandals in the world are made for normal size feet. go figure. that was until i found these babies:

 the black ones were only 15 bucks at target too! let the summer begin.

3 - hiking. last weekend, zachary, morgan, and i packed up our things and went for a hike at turtle rock.

it was delightful to say the least. i'm loving the beautiful wyoming weather!

4 - budgeting. i think i'm kind of a freak in the fact that i really like to budget. nay, love to budget. i look forward to payday, not because we get money, but because i get to pay bills and tell our money where to go. we got paid for our move to cheyenne this week and let's just say that i'm on cloud nine about what that money is going to do for us.

5 - the new parachute cd. i'm obsessed with the parachute station on pandora, so when the mr. got the the actual cd for me i about died! i'm glad he knows me so well. just in time for the long drive to utah too!

wishing you a fabulous friday my friends!

-the mrs.



oh, yeah. we went to hawaii.

i know it's been a month since we took our heavenly vacation, but when you don't have a computer, it makes it hard to sort through and edit photos. luckily, the mr. bought us a brand new laptop over the weekend, so all of that changed!

one of the perks of a husband being in the military is being able to fly space-a on military planes. travis afb, near san francisco, is a huge space-a hub and i couldn't stand the thought of leaving california and not taking advantage of that. the up side to flying space-a is that it's absolutely free. the down side is that no flights are guaranteed. after two failed attempts, we were on the verge of just getting on the next plane out of there to anchorage, ak. luckily though, the third time was the charm and we finally made it to our destination - oahu, hawaii. as much as i would love to give you every little detail about our trip {because really, every tiny bit of it was fantastic}, i also don't want to bore you to death. so i'm just going to share my favorite parts:

#1 - waking up from my nap on the plane to one of the majors baking cookies. what the random! yet fantastically awesome.

2 - the honolulu swap meet. best place to buy souvenirs, hands down.

3 - matsumoto's shaved ice. i love shaved ice!

4 - having a beach right outside our cabana.

4 - snorkeling in hanauma bay. this was definitely the highlight of our trip. it made me kinda nervous at first and i was positive that i'd be swept out to sea, but after i got used to it, we found ourselves way past the breakers and into the good stuff. coolest. place. ever.

now, without further ado, here's a video to summarize our trip in pictures. enjoy!

-the mrs.

an instagram birthday.

who has two thumbs and just turned 22? this girl. here's how we celebrated, instagram style:

{i'm sorry if you follow me on instagram. looks like you get a double dose of birthday!}



1 - there isn't anything that makes me happier than packed bags and a new destination in mind. {even if it means packing our suitcases from our suitcases.} this weekend's destination - denver, co.
2 - when we checked in to our hotel, they asked if we would like to upgrade to a suite for $3.50. umm, yes please. air force hotel suites aren't exactly what you would picture as ritzy and glamorous, but they are decent. lucky for us, this particular hotel is brand new, so it was actually pretty nice! besides, you can't complain much when it's only 40 bucks a night.
3 - we stayed up watching the game show network {big fav. in the averett household} and eating red velvet cupcakes to celebrate the eve of my birth. that's how spoiled i am by my husband - he wants to celebrate my birthday when it's not even my birthday yet.
4 - the mr. fed me a bunch of lies all week about how my presents weren't going to come in the mail in time and that he would only have one gift for me and how bummed he was about it. then i woke up to a counter full of presents and was shocked. not only did he lie about the presents, but he also lied about "going into work" last week when he was actually out buying me the new dslr camera i've been wanting for months! {note: i believe that lying is completely acceptable during birthdays and anniversaries. oh, and engagements - that was probably his biggest lie yet.} let me introduce you to calvin the canon. i love him so much already! all i need now is to figure out how to use the thing and i'll be golden.
5 - a birthday in our house can't officially start without a plate of german pancakes. or as they're called at the original pancake house: dutch babies. mm-mmm delish. i'm so glad this place was nearby so we could keep up our breakfast tradition!
6 - i've always wanted to go to an mlb game. in fact, it's on our bucket list. it just so happened that the denver rockies had a game yesterday and military got in for free. could we have asked for anything better? {the answer to that is actually yes - to not get stuck in traffic, making us miss the fly-by and the national anthem. we won't dwell on that though.} we had a blast soaking up some sun, eating ballpark food, and occasionally watching the game. ;)
7 - i've been in dire need of a new wardrobe. thanks to my best friend, h&m, i'm slowly making my way. is anybody else in love with this store?
8 - just when i thought the party was over, cue morgan and stephanie with the most fabulous birthday cake {no, that's not a mini fire in our hands} i've ever had. they sure know how to make a girl feel loved!

this is going to be one birthday that'll be hard to top. i'm so grateful for my sweet husband in making it so magical and for all the birthday wishes from friends and family. 22, here i come!

-the mrs.

top five friday.

#1 - racquetball. wow, has anybody else played this beautiful sport? i'd played once or twice before and got kind of bored and had no interest in ever playing again. then, despite my reluctance, the mr. dragged me into playing with him last saturday. we're now addicted. i think we've played just about every day this week. it is so fun!

#2 - jimmy johns. we were in need of a quick, cheap fix for dinner this week when we spotted a jimmy johns. ironically enough, it was the exact same jimmy johns that we ate at with the mr.'s brother and wife on our trek back from florida a couple years ago. we loved their sandwiches so much that we went again the next day. and bought four loaves of bread to make our own. mmm good.

#3 - antelope. they. are. everywhere. yes, i know this is a weird thing to enjoy, but every time i see one, i can't help but think of the song, 'home on the range'. you know, '...where the deer and the antelope play...'? i remember my mom singing this with us all the time when we were little and on road trips. that song carries a bit of my childhood with it, so whenever i see an antelope, it just takes me back. oh the little joys of life.

#4 - it's a 4 day weekend! the mr. gets memorial day off and they let him have today off as a 'family day' too. honestly, it's been like a month long weekend already, but i'm not complaining. the moment we got here, the mr.'s squadron told him to take it easy until his training starts, so they haven't had him doing a whole lot. i've been enjoying every second of having him home, but sadly, he will be starting again on the 29th. so this is our last weekend of vacation and what a better way to end it than to have 4 days with absolutely no obligations? denver, here we come!

#5 - good friends. we got lucky in california. the mr. was put into a class with some really great people. then those really great people made the trek across the country with us to cheyenne. it's been so much fun to have them here in this new place to make us feel a little bit more at home. literally. our 10 free days of lodging expired this week, so to save money, we are actually living with one of his classmates and what a blessing it has been. i'm so grateful to have such fantastic people in our life!

happy friday my friends.

-the mrs.

p.s. my birthday is in only three days!! i can hardly contain my excitement. :)

wild hair.

in attempts to make things look casual when i went to talk to the pharmacist at albertson's on monday, i found myself filling my shopping cart with random objects. i figured that if i had a full cart, i wouldn't look so desperate in wanting a job and it would look more like i just 'happened' to come across the pharmacy. i don't know how well it worked, but i ended up going home with a lot of things i didn't need - like hair dye. but boy, it sure made for a fun time that night.

it had to have been 10:30 or 11 when i announced to the mr. that i was going to do it - i was going to color my hair dark brown. and i was actually really excited about it. i was only 5 minutes into it when, with dye dripping down face, i made a cry for help. good thing i have the best husband in the world that doesn't hold it against me when i make him stay up until 1 in the morning to color my hair. what would i ever do without him?

{Interjection by the Mr: I actually hired someone who just happened to look exactly like me to accomplish this task. The creep put on my clothes and even fooled Sarah into thinking it was me. Of course, I wouldn't be caught dead doing something so not manly. So here's a shout-out to my creepo look-alike who single handedly allowed me to maintain my manhood. Thanks.}

so, what do you get when you mix this:

with a box of 4 dark brown natural from loreal paris? behold:

and i'm loving it! here's to trying new things friends.

-the mrs.

p.s. the bestie is hosting a giveaway and i'm sure she'd be delighted if you stopped by. plus, there are goodies involved, so it's a win-win situation!

letter to me.

i came across an adorable blog a couple weeks ago called lovely little things. jessica is a fantastic writer and has a link up called 'smell the roses'. every week she gives you a task to do - something small that will help you appreciate your life and...well...stop and smell the roses. i honestly think it's one of the most creative link ups i've ever seen! this week's task was to write a letter to your younger self. here's mine:

dear sarah,

there are a billion things i could tell you right now that would make your life ten times easier. not because you have a hard life, but because you stress. over. everything. that's our first item on the agenda - stop worrying. you're going to make it to college, despite the swearing off boys periodically, you will be married to a wonderful man, and you have a family that loves you.

speaking of family - stop acting too good for them.

there will come a day when you look forward to and cannot wait for the few times in a year that you get to be with them. they love you. especially mom and dad. if you took a moment and stopped complaining about the sleepovers you can't have and the seemingly ridiculous curfews {which, let's be honest, really weren't that bad} you're told to keep, you'd see how much they do for you. think about all the sports games they've been to just to support you, the many chauffeuring trips that they've taken to provo for you to go shopping, all the papers they've helped you write since you're so terrible at them, and much much more. tell them how much you appreciate them. go out of your way to spend time with them.  one day, you'll regret not doing these things.

this one is important so listen up: don't care what people think about you. i cannot stress this enough. you'll look back at your life and want to kick yourself for being so timid sometimes. you may not be the most popular girl in school or the prettiest, but you're worth just as much as those that are. be confident and stop trying to fit in. be your own you!

also, don't worry about not making the softball team in high school. {not to be rude, but you're just not that good.} you'll end up playing soccer that season and find that's where you belong anyway.

soccer will bring you some of the most happiness throughout your high school times and will give you some of the greatest friends. just promise me this - that you'll run a few extra heart attacks during practice, so you don't end up to be such a fat lard!

next up, the first boy you truly fall for - just keep walking. it'll save yourself two and a half years of waste and heartache. and spoiler alert: he ends up going bald. the man you should really be concerned about won't come into your life for a couple years. be patient. he'll come. and he'll make you so grateful that it didn't work out with any of the others. in the meantime, remember that you are a strong and independent woman and your happiness isn't built on boys.

finally, don't hold grudges, don't let jealousy have a place in your heart, and be original. if you can accomplish these three things, you will have it all. i can't wait for you to see the fantastic life you are going to have, the pure love that you will experience, and the happiness that awaits you.

love always,

sarah