Back from the dead

Hey remember that one time I had a blog? I do... barely. Sorry that I have completely abandoned this thing... although I'm sure no one reads it anyway. I am going to try to be better.

A lot has happened in the mean time! Here are some pictures to show what we have been up to.

We bought a house which we LOVE!

This is the tree in our backyard.

We went to many Utah football games.

 We painted us a kitchen table.

We got a cute housewarming present from my mother-in-law.

I painted a rug.

We played pickleball in the freezing cold because we love it so much.

My little sister got married.

We went to Logan for an anniversary/Valentine's Day getaway...

Ate at the best pizza place EVER...

Went to the Logan Temple...

Went to Hardware Ranch and went on a sleigh ride to see the elk.

(Said elk.)

Oh and a week ago we got baby chicks! We love our little babies so much already.

Oh yeah and did I mention that Sam and I both started graduate school? And got fairly significant callings in our ward? He is the Ward Employment Specialist and I am the Young Women's President. Needless to say, our lives have been kind of crazy lately... but we are loving it!

Williams Family Vacation

Last month we went on vacation with Sam's family. We went to Ogden and stayed in a condo at Powder Mountain. We boated, played lots of games, went to the Hill Aerospace Museum, and just enjoyed one another's company!

Sam's wonderful Utah "drum and feather" creation on the beach of Pineview Reservoir.

Sam's second creation: a fish.

Sam and I at the Hill Aerospace Museum.

In my next life, I am going to be an aerospace engineer. I think airplanes are seriously cool.

This plane is HUGE - I love it!

Lake Powell

Sam and I just spent 4 days at the lovely Lake Powell. We went with my family and it was a BLAST! Going to Lake Powell is a trip that we always look forward to. Water-skiing, surfing, playing cards, water volleyball, eating, relaxing, and sleeping under the stars... could life get any better than that? I think not.

The Rincon.

Out on a beautiful night ski.

Me in paradise.

Sam tearing it up.

Sam put a towel around my head to try to keep my hair from whipping me in the face.

A bit sun burnt.

Love this girl.

Day 2.

Me skiing on GLASS. It was glorious.

Day 3.

Seriously, could life get any better than that?

Sam skiing on glass.

Day 4.

My sister is the best.

Houseboat.

My dad trying to barefoot. He's legit.

Garret and Lex.

Lexa getting some serious air.

My hair out of control, as usual.

Smoke from the fires on the drive home.

We are so glad we got to go to Lake Powell. It was so fun to spend time with my family. We love them so much!!

We Graduated!

Well... Sam and I have officially graduated from college! Okay, I guess I have some classes this summer... and then graduate school in the fall... but still. I was able to walk with my friends and husband and it was wonderful!

Us at Commencement Friday morning. So much fun to be able to graduate alongside my best friend!

There were a lot of graduation ceremonies to attend: my Convocation for the College of Health, Commencement, and Sam's Convocation for the School of Business. Graduation ceremonies are not the most exciting things ever, but all the delicious food and time spent with friends and family definitely made up for it. It was such a great weekend and I feel so blessed to have such wonderful people in my life who are so supportive of Sam and me.

The Nethery's, my friends from Colorado, came all the way to see me graduate. They are the best!

My buddies Melissa (left) and Kelsey (middle). I absolutely adore these two ladies... they definitely helped me get through many long and boring classes!

After Sam's Convocation... doesn't he look so handsome?!

The After-Party: This is the DELICIOUS carrot cake Sam's mom, LuAnn, made for us. So cute!

I got in!

You are now looking at a future Registered Dietitian... I got into my graduate school program! Yay! I am SO excited! And so relieved. Before I found out I was having nightmares almost every night.

These are the flowers Sam brought home for me the day I found out I got in... isn't he just the sweetest?!

Here is how it went down. I actually found out about 2 and a half weeks ago... but I haven't really been allowed to say anything. Why you ask? So the program at the University of Utah is pretty competitive... they only take 13 new students each year (and of course this year they had more applicants than usual... around 70 or so). Well, the students they knew they wanted they accepted without any interview (I was one of them - yay!). And I found this out because the Director of the program is in my Bootcamp class and she called me and told me I got in (it has been very nice to have that connection). BUT, some of their picks that they weren't quite sure about were still being interviewed until the end of last week. So I couldn't really say anything in case any professors or other students involved found out and had not been interview/notified yet.

Anyway, I am just so excited I got in! I have so many plans and ideas for the future and now I will be able to put them into action! So it's official... beginning in August I will be a graduate student at the University of Utah, getting my Master's in Nutrition. It is a 2 year program and it will be a challenge but I am ready for it! I am ready to take on the world.

The Big 23

I am about a week late but last Tuesday was my 23rd birthday. I can't believe I am 23... where has the time gone?!?! I had a good birthday. It was pretty low-key and relaxing, which I really enjoyed. The night before my birthday, Sam's mom (LuAnn) treated the family to Pizza Factory to celebrate. I have been to Pizza Factory for 3 years in a row now for my birthday... what can I say, I really like pizza! And their breadsticks of course.

Love this guy :)

I got to spend the day of my birthday with this girl! Erin is one of my very best friends. We were roommates our first year at the U and became best friends! She just recently (last August) got back from a mission in Denmark and is now attending the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. I am sad she doesn't live nearby but I am so glad she was able to come visit for spring break! Erin just got engaged and I got to go wedding dress shopping with her while she was visiting... so fun! I had never been wedding dress shopping with anyone before (just when I went for myself) so I was really excited to go. Plus we found her a beautiful dress that she is going to look STUNNING in!

I really had a great birthday and I am so grateful for all the wonderful people I was able to share it with. I look forward to another incredible year to come!

Masters of Bread Making

Last Saturday Sam and I decided that we wanted to try to make homemade bread. We were getting tired of store-bought bread so we thought we would give it a shot. We wanted to make somewhat healthy bread and found a recipe for Multigrain Bread on ourbestbites.com. We pretty much use their recipes for EVERYTHING... all of their stuff is fantastic! And this recipe certainly was no exception.

Of course, making this bread was like a whole-day ordeal, but it was totally worth it! Sam and I were nervous because we put so much effort into the bread and we were going to be really disappointed if it didn't turn out well.  It seriously turned out great and exceeded our expectations... so much so that we ate almost an entire loaf after it was done baking! Haha.

Doesn't it look so yummy??

As an added bonus, you do not need a breadmaker to make this bread! Which is a plus for people who don't have one. We actually do have one but we don't use it very much.

Anyway, Sam and I have made some different types of bread lately (rolls, banana bread, and this multigrain bread) and they have turned out REALLY GOOD so we like to think we are bread-making professionals now. Or maybe we are just really good at following recipes :).