Homecoming

My brother Brad came home from his mission this week and we are thrilled to have him home! He has changed but he’s still the same Brad. My mom was so excited to have him back and I can’t believe two years has gone by! Mostly because my life hasn’t really changed much since he left. Haha. He is coming home to a lot of changes though so hopefully he will adjust okay. Welcome Home Brad!

Memory

I've been transferring old pictures to the new computer and I came upon this one. It made me smile. I am really good at frolicking. Just saying.

Nauvoo 2005

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Last week we celebrated our Wedding Anniversary and I cannot believe we've been married for 3 years!

3 Favorite Things About My Marriage

1) TIME. Austin and I are so fortunate right now to spend a lot of time together. We drive to work every morning, meet up for lunch almost every day, and pretty much have most evenings and weekends together. It hasn't always been like this and I know it won't always be like this, but right now, I am LOVING it!

2) LAUGHING. Austin makes me laugh every day and most of the time he isn't even trying. A lot of people don't get to see his crazy, silly side but I have definitely needed it through our marriage. I can get so serious and stressed about things and he is exactly what I need to loosen up and move on.

3) FUTURE. As content as I am with our life right now, I am looking forward to what the future brings as well. Whether that will be more schooling, moving, different jobs or starting a family, it’s exciting to know that our life could be changing a lot. Knowing that I have someone to go through everything with is both comforting and wonderful.

St. Patty's Day

St. Patricks Day has always been kind of a big deal in my house. Since my mom is from Ireland, she always made a big deal of the holiday. This year, I hosted the festivities at our place and it did not disappoint! We had Limeade, Pistachio pudding cake and Irish Stew. My family LOVES Irish Stew! It doesn't look that appetizing and not everyone likes it, but we grew up on it and we crave it! Yum Yum!! Hope everyone had a happy St. Patrick's Day!

Little Fun

One of the things that made me fall in love with Austin was watching how good he was with kids! I found these pictures on our computer tonight and thought they were adorable! Austin just hanging out with our niece and neighbour.

WOW I'm terrible at blogging...

So I started this blog to treat it like a journal and I think it's pretty obvious that I was never great at keeping a journal. Oh well, I'm working on it.

Christmas this year (or I guess now last year) was a little different. The Gough family decided to spend it in Phoenix, AZ as they have recently purchased a home down there. In 25 years, I have NEVER been away from home for Christmas. Not just home, but I have never NOT been in Calgary for Christmas so this was a big change for me. Also, for those who don't know, Austin and I have the same Birthday (December 23) so not only was I missing Christmas with my family, I was missing my birthday too. I really didn't know how my family would take me not being around for the Holidays but luckily, I have a brother on a mission that is coming home later this year so I kept saying, "Next year everyone will be home and you will have me for the ENTIRE holidays!" That seemed to keep the peace for a little bit.

Anyway, so before Austin and I headed down to Phoenix, we celebrated our Birthday/Christmas early with my family. It was a little strange to be opening gifts a week early but it was a fun evening with a delicious dinner!

Then Austin and I headed to Phoenix to meet up with the rest of the family. I will admit, it was really nice to be walking around outside in a t-shirt late in December. The weather was beautiful! It was just such a weird experience for me not to see an ounce of snow anywhere and to not have to bundle up if you left the house. We did A LOT of shopping. You know its just not fair that the States have WAY better shopping then Canada! It is so much cheaper too! I really don't have many pictures from the trip because we literally went shopping EVERY day!

One of the reasons Christmas was in Phoenix this year was because the Miami Heat were playing the Phoenix suns on our birthday. (Austin took it as a sign) If you didn't read my previous post about Austin's Lebron James crush let me just repeat, he is OBSESSED with this man! SO him and his brothers bought tickets to the game and he was finally able to see his Lebron play. I was really excited for him because he came home so happy and he just kept saying how amazing of a player he is. Haha. And for our birthday Matt, Jess and Sadie surprised us all by coming down to Phoenix earlier then planned which was awesome to have everyone down there!

Can you see the excitement in their faces? Haha

For Christmas this year Austin and I decided not to do gifts because our gifts were going to Phoenix and going shopping and going to the Heat game but Austin had a surprise up his sleeve. On Christmas Eve we were doing some last minute shopping and Austin and Matt wanted to do their own thing and so Jess and I did ours. We said we would meet back at the Apple store in an hour. So we went to our first store and Jess was taking forever! Which I later found out she was trying to keep me in the store for awhile. When we finally left we were walking right by the Apple store where I see Austin and Matt carrying big boxes. They see me and quickly turn around and I try to pretend I didn't see them because I realize that it's probably a gift for me. So the girls continue to the next store and I run to the back just beaming with excitement because I didn't want to show my excitement to anyone and ruin the surprise. I have wanted a Mac for so long but I didn't think we would get one. SO I continue to pretend nothing happened.

Christmas morning was pretty low key and when we were all finished, Austin said there was one more gift for Sadie and could I go get it. I knew it was my MAC and I was so excited to open it! Afterwards, they asked if I had saw them, and I admitted I did. I felt bad for Austin because he really wanted me to be surprised but I was excited just the same and loved him for getting it for me!

Christmas afternoon was spent by the pool, which was so weird and then The Dallas Cowboys were playing the Arizona Cardinals, and I have never been to an NFL game so we tried to get tickets. Us Canadians really underestimated how hardcore Football is in the States. I couldn't believe how big the stadium was, how big the parking lot was, and how many people were around! The tickets were selling for way more then we wanted to pay so we didn't end up going which was too bad but I have a cute jersey with Austin's name on it!

Beautiful Arizona Sunset

We were welcomed home with a beautiful snow storm and -30 degree weather but I actually missed it! It was really nice to get away but it just didn't feel like Christmas to me. I love being home for the Holidays and going out in the cold and seeing the white snow on Christmas day. The weather is a pain in the butt and rest of the time, but for Christmas I love it! If we want to go away for the Holidays another year, I would probably go after Christmas instead.

We are so thankful to the Gough's for providing a beautiful place to stay and for hosting Christmas in AZ this year. I'm really excited for many more trips of Sunny weather to come. It was not very much fun heading back to work right away but after all that shopping I need to! Haha. Now I need to start working on my New Year's Resolutions!!

Update

I have not updated the blog in a long time but that's because there really isn't much to blog about.

I could talk about how I feel Spring and Fall just blended together, skipping over Summer. (I love Fall colours by the way) I'm trying to convince Austin we need to move somewhere warmer. I could talk about how we haven't cleaned our fish tank in months, but somehow it's starting to look cleaner on its own and that the only time they get fed is when our 11/2 year old friend Brooklynn comes over to feed them. Austin keeps asking for another dog--I point to the fish tank as my answer. I could talk about how Austin is insisting we need a bigger TV for the NBA season after he saw a clip of the Miami Heat training camp. Or that he has a somewhat disturbing man crush on Lebron James. We're working through it. I could talk about the Glee/Britney episode and how it bothered me that the choreography wasn't the same choreography used in her music videos. Anyone else notice that? Just me? I know I'm weird. I could talk about how every other day I tell Austin I really want to learn to play the guitar. I have yet to do anything about it. Or how I am falling in love with photography and my niece has become my number one target. Most of the shots are of her running away from me. She doesn't like to sit still. I could also talk about how I haven't been to the gym in months. Neither has Austin. He continues to lose weight; I do the opposite. Figures. I could also talk about all the books I have read in the last two months (21) because I have had nothing to do at work. I got a new job. I could talk about how when I watch The Biggest Loser I tear up feeling so bad for these people, and yet I'm eating a bowl of popcorn or a plate of cookies as I watch it. Kinda pathetic eh? Or I could talk about how much TV I watch and that I have over a 100 recordings I don't have time to see. PVR/DVR, you have saved my life. Or I could talk about how I haven't done my hair in weeks. I let it dry naturally after my shower which is frizzy with weird half curls. It's as cute as it sounds. And I could talk about how Austin refuses to lift or clean anything now because he has a really good excuse. He has a hernia. Like I said, not much to talk about.

Side note: I'm thinking of getting bangs or lots of layers in my hair. Thoughts???

ObSeSsEd

I can't stop listening to this song! I get a lot of weird looks when I am dancing like crazy in my car during traffic, but I don't care!

Mom's Wedding

On July 30, 2010, my mom got married to Grant Clayton. It was a beautiful wedding and the weather was perfect!! It was a nice, small, intimate wedding and here are some pictures from the big day, courtesy of my Aunt Lindsay...

My Grandpa McStravick walking my mom down the aisle

Even Brad made it to the wedding

The Ranch in Fish Creek Park

Happily married

New blended family

Backstreet Boys

Saw these guys last night. LOVED it! It may have been my third time seeing them in concert. First time was when I was in Grade 6. Thirteen years ago. I never thought that when I was 24 years old I would be seeing another Backstreet Boys concert. Oh the memories it brought back of teenage years! Brian is still my favourite. Still know the words to their songs after so many years. The dance numbers weren't like they used to be but give the guys a break... they're in their mid-thirties!