Hi Baby, I love you

Hey there my sweet baby girl,


It's been a while since I've written anything to you. I really love to write, but I usually write when life is hard. When I'm sad or confused. When I'm depressed or feeling alone. When you first joined our family I had all of those emotions so I wrote non stop. It helped me clear my mind and feel a little more sane. None of those adjectives describe my life right now, so I haven't felt the need to write as much. I am so happy! Being your mom has changed my life and brought me more happiness and joy than anything I could ever imagine.

Watching you learn and grow right before my eyes has been amazing! You are learning new "tricks" every day and it's so fun to play around with you. You now know how to "come and get me" and chase me around the room with a grin and a squeal. You just learned how to wave "bye bye" and laugh and yelp at everything. I really could just be with you all day when you're in a good mood and never get bored.

Your personality is shining through more and more and you're such a goofball. You love people and new environments and attention. When you're mad you make sure we all know it and you're already starting to throw temper tantrums. I know you just get frustrated and overwhelmed sometimes, and they are pretty funny to watch.

Thank you for being such a sweet baby and my best buddy. I love spending every day with you and I'm excited to see where our life takes us. I love you Kenners.

xoxo
Mom

Goofy giggles

Today was a good day

 Mckenzie and I danced and sang along with Aladdin 

 And then we goofed off and played around on the floor for an hour. I would chase her and she would chase me. We laughed and yelled and had so much fun just playing around. 

Bath time consisted of more giggles and games and this cheesy smile. And bedtime we sang songs and laughed some more. I throughly enjoyed being Mckenzie's mom today. Letting loose, ignoring my phone and chores and just playing around with my goofy baby was the b.e.s.t. best. 

Valentine's Day Thru the Years

Out on my run this morning my mind went backwards to the last 10+ years of Valentine's Day spent with various people and boys and friends. Here are a few that came to mind

Baby love Valentine's Day 

Elementary school. 5th grade. A boy had a crush on me and gave me frog figureines and a bag of chocolate kisses. get it?? Kisses?? Of all the candy he could have chosen.... It's like he totally wants to kiss me! (Thank you to the mother of that boy for picking out the sweet gift because let's be honest, that boy probably had no idea what was in that bag) I think I still have those frogs somewhere. 

My First Real Valentine's Day

Let me set the very romantic scene for you- 8th grade. After school dance. School lockers. This boy CH took me to his locker, pulled out a chocolate rose and asked me to be his girlfriend. It was very sweet. I said yes and we HELD HANDS  down the hall until our English teacher saw us. We went back to the dance and slow danced as boyfriend/girlfriend. It was all very scandalous. Later that afternoon/evening we talked on the phone and I loved every minute of it. 

The Valentine's Day that Started it All

Who knew that an afternoon spent at Walmart with CG would change my whole teenage life? We were friends, he was off limits because my bestfriend liked him that last year (sound like high school? it was) but that day we decided we really didn't give a crap. I liked him, he liked me. I think we had our first kiss that day. #sorrynotsorry would have been the hashtag I used if hashtags were a thing back then. It was "forbidden" and yet we were on cloud 9. If I had known that because of this day I would lose my best friend and eventually all my friends and everything would end with a broken heart...I still don't know if I would have changed a thing. 

My Permanent Valentine 

2010. 5pm. Olive Garden. Bart gave me a necklace that said "eternity" (get it?? Because he wants to be with me forever???) and a house plant. We had been officially dating for 5 months and I was totally in love with him. Now that he "gets the milk for free" he hates celebrating Valentine's Day. But that's ok. I'm still totally in love with him. 

*and every year, through boyfriends and heart break and marriage, my dad has taken me and my sisters out for our own Valentine's Day date. It's one of my favorite traditions* 

3 Years

Bart and I celebrated our third anniversary on Wednesday. And by celebrate I mean text each other funny memes all day since I was out of town for work. I didn't get home until really late Wednesday night. I was exhausted. I walk in to see flowers and a darling note on the table. It said the sweetest things and I may or may not have cried as I read it. It defines the last 3 years perfectly. Bart is the most sensitive and caring person I know. He is so thoughtful and sweet and I love every minute of it! He knows exactly what I need to feel better.

Here are a few posts looking back on our wedding and our anniversaries. I can't say enough good things about the man I married, so I will just leave it at that!

Wedding Day Pics

One Year Later

Year Two

"Watch and Learn"

I woke up nice and early this morning. I love waking up early on Sundays. It gives me time to study and read with the peace of the morning.

I was reading a talk from this past General Conference "Marriage: Watch and Learn" by Elder L. Whitney Clayton. It was my favorite talk and I love re-reading it. It makes me so thankful to have a marriage similar to what Elder Clayton describes. I've only been married 2 years, but I would like to think the happiness Bart and I share will always be there.

Throughout the talk Elder Clayton talks about happy and successful marriages. I'd like to add my 2 cents to the mix.

"Watch and learn: the best marriage partners regard their marriages as priceless."

To this would I add that not only is marriage priceless, but it's endless! To remember your marriage as an eternal bond makes living day to day a little easier. Bart puts it this way: I know if we can just get through this life together, that's the hard part. We'll be perfect beings in heaven and that's when our marriage will be perfect.

"Watch and learn: faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the foundation of happy eternal marriages."

 I believe the reason this is so important is because having faith in Christ makes our personal lives better, so why wouldn't it strengthen a marriage? Having a testimony can do nothing but bless you! Sharing that testimony with the person you love can only make the two of you stronger.  Faith in Christ is the foundation of happy marriages because it's the foundation to happy lives.

                           "Watch and learn: repentance and humility build happy marriages." 

I have a personal testimony that this is true. Utilizing the atonement in our lives has been a tremendous blessing! When I first met Bart he wasn't an active member but seeing him use the atonement and seeing that transformation of his person is one of the most tender things I have witnessed. It made me a better person, and the things I have had to repent of has also made me better. We share these experiences and it helps strengthen our testimonies every day.

"Watch and learn: terrific marriages are completely respectful, transparent, and loyal."

This is one of my favorite points he makes. He mentions that husbands treat their wives as total partners, and all decisions are made together. There are no secrets. You both have access to all financial information and know each other's passwords.  They are completely loyal to one another and make each other the most important person in their lives. I'm so blessed to be able to say that this describes our marriage perfectly! I married a wonderful man who is not only loyal as a dog, but he respects me and sees me as his partner. We make decisions together as a family and I never feel inferior to him.

"Watch and learn: successful couples love each other with complete devotion."

Love. Don't underestimate it! and don't let it fade! Bart and I were out together and a cute girl sat down next to me and asked when we were getting married. I told her we had been married for two years and she seemed a little surprised. I told Bart about it and he asked if it was because we still acted like we liked each other. How sad! Do only newlyweds grab each other's butts in public and steal a kiss?  If so, we never got that memo! We are more in love with each other now than when we met 4 years ago and when we got married 2 years ago! Older and "wiser" people will tell you this fades. And to that I give them my middle finger. It doesn't have to fade! Keep that spark alive and show your spouse just how much you love them!

"Marriage is a gift from God to us; the quality of our marriages is a gift from us to Him. I bear testimony of the marvelous plan of our loving Heavenly Father, which provides for eternal, wondrous marriage." -Elder Clayton

The Boys Who Made Me Cry

I was driving home from Math tonight and was having an emotional break down. I was crying because that dang math test was freakin' hard and I hate sitting there staring at my work for 45 minutes not knowing what to do different. So I did what most girls would do- cranked up Taylor Swift and cried on my way home. A T-Swift song came up that reminded me of this boy I liked back in Logan (pre-Bart). I cried over this particular boy.

This reminded me that I have only cried over 5 boys....which brings me to this post. (A girl's brain is pure logic people...especially when she's PMSing and sleep deprived).

Boy #1- Corbin (now married + kids)
We "dated" in 8th grade. It consisted of him meeting me at my locker and writing notes back and forth. I remember we kissed and it was a HUGE scandal. I also remember calling him one day in my friend Kiley's room and dumped him. Then proceeded to bawl my eyes out. Kiley was confused because why was I crying if I didn't like him? Who knows...and Avril Lavigne songs made me feel better.

Boy #2- Derek (now married)
Oh Derek. My first "real" boyfriend. 9th-10th(ish) grade. We were either making out or fighting. It was a really healthy relationship...that lasted more than a year. After our dramatic breakup I was an emotional wreck. Cue the journal entries of "I'm never going to be happy again. I'll never forget him...I love him blah blah blah...how can anyone make me happy...this SONG is story of my life...(Don't worry, I found someone just a few short months later)"...I mean come on guys, I'm laughing just typing about it. Sadly I have the journal entries to prove I'm not making this stuff up. I would consider Derek my first "puppy love" experience. I truly believe 15 year olds can love someone. It's just a different stage of love.

Boy #3- Caleb (now a baby daddy)
This one pulls at the heart strings a little bit. It's crazy to think the good part of this relationship only lasted 9 months. 9 months of dating and years of crying. Seriously. This was NOT a clean break. It was one of those I love you....we're so happy....you did what? I hate you.....never talk to you again....delete number.......remember your number....text you....I LOVE YOU TOO! Honestly the most unhealthy relationship I can imagine. Any of my friends in high school AND hair school know about this one. "Apologize"  was a popular ring tone for his texts. (Don't act like I'm the only one who did this....) I moved to Logan in an attempt to leave this pesky heart-breaker behind.

Boy #4- Brandon (now married)
This one surprised me. It was during the phase of not being with Caleb but I hadn't moved away yet. I dated A LOT of boys during this phase. Brandon was the golden child. Nothing like any other boys I dated. He was the boy your mom wanted to see you go out with. So we did....and he didn't really have the guts to do much about it...but I was enjoying myself. Then I find out he has a freakin' girlfriend! What a dirt-bag (which is funny, because if you knew Brandon you would know he was anything BUT a dirt-bag). I still remember finding this out and crying on my bed. *Cue music* I quickly turned his ring-tone to "Girlfriend" by Avril Lavigne  (Hey hey you you I don't like your girlfriend...etc) and smiled at him in the halls like he never had an effect on me. Silly boys..you always some kind of effect on us! This was the first time I had cried over a boy I didn't "love". I wasn't his girlfriend, but I totally felt played when I found out he had one behind my back (or so it felt at the time).

Boy #5- Dane (now married)
This was a Logan, UT boy. This was the boy that inspired this blog post! Taylor Swift, "Cold as You". I totally liked this guy. Why? Who the heck knows. looking back I can't explain it. Did we ever have a full conversation? No. Was he weird? Yes. I remember cuddling on the couch for hours "sleeping" (even though I never slept because hello...what if I drooled???). I totally thought that cuddle sesh meant something...until I found out that he got himself a girlfriend. I swear, I turn my back for ONE SECOND and these boys just get a different chick. WTF?? Most would later tell me it's because I never seemed like I wanted to commit. I didn't. but that doesn't mean I wanted YOU to commit to someone else. duh. He also happened to be besties with my CRAZY roommate so that didn't help things either....

You're probably wondering where my lovely husband makes the list. Well ladies and gentlemen...he doesn't! Number one reason being that he hasn't gotten himself a new girlfriend and we're still happily together. I'm not saying I've never cried over Bart, but I can honestly say Bart has never made me cry like this other douche bags. Thanks honey. xoxo

730ish Days

2 years ago we got married! It was lovely. We looked pretty and we've only gotten prettier :)

You don't see very many marriages that work these days, which can be a scary thought. The main idea that helps give me hope? Marriages weren't meant to fail. They were designed to succeed and make this world a better place. A loving marriage goes a long way when it comes to the happy things in life. I found my person and I think we will do just fine.

Of course there are "Ups and Downs" in a marriage. Luckily for us for every 1 Down there are 20 Ups. Isn't that the way life should be? Bart has embraced the motto "Happy Wife, Happy Life". I love you Bart!!

Birthday Worthy of Pinterest

I have such a sweet husband! He totally showed off his creative side yesterday for my birthday and it was so much fun! 

When he gets home from work he has these beautiful flowers (he is getting much better at picking them out..these weren't near death). He hands me flowers and a Kit Kat with these notes

"Flowers cause you're beautiful. KitKat cause you're sweet"

Cute right? Well it didn't stop there.......

"Meat cause you're an animal"

 First stop...Ruby River! If you know me, you know I love ribs. It's kind of hard to find a place with good ribs, but this place is not too shabby. Of course dinner came with a note as well....

At dinner he gives me my present...a Fossil watch! I have been dying to have a classic watch like this and he got exactly what I wanted! This note was the best.

"Watch cause you're not always on time, but I'd like you to be"

After we got done eating he hands me one more note....CHICK FLICK! yay! I have been wanting to see Pitch Perfect since it first came out, and he was kind enough to take me. The movie was SO GOOD. Have you seen it? We both loved it and it's one of those I'd like to own (which is saying something because i'm really not a big watch-movies-more-than-once person)

"Chick Flick cause I love you that much"

 To summarize: Bart's the greatest and I had such a fun birthday! Wasn't he just so creative? I was proud and I even asked if he got the idea of Pinterest (he looked at me with disgust). Thanks Bart, you're the best! 

Plus, the celebrations aren't even over yet because I get to go to my parent's on Thursday for family dinner, and then ST GEORGE!

Not Perfect, Just Perfect for Me

You may or may not know this about me...but I'm married to the greatest guy ever. 

He lets me take naps
then we sometimes hang out on a blanket on the floor
and then get the greatest idea to go get a SNOW CONE
me-blue raspberry him-red cherry
he has tan lines that are the bomb dot com
he's pretty funny too.
and at this moment he is making dinner
are you connecting the dots people??
greatest guy ever.

 

 

 

 

Love-Suckers

"So how long have you been married?"


"one year"


"Oh, so you guys still love each other then."



WTF?

I had this conversation with someone the other day and unfortunately this wasn't the first time. Why are people so depressing about love? I'm sorry your love life sucks but stop being stupid about mine! I told Bart I didn't want to be that future couple who doesn't really like each other. Call me a crazy newlywed but I don't think that is how a marriage has to be.

In my mind it takes two to make a bad/depressing/non-loving marriage just like it takes two to make a fun/happy/loving one.

One Year Later

May 14, 2011

That morning last year I was good to go. My jitters and nerves were gone (thanks to a mini break down 3 days prior) and I was ready to be married. I was running late (of course) because I did a few hair cuts that morning and made sure my mom and sister had their hair done too. Bart thought I was going to leave him stranded since I was late but luckily for both of us I eventually got there. It was a stormy morning but still beautiful. The ceremony is something that can't be put into words, but it was such a special moment. I was laughing and crying pretty much through the whole thing because I was so happy. My dress was perfect and so was my groom. After pictures were all finished everyone left and I realized I left the keys in my mom's purse. Bart and I were stranded at the temple for about half an hour before someone answered their phones and brought us a spare. We didn't have any time for lunch because of that, so we went through the Taco Time drive thru for some crispy tacos. Yes, we went through the drive thru decked out in our fancy outfits. I had about 2835 napkins spread across my dress (because I spill) and luckily no taco juice got on my pretty dress. Our reception was perfect and the sunshine held out until the end. We were now Mr. and Mrs Bart Bowen.

One Year Later

May 14, 2012

I can't believe it has already been a year. I remember that day perfectly and I have only gotten happier since. Bart and I are perfect for each other. We laugh more than we fight. I know that I need to call Bart twice if it's something he needs to wake up from his nap for and Bart has realized he needs a fan on his side of the bed since I'm so toasty at night. The texture of his socks matters and no, you can't mismatch them. I get cranky when I'm tired, hot or hungry and Bart hates crowds, shopping and most people. He understands we need to take potty breaks every 2 hours on road trips and I am a bad wife if I don't pick up Pepsi when I'm grocery shopping. TV is his relaxing time and reading is mine. It's an unspoken agreement that I help him dress since he's color blind and somehow we still end up matching in the morning. Bart has gone from sitting on the couch to running 10K and I will eventually be a college grad....We finish each others sentences and I know what his every facial expression and laugh means.



I love Bart more every day. We're best friends that tease and laugh and fight and quickly forgive. If this year is any indication of what our future holds I am more than ready for what's to come.

Happy Wednesday

I think I love Wednesdays. 

About a month ago I told my boss at wok that I can't come in until 5 on Wednesdays (this would allow me to have pretty much a full day to focus on school projects since every other day of the week I am occupied from 9-5 or 7-7.) It has worked out perfectly, mostly because my projects aren't taking up that much time yet so I get to spend Wednesdays cleaning my house, reading my choice of book, spending quality time at the gym (when no one is there, which makes it that much better) and doing school work.

I ran 3 miles today, I was pretty proud. I have really short legs though so I run really slow, except it doesn't feel slow to me, because of those short legs I mentioned. So it took me 40 minutes to run it. At minute 20 I was done with this running idea but I kept telling myself okay just get to 25....30...(at this point I pick up the pace a little bit so I could make the 3 mile mark by minute 40.) The last 10 minutes were really tough, but I did it! I felt pretty proud of myself, and even sang in the shower when I got home.

Also, I LOVE Bart. I set up $40 worth of small candles all around our apartment last night trying to be romantic and the first thing he says? "Isn't this a fire hazard?" Typical.

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

Love to Love Love

Happy Day of Love everyone!

Oh Valentines Day, what drama you bring.

I happen to be in love (surprise!!)
I happen to be in love with a man who is like 89% of men out there who hates V-Day
I happen to be in love with a man who treats me like it's V-Day most days out of the year
I happen to be a girl who loves flowers and candy and romance
I happen to be a girl who doesn't care if I get these things on February 14
Would I complain if I got said things?

Of course not.

Will Bart be in trouble tonight when he gets home from Parent-Teacher Conference after a 12+ hr day and doesn't have flowers and gifts in hand?

Of course not.

I said this last year, and I just think I will say it again:

So many people hate Valentines day and I don't really understand it. If you love someone, buy them a dang flower, if you aren't in love, get over it and buy yourself a flower. Mothers Day and Easter are just as commercialized but you never hear anyone complaining about that. Not having a Valentine isn't the end of the world and crying about it only makes you look more pathetic. Embrace being single, or embrace the person you love (good one I know). And if all else fails, take advantage of the awesome candy selection that is in the front of every store. 

-Feb 14, 2011


I think people just love to hate Valentines Day. It's a day for people (including Bart) to complain about the retail industry and how stupid "the world" is. Let's be honest, Valentines Day isn't going anywhere, so maybe we should all just cheer up and learn to love it?

Loving Love

Bart asked the question the other day

What exactly is love?


So we discussed it and decided on a few things


-It's the point where you know someone cares about you as much as you care about them
-It's a level of comfort knowing someone loves you
-It's feeling complete having your "other half"


and then I added a few more...

It's smiling/laughing randomly because you are thinking of them. (Cheesy? No, it actually happens).

It's knowing how they smell, what their skin feels like and what they are thinking just because you are around them more than any other person in your life.

It's having a best friend. Not only loving that person in a romantic way, but having a fun time together. laughing and joking and giving each other a hard time just the way friends do.

It's spending time with them not because you don't have anyone else, but because you are your best person when they are around.

Bart and I have been friends for 3 years. We know everything about each other. We give each other a hard time and make fun of each other when something stupid happens. I make him put socks on at night because his feet are like mini ice packs. He deals with me talking in my sleep and hogging all the covers. We eat a bowl of cereal every morning together and try to be polite even though it's 6:30 a.m. Our lives mesh so well and I love it.

I don't claim to know what love is for everybody, but I know what it is to me.

Marriage part 2

So I wrote THIS blog post 2 1/2 weeks into being married, and now that we have been married 13 weeks I have a few more things to add to the list. 

No one should own this many basketball/gym shorts and they probably don't really need to be washed after every use

Bart claims I have a lot of clothes, but we take up the same amount of space in the closet

Apparently I radiate too much body heat at night for someone to comfortably sleep next to

I am okay with just eating a baked potato for dinner, but Bart needs a complete meal

Hanging up stuff the right way (with a hammer and nails) is much easier, and looks much better, than sticking tacks into the walls and hoping they stay

He puts the silver wear facing up in the dishwasher "so they get clean" I put them face down "so they don't have to be touched taking them out"

We regularly go out wearing the same thing together: Basketball shorts, Aggie shirt, and flip flops.

If person A cares more about Topic 1 than person B, person B should just do what person A wants.

The thermostat is a touchy subject, change it ONLY when the other person isn't looking

Finish your milk

Today is my day off and I have been able to get a lot done actually. ( and by that I mean my house is clean, you're welcome, Bart). However, I usually try to work longer at my internship but sometimes there is just nothing to do. If no one calls me back, or they are out of town, what am I supposed to do? I kind of feel like a slacker for leaving but honestly it's either I waste my time on the internet in the office or I leave and get all my chores and errands done. Obviously when I have a job there are always slow days, but at least I will have more things to do ( I am assuming). Either way, I feel bad for not being there for very long today.

I will be going to the Beach Boys concert tonight and covering that so at least I will be doing something for them. I am pretty excited but also nervous, I never feel legit enough to be behind the scenes asking questions. The cool part of that though is people do think I am legit so I just fake it and they talk to me...it's pretty cool.

Bart is signing our lease for the apartment tomorrow so I guess we will be living in Murray! I am getting more and more excited.

I really just want to go outside and get wet today! It is such a nice hot day I feel like being wet would feel wonderful. Bart gets off work in half an hour, maybe I can convince him to take his bored wife out to play!

I think sometimes (and by think I mean I KNOW) that Bart feels like he is married to a child. I however, do not see this as a bad thing.

Examples:

While helping him coach his little baseball team I asked if we could get snow cones after and spent the majority of the time complaining of the heat

When my feet are not covered with the blanket I have "peekies" and that needs to be fixed immidiately

I do not eat the crust of wheat bread. Gross.

I can't sit still enough to watch an entire movie at home.

I sometimes feel like I am married to an old man or have a father instead of a husband because of how he acts sometimes so I guess that means we are even!

"Did you pick up your mess?"

"Finish your milk"

"Did you hear what I just said?"

True Love

Just a few of the wedding pictures. I have so many favorites! The rest are on FB