New Couch and Other Fun Stuff

First off, I would just like to document our most recent step down the road of adulthood: we bought a new couch. We have been needing one since we moved, and we're so excited about having it now!

Cute, right? And it can match ANYthing. Yeah, I kind of love it. :)

On a more *actual fun* note, we also celebrated Trevin's birthday recently! Through a lot of events and life-ness, we have both been at BYU for quite some time, and I consider myself very lucky to have had so much time to be so close to him. He has been a big part of my life and is one of my best friends.

I just can't get enough of this picture. I don't have many pictures one-on-one with siblings,
but this one is pretty fantastic.

Before long he'll graduate and he and Kim will move forward with their lives, and I will be so sad to see them go! But in the meantime, we're having so much fun living in Provo with them. On Sunday we all got together to play some D&D, and we started off the night singing Happy Birthday and having angel food cake (with extra whipped cream :).

Those are Lego candles!

For Trevin's actual birthday the next day, Kim had to work that night so Josh and I took him out for some fun at the Nickel Arcade in Orem.

I think the fact that it's called a "Fun Center" makes it a requirement to have fun while you're there. And we did not disappoint. And even better, Josh and I had just been saving up nickels whenever we get change and putting them aside to use for this very purpose. So then all we really had to pay was admission!

In other news, I've also been rehearsing for the past two and a half weeks for BYU's spring opera, L'elisir d'amore, or The Elixir of Love. (To be clear, I'm in the pit orchestra, NOT an opera singer.)

We are having four performances this week, and then it's all finished. It's been really tiring, but fun! And I'm glad for any opportunity I have to play my French horn in different productions or anything like that! It's a skill that I don't want to lose once I'm out of school, and I have a lot of fun participating in things like this.

~ ~ ~

While we're taking a nice summer break from school and we're mostly just working, we're having some fun as well.

What is everyone else doing for their summer?

~ Ashley

Summer is Here!

I feel like a lot has happened since my last post, and I'm just hoping I can remember what to talk about here! Guess I'll just try to hit the highlights.

Josh and I have been wanting to go back to the Bountiful Temple for a while, since that's where we got married and we haven't been back since then. So back in the beginning of March we finally made out it there, only to discover it was closed for maintenance or something. Dang it! So we wandered around outside the temple for a bit, trying to make the best of it, and when we started heading back, we found the TARDIS in someone's driveway...

So obviously we had to take pictures with it! (With the owners' permission, of course.)

Hottie, am I right?

Josh was a Doctor Who fan before me, but I had wanted to watch it for some time and finally started up toward the end of last year. I. LOVE. IT. So obviously we both freaked out a little bit when we happened upon this gem. :)

Even though we couldn't go to the Bountiful Temple like we planned, we still wanted to make a date night out of it. So we stopped in Salt Lake and visited the Capitol Building. It was really cool!

Let me just say, I LOVE these buildings!

April had quite a bit of awesomeness. As the semester was ending, we went to Salt Lake Comic Con FanX. It was a surprise for Josh, but it was a dream come true for me. I seriously was so excited about it that I started crying when we got there. (Josh was really concerned, but I was just happy! :) It was pretty amazing. Mostly we just wandered around, looking at the different vendors and things. Just looking at the cool merchandise and awesome cosplays was so fun. We had a really great time. I also got one of my Firefly discs signed by Adam Baldwin. SO. AWESOME.

Josh with Master Chief!

This R2D2 was so legit! Someone was remote controlling it. :)

Not the best picture, but someone was walking around in this really sweet costume.

We also celebrated our first Easter together! It wasn't much, but it was fun! Most of the candy was saved from what my mom sent us for Easter, along with the plastic eggs and grass. We found the baskets at D.I. for dirt cheap, and the couple gifts in each basket were from the dollar store. Success!

Proof that we dyed eggs before promptly turning them into deviled eggs! :P

Wearing my new Easter dress! And Josh wore his pink bow tie for Easter, because, let's be honest... bow ties are cool. ;)

Then at the end of April, we took a trip with Trevin and Kim up to Idaho and stayed with Nana and Poppy. It's so fun to see them! School had just ended and we all took a few days off from work and everything. It was such a nice break, and much needed. While we were there, Josh and I saw Wicked with Nana and Poppy. We decided this would be our first anniversary present. :) I've wanted to see Wicked so badly for some time, and I was not disappointed. It. Was. AMAZING.

It's gonna happen!

Similar to what happened at Comic Con, I cried at Wicked just out of sheer joy and excitement; during the production, I would randomly start crying during various songs either because the song was so amazing or because I was just so happy to be there. :)

I should also mention that we annihilated a puzzle that Nana pulled out one night. We were on it like vultures, and between some work before dinner and some work after, it didn't stand a chance.

Shortly after our trip to Idaho, Josh and I moved into a new apartment. Our old one was a great starter, but we were ready to move on to something a little bigger and better. It was sad leaving the ward, especially for Josh (because he's naturally more social than I am!), and it is especially sad not living right next to Trevin and Kim. But we are pretty excited about our new place! And we have already experienced the excitement of having a mouse in our kitchen and then catching it in a mouse trap, so... yeah. Pretty fun, right? :P

I was originally planning on taking classes during Spring and Summer terms at BYU, but it ended up working out differently and now we're both just working full-time. It gets tiring, but I'm secretly (or maybe not so secretly) relieved to have a few months break from school and the stresses that come with it. It pushes my graduation date to June of next year instead of April, but I can deal with that. Right now we're just makin' the big bucks. ;) Recently at work, Josh got us a couple of tickets to a BYU Baseball game. It was actually really fun, and brought back childhood memories of going to Rangers games with my family. It was pretty chilly, but we stayed for the whole game. (Next time we'll bring a blanket!) We lost, but it was a good game!

I'd say we've had a pretty great start to the summer. We've been married a year as of May 4th (about two weeks ago), and I'm just loving it. Living with and being married to my best friend is the greatest gift I've ever been given, and we have so much fun together. I'm looking forward to what the next year will bring us!

~ Ashley

2013 Wrap-Up

It's been 2014 for almost a month now, so it's about time I paid tribute to Christmas break and the coming of the New Year before February gets here. We drove down to Texas with Trevin and Kim to stay with my family for a week, after which Josh and I flew out to Indiana to stay with his family for the second week.

It was wonderful to be back at home with my family, not going home to live with them during the breaks has been one of the harder things for me to adjust to being married. We had so much fun with everyone! Here are some pictures from that part of the trip...

I decided I wanted to change up my hair for
the New Year, so at first I cut it to about
chin-length, but then I decided to just go for
it and chopped it all off. Turns out I kinda
love it! (Picture taken at the High School
Football State Championship game,
which by the way WE WON and it was
AWESOME.)

All the girls getting pedicures! Well, Mom and
Kim are there too, but they were on the other
side of the room.

Making popcorn balls!

In our Christmas jammies!

I always miss our dogs; Lulu is so crazy, I love her!

Matching! Aren't we precious?

Matching some more. Good thing we love it! :)

Being silly on the way to the airport.

Goodbye Texas...

Leaving Texas and my family was kind of heartbreaking, but I was excited to spend some time with Josh's family, get to know them a little better, and see Indiana for the first time! Even though it's stupid winter. We had a great time! Here are some more pics...

Josh's mom got us a carriage ride and a night in a nice hotel!
 Luckily the carriage was covered, 'cause it was COLD
outside, but we had a blast taking a ride around Indianapolis!

I am IN LOVE with Christmas lights!!

Their adorable dog Buddy! :)

I love puzzles, and did a couple while we were there!

Some views from the plane flying back to Salt Lake...

I had such a wonderful break! It is so good to be with family, and I always hate to come back to "real life". But I am optimistic with the start of the New Year (aren't we all, at first?). I have some goals that I hopefully won't neglect before February is even over, like many New Year's Resolutions do, including reading goals and running a 5K (maybe multiple!), among others.

There a are few other changes happening too! I got a job at Chick-fil-A; I worked there in Texas too, but I just couldn't stay away when they opened up a new one here in Provo! Plus Trevin and Kim are working there as well, so that's also fun. (Chanelle and Cody - before his mission - worked there also, so we're basically planning a slow takeover of the company.) I'm also taking private voice lessons, which is both exciting and scary! (Don't ask me to sing a solo in Sacrament Meeting or anything though!) Josh is switching his major from film to communications, and he's pretty excited about it, which is great! And now that the Provo Temple is open again we're back to volunteering there on Saturdays, and we really love it. When we first started working there I thought the shifts would feel so long, but it's been a wonderful experience! We're also both trying to get ourselves more organized and time-efficient so that we don't have to stress as much! 

I am so incredibly grateful for the past year. It has really been the most life-changing year of my life! I still can't believe that someone like Josh wanted to marry me, but he continues to love me and I feel blessed beyond words to have him in my life.

~ Ashley

Why Did I Get Married?

This post is part of the Happy Wives Club Blog Tour, which I am excited to be a part of along with hundreds of inspiring bloggers. To learn more and join us, click here!

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Why did I get married?

I don't mean that in a negative way, like "what was I thinking?" Rather, I am looking to share the reasons why I chose to get married.

Though marriage has always been a prominent part of every society, over time it has held less importance. People are putting off marriage for longer and longer, and divorce rates continue to go up. Now, I am in no way trying to indicate that anyone should get married by a certain age - or at all - if it's not right for the individual. I am also not trying to indicate that anyone who gets a divorce is making a bad choice; there are all kinds of circumstances a person could find themselves in, and it is very personal and up to the individuals. That said, I do feel that the general trends are due in part to an increasingly self-centered attitude.

And if I'm completely honest, the trends sometimes scare me. Nobody goes into marriage with the attitude that they are not going to make it. Everyone thinks that they are the exception, that their love will never be touched and life will be like a constant honeymoon. But things can still fall apart, leaving behind broken hearts, scarred feelings, and even psychological damage. Does that freak anyone else out?

So why did I get married?

Sure, I have always known that I wanted to get married. Having been raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, marriage holds a particular emphasis and is viewed as sacred. I am not ashamed of that. I believe that marriage is a sacred ordinance that is ordained of God. I believe that the family unit is the most important unit of society. I have always wanted to get married and have a family of my own. Yes, I was taught that way. But more importantly, I believe in it with all of my heart.

But it's about more than just believing in the idea of marriage.

When I was dating my husband Josh, I remember reaching a point in the relationship when I realized that if he had asked me to marry him right then, I would have said yes. Not just because he was super handsome and had a great laugh, even though both are true. :) It was because I knew that I would be happy with him. Like, really happy. Truly happy.

Josh is an amazing man. He is not perfect, and he would be the first to admit that. But he is perfect for me. He makes me laugh all the time. He has a sexy smile. He is smart and works hard. He is tender and caring. He is more generous than I have ever been. He is patient with me. He is gentle and comforting when I need it most. He is always trying to be better than he was the day before. He inspires me to be better than I was the day before. He is fun. He is silly. And he loves me for just being myself.

I know that I am still new to marriage. We have only been married a little over 8 months. But even at this point in our marriage, I have great faith. Just because our marriage is young doesn't mean that my views aren't as valid. The reasons why I got married were true in the earliest months and they will be true years from now.

I chose to marry my husband not only because I love him. He is there for me in a way that only he can be. He is my greatest friend and support. He brings a kind of happiness to my life that I never would have found on my own. And when there are disagreements or hurt feelings, he is the first to do everything he can to make things right, even if I'm just being irrational or emotional. He teaches me that the things that are most dear to us are worth fighting for.

I believe in marriages that can last. I believe in keeping marriage filled with love and laughter. I believe in looking at the face of the odds and the trends, and standing firm for what is most important in my life, even when it gets hard. I believe in fighting - together - against the things that will try to pull us apart.

That's why I got married.

And that's why I don't expect to just make it. I do expect to make it work.

~ Ashley

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Fawn Weaver, the founder of the Happy Wives Club, wrote a book about the best marriage secrets the world has to offer. They say the book is like "Eat, Pray, Love meets The 5 Love Languages." You can order a copy here.

Fall Has Past

The fall months have come and gone, and here I am not sharing anything about it. It's time for an update on what's going on in our lives.

Early on in the semester we went to several sporting events, including both soccer and football games. We love our cougars!

At a soccer game with our friend Mariana.

At a football game before a crazy storm flooded the stands.

We also went with Trevin and Kim to Bridal Veil Falls before fall was over. I've been here all this time and never got around to it until now. It was breathtaking to me how beautiful it was. It was a gorgeous day and fall colors were everywhere. I can't wait to visit again!

Josh also celebrated his 24th birthday in October! I surprised him at work with a balloon and candy, and then we went out for lunch. The next day we continued celebrating; we got dinner at California Pizza Kitchen (which is one of my favorite pizza places ever), then went and saw a movie (Trevin came with us for the movie) - Gravity. Let me just say, it was a pretty intense movie. Really good. But I now never want to go to space. Ever. After the movie we joined up with Kim and played some games together. We had a lot of fun!

In the car picking him up from work!

Believe it or not, we actually planned to dress up and everything for Halloween, but that didn't end up happening. We had class that night and by the end of the day we were worn out and needed to unwind a bit, so we played some video games for a while before just going to bed.

Thanksgiving break was great, exactly what I needed as the semester has worn me down. Unfortunately Trevin and Kim couldn't come with us, which we were really sad about, but we did have a great time with my family. We all met up in Missouri, so Josh and I actually drove through the night on Monday night in order to get there Tuesday afternoon. I don't recommend it. We managed and everything worked out fine, but it's not pleasant forcing yourself to just ignore the fact the your body is tired, and only getting minimal amounts of sleep because you're trying to sleep in the car. ANYWAY, the trip was awesome though, and it was so fun to see everyone. Especially all the little kiddos! We had fun going to the Army museum, going to the park, and just playing around the house. Why do breaks have to go by so quickly?

In front of a boat outside the Army museum.

What a cute bunch of kids! A.K.A. my nieces and nephews. :)

Sweet Molly!

And sweet Lucy!

Now that we're back from break and Christmas is approaching, winter has definitely set in here in Provo. One day it snowed all day and all night, and since then we've had mixtures of snow and ice to walk through to get to school. So naturally I'm even more reluctant to go, but it's not much longer now until it'll be time to leave for Christmas break. We're almost there! :)

~ Ashley