Easter Crazies

Of all the holidays we celebrate Easter has to be the most confusing. Supposedly a bunny hides eggs, uses baskets, and depending on the interpretation you are getting defecates jelly beans. who. came. up. with. this. stuff? All in all it makes for some lively times, so i am not opposed to this Peter Cottontail. This year Easter was an adventure we had dinner with my family, Grandma, and my cousin Karen and her family. Ethan, Derrick, and Lia are three of my most favorite kiddos eva they made Easter a blast, just look at them how could they not!?!

This is Ethan, second grade wonder showing off his sidewalk-chalk masterpiece
his Easter bunny came down with an illness, but later he said, "The Easter Bunny is resurrected"
Thank heavens!

This is Derrick, he turns six tomorrow! He is probably the craziest of the 3,
but that is debatable. He is sporting a chocolate frosting tongue. Yummy.

Here we have Miss Lia Nora about to be 3 going on 14 she is brilliant!
In this picture Miss Chocolate Fancy face is being harassed by,
"Monka Mike" which directly translated = Uncle Mike

I love these little Easter Crazies! We did a way with a few of our normal Easter traditions this year, but one still kept going. Cupcakes! For as long as i remember we would always make special cupcakes for my Grandpa Low when Easter rolled around and even though he has passed away, we still make them, and i love it! Here are a few we made this year:

But of course Easter isn't really about some crazy bunny. It's about our Savior Jesus Christ who came forth from the dead a resurrected being, securing for all eternity a way for eternal life of all people.  the other day, through Mormon.org Phill posted an answer to the question, "What is Christ to me?" I seriously loved it so much, here is what he said:

"He is Every hope, dream, want, and need, I have. He is my Redeemer, meaning no matter how bad I mess up (which trust me I do a lot), He is always there to help me find the light. He chooses to love me endlessly. To be ...my friend when I'm in need. To remove the fear of this mortal life and replace it with enduring faith. He blesses me with strength far beyond my own, so that I may overcome the challenges and trials in my life.
 I wasn't always this way, a believer. It took me searching my soul and trusting my Father in Heaven, to answer my prayer that He is there and loves me. And by knowing this, I know He sent His son. To Atone for the world, so that by Jesus we might have the opportunity to live with Him some day.
I'm so thankful for the wonderful peace I have in my life, which comes from the Savior, like endless flowing water. He said" I am the Way, the Truth, and the Light!" I know this to be true and I love the Savior with all my heart."

If anyone knows Phill the way I do, or as well as I do, this will just melt your heart into a puddle of unexplainable joy. I love him so much! And I echo what he said.

Christ is the reason for all goodness, he suffered more than anyone who has ever lived or will live for us.  I love to think, if Jesus Christ had to come down to earth to atone for my sins alone, he would have. That kind of love, and perfection can only be found in one place, through our brother and redeemer Jesus the Christ. "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." He is joy, He is Risen!

I hope you all had a fabulous Easter Sunday!!!!

Conference!

This weekend was General Conference, but that is just stating the obvious.  I love conference weekend, it's so great to be completely immersed in the Gospel for an entire weekend! I had the awesome opportunity to go to the Conference Center for the Saturday Afternoon session with none other than my friend Shanda and her family! We had an amazing time and it was so much fun to hear the MTC choir sing, because i really like missionaries;) haha. well...just one missionary really, who fun fact only has 8 months left today!!! Okay back on track, so i went to conference, it was a beautiful day in Salt Lake City and it's always amazing to see how many people pack that conference center! The Gospel is amazing!!!

it was so windy!!!
 a little math equation for you wind+dresses= unintentional immodesty

in the "nosebleed section" haha dont' worry we still felt special;)

After Conference on Saturday I joined the Brandley/Steele women for a girl's night out. We had tons of fun, i sure do love that family! We went to the Greenery and then headed back to the Brandley's to play games....which we did, until 2:30 in the morning. One thing you have to be prepared for when entering any Brandley or Steele gathering, you will play games, and it will end in blood sweat and tears. haha. Kami, Alisha, and I got a little weird with the camera as the night went on...these really shouldn't be shared, but if you've got it flaunt it right?;)

cheeese!!!

where. to. begin. Kamila said Llama...
apparently this is what i would look like if i were a llama?

We've got the crazy eyes!!!

This photo is like an optical illusion...
it looks like Alisha is kissing me, she is not. just to clear the air;)

I hope you all had a great conference weekend!!!! And that you enjoyed my self-destructive streak of posting horrible photos. haha.

Oh...we also put Teancum in the giant mailbox in front of Rainbow Gardens...
Alisha's idea, she's going to be a great mother, yes indeed :)

it's the little things....

Everyone has those days.
The one when you scoff at the idea that everyday has little rays of sunshine in them. 
Guilty.
But...usually on those days we are actually walking around with our eyes closed.
Every day can be a sunshiny day!
This weekend i was sick, yet again. As i thought about the prospects of yet another weekend in bed, i was seriously ticked off. 
Then last night i knelt down to pray. And after i did i looked over at the pile that had accumulated during my days in bed it looked like this....

to most this would look like a mess...but for some reason after i prayed i was overwhelmingly thankful for that little mess, because it shows how blessed i am:
  In the front i have my laptop and a text book representing a good education, behind that the hunger games ( i laughed at that, because i saw the movie twice this weekend and re-read the book once...obsessed much? ha.)
 Next to that a season of M*A*S*H my favorite TV show, which reminds me of my parents (who got all of us hooked on it). I have wonderful parents who have changed my life in so many ways.
 Under the season of M*A*S*H, is my adventure book, Phill made it for me for our first Christmas and i pull it out when i am really missing him in those goofy little pages an amazing relationship is represented one that has yet to be broken or truly waver for almost 3 years. 
Next, to the left a cup full of powerade and a plate from lunch, a box of wheat thins, i am so blessed to live in a place where food is readily available, where all of my primary needs can be met.
 Behind my cup sits my spiritual journal, and behind that my Book of Mormon...i am so blessed to have this book by my bedside, it is mine, and it holds the truthfulness of all things.  It has been my anchor in the roughest water, and it is as real as i am. 
What did i glean from this random compilation of my life? simply that it is the little things that mean the most, and the little things that show you how truly blessed you are.  Who would have known that a weekend of being sick in bed would have been so insightful. I am truly blessed!

Mustache March!

March is a time of great distress for one Elder Phillip Brandley mainly because it's March Madness and the boy loves basketball.  So, being the awesome girlfriend that i am...i decided to find a way to distract Phill during his time of need. In my last letter to him i wrote, "It's March! Which begins the most epic competition among college students...mustache march! I have to admit i am a little bummed, i haven't shaved all month and i have no sign of a mustache (which is probably a good sign for you. haha)"
 After writing this i went on a mad search for stick on mustaches, because 1. i can't grow one 2. neither can Phill because he must be clean shaven at all times.  My attempt to cheer Phill up resulted in the following Mustache Madness:

I am sporting 6 varieties of Staches. 1. the Hillbilly stache 2. the creeper stache
3. the mall cop stache 4. the Frenchie 5. the improved Nazi stache 6. the up to no good stache
[click on the photo to enlarge it] 

This noble endeavor opened my eyes to how grateful i am that i do not grow facial hair! haha it's not very becoming and it is unbelievably itchy! hopefully receiving this in the mail with a stash of his own staches will cure the March Madness withdrawals:) 

In the Venue...what Venue?

Once upon a time a seemingly countless number of months ago i gave Kamila and Sterling (Phill's siblings) tickets to a band i had introduced them to, Boyce Avenue.  Well the day finally came March 17th, concert day!!! We headed down to the SLC and hit up Crown burger for some delicious grub, then drove around for about an hour trying to find The Venue.  After getting back on the wrong freeway, that had no off ramp until Bountiful we flipped about 20 U turns and to our dismay realized that we had passed the Venue before heading onto the freeway. fail. Luckily for us, my awesome brother Ben was there so we slid in line with him and his girlfriend Brynn. Yay. The Concert was AWESOME! Secondhand Serenade opened for Boyce Avenue, which sterling was stoked about, because they were on his concert bucket list. He was an awesome performer! Boyce Avenue is an amazing band and live they are just incredible! This was Kami's first concert ever. madness. I do believe she had a great time!

cute Kami! (secretly nervous, but oh so brave;)

I have a concert addiction...

waiting, waiting for the show to begin!

Secondhand Serenade, Amazing!

This man has the voice of an angel...i think even sterling had a little man crush on him by the end of the night;)

we're in the picture somewhere...just a few rows back!

Benji and Brynn!

not my best picture, but who cares, we love concerts!

If you have never head Boyce Avenue...you are missing out big time. here are a few of my favorite songs of theirs/covers they have done. Enjoy.

Fresh Air

Last Thursday I hit the jackpot, a day off from school and no pending homework due the next day...this pretty much NEVER happens anymore so i took advantage of the beautiful place in which we live and headed for the mountains! Of course you should never got to the mountains by yourself so i took my trusty companion with me: Indy!!!

10 months old now!

She and i had so much fun traipsing around in the snow, and the mud...a lot of mud.  We drove all over the Ogden valley, from Old Snow Basin Road, to Causey Dam, to Monte Cristo and home again. Indy is great in the car, roll down the windows and she's set for the ride. Every time i open my car door and she's outside with me, she always tries to hop in for a ride. haha.   It was a beautiful day in the mountains with my favorite puppy... here are a few more pictures of our adventure:

Causey Dam all frozen over

Curious puppy exploring

recovering after she nose dived into the snow. haha. crazy pup.

love me some fresh mountain air!

singles...?

Single? who? not me! Having a missionary is a strange paradox.  Are you single, are you in a relationship, are you kidding yourself? the answer to these questions is, Yes. It's a conundrum, but for me the answer has always been that i am still in a relationship we just never see each other and it works. haha BUT being single isn't the type of single i really want to talk about right now....
Remember this girl?

This was me when Phill had been out 9 months. In that blog i tried to come up with a clever way to measure a nine month period of time, and the only thing i could come up with was a baby...how unoriginal. 
Well the tables have turned full circle in a matter of speaking and we are no longer 9 months down, but 9 months LEFT! you follow? SINGLE DIGITS BABY! So in the lack of better things to say i will use a term common to those in the "waiting game" we have reached the last, quote, "mission baby." Seriously who named it that? i do not know, it's a major contradiction in terms... but that's what i have to work with. 
My kick-A paper chain is now short enough that i can stand under it and it will barely touch my shoulder and my goal this month is to earn the Virtue Value in the Young Women's Personal Progress, they added it after i had already finished mine, so i feel like i sorta missed out! no longer. 
This year is finally moving and we're in the final count down!

9 months down....

9 months left!!!!!!!!!!

life is good

HAPPY MARCH!