Graduation!

My favorite picture from the whole event :)

*This post looks super long, but mostly it's a bunch of AWESOME pictures. Actually, please excuse the poor quality of many of them. I don't know what is up with my camera.*


So, I actually technically graduated in December from the wonderful BYU, but I just barely walked on Thursday and Friday! Honestly, at first I wasn't so sure I wanted to walk. I kind of thought of it as a waste of money; I mean, I got my diploma, and I would have to pay for the cap and gown on top of not going to work, and I had already walked in my High School graduation, anyway. Then, my parents told me they would fly out to see me walk, if I did. And I got a serious attitude adjustment!

I am SO GLAD they convinced me to walk. Even though no matter what I did, I would have my diploma, there's something to be said about celebrating it officially in a ceremony. And it puts a nice closure on going to college.

SO, Wednesday night Dahl picked me up and took me shopping for a graduation dress. He is the best shopping buddy in the world, mostly because he is so nice, but he will tell me if he doesn't think something looks the best on me. When we first got in the car, he asked if he could make a rule: we don't get another dress with pockets, because "it looks like a big kangaroo pouch". We found one on sale at Dillard's that I thought was really cute. Everything was perfect... except it had pockets, complete with a "kangaroo pouch". Dahl decided he actually really liked it; he said the other one I had was made of different material but this one looked better with pockets. So, we ended up getting it. I guess you can decide what you think!

Pockets! They were SO useful during graduation- you can't tell under the gown what it looks like so I carried phones (yes plural-- the girl next to me didn't know what to do with hers), cameras, the collar that I never figured out how to put on (yes, I still graduated from college...)

We picked Nicole up Wednesday night. We went out to eat at Chili's, and took her back to our house. My parents flew in Wednesday night super late and went to breakfast with Heather Thursday morning, so we didn't end up seeing them until that afternoon. That morning Nicole did a photo shoot of me in my graduation dress. She was so funny! No matter what I did she would yell, "YES!!! YESS!! The camera loves you!!" We had lots of fun.

Hair I did ALL by myself. Kind of a big deal because I NEVER do my hair. Waterfall braid with curls!

Trampoline! And an excellent view of the "kangaroo pouch" ... haha.

I feel like this is an awkward pose... but I still kind of like it. 

My parents took Dahl, Nicole, and I out to lunch at Zupas, which was amazing, as usual. Then we went to my first graduation ceremony. It was the big one, where everyone from BYU graduates together so we just sat in a huge clump. My biggest regret was not figuring out who else was walking that day so I could walk with them. I thought it would be a little more organized, but they basically let you sit with whoever you wanted, and since I hadn't prepared at all, I sat with random people. It was okay, though; they were still nice!

Donning my cap and gown for the first time!

I love this candid... look how happy everyone looks, and what a cute laugh-er my mommy is!

Then, we took some pictures around campus, which was fun:

 Forever Sisters <3 

Connors

Awkwardly getting lifted up to sit in the Cougar. Hey, it's hard in a dress and slippery graduation gown!

Kissers!

Enter to Learn, Go Forth to Serve

Ignore Dahl's face...

After that, we went to Los Hermanos with my Aunt Carol, her son Jonny and his wife Tiffany and little boy Joshua, and my Aunt Lila. It was so fun to see all of them!

Parents :)

Joshua is SOO CUTE!

Aunt Carol, Aunt Lila, Me, Tiff

  The whole fan- damily except mom (taking the pic)

Hubster

My parents and siblings were SO GENEROUS, and gave me a beautiful doll ornament from Williamsburg, and an iPad!! I was SO surprised! I honestly wasn't even expecting anything except to see them, and they were so kind to give it to me. Dahl and I have been having lots of fun playing around with it :)

Me being surprised out of my mind. Heather looks so cute!

!!!!

That night, we went back to watch an episode of Lie to Me at Heather's. And then I stayed up until 2 AM chatting with my parents. I love them!

Friday morning we went to the more specific graduation ceremony for just Marriott School grads. This one they actually called my name and I got a fake diploma.

Me walking

They had us in alphabetical order this time, and it ended up being really fun because I was next to a girl I knew who actually was one of Heather's good friends from her freshman year. She was really fun to chat with. Thanks for being my graduation buddy, Bridgette! On my other side, was a couple who were getting married the very next day! They were so cute! When we were walking out to get in line to walk across the stands and get our diplomas, it was super funny: The girl passed her family, who told her to grab him for a picture. So she did... except she grabbed the wrong guy and pulled him close for the picture! Somewhere in the walking, her fiance had gotten behind a random guy, who was fortunate enough to almost get his own date for graduation! How funny is that?? I hope they got a picture :)

Fake Diploma Awesome-ness. In front of me is 1/3 of the girl who grabbed the wrong man!

Next there was a reception at the Tanner Building which was lovely.

Then we went to lunch at Cafe Rio with Brenley and Eric, who were kind enough to come to my graduation! I'm so glad I have such supportive parents and parents-in-law!

Best in-laws EVER!

We went to visit Heather's elementary school that she is interning at next year (!!!). It was super cute! Then, we took her back to go to work, and went to Pizza Factory for a delicious dinner.

We also watched Chasing 3000, a movie my dad has been wanting to show us for awhile.

The next morning we had breakfast at Heather's with Troy, one of our good friends, and then it was time to say goodbye.

I got a little teary bidding them farewell... It was SUCH a quick visit, but it was so fun to see them. I have the best parents!

*Here I go with the boring, why I'm glad I went to BYU segment, so you can skip if you don't care.*

I'm so glad I went to BYU. I never even considered going to another school-- it was always the one I wanted to go to-- and I can't think of another place that would have been better for me. I love the environment, the people, the professors, the standards, and the fact that I met my sweet husband while attending this school. I feel like I got an exceptional education for a ridiculously good price (especially considering I was blessed to be able to maintain a full tuition scholarship for 3 years, a half tuition for 1 year, and the last baby semster I only took 7 credits. Plus I got grants and my work paid for it, too. Basically, I got paid to go to school. How awesome is that?!), and I truly loved my time there. Also, becoming a BYU student marks the first time I ever cared about sports. And I still don't really care about them unless the Cougars are playing. LOVE my Cougars :) 

I already miss going to school and being a student-- it is always amazing to me when I think about how this is probably the only time in history where someone like me, a middle- class woman, not only could but would be so encouraged to go off to school thousands of miles from home, by herself, to pursue a higher education, and I always felt like I was part of something so amazing and big and wonderful. I am so grateful that getting an education is something I was privileged and blessed enough to be able to do. I know that no matter what I do with my education, it will be time well-spent, and I hope I can pass that on to my children.

(Nicole: I love where you're going with this, the "Y" like BYU! Me: Oh.. Not what I was going for but yes! I will definitely use that reasoning!)

Go Cougars! 

The Things I Learn from Pinterest!

I think Pinterest has made me realized how much I love quotes. I never thought I liked them so much, but they are so wonderful! I don't think I have a particular talent for decorating or organization of a home, but one thing I for sure know I want to have all over my home is inspirational quotes. That way, my family can see what I believe every day. Here are some of my favorites:

"Every lady loves a gentleman."

- for my sons :) ... And my husband, although he has mastered it. And to remind my daughters what they really want.

"It's up to you to find beauty in the ugliest days"

- My mom always encouraged us to be optimistic. I want my family to be optimistic and non- complainers!

"The first to apologize is the bravest. the first to forgive is the strongest. The first to forget is the happiest."

- For those inevitable squabbles!

"True love is not so much a matter of romance as it is a matter of anxious concern for the well- being of one's companion."

-Gordon B. Hinckley- for a loving marriage

"Some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don't come until Heaven. But for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come."

- Jeffrey R Holland- for hope and happiness and optimism and faith

"It it's important, you'll find a way. If not, you'll find an excuse."

- For a reality check.

"If you are complaining about life, it is because you are only thinking of yourself."

- GBH- no complaining!

"Being a family means you are part of something very wonderful. It means you will love and be loved the rest of your life (and forever). No matter what."

-Love :)

"When you feel like you're drowning in life, don't worry- your lifeguard walks on water"

- Jesus :)

"Surround yourself only with people who are going to lift you higher."

- For making good friends.

"God has perfect timing. Never early, and never late. And it takes a little patience, and a lot of faith."

- For faith and patience

"Happy girls are the prettiest."

-Audrey Hepburn- for my daughters!

"Real men wear pink? No. Real men treat women right."

-For my sons and my husband. And my daughters too :)

“Generally speaking, the most miserable people I know are those who are obsessed with themselves; the happiest people I know are those who lose themselves in the service of others...By and large, I have come to see that if we complain about life, it is because we are thinking only of ourselves.”

- President Gordon B. Hinckley (a longer version of the previous quote)

"Those who are the happiest never did have everything. Rather, they are grateful for everything they do have."

-For an attitude of gratitude

"Be so happy than when others look at you, they are happy too."

-For happiness

"In our house we choose happiness, welcome friends, listen and don't judge, are loyal, grateful, sincere, use our manners, share, smile, have fun, try new things, and respect each other."

-Choose happiness

"Let your faith be bigger than your fear."

-For faith

"When life gets to hard to stand, kneel."

-Be prayerful

... There are soo many more I love but I fear it will get boring if I continue! Plus, it's a lot of back and forth typing. Soo I you want to see more, go to my Pinterest page.

PS- Totally obsessed with Pinterest B.T. Dubs

Morning Routine

I have never considered myself a morning person. When I used to wake up for seminary in High School. I would set my alarm for 5:43, roll out of bed, and run across the street to get there on time at 5:45 so as not to waste a moment of sleep. The getting up is the hard part for me. However, once I am up, I can act like I am very awake if I want to. I remember talking to Philip and Heather CONSTANTLY all seminary. I honestly don't know how I had so much to talk about, but I guess I did.

How cute is this picture???

Anyway, the point is, I still put off waking up as long as possible. Waking up and going to work is just about the last thing I EVER want to do. But once I do, I actually quite enjoy my mornings, especially now that I share them with Dahl. I don't think Dahl thinks he's really much of a morning person, either, but I still love our mornings. Our normal routine goes something like this:

• 6:45- Dahl's alarm goes off. He decides that is the alarm for "cuddle time" instead of waking up, so he snoozes it and gets right to his duties.



• 7:05- My alarm goes off. I snooze it too... usually until 7:15. Sometimes Dahl gets up now to take a shower.

• 7:15-7:20- I drag myself out of bed, and if Dahl is still there, he does too.



• 7:15-7:30- CRUNCH TIME! We get dressed, pack gym clothes, pack lunch, make a protein drink for Dahl, and Dahl takes a shower if he hasn't already. All the while, I allow my alarm to continually go off so we can keep track of how many more minutes we have until we must leave. Dahl usually dances along to the alarms and tries to get me to dance along, too. What a goof! It's hilarious :)



• 7:30-7:35- We rush out the door, all the while assessing how early or late we are leaving, possibly scraping ice and snow off the car on the way.



JK not that fast!


• 7:30/35- 8:00- Dahl drives my to work very speedily. On the way, he stirs and drinks his protein drink. I put on make up, we chat and listen to the radio, and I read us some scriptures (we are trying to finish the Book of Mormon by the end of the year). I have to admit, we have never been the best at this, but now that it is part of our morning routine I love it! PLUS, we recently (as in over a month ago) got through the Isaiah chapters in 2 Nephi, which is AWESOME. No offense to Isaiah.

• 8:00 He kisses me goodbye, I tell him to have the best day ever(!), and I run into work so as not to be late!

Basically, I love mornings. Even though they are mornings.

Easter- A Little Something Egg-stra!

*I know it's a week after Easter, but I think this idea can be used whenever, just not with my awesome pun :)*

So, this Easter I wanted to make a little surprise for Dahl. I came up with the idea to give him an Easter Egg Hunt with a little something "egg-stra". I started it out by giving him a note that said:

Dear Dahl,

Because I love you more than I can say,

Here's a little something "egg"-stra to brighten your days

In each egg there are some treats,

but they aren't all just to eat

I hope you think they are lots of fun,

I love being your honey bun!

Love,

Kelly

In each egg, I gave him some candy (of course) and a coupon for things like a massage, I take him on a date to a restaurant of his choice, and other fun things (that was the little something "egg-stra"). I even included a "no nagging" one-- if I'm ever nagging him, he can give me the coupon and I have to stop!

I have never made him homemade coupons before, and I don't know why... they are so easy and fun! He loved them! So much that I got a kiss after each coupon (or two or three depending on how awesome this particular one seemed to him). I'm so excited for him to redeem all of them! I told him he must use at least 1 coupon a month for the next 12 months so that he finishes them at least by the year's end-- he says it will be much faster than that!

PS- I followed a tutorial to make homemade coupons here.

The Dance Date Where Everything that Could Go Wrong, Did!

This weekend I planned a dance- themed date. It did not go according to plan, but we still had fun! This is the post I wanted to write (and planned on posting):

This past Saturday, I planned a date that was a little bit more geared towards me... but Dahl still loved it! I planned a dance themed date! Now, I have NEVER considered myself much of a dancer. But, I have always thought dancing was fun. I took several dance classes at BYU just because I liked them. Heather (my sister) was always better than me, but I made out alright. I asked Dahl to take a dance class while we were dating so I could dance with him, and he did, but it wasn't his favorite. He does, however, like to dance with me, and demonstrates it by grabbing me and breaking into spontaneous dance randomly and with great gusto.

SO, I decided to try it, mostly because it sounded so fun to me!

You are invited to an evening of dance with your favorite dance partner of all time, ME.

3:00:

I challenge you to a Just Dance competition! Winner gets to pick the dance movie we are going to watch J

4:00-6:00: Watch a dance movie. Options: Footloose, Step Up, Swing Kids, Dirty Dancing

6:00-7:00: Dinner/ Drive to BYU

7:00-8:30: Free swing dancing lessons at BYU!

8:30- 9:00 Dancing

9:00 Surprise!

For the surprise, I decorated our room like a dance (sort of... just added some Christmas lights and cleared out a dance floor), and we had a little dance party to our favorite Pandora playlists. It was so fun, and we had a great time dancing the night away.

This is a way fun date that you can do even if you don't have a place that offers free dance lessons! If you look around, there are generally some places that offer group lessons for a small fee, and some even offer private lessons with appointments for a larger fee if you want to get more intense about it. You could even find Youtube videos and learn from those if you want to make it cheaper and stay at home! If you don't like Just Dance you can play a similar game like Dance Dance Revolution, or you don't have a Wii or Kinnect, do a Zumba workout video together.

This is how it really happened:

I told Dahl about the date idea, and he thought it would be really fun! Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond our control, we were not able to start the date until about 5, so we skipped the Just Dance part and just started Footloose.

Then, we drove down to BYU, only to not be able to find the dance instructions... I just learned that the website I was looking at to plan the date was extremely out of date, and that the dance lessons are usually in the Richards Building room 2206 Saturdays 7-8, and then there is a dance 8-10:30pm (the dance costs $3 if you are not a club member). This particular time was especially confusing because it was held in the Wilkinson Center. That's okay, though, because we will just go another time!

We also locked our keys in the car. With our cell phones, too. Don't ask. Luckily, we were on an extremely friendly campus and 2 people let us use their phones to first call AAA, then the campus police, and then AAA again to cancel their services (too late, though, because they arrived right after the officer opened our car... kind of awkward, but whatever!). Then we went to Cafe Rio, which is amazing, and back home to finish the movie.

vs

I decorated our room with red Christmas lights and a big sparkly gold ornament to be like a fake disco ball in the middle of the ceiling, and put on a pretty dress, and we had a dance party in our room. That was definitely the best part of the evening :)

We will play Just Dance later today, Dahl promised!

SO, basically, a lot went wrong, but it was still fun, and we will definitely make sure we figure it all out next time so we don't have all those problems again. Plus, I still got to spend the whole night with my best friend, and he was so sweet and understanding about everything, so it was still AWESOME!

We didn't end up taking any pictures on this date because, as I said, nothing really went according to plan, but here is a picture of us dancing when we were first dating:

He is my favorite dance partner of all time :)