Baseball Stuff!

This is a quick glimpse of my sweet, sweet nephew's baseball game. I am a crazy aunt and followed him around the field taking his picture. I had to condense the afternoon into a reasonable blog post. I tried my hardest but was only able to get it down to 11 pictures. Enjoy, I know I sure did!

 What a cute face!

 Warm up throws

 

 Ryan's 'helper' showing him to throw the ball to first base.

 After a few minutes in the outfield Ryan got a little bored.

 Poor little guy got knocked down by the kid in the blue shirt:(

 Up to bat!

 Running the bases.

Resting at the bases.

I LOVE this little guy so much! How could you ever resist that face!? Luckily, soon Ryan will have a little sister. We will call her Raegan, and she will also be featured on the blog. Eeeek can't wait:)

Give yourself permission.

Permission to smile..

Permission to laugh..

Permission to enjoy..

Permission to live..

Permission to get excited..

Permission to take a risk..

Permission to react..

Permission to love and to be loved..

"Give Yourself Permission" was on the inside of my dove chocolate wrapper, these are my thoughts on the matter..

Know this, that every soul is free.

We sang this hymn is sacrament meeting on Sunday and the words really touched me, so I copied the lyrics below.

1. Know this, that ev’ry soul is free
To choose his life and what he’ll be;
For this eternal truth is giv’n:
That God will force no man to heav’n.

2. He’ll call, persuade, direct aright,
And bless with wisdom, love, and light,
In nameless ways be good and kind,
But never force the human mind.

3. Freedom and reason make us men;
Take these away, what are we then?
Mere animals, and just as well
The beasts may think of heav’n or hell.

4. May we no more our pow’rs abuse,
But ways of truth and goodness choose;
Our God is pleased when we improve
His grace and seek his perfect love.

Isn't that beautiful? My favorite verse is the first one, I love the sincerity and truth of the words. I have a true testimony that we choose our lives and what we will become. Yes, sometimes bad things happen to good people. But it is typically not the trial that is the test, it is how we handle the trial and rise above it. That is how we prove ourselves to our maker. 

This is what I have chosen, and together we have it all.

"An animal's eyes have the power to speak a great language." ~ Martin Buber

What to wear, what to wear?

You may be picturing me standing in front of a mirror alternating outfits on hangers trying to figure out what will look best. If this image or something similar is on your mind, you would be incorrect. A better way to describe my thoughts lately is 'what to write, what to write?' I have the desire to keep my blog up to date but I do not know what to write about.

Once I started my Thankful Thursday posts things got a bit easier.Certain things that happen from day to day make me think, 'I should write about this on the blog' But as time has gone by I now sit down in front of my computer and my ideas from earlier seem so trivial. It feels as if I am being boastful and gloaty and I don't like it. Preoccupying myself with the superficial things in life. There is one concept I have learned throughout my life that I find to be very true, 'things' come and go, but 'family' is forever. I am blessed with an understanding of the Gospel and the purpose of our life on earth, and that truly humbles me.

That being said, I would like to refocus my blog. Instead of all the 'awesome' stuff that happens to me that makes me feel grateful, I will center my posts on the more inspirational occurrences in life. I want my blog to demonstrate the beauty of the earth, of marriage, and of family. From now on (or until I change my mind) my posts will manifest the more important things in life. The stuff that makes me smile, the situations that make me laugh, and the deeds that make me feel loved.

A Very Thankful Thursday!

Ooooh so many things to be thankful for this week! We are officially Home Owners! For the past few months we have been shopping around hoping to purchase a home. About a month ago we found the perfect starter home for us. After a lot of negotiating, a lot of paperwork, and a LOT of waiting, its finally ours.
Every morning I wake up to birds chirping and  other beautiful sounds of nature. We have big windows in every room, and some rooms have multiple windows so there is a good amount of natural light always shining in which I love! We have such pretty scenery around us, sometimes I like to pass the time by just looking out my windows at the mountains, trees, and other beauties of the earth.

We had a lot of great help moving out of our apartment and into our house. I have completely put together my new massage room:) (with the exception of wall hangings, Josh will be doing that tomorrow) The kitchen is set up for the most part, we bought the most beautiful dining table and chairs but those wont be delivered until the middle of July. Our living room still has a couple of boxes in it that consist of books, dvds, and pictures. Josh will be putting pictures up on the walls tomorrow. Our bathroom is almost organized the way I want it to be, but we still have a ways to go on the bedroom. But I figure its more important to have our living areas looking nice and organized, when that gets done I will move on to the bedroom. Unfortunately my husband doesn't agree. Maybe he will do the bedroom himself then!? Doubt it, haha.

Another plus, (if the list above wasn't enough) is that we have awesome neighbors! We are surrounded by dog lovers, which we absolutely love:) And we are not the only ones with two dogs either. Now I don't like to play favorites but sometimes I just cant help it! The little four year old boy who lives below us is just to die for! When I come home from work he always invites me over, "Do you want to come down here for a while?" he'll ask. and when he sees me outside with the dogs he tells me at least once, "I like your dogs!" He is also very sweet to remind me to take care of them too, haha. How could I resist but naming him as my favorite. I could go on forever with cute stories about him and we haven't even been here a week yet!

The Lord has blessed us so much and we are indeed grateful to him. Josh and I discuss often how lucky we are, we have each other, our families, our health, and our house. What more could we ask for? Like I said, its a VERY THANKFUL THURSDAY today.

Thankful Thursday!

Have you ever had one of those nightmares where you go to school/work/anywhere that people will see you, and realize you are scantily clad in just your underwear?!

This dream became a reality for me yesterday, only backwards.

Rewind to Wednesday morning. Josh and I wake up early to do some errands. Keep in mind that early for us is like 8am, but still! We get home completely exhausted from running around Roy, Layton, and Riverdale until about 1:30. Josh leaves for work between 1:30 and 1:45. I need to be at work at 2:30 because I have a 3 o'clock appointment. I knew I would have difficulty making it through my shift without a power nap. The most comfortable way for me to do this is in only my underwear and tucked into the sheets of my bed. I know that is probably more information than most people care to know but it is an important detail to the upcoming circumstances. So I set my alarm for 2:15 and get some shut eye.

I wake up to the sound of a text message. I look at the clock to see how much time I have left before my alarm will go off. And what do I see? 2:50 Still disoriented from my slumber I put my head back on my pillow thinking about what I am supposed to do when my alarm goes off. That is when I realize that I am already 20 minutes behind schedule! I jump up out of bed, throw my clothes on, put Penny in her kennel, and make a run for my car.

I am about half way to work as I start to evaluate the situation. I forgot to set my alarm? No, it is set for 2:15AM! Ugh. I am so frustrated and humiliated and angry with myself. At the stop light I look down to pull my phone out of my pocket so I can call the spa and explain my tardiness, and that's when I realize it.....I am wearing my work clothes, but I am NOT wearing a bra!! I try to calmly consider my current situation.
  1. The shirt I am wearing today is very form fitting.
  2. I am on my way to work where I give people professional massages.
  3. I am already running late.
  4. But I have no choice, I have to turn around, go back home, and put on a freakin' bra.

I turn the car around and race home like a mad woman. I call my work, in a state of panic and humiliation. "Roxie, its Britany! I'm LATE! I am coming right now! Ill be there in 5 minutes! Can you take my client back for me?!" Call me a chicken but I wasn't ready to fess up to the reason of my tardiness. I got to work about 3:03 all sorts of disoriented from the events of the past 13 minutes. It is no secret that I am pretty out of it after waking up from a nap but I am baffled at the fact that I actually got dressed, (minus the bra) left my house (minus the bra) and drove half way to work (minus the bra). I pull myself together and give my client an awesome massage. I wasn't going to let anything bring me down! Pun intended!

Why am I fessing up now you ask? Well a certain book comes to mind that puts me at ease. 'You Are Special' A children's storybook about a little boy who is teased and tormented for being different and wants to change himself to become more socially acceptable. He comes face to face with his Creator to present his request, and questions why the Creator made him this way in the first place. Those three small words were all it took. You Are Special.

So laugh all you want people, but on this Thankful Thursday I say with great confidence. I AM FREAKING SPECIAL TOO! :)

May summer come soon? (pun intended)

This weather sure is somethin'! I don't mind it tho, there is nothing I can do about it so I may as well enjoy it.

Monday morning we woke up early and decided to venture up to Waterfall Canyon. When I let the dogs out I saw snow on the ground and secretly hoped that after informing Josh of the weather conditions he would reconsider our hike and postpone it to another day. Silly me. That just made the adventure more appealing to my sweet husband.

SO we bundled up, left Stella at home, and took Penny with us. It has been quite some time sense I have been on a hike, let alone been to the gym so saying that I am out of shape is a bit of an understatement.  After the first few hills I could feel the burn in my calf muscles. I would like to think that the burn was a result of me wearing my shape-ups but I kind of doubt it.

We had to stop a few times on the way up, I found myself feeling tired and light headed. But I was determined to make it to the top. Like an idiot, I told Josh we probably wont need snacks because it should only take us an hour or so. I will NOT be making that mistake again! A word to the not so wise, ALWAYS BRING FOOD WHEN GOING ON A HIKE. It helped a little bit to hold Penny's leash myself, that way she would pull me up and keep me going. She did so well the entire time, even jumping over the river she was a champion.

Finally we made it to the top, just when I was beginning to think that the top would never come. By then the air was cold and wet, and snow was falling from the sky. It felt so good to have made it. I leaned up against a boulder to catch my breath. Josh had a worried look on his face and mentioned that I looked pale as he gently put his hands on my shoulders. I lifted my gaze to look at him but all I could see were black splotches. I felt my knees become weak and it was difficult to stand. Josh held me up by my shoulders asking me if I was feeling alright. I told him I was blacking out and he grabbed the towel out of his bag and set it down on the rock beside me as he helped me sit down. He called Penny to lay against me and put he jacket around us like a blanket. I could tell he was scared but he seemed so calm as he kept repeating to me, "it's going to be ok sweetie just try to relax."

After a few minutes I was seeing clearly and feeling much better. I was still cold and wet from the snow and the waterfall, so I asked Josh if he wouldn't mind pulling the car up for me :) Unfortunately that wasn't a possibility. The way down went by a lot quicker than the way up. I felt so good an accomplished to have completed the hike, despite my brief moments of fatigue.

Thankful Thursday!

I know this is a few days late but I would really like to touch on the spiritual experience Josh and I were blessed with. Thursday morning we attended the viewing and funeral of Braden Howe.

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/deseretnews/obituary.aspx?n=braden-howe&pid=151096568

Josh has been friends with the Howe family for years, and sense I have been a part of his life I consider them to be friends of mine also. I have spent enough time with them to know that they are genuinely good people. Though death rarely causes happy feelings, the spirit we felt with family and friends of the Howe family was extraordinary. Everyone who spoke at the funeral said such nice things about Braden that really made me miss him. The wife of his brothers friend, what right do I have to miss him? Here is my justification; Braden was a Child of God, just like me. I feel that gives me the right to mourn the loss of a good person, and to celebrate his happiness. He is now with our Father in Heaven and Savior Jesus Christ, and without his handicap as a quadriplegic. I know now that he is truly comfortable, happy, and without pain.

And that makes me happy.

Lets go fly a kite

Saturday night when I got home from work Josh proposed that we go and fly some kites. So we ventured to Big Lots to purchase our kites. I chose a small kite with a picture of Tinker Bell, and Josh chose a larger Batman kite, (mine was cuter tho.) Unfortunately big lots didn't have any extra kite strings, so we had to continue the search. From Big Lots to Dollar Tree to Walmart, and we found NOTHING!

So we picked up Josh's mom and brother and headed to a park in Clinton. My  kite was the first to go up, and she flew like a dream:) It didn't take long for Batman to follow. Tonia and Joseph brought several kites with them so it was definitely an adventure trying to get them up in the air. Josh is a natural at kite flying. Just another awesome quality of his:) We ended up spending almost two hours at the park, flying our kites, relaxing, and having fun. It was nice to spend some quality time with our family and appreciating nature and the beautiful creations on this earth. I feel so blessed to have such an amazing husband who helps me to appreciate all that our Father in Heaven has given us.

Thankful Thursday!

Today I am thankful for many things. I am sitting here at work, waiting for my next appointment and writing this post. I hit my shin in about three different places just trying to sit down in the desk chair. The room between the desk and the chair is minimal, and I am not exactly a small person. A few words came to mind, 'ouch! son of a _____! WTF! I am SO not thankful for this!' However, then I am humbled and reminded that what doesn't kill me makes me stronger, and adds character. So there ya go!

The highlight of my day was a brief conversation with Josh while at the mall window shopping. Please allow me to walk you through the event. We are walking around Sears and Josh grabs a hat to try on. I look at him, chuckle to myself, and say, "That hat makes you look like the guy from Good Charlotte." Josh then replies with, "Oh I don't know that movie." I begin to laugh hysterically! As most of you know, Good Charlotte is not a movie, it is a band. I explained that to my cute husband but he still didn't get why I was laughing so hard. He is so silly I just want to pinch his cheeks some times!

Happpy Happppppy Birthday!

Travis Julian Mark!

Happy birthday to my bestest most best brother Travis! Also known as T.J., also known as Thravees, also known as Zatkeneese, also known as Stella's #1 fan, also known as The Dragon Slayer, also known as Mini Matt, also known as Treyvis, also known as T Shzaaaash, also known as Taylor Swift lover.

Travis has always been one to make me laugh. Over the years however I have become the more comical person in our friendship. He very graciously allows that to happen without much resistance. He also lets me boss him around, I say 'Jump!' and he says 'How high oh wise wise and funny Britany.' We have our differences from time to time and somewhat grew apart while he was serving his mission in Russia. He went through some major life changing experiences and didn't feel the need to notify me about it. When ones belly button changes from an outie to an innie, one would normally notify ones best friend about that. But he didn't. Things have been different between us ever sense. We are still working on renewing our friendship and moving past that little bump in the road but only time will tell. Here are some pictures to document our friendship. Please note that no pictures have been taken sense I realized his belly button had changed. Its just too hard to go back to what we once were after being deceived as I was.

 This was taken right before we said our goodbyes at the MTC

Meet Masha and Brett (Halloween 2008)

 He made me mad, so I bit him, then he cried. What a baby!

 This is one of many sleeping pictures he took of me while we were in Russia. Don't judge me, I had really bad jet lag....

 We are cool, Travis wants me to cut my bangs like this again.

 When I put Travis in a choke hold, something strange happens to his face.

This is one of my favorite pictures. A few years ago Travis got bored and started taking pictures of himself at weird angles to see how unattractive he could make himself. All I can say is, mission accomplished:)

Love you Travis, hope you have a great birthday!

Has it really been six months?!

Exactly six months ago today Josh and I were married for Time and ALL Eternity in the Bountiful Temple. I CANNOT believe it has been six months already. A part of me feels like it was just yesterday that we promised ourselves to each other. On the other hand, its weird to think that we were ever not married. Strange to think we said goodbye to one another each night, slept alone, then reunited sometime the next day.

I couldn't be happier with the life I have chosen to live. Every morning I wake up next to my best friend, we talk about our future and feel grateful for our past, but there is no time like the present. We have been so blessed throughout our lives. I truly believe that the Lord prepared us for each other. All of the trials and tribulations I go through in life are so worth it because of where I am now. Where my Father in Heaven has led me to be. Sometimes it doesn't feel real. How blessed we were to find each other and become who we are today, and work together towards what we will be tomorrow.

Won't you be my neighbor?

Lately I have been intrigued with the life of the infamous Mr Fred Rogers. I have listed some interesting facts (and fables) that I found in my research of the beloved Fred Rogers.

Fact or Fiction:

Mr Rogers was a Presbyterian Minister.  -Fact-

Mr Rogers has sleeve tattoos.  -Fiction-

Mr Rogers received an Emmy for Lifetime Achievement.  -Fact-

Mr Rogers was Marine Sniper in Vietnam.  -Fiction-

 As I read about him I was humbled, he had such a big heart. This inspirational man dedicated his television career to empower parents and children to deal with the issues of life, and not just sweep them under the rug. He truly cared about the people in his life, including the viewers of his show.

My intrigue has grown into a craving for him and his story. I have been reading many online articles about him, (not in a creepy way). To be honest, I was disappointed when I found that his shows weren't available on Netlix:( I know that I sound kind of crazy right now but Mr Rogers has definitely been added to my personal 'hero' list. I hope that throughout my life I will be able to do good and to make an impact on someones life the way he has mine.

April Fools

Today is the day that everybody turns into a comedian.

I have disliked this day ever sense I can remember, which was in the second grade.

April 1st years and years ago, I had just walked into MRS Muller's second grade classroom. Just like any other day I was putting my coat and back pack on an available hook.

My friend Mandy came up to me and said, "Hey Britany, did you know we don't have dance today?"

Being a trusting friend, I replied, "We don't? How come?"

She got a huge smile on her face and in a loud voice responded, "APRIL FOOLS!" And continued to laugh hysterically as I just stood there.

I honestly didn't get what was so funny. I looked around me to see if anyone was doing something comical, she couldn't possible be laughing at the remark she just made....Well she was....Unfortunately.... I thought to myself how incredibly stupid her little 'joke' was.

I would like to make it clear that I am no prude to jokes, even when I am the butt of them. I have no problem laughing at something that is funny, and I consider myself to have a REALLY good sense of humor! Just ask my husband, we always talk about how funny I am.

I am what you would call a 'grinch' to this excuse of a Holiday. Especially to people who claim stupid things such as pregnancy, leprosy, illness, and the cancellation of a dance class. I don't see the point, nor do I care to.

Thankful Thursday!

Another week full of lots of thanks for Thursday!

This morning Josh and I went to the Ogden Temple for the final time in its current state. Today is the last day before the demolition of the Ogden Temple will begin. Some things just make me so happy, it feels unnecessary to give a senseless description. 

If you know me, you know I love my mom. Enough said:) We went to dinner together tonight at Costa Vida, mmmm mmmm good! I just love every moment that I spend with my mom. Schedules just get so busy and life just gets in the way sometimes and I just miss my mom. Tonight was a much needed mother-daughter date.

Happpy Happppppy Birthday!

Nicole Renee Broadbent Mark!

Old picture? Why yes, yes it is! How old? Only 5 years or so haha. This was taken before my Junior Prom!

Nicole is one of my favorite people in the whole wide world, Even tho she is a tom-boy and likes star wars among other silly things. She was brought into our lives when I was still in Jr High School. I remember the first time that I met her. She came over for Sunday dinner. She wore a blue turtle-neck sweater, and blue jeans. I don't know why I recall her outfit that evening, I must have an elephant memory! I was so excited when she came into our lives, I knew someday she would become a Mark girl:) I have always looked up to her. She is such a beautiful person with a great sense of humor. We have always had a special bond, probably because we are both the youngest in our families:) And because we are both awesome! She has always been such a good example to me. She has helped me through hard times, and always listens to my stories. She even puts up with my embarrassing her. She keeps my secrets, and gives me advice. She makes me laugh, and calls me out on my crap. What more could I ask for in a big sister? If only she was the mother of a sweet little Taylor Swift lovin' boy, OH WAIT! She is:)  And he certainly is a STUD!

 

 Just look at those cheeks! He is such a little angel:)

Oops now I am getting side-tracked. Happy Birthday Nicole! One year older and wiser two, we sure love you!

Friday Special

Whats on the menu? Appointments in the morning and the Temple in the evening. What could be better than that? Getting to hang out with my husband on a Friday night, EXTRA EXTRA read all about it!

Josh and I worked civilized shifts today like normal human beings and were done with work by 3pm. After Josh made me a DELICIOUS lemon peppered chicken quesadilla, we went to a session at the Bountiful Temple<3. It was my first time doing a session there so it was really special. Even more so because my good friend Kiley was going through the Temple for the first time. Experiencing that with her was so much fun! The Temple is truly such a beautiful and peaceful place and I was so humbled that she wanted me to be a part of her special day:)

We have been so blessed to have such positive influences in our lives. When it comes to family and friends, I consider us to be VERY lucky!

In other news Josh's promotion has been made official at his job! He works so hard for our little family I don't know how he does it sometimes. It can be very frustrating for me going from one appointment to another with little or no time to rest, and Josh going from school to work with little or no rest, and then there is Penny. She just sits around, she doesn't have a job, she isn't going to school, she never asks how my day is, all she wants is for me to pet her or feed her or take her out to go potty, I am starting to feel like she is taking advantage of us and becoming a free-loader....Kids....I just don't get it sometimes, you do so much for them and they just don't appreciate you. We are considering confronting her with an intervention. Please let us know if you are interested in participating. I am working on a project with her that I will be posting soon. If you don't support the intervention idea now, you probably will once I post what I have been working on.

a VERY thankful Thursday!

Words can not adequately describe how great of a day I have had, I am on the borderline of happy-go-lucky about the day. So lets recap the day shall we?

7:30 A.M. I am awakened by the alarm clock on my phone playing 'fireflies'
So I get up and start getting ready for the day

8:30 A.M. We pull into the parking lot of the Ogden Temple, talk about starting the day out right!
One of my favorite places to be, and I was with Josh who happens to be one of my favorite people:)

12:30 P.M. Josh cooks us some grilled cheese sandwiches. My husband has three cooking specialties;  
quesadillas, french toast, and grilled cheese sandwiches. Needless to say I was quite pleased with our lunch menu.

1:30 P.M.(ish) Josh goes to work, and I embark on my newest crocheting project. For our anniversary Josh gave me a book on crocheting handbags and accessories. My first attempt at a fashionable purse, we will see how it goes. I can already see a few hiccups in the pattern but nothing to terrible, I am actually getting excited to see the finished result because what I have so far is not too shabby.

8:30 P.M. My sweet sweet visiting teachers came to see me, and bless their hearts they put up with my chatty behavior for almost 2 hours.  We have been so blessed with such a great ward. We absolutely LOVE our calling as Sunbeam teachers and we are adjusting to it quite well if I do say so myself.

11:00 P.M. Josh comes home! Great ending to a great day! Until next time:)

Anniversary Weekend....

I know what you're thinking, we JUST got married in October. However, February 6th 2009 Josh and I met, and we consider that to be pretty special:) We decided to make it a weekend full of celebration. Saturday we went on a date to Warrens to get some gourmet hamburgers, and then went to catch a flick. Unfortunately the flick was not the best, that is an understatement, it was terrible. But we didn't let that ruin our night, we came home and watched Wedding Date with Debra Messing. It was a cute movie:)

Tonight my parents had a party in honor of our anniversary. And it just so happens that there was a pretty popular football game on t.v. so in addition to good food and good company, everyone had something to do. My mom made my favorite childhood dessert, cream filled chocolate cupcakes mmmm yummm....... And I made candy bar cookies to share with the group. All in all it was a great weekend, and not just because of the gift exchange. I have the most amazing husband and he makes me happier than I ever thought possible.

2011 update!

The new year has brought to us many great blessings and opportunities. We have been called to teach the sunbeams class in our ward. The kids are SO adorable, and extremely funny. We are enjoying our time with them and the laughs they bring to our sunday afternoons.

I have been so busy at the Spa I come home exhausted and NOT in the mood to clean house. Unfortunate for my home, but NOT unfortunate for our finances. I have also been pretty busy at the Salon as well which is really great. I love the time that I spend there and the people I work with.

Josh is doing really well in school this semester and he is in the process of getting a promotion at work. We are really excited and humbled by the tender mercies of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

This week I was in the mood for a yummy treat so I ventured through my cookbook and found the perfect receipe. CandyBar Cookies. All you do is make peanut butter cookies and wrap the dough around mini candy bars. I wrapped milkyways for myself, and snickers and dark chocolate milkyways for Josh. They turned out FANTASTIC. I have been obsessed with them all week, in fact, I think I will go eat some right now:)

New Year, New Beginnings

As we embark upon a new year, new adventures, and another chapter of our lives I would like to take a moment and look back on the many blessings that 2010 brought to us, just to name a few....

February 6th Josh and I celebrated the anniversary of the first night that we met. The night that brought us together and changed our lives for the better.

June 12th Josh handed me some bling and asked me to be his wife, what a great memory that was:)

October 7th Josh and I were sealed in the Bountiful Temple for Time and All Eternity, probably the best day of my life.

December 31st 11:59 pm we lived our last minute of 2010 and have no regrets.

Bring it on 2011! We cant wait to see what you have in store for us!

Ugly Sweater Contest!

Every Christmas Eve my family goes out to dinner at the Olive Garden. This year Josh and I thought it would be fun to start an ugly sweater contest. The ugly sweaters would be worn to dinner, during dinner, and home from dinner. Here are the contestants:

Aaron and Nicole with their Christmas spirit. If you look closely you can read Nicole's shirt "Ho ho ho.." Haha Just kidding! Love you Nikki!

Matt and Beca. If you are thinking that his sweater looks a bit femine, you would be correct, it is a womans sweater, needless to say he kept his coat on throughout most of the dinner.

Me and Josh. I actually got a compliment on my sweater from a 'matured' acquaintance at the restaurant, and the second Josh put on his sweater at Savers I couldn't stop laughing.

Mom and Dad. They left the price tags on their sweaters so that the people at the DI wouldn't have to re-tag them:)

Josh and I have reached a decision of who to declare the winner. We also have come up with a prize that we find to be enticing and encouraging for next years contest. After much ponder and thought we would like to announce the winner of this competition. The winner will receive a FREE 30 minute massage, redeemable at TradeMARK Massage, Washington Terrace location. and the winner is................

Matthew Andre Mark!

Congrats Matty, let me know when you can come over for your massage!!

Thankful Thursday

This post is so on time its not even funny! This week we have taken advantage of the fact that Josh does not have to go to school during the day. Therefore, we stay in bed until 11am or so and take our time with breakfast and lunch. I have never been one to stay up late, or to sleep in. However, Josh's sleep habits have worn off on me. I stay up late to see him when he gets home from work and he is usually pushing me out of bed the next day:) Sometimes I miss my 'early to bed early to rise' days but I would miss hanging out with him more so the decision isn't hard each night as I stay up watching Prison Break until he gets home. Speaking of Prison Break, I am on the 4th and final season of the show and its already got me hooked. This might just be my favorite season yet!
I have recently been rebuked for having a 'boring' blog with only words and no pictures. Personally I thought people grew out of the picture phase as they progressed through elementary school. As it was brought to my attention that this is not always the case, I will try to do better with taking pictures throughout the week and posting them. This week I would like to focus on this little sweet pea...

As you can see this little thing is quite the cuddle bug, (and I am not talking about the monkey) Shown above is a picture of Penelope Cronen and her best friend Monkey. They enjoy classical musical, long walks on the beach, sitting next to us on the couch, and most importantly ATTENTION! It doesn't matter if we want to give it to Penny or not, the second we move she is right next to us waiting to be pet. She is so much fun to have around she is the sweetest thing. Also she is probably the cleanest dog in the world! She is constantly cleaning her paws, her belly, and in between her legs. She even tries cleaning others, whether it be animals or people. If she smells something salty, dirty, or yummy she is more than happy to offer her cleaning services. And I am NOT exaggerating, we didn't even know when she went into heat because she keeps herself so clean. I don't think we will ever be able to get her fixed because she will lick her stitches right out!

Thankful Thursday...a few weeks late...

I am some what of a slacker. My sister Nicole has informed me of this many times as I have not been updating this as I should. So my deepest and sincerest apologies go out to my readers. But in my defense I didn't think that I had any readers to worry about.

The past few weeks have been pretty fantastic for the Cronen Club, (aka myself and Joshua). We have been so blessed and are excited to continue adventures together. As Josh's first semester back at school concludes the studying for his finals continued. The time has come and Josh survived ALL of his final exams! Now we have a couple of weeks that we will be able to spend out mornings together until the new Semester starts and we do it all over again. Oh the joys of college life:)

We are very excited to spend our first Christmas together as a married couple. I absolutely love this time of year. The crisp weather, the snow, the lights, the hot chocolate, and most importantly the spirit of it all. The whole reason for the season, the fact that Christ lives and is our Savior.

Stay tuned. Ill be back next week.....maybe.... :) OK OK OK I will be!

Thankful Thursday..a day late...again....

I obviously need to start writing this on Wednesdays because I never have time to finish what I am saying on Thursdays, thus another day late.


M-O-M

For those of you slow with reading  comprehension I will explain what a mother is. Dictionary.com definition #5 a term of familiar address for an old or elderly woman.....wait let me find another one that suits her better. # 8 a woman exercising control, influence, or authority like that of a mother: to be a mother to someone.
BritanyCronenKnowsBest.com defines a mother as A role model, an example, an influence for good. Teri Mark-the best person I know. She is so creative and is always so helpful and inspiring. It has been strange not living with her, we have such a good relationship and I miss seeing her everyday. We still have so much fun everytime we get together and still share a lot of laughs even when we are only talking on the phone. I really hope to be a good mother like her.

New Addictions

This week Josh and I have introduced ourselves to Prison Break, courtesy of Netflix. We rarely agree on shows that are not reality shows ironically. But Prison Break....This one is different. Josh doesn't find it completely predictable, and I don't find it crude. We have started to watch it when he gets home from work at night. Monday I made the mistake of watching an episode without Josh....I told him not much happened, I was then challenged to recall the entire episode and walk Josh through it. After a very LONG conversation I promised not to watch another episode without him.

So of course I had to come up with something else to preoccupy my time while Josh was at work and school. The answer, Lie to Me. It had been recommended to me many times and I finally decided to check it out. I absolutely LOVE the way they analyze facial expressions and body language, it makes me want to be more persistent in my daily endeavors. I look forward to continuing my obsession with these shows:)

Thankful Thursday...a day late...

This week I am thankful for the wonderful examples I have in my life. Namely, my big brother Matt. Wednesday morning he dedicated the grave of his son, Wyatt Harvard Mark. It was such a beautiful and spiritual experience. He has so much love for his family and dedication to the gospel. Baby Wyatt's casket was white with ripples going down the sides and it was SO TINY! It is strange to think that a person was inside of it. Below is probably the only family picture that Wyatt will be a part of in this life.

They had Brady saying 'Love you baby Wyatt!' it was adorable. The poor little guy couldn't understand why everyone was so sad and crying, 'Mimi (britany) you a little sad?' But he was being very sweet going around and giving everybody hugs. Afterwards we went to Los Hermanos for lunch. It was very special to have everyone together and enjoy each others company even tho it wasn't the most pleasant of circumstances.

Post Bachelorette Fun
Last night Beca, Nicole, Cozette and myself celebrated the marriage of Cozette and Travis with a dessert buffett at Red Robin! We never got a chance to do a bachelorette party for her before she got married so we had no choice but to do it after. We ordered SO much dessert, my personal favorite was the mountain high mud pie. But what I enjoyed even more than the dessert was the company. I am so blessed to have such great sisters. We all get along so well and have so many good laughs together all the time, I wouldn't trade in a single one of them. Not even for a life time supply of mountain high mud pies!

Thankful Thursday

This week I want to focus on my gratitude for the plan of salvation, and our nieces and nephews. Brady, Ryan, Camden, Kya-Mei, Pheobie, and Marlee. These little people always put a smile on my face everytime I see their chubby cheeks, hear them laugh, or give them hugs.

This post is somewhat difficult for me to write... Yesterday we found out that we would not be able to meet our newest nephew in this lifetime. This news broke my heart. My brother and sister in law annouced in July that they were having a baby in March. Last month they found out they were having a little boy. Last week at their checkup the Dr expressed concerns with something that was found in the ultrasound and sent them to a specialist. Yesterday they were told that the baby was no longer living, and she was going to have a miscarriage.

This was extremely painful news. There is nothing to be said to take away this pain and disappointment.... However, the understanding of Heavenly Father's plan of salvation is comforting. As Josh and I were saying our evening prayers he was telling of his gratitude for the afterlife and the fact that we will meet this sweet spirit when we leave this world. We will get to know him, we will play with him, laugh with him, and he will see how much he is loved and how much he was missed on this earth. It was so humbling and comforting to feel the spirit as Josh conversed with our Father in Heaven. I am so blessed to have such a great husband and such great siblings and parents.

Tho it is difficult to continue and move on with our lives, it is what we need to do. I am thankful for every single of one my nieces and nephews, including the one who was called back to Heaven so early. I know that he will continue to watch over his parents lives until they return to him in Heaven. I am so blessed to have the knowledge of the Gospel that I do. I love him, and I will miss him. But I know he will be with us always in spirit.

Happy Monday!

We successfully made it through Josh's birthday weekend:) Saturday morning we slept in until 11:30! I NEVER sleep in past 9 or 10 so that was quite the surprise. We spent most of the morning in the kitchen, Josh made a big breakfast for us and I made brownies and lemon bars (per Josh's birthday request). We went to dinner at Texas Roadhouse and stuffed our faces! I am in LOVE with the rolls and butter they serve there. Josh's family came over for dessert and hot cocoa. My grandma gave us a hot cocoa machine for our wedding and we have had a blast with it.

Sunday we put our Halloween costumes together for Aaron and Nicole's annual Halloween party. Josh decided he wanted to be a red crayon, so naturally we dressed him in all red and then made a crayola sign to put on the front of his shirt. I wanted to be a punk rocker, I back-combed all of the hair on my head. Now that my hair is short a little back-combing goes a long way. Here is a picture of us at the party:)

After the party we came home and watched How to Train your Dragon. SUPER CUTE movie! I Love it. I think that was also the first movie Josh and I have sat through at our house sense we have been married. If you haven't seen it, we would definitely recommend it.

So concludes Josh's birthday weekend. One year older, and wiser two. Happy birthday Josh I love you!

Arizona Fun!

Tuesday morning Josh woke me up about 2:30 when he got home from work. We then ventured to Lindon to pick up Beca and Brady. 12 hours later we made it to Mesa Arizona, land of the cactus. Wednesday we went to the Mesa Temple to witness my brother Travis marry his beautiful Cozette. It was such a lovely ceremony and I only teared up one time!

While we waited for them to come out of the temple we took a few pictures:)

Soon enough the newlyweds came out for pictures!

The luncheon was next, where more pictures were taken....

The reception was ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL. My pictures didn't do it justice so I decided not to post any. I am sure that when they get there wedding pictures back they will share them. It was such a fun day, pretty long, but definitely fun! I am so proud of my brother for chosing such a great girl and so happy for their new life together. I cant wait until they move back to Utah:)

Its been a while....

Hello fellow bloggers. It has been quite sometime sense my last post! I have missed the past several 'Thankful Thursdays' as well as updating you on what is going on in our lives, so I will have to give a condensed version of the last month and a half of our lives.

October 7th Josh and I were married for time and ALL eternity in the Bountiful Temple. It was such a beautiful day. The weather was perfect, the people were perfect, and my husband was perfect. It truely made me so happy to see how many of our family and friends supported us at the festivities of that day. We are so grateful to have such good people in our lives.

We went on a quick honeymoon to Park City where we participated in some outlet mall shopping, ice cream eating, and movie seeing. It was so nice to just leave life behind us and be alone together for a few days. The trip came and went in the blink of an eye it seemed. But all that matters is that we are together, we have each other, and we love each other. Adjusting to married life has been a blast for Josh and I. We always have so much fun together and share too many laughs to count. We feel so blessed to have each other!

Tomorrow morning we will begin our road trip to Arizona to witness the marriage of my 'little' brother to the girl of his dreams:) We are all so happy that the two of them have found each other! Cozette fits right in with our family, and she is a good sport to put up with all of our teasing. They will be married on Wednesday afternoon in the Mesa Arizona Temple. I cant wait to see how things have come together. Travis, Cozette, and her family have put so much time and hard work into the preparations I'm sure that everything will be beautiful!

Josh and I will be driving down with Beca and Brady (and baby Quintin) which should be a fun 12 hours. Beca and Brady always bring a smile to my face, and we dont get to see them as often as I would like to because we live in Washington Terrace and Matt and Beca live in Lindon. It will be a quick trip. We will head out at 4am Tuesday morning, and come home Thursday morning. This is what we get for planning two weddings in the middle of the school semester, we obviously didn't think it through:) I will be sure to post pictures (with our new digital camera that my brothers gave us) from the wedding festivities!

Thats all for now!

Thankful Thursday

1. my mom <3
2. 4 weeks until the big day!
3. everything happening for a reason.

As some of you may know my mom was admitted into the hospital late Friday night after blood clots were discovered in her lungs. This was quite the scare to us, she has always been so healthy. I hated having her away from us. It just didn't feel right to be at home, sleeping in my own bed, eating food from our refrigerater, and knowing that my mom was all alone in a hospital bed. Luckily she only had to stay at the hospital until Sunday evening. The blood clots have not desolved, that will probably take months. She will likely have to be on medication for the rest of her life to prevent future clots. She has been able to stay home all week and just relax. I am so grateful to have such a strong mother. And so happy that our Father in Heaven has provided us with the capability to help her and spend some quality time with her this week.

4 weeks from right now Josh and I will be greeting our friends and family members at our reception. I can't believe time has gone by so fast! October 7th is right around the corner and we are almost ready for it. Josh will move into our apartment next Saturday. I am so excited to decorate and organize a place to call my own:) well technically I guess it would be 'our own' but you get the idea. We had our bridals/groomals taken over Labor day weekend, I can't wait to get them printed! They turned out so well. It was kind of fun posing for pictures in our wedding attire:) Its hard to believe that our wedding is almost here, but we still can hardly wait.

Everything happens for a reason. Travis decided to come up last weekend for a football game. When my mom was admitted into the hospital he decided that he wanted to stay for a while to help out and spend some time with her. I don't believe it was a coincedence that he came up that weekend, or that he was able to stay another week. I know that everything happens for a reason. I know that these are not the most ideal circumstances for a visit, but I really have enjoyed having Travis here. I have really missed him and its been nice to hang out, play nintendo, make jokes, and laugh together again.

Thankful Thursday

Where to begin?

1. Lindsay Nelson Bullock. We have been best buds ever sense I can remember visiting Canada. She and her husband decided to go on vacation to Riverside California where Kyle (and Josh-ironic) served his mission. On the way down they came and spent the night at our house. I almost forgot what it is like to laugh so hard you think you might pee your pants! Lizzy is always a good reminder for that:)
2. Being the youngest child allows me to spread my things all over the rooms of our house. For example, we don't get to move into our apartment until the middle of September, so where am I to put all of the gifts I have been given, and the things I have purchased? My room? No way, I can't live in that kind of clutter thats just ridiculous! I put it in the room accross the hall, formerly known as Travis' room, formerly known as Matt's room.
3. Penelope and Stella. These girls always cheer me up when I am feeling lonely, or sad. They certainly do cause a lot of trouble sometimes but they are totally worth it. I am going to miss living with Stella, when we get married we can only take Penny. But I know that Stella will be WELL taken care of. You can definitely agree with that statement if you know my father:)
4. Thank-you notes. Yes I am thankful for thank-you notes. I just finished composing them for the generous people that celebrated with me at my first bridal shower! It made my hand hurt, I forgot what it was like to write so much!

Thats all for today folks!

showered with joy

Saturday afternoon I was showered with love, food, and gifts by my family members. I feel so blessed to have so much support from the people around me. I was given amazing gifts that will be SO helpful. The only problem is, our stuff is piling up but we don't move into our apartment until September 20th. So everything is just stuffed in extra bedrooms in my house and so NOT organized, its KILLING me!

Sunday Josh ended up having to work. So after church I went to his sisters house anyway so we could watch the season finale of the Real Housewives of New Jersey. Sylvia got me HOOKED on that show! I am a total addict! It was defintely an entertaining season, and I must say I am very excited for the reunion episode. Jacquline is probably my favorite of the housewives, I feel as if I have the most connection with her. Caroline comes to a close second. She is such a good mom, aunt, sister, and wife. She always puts family first, just the way it should be:)

Today I had the day off. I enjoyed a relaxing morning with Josh and my dogs. Sadly, Josh had to leave for school, so we packed him a lunch, I gave him a kiss, and sent him on his way. I then met up with my good friend Rose to trade massages. She is moving to Guam on Septempber 10th. I am very happy for her and the exciting change in store for her and her sweet little family. I am going to miss her dearly but I am definitely trying so soak up all of her positive energy before she goes. She is such an amazing person and massage therapist, Guam is sure lucky to have her!

Thankful Thursday

Today started out just like any other. Josh came over, I made him breakfast, he did his homework. The usual routine I guess you say. We needed to go to Mr Mac to purchase Josh's suit for our wedding. I looked up the info on my phone and I could have SWORN the hours of operation said 9am-9pm. When we pulled up to an empty parking lot I realized I was mistaken. They do not open until 10am. So we find ourselves in quite the situation when we realized that Josh is either at work or at school during their hours of operation. However, he MUST get the suit before we get our Bridals/Groomals taken on September 4th. How do I react to this? panic! stress! anger! (towards myself, not Josh.)
Now I know what your thinking, "this isn't a very THANKFUL post." Well I am about to tell you how my day turned around, and what made it turn around.
1. Four letters, J-O-S-H. He has an amazing ability to cheer me up when I am down, he relieves me of my stress, and gives me hope to make me realize that everthing will work out ok. Josh will make time Saturday morning to go and get his suit fitted and the alterations should be done by next Saturday when we will be gettting our pictures taken.
2. I spent the rest of the day with my sweet big sister Nicole, and cute cute nephew Ryan. They can always cheer me up in times of stress. Nicole is a total crack up and Ryan is the cutest little guy ever. He repeats everything you say. (Good thing Nicole has cleaned up her potty language) he tip toes around the house babbling like a little angel, I LOVE it! I don't know what I would do without being close to my family. Its hard enough having Matt and Beca living an hour away, we are lucky they like road trips:) Nicole and I always have such interesting conversation, and Ryan always interupts it with such grace, poise, and....for lack of a better word cuteness!!
3. And lastly, but not leastly (Yes I know that is not a word, sometimes I like to rhyme. Using fake words. Sue me. No don't sue me because that isn't the point.) we got our engagement photos back today! They turned out really nice I think! I can't wait to get them printed and put in frames and decorate my basement apartment with them:)

the ABC's of true happiness

This came to me as I was laying in my bed last night pondering the meaning of life, the blessings I have been given, and what I am supposed to become. Just a random babble of my thoughts organized into a simple saying.

A- a good attitude
B- believing in yourself
C- coming unto Christ

Attitude is everything. With a bad attitude, nothing will go your way. We must believe in ourselves. If we do not believe in ourselves how are we to believe in Christ? And lastly, come unto Christ. A step further than believing in him. Coming unto Christ will never make you feel like you have been cheated out of something. The odds between us and Christ are in our favor. He does so much. And asks so little. Love him, appreciate him, get to know him.

Saturday Smaturday

Saturday was a busy day for us! We went out house hunting for the ten-trillionth time, and finally found the perfect place. A cute little basement apartment in Washington Terrace. Its a spacious 1 bedroom apartment with a lot of potential:) Plus we are getting an AWESOME deal which is always nice! So we signed the lease and we will move our stuff in around September 20th. Josh will live there alone until we get married, and then I will move in.

Later that night we drove out to Saltair to get our engagement pictures taken. It was a lot of fun to pose with Josh and get some nice pictures to put on our invitations. I have never been out there before but it is absolutely beautiful. We lost light earlier than I was hoping but I think we will still be happy with the results. Our photographer was very professional and like I said, we had a lot of fun. We didn't end up getting home until after 10pm tho which was exhausting. We decided to make it an early night sense we had church in the morning.

One more thing to check off of our wedding to do list:)

count your blessings name them one by one

ring ring~ring ring
Caller ID: Mindful Women Day Spa


Britany: "This is Britany"
 
Caller: "Hi Britany this is Cammie, from Mindful Women Day Spa"


Britany: "Hi Cammie how are you?"


  Cammie (formally known as Caller): "I am good, I was just calling because I would like for you to come and work for us. Susan and I have been impressed with you from the very beginning and we would love for you to become a member of our team."


Freaking excited Britany (formally known as "Britany"): "Wow thank you so much! I have been waiting for your call all week long, you wont be sorry for your decision. What is the next step?"


  Cammie: "We would like for you to come in on Wednesday for training at 3."


Super-dee-duper excited Britany (formally known as "freaking excited Britany"): "Great! I will see you then, Thanks again!!"


end of call


Britany and Joshua engage in a high five, as Britany says, "Slap hands!"


Moral of the story. God is great. He has blessed me in countless ways. And I am so grateful to be his daughter.

ripe old age of 21

The day celebrating the anniversary of my birth has come and gone. It was definitely a good day. It started out with my sweet mother making me breakfast, she even made Josh breakfast when he came to pick me up for church. We spent three spiritual hours at church and I was wished a happy birthday many times. Josh and I are still pretty new to the ward so I was pleasantly surprised when so many people knew it was my birthday. My parents had us over for a nice dinner and then we headed up to my grandmas house where we got to see all of my aunts, uncles, cousins, and cute cute nephews. Thank you to everyone who thought of me on my birthday, I really appreciate all of the love.

Slight change of subject....

Mindful Women Day Spa
Today was my second interview at Mindful Women Day Spa and I gave the manager a massage. I was very excited to be invited back to the establishment for a second interview so the weekend seemed to drag on a bit and I could hardly wait for Monday at 1pm. I felt very good about the massage I gave her but I was still nervous to see what she thought. I wanted very badly for her to like my massage! She came out of the room looking very relaxed. She said I did a fantastic job and that it was just what she needed. She also gave me some awesome compliments on my massage. She has been in this profession for over 10 years and she said my massage was one of the most relaxing ones she has ever gotten. She also mentioned that she has never had someone work certain muscles the way I did. Coming from a professional massage therapist that was the greatest compliment! She told me she thinks I will fit it very well at the spa and she will definitely be in touch with me. Again, I feel truly blessed to have been given such an amazing opportunity.

Life is good.

Thankful Thursday

I have decided to dedicate one post a week to acknowledging our blessings and to show our gratitude for them. Throughout my life I have found that it is impossible to count every single blessing that you are given, however it is still important to acknowledge and give thanks for the little things in life. They may seem minor or unimportant to the rest of the world but as long as they mean something to you, they are worth mentioning.

1. I have not had a single regret with my decision to leave my previous job and dedicate my time, focus, and energy on my career as a Massage Therapist. Yesterday I went to an interview at Mindful Women Day Spa, a very beautiful and classy Spa in the area. This is a place that I have been longing to work at from the time I was in High School. I would love to have experience working at a Spa in addition to the experience I currently gain working at Me Salon and Fashion. I feel truely blessed to have had the chance to meet the Spa director and the manager over the massage therapists at Mindful Women. I feel honored to have been asked to come in and discuss the possibility of me working there in addition to working at the Salon. I feel very good about the interview and the conversation I had with those two inspiring women. I was told that I will be contacted later this week to schedule a second interview. Tho I do not know what the Lord has in store for me in the future with Mindful Women I am truely grateful that he provides me with such great opportunities. Of course I hope that they decide to pick me and let me join their team, but I am prepared for either outcome. If they do not hire me I will remain happy that I was given a chance to meet with them and be considered for the position. If they do hire me I will take full advantage of the priveldge I am given to work there and I will do my absolute very best. They will also allow me to continue to pursue my own business in addition to building up theirs.

2. Josh and I have been able to spend more time together than usually now that I am no longer working for Hydro Air. He comes over in the morning and I make him breakfast, we read scriptures, play with our dogs, and sometimes just bum around. But who wouldn't want to spend time with their best friend every chance they get? If I don't have appointments to do around dinner time I am able to go visit him at work and bring him dinner, or if I am feeling lazy we just go out to eat somewhere near his work:) I try not to take advantage of the time we get to spend together because I know that I am truely blessed to have someone like him in my life. We make each other so happy, and we drive each other crazy, but we are insanely in love so it all works out.

3. The wedding plans are still coming along smoothly. I am so happy to have such wonderful people in my life helping me along with all of this stress. So many friends and family memebers have offered their help and I truely appreciate them wanting to help and keeping me in mind. We have 9 weeks 1 hour 14 minutes and 16 seconds until we will become husband and wife. I love and appreciate every moment I have until then but at the same time I am doing my best to prepare for the future.

Welp, I have to admit that this post ended up being longer than I expected but I am happy with what I have written. I feel as if I am being somewhat repetitive in this post but there is nothing wrong with sincere gratitude and sharing my sincere gratitude. If you don't like it, don't read my posts on Thankful Thursdays.