Days of the Dogs

When Josh is at school or work it is pretty common for the dogs to follow me around. In fact, I find it odd when they don't because I worry something is wrong. Today as I am getting ready, I only hear Penny's paws tapping around. The first place I look for my baby Stella is the bedroom, 99.999999999987 % of the time she is nestled in the pillows and blankets on our bed.

Stella thinks that when I make the bed in the morning, what I am REALLY doing is tucking her in.

 How could you resist that face!?

After I take these pictures of Stella I go about my business. And pretty soon I don't hear the Penny paws around me. I go back into the bedroom and this is what I find...

It looks like someone was a little jealous of her sister getting all the attention with the camera. As soon and I got this picture, and put my camera away, Penny jumped off the bed and continued to follow me. 

I really can't understand how people don't like dogs. They are just so loving and sweet. Whenever I am feeling down they come and snuggle me. When I'm lonely because their daddy is at work they cheer me up. It is soo precious :)

VROOOOM VROOOOM!

Meet Jesse....

We first met in October of 2007, and we've been together ever sense. With only minimal upsets he has always treated me well and kept me safe. But over the years I have worn him out, specifically his windows. About a month ago he finally quit trying all together on one of the back windows. Unfortunately he quit on the way up, and I constantly had my window down. Penny was just fine with it, because she loves sticking her head outside while mommy drives. It wasn't too bad, unless it rained, then my car would smell wet:( 

LUCKILY I have a Dad with connections and a hard working husband. My dad made arrangements to purchase the parts at wholesale price, and my sweet sweet husband pushed up his sleaves and was ready to work. So I left Jesse in great hands to be repaired. It wasn't a huge deal being without a car for a couple days because Josh usually drives us everywhere anyways. But I did miss my Jesse, and now we are reunited. Thanks to the awesome men in my life, Josh and Dad. 

Echo Lake

Last weekend we went up to Echo Lake with Aaron, Nicole, Ryan, and Copper. We had a lot of fun hanging out by the campfire, swimming, eating, and laughing. Here are some pictures.

 Ry Ry and Uncle Josh, future father photo:)

 The water was freezing, but Ryan said, 'its warm Meemi' as his whole body is shivering.

 Just look at that face:)

 The water was beautiful.

He is so cute, I just want to squeeze his cheeks!

We had a really good time, with good food, and great company. This morning Nicole sent me a picture that Ryan drew for me. I couldn't help but post it, one of the many reasons I love this little guy!

Meemi, Jooosh, and Stella

Birthday Festivities!

Happy birthday to me! The big 22, its going to be a big year, I can already tell:) Last night we had some friends and family over to celebrate. We only got a few pictures compliments of my sister Nicole.

 

 Happy happy birthday

 Party Guests

 Cute little Ry guy

 This is a really attractive face of mine. I thought I would show it off.

 

We had so much fun. I was so grateful that our families and friends were there to support us.

 

I am so humbled by the amount of love I have received today. Numerous people sent me messages and emails. Even relatives out of state were kind enough to send their love. Josh and I got an early start today. We woke up in the wee hours of the morning before the sun was even up. We got dressed and ventured out to Salt Lake to go to the temple. Wow, BEAUTIFUL! It was a perfect way to start my birthday! After that we headed to the Gateway to do some shopping. I told Josh that I wanted to go on a shopping spree for my birthday, this weekend we will be going to Park City to the outlet malls but sense we had the time, we figured we would get an early start. Lunch time rolled around and my amazing mother took us out to the Pizza Factory. Josh left the restaurant to go to work, and mom and I headed out shopping. I have to admit, I always thought that I loved to shop. But now, meh not so much. Don't get me wrong, I love getting new things, clothes especially. However finding quality but affordable clothes is not the easiest thing. Its a really good thing that I had great company:) I came home and unloaded my new belongings, I couldn't help but smile. And I am looking forward to Josh coming home so that I can show him. I have been so blessed throughout my life and especially on my birthday.

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!