Road Trip!

We did it! Today is Ryan's last day of his John Deere internship and man, has it been awesome! We got to move down to Augusta, Ga for 3 1/2 months and he has got to do some pretty cool things and learn a ton at John Deere. I'm so excited because we get to see both our families over the Christmas break and take a HUGE road trip! We're leaving today after Ryan gets done with work and should get to Washington on Monday!

This is our mode of transportation and it is a beast! We've already put over 20,000 miles on it since Ryan fixed it in February and now we have 2,808 miles to get to Washington. Wish us luck!

:)

Taking in a Shirt

I found this really cute shirt, the other day but it was just a little too big. So I decided to try to take it in. I really like to sew but I'm not the best, I'm trying to get better. Sites like dana-made-it.com are really inspiring! It was actually easier than I thought and turned out just like I wanted! I was so excited!

Too big!

So I just took in sections from the back and sewed them up

The 2 big ridges in the middle are the ones I made, and the shirt already came with the little ones on the outside and that's how I got the idea to take it in. This is all on the inside and you can't see them when you're wearing the shirt. You could cut them off if you wanted, but I just left mine. I actually had to take it in in 2 more spots and it was the perfect size!

The Lord is Watching Out for us

My younger brother Harrison has been out on his mission for 9 months now!!! I can't believe how fast that's gone by. He's serving in the Knoxvillle, Tennessee mission and is currently in Chattanooga, TN which is only like 4 hours from us!! (That would be awesome if we saw him when we drive through Chattanooga on Friday, on our way up to Washington!) Anyways so my mom got a call from his mission president saying, Harrison is fine, BUT he got hit by a truck!!! He was crossing the street and the truck made a right hand turn, somehow not seeing Harrison and hit him! It was a big 2500 Chevrolet too! Thankfully he only hurt his knee and little and it should be fine in a week or two. Harrison said his companion that was 50 yards ahead of him heard it! I can't believe it!! That really testified to me that the Lord is protecting His missionaries and Harrison has work to do!!! I'm so proud of him serving his mission and he is doing so well!! I love my brother and the wonderful work he is doing! I love the Lord with all my heart and give thanks for all the blessing He has brought into my life each and everyday! If you are not LDS and reading this and want to know more information about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, or otherwise known as the Mormon church, visit mormon.org! Its a great website and even a more greater church!

Him and his mission president and his wife

He's on the very left and with some other missionaries

Harrison is on the right

Weekend Fun

We had a really fun weekend because Ryan's sister Shalyse and her 2 kids were able to come spend it with us. We got to go see Santa, hang out and see some Christmas lights.

Ryan is such a good uncle and the kids love him!

Ethan has the cute smile and does it all the time!!

This was just too cute!! He's going to be such a good dad!! Can't wait til we have our own kids!

We had such a good time and hopefully will see them again sometime soon!

Gotta Love a Bargain!

So I LOVE to find good deals!! I just get so excited and loving telling people how cheap I can find somethings! I think its because my mom was so frugal and taught us how to be frugal growing up. We shopped at Good Will all the time and if someone commented on my outfit, I loved saying I got it at Good Will and people being like, "Really?!" There's this store called Plato's Closet and I really fell in love when I was living in Utah. Its the best!! Its all these nice hand-me-downs clothes for a WAY good price! Well in Augusta there's a Plato's Closet but also they have another one called Uptown Cheapskate and its just as good! So for my birthday I went shopping and here's what I found!

All for a grand total of $23.50!!! I got 4 really cute (well at least I think so) shirts for less than $25! I was so excited and love them all! I love deals! Don't be ashamed to shop at thrift stores, I think its smart, saves money, and is fun!

Birthday Party!

I turned 24 last Friday and it was a GREAT Birthday! I was able to talk to lots of family and friends and Ryan made the day so special! He is so cute and knows that since we moved to the south and I discovered Cracker Barrel it is my favorite restaurant! They have this blackberry jam that is delicious and Ryan bought me some! So when I woke up he had made me homemade biscuits (he is an AMAZING cook btw) and had this present for me to open in the morning and said it was thefirst thing I had to do! So I did and it was a box of Christmas lights!! I love Christmas lights and we have a couple strands around our apt and I have them on like all day, literally, lol! So i was excited for more but really didn't understand why I had to open that first thing in the morning. So I make my biscuit and put honey on it and Ryan texts me asking if I opened my present and I said, "Yes! Thanks for the Christmas lights!" Then he was like, "Did you open the Christmas lights box?" At that point I felt like a Melvin and realized he just used that empty box to hide the Cracker Barrel jam in and I was supposed to use that on my biscuits that he made, BEFORE work which he had to get up at like 5:30!!! He's seriously the best husband in the world!!

So around noon I was talking to Laurie who had called to wish me a Happy Birthday and in walks Ryan!!! I was so surprised to see him and he said that the sewer lines at work broke and they had to send everyone home!!! So poop made my day even more special by letting my husband come home early from work! haha We got to go shopping and Ryan was so patient and waited probably over an hour at least while I was shopping and trying on clothes. Then he took me out to...... Cracker Barrel! haha But he made it super special!! So little background story. When we were driving out to Augusta it was Sunday and we had to eat dinner and we went to Cracker Barrel. They have these daily specials and on Sunday, is Sunday fried chicken, and oh my!! It is amazing! Although, it was bitter sweet because the food was so good, but I could never get it again because we don't go out on Sundays!!! So Ryan called Cracker Barrel a couple days before my birthday and asked if they could specially make me the Sunday fried chicken!!! It was amazing and awesome!!

Then we came home and he made made me BTS cake!! Its so good (as you can see we had some the night before when he was making it! haha) It was such a great birthday! I love my husband so much!!! He always makes me feel so loved!! Thanks everyone for all the birthday wishes and I love all my family and friends too!

Egg Rolls

We had a combined FHE with some friends last night and we all bring a food to share and I brought egg rolls. Now these are the best egg rolls I've ever had and the reason is because, when I was probably a miamaid in Young Womens for an activity we had a man from Vietnam in our stake named Bro Skanchy and he taught us how to make them and I've been in love ever since!! I only made a half a batch last night so the portions might look a little small compared to what the recipe is calling for but you have to try them! They are delicious and really easy!

Ingredients:

2 or 3 packages of sausage (cook them first before mixing with other ingredients)

3-4 eggs, raw (first use 3 and see if the mixture sticks together well enough, whenever I use 4 there's a lot of liquid at the bottom)

1/2 head of cabbage, shredded

2 large carrots, shredded

2 bundles green onions, chopped

2 large white onions, chopped

Garlic powder to taste

Salt and pepper to taste

3-4 packages egg roll skins

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients together except skins, using your hands is usually best

2. Put about a 1/3 cup of mix in egg roll skin and roll up folding ends in as you go.

3. Seal with a dab of water on the skin

4. Deep fry until golden brown, about 2-3 min at 350

Thanksgiving and After

We had a great Thanksgiving in Georgia! We got to go to my aunt Joans house and celebrate with family there! I have so much to be thankful for including my amazing husband Ryan, my family, the gospel, friends, health, education, America, food, shelter and much much more!! On black Friday we got up at 3:00AM and snagged some great deals!! Then pretty much napped and hung around the rest of the day. Saturday we were able to go to the Atlanta temple then did some shopping and found this HUGE Christmas tree!!

I love Christmas and everything about it! Its such a great time! I especially love decorating for it! Since we only were able to take our car down to Georgia and whatever we could fit in it, we really couldn't bring any Christmas stuff. So I decided to improvise and make some of my own things and decorate with what I had! I did buy some cheap lights at Walmart but made some little ornaments and decorated the fake tree that came with the apartment! haha
Yesterday I really wanted a treat but didn't know what to make and Ryan came up with the great idea to make a little cake from scratch and it turned out so good and cute! I love the decorations I made! ;) haha

Pumpkin Roll

My husband LOVES pumpkin rolls and I love making food that he gets so excited about, so I had to make him one! Its perfect for the fall season and tastes amazing! This recipe was easy and tasted great! I got it from a recipe book one of my old wards made but it doesn't say who gave the recipe so I really don't know who to give credit to except someone in the Rexburg 58th ward!

Cake:

1/4 cup powdered sugar

3/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cloves

1/4 tsp salt

3 large eggs

1 cup sugar

2/3 can pumpkin

Filling:

1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese

1 cup powdered sugar

6 Tbsp butter

1 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Line greased pan with wax paper. ( I used aluminum foil because I didn't have wax paper and it worked really well.) Lay out a hand towel and sprinkle surface with powdered sugar (it will be used after cake is finished baking.)

2. Combine flour, baking powder and soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt in a small bowl.

3. Beat eggs and sugar in separate large bowl until thick. Beat in pumpkin.

4. Stir in flour mixture. Spread evenly into a prepared pan.

5. bake for 13-15 min, or until top of cake springs back when touched. Remove cake from oven. Immediately loosen wax paper from pan and turn cake onto prepared towel. Cool on wire rack. Spread filling on cake and carefully roll up the cake. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Then keep refrigerated after eating!

Ethans Baby Blessing Weekend

I got a new haircut! I've been thinking about going back to my natural hair color for various reasons but especially because I was sick of having to get my hair re-highlighted every couple months and spending all that money! So now I'm back to brown and love it! I also cut off about 5 inches and love the change! (Ryan wouldn't let me cut my hair above my shoulders, which is fine, he loves long hair! :) This weekend we got to go up to North Carolina to see Shalyse, Ben, Andrea and Ethan for Ethan's baby blessing! Since we only live about 5 hours away we HAD to come! On our way up we stopped at this big tourist place that was South of the North Carolina border! It was pretty cool but, out of season so we just looked in one of the shops. We got to stay the night at Shalyse and Ben's and had tons of fun! Andrea showed us all her books and baby Ethan was so cute and much bigger than we saw him in August! It was really fun just being with everyone and the blessing was great! We're so glad we had the opportunity to go and see everyone and the blessing!

October

A couple weekends ago we went up to the Appalachians in northeast Georgia to see the mountains and fall colors which was fun! At the state park they had these owls that were partially blind and couldn't live in the wilderness alone, so these people cared for them and were showing them off!

So Ive been lacking on the blog and need to update! Since living in Georgia I have a lot more free time and Ive been trying to pick up cooking/baking. Ryans birthday was Sept 27th and he's 25!! What a man! We went to this really good seafood place called Rhineharts and was way good! I also made him his favorite pie, Lemon Cream Pie ( I got from dana-made-it blog) which is AMAZING! But since we dont have all our usual baking tools I really couldn't "whip" the whip cream very well and it turned out a little soupy but, he still loved it!

Summer Fun

Now that everyone has a blog, I figured I should jump on the bandwagon! Lets see, well, Ryan and I have been married for almost a year and a half. We got married April 2, 2011 in the Seattle temple! We were currently living in Rexburg, ID while Ryan is studying mechanical engineering at BYU-Idaho. I graduated from BYU-Idaho's nursing program 3 years ago!!! Wow, I cant believe its been so long! I was working at EIRMC on the cardiac unit but as of Labor Day we currently live in Augusta, Georgia!! Who would've thought! Ryan scored an awesome internship with John Deere and we got a great opportunity to get to come down here for a couple months!

The past month we have literally been traveling the country! We left August 10th for Wisconsin for a family reunion which was a blast and got to see all the fam for a week then we decided to keep driving to New Jersey to see my dad! I mean it was only a couple states away! haha. We stayed there for a week and got to see my family and my little brother Sean! Unexpectedly, but happily, we got a call from John Deere saying we got the internship so we drove back across the country to Rexburg in 2 days!! It was a very long drive but we did it! Hurried, packed, sold our apt in a week and were back in the road again. We stayed and the Richins in Henefer, UT for a couple days because we didnt have a place to live because our housing in Georgia wasnt set up but, we had to be out of our old apt in Rexburg! The Richins are so nice and let us stay, which was fun. After a couple days there we started our drive again and got to see some sights. We went to the Nauvoo temple, which was BEAUTIFUL and the church sites. Next day we met Bro Raatz down in St Louis, MO and got to see the arch. Bro Raatz surprised us and bought us tickets to go up to the top! He's so nice. I couldn't believe that people could fit up there and there really isn't that much room to spare. Five people jam into this little egg carton transporter and make our way up creaking along the way ( let me tell you, you don't want to be claustrophobic!) but finally made it and the view was great! That day we made it down to Altanta and rested for the night but before that was ate at my now favorite restaurant! Crackerbarrel!! I know it sounds funny, but seriously, the food is amazing!!! Homecooked goodness, if you haven't been there, make that your next place to go out to eat and its so cute too!! The little store, decorations and the whole atmosphere! The next day we finally got to our place!!! We were so ready to be done traveling!!

We finally have a home!! Augusta is a nice place, its a city, but not too big. Definitely different than Rexburg but we wanted a changed and we sure got it!! It has been hot and humid! Summer definitely is still here and I don't think its going away any time soon. I thought I'd go for a walk and go to some stores in the morning, I mean it was only 70s when I left. Well by the time I got back I had a sweat band on my shirt from my purse! yuck, it got hot so fast and it wasn't even 11 by the time I got back! Ryan started work the past Monday and really likes it! He's getting to know the system and how things work and did a driving test yesterday. Its cool that he gets to do hands on things and help solve problems! We are so happy and grateful for this blessing to get an internship and great experience!! Wow, that was a lot to say, but hopefully my blogging skills we get better with time and I can better figure this out! :)

Inside the arch in St Louis
Our new apt

Our home away from home
Washington D.C.

No need for explanation