iPhone update

Top: Work Christmas Party, Bethany Sad when I mentioned Instagram the day after her iPhone was stolen; Sugar Cookie. 

2nd: 10 years worth of Junk I cleared out of the PPC; Waiting in Line to dump it all; Mexican Food+Diet Coke+Be Kind Rewind = Packing Break.

3rd: Lunch with theMR. at Smash burger; the Picture of Bethany's car thief via a $1 profiling kit; visiting Sarah after her second heart surgery. 

Bottom: the looming packing; amazing coke can safe; enjoying our last few nights in our little place.

♥ theMRS.

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{FLASH BACKS}

In November....WOW I cant believe how long ago that was. We had some fun pre-Thanksgiving activities.My Aunt Brenda and Uncle Tim were in town. They were having Thanksgiving with some friends in Salt Lake. So we all met up in South Jordan. 

We visited Brooke's new house. SPUN around at the park for what felt like an hour. Had Lunch then went to explore Michael & Jessica's new House in Lehi. It was a lot of fun. 

After Exploring with the cousins, Morgan and I stole the girls for a while.

They hadn't gone to lunch with us so we treated them to McDonald's and some play place time. Then we headed back to my little house to watch Gnomeo and Juliet. Which was REALLY CUTE! I totally loved it. 

The Girls were shocked at how little our house was. Which I never thought it was that small. But I guess compared to their house, our little basement is pretty tiny. 

But we have a love sac & a blow up matress, so there was plenty of space for these little girls to get comfy!

♥ theMRS.

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Things that weird me out

When people talk about their babies and use the phrase "I'm so in love"

That the Dollar Tree sells home Maryjane testing kits. 

The acronym GNO....all I see i gyno, and I HATE it. 

The smell of hamburgers cooking. They are so delicious, but smell so weird when being grilled. Makes me want to vom. 

The word moist, gives me shivers. 

how Tom's make  your feet smell. 

♥ theMRS.

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Dear Future Children,

I am more then a little nervous how [Christmas/birthdays/surprises] will go around this house. I love your dad, but MAN he can not keep a secret. He is worse then I am, and kidlets I promise you I am AWFUL at keeping a secret. 

When it come to presents I just get SOOOO excited that I found the PERFECT present for a person, I cant keep it in.

Your Dad on the other hand, just can't wait. So he opens his presents as they come in the mail from Amazon. 

Next year I am shipping it all to my office! That should stop him. 

In other news, we love you and can't wait for you to join the family. This year we are moving in the middle of the holidays, so its been a mess. But we are stepping up our holiday game. By the time you arrive sometime in the distant future, we will be ready for this.

For you. 

For Christmas. 

For Surprises. 

♥ Mom

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"The Burger Bible"

I know you all probably laughed when I talked about "The Burger Bible". Or maybe you didn't because now that I think about it, I probably just tweeted or instagramed it. So after we first moved to the States, Adam LOVED burgers. He still does. But It kind of became a thing with my family. So when the local magazine put out the 75 best burgers issue, we scooped on up. 

then my Dad and Adam checked a few off the list and they really were good. So as the year (WOW we have been back for 16 months now) passed on, we would look a The Burger Bible to find a new place. 

so I have been WAITING to go to Lucky 13! WE drive by it whenever we go to the Ethiopian Restaurant. Every time I would point it out to Adam, that's the place I want to try. They are supposed to have a good burger. 

They won best Man V. Food Challenge and I can see why. I cant imagine anyone actually completing the challenge. Its a big Benny burger and ANOTHER giant burger all in under an hour. NASTY. But since we were there, and convinced Felicia and Randy to meet us we figured we had to order the big benny. 

THE Big Benny: 28 oz of meat. Smothered in house smoked back, ham &cheese. All stacked up with some veggies. 

IT IS A MONSTER.

AND it was DELICIOUS. OK so we didn't come close to eating it all. But it was worth a try. PLUS the big benny was about the same price as 2 burgers so we figured, why not! We had to dissect it and eat the bad boy in pieces.

SIDE NOTE: To all bacon loves, this place is worth braving simply for the house smoked bacon. DELICIOUS. 

It was a lot of fun. We ended playing darts a piper down and drinking some Virgin shots, prepared for us by a guy names Christ. Kind of weird, and pinapple-y delicious. 

It was a lot of fun. So far, The Burger Bible has not steered us wrong. If you want to try the Big Benny, get the onion rigs as well. OUT OF this world. 

Then I bought Adam a Dart Board for Christmas, which he already opened + there was no hanger on the back, so we don't know how to put it up. Oh and we're moving to a house without cement walls. So I think its going back to Amazon. To be put on a wish list for a later time!

If you ever want to grab a burger, we are totally game!

♥ theMRS.

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Our first little place

Its crazy we've lived here for over a year. 

Its insanity that it now looks a lot emptier, as we pack up all the boxes. 

& its weird that of all the silly things I post about, a house tour was not on the list. 

So here are some makeshift pictures of our little place. Our little love basement. Its on the market, and gone already. When I posted the lease for sale on KSL I got over 60 calls a day on it. So I had to pull it. A nice couple dropped off their deposit and application, so we feel good about getting packed up. 

We are sad to go. 

Excited to leave. 

Ready for whatever the next year has in store. 

It makes it easier to leave because the family moving in is going to have a baby while they live here. They work down the street, and the wife jumped for joy when she saw our little love nest. So at least the next people will love this place as much as we have. 

Don't mind the messy bed. this was as we started to pack up. I wanted to document our little house before we officially move

To our first place-

Thanks for keeping us warm in the winter, cool in the summer and for facilitating all the growth that was our first year of marriage. Please keep all our secrets locked up tight. If you do, we wont tell anyone that the front door is a little drafty.

We love you.

♥ theMRS.

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2011 Christmas Card

I had high hopes of sending these out....or doing someothing really fun with them. Alas, work got busy, the weather got cold and we decided to move in the middle of all of that! So here you have it. A Virtual Christmas card!

Happy Holidays!

♥ theMR. & theMRS.

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Triple movie madness

Is it madness OR Pure genius? 

a few weekends back, my parents called to see if Adam and I wanted to join them to see the Muppet Movie....BOY DID I EVER!!!

Adam had to work, so my parents came to pick me up. It was AWESOME. The older two girls came with us. I got a kettle corn and shared with Morgan and it was a lot of fun. My dad even took us all to lunch afterwards. 

The Muppet's gets a solid 9 in my book. 

It was HILARIOUS. 

Family friendly. 

LAUGH OUT LOUD funny. 

The highlight, was probably seeing my nieces light up with joy at the movie. 

That night Morgan came over to hang out with Adam and I. We decided that the sneak peak of We Bought a Farm was a must. 

So Movie two began. We suck out popcorn buckets in to get our refill and headed into the theater. 

I also enjoyed this movie so much. It is precious and heart breaking all at the same time. PLUS it made me want to buy a zoo! So Adam wishes we skipped it! hee hee.....I would probably give it an 8 out of 10. 

& Since we were already at the movies, we decided we should just stay to see happy feet TWO....in 3D. 

Sneaking into this film was a little more difficult then any of the other movies we have seen as a doule feature. We had to procure some glasses..... Good thing Adam has long arms. 

Happy Feet two was a let down. We laughed, at all the wrong parts & probably bothered the people around us. 

By the time we left the theater, I was sure my eyes wouldn't be able to adjust. Good thing it was night and totally dark out! The three of us went back to our house and crashed.

It was the perfect movie loving day. 

There is something so magical about the movies!

♥ theMRS.

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The making of a new TRADITION?

I would hate to jinx this or something....but it seems that we are in the starting stages of a tradition. HOW many years makes it a tradition? I think {TWO} should just about do it! So Girls Gingerbread/Graham cracker night, it is!

Last year we were at the Coxanators house. We invited the boys, but they mostly got bored and watched Christmas Vacation. Felicia burnt her finger  with hot glue* and only one out of the tree build a house. I did a tribute to the burned Provo Tabernacle. It was good times. 

2010

2011

THIS year, it was at Felicia's house. We decided to NOT invite the boys, and we ALL MADE HOUSES!!!! Usually I lose interest, and just end up doing nothing. 

This year I made three little  mini houses. Felicia started off as the rules girl.

GET GOING. 

Make a House.

DECORATE!!!!

By the end of it she was like blah, get it done! It was a lot of fun. We spent a few hours working on them. Chatting. And just having a good time! THIS TIME AROUND, Caitlyn burned her finger on hot glue!

BUT the best part of it all was when Caitlyn, Kristen and I were walking out to our cars. Caitlyn SMASHED her house on Kristen's car window. IT WAS so funny & SOMEONE, might have peed a little. 

So 2012 either My house or Kristen's! Anyone want to join us????

♥ theMRS. 

* Per Coxanator's tradition, the grahm crackers are hot glued together. Making the construction of the houses stronger and faster. THEN candy is applied with royal icing or frosting. WORKS OUT GREAT & you can build much bigger houses!

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What is Ethiopian food like?

People ask me all the time.

I have posted pictures.

We eat it ALL the time....

BUT here is another families experience! 




♥ theMRS.

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a WEEK late.....

 I know this is a little late. But I got sick on Thanksgiving, so here it is, a RECAP. Thanksgiving was great this year. The best part of NOT hosting thanksgiving, you can sleep in! I hadn't been feeling all that great so I took advantage of the opportunity. 

After rolling out of bed, we made our way to my parents house. There my Mom was busy cooking away while the boys watched football down stairs. All of the siblings were doing different side dishes. I bought rolls from Kneaders and donated the Turkey to be cooked. Adam got to my mom's and got started making tibs to share. 

When My brother and sister in law showed up with their girls, we took a break to take some family pictures. Once I get them, I will use an editorial eye and post only the pictures where I look gorgeous. Can you blame me?

I entertained the girls while everyone else cooked. Ashtynn wanted to play statue...she was super good. Then for some dress up. And silly faces with the iPhone. 

My nieces are the CUTEST girls in the whole world.

Then dinner was ready....or so we thought. We all gathered around and said a prayer. Then the turkey's YEP TWO OF THEM, were carved only to find out that they were in fact....NOT READY! Ahhhhh. So back in the oven they went. My dad was  bothered. 

The rest of us dug in. 

YUM...there were plenty of other options. Including, but not limited to:

• Ravioli in meat sauce
• Mexican rice with chicken
• Ethuioan Tibs
• Mashed potatoes
• Funneral potatoes
• Green been caserol
• Spinach salad
• cranberry sauce
• two kinds of stuffing
• rolls

PLENTY to get started.  

My Dad joked that something was wrong when tibs was the only meat ready for dinner on time. Ashtynn wanted to try Adam's dish. Not realizing it was laden with Serrano peepers, she bit right in! THEN headed straight to the bathroom to wash her tongue off!

Oh little girl. 

After we ate some dinner, I still wasnt feeling all that well. I rested in Morgitu's bed for a while. Then I got real sick, and my sweet Adam drove me home. 

Where I spent the rest of the night and the next day in bed. 

All in all a pretty good holiday. 

As Adam & I work out our own traditions I am grateful that on Thanksgiving morning we shared what things we were most grateful for. 

Adam named a few I wouldn't have thought of [his drivers license/our life together/the fall of dictators in East Africa]. I love hearing what things my husband has in his head. little tiny in sites into him.

Since I fell off the Thankful bandwagon this year here are a few more I would have added:

My Faith

My Friends

Our business investment

The smell of rain

My Mom sets a great table

Adam getting his drivers license

Having medical insurance

My patriarchal blessing

the scriptures

my camera

this little pieces of the internet where I can share my life and document our adventures

air travel

every decision and twist of fate that lead me to my sweet heart

patience

radiant heat

books and the stories that transport me to different places

my passport

the quilts my parents ward made us!

surprises

text messages

REAL MAIL

the supportive blog community

chocolate donuts

harmonica

I am constantly amazed at how blessed I am. Though life is not perfect, it is pretty darn good. I am married to my best friend. A Man who loves and cares for me. I have great friends. I am gainfully employed & I Like what I do. My family is close. WE are healthy. 

So as life changes & we face the challenges of life together, I will look back and see all the things we have to be grateful for. 

Because gratitude turns what you have into {ENOUGH}

♥ theMRS.

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Our little star

I am MORE than just a proud Auntie.I am pretty much her biggest fan. 

& I might have half saved the day by having lip stick and mascara in my purse!

Our little Ashtynn preformed at the Christmas gift show! It was so fun to see her on stage. Dancing and singing and GLOWING with confidence. IT was her first performance ever! Well if you don't count the million of times she preformed for the family!

Good job Ashie! We are all SOOOO Proud of you.

Oh and because waiting can get boring....we took lots of silly pictures. I think Aves wants to be a model.

Oh and my parents are awesome grandparents...can you tell???

Ashtynn's First Show! from the MRS. on Vimeo.

♥ theMRS.

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Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Last year was our first Christmas, and we didn't really get into it. We stayed at my Parents house, and watched my nieces open presents in the morning. We just kind of held on to the traditions of my parents. 

We didn't get our own tree or do anything special. We did hang up sparkly snowflakes from our exposed pipes that we bought at the dollar store! So this year inspired by Lindsay we sat down and talked about what we wanted to be our family traditions. 

We decided the traditions we like-

• Create a new Family Theme for the next year
• Visit the Temple and see the Christmas lights
• Go to see "A Christmas Carol"
• Put up Decorations After Thanksgiving! Nothing too crazy, but you a few little things.
• Read the night before Christmas, on Christmas Eve
• Open New PJ's on Christmas Eve
• Open an Ornament that represents something important that happened in the family that year.
• Read the Christmas Story from the Bible on Christmas morning. 
• Christmas movie night with the cousins- Movies, cookies & hot cocoa! We are so excited to start this one this year and host my nieces!
• Talk about the history of Santa and the Spirit of Christmas- we will not be a Santa Family. Rather we will talk about the history of Santa and the spirit of giving that he inspired in everyone, and how the greatest gift of all was the life of our Savior. It is going to be difficult to manage this, but  we have at least one set of friends who don't do Santa either! Wish us luck!
• Adopt a family or take names off of a Wish tree!

So here we go trying to make our Second Christmas a little more real! We decided we are going to stay every other year with my parents. Doing Christmas eve at their house and waking up on Christmas morning. On our off years we will do Christmas eve and Christmas morning in our own home! This will give our potential future children both experiences. I can't wait! I am sure the list will grow and grow and grow and change. So here is to our FIRST real Christmas!

Our First Christmas Tree!  Its tiny, but so is our family, so we think its PERFECT!

Wreath on our front door. This was Adam's idea and contribution to our Christmas Decor, I think he did a great job! Way to be honey buns.

 Little Snowmen on our steps! My Sister in law gave me these last year. They make our basement steps a little homier.

Our little Nativity! It was a wedding gift from Brother and Sister Lundt, and we LOVE IT. I need to add more figures and get these people a manger!

What are your family holiday traditions????

I LOVE hearing what other families do!

♥ theMRS.

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Burger Tour Continued

it's not shake shack, but its pretty darn good.

 SMASH BURGER

we are fans. The rosemary sweet potato fries are the best.  PLUS they offer a sweet discount to employees who work in the shopping center, so the money off probably helps us love it a little more!

Want to join us on the burger tour??? It's lots of fun!

♥ theMRS.

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