Quarter of a century!

Alas, I turned 25 last week. Crazy, right? My mom told me I've officially made my way into "serious adulthood." Meh, I think I made my way into serious adulthood at 21, when I got married and instantly became prego. Who knows... when does serious adulthood arrive??? Anyway, my Birthday was a nice, laid back day. Dave fortunately had work off so we spent the entire day doing our thing. We ate breakfast at Eggs in the City, a place I've been wanting to try for quite some time. And then we ran errands, which doesn't sound like typical Birthday fun, but it was. Because having someone to run errands with me and assist me in chasing two two year olds around is much nicer than doing so by myself. Dave was sweet and we made a stop at Sego Lily where he bought me a massage and facial. I am definitely looking forward to that! Later that evening Dave's family and some close friends came over for brownies and ice cream. Yum. The following day my dear friend Jessie took me out to lunch at The Corner Bakery AND she even took me to Victoria's Secret afterwards, where she gave me a "free underwear" card that she received in the mail. Yay for free undies!! You know you've got a good friend when they get you underwear... for your Birthday ;)  Later that weekend some friends went to The Westerner, upon my request of course, and I was far from disappointed. I have seen a lot about The Westerner on facebook and I'm so glad we finally went to see for ourselves what all the fuss was about. No wonder everyone loves it. Dave and I were finally able to get our country dance on, which we haven't done forever, ride a mechanical bull (it was bikini bull riding night, too bad I forgot my bikini, I was way bummed I didn't know ;)), and play pool. Great times! And it doesn't stop there... on Sunday my entire family got together up Big Cottonwood Canyon to celebrate all the August Birthdays in our family! (There's a lot.) It was fun to hang out, eat good food, and catch up with everyone. I always feel incredibly spoiled and loved on my Birthday. A big thanks to everyone who made my day special. Here's to 25! I know it will be another great year filled with lots of great stuff :) 

 

At long last.

A day I have been looking forward to for a long, long time has finally arrived. On Saturday, August 18th, our little family returned home from a fun week at Bear Lake. As we made our way to our apartment, waiting at the door was my college diploma. AHHH! I couldn't even believe it. I feel as though I've made graduating out to be a huge deal, not that it isn't, but I feel 10x more accomplished because throwing children into the mix of school was nothing short of crazy. Looking back, I really don't know how I brought myself to do it. When I found out I was pregnant with Trey and Easton I was about half way through college. I just couldn't give up. I knew that if I didn't keep going I would lose my steam and most likely never return. So after the boys were born, I took a short break and kept on chuggin' along. It was never easy. In fact, most often it was hard, stressful, and overwhelming.  It was hard to dedicate so much of my time to being a mom, and then spend just about all the rest of my time being a student and doing homework. I felt like a rarely had free time to do what I wanted to do. I wasn't even capable of keeping our apartment clean! There were days when I felt like I didn't have enough time for school.  Days when I felt discouraged. Days when I seemed to just cry.  Days when I told Dave I think I should just quit. Days when I felt like I wasn't being a good mom because I was trying to focus on school instead of my children. It was simply, exhausting.  Even so, I'm so grateful that I have such an amazing family who supports me in everything I do. Dave was always happy that I wanted to finish. He stuck with me through it all, even when I was so ridden with anxiety that I was a total grump.  He always helped when he could by taking the boys off my hands so I could do homework, or study, or meet up for school projects. I'm grateful for both our parents who always helped and watched the boys when they could. Dave's sister Lisanne watched them on a regular basis and I'm so grateful for her willingness. And lastly... I must thank my mom. She not only helped by watching the boys, but she spent countless hours going over papers with me, especially as I got closer to graduating. I felt burnt out and I was ready to be done. As I worked on final papers my brain seemed to shut down, and at times, I felt like I couldn't even think. My mom was aware of this and helped and helped and helped... and then helped some more. There were nights when she helped me with homework, and I didn't come home until 2:00 in the morning. What a great mom! Now that I'm done I'm just so happy. Happy that I stuck it out. Happy because I feel I'm setting a good example for Trey and Easton. Happy because one day I know that having this degree will benefit me and my family. Everyone keeps asking me what I'm going to do now, and honestly, I don't know! As excited as I am to be done, I do think I'll find myself back at school, eventually. For a second bachelor's degree? A Master's degree? Who knows! There are probably fifty different things I'd love to do. But for now... I'm content being a mom.  I'm looking forward to spending time with the boys without homework lingering in the back of my mind. And I'm excited to dedicate even more of myself to them. I truly feel that being a mom is my job right now, and it's exactly what I'm supposed to be doing. Here's to becoming a college grad!!! :)

Three years has been grand.

Dave and I celebrated our third wedding anniversary this weekend. On our actual anniversary my mom was kind enough to watch the boys so we could check out some Parade of Home houses, one of our favorite things to do every summer. Dave's parents joined us and took us out to dinner afterwards. A few days later we enjoyed a night out to dinner at J. Wong's and a stay at The Grand America. Lovely. Here's to three years of marriage and many more to come! :)