Busy Week

Grant and I have had a lot of fun this past week (and been so busy that I haven't had time yet to blog about it). So here's a quick recap about what we've been up to:

Monday night we drove down to Provo to play volleyball with Jamie and Nicole, Justin and Holly, and Ben. Afterward, Grant and I went to Lindsay and Preston's early to BBQ with them, and then an hour later the others came over as well and we all watched Bachelorette. It's been really great to have an excuse to see all our friends every Monday night.

On Wednesday night we drove back down to Provo to play volleyball again with Jamie and Nicole, Justin and Holly, and Ben. We played for a couple of hours and then finished the night off with a trip to Sonic. We love Summer nights when we can just hang out with friends and play volleyball for hours without feeling bad about missing homework deadlines :)

Thursday night we stayed up here in South Jordan and went out for ice cream with some friends in our ward, Tyson and Katie Perkes. They showed us a Frozen Custard place just up the street that was delicious! It was great to hang out with them and chat for a few hours and get to know them better! It's pretty sad that when we finally start to meet friends in our ward, we also find out we're moving soon :-/

Then on Friday Grant and I spontaneously decided to drive to Idaho to be with all of Grant's family on the Miskin side to celebrate Grandpa & Grandma Miskin's 60th Wedding Anniversary. We got in late Friday night and slept at Grandpa Manion's house. Saturday we woke up, played with Carrie's kids, went to the temple with some of the family, went to eat at Cafe Rio, and then ended the night at Grandpa and Grandma Miskin's house playing with the kids and playing games (after the kids were put to bed). We spent the night at Grandpa Manion's house again and the next day, Sunday, we went to Church at a local ward and then hung out with Grandpa Manion for a while. He took us to the cemetery where his wife was buried and showed us her grave. Grant and I then headed over to Grandpa and Grandma Miskin's house for the rest of the day. I spent the day playing with all the little kids and had such a blast! We also took some family photos, ate some great food and lots of dessert, and played games once the kids went to bed. We actually stayed up until about 1am playing games, and even though Grant and I had planned to drive home that night, we thought it would be better to stay just one more night. The weekend was so much fun and I'm really glad we were both able to get work off last minute and go.

 Outside Grandpa Manion's house with him

 The kids absolutely loved this game

 Aunt DeAnn made this beautiful quilt for Grandpa and Grandma Miskin out of scraps of all their kids shirts for their 60th

 Family Photos!

How cute are these kids? They started playing the piano and singing "I'm Going To The Temple Someday" all on their own

Adorable right? And here's another video of the boys singing some different songs:

Like I said, I'm so glad we were able to go. Hanging out with the family was just what we needed :)

Baking & Crafts

One reason why I really love not being in school anymore is I can come home from work and just do what I want to do, without having to worry about homework or studying or projects or any of that nonsense. Tuesday night, for example, I got home from work around 6:15 and Grant was working until 11 so I decided to fill my time by making a cake from scratch. I actually made the same cake on Sunday evening for some of our friends who were coming up for a game night. Well this is getting off track, but the game night was so much fun! We had Jamie and Nicole, Justin and Holly, Dani and Alex, and two of Holly and Alex's cousins, plus their cousin's boyfriend. So we definitely had a full house! We played doubles and poker (the boys also played some video games). And we ate cake and just talked and hung out. It was a great night and I was so glad everyone made the drive up to hang out with us :)

Okay, so getting back on track! I made the cake on Sunday and didn't use even half of the frosting I made, so I figured I'd make the same cake again on Tuesday night to use up the rest. Both cakes were delicious, so I definitely don't mind having it lying around.

In addition to making the cake last night, I made a wood-stained quote board. I got the idea from here and have been wanting to make myself one since I saw this post months ago. Grant helped me get the plywood from Home Depot a while ago and I stained it and sanded it when we first got it, but then I hurt my back and wasn't able to finish. So I figured Tuesday night was as good a night as ever and I think it turned out pretty great! I used a portion of the poem "I carry your heart with me" by E.E. Cummings, which has been one of my favorite poems for years.

So yes, I love being able to come home from work and relax and do whatever I feel like doing :) My next project is to make a Sun Burst Mirror -- hopefully I'll find time to do it soon!

B I G news

Guess what everybody!! (No, we are not pregnant). But we do have equally exciting news!

We're moving to Texas!

Grant accepted a job with Fidelity Investments in the Westlake office down in the Dallas area and he'll be starting on September 26th. So it's official now, we're actually moving. I still can't wrap my head around that. BUT I'm very excited! Both Grant and I do not want to end up in Utah, and the only draw right now is that we have family here and our friends are here. But all our friends will be leaving in about a year, and if we had stayed here we would have been really lonely after they left. And I'm excited for the move because it'll be something different (and I really do love to change things up). It'll be nice to get out of Utah and live in a different area and get new jobs and hopefully be very happy! And besides, anywhere we go right now will only be for 3-5 years, because Grant will be going back to school for his MBA, and we'll be moving again for that. But as for now, we are heading to Texas around the beginning to mid September and I'm very excited! Of course, it'll be really sad to leave all our friends, but Grant and I are just going to try that much harder to hang out with them as much as possible.

Just wanted to share the news!

Harry Potter Finale!

As I'm sure you all could have guessed, Grant and I went to the midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, part II. And of course there was some preparation for the big event, including making my costume :)

I went as Luna Lovegood (my favorite character) and for my costume, I was determined not to spend any money. So for my costume I just wore jeans, my blue button-down shirt, Grant's blue striped tie, and my black v-neck cardigan. I printed off the Ravenclaw crest, cut it out, and pinned it to my cardigan to make it look like the school uniform.

I then made (with Grant's help of course) my wand! We actually ended up making 4 wands in total, because I couldn't decide which I wanted to use. I made the wands by first going outside and picking some sticks I thought would work well, and then making home-made modeling clay. Grant used a knife to help me take the bark off the sticks and smooth them out, and then I sanded them with some sand paper we've had for a while. Afterward I used the modeling clay to shape a handle that I liked, then baked the wand in the oven, then painted it after it cooled. It worked out pretty well! When Andrea came over and saw them, she thought I had bought them from a store :)

In addition to my wand, I also made a copy of The Quibbler that Luna Lovegood always carries around with her. I wanted to make the specific issue with the free Spectrespecs inside because it turns out that I have a pair to match :) I made The Quibbler by first printing this out, and then taping it to the cover of a small book I have, so that it looked like a real magazine.

I also made my own Hedwig carrying a letter. I got this idea from my sister Andrea, and I'm so glad I made it! It turned out perfect and I loved carrying it around with me! You'll see from the picture that I made Hedwig by drawing on a white balloon, and then scrolled up a page of newspaper and tied it with a ribbon. Pretty simple to make, and a great outcome!

And to top all of that off, I also brought with me the Harry Potter Usage Dictionary that I made two years ago, and my 20-Questions Golden Snitch. I was all Harry potter and I completely loved it!

I had a lot of fun making everything and had so much fun at the actual premier! We went with a group of 13 in total: Grant and I, Justin and Holly, Jamie and Nicole, Preston and Lindsay, Ben, Danny, Nikki, and two other girls that were friends of Ben. And because I got the tickets as soon as they came available online we had such great seats!! Right in the middle :)

 I re-read all the books each time a new book or movie comes out, and this time was no different. I finished the seventh book on Tuesday night, just in time for the movie on Thursday night. And even though the movie wasn't as good as the book (they never are), I still really enjoyed it! I always have certain issues with the movies, since they don't include everything in the books, and a lot of the time they actually change things. And this movie was the same -- they left a ton of stuff out, and jumped to the end so quickly, but I still think it was really well done and I'll admit I even cried during it (and not just a little bit either). I'm really sad it's over and there will be no more premiers to go to, but I'll always have the books. I've honestly read all the books probably 30 times, and yet every time I read them, I always pick up something new and I just absolutely love them! Nothing has ever captivated me like the Harry Potter series and I won't soon be forgetting them!

Fourth of July and Other Updates

Well I've got a couple of things to post about and originally I was planning to update in separate posts, but I've been really slacking on posting lately and I'm worried that if I don't just do it all at once, it's going to be ages before I get it all out.

So first things first, I got a new job! I know the last time I posted I seemed pretty pleased with my job at the law firm, but the reality is that that job satisfaction quickly evaporated and I felt miserable at work for the majority of the time working there. It was just so boring! All I did was sit at a computer for 8 hours a day searching through medical records and writing horribly boring and technical proposals. The truth is I just try to be more positive on my blog :) BUT I've found a new job and I've been working there for three weeks, so all is good! And this job is much better and I'm much happier at work. Is it wrong that I really believe you should be happy with what you do? And if what you do isn't making you happy, then at least who you're working with should make you happy, and that was missing at the law firm. But I'm now doing admin work at a helicopter flight school in Salt Lake and so far, things are going pretty well. I'm still trying to get the hang of things and meet everyone at work, but I'm hoping this will be a good job for me and that I'll like it. So keep your fingers crossed for me, okay?

Second, I wanted to post about how I absolutely LOVE being an aunt! And I absolutely LOVE living so close to Grant's brother Dan, his wife Shannon, and their son Gavin. Two weekends ago Dan and Shannon went to Stadium of Fire down in Provo and asked Grant and I to watch Gavin. Really, there was no question, I was so excited to babysit him! He might be the cutest two year old that I've ever met, really. We had a blast playing with him and reading him books before bed, and then saying goodnight.

(Gavin absolutely loved that cardboard box...reminds me of an episode of Rugrats I once watched as a kid)

Third (and this update ties in nicely with me loving being an aunt), we had an amazing fourth of July full of all the most important things: family, pony rides, water slides, fireworks, croquet, and of course, lots and lots of food :) We first went to the Cutler's (Shannon's parents house, where Dan, Shannon, and Gavin are living currently) to join in the celebration of Gavin's birthday party. Grant's sister Carrie was in town with her family as well so it was great being able to see them. And it was a pretty awesome birthday party for a two year old: pony rides, a blow-up water slide playground, an incredible Cars cake, and lots of presents!

After spending the morning celebrating, all the little kids went in and took a nap (and I'll admit, I napped too). Afterward, Carrie's husband's brothers and parents came over with their families and so the number of little kids went from 6 to about 26 in mere minutes. It was pretty crazy, but also lots of fun. 

We then started to barbecue! Grant and I hung around for a bit to chat and grab a hot dog to eat, but then we headed down to Orem to spend some time with my family as well. We got to my Uncle Bruce and Aunt Debbie's house in Orem about 6:00 and we were just in time to eat! (You're supposed to eat A LOT on holidays, right?) So of course we grabbed a full plate of food and dug in :) The food was delicious, and it was great to see my aunt and uncle, as well as Taylor, Blake, my Granny, and my sister Andrea. We had fun chatting over dinner, and then my Aunt Debbie brought out the cutest desserts she had made in honor of the holiday. After eating some more we played an intense game of Croquet!

I love holidays, birthdays, family, and excuses to eat all day long :) And this 4th of July was an especially good one!