i would just like to share this quote and say mondays are not that bad

Usually I just dread Mondays.

Like have a fit, can't sleep, be grouchy, and procrastinate-my-homework dread them.

I realized today that that is just a tad dramatic, so I decided to tackle this Monday to the ground.

Mondays really aren't that bad, when you think about it. They are a time for new beginnings, a great day to start (and probably give up on) another diet, fresh white pages in your planner, a day closer to the next weekend, a refreshing time to look toward the future. It is a time to feel accomplished for all that you did last week, a day to find balance, a day when you are not yet dead-tired and irritated at all the weird people at your college.

Also, how 'bout this quote? Tell me you love it.

{Pinterest}

I needed that today.

year one

 Wow! Is it possible that it has been a year already? It feels like just yesterday I married that handsome devil of mine. Now I feel kind of old, and not so newlyweddish. I remember my mom telling me the day before I got married, "Well daughter, you're going to be an old married bag tomorrow." 

It was such a tender thing to say, really. Right?

There are so many things I could say about our first year of marriage, but I think I have mastered the art of simplicity and have narrowed it down to five. We shall call it  

The 5 Things I Learned in the First Year of Marriage:

1. Just when you think you can't love another person anymore, you do. 

You find some more love inside of your heart that you didn't even know was there to begin with.

It's pretty magical. I remember thinking on our wedding day that I couldn't love Ty any more than I did at that moment. I look back on that now and laugh.There have been so many tender moments when my love for him has grown.

2. It's the little things that matter most. 

No, it is not the little candy wrappers I find beneath the couch cushions, nor is it the pieces of used dental floss that lie around the bathroom sink. The little things like making dinner together, going out to get ice cream, having someone truly care about how you broke the copy machine at work, or how you had to sit at a red light for three hours today. That kind of stuff. When you're married, your seemingly mundane life matters to someone else.

3. Everyone feels love differently, which in turn means everyone needs to be loved differently.

 Strangely enough, you can have hundreds of things in common, but be different in the way you feel love. Learning to love another person how they need to be loved is an art, and it takes time.

4. You need to laugh everyday. 

I'll admit sometimes I just get all uptight and overworked about the most idiotic things, and if I'm not careful, they can ruin my entire day. There is hardly a thing in the world that can bring people together like laughter. The best kind of laughter is the kind where no one else would understand why you are laughing, but you and him do. And that's all that matters, when you think about it.

5. There are no perfect marriages, but there are perfect moments.

Cherish those. Embrace those. Write them down, remember them, look back on them. 

You'll find you wouldn't trade them for the world.

Happy Anniversary to my love, Tyler.

One year down, Eternity to go.

xoxo.

party like it's six in the morning

Sometimes we do that here.

Party at six in the morning, that is.

You see, Tyler's car has decided to take another crap on us, thus leaving us with only one vehicle. Which means, when he goes to work,  I go to work.

When he works till midnight, I work till midnight.
Kidding...

I sit in the car while he endures the bloody Rexburg wind in an attempt to jumpstart his car.

Which doesn't work.

But we actually prefer partying like it's six in the Friday evening.

Our Friday nights have become what some might call "boring and predictable."

We call them freakin' paradisaical.

Here is how they go:

1. We get into our sweats.

2. Make fajitas while dancing around the kitchen to our boy Trace Adkins.

3. Eat said fajitas.

Except I don't know if "eat" is a strong enough word.

More like devour, ravage, inhale those little babies.

{If you can't tell, they are sort of our fav.}

We tend to complain about how full we are, but then exchange that are-you-thinking-what-i'm-thinking-yep-i-am-let's-go-get-icecream-look.

4. We then proceed to travel to any number of ice cream joints in this little town.

  And of course we love to critique the ice cream according to creaminess, chunkiness, deliciousness, etc.

5. Then, we watch the newest Grey's Anatomy...

which actually airs on Thursday nights but it would be an absolute sin to watch it while Ty is working. Husband must suffer through it with me.

6. Then, we go to bed at ten in the pm.

And, no joke, that has been our Friday night for the last few months.

Call it what you will.

We call it heaven on earth.

anticipation

Gosh, I just can't help but get a little giddy when I think about the future.

Sometimes I lie awake at night and think about those munchkins I will be teaching soon.

In fact, last night I slipped and let one of my thoughts out before I edited it. Tyler couldn't help but chuckle when I called them "my students." You know, the ones that might not even be born yet? 

Those little guys that are in preschool right now?

Yeah them. They're mine.

I just can't wait to blow their minds with the brilliance of Shakespeare.

And teach them that you can say anything you want to through writing, but make sure believe in it.

And tell them how one time I didn't like to read either. But practice makes perfect.

And show them how literature transforms cultures.

And I can't wait to just believe in them. Truly believe. 'Cause sometimes teachers don't and kids pick up on that kind of stuff.

I just can't wait to get them excited about learning.

And growing.

And dreaming.

And discovering their passion.

And knowing that they are important.

And I mostly can't wait to help them realize that they don't have to change the whole world, but they can change their little piece of it.

 

Anyway, 

that's been my little slice for today. The future is bright over here.

lately

Just a glimpse of what may or may not have been the best Christmas vacation. Ever.

Turns out, I hit the jackpot on in-laws.

{Which, I hear, is rare these days.}

Lucky us, I say. Lucky us.

With 2 parents, 9 kids and in-law kids, and 3 grand bebes, things got just a little crazy. 

Here are a few of our finest, most composed moments over the break.