The Baby Bump Is Growing

The baby bump is growing bigger as we get closer to the holidays.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween! And yes, that is my baby bump under that dress poof :).

Pumpkins And Corn

There isn’t much that is better than a corn pit :).

And of course, we had to pick out pumpkins to carve with my nephew.

Saints To Sinners Bike Relay

This last weekend myself and 9 of my teammates, #213 “Last Ones Chosen,” rode our bikes from Salt Lake City, UT (Bluffdale area) down to Las Vegas, NV (Lake Mead area), 516 miles in 30 hours.  We started Friday morning with clear skies and hot temperatures.  By Friday evening we had lightning and thunderstorms which caused flash flooding on the roads and new obstacles and worries for the riders like tree branches floating in foot deep rivers across the road, slick rain covered streets, and nearby lightning strikes.

The race goes through the night, so you need to get sleep when you can.

In the morning the weather was better than we could have asked for with temperatures only getting up to around 87-89 degrees and overcast skies.

The scenery was GORGEOUS!

4th of July Weekend

My 4th of July’s are typically the same.  I go to the Provo Hot Air Balloon launching in the morning, Provo’s Freedom Fest for lunch, float the Provo in a kayak in the afternoon, BBQ with family for dinner, and fireworks at the neighbors at night.  This year was VERY different, but still enjoyable.

It all started with a red, white and blue breakfast in bed.

Then, Bade and I spent the entire afternoon at his brother’s house helping him with his house addition.  There was lots of time-sensitive work that Bade and I offered to help with. Then in the evening, saw Peter Breinholt perform, then enjoyed a 25 minute firework show that was so close, we had some cardboard debris falling on us!

Saturday was an extension of the fourth for us.  We took my dad and uncle on a dirt bike ride up our canyon.  My uncle is only in town for a week, and dirt bike riding was one of his must-do activities.

After only 2.5 hours of riding, we came upon a truck, blocking the entire trail, that had high-centered itself AND jammed a fallen tree up under it, on our dirt-bikes-only trail.  This threw a major wrench into our day.  The two guys (and their dog) in the truck were really unprepared for getting stuck out in the middle of nowhere.  They didn’t have any food or water, there is no cell reception, and they are miles from the nearest road. We tried to help them move the truck, but it was hopeless.  So instead, we left them with some water bottles, Bade got our bikes under a fallen tree in a ravine so that we could bypass the truck, and I cut my ride short, and rode for an hour out of the canyon to call for help, while the boys continued on riding for another 3.5 hours until well after dark. By the end of their 6 hour ride, my dad and uncle were exhausted, to say the least :).

Valentines Day Adoption

Bade and I adopted a 6-month old Maine Coon for Valentine’s Day. Her name is Moki.  She has a crazy long body with short little legs. She loves to cuddle, be stroked, and purr, as well as chase things with feathers or play with strings. She is already showing signs of being purrfect for our family by enjoying Cheetos and Doritos, as well as steak and potatoes and homemade whipped cream :). Don’t worry, she also gets a healthy amount of her kitten food, and ALL the leftovers of Chika’s dry and wet food everyday.

Moki rides in the car with us each day for 35 minutes into work, and 35 minutes home.  She loves being in the car, watching the scenery, and most of all sleeping to the low hum of the engine, usually while on one of our laps.

“Was The Beadboard White?”

Tonight Bade and I spent our evening in the emergency room. While using a 2.5 inch saw drill bit, that caught some wood and slipped, Bade accidentally sawed through the top of his pinky.  He handled it like a champ; stayed calm while we had to drive to 3 different ER’s/Instacare’s spanning 2 cities, to find one that (1) took our insurance and (2) would be able to fix it.The PA fixing Bade’s finger cleaned it out (after Bade’s finger was seriously high).  While she was cleaning it she asked “Was the beadboard white?” Bade responded “yes” and she continued “I can see some white pieces in here” gross!  After it was cleaned out, she let me take a picture.

6 stitches later, and the idea that Bade might have a permanently numb finger tip, this is what it looked like.

Stats at the end of the night:
– 5 large curly fries from Arby’s because Bade milked it when we picked up dinner.
– 1 person (down from 2) able to work on the bathroom remodel.
– 1 blood-spattered 4′ x 4′ piece of beadboard
– 3 bottles of various pain killers
– 22 awesome pictures of bloody Bade at the hospital

Christmas Time

Bade and I were up until midnight on Christmas Eve, our first Christmas Eve as a married couple, finishing our homemade stockings in the style of Bade’s childhood stockings. They turned out so well, that all Christmas day we had to show them to members of my family and members of his family.

Bade really wanted us to have our own n64 so that we could play Dr Mario at home, and repetitively asked me to put it on our Christmas list.  We got one.  It is setup.  We have already played it for a few hours AND unlocked both additional characters, Metal Mario and Vampire Wario.

Happy Turkey Day

Thanksgiving successfully came and went.  Here is a look back at some of the moments of the week.

Bade and Cam installed our new pellet stove.

Dad did his duty, dutifully, cutting the turkey.

Yummy Thanksgiving dinner, complete with our family favorite homemade crescents.

Family tradition of trimming the tree. Stringing popcorn and cranberries.

Our Black Friday spoils, a FULL truck…this doesn’t even do it justice :)!

Trying to fit our new pillow top queen mattress up our low-ceiling stairs. Yikes! This took some work!

Lots of snow at our house; this is the view out our back door (15-17 inches).

Bade still grilling through the winter.

More deer in the front yard this morning.

A Look Back At Busy

Bade and I have now been married for over a month, and our wedding reception was 3 weeks ago. Things have calmed down and we have settled into OUR new home.  Here is a quick look back at the fun wedding reception at Highland Gardens.

The happy couple! In the long, held-all-evening reception line :)

Some of my friends from high school.

Friends and family fraternizing.

Our gorgeous wedding cake!

My good friend and our cake maker and designer.

Our photographer selfie. It just so happens to be one of my awesome sister-in-laws and Bade’s favorite sister!

Riding buddies and family friends.

Photobomber

The groom finally getting some grub before its gone. Little does he know we have TONS of left overs :)

A view of our gorgeous reception center, and some of my new in-laws!

Another one of my awesome sister-in-law photographers!

The new additions to my family!

Setting Up Christmas

I am normally a firm believer that Christmas should not show its festive face until after Thanksgiving (or on Thanksgiving in the afternoon :) ).  However, since Bade and I are living in a new home, that has ZERO decorations, that isn’t as cozy as we’d like, I am allowing Christmas to go up early.

Shake Shake, Shake It! Shaking the snow off to see if this is our perfect tree.

Here is the tree we choose. Isn’t it cute?!?

A Quick Catch Up

Here are a few things I have missed in the last few crazy busy weeks.

Awesome Hawaiian Sunset

Lo and Bade enjoying the awesome Hawaiian sunset

Photos on the beach

Kisses on our Lanai

Actually went out to eat in Lahaina in a cute restaurant on Front Street.

… at a SLUG PLATE appropriate restaurant :)

There were cute lizards everywhere!

Hanging out in the park before catching our flight home

Bade took like a million photos of me at the wind surfing and kite boarding beach, even though it was crazy windy!

Bade and I gave candy to trick-or-treaters and carved our Halloween Jack-o-lanterns.

We had our wedding reception at Highland Gardens, complete with 2 wedding crashers.

Went on probably the last scooter and motorcycle ride of the season with my dad, Bade’s brother, and Bade.

Bade and I patched the roof where we only had some particle board. A few days after this, we got our first real snow (the snow is still on the ground days later).

First Day Married

For someone who loves having photos, and someone who is married to someone who loves photos and typically remembers to take them, it is kind of funny that we don’t have any photos of our first day married.

We had a lazy morning going out to breakfast at a cafe on the beach. Flew from Oahu to Maui.  Went grocery shopping so that we can cook most of our own meals this week (since we have a whole week, and we are in an area where there aren’t many restaurants). Got to our AMAZING condo right on the beach (thanks Jon!), with a full wall of windows overlooking the coast. Then just chilled at the condo.

We went out to the beach, and after laying out for about 30 minutes, we decided to snorkel.  It only took about 10 minutes before we saw 4 sting rays that all came within feet of us, and swam around us like they were curious, and saw 2 sea turtles who were swimming right next to the rays, and tons of brightly colored fish.  All of this was around 2 tiny coral mounds that don’t look like anything special. The beach was nice too.  It is in a mostly private area on a non-touristy side of the island, so it is not packed at all.  You can lay out wherever you want, and you don’t have to worry about watching your gear.  Its next to the condo so you don’t have to bring any personal items.  This is awesome!

Bade and I watched the sunset from our balcony then cooked a steak with fresh herbs from our herb garden at the condo. Sharing steak and potatoes on the balcony with waves crashing against the shore with someone you love (and you just married), does it get any better?

Ok, I need to amend this post a little.  After looking through photos on Bade’s phone, it does look like he took some photos of us out of the back porch of our condo.  See two of those photos below.

Mrs Baden

We’re married!!! Today I married Bade in the LDS Laie Hawaii Temple. We all (both sets of parents and us) stayed at Bade’s parents’ friend, Buddy’s house.  Buddy made us a dutch oven mountain man breakfast that was De-licious. After breakfast, all 6 of us were able to slowly and with a relaxed aire, get ready for our wedding day. The temple is just up the street from Buddy’s as well, so we didn’t have to go far.

One of my favorite aspects of getting married in the Laie Hawaii temple, is that I was the only bride and Bade was the only groom.  We had the temple to ourselves (or so it felt), and we had the bride’s room and groom’s room to ourselves. Also, since it isn’t a busy temple, we were able to get married sooner than expected.  We were scheduled for noon, but decided since we were ready at 11:30, we would get married sooner (yet again moving our wedding up :) ). The sealer was such a sweet guy who spent lots of time with us; it was really personal. My dad cried, but tried holding it in.  Bade’s dad smiled.  My mom cried but didn’t hold it in at all.  Bade’s mom smiled.  I cried, but had a fun excited attitude. Bade cried and had a serious life-altering attitude. It was perfect.

After our sealing, we took some photos on the temple grounds, then our parents went to lunch and Bade and I went to have my hair professionally done. Our parents then brought my dress and met with Bade and I at a typically quiet beach where we were having our professional photos taken, Ali’i Beach Park.  It just so happened that there was a surf competition going on so the beach park was crowded.  No matter, I still changed into my dress right in the middle of the park.

We took some photos at the park on the grass and in front of some trees then we moved to the beach.  Coming up to the beach we noticed there was a turtle just laying on the sand. Once we were completely on the beach we noticed there were about 20 large turtles all just laying on the sand.  They were sleeping, or sunning, or just chilling on the beach.  It was really strange and cool at the same time.

Don’t worry, professional photos to come.  For now, here are a few photos my dad took during our photo shoot.

Our honeymoon night was spent in a corner room near the top of Rainbow Tower in the Hilton Hawaiian Village. Our room had 2 full walls of windows and 2 balconies that overlooked a good chunk of the Hawaiian Village, and the other overlooked the coast and harbor. Such an amazing view.  Such a good night.  Such a happy day!

Utah Lake on Pioneer Day

A great Utah state holiday is Pioneer Day, July 24.  This day is akin to the Fourth Of July; there are fireworks, BBQs, fairs, and lots of celebrations in memory of our heritage. Last night Bade and I stayed at his sister’s place in the mountains, so we woke up to a gorgeous view of mountains covered in aspens.  Bade got up much earlier than I and went mountain biking with the majority of the boys in his family.

At lunch time Bade and I joined a group of my friends down at Utah Lake State Park to go boating.  The weather wasn’t the best for boat activities, but were able to still tube, surf behind the boat, and got a few runs of wake-boarding in.

We finished the day with a gem of a firework show.  Bade and I stopped by my family’s house to crash their BBQ, then headed out to Mapleton.  We had to park a ways away and thought that we would be late because we parked right at 10. After walking over to the fair grounds we became aware of how packed the field was, so we plopped ourselves down on the outskirts, in the shade of some trailers; turns out we had amazing spots.  The fireworks were a good angle between in front and above us, so could see them well while laying down.  We were in a strange spot as far as assessing the field goes, so we didn’t have anybody super close to us.  And after the firework show, we were able to get out with very minimal traffic.  For the firework show itself, Mapleton over-exceeded my expectations.  The show was between 20 and 25 minutes long, without any lulls, and included some cool fireworks that I had never seen before.  I need to remember the Mapleton Pioneer Day Fireworks for next year for sure!

Happy Birthday Bade

Today was Bade’s birthday.  This last year in his life has been a doosie! Bade has been working a newer job, he bought a house, and the once single Bade is now engaged to be married.  All in all, this year has had a ton of changes.

Exciting life changes started last year will be intensified this coming year and I am so excited to be part of them.  I get to be there as Bade falls into his career.  I get to be there to help Bade really make his house his/our own.  Last but not least, I get to be there to build a life and family with Bade. This coming year (and all those that follow) are going to be awesome!

Happy birthday Bade :) You are my 31-year-old and I love you!

Happy Birthday Bade!

Today was Bade’s birthday.  I woke him up with breakfast pseudo in bed (he didn’t behave and stay in bed).  At lunch, we took a motorcycle ride up the canyon and had a picnic on the side of the awesome fishing river, the Provo.

Dinner involved one of our favorite restaurants, Bombay House, followed by a homemade (you can tell by its attractive look) huckleberry ice cream cake. I hope you had a great birthday Bade!

Better Than The Best

Last night Bade proposed to me, and I enthusiastically said “YES!” with a kiss… immediately followed by “are you serious?”  I am so blessed to be engaged to such a loyal and caring man. He really is one of the best things that has happened to me in my life.

Since I started dating Bade I have gained more confidence in myself and my actions, become more ambitious, and had more fun than I can remember. You can see in his daily actions that he is dedicated to his family; he is so helpful in all situations without being asked or even thanked. He is relaxed yet productive; he doesn’t give off the vibe of a ‘go go go’ person, but he is always working on something, bettering something, or getting the most out of moments. He doesn’t judge, even if I’m upset and have mascara lines for no good reason. He is also a bigger kid than the majority of kids that I know.  He isn’t afraid to make a fool of himself just to get a laugh or smile out of someone else. He makes me feel like I am loved unconditionally, which is way more empowering than I would have guessed.

I love that we can share every moment together, feel similar emotions, enjoy similar reactions, and still not get bored or need space.  Instead, because he makes me feel like we are always on the same page, I feel even closer to him, and I always know that we will both crave the same adventures in life.

I look forward to spending forever with him, going on fun adventures, soaking in optimistic attitudes, and building a happy and supportive life together!

How Bade Proposed
Bade lives in a canyon and loves to ride dirt bikes.  Since he lives near many aspens I have been wanting to take some pictures of the aspens to blow up and hang in his house. He suggested that we go on an evening dirt bike ride to take pictures.  He packed a dinner, his fishing pole (in case we came across any good fishing spots), my camera and we took off.

We rode through patches of cows, up dirt roads, and enjoyed the amazing area up the Right Fork of Hobble Creek. It was starting to get late, and we didn’t want to ride home in the dark, so we started heading back, but before we were all the way back, Bade took a side trail that he loves because of the narrow track and roller-coaster like grade and turns. It led to a grassy meadow valley with a big oak tree in the middle.  The sun was on its way down so we stopped under the oak and ate the dinner Bade had packed.

After dinner, since we had carried the camera all this way, and since the sun was just getting ready to fall behind the mountain Bade suggested that we take some photos. We moved his dirt bike around the tree until we found the angle that we wanted.  It’s my camera and Bade doesn’t know how to work it well so I set up the shot and the timer while Bade returned to the tree to move our belongings out of the frame.

I set the timer for 20 seconds, and had it take 3 pictures that were each a second apart because if I am going to all the trouble of setting up the camera on a tripod, on top of the dirt bike, then I was at least going to get a few photos to choose from to pick the best one. I then ran back to where Bade was.

20 seconds was way too long, so we kissed, then Bade crouched down.  I’m thinking to myself “Bade must think that our heads are too close to the branches … Bade, we can’t crouch down for this photo, we will be hidden behind the grass!” But when I turned to tell him not to crouch, there he was, kneeling, holding a blue velvet box containing the most beautiful ring <shutter click>. He grabbed my hand; he was shaking so bad it made my heart get all jittery <shutter click>.  Then without any more hesitation he asked if I would marry him <shutter click>. I wanted him to ask me this; of course I was going to say yes! So I said “Yes” and placed my hands on his jaw-line/neck and bent down and gave him a kiss.

Sometime during burst of kisses (no crazy big ones, we are keeping it PG) and me requesting that he put the ring on, I think I said (and Bade will make sure I admit this) “Are you serious!?” twice… oops :-/. Also during lots of kisses Bade pulled out his fishing rod case, and from within it, produced a red rose. Just the cherry on top of this perfect ring he picked out (without any help from me).

After the sun set, on our ride back down, Bade cut the engine on the bike while still coasting down our dirt roller-coaster, and from the mountain top (mountain side, same thing) yelled that he is in love with the prettiest girl!

Bade’s Version

Last week I was able to work with a family friend on getting a diamond and a ring. I picked out a beautiful .80 carat diamond that has a really nice color and just a few minor infractions. He showed me a bunch of bands and one really stood out. It was simple, but elegant. It had several small diamonds going down the side of the platinum band. Once I saw it, I thought it’d fit Lauren’s style perfectly. About a month ago, she happened to try on Dacia’s ring which is a size 6. Well, the band I picked out was a 5.75 so I thought it’d still fit perfectly. We took the ring in today to get it resized because it was too big. Apparently Lauren is a 4.5. Small dainty fingers!

So I got the ring on the 18th of June. After seeing the stone set in the band and all polished up, I couldn’t wait to give it to her. I was entertaining the idea of proposing while we were paragliding (a birthday gift certificate I gave her in April). Then we decided to go up to Bloomington Lake this weekend, and so I’d propose where I was baptized. But… I couldn’t wait. I weighed the pro’s and con’s of all and decided I wanted it to just be the two of us. Somewhere close where we could visit often. Somewhere we could motorcycle ride to as an excuse to go riding in the future ;). haha

So I asked her on Tuesday the 18th if she wanted to go for a motorcycle ride after work on Thursday the 20th. We were going to take her nice Nikon camera and get some good photos to blow up and hang in my (our) house. So, I left work an hour early and headed to the flower shop and got really pretty bouquet of flowers and 1 long stem rose that I planned on hiding in my fly-rod case that’s about 3 feet long. Unbeknownst to me, she was wanting to head up to my house and surprise me by doing dishes and cleaning up my place… luckily her day got busy and she couldn’t make it up there!

So I left the flower shop and went and picked up sandwiches from “The Sensuous Sandwich”. I headed up to my house and started to get things ready. I hid the ring in a GoPro baggie inside my backpack. I took out my fly-rod and replaced it with the long-stem rose. I loaded up some snack packs (can’t go riding with out them), some fruit smiles, gatorades and sandwiches. I then loaded up the motorcycle and she soon arrived.

We headed up the right fork of Hobblecreek canyon and parked at the Kirkman Hollow trailhead. We unloaded and took dirt road up for quite a while. We had a really nice ride. The weather was perfect. Everything was green and just so pleasant. We stopped at a little beaver pond and watched some small fish jumping out of the water. Lauren asked if I wanted to try fishing it… but I knowingly had only a rose in my fly-rod case… so I declined.

We continued on the road (me looking for possibly spots to propose) for quite a while. I was hoping to make it to a high peak that overlooked Strawberry Reservoir, but it ended up being a lot further than I was thinking. We eventually decided to turn around. I noticed we didn’t have a whole lot of daylight left, so I went pretty fast on our way back to the trail I had originally planned on going.

We came to the Packard Creek trail (Trail 091 I think). We went up the trail and it was awesome. It’s the type of trails everyone loves. Smooth, green, rolling, grassy meadows, tunnels through the trees, just awesome. Earlier in the day I had a prayer in my heart that I’d find a suitable spot to propose to such a beautiful woman. We went up the trail and it eventually opens up to a beautiful meadow with 1 lone, BIG, oak tree in the middle. It was PERFECT! The sun was in the perfect spot. It wasn’t too hot and not too cold.

We rode under the tree and took off our helmets and backpack. We ate some delicious sandwiches and basked in the beauty of God’s creations. (Lauren being the most beautiful creation). I told Lauren that we should get a picture of this awesome oak tree. So we moved the motorcycle around a few times trying to find the best angle to set the camera on a tripod and take a picture. We found a great spot.

While she was setting up the camera and figuring out the timer and all, I obviously needed to move the backpack out of the picture. So I moved the backpack out of her viewing angle and prepared the ring. She set the time and started running to me underneath the tree. As she ran, I bent down and grabbed the ring from the backpack and hid it behind my back. She stood next to me and I waited for a second or two… and then got down on my knee. She was VERY surprised and happily said, “Are you serious?!”

I nodded and said, “Lauren Hills, will you marry me?”

She said “YES!”

The camera took 3 photos and we embraced and kissed for a few minutes. I didn’t feel nervous at all, but I got a little emotional and apparently I was a little jittery. But I felt great and a lot of stress/nerves was gone. After we kissed her next words were… “I wish I wore something nice!”. Hahaha
I then pulled the rose out of the fishing case (to her pleasant surprise) and we hugged and kissed some more.

She looked beautiful and we just enjoyed the moment. The meadow was so green with tall grass. The sunset was gorgeous. The moon was white against the blue sky. It was all super amazing. We took some more pictures to remember the moment (so glad we did) and then loaded up the backpack and rode back down. I turned off the motorcycle and coasted most the way with a feeling of excitement, joy and optimism for the future.

We loaded up the bike and headed back to my place where I gave her the other bouquet of flowers. And then we headed to her parents to tell them the good news.

I’m so thrilled I found such an amazing woman. She has already brought so much happiness to my life. She is so helpful, funny, strong, caring, selfless, supportive, sweet, beautiful, adventurous, silly, easy going, refreshing, positive, happy and a perfect fit for me. I look forward to spending the rest of my life and the eternities with such an amazing daughter of God.

I’m a blessed and fortunate man.

Life is good.

Memorial Day Festivities

Taking care of snakes in the yard.

Fishing the Provo River in Midway.

I do have to give one quick shout out to A&W for making rootbeer soft serve ice cream.  It’s so good, I dare you to just eat one.

Remembering Our Mothers

This weekend was not only Mother’s Day, but also my mother’s birthday, so I wanted to give a shout out to my mother. My mom has always been the most caring and selfless person that I know. It’s not just a saying that she would give the shirt off her back to anyone, she regularly does give all that she has to others.  My mom keeps peace in our family, worries about her children, watches over her grandchild, volunteers for others, and always makes those around her feel loved. She deserves to have a great weekend! Happy birthday and Happy Mother’s Day Mom!