Ouch.

40 minute run + squats + calf workouts = one sore woman. It's been way too long since I last put my body through this.



Thank goodness for an awesome husband who will massage my dying legs.



What would I do without him?





Also, I started my new job today and I L-O-V-E it! I will post about that tomorrow when I have more time. I have to wake up at 6:45 for this job (not used to that) so I must get to bed before 11. Haha and when school is back in session, I will have to get up at 5:45! Eek!

Easter and Finals.

Yeah, its finally the end of the semester which means teachers are assigning papers and tests like crazy. I swear I have done more assignments for all my classes this last week than I have all semester.... Oh well, it's all part of life! Other than finals taking over all our spare time, we have been doing well. I have been really working on making dinner every night as our plan to start eating better. I always tell myself dinner is going to be a lot more work if I have to make it healthier and I always prove myself wrong. haha, classic. I haven't had much time to sew lately and, surprisingly, it's killing me. I am having withdrawals from sewing. I'm planning on sewing a lot during the semester break! I can't wait!

Last weekend we celebrated Easter with our good friends Autumn and Brad Elmer. The boys went rock climbing on Saturday while Autumn and I painted our nails, made dinner, and hid Easter eggs! It was a good afternoon for both of us! When Anthony and Brad returned we all ate together and did our egg hunts. You will have to ask Anthony how that went...hahaha! Then Sunday we had brunch with the Elmers at our house and went to church after (2 pm church time). Dinner was a bit of an ordeal- it was my first time cooking a ham....Reid, Drew, Brad, and Autumn came over and we enjoyed the evening together. We were planning on just doing Easter dinner alone, but we would have had ham for weeks after. I made A LOT of food and it was just perfect for the 6 of us. I don't think anyone went home hungry and we didn't have 3 weeks worth of leftovers... only one week :) haha. All in all it was a wonderful weekend. It was good to have Reid and Drew over since Drew is going on a mission soon and Reid was able to give him lots of tips at dinner (he's going to the same mission that Reid went to!). Oh, it was good to see them too:)



SO.....I don't know if I have said this, but I am REALLY excited to go home (San Diego) and see everyone. I'm also really excited for the Del Mar Fair. Seriously, Anthony and I went like 15 times (its 24 days long) because we bought the $24 "season" pass. That is a real steal if you love the fair. hahaha, which I do. I do not know why the heck I enjoy it so much, but I do. I loved going with Anthony and just walking around (eating everything) looking at all the booths and listening to all the music. It was so much fun. Can't wait to do it again this year ;) I don't have much more to tell...I should be working on a few finals right now but I am procrastinating. I consider myself a pro at that. Graduation is next Friday and we have a bunch of friends graduating, some of them moving away from the island next weekend. We are not very happy about that. Saying goodbye is never fun!


I am so grateful for the opportunity we had last weekend to remember our Savior and the sacrifice he made for all of us. Without him, I wouldn't be who I am today, I wouldn't have the husband I have, and I wouldn't know the things I know to be true. I am so grateful for the Gospel and the peace it brings to my life every day. I hope we can all remember how truly blessed we are to have a Heavenly Father and Savior who love us more than we can imagine. I know that He lives. I know He loves us and cares about everything we do. I know these things are true because I have felt them.


I love you guys and seriously cannot wait to see and hug everyone.

Here are some lovely pictures since I know that's why people even bother looking at blogs. haha!

After the boys surprise attacked us with confetti guns.

Another Month.....

They seem to be flying by. Where is the time going??? We have 3 more weeks of the semester and then one week off before summer semester starts. We are both seriously looking forward to that week off. It's been a rough semester. We get to move again in April, luckily to one of the nicer campus housing complexes. That will be fun, as always! I am seriously done with moving, I think I am losing my mind! hahaha. I am really looking forward to this summer semester since I'm taking 6 classes but split into two blocks. So only 3 at a time:) I'm also a very happy girl because I get to be in San Diego for 4 weeks in June/July and Anthony will be there for 3! We are so excited to see everyone and even attend a few weddings;) I'm sad we will be saying goodbye to my parents for 3 years, but excited to hear about their new adventures! So many life events to look forward to!! (Oh, we can't forget about the new Thacker baby we will get to meet while home as well-that will be one of the highlights of my trip!)


Yesterday was a Hawaiian holiday so naturally we went to the beach all day! Rough life, I know. It was fun to spend a day just talking (mostly the girls) and playing on the beach with friends! Surprisingly, Anthony and I haven't spent a ton of time at the beach since moving here...between the rain and school we have been pretty busy! Today around noon (after our classes) we are heading into town (Honolulu) to meet up with our friend Tiffany and her new husband, Brent, while they are here on a cruise. It will be nice to see some friends from home and catch up!


In other news, we are absolutely loving married life! My favorite part? Getting to have a slumber party with my best friend every single night! Seriously, what could be better?!? It's been so much fun moving to a new place and trying to figure out our new life together! We've made some really awesome friends so far and can't wait to see what else our future holds! I can't believe we will be celebrating 8 months together in April. Wow. I know it's not that long, but I feel like we were just coming out of the temple yesterday. Time flies when you're having fun!:)



We can't wait to see you all this summer!!!


Seriously, come visit!

Hawaiian Adventures

I realize I haven't posted in awhile, but at least it hasn't been a whole month since my last post....Getting better one post at a time.

Last week we had some visitors here in Hawaii! It was so fun to have our first visitors come to the island! Hayley and her good friend Sarah came over for a week to explore the island and see Reid and I (Anthony too, of course). We went hiking with them, had them sleep on our floor, and just enjoyed their company. Anthony and I still had school all week so we didn't get to see everyone much during the day, but at night it was always a party. We are so glad they came to see us and are so grateful for all the kind things Hayley and Sarah did for us. Love them. I have a lot of pictures from the week, but I will do a separate post with those because I am currently using Anthony's iPad and none of my pictures are on here.

It was my birthday this last week so we did a lot of eating cake throughout the week (hayley's doing...) and on wednesday Anthony surprised me with the best birthday so far! We went horseback riding, had a picnic on top of a mountain, saw whales, went shopping, and then went to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory in Waikiki. It was truly one of the best birthdays, mostly because I got to spend it with my best friend in the WHOLE world. It was one of the most beautiful days, which only made it that much more enjoyable:) I sure do love my wonderful husband and all the sweet things he does for me, as well as the unwavering support and love he gives me every day! This week was one of the best, since being here in Hawaii, and I can't wait to have more visitors (wink, wink).

I really do have a lot of pictures to post and I really will post them. Probably tomorrow.


Other updates on our lives:
-I am almost done with my first baby blanket (for Maren)! I haven't had much time to work on it recently so I am excited to finish it and see the final project!
-I bought fabric to make curtains for our bedroom since the curtains here are way too thin and it gets light WAY too early around here.
-Our semester is almost over and we are both looking forward to the week break between semesters so that we can be lazy and lay on the beach...maybe finally get those Hawaiian tans going.
-We have a place to live after we move out of our current apartment! (subleasing again)
-Flight prices have gone down which means I am finally going to buy tickets to come home for a few weeks this summer! REALLY excited about that.
-Our dear friends the Elmer's are moving April 12 and we are going to miss them so much :(

There isn't a lot more to update you all on, things are good over here in Hawaii. We love you guys and can't wait to see everyone this summer while we are home! Hawaii is absolutely wonderful, but no where beats San Diego. Seriously miss that place. One day we will be back for good. For now we are enjoying the journey and the wonderful people we are meeting on the way!!!


Come visit us! but don't use Allegiant Airlines to get here.....you may get stuck here for a few extra days or weeks. Just a warning. Just ask Hayley.


I will be back soon, but for now here are some wonderful pictures of Anthony and I that I found on his ipad:

Valentines + 6 months

I know, I am a little late on this update. Please forgive me. Here's my little recap of last weekend and this weekend (so far). Get ready for a picture overload....

For Valentines Day, Anthony and I both had school all day so we decided we would do something fun that night. Our friends Autumn & Brad Elmer called us up and asked if we wanted to do a Valentine's double date to sushi and a movie. Apparently Anthony had something special planned but it wasn't working out since we don't have a super reliable source of transportation. So, we decided what the heck, we love the Elmer's and it will be fun! It actually ended up being a lot of fun, even though the movie we saw really wasn't a winner (we saw beautiful creatures...don't see it). It was a perfect Valentine's Day with my new husband; nothing too fancy or expensive :) Oh, and he gave me the BEST gift first thing that morning....

This BEAUTY (sorry, it's just a picture of the case, there IS a camera inside)

I reeeeeally wanted to take it on our little double date, but Anthony said no for fear that I would lose it :( So here are some sunset pictures I got with my Iphone. Still beautiful, just not as fun ;)

and here are the infamous Elmer's while we wait for our (not so good) movie to start

For the record, I did fall asleep in the movie.....which is nothing new for me...but I justify it with the fact that the movie was boring and everyone agreed. ha!

After Valentine's Day we got to celebrate our 6 month anniversary! We went to church, which was the best way to celebrate (because what's better than getting your weekly spiritual uplift with the one you love?!) and then came home and just relaxed. I made homemade pizza (which was a fail because I messed up the bread. The first time I made it was 100x better) and we had brownies and ice cream for dessert. So good. It was perfect because the next day was a holiday so we didn't have to worry about homework and could really just hang out together and enjoy our sabbath day! I wrote in my journal (rare occurrence, worse than my sporadic blogging) and got to write all about how grateful I am for the man who I can call my husband forever. I won't get sappy on here. Promise. But I will tell everyone (to make you jealous) how seriously amazing Anthony is. He puts up with so much from me and his first response when something is wrong or I am struggling with something (or I'm just being dramatic)? 

"How can I help you, sweetheart?"

 Seriously?! How did I get so lucky. I've never been more in love with this man. Every day my heart grows a little more. Anyway, I said I wouldn't get sappy. Let's just say, I made the best decision of my life when I chose to marry this guy. He is a wonderful husband and I can't help but think about what an amazing father he will be one day (one day far in the distance!) I have been so blessed. One of my favorite things to do is look through our wedding pictures and replay one of the most perfect, peaceful, and happiest days of my life. I pinch myself sometimes just to make sure it's all real. In honor of 6 wonderful months, here are some of my most favorite wedding pictures!

 

Again, one of the best days of my life. So grateful I could share it with so many of you!!!

This week we have both been sick, Anthony with an ear infection and myself with some kind of nasty stomach virus. Not fun. We are both finally feeling better (I have been in bed for 4 days...) so we are going to get out of the house for a movie tonight. I have been dying to see Safe Haven so that's what we will see. I will let you all know how it is! Hopefully better than the last movie we saw.

We love you all! Hope everyone is safe and staying healthy! Sorry for such a long post....

much love from Hawaii!

P.

New Experiments

This week has been an experimenting kind of week. And when I say experimenting, I mean in the kitchen.

On Sunday I we had 12 people (yes you read the number right) over for dinner. We invited a few couples and before we knew it out living room was full! Everyone brought a dish (I'm not cooking for twelve!) and we had a good time laughing and talking the night away. I made chicken parmesan "bites" (they kind of looked like chicken nuggets) and home made sauce for dipping (just a basic tomato paste base sauce). I've discovered the joy of making things at home and saving money, yippee!

Last night I made actual parmesan chicken over noodles and steamed broccoli...I cooked the noodles differently and they were so freaking good. I will definitely do that again. It was also our relief society activity night and we got to make cake pops for our husbands. I didn't actually make the cake part, they had already done that, but I did the rest of it. It was a lot of fun and it's the perfect treat for a birthday party, or any occasion! I will admit, I ate some of Anthony's cake pops. He isn't a huge fan of frosting but he enjoyed a few;)

They don't look all smooth and perfect like all the pictures we always see, but they were good. Trust me.

Today I came home from class really wanting to bake something. Google has become my best friend when cooking so I turned to the Internet. I wanted to make muffins at first but since we don't have a muffin pan I had to find an alternative...which is when I decided on scones. I have never in my life made scones so I was getting a little intimidated at some of the recipes. I stumbled across a pretty easy one and decided to just do it. The recipe was super basic and didn't have any fruit or anything so I decided to add some frozen blueberries.... I am happy to report that they turned out and I'm afraid I will have to hide them from Anthony! I actually had a lot of fun making them by hand too!

Its always fun to try out new recipes and test them on my husband, but sometimes I am afraid he is just being nice when he tells me something I made is good....hahaha. oh well, if I don't like the taste of it, chances are it will never show up in our kitchen again.

Sorry I have been so bad about blogging! I will do better! It's one of my resolutions.

Blessed

Well........

We moved. haha again!


Every time I post it seems to be when we move.....I need to be better about this or we need to stop moving so much! We were worried about affording (actually knew we couldn't afford 1,200 a month right now) so we had been praying for help and to miraculously get into TVA (the on campus married student housing). We were searching everywhere for somewhere cheaper. One particularly hard night I decided to check the off campus housing page on facebook and literally, THE FIRST POST on that page was someone looking for a couple to sublease their TVA apartment. I cried I was so happy and Anthony called them right away (even though it was 10:30 pm). Everything worked out beautifully with them and we are now very happily living in TVA. At least until April 18. Such a wonderful blessing and we are so grateful to our Heavenly Father for being so mindful of our little lives over here in Hawaii. We are hoping to permanently get into TVA in April though, since a lot of people are graduating and leaving then. Crossing our fingers for that one:)


Other than moving and going to school we have been having fun! I am having fun experimenting in the kitchen and making dinners for the two of us. And treats, lots of treats over here! Anthony has been having a blast in his music classes and starting up a small bike business with his buddy. We are both loving it here and have finally been able to relax a little with knowing we won't have to move for a few months! Unfortunately we haven't been able to go to the beach much with school consuming our days and the weather not being super awesome. We know we will have p-l-e-n-t-y of time to play at the beach so it doesn't bother us too much:)


I do have some pictures to share, actually, lots of pictures to share.

My favorite- Anthony telling me he will wait up for me and I walk in to see this:

This is what we had for dinner last night. Anthony said it was so good he wanted me to make another one today haha 

I have gotten bad at taking pictures and I am planning on changing that. Promise. 

For now though I need to go do laundry, finish some homework, and go to the gym. Really eventful Wednesday night, I know.

Anthony and I love you all! 

Hopefully we see some of you in Hawaii soon:)