Happy 5th Engage-iversary!

Five years ago today, Todd proposed to me in a secret spot at Temple Square. We didn't have our usual Sunday dinner plans today, so we decided to go to Temple Square and see the lights and visit our "spot" to sort of celebrate. We bundled up so we wouldn't freeze, and Todd made his delicious hot chocolate and poured it into a thermos for us to enjoy once we came back to the car. We had a lot of fun walking around and trying to take cool pictures of all the lights. I thought I remembered there being a lot more lights when I was younger, but wasn't sure. Is it because I'm all "grown up" now and things don't seem as big? Let me know if any of you agree! Either way, everything looked pretty all lit up and the company was definitely good. I love Todd very much and am so happy to be married to him! I'm also lucky to say that he's made me smile (or at least tried!) every day of the last five years too, and I'm always so happy to see him and just be with him.

It's finally done!

Hooray! We are officially finished with our bathroom remodel! Well, except for a few spots of touch up paint, but besides that, we are DONE! I finally felt like we could take some pictures so you all get an idea of what the bathroom looks like, but honestly, I think you have to come see it in person because the pictures don't really do it justice. Todd did a really great job, especially considering he had to try and figure out a lot of stuff on his own that he had never done before. It wasn't 3-day Kitchen & Bath, but now that it's all over, it was definitely worth the wait! I especially love my tall cabinet in the corner. It's 2-feet deep and has two roll-out shelves on the bottom half and three shelves on the top. Look how pretty!

O Christmas Tree

Last year we were not the brightest and did some damage to our Christmas tree as we put it away. Some how (I'm too embarassed to say what happened exactly), we bent some of the branches on the bottom half of the tree. I was worried we'd possibly done something to the lights as well, mainly because that part of the tree always has issues with the lights when we put it up, even though it's only 4 years old. Anyway, it's our tradition to put the tree up the day after Thanksgiving, but I couldn't remember how much damage we had actually done last year. We woke up pretty late on Black Friday, about 10:00 a.m., which we haven't done for a very long time (I have to say that I had previously been sick and was still recovering, so I was pretty tired. I have no idea how Todd slept that late!). I was sad because we had decided not to wake up at 5:00 a.m. to go stand out in the cold and go shopping, and I wanted to go! I suddenly remembered that we might need a new Christmas tree and jumped out of bed and made Todd go grab our tree so I could test the lights. I found the plug and plugged it into the wall and NOTHING HAPPENED! I panicked! How could all the lights not work? Then I remembered that Sears (which opened at 4 a.m.) had a really nice looking tree for $99 and so we jetted off to see if we could still get one. Of course, on Black Friday at 11:30 a.m., most of the doorbuster items are long gone and the lady at Sear's just laughed at us when we asked if they had any trees left. So we went home to see if we could salvage our poor tree. We set up the bottom half, and amazingly, the branches we thought we had broken, seemed fine. They just needed a little help being propped up with some strategically placed paper. Now the next test was the lights. Todd found the plug and pulled on it just enough for us to discover that when I had plugged it in earlier that morning, it had been attached to absolutely nothing else. Sooooo, we plugged in all the little extensions and, TA-DUM! Our tree worked! It was a Christmas MIRACLE! We (and when I say we, I really mean I) decorated the tree and the house and all was well. We are so excited for Christmas!

Apple Pie and Thanksgiving

This year we spent Thanksgiving at my parent's house. With a few cousins missing, it was smaller than it has been in years past, but it was still fun. Since my grandma was in charge of bringing pumpkin pies, we were told to bring any pie but pumpkin. We decided on apple. We'd never made an apple pie, so Todd did a bunch of research on how to make the perfect crust and how to get the filling just right. (He's so funny about things like this!) So, on Thanksgiving morning, we worked together to make our very first double crust pie. It actually turned out really well and not only tasted yummy, but was pretty too. Todd did a great job with all of his reasearch, and we now have a favorite pie recipe that we can proudly say we created together! I was also in charge of making my family's traditional Thanksgiving dish, Indian Pudding. I know this is very un-p.c., but that's what we've always called it. It's a yummy corn casserole that really only me, my mom and aunt like. Everyone else always goes for the "regular" corn and would probably never miss Indian Pudding. I'd be totally sad if it was forgotten because, for me, it's a tradition--and I will always make sure it's on the table for Thanksgiving. Finally, I want everyone to know how thankful I am for Todd. I am blessed to have a husband that is so loving and giving, and also willing to put up with me and all the silly things I do. Every day is a good one when he is by my side. We've been through a lot together and I just can't imagine my life without him. I love you Todd!