Mike's 24th B-Day + Lauren's Bridal Shower

Mike turned 24 yesterday!!! To celebrate we got a bunch of our friends together and ate at Craigo's Pizza. We are trying to soak up as much time as possible with our Rexburg friends before we move next week. We will miss them soooooo much!!!! ;-(

Happy Birthday Mike! I love you the biggest!!!!!!!

Aaron and Viv (aka "biffs")

Golden, Emily and Jensen Tawzer

Jacob and Pierina

Luke, Rob and his g.f.

Lauren and Jason.

They are getting married on April 10th, so I gave Lauren a little bridal shower at my place.

Playing shower games.

The absolutely delicious cupcakes from Cocoa Bean at the shower. MmmmMMMmmm!

She chose the dress on the left.

Pierina and me sitting in the stands together at a basketball game.

On Sunday, we had a bunch of our friends from the ward come over for birthday cake.

Everyone crammed in our living room.

Thanks everyone for coming over! We sure love you!

Summer is almost here....

It's so close I can almost smell it. The BBQ that is. Last weekend, Mike did a raffle at his meeting for work and won us this new GRILL! We are pretty stoked about it. I, of course do not want to take part in the actually grilling process(it makes my hair and clothes stink), but rather will enjoy eating the tasty delectables cooked by Mike. ;-)

Other exciting news.... we are moving to Virginia Beach, VA this summer. I have been wanting to live by the beach all my life and my dream has finally come true.

Lemon Poppy Seed Bread

This bread is low fat, cheap, moist, easy, and delicious!

1 box (18 1/4 oz.) white cake mix without pudding

1 package (3.4 oz) sugar free/fat free instant lemon pudding

4 eggs

1 cup warm water

1/2 cup applesauce

4 teaspoons poppy seeds

2 cups milk

1. In a large mixing bowl, mix together instant pudding with skim milk until thick.

2. Combine cake mix, eggs, water, and applesauce into pudding; beat until well mixed. Fold in poppy seeds. Pour into two greased 9-in. x 3-in. loaf pans.

3. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack.

Enjoy!

Weekend in Utah

Mike had to do some stuff for his job in Provo this weekend we took a quick little trip to Utah together. I had some friends I hadn't seen in a while so I figured I had better take advantage of the opportunity.

On Friday night we shopped around Gateway Mall with Tyson and Lindsey and then went to dinner. Mike and I LOVE this pizza place called, Settebello's, in S.L.C. so we wanted to bring Ty and Linds there. Ty- Next time it can be your choice to pick where to eat! ;-)

On Saturday Mike had plans to play golf in South Jordan so I drove up to see my good friend Shelli Dame! She had twins a little over a year ago. My have they grown since I last saw them. We had a girl's day out and went to lunch and shopping. It was so great to catch up with Shelli and spend time with her cute little twin girls. They were great little shoppers too! Love you so much Shelli!

I was also able to see my life-long friend Stephanie Marcum. We have been friends since we were 8. She met up with Shelli, the twins and me at Zuppa's and then went shopping too. It was nice to have a girl's day together.

Mike and Matt went to In-N-Out after golfing. It seems like every time I take a picture of both of them Matt has his eyes closed. I didn't notice it until I uploaded the pictures. Dang.

We stayed in Pleasant Grove with Mike's mission president, Pres. and Sister Fugal. They are some of the sweetest people I have ever met. Mike along with his former companion Travis Combs lived with the Fugal's for six months during their missions so it was like staying with extended family. We just love them.

This is Rascal, the friendliest kitty ever!!! I wish I could have taken her home with me.

President Fugal is in the bishopric of one of the branches in the M.T.C., so we attended fast and testimony meeting with a bunch of new missionaries. When we entered the M.T.C. they had us put on "Visitor" name tags and then Sister Fugal gave me a little tour of the building. I couldn't help but think of all the wonderful people I know that have served missions and walked through the halls of the M.T.C. I must admit I teared up a bit. What a powerful place. It made me want to serve a mission with Mike in the future.

Five years ago Mike took a picture in this spot with his parents right before he entered the M.T.C. Time sure does fly.

V-Day in Vegas

Mike and I have been wanting to going to Vegas with Aaron and Viv for about two years. We finally scrounged up enough money to go over President's Day/Valentine's weekend and booked a room at the Stratosphere (we even shared a room with Aaron and Viv, which turned out to be really fun. haha!) You know you are good "couple friends" when you can share a hotel room with them and not get sick of each other. It wasn't the swankiest hotel on the strip, but the price was right and it had a killer view from the top of the needle. If you stay at the Stratosphere you get to ride up to the top of the Space Needle as much as you want for free.

The Pavilion at the Bellagio

I am obsessed with Dale Chahuly's glass art.

Viv and Me in the Bellagio

A and V with Indiana Jones

Mike and The Rock

Checkin' out the view

Strollin' the streets on Venice...well almost.

Michael Gregory McCabe

If you know me you understand why I wanted to take this picture.

Mike and A thinking they are so funny.

Yep. That's my husband. ;-)

A, James, and Mike

We went to Cheesecake Factory with our good friends James and Amanda. Amanda is student teaching at a high school in Vegas, bless her heart, and James is a security guard at the Venetian. It was great to see them again! We miss having them around. James was telling us about his job at the Venetian. Basically he escorts prostitutes and drunk people out of the hotel every night. Pretty crazy huh?

This is a restaurant inside the City Center at Arias.

I just wanted to take a picture on these cool steps.

Mike appreciating the artwork.

And....we went to visit my BFF Mellissa Hill!!!! We were roommates back in college and became best friends. Love this girl to pieces. She is such an example to me in so many ways. I also was able to FINALLY meet her cute little baby, Brody. Cutest little boy ever. I just love him and couldn't get enough of him. Mike especially loved him. He told me he hopes we have a little boy just like Brody. Hopefully that day will be in the near future! ;-)

Thanks again Mel and Curtis for feeding us dinner. We loved spending time with your awesome family in your beautiful home. Mike and I were talking about how we could be neighbors and see each other on a daily basis LOVE you soooo much!!!

Mike, A, Brody, and Curtis

After dinner with the Hill's we hurried back the the strip to see the "Blue Man Group" at the Venetian Hotel. The best part about it was we bought the cheapest tickets we could find from a discount vendor on the strip. When we went to the Venetian to exchange our ticket vouchers for the show the lady gave us front row seats! Sitting in the front row required us to wear these cool ponchos.

Us with a real live Blue Man after the show. He was sweaty and everything! Haha!

Thanks for the wonderful Valentine's Day vacation babe. I love you so much and am the luckiest and happiest girl alive to have you as an eternal Valentine!

Honesty Scrap

OK so Mel tagged me to do this "Honesty Scrap" thing that has been circulating the blog world. Here we go...I doubt I can conjure up 10 items so we will see how it goes.

1. I have a lot of pet peeves which include the following: people who stink, when someone taps their foot on your chair...can't handle that one, narrow minded people, when my bed isn't made, and bad drivers. I know there are more but those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head.

2. According to the Color Code book my personality is predominately BLUE. Most people have secondary colors, but I only have one. If you haven't even taken the Color Code test I highly recommend it. Especially for married couples. You will learn why your spouse is the way they are. Interesting stuff.

3. I am obsessed with working out. If I go a few days without working out I get anxiety. I guess you could say I am addicted to those endorphins.

4. Cooking is not my favorite thing in the world. I love food but every night when dinner time rolls around I think to myself, "ugh....I wish we could go out to eat." When I am in the process of making dinner I actually enjoy it. But seriously, why is it that food never tastes as good when you make it? The first year of our marriage I struggled in the kitchen, but Mike says I have made "significant improvements."

5. Before Mike and I go to bed every night the kitchen has to be spotless, the blankets folded, the family room de-cluttered, and the couch pillows must be in their proper position. Think we are O.C.D.? Yep.

6. Now that I have gotten on this green smoothie kick, I have to have one at least every other day. Mike loves them too now. In fact, he frequently requests them! :-)

7. I have champagne taste on a beer budget, especially when it comes to my home decor and clothes. I love finding deals - who doesn't?- and trying to glorify second hand stuff. I think it would be fun to open a little business full of furniture I have refurbished.

8. I am neither a night owl or a morning bird. In order to function properly I need my 8 hours. Period.

9. I don't care what anyone tells me....chocolate gives me zits. I know it's not the actual cocoa that causes zits but it's all the oils and crap they add to chocolate. If I eat a few Hershey Kisses I think to myself...I am willing to sacrifice having clear skin because I NEED this chocolate right now.

10. I am afraid to admit this one......but I am a avid "Real Housewives" watcher. That's really the only show I get into. Oh wait, I also watch "The Bachelor." If Jake picks Vienna I might just throw the remote through the t.v. Enough with that girl! Is he an idiot? He let go Gia and kept Vienna? I am sorry but when all of the girls on the show are talking about how conniving Vienna is...HUGE RED FLAG! Ugh....too bad next week is the "women tell all." I will be skipping out on that one.

So there you go....I am actually surprised I was able to do all ten. Now I get to tag a few of you. Ha!

1. Lindsey Marlor

2.Stephanie Marcum

3. Pierina Stutz

4. Paige Broadbent

5. Vivian Burrup

Gettin' my fitness on

Last night I had a great work out. I decided to take two fitness at the Hart with my friends Lindsey and Pierina. It's definitely more enjoyable, in my opinion, to work out with friends in a class setting rather then monotonously pounding away on an elliptical for 45 minutes, while listening to the same old tunes on my ipod. When you go to fitness class: you WILL work out for an hour, the instructor is pushing you harder than you would on your own (at least that's how it is for me), you're listening to different music that most of the time isn't on your ipod, and you don't want to appear out of shape to the people in the class so you try harder to keep up.

I have seen faster results through fitness classes than I ever did working out on my own. I highly recommend fitness classes for women. Men on the other hand....probably would see better results in the weight room, because the work outs are geared for women. I know this is so stereotypical but my first thought when I see a guy in an aerobics class is, "He must be gay." Isn't that terrible? ....but seriously.

Zumba is basically Latin dancing/club dancing/aerobics. Very fast paced, lots of booty shakin', and fun. It honestly feels like you are at a Latin dance club. During the glass I looked over at Pierina and said, "This feels like a party. I like it!"

Yoga, for those of you who haven't done it before, is extremely relaxing, meditative, and strengthens your muscles through stretches and isometric movements. It's also a stress reliever.