Always Be Grateful

Meet Leslie & Melissa.

My parents serve in a Spanish branch,

and these are two of my mom's young women.

She invited me to come along for a night of Chick-fil-A and back to school shopping she put together for these darling girls,

and I was so excited, not only because eating and shopping are my favorite things,

but because I knew it was an experience that would help keep me grounded,

and a night I would probably never forget.

 

I won't get into the details of these girls' lives

because it's not my business to tell,

but I will say that they had never eaten at Chick-fil-A,

and that this was their first time to Target. Ever.

I think it was also the first time they've ever picked out outfits for themselves.

(They are so skinny we had to shop in the little girl's section!)

They weren't even sure what they liked and didn't

because I don't think they've ever been asked that before.

 

I learned 2 things that night.

 

One, I hope I can be like my mom one day and do that kind of service for people. She is a literal angel from heaven who always thinks of others before herself. Last night helped me more than it helped those girls.

 

Two, Never forget to ALWAYS BE GRATEFUL, even for the littlest things, like being able to pick something you like out at the store and buying it, or having a choice of what to eat, or wearing clothes that fit. We live in a bit of a bubble and sometimes forget that's a privilege not everyone has. And it's not always people living in 3rd world countries, it's people who live just down the street from us.

 

Happy first day of school Leslie & Melissa!

I hope your new clothes and school supplies make you feel as beautiful, smart, and loved as you are.

 

 

 

Peach Heaven

If you know me, you know my love for peaches and anything involving them- peach pie, peach cobbler, peaches & cream, Peach-O's, peach shakes- you name it. I know it's a little odd, and peaches aren't everyone's thing, but for some reason I have always had an obsession with them. So when my sister-in-law Kennan told me about a little mexican joint in Pleasant Grove called Taco Amigo that serves FRESH peach shakes for only 3 weeks in the summer, I was counting down the days until they had them. Yesterday was the first day they started them so we headed right down, because there's no distance I won't go for a peach shake!

 

Worth the drive and the calories, I promise!

PEACH HEAVEN

 

And then this morning as I was grabbing some steel cut oatmeal from Whole Foods (my favorite $2 breakfast ever) look what I saw! (Sorry for the blurry pic, I was about to be late for work.) From none other than Pleasant Grove, so of course I had to get some. I've already eaten 2.

 

Yay for peach season! ...And excuse me while I eat my weight in them for the next few weeks.

 

xoxo



It's the little things...

 

It's a girls nights to Sephora AND Ulta, staying all the way til close. Oh, and FYI: Ash started a beauty blog, and it is gooooood.

 

It's Bren's screensaver at work.

 

It's something about Mrs. Field's nibblers that make a mall trip EVEN BETTER.

 

It's a sister shopping day that left us with matching rainboots. (And if you know Ar & I, you would have never guessed that we would both like the same shoes!)

 

It's this darling blue wall on Main Street in Park City,

 

and this charming door at the Parade of Homes. (We're so sad it's over! Until next year...)

 

It's the fact that I thought I lost my favorite "love" ring (because Lauren Conrad has it too) one night when we were grocery shopping at Harmons, and a few days later Bren found it tied in the knot of the plastic bag of apples we bought that night at the store!

 

It's when you go to a Real game in the middle of the day and are miraculously seated in the last row of shade. #BLESSED

 

It's Sunday-after-church french toast that has been our little tradition for almost a year now.

 

 

 

It's the little things...

that make big days.

 

xoxo

 



Weird

Yesterday we walked around our condo pretending our heads were stuck together 

because we're freaking weird like that. 

Perks of Being Married to b_rengregory

one- Look at him.
two- He will let me take a picture with him or of him any time, any day, any place. And he looks good in every single one. Especially ones with babies and little kids.
three- He doesn't get mad when I don't even touch my water at restaurants and drink all his Coke.
four- He understands the importance of a weekly Target run.
five- He'll still give me a kiss even when I have lipstick on.
six- He knows how to pick a good watermelon. He's 3 for 3 so far, so I started calling him the watermelon whisperer.
seven- He forced me to run (literally) to the gym with him this morning and work out before work. I thanked him after, not during.
eight- He lets me wear his g's to bed and it is HEAVEN.
nine- He sings a song every morning and the first line is always "Ashy was ma' girlfriend but now she's ma' wife."
ten- He stays up late watching YouTube videos of how to work his new camera, and for some reason it melts my heart.

Bored at the Ballgame

 

 

Brennan has this dream

that he and I will see every single baseball team

in every single baseball stadium

in the country

together.

 

How do I very nicely tell him

that's the most boring idea ever?

 

But since meeting him,

I have come to LOVE basketball, golf, and even a little soccer.

So maybe my love for baseball will come with time, right?

 

Until then,

maybe I'll tell him my dream

of visiting every mall in the country together?

Or donut shops?

Or amusement parks?

Or basketball arenas?

All sound like much better ideas to me. ;)

 

Catch Up

July was the busiest month we have EVER had. I think I cooked dinner and cleaned our condo a total of 2 times because we were never home! We had something to be at every single night. For example...

 

 

Landon went through the temple (the day after he got his wisdom teeth out, bless his heart), gave his farewell talk, was set apart as an Elder, and then dropped off at the MTC all in less than a week, and we got to be a part of it all! This is my first missionary ever and I have loved the whole process. I'm taking it very seriously and already have a care package in the making. I don't even tell people he's my brother-in-law, I tell them that my brother is on a mission because that's just how close we are. We got an email from him 2 days after the send off and he is already a zone leader! We love you Elder Gregory, GODSPEED.

 

On top of all that, Bren was studying his guts out for all of his finals for his last semester of college. We thought summer semester would be a bit more relaxed, but it ended up being his hardest semester and he spent 4 hours a night on homework....woof! 

 

Have you ever seen a more handsome studier? I stared for those 4 hours. He had his last final on Friday, and when he called and told me he got an A on it (sorry, bragging moment) I said, "Maybe you shoooould be a doctor..." Ha! Just kidding, I couldn't take any more, I'm SO HAPPY TO HAVE MY HUSBAND BACK! What are we even going to do with our nights now?

Well, we've started out with LOTS of celebration. Lots of dinners, and lots of presents.

 

First of all, Bren has been wheeling and dealing these poor guys on KSL that were selling his dream golf club... and he FOUND it, for probably way too cheap, but the guy said he'd give him us a deal because we're poor newlyweds. There are good people in this world. The first night we got it Bren said it was sleeping in the bed with us, and even though I wish I could say that was a joke... it wasn't. We also took our first family photo. Some people get dogs, we got a big fat driver.

 

 

Then, my parents gave him (drum roll please)....A NICE CAMERA (please share Bren) and I got him those Cole Haan Lunargrands he's been dying for for months, his favorite Jack Black bodywash and deodorant, some Converse, and a Ted Baker watch he's also wanted. He more than deserved it, and I love giving him gifts because he is the best gift receiver.

 

 

Another thing we're so excited we finally have time for is the Parade of Homes! There are about 40 houses and we got a good start on Saturday by knocking out all the ones in Suncrest and Draper. One house had a full size indoor tennis court! I love that Brennan appreciates home design like I do! It makes it so fun. There are 2 weeks left to fit in the rest of the homes and we can't wait to see them all.

 

Cheers to missionaries, college grads, and cool houses.

 

xoxo