hApPy BiRtHdAy HUSBAND!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to this hot boy today:

(Owen eating his favorite meal ever in hawaii)

Now we are going to celebrate by doing more of this today:

365 Days Ago...

Today is the 20th of August. Exactly one year ago we were doing this:

That's right...we've been married for 1 whole year today! And I have honestly loved every second of it. It is crazy to me that Owen and I have been together for over 2 years now...and married for half of it! I love that I get to call him my husband and he is all mine. I feel like we have grown as a couple so much within this last year and I'm excited for many more anniversaries to come. To me, marriage and being a wife is so many things: fulfilling, exciting, fun, hard, comfortable, sometimes-stressfull, an adventure, amazing. I don't think I can explain how lucky I am to have Owen. He has been such as blessing and the greatest husband and best friend I could ever ask for. So I thought I would document WHY I love this guy so much (mostly for blog book purposes):

We love being with each other all of the time. No matter what we are doing, we don't like to leave the other person. Usually if one of us goes somewhere, the other one is coming too. I guess you can call it separation anxiety? When we worked at our jobs in Utah this past year, people didn't understand how we could sit and work by each other then still love each other at the end of the day. I don't understand how you could NOT want to work with your other half all day. Being together is perfect.

I love that Owen is so kind. To everyone. That is one the first things I noticed about him. He is nice and friendly to anyone around him. And everyone loves him back. He is fun and outgoing and always is ready to play. He is the best concert buddy or snow boarding teacher or sleep over buddy any wife could ask for. What a great best friend!

We have fun together. We make each other laugh. We could sit around all day and do nothing but still have the best day. I love being low maintenance with him. I think it helps that we both have the same top love language: quality time :)

Owen is patient in so many ways. I think it came from growing up with 5 sisters...which I love! He really knows how to handle girls and their (and when I say their...I mean my) drama. I can be crazy and emotional sometimes, and he is always there to make me feel better. Or say sorry even though we both know he did nothing wrong. Sometimes I can snap...or even be a brat...but he is always so sweet back to me. He definitely is a hard one to stay mad at for long :)

I love how much we love each other. We honestly have arguments about who loves each other more. Or who loved each other first. Or who gets to take care of who when we are old and fragile. And I love when we talk in our 'baby' voices to each other. Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about...

I love the memories we already have together. I day dream about our first months together, moving away from home and up to Utah to be with him, driving across the country to Atlanta together, our wedding day, our Mesa trips or all of the fun we had in our first house in Provo together. I still get butterflies when I hear songs that remind me of him. Or us. I hope those feelings never ever go away.

Owen has the best hugs. And kisses. And cuddles. I crave being in his arms during the weeks that he is gone at work. I feel so safe and comfortable when he holds me. I love how he knows that he can put me to sleep by tickling my forehead. I love our hugs that we've been doing since day 1: I jump up and wrap my legs and arms around him while he just holds me. It's my favorite!

I love how we are starting a life together. He makes me want to be a better person and live a great life. I'm excited for the day when we have babies together and have a family to raise. He is going to be such a great dad and a great example of a worthy husband and father. I love the spirit and peace he brings into my life. He will be a perfect partner in life. I love to to think that our family will be sealed together forever...because I never want to let him go.

So Happy Anniversary My Love
I will love you forever

The Countdown Begins...

...to go to this lovely place:

Hawaii...here we come in 20 days! What a perfect way to spend Birthday #26 (Owen's on the 31st) and Birthday #25 (Mine on the 4th). Oh...and Wedding Anniversary #1. Boo yah.

Fam Reunion

This past weekend we got to make a quick trip up to Utah for Owen's family reunion. It was a great opportunity for all of his family to be together at one place...so we were happy to be there too! Owen's mom worked really hard to make it happen and the reunion was a lot of fun. I was so impressed by all of the family history that was collected for the reunion...I hope one day I will be able to take on a project like that. I left with a great message:
Always keep your ancestors memories/stories/recipes/hobbies/testimonies alive! They are amazing people who have done amazing things and should never be forgotten...

The family at his grandpa's birthday party

Hanging out at the Splash Pad in Highland

All of the girls
love, love, LOVE being in a family of mostly girls...so fun!

Fun Fact from the Reunion:
Owen and I share the same great, great, great (maybe another great?) Grandpa: Jesse N. Smith (cousin of Joseph Smith Jr.). I'm pretty sure there's enough greats in there to make us legal though

Life with a Traveling Husband

Ever since Owen has started his job last month, our life has consisted of the following schedule:

Monday Night: Owen flys to somewhere in the U S of A. Start of a looong week.

Tuesday - Friday: Owen works at a car dealership during the day; Staying in hotels every night. Alyssa works at the insurance office during the day; Sleeping at home alone every night.

Friday Night: Alyssa gets to pick Owen up from the airport (finally); Date night consisting of Owen, Alyssa, dinner and play time.

Saturday: Sleep in together; Go swimming/lay out at any kind of pool or water area we can get our hands on; Nap time at home; Get ready for the night then play time with friends.

Sunday: Sleep in together; Breakfast with the family; Church; Trip to the dog park; Game night with the family

Monday Morning: Owen packs; Alyssa works; Lunch Date

REPEAT

One month of his training down, three more to go. I'm ready to have my husband back full time.

Independence Day

For the 4th of July we headed up to the mountains with my family for the weekend. I grew up going to Pinetop every 4th of July, so I loved being back up there for the holiday. And I loved that Owen got to go up too and see how we celebrate the 4th. Instead of Pinetop, we stayed up in Springerville where most of the fam was staying this year. We started the day (Saturday) out early by going to the town parade:

.:springerville parade:.

.:some of the crew:.

.:owen's favorite part of the parade:.
free otterpops

.:my favorite part of the parade:.
the adorable mini-horses

.:go-carts in Pinetop:.
a 4th of July must

.:waiting to watch the fireworks in Showlow:.

.:the grand finale firework show:.

We headed back to Mesa on Sunday (the real 4th of July) and wanted to see what The Valley had to offer for their firework celebration. We hiked up a little mountain in East Mesa and enjoyed all 8 firework shows, from Apache Junction to North Scottsdale (Apache Junction definitly won best firework show...we now know where to go next year!) It was amazing view to see all of the city lights with fireworks above:

.:sparklers + mountain top firework show:.

.:trying to do our own fireworks:.


"Our greatest happiness does not depend on the condition of life in which chance has placed us, but is always the result of a good conscience, good health, occupation and freedom in all just pursuits."
Thomas Jefferson

Life Lately

Our life lately has been craziness. I honestly feel like I can finally just sit back and breath, without worrying about everything that needs to get done. And it's such a good feeling to have.
It all started almost a month ago when my dad called me from AZ saying his and my uncle's secretary from work found a new job. Which meant they needed someone ASAP who knew what they were doing in the insurance world. I had the bright idea of possibly moving back down to AZ to help them out and take the position (it was something I did for them for 2 years, until I met Owen and moved up to Utah to be with him). Luckily, it was perfect timing for us to move because Owen was just finishing summer school. So within 3 days, I finished up at my old job, packed up our Provo house, and flew down to AZ to start working with my dad and uncle again. Sadly, I had to leave my poor husband behind to finish his finals. After a week and a half of being in AZ by myself (by myself = no Owen = SO lonely...longest time I have ever been away from him...HATED it) I drove a truck and trailer back up to Utah to pack up the house and finally pick up my hubby. The next day we left Utah for good and drove back down to AZ. Oh, and I never want to drive to Utah again.

As I was leaving Provo I actually started to get really sad! I never ever thought I would have a hard time leaving Utah for Arizona, but I couldn't help thinking I was going to miss being there. We have had such good memories in Utah and I really started to love the place. It was hard to believe that our little college married life at BYU was over and it was time to move on to the next step in life. It made me sad that it is something that we will never get to experience again. So I put together some pics of some fun times we had in Utah, because I truly am grateful for the opportunity I had to live there for the past year and a half with Owen:

moving up to Provo...

...to be with my LOVE

going to General Conferences

snowboarding with Owen and friends

getting engaged

pretty spring time in Provo

taking engagements in downtown SLC

moving into our house after our wedding

taking walks in the park with our dogs

being BYU fans

going to fun concerts with the hubby

more snowboarding

seeing/babysitting these cute girls (liddles)

hanging out with this fun family (robinsons)

basketball in our backyard

doing activities in nice weather

saying goodbye to our little house

Anyways, so here we are in Arizona. We decided to just live with my parents since Owen will be traveling so much during the next 4 months for his new job. I'm a wuss and really didn't want to have to live somewhere by myself so it worked out really well. Owen also started his new job the week we got to Arizona. He flys out Monday nights and gets home Friday nights. All I can say is I am SO so glad I am here in Arizona working and being distracted with friends and family while he his gone Monday through Friday, otherwise I would be going crazy! Luckily, I keep myself pretty busy between work and other projects so the weeks go by fast. It is definitely going to be an adjustment though...like I said...it gets super lonely with out Owen around. Owen really likes his job though and is excited to work for a great company, which is awesome. We are excited to get new Iphones so we can video chat with each other...that will be lovely :) So the hubby gets home in 2.5 days then we are off to the White Mountains for some 4th of July weekend fun...can't wait!