I pretend to know what I am doing when it comes to taking and editing pictures.

These first pictures are ones I took on our honeymoon. We were driving to St. George, Utah and the views were too pretty to pass up. 

 The next four were taken in St. George. It was so fun to visit cute little stores and Church History sites!

This was in Thomas Judd's Store Co. It was so cute in there and they have yummy soups!

 

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This is on the property of a Scout Master there in St. George. You can see it from the Jacob Hamblin Home and we were told that the Scout Master has his meetings in there sometimes! So cool!

This is was a HUGE tomato! I was so excited when I saw it, I have no clue why. But now it's a cool picture!

 These last pictures are from this past weekend. We went to a church formal and had so much fun! Then we walked around downtown Mesa and I took some fun pictures of Ethan!

Pictures.

Can I just say I am so thankful for the technology to take pictures?! I love looking back at old photos and remember those good times. 

I came to a realization today... How many people can say that when they look back on old photos that they are looking at pictures of a bad night? Maybe the night turned out bad or they bring back bad memories. BUT at that moment, that exact moment the picture was taken, you (or the people in it) were having fun and enjoying life. 

I just love that about pictures. They can help you remember moments in your life you would never want to forget. They can help you remember people you never want to let go of. They help you remember the good times, and sometimes they make you remember bad times as well. But either way they help you learn and grow. 

With all that said here are some of my favorite memories!

This is from my 4th year of girls camp. I love these girls so much! We may not talk much anymore but they are always in my thoughts and prayers.

 These are memories I made with friends in high school. Our memories still have never stopped being made.

This boy has been an amazing friend to me over the last few years. I am so proud of him and all he has accomplished and is still accomplishing.

Sometimes there are friends that come into your life that may never leave it. I hope that's how these friends feel

This girl will never leave my side. Even if physically she is not there. I know I can just pick up my phone and she'll be waiting on the other end.

Top: Beth and I. Christmas night 2011. One I will never forget.
Bottom: New Years Eve. That bonfire was so cool. I love these kids.

Long Boarding crew! Although.. I may never long board again, we had some great times.

Going to random dances with these guys has been pretty amazing this past year. I can't wait to have more awesome adventures!

 And last, but not least, the night I won Ethan's heart back. Yes, I said back. It's a long story that I am sure I will write all about one day. But as for right now I will tell you a little about that night. 

I MADE Ethan take me to this dance because he "forgot" about a date we had planned. I dressed up, did my hair and got my make-up done by a good friend. I knew he wouldn't be able to resist my good looks ;)

AND guess what?! He couldn't! He picked me up after work, we went to dinner (which I was NOT expecting), then moved on to the dance. Where we danced our little hearts away and I swept him off of his feet. That night when he dropped me off we talked for hours and he gave me a huge, long hug. I really wanted to look up and just kiss him, but I knew he wasn't ready for that yet. 

He later admitted that, I had won his heart back that night and the rest is history! I will never forget the fun we had!

There are so many pictures I could have posted because I have so many great memories with so many great people. But these are the few I have really been thinking about lately. I wouldn't trade anything for these memories. I will truly cherish them forever. 

Families ARE Forever

I have had so much on my mind today. I have so much to be grateful for. I have a wonderful husband who does so much for me and a loving family.

(way old!)

 It's so weird being so far away from my brothers and sister. I am so used to being able to see them whenever I want or choosing to avoid them for the day. But now we are all grown up.. well except Zack... 

It's different, actually being gone and living apart from everyone, than just thinking about it. I always knew that someday it would happen and we would probably be spread out. I just never knew I would miss them so badly. It's so weird living with three boys who aren't MY brothers. Mostly because I could pretty much interact with my brothers however I wanted and they just put it off as me being crazy. But in this situation... Idk this family is different.

I grew up in a VERY Stapley family. I know most of you don't really know what that means but.. We are a super crazy, fun loving, slightly rude, pretty crude, awesome family. We love one another even when we hate each other. If you are family we would do anything for you. We "adopt" in pretty frequently and we may be judgmental but that's what family is for. 

(Some of my family)

Being here.. in this household with my new family.. I guess its just different. I don't know how to act or react to things. It's not bad but VERY different. I know they are trying their best and trying to get to know me, but being as different and growing up way different from them, I know it is hard. But that is why we are here on earth right? To do hard things and know that we can get through them. 

I am so excited for this Christmas. Probably more than normal. I get to spend time with not only Ethan's family and hopefully get to know them a little bit more, but I get to spend time with my crazy family. I never knew I could be so grateful for something I hated growing up. Don't get me wrong I loved going to my family gatherings and seeing my cousins.. but I also hated it at the same time. I hated that I couldn't be that happy all year. I hated that my brothers and sister had to go too. I wanted them to stay home and let me have all the fun. Selfish.. I know! But that is how it was. 

This year I am so excited to spend it with those crazy weirdo's. It may be the last for awhile that we can do so. With everyone going their own way, we may not be able to get together for a while. 

And then there is my grandpa. He is pretty much the most amazing grandpa I have ever had. Okay, okay I cheated, he is the only grandpa I have had. BUT! To be fair, he is pretty amazing. I haven't gotten to spend much time with him lately because.. well lets face it I have been kinda twitterpated this past year. I kinda feel bad about it too. See this past year he has been really sick. We found out he had Myelodysplastic syndrome (a.k.a preleukemia) in about March (I believe) and he seems to be doing okay. But it's still scary and it made me realize that even my grandpa, who seemed invisible to me, is not. He is getting old (almost 80) and one day he is going to pass away. Sorry to get all depressing right then. Pretty much it just made me realize I need to call him more often and go see him. I do feel though, that no matter how much time I spend with him, I will always feel it wasn't enough. 

(Grandpa dancing at mine and Ethan's wedding)

I love being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I am so glad my grandpa took me to church. I am grateful to have had awesome church leaders and to have their examples in my life. I am so grateful to know that one day, I WILL see my family again and we can be just as crazy in Heaven. 

Families Are Forever my friends. 

Let the adventures begin!

Hey all!!

Ethan and I FINALLY decided to start a blog about our wonderful lives and the adventures we are starting to take. 

As most of you know we got married September 21st of this year. It has been a crazy few months.I got a job as a care giver for people with special needs and I am loving every minute of it. I truly believe this is where I am supposed to be. Ethan has gone into the Air force and will be leaving February 26th for basic training. We are very excited for this new little adventure. I will be staying here in Tucson while he goes through basic and tech school. The hardest thing right now is not knowing where we will end up. I just want to find an apartment already so I can move in now!! It would be so much nicer than only having a few weeks!

Other than that little bit of information I really don't have much else to say. Life is good. Marriage is great. I love waking up next to my best friend every morning. It's pretty much the greatest feeling.

Here are some pictures for you to enjoy!! 

sincerely yours,

The Ashtons!