An Announcement

On Thursday Zack and I had a little getaway after all the craziness last week. We went to Destinations Inn in Idaho Falls and stayed in the "England" room. It was too much fun! There was a giant tub, an aromatherapy steam shower, a giant bed (it was supposedly a king, but I'm telling you it was GIANT), a projector, a bookshelf that was really a doorway to the bathroom, a drawbridge entry, and just pure fabulousness! We were having trouble deciding on where to eat dinner, but we saw Famous Dave's BBQ as we were out and about and that made it easy. As we walked toward the door I knew right away we were in for a treat because the smell outside was HEAVENLY. They sat us down in a cozy booth and we ordered the feast for two. And a feast we had! Incredible amounts of all kinds of meats, each one more delicious than the last. I don't even know if I could give you a favorite, everything was simply THAT GOOD. Since it was our first time, the manager came out to talk to us and give us some of their BBQ sauce! Absolutely fabulous experience. The next morning we ate breakfast at Smitty's (via our voucher from the Inn) and headed home.

Friday was Zack's birthday and we had a fun party that evening with some close friends. It was totally last minute, so I'm so happy it turned out so well. Zack loved it also, and that is what's most important! We had pizza and cake, we played some games, and Z got a few gifts. I'm really grateful to everyone who came and helped make it a party!

Our awesome neighbors Brianna and Terry

Our buddy Lucas tucked in the corner

Zack, Sabrina, Quinn, Brianna, Terry, Kaitlin, Garrett, Lucas, and Braden playing games

My favorite photo - Sabrina and Quinn with Proton

Friday was extra special because not only was it Zack's birthday, but we got a very important phone call. Zack got the job with USAA in San Antonio, Texas! We are so excited and feel so very blessed for this opportunity. That was by far Zack's best present. He starts August 19th. That gives us a few days to get down there and settle in after his graduation.

I can't wait! I'm already going through everything throwing out coats and things we don't need to take with us. I'm definitely a bit too excited! I already know where I'd like to live. It's less than a mile from Zack's work. I've started to look at jobs for myself down there, but I have the exact opposite problem I have up here. There are too many jobs!!! I'm sure I could find a lovely job, if only I could find it! I have lots of time to do that though, so I'm sure SOMETHING will come up. Fingers crossed that I find a job that is worth while, and they don't need someone who speaks Spanish. That is definitely going to be my downfall while job hunting in that area. 

Any moving tips are welcome! We do not like moving, so hopefully we get lots of help from friends at church. We're looking into U boxes so we don't have to drive a U haul for 24+ hours. Then we could just drive our truck (plus kitties!) and take the time to see things along the way like Cadillac Ranch! Woo!

Missed Anniversary and Birthday

This past Saturday I had to coach soccer in Pocatello all day so we didn't get to do anything for our anniversary. We ate dinner at 10pm! It was a long, cold, windy day and I was absolutely exhausted. I slept for almost 12 hours! 

I skipped out on choir practice Sunday morning and we went to church just in time to take the sacrament and then we ran our sinner butts to Walmart to do some shopping for Z's big trip to San Antonio. I spent the rest of the day doing laundry, ironing, and packing Zack's suitcase for the trip. 

We got up before 5 Monday morning and I took him to the airport. I didn't really get to talk to him during the trip, but he text me a couple times from his 5 star hotel room to tell me he was having fun and enjoying his stay. He had a big fancy dinner at the white table cloth restaurant the night he arrived. Then he text me saying not to call because he was enjoying a bath! Stinker!

The next morning he had to get up early for his interview and building tour. He had nothing but great things to say about the whole thing. I'm so glad he got to go, over spring break no less! I missed him terribly, especially overnight and then on my birthday. However, I got to visit a couple friends and had a little birthday party with our friends Sabrina and Quinn. Quinn's birthday was Monday so it worked out perfectly to have a little doubled up birthday party. We love them! I really hope that where ever we end up we can find some good friends like them. We will miss them terribly! My first cake I made completely fell apart so I had to make a new one. It was super delicious, but not completely chilled. Not everything can go perfectly! :p Late that night I got to go pick Zack up from the airport (I timed my drive perfectly, he only waited for like 2 minutes). I was so happy to see him! He cruised the shops in the airport and got me some chocolate and work out gear for my birthday. He is so sweet! 

Tomorrow we are going to stay at a themed hotel to actually spend some time together and celebrate our birthdays (Zack's is Friday) and anniversary. :) I can't believe we are in our mid 20's now!

Me on my birthday with my cake :)

General Conference

General Conference happens twice a year for us Latter-Day Saints. There are several 2 hour sessions on Saturday and Sunday where we get to hear talks from our leaders. They talk about things like the importance of families, reading our scriptures, the Savior, repentance, and more! It's always very uplifting and helps you get back on track. It's also fun because we can sit and watch it in our own homes (minus priesthood Saturday evening where all the men have to go to a meetinghouse for satellite transmission)!

We had a great time. It's always a big weekend for eating baked goods and feeling like a stuffed turkey for the next week. On Saturday I made the famous "Sausage Souffle" composed of bread, milk, eggs, Italian sausage, and cream of mushroom soup. I know it might sound a little vile, but OMG IS IT DELICIOUS. I also usually make cinnamon rolls, but thought I'd skip them this time (because the ones I make are very involved and make a TON). Then Saturday night Zack confessed he had to have them, oh boy! I've grown fond of my bread machine as of late, and we are becoming quite close. I thought I'd give it a go using the machine. I was only up till about 1:30 in the morning with them fully baked and ready to eat (minus the icing) and minimal effort. Here's the recipes I used this time: Cinnamon Rolls (add some more butter and sugar to that filling, for real!), Icing (I use less butter, and more cream cheese than it calls for, always perfect). I heated a couple up for us in the morning and iced all of them. Total YUM! Not as totally amazing as my usual, but such a close second I will probably revert to these more often when I am craving cinnamon rolls or in a bind for time and effort.

Our friends Sabrina and Quinn often join us to watch a session or two. Quinn had a big Saturday run planned so Sabrina came by and we went to an antique shop and the hardware store in a nearby town between sessions to get some stuff for her to re-pot her plants. They turned out really awesome. She found some cute old pots to put them in. Then she watched the second session on Saturday with us. Zack slept through most of conference I do admit, but it's finals week and he's pulling several all-nighters to get everything done. He works so hard for us! I'm so lucky to have him as my husband! :)

In other news, Zack had an interview Thursday for a big job, but we don't know anything yet, so I'll let you know more about that as we do. :D

Girl Scouts

Oh how I miss the days of crafts, camp outs, and cookie selling! Back when I was cute! ;)

We got our Girl Scout cookies this week! I just love this time of year. Those cookies and girls pop up everywhere! With their irresistible smiles at the entrances of grocery stores asking if you'd like to buy some cookies, that knock at the door, the special ice cream, even the local frozen yogurt shop has GS cookies for toppings! GIRL SCOUTS AND THEIR COOKIES ARE AMAZING!

You can meet the cookies here: MEET THE COOKIES! So appropriately presented with a green background and thin mints as the first listed cookie.

If you haven't tried them all, you really should. :) Each box of cookies sold helps the Girl Scouts learn skills! How can that be a bad thing!? My personal favorites are Thin Mints, Samoas (which I didn't like as a kid :O), and Tagalongs. The Do-Si-Dos are pretty yummy too, but I haven't had one of those in a LONG time. They really seem to have a cookie for everyone. Berries, lemon, chocolate, plain shortbread (Trefoils, which I have always thought of as THE Girl Scout cookie because of the iconic symbol), peanut butter, mint, coconut, caramel, and now they even have mango! I can't get over how much I love it!


The best part? The girls.

When our Girl Scout delivered our cookies last night she handed them over and then excitedly went upstairs to our neighbors with their "No soliciting unless you're selling Thin Mints" sign on their door. Unfortunately our neighbors weren't home so they decided to leave them with us because we are basically family (to our neighbors). We were in the middle of eating dinner and as you can imagine I had my face stuffed with my amazing food. There was a conversation that went a little like this:

Mother of Girl Scout: Can we leave these with you? They aren't home.
Me (chewing): Of course!
Girl Scout: Are you eating them already?
Me (still chewing): Ha! No sweetie.

It was the cutest thing EVER!

NOW GO BUY SOME GIRL SCOUT COOKIES! :)