And there he was...

 “I walked in to a room and there he was. He looked at me and I looked at him. That’s all there was to it. Like, I was always in love with him, no falling necessary. Like finding the perfect pair of shoes. “ Joyce, Thursday Murder Club

This was a quote from an audiobook I recently listened to, and I just loved it so much. It doesn't really describe the way that David I met and fell in love - but it speaks to the heart of how I feel about him right now. It's like, there isn't an existence where he doesn't love me and I don't love him. Like, I was always in love with him. Being with him feels like coming home. This quote touched me so much I stopped and listened to it over and over while I wrote it down. I didn't know what to do with it until I was going through pictures and found this picture of us that a child (probably Lucy) snapped of us during church. I don't remember this picture being taken - but I love the way I am looking at him. He's my best friend. 

Jazz and BYU

For David's birthday, we surprised him with some things we knew he would love: tickets to live sports! The kids really really wanted to give him Jazz tickets and I told them that if they saved up for his ticket - I would pay for the rest of us to go with him. It was obviously out of our birthday budget, but I was able to do some budget manipulation to make it work. They were SO excited to surprise him with tickets for our whole family. I also lucked out because my sweet friend Dani said that she had extra tickets to the BYU game the week of David's birthday and that she would love for me to use the tickets as a birthday treat for David. 

Jazz Game

The kids were thrilled to be able to give David Jazz tickets and we had such a fun time as a family. The kids were really into the game, all except Lucy who really only cared that she had a constant flow of food to snack on during the game. We cheered, we ate snacks, and the Jazz won the game! 

 

The game was a pre-season game, which is why we were able to afford tickets - but the whole atmosphere was fun and a great experience for our family. 






BYU Football Game

It was so kind and generous of the Martins to allow us to use their BYU tickets, and extra fun because there were enough tickets to invite Amy, Kevin, and Daniel, too. It was a fun birthday celebration for David. 

There was one moment when I was sitting in the bleacher with David on one side and Dani on the other. I was eating a CougerTail (giant donut) and everything about the moment just felt happy and content. Not like normal happy, but a bubbling happiness that is a gift each time it is felt. It's the moment of True Fun where all of the qualifications are met "lightheartedness, connection, and flow". 

We had a great time and are so grateful for these wonderful people coming together to celebrate David and for the generosity of the Martins! 

David's 40th Birthday

Happy 40th Birthday, David!

Turning 40 is a pretty big milestone—one that gives us the perfect opportunity to reflect on all that David has accomplished and the incredible journey that still lies ahead. From his personal achievements to the way he selflessly cares for our family, every moment has been filled with purpose and love.

For 15 amazing years, we've built a life together, and through it all, his unwavering kindness, love, and support have been the foundation of our family.

His dedication as a father is nothing short of inspiring. Our kids are beyond blessed to have him as their dad—someone who is engaged, present, and full of wisdom and warmth. His love for them shines through in everything he does.

At work, David is a force to be reckoned with. His hard work and dedication have led him to incredible achievements including graduating from Utah State University as a CPA, moving up through his company with cheerfulness and high skill value, and now, recently being promoted to partner of the National Assurance Office for Eide Bailly. He provides for us in ways both big and small, ensuring that our family has everything we need while never failing to be fully present at home.

Beyond his professional success, it's the little things that truly capture his heart. He always knows how to make me feel loved and supported—whether it's encouraging me in my dreams, offering a listening ear, or even something as simple (yet sweet) as giving me the pickles from his Chick-fil-A sandwich. It's those small gestures that show the depth of his love and thoughtfulness.

His passion for sports, especially basketball and football, is just another part of what makes him, him. Whether he's watching a game or playing with the kids, his enthusiasm is contagious and brings so much joy to our home.

David does so much for our family, and we were grateful for the change to celebrate HIM. His kindness, hard work, and unwavering support mean the world to us. We are so proud of the man he is, and we can't wait to see what this next chapter holds.

We had a small family birthday party for him, where the kids were able to give him their gift that they had all pooled their money together to buy - Utah Jazz tickets for our whole family! Then, because 40 is such a big deal, we invited a few select friends to our home for snacks and games. It was pretty casual - but I gathered a bunch of David's favorite snacks like Chilis chips and salsa, white chocolate covered pretzels, starbursts, 7 layer bean dip, and cream cheese chicken dip. It was fun to have things that were all centered on him and the things that he loves. 

I had asked David if he wanted a big party - but he really didn't. (And certainly not a surprise party.) We ended up with 5 couples from all across his life. We had every decade represented except for his years 1-10. 

Teens- Jason and Sarah Newbold (High school friends and college roommate) 

20s - Mike and Ali Middleton (Met in our Thanksgiving Meadow ward in 2013 or 2014 when Lydia and Henry were still just babies.)

30s - Josh and Janae Freeman (Josh and David worked together at Eide Bailly and have stayed in touch) 

Cade and Leah Ward (Our amazing across the street neighbors who have become dear friends)

David and Dani Martin (I met Dani through homeschooling and we've become good couple friends.) 

Other people who were invited but nwere ot able to make it: Hayli and Ben (Dickey) Nelson (20s - Shantel's high school friend and college roommate), Garret and Karli Shields (20s - Were the ones who introduced us to the concept of a babysitting swap when our babies were young and we spent many many many months trading our kids for babysitting.) Amy and Derek Perkins (30s - Good friends who live in our neighborhood and have done everything from playing games to traveling to St. George together!) 

It was so fun to have this small group of people together - their only connection being DAVID. They were all good sports to come to a party where most of them did not know each other. There were lots of connections made and we all had a really fun time playing games and hanging out. It was the perfect 40th birthday celebration for David. 

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Happy 40th birthday David! We love you more than words can express. Heres to 40+ more! 

Q3 Dates (David and Shantel)

I love going on dates with this wonderful guy. Honestly, I feel grateful for how many opportunities that we have to spend one-on-one time together. 

1. We do a 3 hour date swap with our next door neighbors, the Wards, once a month (we get a date, they get a date). 

2. We swap for "Cousin Weekend" where all the cousins go to one house once a month and the other two couples get a date weekend. This means that we host cousin weekend 4 times a year and we get 7 date weekends in a year. 

3. We have Hale Center Theater season tickets, so if we can't arrange the date night/date weekends around our play dates, we ask Amy or my mom to come watch the kids for our play. 

4. A handful of other events that give us time together. Sometimes this is as small as sneaking away for a game night across the street, or a movie at Thanksgiving point while Lydia babysits or sometimes it's a larger event like David's work Christmas party that we have to get a specific babysitter for. 

We have a lot of opportunities to be together and I recognize that it's a huge blessing in our lives, one that not everyone has readily available to them. I'm grateful because I think that going on dates, big and small, is so good for our relationship and the opportunity to do things together is an important part of our lives! Honestly, sometimes we go to the grocery store and pick up Panda and Arby's to eat after we put the kids to bed and while we watch a Hallmark movie. Sometimes we take 8 hours to hike to the top of a mountain together. I love all of the things because I genuinely just love to be with David. 

Here are some of the highlights from our dates during July, August, and September. 

Hale Center Theater Orem - Seussical & Arsenic and Old Lace

We are soaking in the last few performances in the historic Orem Theater space. We love it here so much, and are disappointed that the theater is moving to a new space. But, we understand that things change and we are grateful to be along for the ride. 

Seussical - We went to Seussical in July -  The music was fun and upbeat. The musical numbers were energetic and exciting. It is amazing how the Hale Orem can create such outstanding, high-impact performances in such a small space. 

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Arsenic and Old Lace - We went to this in September, as part of my birthday weekend celebration. Arsenic and Old Lace is one of my favorite plays, and I loved seeing it one last time at my favorite theater. Kevin and Amy came with us (we gave them tickets for their birthdays last year).

BONUS: Amy and Derek Perkins invited us to go to the Hale Center Theatre Sandy performance of The Nutty Professor. It was fun to go with them and their family (and generous of their parents to allow us to use their extra tickets as we tagged along). The performance was fun and funny and so well done (although even with all the high show-stopping production, you have to miss a little bit of the smallness of the other theater). This was the first performance that Lydia babysat for us through the whole thing and we were so grateful to her! 

Hiking Mt. Raymond

We knew we wanted to go on a hike for our date weekend in September and looked into several 5ish mile hikes. We ended up hiking the Mt. Raymond Summit, because I've not stopped talking about it since I hiked it with some friends last year. We LOVED it! 

-7.5 miles
-3,028 elevation gain

We saw a giant Bull Moose on the trail about 30 minutes into the hike and almost turned around to go home. I mean, we did turn around and run the other way as fast as we could. But then we saw him cross the path to join up with his family a little ways off and decided to be brave and keep going. I was sincerely terrified that we might be in physical danger, but the adrenaline from seeing the moose helped propel us up one of the steepest parts of the hike. 

These pictures with the peak behind us were taken halfway through the hike and I am pointing to the summit that we ended the hike at. It really was incredible!

The start of this hike is so steep (and so is the end) and I was so tired. But we made it and I’m so proud of us. We are confident that hiking a difficult hike together must be a psychology-approved relationship builder because it’s awesome to accomplish something so hard together. 

Curling

Back in January when we were talking about making goals I decided that in addition to the many things that I am putting my heart and soul into on a daily basis (motherhood, homeschool, homemaking, being a wife, friend, daughter, my stake primary calling, taking care of myself) - I wanted to make ONE goal, but I wanted it to be a fun goal. It took until August, but we finally made that one goal that I made happen: curling! It was kind of a ridiculous goal, but maybe that's why I loved it so much. 

Learning to curl at the Olympic Oval was everything that I wanted it to be! We convinced Jason and Sarah Newbold to come with us, and even though they might have thought we were a little crazy - we all had fun together.  I officially love curling and am already looking forward to coming back again sometime.