Flashback to the past! -- Happy anniversary to us!

Okay, so we aren't actually flashing back to the distant past. Just the recent past. Do you remember that I said we forgot Davids camera at Wendy and Sams house? Well we finally got it back! (Thank you Wendy for taking care of it while we were away.) 

Note: There will be several flashback posts. I was planning to do them all together in one big post, but realized I just don't have the time for that. So instead you will be getting "Flashback to the past" posts over the next week or so.

June 5, 2010 = One year of happily wedded bliss + Really old wedding cake

Our marriage turned one! David and I decided to stay close to home for our Anniversary. We are trying to graduate from college debt-free and David is only half-way through his Masters. We decided it would be better to stick close to home now, and be able to graduate debt-free. (And hopefully go on a cruise or something in December.) We went out to lunch at Chick-fil-a and then David surprised me by taking me to the Hale Center Theater to see the Three Musketeers.  I absolutely love seeing plays at the theater and hope to someday have season passes to some showhouse close to where we live. 

Here are some other pictures of us at the play:

(Isn't he so handsome?)

Next up we went to the Gateway to go to the Clarke Planetarium. I'd never been, and we had been talking about going for quite a while. We had a blast!

Learning all about the different planets and such. It was way interesting to see the sizes of all the planets in comparison with earth. 

We even took a trip to Mars!

Spacesuit. 

This was my favorite part of the whole place. It was a huge system that was rigged with a piping system that carried little balls through up to the very top of the roof and then let them roll down, hitting bells and such. It was way fun. (I also loved the pendulum that swings in just one place, but as the earth turns it hits these little metal pieces and makes them fall down.) 

Because we were already at the Gateway, I told David that I really really wanted to go and check out the store "Anthropologie." I had heard a ton about it, but wasn't actually sure what it was. I would always see people (especially on a lot of the blogs that I follow) mention buying shirts, or shoes, or plates, or measuring cups, or laundry baskets there. Sounds a little eclectic right? It totally was. You could pretty much find a little bit of everything there. It was fun to check out, now I feel like I am in the "know." 

We were starving so we decided to eat at the California Pizza Kitchen. Neither of us had been before and it was really good! 

We got a California Club and it was oh, so delicious!

After we were done with all of our fun in Salt Lake, we headed back to Logan where we ate some pretty delicious one-year old wedding cake. David wasn't sure why we had to do it, but I was insistent. Although, I'm not exactly sure what the symbolism is either. I guess it's just a good way to celebrate our first year. 

The lighting was really bad, so these were the only pictures that turned out. The cake wasn't too bad, but I must admit we both took one bite and we were like... "Yum... lets get out the ice cream instead. (David and I are not big cake people. It's too... I don't know. Something.) The best part about eating our cake it that it frees up a large amount of room in our freezer! 

This last picture is from when we went to the temple earlier in the week. We were able to go and do sealings in the Logan Temple and it was wonderful!

This last year has been incredible, and I am so lucky to be married to such an amazing guy! It was fun to celebrate our anniversary and we look forward to celebrating many, many more!

To Kraft or not to Kraft...

When shopping for groceries, you are constantly faced with a choice: Buy the name-brand product for $$$ or buy the off-brand product for much less $. There are some items that don't really matter when bought off-brand. For example: we use off brand cottage cheese, cereal, sour cream, cheese, milk, and other assorted items. However, there are some items that must not be sacrificed in order to save a few cents. Some of these items in the Peaden household include: Hidden Valley Ranch, Kraft Parmesan Cheese, and Campbell Cream of Chicken Soup.  (There are a few other things, but I can't think of them right now.) 

The biggest dilemma is knowing when it's okay and when the quality will suffer. I'm sure you know what I am talking about! I am always more prone to purchase the off-brand when I will save at least a dollar or so. I usually buy name brand on anything within 25 cents, because the cost doesn't seem worth the risk. 

This last weekend David and I decided to have a little taste test on none other than the fearless college staple, Macaroni and Cheese. 

I don't remember the exact prices, but I think that Kraft was around 85 cents and Western Family was about 30 cents. 

We let the noodles cook for the same amount of time, added the appropriate amounts of milk and butter and had ourselves a little taste test. 

At first I couldn't even tell the difference between the two, but after a short deliberation... both David and I decided that the winner was....

Kraft. It was only a slight difference, but definitely better. However, we still haven't decided whether or not it is worth spending the extra money to get the Kraft Mac and Cheese. I think that quality/cost definitely goes to Western Family.

Is there anything that you have to buy name brand? Or is it worth it for you to save some money?

The Adventures of Toy Story 3D at Midnight

Around 10:00 or 10:30 every night Shantel feels this inexplicable need to sleep. I personally don't understand it. Around 12:00 to 1:00 AM if feel as though I should probably sleep, although I am certain that I could stay awake quite happily much longer. This opens up a multitude of opportunities for me. First and foremost, midnight movies. My resume of midnight movies is impressive, I admit. It began with Lord of the Rings, and continued with Harry Potter. I really enjoy the atomosphere of a midnight movie on opening night. A couple of years ago, I discovered that Logan has a movie theater that shows movies at midnight every week! So my friends and I started Friday night midnight movie madness. Every Friday night we would watch a movie at midnight. It was fantastic. I love midnight movies.

Shantel loves sleep. Well...she loves movies too...just not at midnight. So...this means it is time for another adventure with David and Shantel. Shantel and I came to the conclusion a while ago that it was time for her to experience her first midnight movie. So we waited...and waited... and waited. We just did not see any movies that we felt qualified to be good "first time going to a midnight movie movies." If that makes sense. However, we could not wait until Harry Potter 7 comes out, that would be too long. Then...there was Toy Story 3...in 3D. It seemed like the perfect choice.

Around 11PM Shantel started serious work to stay awake. She put on a movie, she walked around, whatever it took. Then we headed over to the theater. It was packed with people all waiting for their own midnight showing (most of them were going to Eclipse and I felt grateful to be headed to theater 3 to see Woody and Buzz). We grabbed our cool 3D glasses and sat down. The movie started with a mini movie called "Day and Night." We were a little weary of the 3D stuff, but that sold us.

The movie was fantastic. I would say it is the best 3rd movie in a series that does not originate from a book I have ever seen. It was funny and intense. The script was well done and the end was...uh...touching...uh...well it was a good ending. We enjoyed ourselves and it was so good that Shantel had no problem staying awake.

This is where the story gets good, so don't stop reading now, I know that you are thoroughly tempted to do so. We drove home. I was very happy and very ready for bed. I brushed my teeth, took out my contacts and climbed into bed...and found that Shantel was not there. I looked around and Shantel wasn't getting ready for bed, she was finishing the movie she started before we went to the theater! Shantel at 2 AM decided that she didn't want to sleep yet! I felt so proud. So I closed my eyes and went to bed, while Shantel finished her show. So if Shantel ever tries to convince you that she influences me more than I influence her, just remember the adventure of Toy Story 3D at midnight!

P.S. Please see below for a full (okay, a partial photo recap of the evening, okay a very partial) recap.

This is Shantel. Look how excited she is to be up so late! 2AM, plus she looks really awesome in her 3D glasses.

This is me. Look how happy I am. I just got to go to a midnight movie with my favorite person in the whole world. That is why I have such a good smile.

Thank you all who managed to read this entire post. I do apologize that I am not nearly as entertaining as my beautiful wife Shantel, but I just needed to post so everyone could see what a positive influence I am having on her. Also, I highly recommend that everyone go see Toy Story 3D, it really was super!