Ten - Eleven - Two Thousand and Ten

What is so special about Monday, October 11, 2010? 

I will tell you what is so special. 

It is this boy's birthday!

Twenty-six years ago, this amazing boy entered the world determined to "do good things" and make the world a better place. In his "quarter-of-a-century-plus-one-year" he has done many wonderful things including:

• Serving an LDS Mission to Nashville, Tennessee - Spanish Speaking
• Vacationed along with his family  (7 brothers and sisters) to all sorts of cool places around the nation. (I think that he has been to like 45 states or something like that.) 
• Married his #1 adoring fan in the Logan LDS Temple (that's me!)
• Earned a double Bachelors Degree in Accounting and Economics
• Earned a Masters Degree in Accounting (This actually hasn't happened yet, but we are on the downhill slope! Just a couple of more months.)
• Made the lives of all of those around him happier and brighter.

Join me in wishing this boy the very happiest of birthdays!

(Breakfast of pancakes, bacon, and eggs + Lots of decorations = A very happy birthday boy!)

Stay tuned! There is more to come on our exciting "Birthday Week Activities." We started celebrating last Saturday and will continue until this coming Sunday. Hooray for David's Birthday Week!

Also, for more information about this darling boy read THIS POST from last year. The list of things about David is still incredibly accurate. 

Cinnamon Tacos?

This is the recipe for what David and I ate for dinner tonight.

Follow closely.

Ingredients:
Uncooked Hamburger
Cinnamon
Chili Powder
Onion Salt
Garlic Salt
Cheese
Salsa
Ranch

Supplies:
Frying Pan
Spatula
Strainer/Colander

Procedure:

Step 1: Turn stove to medium-high and put hamburger in frying pan. Randomly poke at meat with spatula until it starts to brown.

Step 2: Reach into the cupboard and grab this

from the place where this

usually sits and shake it ALL OVER THE ENTIRE PAN. No. Really. Make sure that all of the meat is good and covered.

Step 3: Smell the strong aroma of cinnamon, turn the bottle you have be shaking all over that meat, read the label and then PANIC.

Step 4: Contemplate trashing the whole thing and making a McDonalds run before David comes out of the bedroom.

Step 5: Pull out your strainer/colander. Shove the dishes from last night out of your way and set the strainer in the sink. Dump your half-cooked cinnamon meat in the strainer and try to wash out all of the cinnamon.

Step 6: Dump meat back into pan, put it back on stove.

Step 7: Drown meat in chili powder, garlic salt, and onion salt.

Step 8: Again, contemplate trashing the whole thing and making a McDonalds run before David comes out of the bedroom.

Step 9: Grate cheese, wash and tear lettuce, set out salsa and ranch.

Step 10: Tell David it's time for dinner.

Step 11: Silently pray that David won't notice anything wrong with the meat while he is saying the prayer.

Step 12: Watch over his shoulder as he heats up his tortilla, puts meat on his taco and begins eating.

Step 13: Answer "I'm not!" to his question of "Why are you looking at me so funny?"

Step 14: Force the taco down your own throat, because if David can't taste anything... it's probably fine. That overpowering cinnamon taste is just your imagination.

Besides, it's probably a delicacy in some countries. In fact. I bet people would pay extra for that at a restaurant.

I should start charging the big bucks for my excellent culinary skills.



(Yes, this really happened. No, I really did NOT tell David. Until I was cleaning up. Then I told him.)

Bride Hunting

You may or may not know this, but... I love weddings.

I love everything about weddings.  

Whenever I see a bride in her beautiful wedding dress, I get butterflies in my stomach. 

Seriously, it can be a problem. Fortunately for me, I have a wonderful husband who supports puts up with me and my craziness. This means that any time we see a bride, he can expect us to follow them around for a minute (sometimes from a distance, sometimes for not as large of a distance). I can't help it. I'm a little obsessed!

 Last Friday we had the chance to attend the wedding of this sweet couple: 

Scott and Kalli got married in the Salt Lake Temple and it was beautiful. It was my first time attending a wedding ceremony in that particular temple, and I LOVED it. I especially love how the entrance to the temple makes you feel like you are entering the Garden of Eden. 

Back to Bride Hunting. Before the ceremony, we walked around the temple a bit to burn some time and I commented to David that I was surprised that we didn't see more wedding couples (meaning that we hadn't seen ANY yet.) He reminded me that it was a Friday, and it wasn't really "wedding season". Most people are in school right now. I agreed, but was a little disappointed. I shouldn't have worried though, because after the ceremony there was a plethora of pretty wedding dresses! 

Here was "Our Bride."

With their families. Kalli is so pretty!

Look at the detail on Kalli's dress. Isn't it gorgeous?

I had to include a picture of the back of the dress, because I thought it was so pretty.

Now on to the other brides we "hunted" that day: 

 Pretty Silk Bride

We actually saw this couple inside of the temple as they were entering the Celestial Room. They looked so happy and I was amazed at how beautiful her dress was. It looked like it was pure silk with big silk flowers. The train was super long, and it was breathtaking in how traditionally beautiful it was.

Pretty Silk Bride with her new husband.

I tried to get a close-up of the silk flower.

 Beautiful Bunches Bride

I actually got a better picture of this couple coming out of the temple than I did of Scott and Kalli. Actually, I probably got a better picture of this couple than a lot of the members of their bridal part did. It's not my fault though. They seriously came out of the doors 2 minutes after Scott and Kalli, and we hadn't had time to move yet. Don't worry though. Their mom's made them go back and walk down the stairs two more times.

Bride stalking? Yes. "Don't worry about me... I'm just taking a picture of the temple."

Gorgeous Ivory Bride 

This couple was taking pictures on the stairs right next to us. I thought that they were a beautiful couple. Her ivory dress, dark hair and complexion were a perfect contrast to his red hair and grey suit. I thought that it looked SO classy!

I loved the neckline of this dress, as well as her bouquet.

We caught them again a little bit later next to the reflection pool. He was such a gentleman as he scooped her and her dress up and set her on the step next to the fountain. It was so precious.

 White Bouquet Bride

I didn't get a great shot of this bride. We were walking by fairly quickly. But I did get a good shot of her with her white rose bouquet. I'm a sucker for white roses. 

Lace-up Belle Bride

This was my favorite dress of the day. It reminded me of Belle's gown at the end of Beauty and the Beast. I love the bunches because they are very subtle, while maintaining an air of elegance. (I don't generally love the super bunchy dresses, but this dress made me swoon!)

Not to mention the fact that it laced up the back. Oh. My. Beautiful.

"From a Distance" Brides

(These are the brides that I wasn't fast enough to catch!) 

The "Through the Gate" Bride

The "Down the Path" Bride

The "I had to lift my camera above my head to catch a shot of this bridal couple" Bride

All-in-All it was a successful day of Bride Hunting! I was able to see lots of glowing brides and grooms, gorgeous wedding dresses, and excited family members. I always think of my wedding day and how much I loved everything about it! Seeing how happy these newlywed couples are makes me even happier to have been married to David for almost a year and a half! 

 Here are some more pictures of the day: 

Scott (the Groom) was David's mission companion, which is how we know them and why we were at the wedding. This boy is another guy who served his mission with David. Name = I don't know because I'm a bad person. It's Adam or something.

Aren't we cute?

My handsome husband in front of the temple.

This is me in front of one of the two original cabins from when the pioneers settled Salt Lake. It was cool.

We were burning a little time at the temple because David had an interview in downtown Salt Lake about an hour after we got out of the temple. He did awesome at his interview. My favorite part was that while he was interviewing I was able to walk to the gateway,  buy a new pair of shoes and a new shirt, walk back, and write a card for Scott and Kalli all before he was finished! All within 30 minutes. I'm amazing.

And to end, one last bride picture: 

Just because I wanted to.