Cards and DIY Projects

The other day I came home from work and Ste asked me to turn the air on.  On the controls there was a card laying over them.  It said, "Open when...you are feeling outdoorsy."  He said I couldn't open it until I was feeling outdoorsy so I asked him if checking the mail counted.  Of course not.  So I couldn't open it. Bummer! He then told me there were 23 more of those hidden around the apartment. What?! He spent his Friday afternoon writing me these cards.  Since I have been told by EVERYONE who has been in the accounting program or who is married to someone in the accounting program to keep myself busy because I will be bored out of my mind and won't see him very often- he did this super sweet thing for me so when I am missing him, bored, adventurous, outdoorsy, or lazy I could open one of the cards and get my husband back for a little bit.  It took me FOREVER to find all the cards but I was determined to find all of them, especially since he only put a sticker (which he drew a picture on that matched the reason for the card) and didn't lick it closed so every time I found one he would have to seal it so I wouldn't peak. It was a great way to start my weekend. I have yet to open one because I want them to last.

So, Ste and I have totally been in the mood for DIY projects.  It helps bring some color and character to our apartment as well as they make for such fun dates.  We made the dot art a little bit ago.  We made some super cute cork boars the other week.  We grabbed cheap frames from DI and a roll of cork from Michael's.  We painted the frames in some cute colors and as I was finishing up the coats Ste was working on cutting and flattening out the cork (which is extremely difficult).  We had a hard time trying to decide how to put them on the wall but finally decided on something that I love! We have a picture of the Draper Temple that Sister Witzel (Stewart lived at her house when he was in Salt Lake on his mission before leaving for Mexico) got us as the center.  We have taken a bit to get things up there but we have missionary addresses (only two but will be making and putting up more soon!), wedding announcements, and other pictures. 

We have some more ideas that we are thinking of and cannot wait to find time to do them! This includes making a bookshelf with grandpa next week!

I have been getting some good use out of my sewing machine.  I have made a couple skirts.. only one successful because one was too small and I burned a hole in another while trying to iron it.  I am registered for a clothing construction class for the fall so decided I would save the rest of my apparel fabric until I learn a few more things.  But I have started some quilts! Thanks to some fabric that Sherry gave me that she got from one of her friends.  I have the front and back done on one of them already.  I am waiting to have my mom help me with the quilting and binding. It is a very simple pattern and I still couldn't line everything up.. haha I will get them eventually.  It is good to have Stewart there when I am trying to figure out what to do because he is so much better at details and a lot more creative than I am.  I have started a second quilt that is just slightly more difficult than the first one but it is lining up a little better! haha

Yesterday was our 3 month anniversary. THREE MONTHS! How crazy is that?? This weekend was awesome, too.  Yesterday started out with getting our Bountiful Basket! It is this thing where you order your basket on Monday and pay $15 (plus any add-ons you want) and go pick it up Saturday morning.  They will give you a little basket of vegetables and a little basket of fruit.  We got a good variety of stuff this week, our first time. For our add on we got 7 dozen tortillas for $12.  We are trying them out today for tacos!  We then took grandma and grandpa Zupas (yes, with the gift card we won thanks to everyone who helped!!!) then talked to grandpa about the plans for our bookshelf.  We barely have any cabinet space in our apartment so our pots and pans don't fit anywhere so this will help us so much! We then went to the Timpanogos Temple for a session then stopped by Kyle Richardsons wedding! It was great to see every one from their family and be there for their wedding! It was super cute and we even got to see the survival kit that Beckie made for them.  Great stuff if you ask me!

Yesterday was a great way to celebrate being married for three months.  I couldn't be happier with anyone else and I am so grateful for Stewart's example and the ways he helps me every day. Can't wait for more memories!

Believing Christ

 I started my job for real.  It has been pretty good! Stewart has been busy working and going to school.  We were able to go to the England family reunion a couple weekends ago and got to see lots of family! It was a lot of fun and the blowup bounce slide Kara rented was so much fun! Stewart and I both got burned, just getting us ready for Hawaii!  Dad sent down cherries with Doug and Mary (I think) brought down apples.  We have definitely been enjoying the cherries and now I just want more apples because it was so good!


I work a 5 am-9am and 1pm-5pm shift on Sundays. I thought it was going to be really hard to stay awake and be bored out of my mind if it were slow.  Thankfully, that wasn't the case.  Last week I was able to finish "Believing Christ" and watch a session of General Conference and watched another session today.  I have never had to work on Sunday and I wasn't looking forward to it.  But this morning made me realize that while I am working on Sundays, I can definitely use it to strengthen me spiritually, which Stewart actually pointed out when I found out I would have to work Sundays.

I have been working on finishing this book because I was told it was really good a couple years ago. I had bought it but only got through the first couple pages.  I highly recommend it.  My understanding of the love that Christ and Heavenly Father have for me and everyone else has truly grown.  I knew before reading it that Christ did love me and he sacrificed a great deal for me in order to help me be perfect.  After reading this book I better understand what that means.  Christ has promised us that if we do absolutely all we can and all that is asked of us, he will make up the rest. If that is us doing only 2% or 60%, he will still make up the difference for us if we believe in Him and also believe what He has promised us. Of course, this comes with effort, our best effort.  I have been trying to be better at understanding the gospel and doctrine of the church and I am so excited.  I am so grateful to have a husband who helps me with this and is patient with me as I am learning. 

"Come what may, and love it." is one of my favorite quotes. Here is the Mormon Message they made with that talk.

4th of July

For the Fourth of July Stewart was lucky to get a day off to study a little and go golfing! He is in a golf class so he has definitely realized how much he loves to play.  After I got off work we walked to the shops on Center Street and got free cups along with some cute earrings Ste picked out for me.  We headed back home until going to Rock Canyon to watch the fireworks. We walked a little way up the side of the hill to sit in the perfect spot.  There weren't a lot of people around us so it was somewhat private.  It was a lot of fun!

That Saturday we went on a hike with one of Stewart's friends and his wife to Stewart Falls.  We have been wanting to go for a while so we were happy to go with them.  It was a really pretty and fun hike.  While Ste and I were down at the bottom of the fall we looked up and saw Zach and Maria higher up and we wanted to go so we saw a path and followed it.  It went right up next to the water and we both thought we were going to die.  It was super steep and narrow and we had to pretty much Spiderman crawl up the side of it. When we got up there they asked us why we went that way because there was a trail that was a lot easier. Of course. We were so confused how so many people were able to do that perfectly fine! haha It is a cool little place because there are a lot of different levels you can be and get into little pools of water.  We definitely went down the easier way on our way back! 

 Right above us in the bottom picture is where we climbed up.  You can't even see where we climbed because there really wasn't a path. It was fun though!

Surprises and Good News

Last week I was at home working on some sewing projects when all of a sudden someone started opening the door. The only thing I had on was the skirt I was sewing and thought it was the maintenance man so I kinda freaked out and hid behind the door... there was no where else to go at the time.  But it was just Stewart coming home two hours early because he wanted to take me on a hiking date up to where he proposed.

We explored more up the trail and behind the hills. It was awesome! There was a pretty little meadow back there and all sorts of trails.

On the way back down I had turned my head around to talk to him and as I looked back to see where I was stepping and there was this snake right in front of my feet.  It was just a dinky little garden snake but it still caught me way by surprise.  I screamed and jumped and ran which freaked Ste out too. The hike and surprise was awesome. It was also great to see the place he proposed in the daylight!

Last week we got some pretty awesome news!
Stewart got accepted to the accounting program at BYU!
We are so excited for him and us and for what our future is going to be like.  He is taking some summer classes right now and still working at the BYU broadcasting building in their accounting office.

 I started my new job at Property Solutions and so far it has been great! They are really good to their employees so I think I will continue to enjoy it there.

One day I was at Joann and they were having a really good sale so I decided to buy some fabric to make a couple table clothes and a skirt or two.  The table clothes were easy and look alright.  This was my first time making a skirt with an elastic band and after searching for the easiest way to use one as a waist band for a skirt I thought I was ready.  Well, after having to adjust the length and even the bottom out the skirt turned out alright, except for the fact the band was super puffy with all the fabric... I figured out a way to hide it for now by wearing a big belt with it but I will have to find a better way to do it next time!

We are really excited for this next year for him to start the program and finishing my last year (which has to be my last because I got the email from BYU saying if I take 30 more credits I won't receive any more financial support)!