Hipster, Anniversary, New Hair, Ice Cream

One of my favorite things about the co-workers I have had over the last few years, is they still want to get together every now and then for dinner. Those of us still working at the credit union met up with Kim and Cole on night at a newer restaurant in Logan called Even Stevens. Food was interesting, but I rather enjoyed my sandwich. Company was excellent. I love those  people that I have worked with, and I miss the ones that have left lots. It's good to see them every now and then. It's just too mad Caleb isn't closer to join us on occasion.

I actually convinced Greg to go with me. He loves hanging out with people.

I totally felt hipster after eating here.Not that I really know whawt hipster means...I guess I could google it.

"Hipsters are people who enjoy clothing, music, food and activities considered outside of the social mainstream."

There ya go. Totes Hipster!

May 27th was our 11th anniversary. Seems like forever, but has also flown by. I couldn't imagine life without him. It'd be totally boring...or more adventurous...probably a combination of the two. Needless to say, I still love him lots.

"Don't 'fudge' it up"

Our anniversary falls on Memorial weekend most of the time, so I took the next Tuesday off as well just to spend some time with Greg. I still don't think it's fair that he gets summers off, and I get to work. Oh well. Such is life. Maybe someday!

Anyway, we went to "Allegiant". Good movie, but I was disappointed to learn that there is a part 2! Ugh, for reals! Well, I think there is a part 2. There better be because it did not cover all that was in the book.

The NBA Finals were on, so Greg had to make sure the Warriors were going to pull ahead to move on to the Championship.

Greg working on the swamp cooler. Ugh, I swear this place causes more issues than what it's worth! JK, I am grateful for a great place to live that only costs us $280/month (which I still feel is way too much), but at least we can sell it if we ever decide to leave this place.

Grateful that he is willing to help the Relief Society clean the church. Take pressure off of me, as I have a harder time doing stuff like this. He's the greatest.

One Tuesday we had a chiropractor and massage therapist come to the CU where we all got free massages. Holy moly it was amazing. I need one of those at least once a day!

I am obsessed with getting my hair done. Granted, it helps that I love my hairstylist. We always have such a fun time together. We went a little more burgundy w/ some teal underneath. (Teal for Scleroderma awareness) We also cute it a little shorter. It's been fantastic. I love it!

The final results....

My sister and her family are here from Texas, so they came to Logan one day where we went out to eat during my lunch break. Here I am with McKenzie and my favorite niece Lilli.

Back in March, my good friend Melanie moved out to Providence. Not only was she a great friend, but she was also my Relief Society Activity Board Chairperson. She was AMAZING. I never questioned if things would get done, and she always went above and beyond. She basically did the activities by herself, as I was very little help. Now, of course I miss her more as a friend right around the corner, but I also miss her help with the activities.

We only do them every 3 months, but in the last 3 months she has not been replaced. I had a very great debate as to whether I should host an activity in June or not. I decided to go with it, and kept it very simple with an Ice Cream Social.

Greg was a huge help, and did quite a bit for me. (Also, can we talk about Hobby Lobby? I honestly think I could live there. Not even kidding! Made me want to plan parties all the time!)

After getting supplies we stopped by the carwarsh. One of our favorite things to do together...mostly because he likes to spray me.

So we have become obsessed with Red Button Ice Cream. Instead of just doing vanilla with lots of toppings, we went with a variety of flavors. 9 to be exact. They included, Key Lime Pie, Cotton Candy, Huckleberry Pie, Raspberry Lemonade, Raspberry Cheesecake, Vanilla, Animal Cookies, Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake, and Peach.

I won't get into how there were complaints that I didn't have "their favorite kind." Honestly, I love my calling, but people are just never happy. Frustrates the heck out of me. Also, we only had 15 people show. So, was it a waste of time? I don't know. It kind of felt like it.

Maybe I'll just forego our next meeting. See how many complaints we can get. But it was fun to spend time in the kitchen with Greg anyway, sampling all the flavors. He's the coolest.

The Rest of March

+I really need to do better at staying ahead with my blogging. I think about what I want to write quite often, I just fail to actually write it.

We were able to convince our Relief Society president to do quarterly activities instead of monthly. We just didn't have the attendance or budget to justify monthly, so my activity leader and I decided to try and make the quarterly ones super fun and exciting to get more attendance.

Our first activity was held one March 11. We went with a Superhero theme. We wanted to do kind of a get to know you, so we asked people to share their super powers (aka talents, etc.) We had an awesome turn out, and we had a lot of fun. We had pulled pork sandwiches, fruit and cupcakes for dinner, followed by a get to know you BINGO that was a lot of fun. Then we had one of our board members give a little talk on how we are all Superheros, tying in our Relief Society theme. She did a great job. I wish I had asked for a copy of her talk. It was really great.

We had a lot of fun, and I was happy about the turn out. I had an inactive sister come up to me and say, "This is the funnest church activity I've ever been to." And another sister said, "I wish we could do this every month." After complaining about our lack of budget, the stake relief society president told my president that I could, "Have as many activities as I wanted, and to spend as much money as I need." It was awesome, and made me feel like I was doing something right...(Even though Melanie was the one who did everything. She's awesome!)

Here is the poster I made for our activity. We were able to advertise for close to 2 months which was awesome. Funny story though. So we share our building with another ward who comes in after us. I had put this up outside the relief society room before our class. There is one of those clip things on the wall that is long and can fit more than one poster. Well, I come out after class, and the other ward had put their flier right over top of ours, instead of sliding ours down and putting it next to ours, right over top. I was not happy, but instead of throwing theirs in the garbage, I just calmly took ours out and slid it down. It was hard, let me tell you!

For our reminder, we made these superhero suckers with the information on the cape.

Due to some issues with the other ward, last year we moved our activities to Thursday evening, which we felt was not very convenient, so this year, we asked the Young Women if they would like to combine with us every quarter  so we could get the YW leaders out, and not have to spend another night away from their families. So we moved our activities to Wednesday night with the YW.

My partner-in-crime and I. We served in Young Women's together many moons ago, so when Bishop (NOT ME!) suggested her as my activity board leader, I didn't say no, even though she had just had her third baby. I knew that she would follow through and work hard to make or activities successful. So far she hasn't disappointed! ;)

At the end of February, Greg and I were asked to speak. Before we got up, our stake president got up and told us that they were rearranging our Bishopric in two weeks. Apparently lots of people thought that it would be Greg since we were speaking. Luckily they were wrong! I even had a sister tell me after I spoke that I would "make a great Bishop's wife". Not sure what that meant, but whatever.

I had been teasing Greg about it all week because he was actually a bit worried, but when we didn't get a call we knew we were in the clear. That was the week I went to Casper, and on Thursday when I got to Cokeville I called Greg and he told me that the Stake President wanted to meet with us. I started laughing and said, High Council? (One of the new bishopric members was previously on the HC, so there was a spot open.)

Sure enough, when we went in to meet with the stake president, Greg was issued a call to serve on the High Council. This meant he would also be ordained to the office of High Priest.

Greg's dad ordained him, and his older brother and his four kids came. We don't get to see them too much even though they're only about an hour away, but it was a lot of fun to have those kids there. They are the cutest.

The next weekend, one of my friends and teammates from college was getting married and had her reception here in Logan. Her mom coached with my dad over in Bear Lake for many years, so we've known Katie forever. She also played with Kandyce in college, and then they roomed together here at USU, so Kandyce stopped by so we could go together.

Liam is probably my favorite child. He is a little stinker and was crying while Kandyce was getting changed, so I just kept asking him questions until I finally got a good response. From then on we were BFFs. We sang songs in the car while waiting for Kandyce to get some cards at the dollar store, and then we went and played outside. Even though he can be a bit of a stinker, he's so dang cute. I just love him!

And of course, chubby little Myka was there also. She is just the happiest baby. I love her and her cute chubby cheeks.

So, after everything went down at work, I was working Saturday with Kim. Steve stopped by with a drink for each of us. Awesome! Then maybe an hour later, Donna showed up with drinks for us as well. The reason definitely deserved two Dr. Peppers. No more changes please! My heart can't take it. It was pretty funny though

For our 5th Sunday lesson, we had the LDS Employment Resource Services (?) people come. I was totally paying attention, when I looked at the board, and what was supposed to spell LDS ERS, totally looked like LOSERS. It was funny. About 3 minutes after I noticed, the high councilman sitting next to us looks up, leans over and says, "I thought that spelled LOSERS on the board." It was awesome.

Greg surprised me by taking me to see Insurgent one evening after work. Oh my, I loved it! I thought it was so good. Thanks hubby for taking me. It was a great way to end March.

Major Catch-up

Holy moly. I can't believe it's been so long. In looking back through my pictures, I really don't see much excitement, but I'll do my best to make it super exciting for you. It may be broken up into a few posts as I'm sure y'all get bored reading my random babblings.

So, I think I briefly mentioned this, but I have to mention it again, even though, holy cow, it's been three months!

September 19 (? correct me if I'm wrong. I went to Facebook, because I couldn't remember), this little sweetie was brought into the world. Weighing 6 lbs 15oz. She belongs to my sister-in-law Adrienne, and is just a doll. Her name is Breklin Aidra, and I STILL can't wait to meet her. I love new nieces and nephews. I need at least 10 more!

Baby Brek's darling big brother Jax.

And here she is a few months later. Can't wait to meet this little girl!

Now back to where I last left off. After waking up after my class reunion, I just chilled at my parents house. I love their "new" addition. It's just so big and open. I can't wait to have big open space like that in my own home someday. Ever since I was young and still at home, we always had some type of pet. Most of them were strays, but we accepted them (mostly because they were fine with staying outside, and the cats kept the mice out of the house.) The cat population at my parent's home is always changing. Sometimes the cats will leave for a few months/years, then come back.I swear whatever momma cat we had around was always getting pregnant. That has continued, so I had a fun time watching about 6 kittens outside my parents house playing with each other. Oh, how I want a pet...(and no, I can't have one, so please don't get me one!).

It's always fun spending time with the fam.

I got lucky and was able to drive home with one of my good friend's from high school, Camille Petersen Johnson. She lives here in Logan, and I very rarely get to see her! But I love her to death, and we always have a good time chatting with one another. I was so glad to be able to take the ride home with her. I love her to pieces.

Of course, with it being October and all, we had to get our Halloween lights up. I stayed inside where it was warm, while Greg did his thing. I really dislike putting them up, but I love when they are up and lit.

We held our "Fun Friday" craft night in October. I have THE best Activity Chairperson, and she did EVERYTHING. Not even kidding. She is amazing. We kept it small, but it was still fun for the people who came out.

We had a few sisters forget/not able to make it, so I helped make a few of their crafts. This is one of them, and I really love it, and wish I had gotten one for myself, but it was fun seeing the look on the Sister's face of who it was for. She was so excited and just loved it.

As I mentioned in a few posts back, I have really gotten back into designing. I downloaded a trial version of Adobe Illustrator, taught myself to use it, and have fallen in love with it! I had one of my friends from HS contact me and ask if I'd create a baby shower invitation for her. I did, and I loved it. I had so much fun doing it, I decided I really needed to get my Etsy shop open.

So, at work, I have this co-worker who would occasionally (ALWAYS) steal my post-it notes. I decided to write "Dear Cole, please do not steal my post-its. These are mine. Sincerely, Bre" around the edge of the pad. Not even kidding, an hour later I couldn't find my post-its, so I asked Cole if he had them...Sure enough, they somehow made it over to his desk. Lol. It's kind of a running joke amongst us. I also have Cole and Caleb worried anytime they have to use my station to not mess anything up. (I really don't mind, as long as they don't adjust my chair, because I sometimes can't get into it.) Anyway, I was at work, and went to use my post-its, and saw this message from Cole. It make me laugh a bit. I have the greatest co-workers for sure!

So, I was wearing my One Direction shirt one Saturday, and we went into Smith's to grocery shop. When we got to the checkout, there was a teenage boy bagger who looked at me, clicked his tongue, shook his head, and said, "Psh, One Direction." I totally called him out on it though...Little punk! It was pretty funny still.

Same day we went to Hastings, where they were having Star Wars day. I learned pretty quickly that I have a fear of adults in costumes. I don't know why, it just seriously freaked me out. They had some people dressed up as Star Wars characters. I couldn't get out of there fast enough.

Sonic runs are a favorite thing for the tellers. I've been craving Dr. Pepper like crazy lately, so Steve very willingly went and got drinks for all us girls! 

And now this random post is ending. I need to go get ready for church...I've got 15 minutes. Peace out!

September Ramblings

September has also just flown by. I've been meaning to blog at least once a week so you don't get bombarded with random pictures and my nonsense thoughts, but that obviously hasn't happened. I feel like I really haven't done a whole lot this month. It's just the same things day after day.

I didn't have work on September 1. We slept in, then ate breakfast, went to Greg's room at the middle school to drop some stuff off, went to Hastings, then we had shrimp tacos for dinner (my new fave!), then we went for a little drive from our house to 10th west, to Arctic Circle where we got huckleberry shakes for the second time this year. So delicious! I love days off!

Of course, we had to go back to work the next day. Back to the daily grind and being an adult.

I am in charge of creating the monthly Relief Society newsletter, which is fine with me since I really enjoy doing stuff like that. I started out creating the regular boring newsletters, but it wasn't doing it for me, so I decided to open photoshop, pinterest, and create something awesome. It took me all dang day, but it turned out super cute.

September 8th was a wonderful day. I woke up to read that One Direction is releasing another album soon, and they were offering one of their songs for free that day only! Of course I had to get it, and I absolutely loved it, I think it's definitely one of my favorite. Take a listen here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0L2AaRJrV0E

Since creating that newsletter, my creative juices have started flowing again. I have been meaning to download a trial version of Adobe Illustrator for a while now, so I finally decided to do it. Holy cow, I had no idea what I was doing. I took a class about 7 years ago, but I remember very little of it. I have been slowly learning and teaching myself how to use it and I've had a lot of fun with it. I'm excited to get back into designing, and hope to be able to open an Etsy shop soon.

(By the way, I'm more than willing to create a few free Christmas cards for anyone interested. I'll design it to your liking, and send you the digital file.)

For our September Relief Society Activity, we had a service auction. We got the idea {here}, and it turned out really great. We had a lot of awesome donations, and had a great time bidding against each other and having a good ol' time. This calling can be quite challenging because we never know what to expect when we plan activities. We never know how many will show up, or if they'll even have fun. My board leader is amazing though, and always comes up with the funnest ideas. Please support your RS leaders in the activities. I know that it can seem like just one more thing to do, but the activities board puts a lot of effort into planning and carrying out these activities. Plus, it's a whole lot more fun when more people show up.

My mom and dad were in town Saturday the 13th, and texted me to go to lunch with them. It's always good to see them, and they surprised me with this Samsung Neo 2 watch. Greg and I had talked about getting something like that after my {latest incident}, but figured we would wait until Christmas or until we upgraded our phones, so this was a fun surprise. I can call people and text, plus it tracks my steps, heart rate, and sleeping. It's pretty sweet. It makes me feel better about being alone, just in case I happen to leave my phone in a place I can't reach. Thanks parents!

Last Sunday the Relief Society Presidency were asked to speak on the Relief Society. We were asked the Thursday before, so we really didn't have much time to prepare, but I think it went okay. I wasn't really nervous, though I was sweating something awful. But no one fell asleep during my talk (that I could see), so that's always great. I haven't spoken in church for over 10 years, so it was a fun experience.

I did get to go on a fun trip this last week, which I will post about real soon. I think this is enough for one post!