BE WISE

Friends! I'm so excited to officially be telling you about Be Wise Magazine!

This magazine is the best thing that could happen to girls. It is the perfect go-to for all things fashion and beauty. But my favorite part about it is that it is the perfect go-to for all things self-worth and happiness. 

I was looking for something meaningful to add in my life and I discovered Be Wise. I found out that they are amazing and love having people join their cause, so I decided to become a contributing writer. I'm super insecure about an actual audience reading my writing so it's actually been a lot more difficult than I thought. This is no personal blog that barely anyone reads - this is the real deal. But I couldn't be more excited to be part of it. 

They are running a "Be Your Best Self" campaign and who doesn't want to be the best they can be?? They've already published their first issue of 2016, which I am super humbled that they included me in. So go check it out. And enjoy their endless tips & tricks!

Timpanogos

We were so lucky to take a week and travel home to Salt Lake City and visit our family and friends! We didn't take nearly as many pictures as we should have - but we did document our hike up Mt. Timpanogos!! {And by we, I mean my incredibly talented nephew, Matthew. Sorry for stealing all of your pictures.} I love that mountain. I grew up hiking it with my family and have the best memories. It was Kyron's first time hiking it and I think he has started to have the same love/hate relationship the rest of us have with it. Friends. It is a dang hard hike. Especially being out of shape Atlantans. {at least we'll blame it on the elevation change ;) } But this mountain is beautiful. And it is worth every last step. And it helps when you have the best company to hike it with!

Nauvoo

If you had to guess what our faces looked like when we boarded a bus with fifty teenagers to drive over 12 hours... what do you think those faces would look like? Here's a hint.

It was a terrifying thought. But riding a bus from Atlanta to Nauvoo was just the beginning of a super fun whirlwind weekend with the youth of the Atlanta, Georgia Stake.

Our fun group!

It really was a whirlwind of a weekend - driving through the night to get there and back in three days. But the spirit in Nauvoo, Illinois is so strong and so beautiful. We spent time learning about the early saints and the sacrifices that they made to enjoy the blessings of the gospel of Jesus Christ in the latter-days. I owe my life to my pioneer ancestors who made those sacrifices and who started my family on a blessed path. We love the youth of our ward and stake and were so grateful to be able to travel and spend time with them last summer. Hooray for the Atlanta, Georgia Stake!

Tallulah Gorge

Kyron and I had been wanting to go see the waterfalls in Tallulah Gorge State Park and two young men in our ward had been wanting to go on an adventure - so we combined the two and traveled a couple hours north on a rainy day to see some beautiful waterfalls!!

memorial day 2015

Another hike through Kennesaw Mountain. You don't get many views in Atlanta, but this is a good one. You also don't get many hikes in Atlanta, so we've tried to make the most of the few we have! But it was really neat to remember the Civil War on Memorial Day as we walked through the battlefields there.

happy four years!

Four year anniversary? Better spend it at Six Flags.

Definitely the best anniversary gift we've gotten ourselves thus far. Season passes were well used for the rest of the summer and fall. 

Obligatory heart attack, I mean, food picture.

world of coca-cola

world of coca-cola. aka. my happy place. aka. my favorite place in atlanta.

I realized during this catch-up, I really haven't blogged about things pre-2015 either soooo I'm super behind. But as I was remembering Flat Stanley, I thought about visiting World of Coca-Cola. And I just had to post those pictures too. It was heavenly. And free Coke, so. Obviously the best.

Kyron took me here for my birthday, so this was August 2014.

Best birthday present!

Flat Stanley visits the ATL

My sweet niece who was living in Portland, asked if she could sent me Flat Stanley and if I could show him around Atlanta. I always try to be the cool aunt, so I happily obliged. Here's what we showed him:

Center of Disease Control - one of the reasons we came to Atlanta for Public Health 

the fountain near Kyron's building at Emory

Dooley! the legend of Emory

Krog Street Tunnel is a must-see in Atlanta. And this little graffiti was perfect size for Mr. Flat Stanley

guilty - we still haven't taken a tour of the CNN headquarters. but it will happen before we leave here!

however, we have toured World of Coke. and it is the best thing in the whole world.

This is the view from the lovely Piedmont Park. Anyone seen What to Expect When You're Expecting?? This is the park where dude's group goes! So much filming happens in Atlanta.

Thanks for coming to visit us!!

first time golfing!

Have I mentioned that Kyron loves to golf?? Well, he does. And he's started to get me into it, too. Kind of. We've gone on plenty of date nights to the driving range and he's taught me the best he can about golfing. Then finally one day, he got me onto a real live golf course. It was terrifying and I was super embarrassed. But it was actually really fun. So naturally, we documented.

I posted a lovely little video on instagram. But here is the truth.

I'm crying laughing at that little plop in the water. That pretty much sums up the amazing skills I have in the game of golf. But as we learned from Bobby Jones at the World Golf Hall of Fame:

"Golf is the closest game to the game we call life. You get bad breaks from good shots, you get good breaks from bad shots - but you have to play the ball where it lies." 

Thanks for your life lessons, golf. I guess we like you anyway.

little reminders

This is the gorgeous Atlanta, Georgia temple. 

One dreary day in March, I had the day off of work and decided to go to the temple. It's only about a half an hour from where we live and going mid-morning seemed perfect to avoid crazy Atlanta traffic. Somehow it was still pretty stressful getting there, probably because of the rain and the fact that I am terrified of the freeway system in Atlanta. But I made it and had a beautiful experience inside a beautiful building. As I was leaving, I was listening to my favorite hymns by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in my car and decided to turn around for a picture. Once I did, I started my gps to take me home.

I was pondering some thoughts that I had in the temple and was really pretty emotional about the things going on in our life at the time. I was struggling to find joy through the stresses we were experiencing and I was grateful for the peace that my time at the temple brought. Then suddenly I saw brake lights and I slammed on my own brakes harder than I ever have, but it was just a tiny bit too late. I barely tapped the back bumper of the car stopped in front of me. Seriously, it was the smallest accident one could ever be in, but it rattled me to my core since it was technically my very first accident. Because of my inexperience and lack of education, we decided to call the police and have them come check it out. Basically, I was a wreck and a half even though there was absolutely 100% nothing wrong with either car or person or anything. It didn't help matters that I still ended up taking a wrong turn after that and making my trip home even longer.

I was so mad that I had gotten into a car accident after being so diligent and going to the temple! Why would that happen?? Why did the Lord allow me to get a ding on our car insurance and record of our brand new car, have to go to court to pay a fine, and really just hurt my pride??

Embarrassingly, yes. Those were my exact thoughts as I cried and ate ice cream bundled in blankets on the couch until Kyron got home from class that afternoon.

Thankfully, I started to realize how incredibly awful I was acting. For one thing, that accident could have been ten million times worse and I was so so blessed that it was nothing at all. but even if it had been at all worse, who am I to question God's plan for me? The accident was definitely the straw that broke this camel's back with all that I was dealing with emotionally at the time. Clearly this was a lesson I needed to learn.

  And clearly the lesson was to hold onto the truths I know and let the Lord take over the rest.  He has a way of reminding me that He is the gardener and He knows who He wants me to be. And He loves me enough to cut me down. And I couldn't be more grateful for that.

{As Many as I Love, I Rebuke and Chasten}

spring break - woo hoo

GUYS. Kyron had a spring break last year. And we took full advantage of it by driving down to Daytona Beach. It was heavenly.

Camping. In a tent. Any of you who know me, know I hate camping. But this was the best camping ever and I would do it a million times over again! Kyron definitely changed my mind about camping. The palm trees helped ;)

the sun. the palm trees. the lighthouse. we already love daytona!

sorry not sorry. we love each other and the beach!



Unbeknownst to us - we went to Daytona during Bike Week! And let me just tell you. It was incredible!! It was beyond packed. And there were literally thousands of motorcycles there. Here is just a sampling. It added such an awesome aspect to our trip and it was amazing to see all the bikes!!

this beach though.

what did i say? packed!!

eating on the pier. best.

Drove around the Daytona Speedway. It was giant and fantastic! If only there had been a race.

But seriously - why are there ZERO 7-11's in Atlanta?! Nothing matches the goodness of a slurpee on a beautiful warm day, so I made Kyron stop at every one while we were in Florida. Worth it.

So we found this awesome ropes/zip line course and went for it. It was the best adventure ever!
Seriously. It was probably the most fun we've ever had. okay - calm down. But it was so much fun.

ahh, the world golf hall of fame.

yay golf!

this quick pit-stop on the way home was the best decision. 

we heart phil

Needless to say, we had the best of the best time at Daytona for spring break. We relaxed on the beach, explored all the town had to offer, and learned some life lessons from the wall quotes at the World Golf Hall of Fame. What a perfect week!