Oh Christmas Tree

 I never, never, never thought I would be married to someone who is so particular about a Christmas tree. Philip and I went to probably 10 different stores to find ornaments that he was okay with. We couldn't just have 2 or 3 different colors our whole tree had to be multicolored. It was so funny to go shopping with him and see how opinionated he was about the ornaments and everything else. Me on the other hand all I really cared about what having some sort of theme to our Christmas tree. I think we both did just that. We found some multicolored ornaments and some super cute snowman ornaments that made everything tie together. After all the frustration of trying to get our tree straight in the stand Philip got to do the lights his way and I decorated the ornaments my way with his help of course. Together we made a great team and I think our first Christmas tree turned out so cute!

 Our first Christmas together ornament. We couldn't find one that fit us until we found this one. I love that we will always have something that reminds us of the start. 

 Okay so are these not the cutest ornaments you've ever seen? I LOVE THEM! The inside is filled with little styrofoam balls in it that move around. They're just perfect.

I'm so excited to have our very first married Christmas together. I can't wait to wake up to Philip on Christmas morning and just have us time. He is such a fun guy at Christmas and wants me to deck out our house with all Christmas decorations. Dixie you did so well on teaching Philip Christmas fun, almost too well haha!

Happy happy 26th birthday!

So Philip turned 26 this year. After giving him a hard time after how old he is now (well actually I'm still giving him a hard time) we had a good day. We thought Philip would be working swing shift on his birthday so Saturday night after putting up our first Christmas tree (I'll post pictures on a separate blog), we went to one of our favorite restaurants to celebrate. Tepanyaki! Tepanyaki is a Japanese Steakhouse for those of you who don't know and it is super yummy! Plus with the meal we order we always have leftovers and those are just as good. It was so nice to get out with Philip and to be able to celebrate his birthday. 

On his actual birthday, I took the day  off thinking he'd be working that night so I would get to spend a little time with him, but he ended up not having to work and we got to spend the whole day together. I could have those more often. We had so much fun. First we woke up and were just lazy, watched some Toy Story. Now watching that and being a little older you can see the grown up humor in it too. So funny. Then I talked Philip into going to another movie (thank goodness Philip is awesome at sales and wins free gift cards). We stopped by my mom's and picked up his birthday present which he loved (UofU clothes) then off to see Megamind. We loved it. It was a good movie and it was fun seeing it in 3D. After the movie we went and did a little window shopping (the joys of being a newlywed haha). I forgot what it's like to go out and actual do stuff. Who needs to spend money to have a good time. To finish our day off we went to Salt Lake and looked at the lights on our church. It is so neat. They have a couple songs and the lights match up with songs. Two of our favorite things Christmas songs and Christmas lights. Such a good time. After finishing up the lights at church we enjoyed dinner with Philip's parents at La Costa. One of our favorite restaurants. 

All and all it was a great day. I loved being able to spend all day with Philip. We haven't been able to do that for a long time. I love my husband and love that our birthdays are still special days to us.

Catching up...

So I know that I'm not the best at blogging. I posted a short and sweet post for Philip's birthday, but other than that I haven't been keeping everyone updated. To defend myself all except the last couple weeks I have been working 11 hour days. What can I say I enjoy the time off later and it was especially nice being able to spend Philip's birthday with him.. So let me go back to Thanksgiving. 

 This is me and our kids headed to Grandma's house. This year was quite a bit different.. Instead of 20 people being there when all was said and done we had 8. Plus this year I got to spend the WHOLE day with Philip, which was awesome. 

 Before my niece and nephew left to their other grandparents house we had an impromptu photo shoot and it was super fun. They kept telling me what kind of pictures to take and they weren't camera shy at all.

 Cracks me up how innocent she looks, trust me she is FULL of personality. 

 Funny Faces!

 These are are mean faces. They are so funny.

 Lookin' cute and showing off those good looks.

 Their funny faces

 Kenadee and our little Tootsie. Every time we take Tootsie to grandma's house Kenadee cannot get enough. Unfortunately Tootsie has had enough within the first 5 minutes, but she is still a good sport.

 Yummy fruit!

 Waiting for some grub!

 What little family we had sitting down waiting to eat, minus my brother in law Chris taking the pciture.

 I think this is right before we crashed on the couch. We were so stuffed and so tired that a nap was a must!

The End of the night. My brother's birthday was on Thanksgiving this year and after searching up and down through my mom's cupboards for candles we found these. So Happy 95th (28th) Birthday Luke!

When all was said and done we both had a good time and were completely stuffed after. We were both so thankful to be able to spend time with our family and just have a good day being around them. We really are so blessed with all the support we have.

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday Philip!
I met you when you were 20 years old and now you're turning the big 2-6!
I can't believe it's been so long!
I'm so lucky to be married to my best friend and to be able to share many more birthdays with you.
Thanks for being the best ever!
Hope you're day is just as amazing as you are!
Love you babe!!!

And.....

Again... Okay so maybe this will be the last time, maybe not. Philip and I are on the front page of the sport's section from the Salt Lake Tribune on Saturday. Where's Waldo? See if you can find us!

We're famous... again...

Just wanted to post a link, our reception center posted a blog about our wedding as a feature wedding. Go check it out. I think she did a great job and it does our wedding justice!

The Grays!

Because it's my day off & I'm bored

I saw this on someone's blog and I decided that since I'm home alone (Philip had to go to work) and I am completely bored... Why not?

1. When is your "marriage" anniversary? "Engagement" anniversary?
Our marriage anniversary is May 21, 2010, almost 5 years to the day that we actually met and our engagement anniversary is July 22, 2009, 4 years to the day that Philip first said he loved me. How thoughtful and cute is he?


2. Where/how did you meet your spouse for the first time?
We had mutual friends online through Myspace and we just started talking and eventually decided to go out.


3. How long have you known your spouse:
5 1/2 long crazy years and I still love him more than anything.


4. How long did you date/court before you were engaged?
Ha! We dated FOREVER! Just over 4 years. Don't tell Philip, because I always give him a hard time, but I'm glad we waited as long as we did. I feel like it prepared us so much more for marriage and plus we didn't have to move into an apartment. I LOVE LOVE LOVE our house and I wouldn't have it any other way.

5. Do you have any children:
No. Not yet, but I know Philip will be a great daddy!

6. Do you have any house pets:
Yes, we have 2 cute little dogs and 1 crazy cat. Dog 1 Tootsie - loves to cuddle and get as much human attention as possible. Dog 2 Bentley - loves as much attention as possible and will go to any extreme to get it. Of course he does have a hard time opening up to new people, but once that is gone he will make you and everyone else his best friend. Of course are completely insane cat Trouble- she has completely wiped out any mouse population near our house and most days you can either find her meowing at the top of her lungs for attention or sleeping in millions of different crazy ways. I love all ours pets and life just wouldn't be the same without them.


7. What are some of your favorite activities together:
Together we are both HUGE sports fans! We can usually be found at any Real home game or University of Utah football home games. We both love snowboarding and love watching our TV shows together.


8. Do you have a favorite vacation spot:
We both love Disneyland and probably would go there 4 or 5 times a year if we could. Other than that probably my property in the mountains, I know that's not everyone's idea of a vacation, but growing up camping was the only vacations my family ever took.


9. Where was your first date?
Oh boy.. Our first date, Philip pulled up to my house to pick me up and the moment he showed up I noticed he was wearing the EXACT same pair of sunglasses that I owned. It was crazy, talk about just knowing. After that we went to Chilis where he spent most of the time talking to his friends on the phone haha I never let him forget it either. After that we just decided to drive around and talk, but first he wanted to meet my cute lil puppy (at the time) Tootsie. So we stopped to pick her up and you'll never believe what he did... He HUNG her out the window. She weighs 3.5 lbs now so she was probably half that then. How he ever got a second date? Who knows haha


10. When did you first kiss?
Our first kiss was on what Philip considers to be our first actual date. It was a few days or so after our first one and let me tell you about Philip. He was hilarious. We decided we were going to go see a movie. He was to scared to try and hold my hand so he asked me to tickle scratch his hand. I stopped then he made me do it again, and finally he held my hand. It was the cutest funniest most unique way a guy had ever tried holding my hand, but that's Philip for ya. After the movie he took me back to my car and we talked for a good 2 or 3 hours and I told him I needed to go. He made me wait and dance with him in the parking lot of the mall. After so long he finally kissed me on the forehead and then kissed my lips. He still knows what song we were dancing to when he kissed me (it was some Backstreet Boys song and what can I say I never listened to them).


11. Who said I Love you First?
Philip did and it was super cute. I love when he gets all shy and embarrassed about things. One night we were sitting there talking and he just looked at me in the eyes and tried talking to me and said never mind. I had to coax him into telling me what he was going to say and he turns to me and says, "How do you tell someone you're falling in love with them?" I remember my heart just dropped and it was one of the most perfect moments.


12. Did you get married in a church?
No we wanted to get married outside and we took a risk. I remember 3 weeks before our wedding it was supposed to be in the high 70s and by the time of the actual wedding it was rainy and thunderstorms. Our wedding coordinator called me in the morning and asked me what I wanted to do. I told her let's go for the outside (after all it was $100.00 more). Right in the middle you could hear the thunder and by the end it was pouring. I hear rain is a good sign though?


13. Do you get flowers often?
It depends. We are on a pretty tight budget right now, so not too often, but Philip does go out of his way to get me flowers. He doesn't just get me flowers because he messes up or something either. He gets them just because. Whenever he sees a sunflower he usually stops to pick it for me, he knows I love them.

14. Where did you go on your honeymoon:
Cancun (technically Maya Riviera), Mexico and man do we have stories haha. I love looking back at it all now and laughing, but it was wasn't funny at the time. It was a blast though, I've never left the country before and man was it nice and sunny.


15. How long did you know each other before you started dating?
We talked for probably a month or two before we decided we wanted to hang out. I think I fell in love with Philip before I ever met him.


16. What do you call each other most of the time?
We both use the same, babe, boo, baby lol we're not very unique. We do have other random nicknames for each other, but we don't use those as often


17.Where do you each work or go to school?
I work at the IRS and will be transferring to Weber State for Spring semester. Philip just got a new job at Lexington Law (I'm so proud of him) and might go to Weber for Spring semester if he doesn't coach high school basketball.


18. Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple?
Probably our work schedules (although that will be changing with Philip's new job). I work 6 am- 230 pm and he worked 9 am - 6 pm in Salt Lake. Most nights we get an hour or two together before I need to try to go to bed before work the next day. Or it could be that Philip is carefree and I'm not so carefree. I like to live on a budget and have things planned out, Philip on the other hand haha not so much.

19. Did you go to the same school?
Not high school and we have gone to the same schools, but I don't know if we ever have at the same time.


20. Are you from the same home town?
Nope I grew up in Roy and he grew up in Cottonwood Heights.


21. Who is smarter?
I think it depends on the subject. Philip can figure out math percentages in his head and is a history buff. I know nothing about history, geography, and never have retained what I've learned on those subjects. I think I'm better at english, writing, and other stuff. We both compliment each other well I think.


22. Who is more sensitive?
Me.


23.Where do you eat out most as a couple?
La Costa and Texas Roadhouse. For special occasions, Rodizzio grill, Tepanyaki, or Timbermine. Those don't happen too often anymore though.


24. What attracted you about him/her first?
Lots of things. I met Philip a few months after my dad passed away and I don't really remember smiling after that till I met him. Philip can always make me laugh (even if we're arguing), he has the best personality, and the cutest smile (not his forced smile). He listened and cared about my life and he has the prettiest blue eyes. How could I not fall for him?


25. Who is more social?
Definitely Philip. If we're sitting in a room I like to be the one who listens more and he likes to be the one that people are listening to. He's always been way more outspoken then me.


26. Who is the neat-freak?
Me. I feel like there is always something that needs to be cleaned up and if we're having people over I want our house to be cleaned from top to bottom. Philip doesn't mind if things are not clean.


28. Who hogs the bed?
It depends on the night sometimes I think between him and our pets I have an inch or room and other times I know I'm taking the whole bed along with all the blankets.


29. Who wakes up earlier?
Me. I have to be to work at 6 am so I'm usually up at 430 5 o clock. On the weekends too he usually sleeps in and I'm up. Although lately I can't get enough sleep after my surgery.


30. What are HIS favorite things and HER favorite things?
Philip loves basketball, football, video games, snowboarding, sleeping, spending time with his friends, and watching TV or movies.

I love soccer, football, reading, crafting, spending time with my friends & family, trying to decorate our house, cooking, and snowboarding.