The Sprinkle on Top

For the past three to four years, my life has been a whirlwind of changes and all I've been able to do is run with it to keep up. Justin and I got married in 2012, we moved to Virginia in 2014 where he was a full time grad student and I had a full time job as an Account Manager at WorldStrides and a part time job at Book Review 22 . Needless to say we were very busy - the dishes often stacked up in the sink, the hamper overflowed with dirty laundry, the fridge was barren except for condiments and unidentified leftovers. We made it work and loved every moment of it... Justin graduated from the University of Virginia in 2016 and we moved to Vernal, UT where he started his career as a Speech Language Pathologist at Ashley Regional Medical Center . I still work part time for Book Review 22, but the deal was if I put my sweet hubby through grad school, I could wash my hands of working full time. And he's honored that ten-fold. One thing I love to do, but rarely had time ...

When I tell people that Justin and I live in Vernal, Utah, I often get a lot of scrunched up noses followed by the question, "Why? What's in Vernal?" Well, a lot actually. Although very different from Charlottesville, Vernal has it's own desert beauty which puts me in awe of the beautiful world God created for His children. Moonshine Arch is one of those beautiful gems hidden smack dab in the middle of Vernal.  Justin, Lucy, and I decided to explore this hidden gem on Saturday and it turned out to be the perfect day to just pack up and go. The sun shone but, being April, we had a nice breeze to cool the 2.4 mile, round trip hike.  The best part, too, is that once you reach the arch it is such a fun place to let the kids go wild. They can climb to the top side of the arch, play in the sand or explore to their hearts content.  Check out our first hike of the season below!  More information on the hike and directions are below the photos.  ...

The first Sunday Justin and I attended our new ward in Vernal, the bishop called us into his office. We assumed it was just a "get-to-know-you" meeting... We walked out of his office 10 minutes later with a new calling: Co-primary teachers for the Valiant 9 class (9 year olds). We love teaching primary and have actually been lucky enough to partner up before. I've got the whole hand-out and object lesson thing down and Justin is pro at telling stories and engaging the class. This year the subject for primary is Church History so we've been learning about Joseph Smith, the angel Moroni, and the publishing of the Book of Mormon. Last week we had a review of everything we've taught the class thus far. Instead of just reviewing everything, Justin and I spiced it up with a little game of Jeopardy. Winning team's prize was a plate full of Easter cookies. The TWIST : Each 500 point question came with a challenge. If the team wins the challenge, the que...

Photo Credit: Aninas Recipes Since Day 1 baby has had me craving salt, bread, butter, crackers, cheese, and bagels which I gladly indulged in with the thought,  "Hey, at least it's not sugar and cookies!" Maybe I should have paid more attention in my college health class or maybe done more research when I found out I was pregnant. The cravings baby gave me are not healthy alternatives to sugar because they are LOADED with carbs! My glucose test is coming up next week and so I asked my doctor what I could do to prepare and give myself a better chance of passing. The answer: Don't overdo the carbs. Well that's nice. More so than passing the test, I really want me and baby to be healthy. For the past 30 days (and hopefully beyond) I've put myself on a detailed meal plan to ensure I'm eating healthy options at each meal and when I need a snack without overdoing it on the carbs me and baby so desperately want. Below are some healthy options I have ...

Prince of Peace: Liz Lemon Swindle Anyone who's ever been pregnant knows of the 1st and 2nd trimester woes: getting up every night because you have to pee uncontrollably, inhaling your food like there's not enough for everyone and then sleeping off the calories, stretch marks, toughing out colds because you can't take medicine and the never-ending backaches. These have been my main symptoms of pregnancy besides the exciting kicks and stretches that my little girl gives me every so often.  My pregnancy has been very easy going, but e arlier this week I had my first bout of real pain that has made me wonder how I am ever going to survive labor and delivery.  Yesterday I woke up at 7:30AM, like I usually do, with a stiff sort of bloating pain in my lower right abdomen.  The doctor tells me that this is ligament pain and is a result of relaxin being released into my body to relax the joints in preparation for labor. This is normal for me in the mornings but I use ...

I remember the day my entire world changed - it was 5:30 AM on a Tuesday in December. Justin and I had spent the previous weekend packing up last minute belongings, loading them onto a moving truck, and were up to our elbows in cleanser scrubbing walls, tubs, and floors as we moved out of our home in Charlottesville, VA. There were a lot of changes coming our way. Justin had graduated with his master's degree from the University of Virginia and had been hired at Ashley Regional Medical Center in Vernal, UT. I, in turn, quit my job at WorldStrides as an Account Manager and prepared to dedicate my time to working for Book Review 22 and publishing my own novel. We made a road trip of our travels back West, which included stops in Memphis, Dallas, Albuquerque, Moab, and Price. Price is where we picked up our beautiful new Golden Retriever puppy - Lucy. Monday night before our move, we purchased our last meal from Monsoon Siam (my personal favorite restaurant!), and ate it in a ...