Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Life, Sweet Life.


Life, Sweet Life

Josie's gradma/babysitter/personal trainer helpin' her get fit for swimsuit season. 

"I be up in da gym just workin' on my fitness She's ma witness!" 
Go Josie go!
 Also, Jakey, Josie, Cleo and Clementine used to kick it with the Backstreet boys. So that's cool. Britnee and I laughed a little too hard at this.

 St. Patty's Day Was a Hit!!!

St. Patty's Day 2015 is in the books. The last two years we went out, and this year with trying to save money and all I didn't want to. But I did want to celebrate somehow, so I just put green food coloring in the stir fry that we already had and made asparagus and pears. I'm holding up my hand in the picture to show how green it was. I put food coloring all over cookie dough to make the cookies and it took like a week for it to come off. 

But the kids wore their festive bandanas, Dallin had my lucky 4 leaf clover pinned to his shirt all day, and we listened to Irish music during dinner. It was surprisingly fun! Maybe I'm easily entertained, but the Irish have some catchy music! lol (And I was proud of myself for making dinner)

Happy First day of Spring!

So I took several pictures and Josie and Bentley were looking but Jake kept looking around, so I cut his picture from one picture and put it onto this one. I was so proud of myself because you can't really even tell! I'm an editing genius! I can't wait to get a fancy camera and do more of that.

Soooo..... this was us trying to figure out how to reenact this poster in a movie theater. 

People stopped in the hallway to watch. lol embarrassing.
We went opening day for insurgent with brandon and sarah, and they're so funny and cool. After we went to firehouse subs. It is always so good to see them. They're such a cute couple and great friends. 

The Jordan River Trail Again!

Ahh I love that place. It's so relaxing to just let the kids off the leash and roam. They both did so good staying with us, and it was cute to see them so happy in the water. Josie's conquering her fear, she goes in further every time.

The Long-Awaited, Fantastic Clearlink Party!!!!

It was so fun. A dealer named Carlos taught me and Britnee how to play blackjack and I was actually doing pretty good! They had a band and great food.



I absolutely adore the dress that Amy let me borrow. The back is gorg. It felt like we were going to prom because my mom took pictures like this right before we left and tried to pose us and everything like she used to when I was in high school. lol
I didn't want to spend a lot to get my nails done but they look hideous since I bite them, so I got the glue on ones from walgreens and they actually looked pretty good! They only stayed for 3 days, but that's what you get for 5 bucks. It was good for the party.

Miss Kiminy is so sweet, funny, and loyal. She's always been a good friend to me and I love her advice....
Although the first part is funny (classic kim) the last part actually meant alot to me and she really always listens and helps me through my weird ramblings/problems. I'm lucky to have a friend like her.

I've started watching this new show on E! and it's pretty good. Some parts are kinda dark, but I like the love story starting.

 Me and Rach!

 We went to a zumba class together and it was so so fun! Haha I always love an opportunity to shake what my momma gave me and burn calories at the same time. I can't believe she's never tried zumba before! After we went to a sports bar and grill and it was sooooo good! I want to go back the turkey avocado sandwich was to die for. Anyway we got to catch up and have fun and it was still only like 11 dollars total for the whole night!
She's ma sista from anotha mista. lol love you rach!
 This morning, I conquered the stupid twice a year thing I hate. But I got through it like a champ lol I didn't even cry or run away! Plus no cavities!
(Dallin could not say the same, but at least they're all taken care of and it was pretty cheap.)

Yesterday was a relaxing day for us. After work I went to the gym just to use the massage chair haha best perk of being a gym member. It feels so good and it's free! Anyway, It was raining outside and we just wanted to stay in and cuddle, and we were excited about the house and the fireplace. (and I've always found fire really relaxing to watch) So instead we just watched fire on youtube! hahaha It made us all fall asleep!
(only problem was when I went to bed I had a dream I had to watch people burn to death and next was my turn...)

Let's Get This Show On The Road!!!

We found out that the renter is moving out and now we can move this weekend (which is a week earlier than we thought!) We're stoked! So, now I have to stop procrastinating and actually start packing things up. I'm sooo excited! I will miss certain things about South Jordan, like all the parks, but I am excited to unpack all the stuff we were storing and to have more space. 

Well, that's it for now! 


 

Peace out Girl Scout.

-Syd :)

Monday, March 16, 2015

Marching Through March :)



Marching Through March

So again, I've been busy, so this is like 2 weeks worth of our life. We've had so much fun. I like taking the time to do the blog because it makes be realize how much we've accomplished and it makes me remember all the fun times and take time to be grateful. (Yes, I know that was a run-on sentence.)

Two Weekends Ago Date

Our last Saturday was so fun! It has been such great weather, so we spent a lot of time outside. I went on a bike ride most the days after work, and it's so therapeutic! Haha running sucks in comparison! 
Anyway, we went to Daybreak Lake and walked around with the dogs. There were a lot of birds and it was funny to see how much Jakey loved watching them. It was so pretty and relaxing out there. 


I took the kids to the Jordan River Trail one day when Dallin had to work late and I let em swim in the river. Jakey loved it of course, and Josie went in up to her feet (which is more than she'll usually do). She also went pretty far on her own before she rode in the stroller. She's getting a lot better.
 This is another pic from out there. These pictures don't do it justice. It's a really cool trail because there's gazebos out on the water and little benches and sections for the dogs to get in, and play areas for kids and big open fields.

 Geese!

This is Miss Emma Lou at her dress rehearsal. 

She looked so pretty in all of her outfits but she got so many compliments on her talent dress. I was taking a picture of the lipstick so I wouldn't forget what color was best. (Being a hostess is secretly kindof scary because you don't want to mess it up for your contestant! lol ) She got a really bad cold/flu and was feeling terrible during the whole rehearsal. She was such a trooper tho, and she toughed it out. She still did great and she looked great doing it!
 And this is my son. Just chillin like a villain watching tv.

I finished all the Selection books and loved them! Now I'm waiting for the Heir to come out in May so I can read that too! I'm always so sad when I'm done with a series. Now I need something good to read again.

This is my new swimming get-up. For some reason it makes me feel like a frog when I wear it.

 Josie's cute piggy tails!!! :)

 Dallin is such an MVP husband. He surprised me by cleaning and getting flowers :) and then we played with the kids in the teepee and watched the Big Bang Theory with the apple tv. (Its great that way because there's no commercials!)

Last Sunday we went with Britnee and Kevin to this amazing sports bar and grill place and I had the best burger I've had in my entire life. It was huge! The waiter and Britnee both laughed at me when I ordered it. Dallin kept saying he's never seen me eat so much meat, and I never get hamburgers. Soooo good.

 Dallin and Da Boyzzz

Dallin, Kevin, Brian, and a bunch of other clearlinkers got to go to the Jazz game with free dinner under the court before the game for their work incentive that they won. They had fun. 

Sooooo..... graduation is coming up.

The graduation ceremony is April 30th and I've been thinking about what I should put on the top of my cap thing. There are some really funny ones.

 If you have any ideas of what I should do tell me! I like the "Look at me now, I'm gettin paper!" lol and the Hogwarts ones and the "Hope this B.S. pays off!"
I guess I get to wear a medal because I'm "cum laude" so that is pretty cool.

GUESS WHAT!!!!!

You probly already know because Dal Fbooked it. We bought a house! It's in Pleasant Grove and we're stoked!! We went out to dinner to celebrate and of course I'm randomly holding a lobster in our beloved picture with the key for our first house. lol Gotta be different right? 
I'll be honest, it freaked me out a lot to hold that thing, but I couldn't resist!
Twenen, Callie, and Juli you wanted pics! I know it's kindof dark on the one of the outside and they're small, but we don't want to have the address online.
This is our official report for the inspection! I was surprised by how fast the process went by, but now it's going to go by slow because we can't move in for another 3 weeks! AHHH! Lol we love it and we can't wait.

This is my, "Holy Cow We Have A House Now!" face.

The Miss Pleasant Grove Pageant!

It was such a fun experience to be on the other side of pageants. These pics are of the rehearsals and pageant night. Miss Emma Lou did so good!!! She's absolutely gorgeous and talented and funny and smart and we had a blast. 
(p.s. it was also cool to see Jessica, Madi, Donna, and Sean. Small world!)

 The Gutke Family is just such a sweet, good family. They gave me those pretty flowers, a popcorn maker, lots of different types of popcorn and toppings, candy, and movie tickets! Spoiled! And they know just the way to my heart :) popcorn and movies. Yesssssss!! Can't wait to try that bad boy out and see Insurgent when it comes out! They're the best and I loved being hostess to such a sweet girl.
Julie, imagine me saying "Thank you" in a British accent. lol

Rollin' in da Rover.

We had the company range rover this weekend and it was fun to mess with my dad and send him a picture and say we bought a new car. He freaked out so it worked :)
Oh, and there's me and Larry the Lobster again.
 My dad will be happy to know that the 4 leaf clover that I always wore for tests and pageants and sports games was with Emma during Miss PG! Jakey being cuddly and cute. And Pictures at my work. All of a sudden I've had a ton of articles and it was busy today at work. Outside the window tho, I spotted that someone was being patriotic with their writing on that truck lol

 What a Sunrise!!!

Me and my mom walked out of the gym and drove home, and literally within that 5 minutes all these intense colors were already gone. It came and went quick but man it was pretty.

 Look how cool Dallin's eyes are!

haha I know it's weird, but I think its cool how they look brown from far away but when you look closer they almost look yellow or green in some spots.

I saw on pinterest that you should have a hobby that makes you money, a hobby that keeps you fit, and a hobby that keeps you creative. So, I have writing articles and training for the race, but I need something creativey. I think I'm gonna take up painting. I've always wanted to be good at it but I'm not.

So anyway, that's it for my ramblings. Hope you're all livin' the dream, after all, "You only YOLO once."

-Sydney Lester Graff

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Grown Ups

Grown-Ups Playing House

Have you ever felt like adulthood sortof smacked you all at once? I've been feeling all adult-like since we got married and it's weird. I always thought it would be gradual, and I guess it has, but now that we're married it's like "wha-bam" you've arrived. That probably doesn't make sense, but anyway the whole full-time work, marriage, taxes, houses, cars, graduation thing all of sudden makes me feel kindof old. But, I don't mean that in a bad way. It's really fun comparing what I thought life was going to be like to what it actually is. (And I think I'm with the perfect guy because nothing is ever boring lol)
I haven't blogged in a couple weeks because I'm having computer troubles. So this post is like 2 and a half weeks worth. 

So like I said before, I'm thinking of doing a triathalon in August. I still haven't committed, but I'm doing the training and seeing how I like it. So far I think it's fun. Dallin swam in high school, and I can't even put my head under water without plugging my nose, so he gave me a little lesson. Surprisingly, I wasn't as bad as I thought I'd be. He gave me a 7 out of 10! However, I'm sure I was a little pathetic to look at and he's just saying that to be nice.

Miss Emma Lou has her Miss PG workshops every Saturday morning, and last Saturday I missed it because I've had a little cold, but the Saturday before I was there. We worked out afterward and this was the craziest machine I've ever seen! lol you get used to seeing the same things, so when I saw this of course I had to try it. It was so weird. You just keep climbing the later and it feels like you're falling the whole time.

And this is her practicing for swimsuit walk. Stunna! Woo! They're pretty hard core making them do that at a workshop, lol we never had to until dress rehearsal! Emma did great!
 

St. Patty's Day is upon us ladies and gentlemen! I made this wreath last year and never took it apart so I used it again this year.
 The cute fabric at the bottom is the table runner that Shelly made. She's really talented. She could probly make so much money off of those and her quilts that she makes because they're so good.
 The following two pictures are on here because we just miss Hawaii and we saw these recently and reminisced a little.
 This was the main street right in front of the beach. Dallin's phone does cool panoramic pics.

I forgot in the last post that I went to the Miss Orem opening social and saw Amy, Monique, Camille, Kim, and Maddy. Amy is letting me borrow this dress for the clearlink party on the 21st and I'm so excited! It's so pretty on.
Being at the opening social as a spectator was odd but cool. It made me think back to how it was for me 1 year ago. I couldn't believe that it's already been a year, and it really made me miss the experiences and the people.
I'll always be so grateful that I did pageants. Good times and great ppl.

This was the Saturday date 2 Saturdays ago. We went to the Olympic ice oval and went cosmic ice skating! Yes it exists! We love hanging out with Kevin and Britnee, they are so fun. First we got coffees at beans and brews, then we skated around the regular oval, then we did the cosmic skating in the center, and we went to the Pie pizza after. Such a fun experience.
I took a little skating lessons when I was young, and Dallin said he hasn't skated much, so I thought he was going to be worse than me. Apparently, all that has left me because I suck! Britnee and I were falling on each other and it was so funny. And the boys had to wear the same hoodie, lol that was weird.
 Happy birthday to Selena, Sara, and Brian Graff! We went to celebrate for Selena and Sara's birthdays, and lil Rudy here experienced his first obnoxious flash of a camera! lol that face!

Rachael and I had our monthly girl-date. We went to see the Wedding Ringer movie and it was awesome because right before I found some coupons for free tickets and free concessions! It was an okay movie (some cheesey parts) and I got to ride in her brand new Lexus!
 I was on pinterest and I found Dallin's doppelganger! Lol this is what Dallin would look like if he got a bicep tat and gelled his mustache! hahaha
        
This last Saturday, Britnee and Kevin had the Clearlink Range Rover for the weekend, so we took a drive in it with them. It was really cool. We drove around, went to dinner at El Chihuahua, and then as if we weren't stuffed, went to Leatherby's right after for dessert. It was so fun being in a fancy car and eating enough for 3 days of a healthy calorie intake with gut-busting funny people.
 This is Dallin the day before getting the surprise massage I got him for hitting his bonus at work that he worked so hard for. He loved it. (I'm pretty sure he didn't want me taking his picture though.)
 For those of you who wonder why Josie is overweight...this is why. This is the face she gives me every time I eat. How can I resist but to give her just a little peice? She's so freaking cute!
 We looked at a townhouse in Pleasant Grove, loved it, decided it was a good financial decision, and then made an offer. It was a "For sale by owner" place, so this was Dallin writing the offer. He is really excited about it (although he doesn't look like it in this pic) this was just late at night and he was trying to do it right.
I'm so glad that he is so responsible and thorough with this house thing. We've had to think about what will be smartest in the long run, so it's taken a while, but he's been really smart about the whole thing.

What happened?!?! We were having weather in the 70's just a little while ago and all of a sudden this freak storm hit. It was a total white-out in some places! Ugh. Utah weather is bi-polar.
 

Last night we played a game together and danced in the kitchen. It sounds stupid, but it's everything I dreamed marriage would be. He's so thoughtful and fun. BFF's foreve's.
 This was a V-day thing that's still on the fridge. I wrote down all of my favorite memories. It's so nice to see that when I'm busy or stressed because it reminds me of what's really important in life.

So this was just a weird thing I noticed...

 It's funny how different we are from who we used to be, but also how many similarities there are as well. (Dallin was a psycho on that 4-wheeler btw. He almost flipped it on himself several times.)
 

Gotta Go!
Stay Classy Salt Lake City!
-Syd