Saturday, January 2, 2016

That's A Wrap 2015!

I cannot believe this. It's already 2016. Life has a way of flashing before your eyes but still dragging at the same time. That's why I really think New Years Resolutions are the most important part of the year. If you don't grab your life and mold it into what you want it to be, you'll never have what you want and you'll always wonder. I remember near the end of 2014 feeling like we had the most boring life ever, so I made it my New Years Resolution, and we had the most exciting year by far. Everyone deserves to be happy, and life's too short to waste time being jealous or weighed down by self-pity. I'm so proud of myself for making my life what I want it to be, and I think each resolution and year will have a different lesson to teach me. This year I learned that fun things are all around you, you don't have to be rich, and if you don't make time for fun, it won't happen. That sounds ridiculous, but really, the major reason our life changed so dramatically was because we had a plan each week and Saturdays were always reserved. It was so good for us too, I got to know Dallin so much better doing all those outlandish things than I ever would have by simply going to a movie. We found different activities to get into together, and it was so nice to have something to continually look forward to and a "bff" to be surprised, excited, confused, intrigued with. I'm planning to keep the Saturday-night-try-something-unique-date-night-thing going. Hopefully I can just get into the habit of things and then keep adding on my resolution each year. It's the ultimate idea of self-improvement- that's the other reason I like New Years Resolutions. No one's going to be there to kick your butt if you don't. :) So now that I'm picking a more challenging resolution, we'll see how I do. I'm just eager to improve navigating life in general- socially, cleanliness, relationships, career, health, lifestyle, finances, etc. I'm a lot more at ease knowing that I'm going somewhere and I'm at least taking it one step at a time.
Anyway...


Fashion Place Mall Outing

We went to the mall up in SLC before Christmas and probably spent a little too much money. But hey- SPENDING MONEY IS SO FUN! lol And we got good deals because it was Christmas Eve so pretty much everything was on sale. So if you've been around us lately and thought, "what is that marvelous smell?"    It's us. We got cologne and perfume that could woo a sabertooth tiger into submission. These were our fortunes at the food court. Apparently we're going on a trip soon!!!

The beauty of Christmas

This year was kind of a weird Christmas for me because of how much has changed. Christmas is different as an adult, and this year was the first time we were really on our own. At first I didn't like it because it's not as mysterious and people don't get as into it when you're not 6 years old anymore. But I've realized that it is still will always be a magical season- no matter how old you are. I mean look at this picture! We had some really sweet, quiet moments together on Christmas Eve. I had fun getting gifts for family members, seeing Jake & Josie open gifts (yes, they rip off wrapping paper), seeing the lights, being with family during the day, and skyping with family all over the country. I think you just have to look forward to different things as an adult- but it can still be a really cool, irreplaceable experience. One of the awe-inspiring things is sitting is this dark, tree-lit setting and watching the snow fall outside. Something about it just makes your soul sigh. It definitely recharged my batteries in preparation for coming back to teaching after Christmas break. 

Speaking of Snow...

We got so much snow on Christmas Eve that we had to literally dig our car out so that we could drive to my mom's. Josie loved it. Jakey only loved it for a short time and then he wanted to come back in and be warm. Josie loves to run and play in the snow. I swear- if you let her, she'd be out there all day and never come back in. (Especially if she's wearing her boots.)

A Two-some Christmas

Dallin was so thoughtful and sweet, and I was so thankful for what he got me. It sure was a surprise! He had heard me talk about how people spend disgusting amounts of money on workout clothes from LuLu Lemon, and how I wish I could justify buying stuff there. So he got me the cutest outfit! And it was flattering that he thinks I'm a much smaller size than I actually am. ;) It took both of us wrestling that outfit for 20 minutes to get it off of me.... had it been less expensive he probably would've cut me out of it. Anyway, he played it just right- "their sizes probably run small" and not another word :) lol
Among other things, Dallin got this from me. (I just took this picture tonight. Notice that from christmas to now he's already used 2/3 of his punches. Needless to say he was excited about that one.)

"I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas"

Look at all that snow! This was the first year in a long time we've actually had a white christmas. I thoroughly loved it! 
Dallin told his family about this weird, gross, opera type singing that I do- especially with this song. We mostly do it as a joke (who can make their voice sound the most horrendous). And we often imitate the awful singers from American Idol and their weird body language while they sing. So basically it's just really off key and vibrato-ey and I do all these hand gestures and stuff. But now that the Graffs know about it they keep begging me to sing them "White Christmas," and my face automatically turns red and I can't stop laughing. I don't know if the day will ever come that I will really do that in front of anyone because it is so embarrassing. 

Josie the snow devil

This is a video of Josie running out the door, hurling herself into the snow, and getting completely swallowed by it. (hope the video works)

April 2, 2016 is booked!

Yes, I already know in advance that we have plans on April 2nd. Dallin's Dad got us tickets to the Justin Bieber concert for Christmas!!!! We seriously did one of those weird jumpy things while screaming and peeing. 
haha you could say we're fans. We'll probably be the oldest ones in the arena- I may even see my students! lol 

Jakey's Seasonal Depression

He's so depressed that it's cold and snowy outside. Poor guy. We even have to coax him into going out just to go to the bathroom. 
My dad's Christmas gift for Dallin from last year is definitely being used! 

The Arizona Story Begins...

Once upon a time, in a very cold land, a prince and princess went on a trip to a very warm land. They were to see the best football team in the flesh, as they ferociously battled the villainous Arizona Cardinals. The prince and princess were unfortunately bamboozled into flying with Allegiant Air, the most evil of all airlines. The evil airline delayed the flight for 5 hours and would not reimburse the princess in anyway at all. This is the Princess sewing with her mom and pup while waiting on the incompetent airline. 
Alas, the prince and princess finally made it to the airport, waited an extraordinary amount of time, and then flew off to the land of the cacti. The princess fell asleep on her forehead and left a huge red spot, and read a book to pass the time. Once in Arizona, the princess and her family anxiously awaited the big game.
As soon as they reach the long-awaited destination, the princess's brother & sister-in-law whisked them away on a bold, new adventure. The wondrous experience was called "Top Golf," and tested their skill and focus. The prince and princess were overjoyed by this activity and the food that filled their bellies!
At last, the day of the battle had arrived. They went to the stadium early to participate in a social activity which the locals call "tail-gating." They saw people parachuting onto the grounds, a live musical band, a group of traveling drummers, and tents set up as far as the eye could see filled with food, tvs, dj's, and games. The masses created a tapestry of red and green, all clad in the colors of their people. The "trash talk" was bountiful as the prince and princess headed into the stadium.
The game began, and the prince and princess enjoyed the view, the exuberance of the fans, and the food. Popular singers called "Jordan Sparks" and "Blake Shelton" performed and participated in the festivities. After a long, hard-fought crusade, much blood was shed from the Packers. The packers left empty handed, as the Cardinals left with pride in their hearts.
The princess enjoyed dancing to the beat of the drums.

 
Although their glorious team did not win, the princess enjoyed gourmet icecream, cinnabon, and seeing the sights of Pheonix. They toured model homes, played games with family, and laughed till it hurt. All in all, the princess and the prince had a good trip. They made it home safely, with no delays the second time. And, of course, they lived happily ever after. 

The Dress I Never Gave Up On

Wow it's actually really hard to write like that! I'm done doing that now. Anyway, this is the dress that I bought online specifically for the roof, but didn't end up wearing it to the roof. Here's the reader's digest version of what happened: I accidentally put the wrong shipping address, went door to door in my complex and the complex next door asking if others got it, Dallin thought it was stolen, the company and shipping company didn't want to help at first, I complained and sent a thousand angry emails, and then they ended up pulling through for me and I got the order. I was so proud that I made it happen and didn't waste my money that I wanted a picture in it. Plus it turned out really cute and comfortable and it was only 17 bucks! I'm bummed I couldn't wear it to the roof, but I think I'm going to wear it to a Clearlink function soon. (I can't believe the winter party is already coming up again!)

Merry Christmas to us.

You know you're a boring, old person when you get excited about a new dishwasher. Well that was another part of our Christmas present to each other. Our dishwasher was awful, so we waited and got a really good deal on a new one. It was supposed to be 700 and we paid 450!

Pandemic with the Boys.

Matthew, Ben, Dallin, and I played Pandemic at our place and it was really fun! I wasn't much help because I was so tired and just bad at board games in general, but since it's a team game it didn't end up mattering. It was so fun to hang out with the guys. Guys are different than girls, (don't get me wrong, girls are fun) they're much more laid back and less of a filter on their mouths. Lol always a riot!

Happy New Year!

I changed out the decorations but Dallin wouldn't let me take down the Christmas tree yet. "It relaxes me" he says. So all the lights, decorations, and signs were taken down and the tree just stayed up for the first week of January. It secretly really bugs me when people leave their Christmas lights up all the way through March like they always seem to do.
Anyway I was really excited to use my new wreath! It says Happy New Year in case you can't read it.

Alabama's last game of 2015

We went over to Dallin's Aunt's house to watch the Alabama game with his family. It was really fun, especially since they won! 

Harry Potter Fanatic

I have now watched all the movies. Twenen gave me all the movies for Christmas (all of them in a set!) so now I know how it ends. It was really surprising! I'm now in the second book and it's a lot more relaxing to read when you already know what's going to happen. I'm just reading it really slowly, but I really like it because there are some things the movie leaves out.

Nailzzz

Party like it's 1999

We went over to a friend's house for a New Years Party and it was really fun. We played games and ate and listened to music and talked. I'm really glad we got out of the house and had a fun New Years instead of just being lame and staying in like we did last year. That's just another example of how we've changed!

You Sickey

Dallin got sick when we were in Arizona, and we all made fun of him. It took a few days but then it hit me, Trenden, Kaylynn, and Kaden too. Then it wasn't so funny. I had to seriously camp out in the bathroom and lay on the floor because I was throwing up so often. Luckily it only lasted 2 days and then I was good. It was the same for them too, but seriously, that was the worst I've ever felt in my life. Dallin was so good at taking care of me, and I was so grateful for him.

My Own Personal Jeweler

Dallin took it upon himself one night to polish every nook and cranny on my ring and clean it till it shined. I have never seen it that clean!

My Babysitting Gig

So this time, I haven't been babysitting humans, but dogs instead. My mom and tom went on a cruise with her siblings and mom, so while they were gone we watched Bentley. It was exhausting! He is autistic and he was really anxious the whole time. But I felt bad for him and he was cute about it. He is very obedient and always did what we told him to. 

He stayed at our house for a couple days and then the rest of the week I went and stayed up at my moms. It sucked being away from Dallin for a week and not having my own stuff that I'm used to. But we finally got it down so that they would all eat at the same time!
Bentley was so sad. He does that weird thing where he just sits there and stares away from you at the wall like he's so upset he can't even look at you. And then he curled up in a ball and I couldn't get him to move. Poor guy is used to his routines and all the change really messed him up.

Our Cliche New Years Resolution

Nobody make fun- yes, we're wanting to get fit. We took some time and wrote down our goals, and our plan for getting there. So far we've been a bit behind because of dog sitting and looking around at prices. But we have done pretty well all things considered. I decided that vasa was the best value and got a pass there. We're trying to make it something that we can maintain so we're not going all-out crazy. We're just going 3 times a week and eating healthier than we were. 
I'm so out of shape that things I used to consider really easy are now really hard for me. I'm excited to trim down my legs and gut a little bit. And I think it'd be fun to be in good enough shape that we can do some races this summer.

We Actually Cook a little bit now

We made this chicken that has A1, onions, tomatoes, and some other stuff and it was soooo good! This is the recipe. 

The Book. It's Tradition, but it sucks every year.

Well, about 27 hours and a call to Shutterfly later.... the book has been made and arrived. Holy crap. Every year I say something like "why am I even doing this!? It takes so much time and I already have the blog anyway!" But Dallin always talks me out of it and says how much he wants one for each year and how cool they are to have. And he's right, after all the work is over and I have it in my hands, it is really cool to sit and reminisce about all the amazing experiences we had that year. Now we have 4 of them!

Loving this song lately!


Our Dumbest Date Yet

A week ago Saturday we borrowed Matthew's van to go get the dishwasher, so we had dinner with them, went to the mall to return my workout clothes that are sized for an anorexic 12 year old, (I'm not bitter at all about them not fitting me lol) got the dishwasher, and went home and installed it with Matthew. Since you can't really count that as a date, afterward we played Jeremy's game, which is a game we used to love and play a lot when we were first dating. I have never beaten Dallin at it, so this time when I did, we both freaked out and I had to get a picture of the score for documentation. That may never happen again, but at least it happened once! (The spelling on our names is just a joke. We like to call each other "Cindy & Dylan" since that's what so many people mix our names up as.)

My new outfit that I got from my exchange at LuLu Lemon fits much better and is sooo cute. Even the bag is fancy!! Seriously, now I know why it's so expensive. They are the most comfortable clothes I've ever worn. Plus, they're laced with silver or something like that which I guess makes it so that they won't get the "perma-stink." The struggle is real for me unfortunately. I've lost many-a-workout-shirt to the perma-stink.

The Men doing Manly things

Lets just say we're lucky Matthew knows what he's doing. lol Dallin and Jake were mostly there for emotional support. THANK YOU MATTHEW!!! Our new dishwasher works great! (I'm also exaggerating a little. Dallin did help, and he was acting concerned for the purposes of a comedic photo. Jake, however, did nothing. But he made sure he got in the photo so people would think he's a hard worker.)

The Beauty All Around Us

Dallin took this beaut from his office. He has such a pretty view. I do too from some places by our school. But, Utah in general is a pretty cool place. 

Alabama Wins the National Championships!!!

I'm good luck. I wished for it to happen and it did! Roll Tide! National Champs this year over Clemson in a very exciting game! 

Life at Summit Academy

I love my job! Yes, it's still fun to me. Even half way through the year. 
But this time of year everybody's energy and optimism levels do seem to drop lol I thought this was pretty accurate. It took a second for me to get back into the swing of things after Christmas break.
Our first semester is over, and today was our first day of 2nd semester. This was taken a week or so ago while I was visiting the Draper campus to watch and help with their Social Dance class. I got a lot of helpful ideas and I ended up being really glad I went. It helped me to know what I'm in for here! hahaha Today was our first day of ballroom and the class did really well, and it was so fun to teach!
The presents I get are so thoughtful :) 

Since it's the end of the first semester, all the teachers are busy putting the grades in and making them official. In PE, we did our last fitness test. I still end up teaching all the same students since the student body is so small. They also offered PE as an elective for students to take again if they want, and a lot students did. So I have very few names to learn!
The yearbook staff went from like 17 to 8! A lot of students had trouble getting it into their schedules because other classes conflicted, so we're going to have our hands full going to events and getting everything done before April! I have really motivated students who have caught the vision and are excited about photography, journalism and design so it will still be fun. This feature was actually found by one of the students on our camera. 

I'm a huge fan of Harmons.

Okay that sounds weird, but while I was staying at my moms for the week, I went to Harmons and it rocked. I wish we had a Harmons closer to us. They have such fresh, amazing tasting stuff, and more options! They have more organic, gourmet cheese, homemade stuff from local people, and their deli offers waaaaaay more than the typical rotisserie chicken.

Hover Boards are all the rage

Haha this is a typical day in the life for Dallin at Clearlink! I'm just kidding- he works so hard and I'm so proud of him. Speaking of work, they won the competition! Dallin so relieved and happy. They're getting 100,000 more calls because of it.
I tried one of these boards while I was babysitting and almost fell on my face. 
Big Congrats to Dallin for winning the competition and helping to make millions for the company and his new job as training manager and for being such a boss in general. BOOM.

Missed these two!

So last monday I went over and hung out with these cuties. We ate dinner, went to walmart, played a game, made smoothies, talked. It was just a really chill night and I missed them.

Family Dinner and Skype Sesh.

All the graff fam had dinner at matthew & shanna's (breakfast with crepes and everything) and then afterward we skyped with Aubrey and the parents. It was fun!

Monthly GNO

This month we did the usual- dinner & a movie. We went to this authentic mexican place and it was great! They gave us plates big enough for 6 people, and the guy there talked me into trying Cactus! It's really squishey. After that we still had time to kill so we went to the cupcake place here in PG and then a movie. 
(Grammar nazis prepare for a run-on sentence.) This was the movie we saw and I was so traumatized and I hated it and I don't think it should've ever been made and I can't believe there were young kids in that theater and I didn't sleep for 3 nights. Phew. Ya, my problem with movies is that bad. I freaked out to Dallin and luckily he only made fun of me for being a weeny in his head instead of out loud. Anyway, don't see it. That's my advice. (I seriously had to watch keeping up the kardashians for hours to get the obscene images out of my head.)

Out with the Old, in with the New

I went and did it. I finally took my pageant dresses to a consignment shop. At first it was hard for me to get used to the idea since they're worth so much money and I have such great memories in them. However, they're just sitting in my closet not being used, and a lot of them I can't even fit into anymore. So I took them to this cute place in orem, and we'll see if they rent. If not, at least I don't have to store them and it's not costing me anything. 

Latest Date

Okay, last Saturday was probably our funnest date yet. It was AMAZEBALLS. We went to Park City and watched the Skeleton World Championships on the track from the 2002 Olympics. It's all of these winding turns and then straight parts and the whole track has a trail next to it and you can go wherever you want to watch. They have tvs and commentators over speakers so that you know how they're doing on parts you can't see. We watched the mens and the womens, and they had people from 20 different countries there competing. The picture on the top left here is the finish. When they come in they do interviews in front of the camera that go onto the tvs, and see their families and stuff. And we saw one guy have a hard time stopping and kind of came in sideways and fell off! When you stand there it's so exciting because you can hear them coming before you see them, and then when you see them it's like a flash and they're gone! It's a mile long, and they usually take like 30-40 seconds! They're going like 80 miles an hour face first on this tiny sled! 
We hiked up to the top because we wanted to see the starting line, and it was much harder than I thought it was going to be because I'm pitifully out of shape. We got to the starting line and got to be the closest ones to the athletes. The energy was unreal. You could just feel how serious this moment was for these athletes that trained for years all for just 40 seconds. They run and then as soon as they hit the ground their time starts, and there are certain benchmarks on certain turns that you want to hit. So if you make it to the first turn in under 60 seconds you're amazing. They were so freaking ripped! Their legs are like tree trunks and they're wicked fast. Everybody stays quiet while they're getting set up, and then you scream like crazy when they start running. We even made it on tv since we were standing so close. The top left is where the coach goes over to watch and they record his reactions. When the USA guys went everybody was going crazy. It was so cool because it was soooo close. They were so fast. They were in 1st and 2nd, and then got beat out just barely. So Latvia and Russia and Germany got the top 3. Then Usa. So it still wasn't bad. It was so funny to watch Dallin get all heated about it and learning the guys names. He was leaning over the barrier so far and saying "come on matt, come on matt, you've got this matt" lol 
They have these guys with brooms have to go clean the track quickly after each time. It was so cool to hear the friends, family, teammates, trainers, etc. cheer for their guy in their language or accent. The Great Britain team was so funny because I love the english accent. Anyway, it also added to the ambiance that it was snowing a little bit. It was that awesome feeling of being hot while it's cold outside because we were hiking up to the top. Dallin was the perfect person to share that with, becuase he was equally enthused. I love that we share the common interest of loving sporting events and trying new things. Neither of us knew anything about it when we showed up, but by the time we left we were bummed we couldn't stay longer and made plans to come back for the bobsled one next month. So freakin' cool. 
Watch these videos! 








I hate Palm Beach with a passion

We went there last Sunday and we couldn't get out of there for like 2 hours because she gave us the most hard-core sales presentation, and a long-winded "tour of the salon." She was telling us what bed we had to pay for, what lotion, and how long. Apparently we have no brains to choose for ourselves. Anyway I got mad at her and we got outa there as cheaply as we possibly could, and that was still 100 bucks! They rip you off! It's crazy! If you don't sign up for a monthly membership they basically rob you. And she was such a jerk I vowed to never, ever go back. (American fork location. Don't go there.)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JIM!

It was Jim's birthday last Saturday! He is so incredibly selfless, and I look up to him for his work ethic. He seems to always be there for everybody else, and I feel bad I wasn't there on Sunday when he had a birthday dinner. I hope he had an amazing day, he is definitely one who deserves it. 

"Family Homie Evening"

Since Kim is off work on Mondays we got together again this week. "Ronald" and "Cam" came over and we made dinner, played Rumikub, and watched a mafia show. 

They brought Shadow, of course, and the kids enjoyed seeing their friend.

Lip Injection for freeeee!

Lol I have no idea what happened. I woke up with a completely swollen top lip on the first day of the new semester. Seriously no clue! It took all day, but by the time I went to bed it had gone all the way down again. It was such an odd feeling- kindof like after you went to the dentist. No cold sore, so I guess it was just from stress?

New Doo

I spent the evening last night with my Mom and Tom and she did my hair. She cut it so that it's all the same length (no more a line) and it's just like a regular bob now. It was just to my shoulders and awkward length and driving me crazy. We also died it so that it's darker brown. I really like how the color turned out because before my blond was growing out. It's chocolatey without being too red. The cut right now reminds me of a 45 year old woman with 4 kids and a minivan. So I'm excited to style it to make it a little more trendy and little less mom-cut. We're going on a date tonight so hopefully I can make it look cute.

What's life really about?

I really agreed with this. I think I expect perfection from myself in my clothes, looks, house, job, and fitness. It could be because of the culture here, but I'm getting better at enjoying moments instead of focusing on stupid little things or how I thought things are "supposed" to be. 

Look out, 2016 is a comin!

So, here we go with another year. I hope some things change and I hope some things stay the same. I wonder what everything will be like this time next year, and I'm excited by the thought. We'll have a different president, that's for sure!
Sorry about this incredibly long post. I put it off too long and this ended up taking forever. If you made it through, congrats to you. Till next time-

-Sydney