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

Love's Day

Love's Day

This week was a busy one, but a good one. 

This is the adoreable Josie Louise snuggled in the huge Love Sac chewing on a bone. She gets into the perfect position and then just looks at you like "you better find another spot cuz I'm not movin."

(And she basically ate that entire bone in one night.)

The end of the couch is Jakey's favorite spot. And he can tell when I'm taking a picture of him so he always looks and holds still. He likes to have his head raised so he's always right there or puts his head up on a pillow.

This is the lovely Miss Emma! She got her pictures back for the pageant and she chose this one for her head shot! Beautiful! She's going to wear my Miss Utah ramp gown for her talent song as well, and she looks so good in it. I went down and helped her with her paperwork, and one thing led to another, and I ended up rapping for her and her dad. Good times. She's going to do great. This is my motto that I'm teaching her for pageant hair. Tease it to Jesus!  lol just kidding Emma!! ;)

 (Above) Don't you just hate it when the toy you want is at the bottom of the basket!?!? This is Josie merrily playing like normal at 6am while the rest of us were groggy as crap. She's definitely a morning person.


 (Below) My kids are models. They completely follow orders when it comes to picture taking. They hold completely still and let me go at all different angles before they move. (Does this mean I take too many pictures of my dogs?! lol)
This is them decked out in their Valentine's day apparel. You can't see it but Josie's dress has a heart on it.

This is a summary of our Valentine's Day! I had to work all day Saturday, so we celebrated Sunday. Saturday morning I had to wake up at 4am, and Dallin left me a surprise that he ironed my scrubs and completely de-linted them! Sunday we went to Ruth's Chris and used the gift card that Matthew and Shanna gave us for christmas. At the end we both said that was our best date yet. We talked the whole time about deep stuff and it was a good change of pace being in a romantic setting and eating the best-tasting food on the planet. During dinner, we answered questions about each other from the Newlywed game, and we both knew most of them!!

 My present to Dallin was this card that's as big as Josie, and chocolate covered strawberries and a paper full of all my favorite memories of him. He took me to Ruth's Chris, and he also said he got a little extra $ at work he wasn't planning on, so I can get things I need for doing a Triathlon in August. (I'm not committing to it yet, but I'm starting the training now and seeing how it goes first. So far, it's really fun and I'm so glad that Dallin is excited for me and supports me in it. He's going to teach me how to swim for it since he swam in high school.)

I got this in an e-mail and I couldn't believe we've already been married for 6 months! Crazy!

We celebrated by doing the usual laid back night with popcorn and the bachelor lol

Wednesday, we babysat for Matthew and Shanna while they went out for Valentine's Day. Kensley & Austin (Dallin's neice and nephew) are freaking adoreable and funny. We had fun laughing at the cute little things they say.

My mom is a stay-at-home grandma for the "kids" and she keeps me updated throughout the day with lovely pics like this. Jake likes to go lay in the yard and think about life.

I was inspired by that quote and took a pic. 

Gotta go!

-Sydney

February Fun

Feb. 1-7!!!

This week flew by, and our weekend was absolutely excellent!

This was a while ago, I was driving somewhere in Orem and saw this! I couldn't believe there's really a Graff Circle! lol We need to live there. 

On Saturday morning Miss Emma had her opening social for the Miss PG pageant. It's going to go by so fast because we only have like 5 weeks to prepare! I was impressed by the program and all that the director and committee does to prepare the contestants. They took their contestant pictures and also drew for numbers. She got drawn first so she could choose any number and she took my classic "last" spot. She's number 13, and as you can see from this picture, gorgeous!

This is my #sharetherealmovement for the week. I got the kids new toys, and they loved them so much that they destroyed all 4 playing with them all night. One of them was a beanie baby, and the others were stuffed animals. Needless to say, we had stuffing and tiny beans all over the carpet everywhere. 

But on the bright side, at least I know they liked them!

This is Josie sleeping creepily with her eyes open. Sometimes she looks dead when she sleeps. 

This week I tried a hair doo that I saw on pinterest where you do your hair in 4 low braids and then cross them over the middle and pin them for a low up-do. It turned out pretty cute, although I can definitely make it better next time now that I know what I"m doing. Lol they kindof ended up looking lop-sided.

Holy cow this weather tho! I was so excited that I was driving with the windows down! And this weekend we actually had the AC on in the car! Yeesssssssssss

This is my 2 month-aversary of graduating and working!

This was our Saturday date night. The Utah Grizzlies hockey team did a "pooch on the pond" theme for the game on saturday. So people could bring dogs! It was so fun seeing all the other dogs. Jakey and Josie behaved themselves perfectly (I was so proud) and it was so fun to watch the game. It's such a fast-paced sport and it was so different/fun.

 It was so cool to see the other dogs around us at the game. Some had a hard time with it and others just acted like it was no big deal. They gave all the dogs Maverik bandanas too. 

Dallin is looking into starting at uvu in the summer again and finally finish his school. It's hard to make it work with his demanding job and schedule, but he wants to get going on it and I'm going to help as much as possible. I'm proud of him for constantly trying to improve himself and never giving up. He's inspiring to me because I never had a full time job in school, and even though he does and his time is very limited he's determined to get his degree. 

Saturday was such a nice day! It was almost in the 70's and sunny! So, we went on a walk, then we laid outside on the trampoline and talked, and then we went with Kevin and Britnee to the Tanner dog park by Parley's canyon. It was so so so fun!

It's so big that you walk for a long time on trails and there's rivers that the dogs can play in, and it's fully fenced so the dogs just run around and play with each other. We could tell they were both so happy. They stayed by us and didn't bark and behaved around the other dogs. 

It was cute seeing them interact with the other dogs. And I love the dog owner community. All the people are so nice and friendly to each other, and all the dogs always get along and we all have so much fun. I've noticed that the more you try to stifle dogs, the more they freak out, but when you just let them go be themselves and do whatever they want, they react a lot more responsibly than you'd think. They're more behaved when they have a little freedom. I wish more people gave dogs the trust they deserve so they don't have to be stifled and controlled all the time. 

This was the first time that Josie has been able to exercise a ton because before her surgery her knee always hurt, and then after she was still recovering. We let her run around as much as she wanted, and after our walk and then the dog park, she was so so tired. I had to carry her out because she was dying. hahaha she's such a princess.

Yes, I still have my waver from back in the day when they were popular! Hahaha I totally used it this week and it actually didn't end up looking that bad!

Today's sunday, and we slept in, went to breakfast, and the grocery store. Other than that we've been laying around recuperating from the busy day we had yesterday. Tonight we're having dinner with the fam and saying goodbye to ryan and shayle before they drive out to Arkansas tomorrow.
Next week is Valentines Day and I'm excited! (Only down-side is I have to work during the day, but  I'll be done by the afternoon and then we'll celebrate at night.)

This week I'm going to try a few new things with workouts, but other than that it'll be the same old same! 

Hope you're all doing great!
-Syd

The Week's Festivities

Life this Week!

Some events, random pictures and thoughts. 

I have loved that we haven't had a really bad winter this year. I took these recently and you wouldn't know that those were taken in January! 

 

I reorganized and cleaned up a little in my mom's laundry room and it turned out pretty good. (She's got a lot of stuff!)

Leg day was today, and this picture is absolutely true. It's almost comical how crippling it can be.

I love reading now! I ripped through the first Hunger Games book without stopping (only took me 14 hours.) And now I"m almost done with the second one!

Okay so I stumbled upon a blog a while back of an old roommate, and I was inspired by what she is promoting on there. She said that too often social media becomes about doctoring up your pictures, exaggerating the good in your life, and never saying anything about the bad. We all know that's unrealistic, and there's no point in making each other feel bad about our lives when none of it's real anyway. No one's life is perfect. 

Here's her blog,  www.readyornot-theblog.com . And people are using #sharetherealmovement to show what their lives are really like. The good and the bad. I'm on board, so here's my nail biting addiction which I've been told is disgusting, no makup, and the real fact that on Sunday I spent a good chunk of time in the back yard picking up dog crap. Nothing glamorous about that.
But that's my #sharetherealmovement  and it's part of who I am and my real life.

  
      #sharetherealmovement

This is my mom and tom at their thing at the church that we went to. They're officially missionaries now (although I don't understand why they have that title because nothing in their lives changes....kindof the same thing as a calling but whatever). Congrats to them on their new mish!

Shayle and I went to Rumbi to have dinner together before they move to Arkansas :( It was good sitting around and talking about life and catching up. It'll be weird when she's not here anymore.

The New Years Decor is down and the Valentine's Day stuff is up!! Love is in the air! I'm so excited for Valentines day because Dallin is planning a surprise! I can't believe how fast January flew by and it's already February.

 

This was kindof a cute moment that happened. Dal was petting her tummy and Jakey walked over and gave her a kiss on the cheek :)
(He was wearing his jersey for the superbowl of course!)

Sadly sometimes I don't really feel like I understand all of the work stuff that Dallin talks about, but he's now a boss, and he has his own office, so this is what always comes to mind in my head.

Lol I know it's not similar at all, but I've never worked in an office like he does and so this is what my brain thinks it's probably like haha

All I know is, he's excited about finally getting his own office and he wants to decorate it! 

(and I'm gonna buy him that mug)

And the house hunt continues. I really liked this one, but Dallin's not so sure.

 We celebrated the Superbowl with Kevin & Britnee and it was perfect. It was low-key, we had excellent food, and britnee and I saw the beginning, Katy Perry and Missy Elliot, took a nap, and then woke up for the dramatic end. (All while the guys enjoyed the riveting game)
So fun, relaxing, and rewarding! (We were rooting for the patriots)

I am officially a hostess with the most-est! I didn't know if I ever wanted to get into the other side of pageants, but if there was someone to pull me back into the swing of things, it's Emma Gutke. I'm so excited that she's putting herself out there and doing Miss PG and she asked me to be her hostess! She's such a sweetheart and of course I came running back to my pageantry addiction. It's been so fun mentoring her on her first pageant experience, and it really reminds me of how much pageants changed me and helped me to become who I am. It's a really valuable, life-changing experience, so it's really cool to be on the helping side and watch her figure out how she wants to make a change in the world. I think she's going to be a changed woman, regardless of a crown, and I'm gonna be so proud of all her hard work.

Our date on Saturday was a Mystery dinner with Dallin's family! It was so much fun. It was good to spend more time with them and get to know them more, and it was kindof funny to watch their first experiences with a mystery dinner. My mom & Tom (of course being the saints that they are) volunteered to host for us so that I could participate.

Never done a mystery dinner?
First everyone fills out a madlib with words from a word bank. You fill in the story with the words, and each word really means something else. Each paragraph in the story has all the blanks for what you'll recieve in that course of the meal. Since you don't know what the words mean, you end up with a jumble. Shanna got all 4 drinks in one, a lot of people had to figure out how to eat without a fork or spoon, or just really weird food items.
I was glad they were good sports about it, and I was thankful that my mom put in all the hard work that she did.
It was definitely a success!

Dallin's excited for tax season for some odd reason lol
and of course we're watching the bachelor again right now. I hope that the cute girl from the Cinderella date last week wins cuz she's my favorite.

Over & Out!

-Syd