We Hiked to Stewart Falls

Greg and I hiked up to Stewart Falls on Saturday afternoon. It's right behind Mount Timpanogos, and it is beautiful! It was so fresh and green. I love going on hikes with Greg!

 

We also went to another Real Salt Lake game with Chris and Jocelyn. Real played the Seattle Sounders. I love going to soccer games, but boy, I don't like Real Salt Lake (but it was still fun).

Greg's Secret Admirer (It's Me)

Here are 10 things I love about Greg (the list could go on forever if I wanted, but I'm cutting it down):

1. Greg is the most patient person I have ever met.

I think I appreciate this because I am the exact opposite. I get so impatient with things (especially if they don't go my way...). Greg is so easy-going and laid back. When he gets upset about something or annoyed, he is so resilient and gets over it immediately. When I am upset or angry about something and I start to take it out on him (I know, it's bad), he NEVER raises his voice at me and he is usually very inclined to just say he is sorry (even if he didn't do anything wrong). What a guy, right?

2. Greg makes me laugh every single day.

I love to laugh. And Greg knows it. I laugh at everything. And Greg takes advantage of that. He would probably say he is super lame and his jokes aren't funny, but I think he is the funniest person ever! His sense of humor is not about being the center of attention with loud and obnoxious jokes. He likes to just say things quietly, kind of under the radar, without attracting a lot of attention, and sometimes you really have to be paying attention to catch the joke. I love it.

3. Greg loves the Lord and works hard every day to do what is right and bear the Priesthood with honor.

I don't know what I'd do without Greg. He helps lift me up in my moments of hardship, he comforts me, and he blesses my life immensely. He is capable of doing all of this for me because he is worthy of the Priesthood he holds, and he loves Jesus Christ so much. We work together to read our scriptures, pray, have Family Home Evening, and fulfill our callings in the Church. We aren't anywhere near perfect. But because I have Greg, who constantly wants to do the right things, I am trying to improve my life every single day.

4. Greg works hard every single day to provide for our family.

Lately, Greg has been working full time at his job at UltraDent on the Research and Design team. He has put in a lot of hours so we can be financially stable. I know he gets tired and sometimes just wants to come home and lay on the couch or something, but he always has a good attitude.

5. Greg supports me with my decisions and with the things that are going on my life.

I have been going to school full time this Spring, and I will continue to do so for the Summer term as well. I am also working about 25 hours a week. Because of all this, I get very stressed out very easily. I worry about all of the things I have to do each week and how tired I am. I worry that I won't do well in my classes, and that I won't make enough money to help support our little family. I worry too much. But Greg is always there telling me that I can do it! Just put a little power to it! He always has confidence in my abilities. He reassures me that if I work hard, I will do well with whatever I set my mind to. I really appreciate this, especially in my moments of weakness.

6. Greg makes dinner for me most nights (and he usually gets lunches ready for me as well).

I realize that this sounds super lame of me. But I have been so busy with school and work; I don't get out of class or work until 5pm and sometimes 6:30pm and then I have homework, and Greg usually gets home around 4:30-5pm. So he usually starts the meals and gets everything ready for when I get home. He is a great cook! And trust me, I help when I can, but lately I just haven't had time! I extremely appreciate that he does this almost every day. Like I said earlier, I bet he just wants to come home and lay down some days when he gets home from work, but instead he makes dinner. This makes me happy.

7. Greg wants me to be happy.

This is incredibly important to me. I'm sure everyone wants to be happy. But for someone else to care as much about your happiness as their own is truly a special thing. That describes Greg perfectly. He does everything he can to make me happy. Sometimes I don't give him enough credit or I don't acknowledge the little things he does, but I do notice and always appreciate it.

8. Greg loves camping, hiking, sports, and trying new things.

When I was a teenager, I always wished that my future husband would love the same types of things I do: dirt biking, beach camping, camping in tents or trailers, jumping off rocks into a lake, playing soccer, hiking and backpacking, etc. I got my wish when I married Greg. He grew up doing a lot of these same things. I have been able to introduce him to some new things, like dirt biking and beach camping. My dad has even gotten him to love surfing. Seriously, Greg tries things once and he is immediately good at whatever it is. We have been able to go on numerous camping trips together: Yosemite, the Uintas, Zion, and Leo Carrillo, to name a few. I love it. We play soccer together pretty often, and we love doing outdoor activities together. Greg is the best!

9. Greg never gives up on anything. Never even gets close.

Greg is definitely not a quitter. When he starts something, he finishes it. When he is frustrated, he keeps going until he has exhausted all of his efforts. When he is angry, he gets over it and moves on. He never gives up on hope or happiness or making things work. He is a pusher. And I admire that about him. He pushes me to not ever want to give up, even when things get super hard. He just doesn't have that kind of attitude, to just give up. I think that this attribute is rare, and I am so lucky to have found Greg.

10. Greg is always very happy.

He always tells me that he just hates being upset and never wants to be angry or have bad feelings toward anyone. I don't blame him. I think this is why he gets over things so quickly when he is upset or mad. He just makes the choice to be happy. That is a skill that I have not yet learned. He never tries to do things that would cause him to lose the Spirit and be unhappy. It is very hard for anyone to get Greg down. I admire this about him.

What a stud.

The Best Vacation I Ever Went On

Recently, I have been thinking about the best trip I ever went on: the cross-country Church history month-long journey with my family (Mom, Dad, Josh, Ann Marie, and Greg). I was 13 years old. I can't believe it was 8 years ago.

We traveled to so many magnificent places. Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Ohio, Illinois, Missouri, Pennsylvania, New York, Wyoming, and so much more. We saw the Manti and Hill Cummorah pageants, Nauvoo, Sacred Grove, Adam-ondi-Ahman, Gettysburg, Niagara Falls, Chicago, Moab, Martin's Cove, Flaming Gorge, and the list goes on and on and on.

I am so lucky to have the parents that I do. Can you imagine how expensive a trip like that would be? Driving all the way across the country and back while towing a huge trailer? I didn't realize when I was 13 that my parents were sacrificing so much to take us all on that trip. But I do realize it now.

That trip was a life-changing experience. It was on that trip that I gained my testimony of Joseph Smith as the prophet in these latter days who helped restore the true Church to the earth. I began to understand the importance of the Gospel in my life. I grew to love my family more. I learned what it felt like to really feel the Spirit touch my life.

I am eternally grateful for that amazing chance I had to see and explore the country with my awesome family. I don't know how I could ever repay my parents for what they did for me. I love them dearly. I hope to be able to take my own kids on a trip like this someday.

LA GALAXY vs Real Salt Lake SOCCER GAME

 Greg and I went to the Real Salt Lake vs LA Galaxy soccer game last weekend. This game was one of the things I got Greg for his 24th birthday. It was so much fun! Unfortunately, RSL beat the Galaxy 3-1, but that's alright. I will say that the RSL team AND fans have no class whatsoever. For instance, every time Landon Donovan (the best player on the field who happened to be on the Galaxy) got the ball, the entire stadium booed. Only when he touched the ball, no one else... Super annoying. Also, anytime the Galaxy keeper went to kick a goal kick, the entire stadium yelled "You suck!" Really classy, huh? Another thing that happened was as soon as RSL scored their 3rd goal, they got in a fight with one of the Galaxy players, pushing and shoving. It was ridiculous. I mean, come on, you just scored... get over it... I realize it was a home game for RSL and the fans are going to be super obnoxious, but it was a little out of hand. There was some other stuff that happened, but I'll spare you the ridiculousness of the RSL fans and team. (I'm kind of a sore loser, I guess). Anyway, other than all of that, it was super fun being with Greg at the game. We had a fun time teasing each other and being rivals.

We had to wear our awesome rivalry T-shirts. Some lady that sat next to us turned to me and said, "You're rooting for the wrong team!" I replied, "No, everyone else here is rooting for the wrong team."(I know, super clever)

The stadium was PACKED. I didn't realize how many fans there were for Real Salt Lake. I only saw one other Galaxy fan; other than that, it was a sea of red in the stands for RSL. We really did have a great time, even despite the Galaxy's loss. Better luck next time.

Greg's 24th Birthday

Greg turned 24 years old on May 30th this year. What an old-timer, right? His birthday was on a Thursday, so we decided to work that day and take Friday off, so we could have a 3 day weekend. It was a lot of fun. Thursday after work, we went to Bombay House on University Avenue here in Provo. It's an Indian food place (not my favorite) but Greg really likes it. We also got some Cold Stone (cake batter with Reese's... YUM!). Then we went home and Greg opened his gifts from me. I was seriously SO excited!

I ended up getting him some new navy shoes that look like Vans (from Target), but I don't have any pictures.

Yes, a new church shirt. He has been in desperate need of a new one. He's had his old dirty one since before our wedding, two years ago. He really needed a new one.

Here's a new shirt I got for him. I think the black looks nice with his dark hair.

Greg has also been wanting re-chargeable batteries for his Wii controllers. He got his wish.

And the grand finale of gifts were these awesome tickets to the Real Salt Lake vs. LA Galaxy game on June 8th! This was my favorite gift to give him because he has asked me so many times this season if we could go to one of these soccer games. I always kind of avoided that conversation because I wanted these tickets to be a surprise. And this game is going to be awesome because Greg loves RSL, and I am a Galaxy fan! It's going to be a great rivalry!

I came up with the clever idea of making some rivalry T-shirts for the game. We are seriously sooooo excited!!!

On Friday, Greg went fishing with his brother, Chris. I took a midterm at the school. We then went to the batting cages and hit some baseballs. It was pretty fun, and definitely challenging. Neither one of us are baseball players; we like to stick to soccer. We chose the cage that had balls flying at 50 miles per hour, and we missed more than half of them for sure. But it was still very fun. I hit more balls than Greg did (but don't tell him I'm bragging).

Friday night, Greg's entire family came over to our apartment to eat dinner. Diane made lasagna and Jocelyn made a German Chocolate cake (it was so good!), and we all had a good time eating. Then we went over to a place called Jump On It or Sky High or something like that (I can never keep track of all those trampoline places, there are so many of them). We spent an hour jumping around and playing trampoline dodgeball. It was super fun!

On Saturday, Greg and I got up to go hike the Y. Greg was a first-timer. I think I have done it before, but that was a long time ago. It was basically a new adventure for both of us. It was a lot of fun!

On the way, we drove past the new Provo temple that is under construction. It's the old tabernacle, and it is on stilts, as you can see in the picture. Pretty crazy!

Our lovely view from the trail up to the Y.

And here we are up at the Y. It's such a gorgeous view, as many of you know.

Greg laid down backwards down the slope of the Y, which is pretty steep. I thought he was crazy. I am so terrified of heights; I could barely stand up there. I know, I'm a wimp.

After hiking the Y, we went to a hot dog place called J Dawgs. It's just a little hole-in-the-wall place right next to BYU, and it's really popular. I can see why! It was delicious! Greg got a polish dog, and I just got a regular beef dog. They have delicious buns and THE BEST sauce ever. So good.

So, Greg ended up vamping up our T-shirts for the game. He is so awesome! I am so impressed with his artistic skills. 

My cutie.

Greg's an old man now! (Sorry to all of you who are older than him). I'm glad I got to celebrate with him.

Here are some more random pictures from Greg's birthday weekend: