Birthday Guy

 

Today is the day that I get to celebrate the birth of my guy.

He loves motorcycles and ice cream.

He has a funny laugh and enjoys tickling my feet.

His favorite place he's ever been is Boston.

He is the coolest guy I know and I love him.

 

Happy Birthday Adam!

I'm glad I get to celebrate with you.

 

 

That guy I'm married to

My husband is a goof ball. It's not a secret And most times sometimes it drives me crazy. The constant tickling. The voices. The inability to take serious things serious. And the laugh, oh that laugh. The one that is often mistaken for sobs. He is through and through boy, poop jokes and all.  And unfortunately it is far too rare that I actually stop to appreciate that guy, silly laugh, funny phrases, even the poop jokes. In those moments when something strikes him as funny you can usually find me sitting by his side burying my shaking head in my hands, or giving him an elbow to the ribs, my way of telling him to knock it off, or if it's bad enough a motherly "Aaaadam!", escapes my lips, followed by a "come on!" or "pull yourself together". 

 

I can happily say that after almost 3 years of marriage I am starting to change. I laugh more - and I don't take things so seriously. Living with someone who makes me laugh was not something I considered to be important before I got married. My "list" of qualities to find in a husband oddly enough didn't include one of the things I love most about the man I ended up with. Laughing everyday with the person I love is fun. It is a significant part of our relationship. Making jokes out of bills and car repairs and piles of laundry makes those tedious, miserable things somewhat more enjoyable. The funny bone that Adam posses is one that I was born without, but slowly I'm learning. When something terrible happens, or life just feels hard my initial reaction is to become frustrated and sad. Adam's is to laugh. Or to make a joke. Or even find one on you tube.

 

 He is a good example of what I'd like to be like. I'm getting there. But for now I'm learning to appreciate that part of my husband that I typically don't.

 





 

Photo's brought to you by the night "No Shave November" ended. The curly Frenchman was my favorite. But of course the night was ended with the classic Hitler stach.



Random Facts II

I decided I couldn't leave Adam out,  you need to know fun facts about him too! He's kinda awesome. 

Fifteen Fun Facts about Adam

1. His favorite dish is a pulled pork sandwich from Oklahoma Joes BBQ with spicy BBQ sauce and a side of fries
2. He enjoys snacking on the cheapest vanilla ice cream the freezer isle at Winco has to offer
3. He feels most manly when riding his motorcycle (grilling comes in as a close second)
4. He is always reading at least 3 books at any given time 
5. Recently he masterd the art of the metalcore roar
6. In his opinion the only tv worth watching is football, The Colbert Report and Spongebob Squarepants
7. He is an on again off again coke addict
8. Hates top 40 radio
9. On occasion will laugh in his sleep (and have no recollection of it in the morning)
10. The most common words uttered from his mouth are "This is the best [blank] I have ever eaten"
11. His toes pop at least once a minute.
12. Hates when wet towels are left on the floor
13. Has defeated the Big Juds Burger challenge
14. He loves the smell of drying laundry
15. He likes editing papers

Labor day and Tie Dyed Mountains

The holiday weekend in our home was very relaxed. We slept in everyday till 10. Zucchini bread was made. Swimming was done. Movies were watched (finally saw Avengers). And the motorbike was taken out for a spin. 

Seemingly over night it has become autumn in Utah. The leaves are changing, and soon the mountains will be ablaze in reds and oranges and yellows. But right now before the full fledged change has occurred the mountains are more tie-dyed if you will. The colors pop here and there and it's spectacular. Such a beautiful time of year. We took a long, relaxing drive up a local canyon today to bask in the splendor of early fall.

Hope you had a great Monday off! 

That husband of mine

He got himself a motorbike. 

He sure loves it. 

It sure makes him happy.

And that makes me happy.

The Hedge

 Pouring rain + overgrown hedge + these two = this photo

(Adam and his brother Scott) 

 We took a little trip up to Idaho to visit Grandma and Grandpa Andersons this weekend.

And to attack the hedge that so desperately needed trimming. Unfortunately it poured rain the entire time, but we (they) pressed on with the yard work.

 Poor guy - look at that face. He still smells faintly of pine. 

So that's good.

My Husband

 Sometimes I wonder how I got so lucky to be married to Adam. He is funny, and intelligent, and handsome, and is now a college graduate. I don't think I could be more proud. He has worked so hard. So many late nights. So many papers. So many classes and professors. So many pep talks. And finally he's reached the end of his BYU undergraduate education. The end of another chapter in his life. On the brink an exciting new path.

 

I am so proud of you Adam, and am really looking forward to what is in store for us in the future. 

 

Birthday Guy

Today was a big day for my guy. He turned 25. 

He says he feels old. I say that's ridiculous.

But whatever. It's only a quarter of a century. No big deal.

Today we wandered aimlessly around Boston, we ate loads of Bar B Que, saw Adam's favorite band live in Cambridge, and shared a Boston cream pie birthday treat. Adam is pretty much my favorite person alive which by default makes his birthday my favorite day of the year. We had a fantastic day and I am mostly just glad I was able to spend it with my love. 

Happy Birthday darling, I'm sure glad you're mine!! 

Evidence Part II

I can't even cook anymore.
I blame it ALL on finals.

Evidence

That is what the following photos are.
Evidence that I live with a serious, studious, student.

With the semester coming to an end my husband (bless him) is getting into serious student mode. I see him maybe 4 hours a week, we communicate mostly through text and he seems to permanently be stuck in this sort of daze/twilight zone thing. It blows.
Oh and no your eyes are not fooling you there are two, count them two 5 hour energy drinks and one monster on my darling's lap desk.

It wasn't until 7:30 am (AM!!!) when he finally joined me in bed that I realized why two energy shots were necessary.

This is happening in my apartment right now. It's real.
And it's been there since Tuesday.
Somehow even though my one meesly final has come and gone I feel effected by Adam's crazyness. Somehow I can't find time to do the dishes either. Somehow those dishes have to be be done tonight or I might have to invest in a hazmat suit.

He's a trooper and He only has to hold on for a little bit longer and it will all be over.

Just a little bit longer and I'll have my dirty dish boy back.

Life Update!

Ok so now I can give you all some details about our Washington DC escapade. Adam is graduating from BYU next April with a degree in Communication Studies and a minor in Political Science. It was recommended to him that he find an internship opportunity to cap his education with, this is where the Washington idea came from. BYU has an amazing program called the BYU seminar, where students are able to live in DC for a semester in BYU housing and work for what ever congressional, political, or senatorial organization they choose, and are accepted to. Luckily Adam was accepted to the program and was offered a very competitive position in Utah Senator Mike Lee's office. Obviously this is a fantastic opportunity for Adam, and I am so very proud of him. He is one of those people who makes things happen for himself and I couldn't be more excited.

For Adam this means possible job opportunities, contacts for future projects and so much more.

For me this means that I need to start doing my research for must try DC and surrounding area restaurants, Adam says I am predictable. I say I am passionate.

Ooh hey Mike Lee, new BFF!

Like it was yesterday...

A little over a year ago Adam was so excited to give me a Christmas present, I, too was excited because I was pretty positive that my gift was going to be small, and sparkly, and was going to come in a little box. Much to my surprise my that December morning when Adam finally unveiled what my Christmas gift was I was much less than enthusiastic. In fact it was nearly impossible for me to fake excitement - a ride in a hot air balloon? Really? REALLY?

All I wanted was an engagement ring.

Obviously I didn't know how our ride through the Park City sky was going to end.

The ride lasted about 40 minutes, as we were coming down to land Adam asked our pilot to record us in the balloon together. After some confusion Adam tells me to "look over there" and on the ground about 500ft below us was a sign saying "will you marry me?"

I melted.

I watch this video almost weekly, it's so amazing and I'm so glad that Adam was able to have the pilot get this footage of us in the balloon, (even with my objections, "this is so dumb and awkward, why don't we just take some still photos?" I believe were my exact words).

Watching this brings back so many of those feelings that I felt in that moment and reminds me why I'm sitting next to this big guy right now on our couch, in our home watching a
football game.

I love him.

Count your many blessings...

Husband just informed me that the xbox is broken.
Let the celebration begin.

3:57pm Thursday Afternoon

I just recieved the following text from Husb:

"Amanda, I have to tell you something. I am completely obsessed with Josh Groban's song "Remember When it Raind" am I gay?

A little bit baby, just a little bit.

"Cuz I love ya..."

Do you want to know why I married Adam?

You do?

Alright then

Sometimes I when haven't done laundry in 2 weeks,

I come home from a long day at work and I see this

(With my clothes clean, hung, and folded in my closet)

Sometimes when I beg Adam to do a puzzle with me,

he does

and he doesn't complain when it takes 5 hours and 35 minuets

and he loves me when I make this face

Sometimes he lets me take his picture when he really doesn't want me to

Sometimes when he tells me to check the mail I see this

because he really, really loves me

YES THIS

BECAUSE HE REALLY REALLY LOVES ME

(somehow I do not own a copy of this)

And sometimes when I ask him to watch it with me

he agrees, and even pretends to like it

Sometimes when I give myself a facial, I make him have one too

Sometimes he loves it

(but mostly not)

I married him because he loves me.

My Mohawk Man

My darling husband has a way of. . . persuading me into things. His eyes do this sort of droopy sad stare thing, and his lips do this pouty pouty frown thing that drives me nuts, his shoulders shrug and then hunch and SERIOUSLY he looks like a four year old kid sitting in the candy isle at walmart guilting mom into buying a treat.

I cant say no to him.

ever.

So the other day when I cut him off with an "ABSOLUTELY NO" before he could finish asking if I would cut his hair into a mohawk, his whole charade began:

"But I've always wanted one and I finally can have one because I'm not living in my parents house, on a mission, attending BYU, or working at a job that prohibits it, this summer is the only time in my life when I can have one and the only thing that's stopping me is you PLEASEpleasePLEASEplease Manda PLEASE!!!!"

ugh, I know right?

I'm horrible if I say no.

I can hardly look at him if I say yes.

So I invested in a bandanna to permanently cover my eyes for the next 4-6 weeks.

My husband is sporting a mohawk that he blow dries, straightens and styles every morning.

He loves it, it makes him happy, so I guess it makes me happy too.

That Day...

Danni, my roommate and I had a big breakfast of undercooked Belgium waffles that morning, right before a singles ward Bar B Que which was the last thing I wanted to do on my 2nd Saturday living in Provo. What I really wanted to do was pack up all of my things and move back home, back to my parents house where there was no rent payment hanging over my head and I didn't feel so much pressure to go out on dates, back to my comfortable basement, where the history channel and food network kept me company, where my mom and sisters were right there with me no effort necessary to make new friends. The newness of Provo was overwhelming me and it had only been 2 weeks, the only thing keeping me there was school, and to me that didn't seem like a good enough reason. I felt like I had made a terrible decision, I planned to make it through that fall semester and at the end I would move back to my comfort zone.

After waffles I weighed out the pros and cons and decided to give the Bar B Que a chance. I picked an outfit and made a game plan: Danni and I would go, stay for few minuets avoid any awkward conversation and then get the heck out of there. As we approached the group of loud, young, chatting, LDS singles my attitude only got worse. We found a spot on a grass covered hill and I waited for our escape. Then out of nowhere there was a boy. I watched him walk up to the food table and alone fill his plate. He was wearing a tee shirt and jeans but what really made him special was his black rimmed glasses, he was CUTE. I thought to myself that surely he wouldn't sit by me or even pay me any attention. I figured I'd go home before he noticed me staring, before I had the chance to get up he walked over to me and my room mate and sat down. I thought I was going to pass out.

What was i supposed to say?

Do I play it cool?

Do I act interested?

I was totally clueless.

He was charming and sweet and I was interested. The next week he called me for a date, we went out. Suddenly Provo became beautiful and wonderful, and I loved being here, and never wanted to leave, He did that to me. Since that Saturday in september he's been the only one, Its been love since day one.

I'm so glad I went to that bar b que,

I'm so glad Adam moved to Utah

I'm so glad

so glad.

:)

Once upon a time...

there was this one boy...

there was also a girl

they met

fell in love

and got married

this is the story of how they lived,

happily ever after