A celebration is in order

Remember this guy?

This is Eric on his first day of school at Cleveland Chiropractic College ONE YEAR AGO. We now have 2 things to celebrate:

#1: As of today, Eric has officially completed his first year of chiropractic school. I am so proud of him and all his hard work! Only 3 more years to go (hopefully a little less). Keep up the good work hubby!

#2: Eric got a JOB! For the next year he will be a Campus Ambassador at his school. This means Eric will be giving tours to prospective students and possibly take a recruiting trip to BYU in the Spring.

Eric actually beat out quite a few students for the job. I had no doubt that he would be offered the position because he has such a warm personality and is so great at talking to people--a perfect fit for his new job. The best part is, he'll be paid in scholarships! That should help our taxes a smidge :)

All in all, things are looking good for us. We are excited to see what this next year has in store for our little family.

Sporting Kansas City

On Wednesday, Eric and I were invited to go to our first Major League Soccer game -- thank you Jimmy and Natalie! I can't say I'm a huge soccer fan or anything, but I was excited to do something different in the Kansas City area. Although I wasn't too stoked for the "soccer" aspect of the event, we ended up really liking it!

The soccer stadium is BRAND spanking new. We had general seating so we chose to sit behind the goal (box?). It was an awesome view when the ball was on our side of the field.

Here we are at our first MLS game!

Eric got really into the game. Who knew he liked soccer so much? I sure didn't. I think it comes from his 2 years in Mexico City.

Speaking of Mexico City...the game was between Real Salt Lake and Sporting Kansas City. The guy in the left in blue is Eric's favorite player from Mexico (who now plays for KC) -- Omar Bravo.

Here's little Omar again. What a stud! Eric got a kick out of watching him play. I had a favorite player too, I just can't remember who it was. Maybe next time.

We have now been to 3 Royals games and 1 Sporting KC game. What's our favorite? Sporting KC! I didn't think I'd be a soccer fan, but there is just so much more to look at than at a baseball game. We will be going back for sure.

Wish List

Yesterday, Eric and I wandered into Best Buy and I found this:

We talked to a worker about it for probably an hour. Now I think about buying this camera and learning how to use it all the time.

So if anyone out there is feeling nice, I would love to see a little surprise on my doorstep one day. Thanks.

Full of Love

I gotta say, year 3 is my favorite year of being married so far. I had an epiphany on marriage a few weeks ago...it holds true for Eric and me, and I'm sure a lot of people can relate.

The first year of marriage feels like you're playing house. You are still getting to know each other and are so worried about having a "happy" marriage that you try not to get into too many arguments.

In the second year of marriage you're not afraid to get on each other's nerves. I believe this year can make or break a couple. If you can work through misunderstandings and master your art of communication, I think any marriage can be successful.

As for year 3, you know your spouse inside and out and (thanks to year 2) you know exactly what to do to resolve conflict in the household. Things are pretty straight forward. You have the tools to either tick off your spouse or make them happy. It all depends on what you choose to do.

So back to my marriage and why I love year 3...

Last week I got to work and received an e-mail first thing in the morning. The e-mail said I received flowers and needed to pick them up from the mail center. I couldn't think of anyone who would send me flowers except for Eric, but I was also confused as to why he was getting me flowers. I went to pick them up, and as I opened up the box I read a note that said, "Just because."

How cute is that?

Exercise Pays Off

Eric and I have been going on walks almost every night lately. It's nice to get some sort of physical activity when I work at an office job and Eric sits in a classroom all day. Some nights we have been sweaty messes when we get home because it's so freaking hot here this month! But some nights I come home in a happy mood. Yesterday was a happy day because:

#1 It was the first night in a very long time that there was a tiny bit of cool to the breeze.

#2 Eric and I walked past our dumpster and stumbled across this headboard:

It didn't take long before we snatched it up, sanitized it, and put it in our room! (And no, it wasn't actually in the dumpster)

We all know I like free stuff, but even more, I LOVE free stuff that I would actually pay money for. A month or two ago Eric and I went to a garage sale and I really wanted to buy a headboard and footboard that we found for $50. I thought it was a great deal, but Eric reminded me I can't just buy things because I want them. So instead of paying $50 on an impulse buy, I found a FREE headboard at random.

Just thought I'd share my good news! Life is great sometimes :)

4th of July Weekend

Besides Stadium of Fire, Eric and I had a nice vacation in Utah. On Saturday morning we did a session in the Provo Temple for family names. That afternoon we went to the Freedom Festival with Spencer, Sara, and Drew. It was deathly hot so we only stayed long enough to get a free cinnamon roll and 5 cent water bottles.

On Sunday was the blessing of Mark and Lauren's baby. It was a great blessing! Then we just spent the day hanging out.

Look at this impressive watermelon ice cream that Eric's mom made! Mmmm...I want some of that right now.

I don't remember what Holly was doing, but I think this picture is so funny.

Eric trying to catch the parachute firework!

Sunday night was full of fireworks, junk food, and friends. We love these guys!!

We also discovered Drew's little secret...

Thank you to everyone who came to visit us! It was so good to see ALL of you!!

Stadium of FIRE!

Eric and I went to Utah for 4th of July weekend. We left on Friday after work and came back on Monday. The visit went WAY too fast!

We chose this weekend so we could go to STADIUM OF FIRE. It was my second year going and Eric's 8th, 10th, 15th time going? That's what you get for growing up in Utah, I suppose.

The fam before the show started!

Holly and Phil. So cute. Mark and Lauren were also there but they came a little later so I didn't snatch a photo of them.

At the beginning of the show parachuters launched down to the field. I thought this one got lost or landed in the middle of nowhere, but he was just saving the best for last (flag and all)!

The little dancers made some awesome shapes.

The opening act was David Archuleta. He did about 5 songs and I knew almost all of them. David is great to hear live. You don't get that far on American Idol without having some real talent.

And for the main attraction...Brad Paisley. Can I just say AMAZING?! Brad is such an entertaining performer. His lyrics are hilarious and his electric guitar playing is out of this world. If only I could play that well!! Eric and I loved watching him and listening to his songs.

After watching Brad perform we watched some fireworks. They weren't the greatest this year because the music was pretty lame. But I'm not all that big into fireworks anyway.

I was waiting for this photo opp for the longest time. Eric and I saw the outline of the Statue of Liberty but I thought they would do it at the beginning of Stadium of Fire. Nope! The dancers ended up forming this shape during a patriotic song when the fireworks went off.

I think I get a little more patriotic every year. I've never really had great 4th of Julys growing up, so it's nice to have Eric to share these fun times with. Thanks to his parents for taking us! This was probably my favorite 4th of July ever, and not just because of Stadium of Fire. More to come on the next post...dun dun dun!

City of Art

Yes! I am finally posting something that happened in June. And since it's already July, I'm still a month off. Dang.

Anyway...I am always hearing about how there are so many art museums around Kansas City, so a few weeks ago Eric and I decided to check out the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Because there is so much to look at, we decided to break up our visit and focus on the statue park behind the museum.

The park is probably most known for these shuttlecocks (Eric's favorite). There are 4 shuttlecocks total, each weighing 5,500 pounds! The artists designed it so that the museum is like a net and the grass is the playing field.

I thought this one was funny because it's supposed to be a "sensual" pose. My first guess was right on!

Again, Eric loved these! This just shows you how tall they are.

There's a great view of the "net" and another shuttlecock.

This statue was my favorite. It's called Ferment aka a state of agitation or turbulent change. I love it because it symbolizes anyone's life, no matter what stage they are in.

We walked through part of the museum on our way back to the car. Eric started pushing me toward this security guard telling me to ask him something (I can't remember what). I only saw him out of the corner of my eye, and if you know me, I always make Eric ask people questions for me. I guess I'm a little shy that way. I kept pushing back on Eric and was starting to get mad until I looked up and saw that he was fake. Haha. Good joke on me. Now they are the best of buds.

We had a good time at the museum. And like most weekends this summer, it was freakishly hot. Luckily our next trip to the museum will be to see the rest of the indoor exhibits. And for anyone who wants to visit, we now have another place to take you!

Short Little Visit

My mom and little brother, Jeremy, came to visit us for a few days after they toured some church sites. I wanted to make it fun for Jeremy...so the whole trip kind of revolved around baseball.

Jeremy is a Mariner's fan, but we want him to love the Royals so we got him a souvenir. He obviously loves it and thinks he is the coolest thing on the block when he wears it.

Thursday night we all went to the park to play some softball. I definitely was not the worst player out there (sorry Mom), but I was still the one who got hit with the softball -- TWICE! No bueno. But don't worry, I survived.

Jeremy rarely gets to see his siblings so it's always fun watching him and Eric play!

Friday night Eric and I took them to a Royals game. We got cheap tickets through Eric's school that included a free BBQ dinner before the game. It was so tasty!

Sporting our Royals wear! One of these days I'll have more than 1 Royals shirt haha.

Jeremy couldn't take his eyes off the field (except in this pic). He wouldn't even get a drink with us because he needed to see the WHOLE game. It's the first time I've watched a baseball game from beginning to end.

We don't look anything alike do we?!

Our seats weren't too awesome, but we were able to see the entire field.

Like every Friday, there were fireworks after the game. This show wasn't as good as the last one because we couldn't hear the music, but it was still fun!

Yay for baseball!

The next day we went to the Strawberry Festival and mainly drove around. It was freakishly hot outside so Eric and I were EXHAUSTED from the heat. Despite the heat, we had a nice little visit with my mom and Jeremy!

Winter Quarters

After Jeff's wedding in May, the family and I went next door to Winter Quarters. When the pioneers headed west to Salt Lake Valley, they stopped to camp and take cover for the cold winter ahead of them. Consequently, the pioneers named the place Winter Quarters. Fitting right?

A plague hit the community thanks to a swamp, and many of the pioneers died. Eric's great-great-great grandma was one of those who fell victim -- Eliza Ockey. Those who were buried in this cemetery can be found on this slab. And yes, Eliza's last name is spelt wrong.

This is the statue in the middle of the cemetery.

Us in front of the visitor's center.

There is a visitor's center by the grave sight. Eric and Jeremy were playing with the odometer that the pioneer's used to track the distance they traveled.

We are huge compared to the Salt Lake Temple! :)

One of the sister missionaries put a grave stone together for Eliza's burial spot. It was determined that she was buried under this step.

It was really interesting to visit a place where Eric's ancestor actually lived. Eric and I enjoyed learning about Winter Quarters and had even more fun trying to find the grave lot. Now I feel like I need to work on my genealogy!

Jeff's Wedding!

Over Memorial Day weekend my cousin, Jeff, married the love of his life, Mary! Eric and I wouldn't have missed the wedding for anything, but it just so happens that it was in Omaha, Nebraska (less than 3 hours away from us). Eric and I road tripped out there on Friday afternoon and made a mini vacation out of the trip.

Friday night we did a session at the temple. It was great going to a temple that we've never been to before! In less than a year we'll have one in Kansas City.

My mom and little brother flew in late Friday night for the wedding.

Jeff and Mary coming out of the temple!

What a happy couple :)

My cousins Amy and Larissa, and Larissa's new husband Kyle.

My cousin Carin with her baby, Sarah.

The wedding party with 3 of my cousins in it (the groom and the 2 groomsmen on the right). Don't they look sharp?

Most of my cousins with their families.

After the bride and groom took their pics, Eric had to have his own little photo session.

After the wedding, we all ate lunch then headed west a couple hours for the reception. It was fun hanging out with all of my cousins. Kyle and Jeff (Carin's hubby) thought it was funny to stand next to me because I'm so short.

They are really focused on cutting the cake. It's not as easy as it looks! And it's not one of those things you think about when planning a wedding. Haha.

I love this guy (Eric too)! He deserves to be happy more than anyone I know. Congratulations Jeff and Mary!

Heading out after the reception.

We had a blast hanging out with my family. I don't get to see them enough so I love when weddings come around. Too bad the next one won't be for awhile...