Vegas

After how this year started we really needed something to look forward to again.  We needed some place that was sunny and would get our minds off of things.  We decided on Vegas since it's the closest warm place to go.  The best part of this trip was that my parents and sister's family could come! My parents have a timeshare that they never use so we cashed out some of their weeks and had a great family vacay. 

Shawn and I got to the condo a day earlier than everyone. My very favorite pod neighbor from work retired last summer so on our way we had to stop by for a quick visit to the Nelson's.  I miss seeing her smiling face everyday so it was great to visit with her for a bit.



Anniversary

Shawn and I just celebrated our 4th year of marriage.  I can hardly believe it! We went to dinner and then went to see Chris Angel at the Luxor.  That show was amazing! He really is incredible. 

February 2013

My beautiful  niece turned 8 years old. I still can't believe it, I was a senior in high school when she was born. Becoming an aunt was one of the best things that's ever happened to me.  My little nieces have brought so much joy into my life.  Thanks Kodi and Tim for being such amazing parents.  You two are such a great example to us.  Love you guys!

 

2013 was supposed to be the best year of our life, unfortunately things did not turn out how we hoped. I don't want to get to personal on here, but we experienced our first failed adoption.  It definitely was the hardest thing we've ever had to go through.  We are doing our best to move on, we just keep hoping and praying that some day we'll have the opportunity to be parents.  The only thing that has helped get us through this difficult time is our amazing family and friends.  I feel so blessed to have them in our life.  

My sister, nieces, mom, and hubby surprised my with a spa day.  It was so much fun and just what I needed to get my minds off of things.

 This year we had a nice relaxing Valentine's day at home.  When I got off work Shawn was cooking a nice steak dinner.  He surprised me with flowers and a great gift.  I gave Shawn his first heart attack and wrote everything I love about him on little hearts. 



These cupcakes were the most amazing cupcakes I've ever had! Thank you sista!

December 2012

 This December we had a lot of family time and it was wonderful! I visited my beautiful sister in Salt Lake and we all went down to temple square.  It was so amazing, I hadn't been for a few years.  I forgot the amazing feeling that you get when you go visit such a beautiful place. 

Our unofficial Family Christmas picture.

 I got a sewing machine for Christmas. It's been years since I've used one.  Luckily Shawn has experience in pretty much everything and he gave me a good demo.  I'm so lucky to have such a well rounded guy.  He's pretty wonderful.

 Christmas was one of the best ever this year.  We all were able to come down to my parents house.  I had a huge surprise for Shawn so I couldn't wait.  Anyone who knows us knows that we are horrible at keeping surprises/secrets from each other.  So this year I ordered everything online so that I could have it shipped to my parents.  It was the only way I wouldn't be tempted to open anything early. 

Shawn's big Christmas surprise. I'm definitely the best wife he's ever had :)

 
 My birthday is the day after Christmas.  I had to go to work for a couple hours and while I was there I did a bit of online browsing and found my birthday present.  I picked up Shawn after I got off and we went over to the dealership for a test drive.  We've been wanting 4-wheel drive for awhile and for all the times we go to Island Park and Yellowstone we needed an SUV.

A hybrid Ford Escape

I was sad to see the Fusion go but it was time for something bigger

The girls had their first dance recital and it was possibly the cutest thing I've ever seen.

House remodel part one

 So ever since we moved into this house I've had an itch to change the color! Who in the world paints their house brown and green????  Anyways, I finally got a dose of motivation and called Shawn.  All I asked him was if he liked blue or gray.  The poor guy had no clue what he was getting himself into. 

 These are the before pictures.  Please ignore the lame Halloween decorations and the mess! :) Now here is where the work began.  Shawn was gone for the week working on the farm in Mud Lake so I got to work and started painting.  

 When I first started I was kind of having a heart attack because with the trim still brown the gray looked very nasty purple.  I had to hurry and do these two windows frames white before I continued.  Thank goodness, they went together!

 When Shawn got home from working, I put him right back to work doing touch ups.  This is a great advantage in having a super tall husband!

 After we did the walls we realized how much our poor floors needed to be refinished.  Luckily Shawn's brother Thayne is a pro at all things construction. Him and Shawn worked hard and got it done in a day and a half!

Seattle

 In August of 2012 I had to go to a conference for work in Seattle.  I thought that this would be a great opportunity for an awesome road trip with the hubster. Shawn was getting ready to start harvest so it was the perfect opportunity for some time away before I wouldn't be seeing much of him.

On the way there we stopped in Boise for the night to spend some time with some of our favorite cousins.  We went to the Idaho State Fair and this was the only picture we took there unfortunately.  This is a 1,000 pound pig! We each paid a dollar to
see him and it was well worth it.




These are some of the grape vines that are along the road in Washington.  It was seriously such a beautiful drive.  I loved it!

This is the gum wall behind Pike's Place Market.  So nasty but it looks pretty cool.

 We went on a fairy ride to go see my good friend Mr. Martini's island and this was our view looking back at Seattle.

Mr. Martini!

We stayed at a very nice hotel where they allowed you to have a companion fish.  Her name was Helen and I miss her.

This was my first room service that I've ever had.  This two scoops of ice cream right there was $9!! What a bargain, right!? ;)

A Shively vacation is not a vacation unless you go to the Cheesecake Factory.  Yum!

Some pictures that got lost somehow are our beach pictures and our visit to the salmon ladders.











It was a great week, I learned a lot at my conference and got to spend some quality time with my favorite guy.  We had a lot of fun, but it was good to come home.