Wednesday night love and a splendid Thursday morning

Last night, the sibs and I went to Cory and Kirsten's wedding reception.

(We grew up with Cory in Sacramento)

And my goodness, this reception was beautiful!

And the couple was glowing with love.

Have you ever met a couple and just thought, "Oh my, they are absolutely perfect for each other!"

Well, that was what was on my mind the whole night.

And I'm sure it was on everyone else's too.

They are each other's match. No doubt about it!

I love weddings. I love happiness. I love love.

And here's the happy couple:

My good friends from high school, Anja (sister of the groom) and Danni, came out for the wedding. It was SO fun seeing them. Love these girls!

Here's Dan holding baby Jack. Anja was making a face to show how she feels about babies...but my phone camera didn't capture it too well :/

 The whole night felt like a small Sacramento reunion. 

I loved every second!

And Wednesday night turned into an awesome Thursday morning.

After my morning run, I got to come home to this sweet babe:

M, T & J spent the night last night since they are all moved out of their apartment and off to California in just a few short days.  I loved holding the babes this morning and watching his funny little movements. I am going to miss little J so much!

Then, I treated myself to this:

A double chocolatey chip! My very favorite.

Dear Thursday:

You've started out great. 

And I know you will end great.

Why?

Because you and I will be at H&M tonight.

Enough said.

August 6th

On August 6th, 2011, Taylor Ray got down on one knee and asked me a question I was so excited to say "yes" to.

The cute boy had me completely fooled.  I thought for sure, I would know when he was going to propose.  But he did such a good job at fooling me the entire day!

I'll have to have a blog post dedicated to that story.

See here for more details on our love story :)

Taylor proposed to me at the beautiful Stewart Falls.  We decided after we got engaged, that we would make it a tradition to hike Stewart Falls every year on August 6th.  No matter where we are in life, no matter what state we may be living in, I plan to take a trip to Utah to hike Stewart Falls on August 6th, until my limbs are too weak to make the memory-filled hike.

Here are pictures of Taylor and I celebrating our one year engagement anniversary at the top of Stewart Falls.  There was no one around to take a picture of us, so we struggled taking a good phone picture of the two of us together. But, here are our best attempts:

You know you spend too much time with someone when you make the exact same face, completely on accident, in a picture!

Hi, pretty ring!

Taylor's showing off his muscles...I'm just pointing to the waterfalls. Haha

Thanks, husband.

Don't really know what's happening here, but this one made me laugh.

Look closely... see that water bottle in the brush? Taylor and I joked that this was the same water bottle that I dropped from excitement after he proposed.  Ha...it very well might be! (see video at the end of this post and watch for the water bottle drop!)

As we were huffing while hiking, Taylor jokingly turned to me and said, "Why didn't I propose to you on a wave-runner?"

I could not stop laughing after that.

He told me that after years and years of hiking this, our future boys would ask him (in their best whining voices), "Dad, why did you have to propose to Mom at the top of a mountain?"

And Dad will reply, "So I could teach you how not to propose. I did it for you, boys."

Haha...even though he joked about it, we both loved every second of reliving such a beautiful memory. :)

Here is the video of that special day one year ago :)

Dear husband, Thank you so much for proposing to me. Thank you for giving me the most beautiful ring. Thank you for being my very best friend and eternal companion through this life. Thank you for making me want to be a better person every day. I love you.
"Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same." -Emily Bronte

Welcome to the world, Baby Jack!

Yesterday at 3:00pm (on the dot!) baby Jack was born to my lovely sister and her husband.

9lb 1 oz, 20.5 inches.

They make such a cute little family of three.

I am so happy for them.

I was able to visit them in the hospital twice yesterday.

And hopefully again today.  

I love just holding him, and smelling his sweet baby scent.

And look at all of his hair!

I can't believe how fast our family is growing. This is #4 on my niece/nephew list!

Also, so grateful for prayers that this baby made it here safely even after a tough labor.

Congratulations, Marci and Tom!  You did good! Baby Jack is such a handsome babe.

Reunited!

Taylor and I are reunited...and it feels great!

So happy to have him home with me again!

I gave him a huge hug when I saw him...even though he was smelly....

I guess that's what a week at scout camp will do to you!

I'm happy to report that he no longer smells.

Showers are good.

Pre-shower Taylor:

Look at that scruff!

Post-shower! He's clean!

Dear Taylor: So happy you are back with me again. You truly are my better half!

Tomorrow is the day :)

Tomorrow is the day my sweet husband finally comes home!
I have officially started to count down the hours.
I simply cannot wait to see him, jump in his arms, and give him one giant kiss!

I've been treating myself to lots of different things this week to keep my mind occupied.
Lots of ice cream (as seen here and here)
and a wonderful pedicure yesterday:

Loving this fun summer color!

Hey, take a look at this cute Gilbert family picture! Mama Gilbert just got the pictures back, and this one is easily the favorite.

Love me some of that Gilb fam. :)

Tomorrow!!

And the job hunt is over!

On Monday, I accepted a teaching job!  I am so excited! I never thought I would teach in a charter school, but I am actually way pumped about it.  There are so many pros that I am loving more and more every minute!  I have been so impressed with the students and staff at the school I chose and I can't wait to join the team!  I AM GOING TO BE A REAL TEACHER in just a few short months!!  Crazy, right!? In fact, the principal of the school even wanted me to start today because one of their current history teachers just left for maternity leave.  While I would have LOVED to be familiar with the school and staff before I officially start, it didn't end up working out (mostly because I was just promoted at doTERRA to a position that requires full-time hours and I still need a job for the rest of the summer ;)).  But, I felt so honored.

Can I brag for just a minute?  When I declined a teaching offer from another school, the principal of this particular school emailed me and wanted to negotiate the salary in order for me to accept the position.  She told me I was their number one candidate and they really wished I would join their team for next year.  Flattering, right?

But everything about this particular school still felt right to me.  And I am so excited for what's in store!

Can life be any better?  A full-time teaching job in my pocket, summer evenings with my handsome husband, ((a brand new macbook pro)), and many good times with friends, neighbors, and family.  I love this life.

I feel like this picture accurately expresses my feelings right now.  Hand in hand, him and I can conquer anything. :)

BYU Graduate!

This is a little late....but, it's official, folks!  I am now a graduate of Brigham Young University!  I am proud to say I completed my degree in less than 3 years!  It is such an awesome feeling to be finished.  I cannot believe how fast time has flown.  I thought I'd never reach the day when I was a COLLEGE graduate!  And now, here I am!  I just received my teaching certificate, and it feels more real than ever!

My family came down for my graduation, and we had such a grand time. Here are a few pictures to prove that I'm a BYU graduate!

With my handsome, supportive husband!

The beautiful flowers my handsome husband gave to me :)

My beautiful niece, Emma.

We did it!


Now, we look forward to the day that Taylor gets to wear these robes. Hoorah for BYU! Such an awesome school.

Happy Day :)

Today is a happy day.  Why?  Taylor comes home!  I am so excited, I can hardly stand it.  I read a quote today that I loved:

"Marriage is like a sleepover with your best friend that never, ever ends."

I love it!  So true! I miss my best friend! I'm ready for him to come home.

Okay, if you like to bake (or even if you don't!), these little things were SO easy to make, and pretty delish.  Taylor loved them.  Too bad I had to smack his hand away a few times, because they were for a Young Women activity.  I promised him I would make him his very own batch later. :)

S'more Cups

I just saw this picture on my phone, and realized I never posted it!  Last weekend, I walked out to my car to go to work, and noticed this lovely surprise:

I have three words: Regan and friends.  I guess this is what happens when you live across the street from in-laws. Ha ;)  I couldn't help but laugh the whole time as I un-saran-wrapped the car.   She got me good.  That's okay though...revenge is sweet.  Watch out, Regs! ;)

Speaking of in-laws and Regan, can I just say once more how lucky I got?  My in-laws are the BEST.  It's so fun to be in Young Women with Regan.  I often find myself reminiscing to the fun times I had in Young Women with Marci and Jamie (sisters).  And now I get to do it all over again with my new sister :)  We have so much fun together!  Last night...well...I've been sworn to secrecy...but let's just say last night was a night Regan and I will probably laugh at for years to come.  Too many funny moments in one night.  And...I am SO excited for California next week with her and Mama G! Wahoo!

The countdown begins: 9 more hours until I see Mr. T!  I feel like a giddy girl on Christmas Eve.  Is this normal?  Whether it is or isn't, I don't care...I just miss my best friend and want him back! :)

Hoorah!!!

I just found out moments ago that I passed my Praxis teaching test!!!! This test is a World and U.S. History test ranging from 1400 B.C. to Present history...unreal right!?  I was so nervous, because I left the test feeling very unsure.  I was positive I had failed.  Tay kept telling me he thought I passed, and...he's was right!  (and this time, I'm not the least bit nerved that he was right and I was wrong!).  Why is this news so exciting? Now, GRADUATION feels real!  In less than 20 days, I will be walking in a BYU cap and gown.  I am completely, 100% finished with EVERYTHING! I am ready to celebrate by going to California and lying on the beach all day.  Mama Gilbert and Regan...you ready for this!?  Because I AM!

Yes, I had just shed a few tears. I am just so happy!

This weekend, we had the chance to celebrate Rachel's (Ryan's wife) birthday.  It was so fun!  I think me, Taylor, Marci, and Tom were the only white people, and the only one's who didn't speak Spanish.  But it was so fun!  And everyone was so nice...even though we probably looked a little clueless sometimes.  We had a blast!

Happy birthday, Rachel! Isn't she beautiful?

The Little Things

Thursdays are my least favorite day of the week (yes, I know today is Friday...this post is for yesterday!).  Why?  I student teach from 7:15am-2:45pm.  Then I go straight to work for my longest shift of the week, 3pm-9pm.  By the time I arrive home at around 9:15, I'm absolutely exhausted from going, going, going all day.

However, yesterday turned out being my favorite day this week...and it was a Thursday (the day I hate the most!)!  And it's all thanks to the little things in life:

1. Once again, I came home to an awesome meal made by Tay.  I couldn't believe that he waited until 9pm to eat dinner with me. What a stud.  He's made dinner every night this week!  I have an awesome husband.  And, don't tell anyone, but...his meals are ten times better than mine.  (I guess this is more of a big thing than a little thing.  But regardless, it made my day)

These little things. (The potatoes were so dang good! pepper-jack cheese bacon burgers on wheat bread...yum!)

2. One of our table chairs is a little broken.  If you stand it up, you can't tell.  But you don't want to sit in it...haha.  That's actually how it broke: Taylor sat down on it one day, and then...CRASH! He came tumbling down, along with the chair.  It just snapped! Anyways, I always sit in the chair next to the broken one.  Since the broken chair is extremely weak, every night (without fail) my elbow will knock it over while I'm trying to eat.  It's come to the point that we don't even mention it anymore.  We sit down for dinner, start to eat, my elbow bumps the chair, and it falls over. Every night. After dinner, I'll stand it back up and let it await it's daily fall during tomorrow's dinner.   However, last night when it's daily fall occurred, Taylor stopped, mid-bite, and said, "Every night."  And we couldn't help but burst into laughter.

This little thing.

3. I was so excited when Taylor told me our Girl Scout cookies had come! Yahoo!

These little things.