the boy.

I haven't blogged in forever! but while the husband is away the wife will blog . . . .

Here is a little bit about my amazing husband, Dalan Rees as part of the Marriage Series. (finally) Dalan is such a great husband. He is always there to make me laugh and to tell me everything will be ok. I love sitting in the middle of his truck, singing old country songs with him & enjoying each others company. Have I said Dalan is great? He really is.

Here is Dalan on his mission to Honduras. I love this picture! And I love hearing all of his mission stories. They are so fun. I am crossing my fingers that when the temple is finished there we will make a special trip :) He has a great testimony that has strengthened mine many times.

Here are a couple pictures of Dalan in Nebraska. We loved working in Nebraska & we made such great friends there. Dalan is trailing the bulls out in this picture. Dalan is such a hard worker and that is probably why I am able to write about him right now because he is still out working. But that is one of the reasons I married him. When we were dating he would take off work from one job to go to work with his dad. I think he would go crazy without work.

Here is Dalan roping. The brandings in Nebraska were a blast, it was a huge party. Dalan is so patient and a great teacher. He has tried to teach me to do lots of things and I have succeeded in some of them ;)

Dalan with his sweet puppy. She loves him so much & always cuddles when she can. It is so fun to have Pepper in our little family. Dalan has taught her a lot, and she is great with the cattle.

And lastly Dalan at graduation! I am so proud of him! He is just the smartest guy. Dalan is so great at solving problems, let them be at work, on my sewing machine, school, me in general, cooking whatever :) I have every bit of confidence that Dalan can do everything. (another reason why I married him)

Rhinestone Cowgirl ;)

Due to broken legs & broken tractors I was chosen to go up to Idaho to help move cattle. Although I didn't help at all, mostly because I don't like going fast on top of a horse, it was a lot of fun. I got to spend 100% of the day with Dalan and that hasn't happened in a long time, and I loved it!

Here are some pictures of the pastures. I wish I could have snagged more of us moving cattle but it rained a ton! & I didn't want to ruin my camera or have lasting proof of me looking like a drowned rat. not cute.

The rain made it cold, and the wind made it a little colder. My jeans didn't dry until we got home & I was so very very sore. BUT the rain did prevent my allergies from going crazy and making me miserable. It also made for these great bright pictures S.O.C.

starting early

I am so excited this year to decorate for Halloween. Last year by the time I had thought about decorating for Halloween it was like the 20th of October & when trick-or-treaters came to our door we raided our cabinets and handed out bags of microwave popcorn. This year I have been looking for things to make and decorate & the door was first. Between studying I let myself take a break to make this.

I like how it turned out. Simple but still fun. It was originally going to be poofy all the way around . . . until I found out that would take 12 yards of tulle. That's when I decided to reinvent it a little.
Happy Fall & Halloween everyone :)

More Blogs :)

So, here is the new blog that I have created for Celebrate Autism! http://celebrateautism.blogspot.com/

I think it turned out well, soon, someday it will be more busy than it is and things will be full speed ahead :)

Our Meet Cute.

The first stop through "The Marriage Series."
I feel like this is such a big topic for one post! I have literally written this post over and over again, trying to make sure it is portrayed just right. I also don't want to overstep my bounds as I write, and write too much for this big blog world. Something that I know my hubby will appreciate.

Where we met: The short story is we met Country Dancing. The longer but more accurate story is that we met at a Poncho Party. Something that I love is that I had always said we met country dancing but Dalan has always stuck with the fact that we met at that party. Even though we didn't talk to each other there, the impression had been made ;) I love when he tells me his point of view from that party. The party itself was not great, but I am so glad that I went. And because we had met before it made it all the more exciting when I saw him at the Fun Park on country swing night. He was the cutest cowboy I'd ever seen. This is where the flirting began. Where I made him dance with me & also the last time we would ever go country dancing. Which is when my friends knew I was gone, since I went religiously twice a week.

From there we dated for a love struck six months before Dalan completely surprised me with the big question. . . .
but you'll have to wait a little longer for that story :)

motivation

Such great advice for exactly what I needed this week. I am playing with this idea to start blogging my progress with Service Learning. It is a group I joined last January at Utah State, it requires that I do 400 hours of service and also a capstone project before I graduate. Plus looks GREAT on grad school applications or job applications. You have read a little bit about my volunteering at Legacy House Assisted Living but that is about it. This week I have had a couple meetings about my capstone project and I have found that there are too many things to do, too many ideas. Today I decided which one to do, such a relief, kinda. It is called Celebrate Autism! and is a group designed for the siblings of autism. It will provide them with some time to get attention, learn a tiny bit about autism (since I personally think they are the ones who would know the most about their sibs) and have a ton of fun. We will plan activities, play games and let them make friends with some other kids who completely understand. But as we plan this I am getting super nervous. Cross your fingers for me that people come. . . . and so many other things that could go wrong go at least semi-smoothly. So maybe I'll start reporting more about service maybe I won't . . . ha ha we'll see how things go. I do know that I am super excited to start this project and I really really hope that it all goes well.

Double King Size Reeses Peices

Everyone loves Reeses Pieces & when I found out how to make them I had to try it!

It was so much fun & super easy. & also super delicious.

Plus, these are some massive Reeses Pieces. And although my taste buds are loving it my tummy is wishing I would have spent a dollar on 2 smaller ones instead of having a dozen jumbo pieces of greatness. I better start sharing . . . volunteers?

The Marriage Series

I have been reading "The Marriage Series" from a couple of my friends blogs & it is getting addicting. I love reading about their stories. When I read their stories I think of mine & Dalan's story and I just love it. So, I think I am going to jump aboard & as you read our story you can have fun remembering the details of your own. These are the things it will include . . .

1. The Big Picture (When did you meet? Start dating? Get engaged? etc...)
2. The Boy (Who is he? Where did he grow up? What does he like to do?)
3. The Girl (Tell us a little about yourself.)
4. The Love Story (How it all began: how you met, first date, first kiss, how long did you date? etc..)
5. The Moment You Knew He Was the One (How and when did you know?)
6. The Proposal (How did it happen? Was it a surprise? Do you have any pictures?)
7.The Announcements/Invitations (What did they look like? What pictures did you include?)
8. The Rings (Tell us about it! did you pick it out? did he? pictures! tell us about his ring too.)
9. The engagement/bridal pictures (Let's see em! Which are your favorites?)
10. The colors (What color scheme did you use? Why did you choose those colors?)
11. The dress (Was it what you always imagined? What was your favorite part? White or ivory?)
12. The tux (What did he wear?)
13. The bridesmaids (What did your bridesmaids wear? Did they choose or you choose?)
14. The ceremony (Where did you get married? What was your favorite part?
15. The reception (Where was it located? Show us some pictures! )
16. The cake/food (What did your cake look like? What food did you serve? Did you get to eat it?)
17. The best and worst (What was your favorite and least favorite part of the day: can be anything.)
18. The honeymoon (Where did you go? )
19. The marriage (The wedding was great, but it doesn't end there. What are your thoughts on marriage? Include the most recent picture of you and your significant other and any other thoughts)

Start looking for these posts! I'm excited to have a new prompt, and I hope you will have fun reading our love story.

Dalan's Birthday!!

Happy Birthday Dalan!! Yesterday was Dalan's 26th birthday! I let him open his first present that morning, Ice Road Truckers Most Dangerous Episodes. Yeah, we are cool like that. And he was able to watch it at lunch, since school has stolen our lunch times together.

When I got home I started baking his awesome birthday cake, and making my mom's famous meatballs and rice. Dalan opened his presents, the handsome shirt and vest, a list of 101 things that I love about Dalan & an ipod adapter for the tractors sealed with a Taylor Swift card (I want to be her when I grow up)! We grabbed Unstoppable at Redbox and watched it as we waited to change water and I did homework. It was a lot of fun to spend the day spoiling Dalan. He is definitely deserving of it. Dalan is the best husband ever. He does so much for me and is so sweet and selfless. He can always make me laugh and feel better about my day. I love you Dalan!