Cheers to a New Year

I know I may still be in the Christmas mode but….it is now time to move on. Move on to a new year and a new mind set. Christmas was great and I would love to have the Christmas feeling all throughout the year. I wish more people kept that cheer in their hearts. Anywho….onto 2014 I go.

So with a new year there usually come some new year’s resolutions. I am one of those people that write a list of resolutions, hide it somewhere hoping to open it at the end of the year and see what I accomplished, and ya I never get around to it or happen to forget where I hid the list. Well this year I am hoping to stay dedicated. Getting married was a big change in my life during 2013 and it was a dream come true. In 2014 my main goal is to try each day to help improve and strengthen my marriage. I want to make great memories that will last a lifetime. 

In 2014 I will….

break out my sewing machine and do some projects

prepare to go to the temple with my husband 

be more patient and forgiving 

not think too much about little things that don’t matter 

motivate myself to work out and do it

Those are a few of the things that will be on my list. I will be so proud to pass off one if not all of them. These are things I will have to work at every day and truly stay motivated. I CAN DO IT! Cheers to a new year and new goals.

Click HERE for a cute printable to write your own new year's resolutions on.

Xoxo

Mrs. Carter

My Happy Place

This Christmas was a different one. However not in a bad way. The difference between this Christmas and all the others was I had more family this time. Being a newly married couple we had to figure out how to split our time between his family and mine. 

We spent Christmas Eve at my aunts house enjoying delicious food and lots of games. Then on Christmas morning Jimi wanted to get up early early...5:30 am to be exact. Crazy man! We ended up sleeping until 6. Still early but we slept in just for my sake. It was so so fun opening presents together on our first Christmas. We went to the in-laws at about 6:45 and enjoyed breakfast and presents with them. 

At 9:30 we went to my parents house and opened presents with them. This was super fun because baby Oaklee was there and it was her first Christmas where she could actually open her own presents. We had lunch with my family and played more games. 

I enjoyed Christmas this year so so much. I loved being surround my family and loved ones. I cherish these happy moments together. Life is unexpected and we must enjoy every moment. 

Xoxo 

Mrs. Carter 

Holly Jolly Holiday

As this year is now coming to a close it is time to rush around doing all the fun things you want to do before 2013 is over. My list just happened to be pretty long.

• ·         Get a Christmas tree
• ·         Decorate the Christmas tree
• ·         Go black Friday shopping for my first time
• ·         Shop til I drop
• ·         Make gingerbread houses
• ·         Build a snowman
• ·         Go visiting teaching
• ·         Make neighbor gifts
• ·         Make Christmas candy
• ·         Email my missionaries
• ·         Get ready to send off a missionary
• ·         Watch plenty of Christmas movies
• ·         Go ice skating
• ·         Go see the elk at hardware ranch
• ·         Go to the lights at temple square
• ·         Drive around and look at the lights
• ·         Visit my friends and family
• ·         Go cross country skiing
• ·         Go snow shoeing
• ·         Etc…….

The list could go on and on. I have completed a few things off the list and some will have to be done in the new year.  I am so loving this holiday season. It is my first Christmas as a married woman and it has been so so fun to make our own traditions and do fun things together. We have also had some wonderful friends to do these winter activities with which makes it all the better. 

 

I love Christmas time. I feel like it puts everyone in such a loving and happy mood. I love driving around to look at all the lights. Cuddling up in a blanket and drinking some hot cocoa. I love the acts of service around the holidays. You can find service around every corner ranging from shoveling snow to baking someone cookies. It is nice to enjoy the beautiful white crystal snow even though I absolutely hate to drive in it and I hate the coldness it brings. 

I get the opportunity to be with my little niece Oaklee on Christmas morning. It is going to be so fun to watch her excitement of opening presents. This is her first Christmas where she is actually old enough to open presents, last year she was only 4 months old. I can’t wait to be surrounded by my wonderful family and soak up the holiday goodness. 

I hope we can all find the real meaning of Christmas this year. It is way more than just the idea of presents. Christmas really focuses on the birth of our savior and what brought us here. This is a time to draw close to family and friends. It’s a time to realize where everything came from and who it came from. This holiday season is about love and family. This holiday season find someone that needs a little extra help and reach out to them. Let us keep the service going into the new year and not just during the holiday. 

 xoxo

Mrs. Carter

Truth Tuesday

So I am deciding to participate in a little thing called “Truth Tuesday”. Bear with me since this does happen to be my first time trying it out.

• I am afraid of the dark. (yes I am 19 and this still gives me the heebie jeebies) One thing I absolutely hate is if I have to get the mail in the dark. I literally sprint to the mailbox and back looking all around me the whole time.

• I hate being home alone. Mainly when it is night time. This doesn’t faze me as much not that I have my own house and it is just an itty bitty apartment with one door, but when I lived at my mom’s where there are a few doors I would get scared.

•  ^^^Because of these first two fears, I have a huge fear of being kidnapped. I know you wouldn’t necessarily consider me a kid anymore but hey it could happen. I always happen to think of the worst situations possible.

• I am very OCD. My husband can testify to this because at times it drives him crazy. I love my things to be organized and clean.

• I still have my baby blanket that my grandma made for when I was born. Nineteen years and still counting! And my guilty confession is that yes, I do still sleep with it. (luckily my husband doesn’t mind)

• I am so baby hungry that it’s not even funny! Sadly I have to wait at least another 2 years until I am done with college. Let’s be honest I probably wouldn’t go back to school if I had one right now…I would just want to stay at home and cuddle with baby all day long.

Well that’s all for now. Maybe I will try again next week. Think of some other bizarre things that make me, me!

xoxo

Mrs. Carter

What Wives do for Their Husbands...

If you do not already know, my husband is a lover of hunting. He lives, eats, breaths, and dreams about hunting. Hunting runs in his family way back to probably pioneer times. His dad taught him the ways when he was just a little kiddlin. Well, when we got started talking about getting married hunting was a big subject. He would be gone a lot during hunting season and I was not so sure how I felt about that. That was when I came up with the idea to surprise him and take hunters ed. I signed up for the online course and started getting the work done. I finished the online course in the spring but there were not any field days (the final test) available around my area. I had to wait and wait, I would check for a field day at least once a week. Finally I found one in the fall. This is when I broke the news to Jimi that I would be joining him this hunting season. He was very excited and we started target practice and getting me some camo. As the day of the test arrived I was beginning to get very nervous! Low and behold I PASSED!!!!

I got my hunting license just two days before the deer hunt opened. We woke up very early that opening day and ventured out with our good friends Erica and Chad. Jimi and Chad have been good friends since high school and me and Erica are newly friends since her and Chad have started dating. For a while we did not think that we were going to have any luck finding a buck. Erica and I were allowed the first shot since this was our first year hunting. After an hour or two we found a buck, and Jimi told me it was my turn to shoot. This is when "buck fever" set in. I was shaking like there was no tomorrow. I was so nervous that I could not hold the gun still. Jimi had to kneel down in front of me and let me rest the gun on his shoulder to hold it steady. Pow! I shot my deer. Getting over to the deer was the hard part. It was like trudging through a forest, down a cliff, through some mud, back up a cliff, and out through the trees. When we got to my deer he was still alive so I had to give a final shot to kill him. Luckily Jimi did not make me gut the deer this time but I did help pull it out to the truck.

I have one proud husband! Let's just say that hunting might not be my favorite thing in the world, but it gives me and Jimi something to do together. I love seeing parts of the country and mountains that I would never see if I was not hunting. I am so happy to have proof of my first deer. He may be a little guy but I feel very acomplished.

xoxo 

Mrs. Carter

St. Geezy Lovin'

We decided to take our first road trip. Destination = St. George, Utah. Mmm. Mmm. This place warms my soul. Going to St. George was a nice get away from the cold weather we have been having here in cache valley. Break out the shorts + swimsuits.This is the perfect destination to get away to enjoy some heat along with many fun activities...not to mention you are only a couple hours away from Colorado City where you can see the polygamist community. (It’s a very fascination place I must say. I may have just a small obsession with learning about polygamists. However, I would never be one).

My family goes to St. George quite a bit for two reasons : 1. My sister, Jaycee, lives there with her family. 2. My dad’s sister lives there. I would say those are two pretty good excuses to take a trip down there. This trip was sort of special….Jimi had never been to St. George before. Gee it was so fun to show him the great sites and places to go. We had a blast! And of course it was an added bonus to see little Oaklee. 

Food + Hiking + Swimming + Pickle ball + Family = a great get-away weekend. 

xoxo

Mrs. Carter