14 Highlights of 2014

Here we are, at the end of another year. Pretty crazy, huh? I thought it might be kinda fun to reminisce on my favorite parts of 2014! (There are a LOT, so beware!)

1. Watching the first sunrise of 2014 together. We popped open a bottle of Martinelli's and cuddled up.

2. The proposal. It was a total surprise, and that whole day was simply perfect!

3. The Gilbert temple open house and dedication. Seeing the temple from start to finish, then being sealed there was so special to us.

4. Roadtrip to Utah with these cool cats!

5. Jerica's bridal shower! It was my first time meeting her, and seriously, she's the best! Christopher chose a good one!

6. Our wedding, duh! Someday I'll find and post all the pictures....

7. Traveling to Seattle to be at Christopher and Jerica's wedding. Such an awesome weekend!

8. This handsome man took me on my first fishing trip. The icing on the cake was seeing like 5 bald eagles, and catching 3 rainbow trout!!

9. Playing hooky at the zoo and meeting a childhood dream!

10. Catching frogs and playing frisbee golf at Perfect Park 2.0!

11. Bringing this little cutie home and watching him grow up so fast. Even though he's not mine anymore, he'll always be my Tony Chopper.

 12. That awesome weekend when Clara and Kim came to visit!

13. The best date ever in Sydney, NE.

14. Flying to AZ to surprise my silly sisters! They both danced so wonderfully in the Nutcracker!

2014 has been such a crazy awesome year! I visited 4 new states, drove thousands of miles, cooked more meals than I ever have before, and gained a whole other family! (Having 2 families rocks!) Daniel and I ended up no where near where we imagined, but we're closer than we've ever been. With so many adventures in one year, I can't wait to see where 2015 takes us! 

Happy New Year, everybody! Finish the year strong!!

Love Story Part 2: The Game, The Party, and The Guns

Our football team had made it to the State Championship, and we were stoked! Dan took me and a couple of friends to the Cardinal Stadium for a day of tailgating and "We Believe"-ing. We got there at about noon that day, and left around 11. By the time we got out of there, we were all tired and depressed about the failure we just witnessed. It was an hour drive home, and I was almost dozing.
Dan tried to lighten the mood by telling me about his favorite TV show. I tried very hard to listen and understand, but not a single word was making sense to me. The boys were talking about going out for pizza and wings, and I was trying to convince myself into it. It sounded fun and all, but I was beat. At the last minute, when Daniel was about to turn left, when home was right, I interrupted their conversation and asked him to take me home. My bed was calling me.

Little did I know, that one of his friends said that the reason I wanted to go home was because he was talking about that TV show. He said I thought he was a huge nerd. Dan didn't call me anymore after that. I thought he lost interest in me, and I didn't blame him.

Months later, a guy I grew up with was going on a mission. I went to his open house, and saw Dan playing chess with him. I went up to say hi, and ended up watching the whole game. One of them mentioned that TV show Dan was so fond of, and I said, "Oh, hey, weren't you going to show me what that's all about?" He said, "You want me to??" and I said, "Sure!" 

A short period of time later, he called me to set up a double date. We went out to the desert to shoot some guns, namely to test out his dad's new double barrel shot gun. Man, that thing KICKED! Hahaha! When it got dark, we picked up some In-n-Out and headed to Dan's house. And that, my friends, is where we watched the first five episodes of "Avatar: The Last Airbender".

Previously:

Part One: Becoming Friends

Bits 'n Pieces: Moving

1. A couple weeks ago, Dan and I decided to start a work out routine. It was really fun...for the few days that it lasted. How about we start on New Year's?

2. This weekend was so fun!! I surprised my little sisters by coming down to watch their Nutcracker shows. It was such a blast, seeing how much they've grown and improved! I also got to go shopping with my big sissy, and help out backstage with my mom!

3. While I was away, Chopper was at a kennel, and boy did he have fun! When we brought him home, he was so exhausted from playing all day, he went to bed hours early and slept the whole night! I'm so glad he learned how to play with other dogs, because he's gonna have the time of his life with Mila next week!

4. I only have 4 more days in Colorado. That is so sad!

5. Daniel and I LOVE to go to the movies! Our most recent flick was "Penguins of Madagascar". If you have little ones, go see it! If you have grandchildren, go see it! If you're a kid at heart, go see it! It was adorable!

6. Last week, we decided to make this Christmas season more about service. Since it won't really be possible to officially do "12 Days of Christmas Service" like we'd hoped, we're going to do 12 random acts of kindness this month! As of now, we have 2 down, 10 to go. So far, it's really really fun! I'm so thankful that I have a husband who'd do this with me :)

7. Chopper and I went on a walk today! Like a real one, not just up the street and back. He was really skittish at first, but on our way home, he seemed relaxed and confident. He's such a good dog!

8. This weekend, I had 3 of my favorite foods: Apple pie, Nori maki, and Candy Cane Jo Jo's! YUM!

9. I just realized that, even if we weren't moving, it might just be time to take down the autumn wreath from the door...and the hanging ghost in the living room. #autumnlover

10. So ya. Things have been CRAZY! Sorry for the neglect, y'all. And I apologize in advance that I probably won't write again until...i don't know. Moving stinks! In the meantime, I'll be on instagram ( @xosaracxo )!

The Best Day Ever

Two days ago, my husband let slip that he had a secret date planned. Rookie mistake: you don't tell me you have a secret date for later, because I'll be so giddy that you'll be forced to take me the very next day. Which is exactly what he did. ;) 

First surprise: Unbeknownst to me, Sydney, Nebraska is home to the very first Cabela's. The very. first. one. How cool is that?? We only live about 40 minutes away from Sydney, so what a fun date! We got ourselves some fudge, Dan held his dream gun (tricolored .45 1911), and we had a grand old time!

Some people like Bass Pro better, but to us...they're both great. Stick me in a room with real live taxidermied animals, and I'm happy as a bear! (Pun intended) I was, however, slightly disappointed that there wasn't a huge pond full of game fish. But, hey, the elephant made up for it!

Second surprise: A few weeks ago, I heard a commercial on the radio for a restaurant called Perkins. There was such a restaurant near my neighborhood when I was really young, but it went out of business over a decade ago. I still associate it with fond memories with my family. Hearing that they still exist got me real excited, and I had to tell my sweet husband all about it, to which he replied, "Perkins, who?" 

The dear man remembered my excitement, looked up the address, and took me for lunch. <3 It was just as delicious as I (was too young to actually) remember.

Third, very unexpected. surprise: As we pulled into Cabela's, after Dan pointed out our lunch destination, and as I gazed toward the half-frozen urban lake, I screamed. There, in the grass, on the lake, on the sidewalks, were hundreds of Canada geese! As a child, these were my favorite bird and I always dreamed of meeting one up close. 

Though they outnumbered me, they had reservations about my intended up-close meeting. As they fled faster, I knew what I had to do. The feeling of a hundred geese flying all around you is exhilarating! They certainly didn't want to, but they flew.

And so did I.

It was a day that couldn't be dampened by work calls, rent payments, or cold weather. As the chilling Nebraska wind froze my face, I couldn't stop telling my husband, "You are the best! You're seriously the coolest! I love you so much! Did you know that?? Do you know how much I love you?? I can't believe it! This is the best day ever!" I meant it.

My husband, everybody. Man of the Year. <3

10 Things to be Grateful For

1. The fact that my husband does have a job and can support our family

2. The beautiful, fresh snow from yesterday morning

3. That my dog got 3 vaccinations yesterday, and didn't whine once

4. That even though Thanksgiving isn't on time this year, we'll have it together

5. Pumpkin pie

6. That Lite Cool Whip tastes just as good when the real deal was sold out

7. Village Inn and Little Ceasar's

8. Warm, waterproof boots

9. The fact that the furnace blows a disproportionate amount of hot air into the bathroom, so every time you walk in you can feel any and all goosebumps melt

10. That the mice have no idea how to get onto the kitchen table: my one last grip on sanity

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all! May warmth and love be your companions this whole season! :)

Bits 'n Pieces: Life is Swell

1. The mice are back with a vengeance. Their scurrying around freaks me out at night, and I hate finding their crap all over! Killing them with traps is making me nauseated...I wish we could just fumigate.

2. On Wednesday, I had a RS Christmas Kickoff party! So fun! When I got home, Dan had prepared a delicious meal of enchiladas and spanish rice. He's so wonderful!

3. I have almost all of my Christmas shopping done! Which is a pretty big miracle, considering there are no shopping malls within an hour and a half of here. Amazon is the best!

4. Last night, I had a "Taken" related dream. (It wasn't scary or anything, I was helping Liam Neeson find her.) But I woke up really wanting to watch that movie. I now have a renewed sense of gratitude for my dad, who I know would kill 1000 Albanian pimp lords to save me. Love you, Dad!

5. It's been about a week since it last snowed, and now it is sooooo nice and warm! I'm still mourning the death of our snowman, though.

6. Daniel and I have embarked on a top secret project! It'll probably be a long time in the making, but I absolutely love that we have something to dream up and laugh about together. It's so much fun and we're letting our creative energy flow. I have the best Partner in Crime!

7. Happiness is...a fully checked off chore list.

8. My latest reads: "Book of a Thousand Days" by Shannon Hale, and "The Lost Hero" by Rick Riordan. I read both in one day each this week--not in a row though. Hahaha! I just couldn't put them down! Shannon Hale always amazes me with he captivating stories. And I can't wait to continue the Heroes of Olympus series (kind of a continuation of the Percy Jackson books). Reading is my fave. When they say that the activities you enjoyed as a ten year old are things you'll still love...they were absolutely right!

9. Tomorrow, I'm singing in the ward choir in Sacrament meeting; it's the special Thanksgiving musical number. I'm so thankful to be a part of a choir at the moment, and can't wait for the opportunity to participate in a chorus in college! I've missed it so much!

10. It's exactly 28 days until the move. Wow! Please someone kick me in the behind so I start packing!

DIY: Thankful Turkeys

What do you do when you want to add some Thanksgiving spirit to your house, but all you have is construction paper, googly eyes, and two empty Pringles cans?

You make turkeys.

I got the idea from my cousin, who made paper turkeys with her kids. On each tail feather, they wrote something that they're grateful for. I was totally going to do that until I realized that the empty inside of the Pringles cans can't go to waste. 

This month, Daniel and I are filling up each other's turkey with things that we're grateful for about one another. I imagine that on Thanksgiving, we'll read everything inside our turkeys. I'm super excited! If this works out well, it might become a Coley family tradition! 

What are your family's Thanksgiving traditions?