Joe & Marissa Taylor

Lets pretend I have been really good about posting.....

2012-01-01T23:44:00.000-08:00

WOW!!! I can't believe it has almost been 6 months since I did my last post! I promise I'm not giving up on my blog because I still think it is very important to update it BUT I have only had internet on my phone for the past 5 months, because paying for internet at home and at Joes office its just way too expensive.
So...what have we been up to? you ask... well lets see, we spent the summer enjoying our days in the sun doing things like going to 7 peaks, Park City, playing tennis, walks with Maddux and playing with Maddux in this awesome water playground by our house!
My cute nephew David and I on our way to Seven Peaks

My other super cute nephew Jacob on our way to Seven Peaks

Since this was my first real summer off, I decided to get back into doing something I used to do my whole life growing up, performing and musical theater! So all summer I spent my nights under the bright lights of the stage in Centerpoint Legacy Theaters production of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers as one of the brides "Ruth".

Monday/Wednesday/Friday night cast of Seven Brides (I'm in Blue with brown hair)

My first show I got to do with my sister Ashley and it was so fun to get to do THIS show together. This is Ashley and I in the dressing room before one of the shows.

Trevor was my brother groom "Caleb" throughout the show and was the BEST partner a girl could ask for, he is so awesome!! We became such great friends through this process and it is so great to have had the chance to work with him! This is us just playing around backstage.

This is during the show while the girls are stuck at the cabin with the boys during the winter and it just started turning spring so of course we did a "Spring Dance" haha

During the show there is a town social and this is taken during the 6min long dance number called the "challenge Dance" where the brothers are trying to win the love from the girls and steal them away from their current suitors.

At the end of the show there is of course, a wedding and ALL us 7 girls marry the 7 brother (hence 7 brides for 7 brothers LOL) and then we party, this is taken during the show and the party dance.

Joe came to see the show a couple time throughout the 30 day run of the show and so did my parents!!!! I was so excited to have my parents see the show and finally get to have to opportunity to see Ashley and I in a show together!! (don't mind the polygamist looking dresses in these photos, were just still in costume) LOL

This is Joe and I after the show!!

This is Ashley, Mom (Paula), and I after the show!!

In the fall I found myself once again in rehearsals for Courage Theater's production of Victor Victoria, started my 6th year working for Montessori Community School, however this year teaching Early Childhood (ages 3-6) and with an amazing working schedule 11:30-6pm M-F which allows me to still have my late nights doing shows without effecting sleep (we ALL know how much I enjoy my sleep)!

A few pictures from Victor Victoria

"La Jazz Hot"

"Louis Says"

Finale "Victor Victoria"

We enjoyed our Halloween and partook in some of our traditional activities but it definitely went by fast this year especially since I had a show to do on Halloween night!
Happy Halloween!! A Cockapoo (what Maddux's breed is called) dressed up like a wiener! hahaha LOL

This fall we also found the time to go on vacation (I know right?) to New York for the first time and it was AMAZING! We stayed with Joes sister Cassie and her family who lives there and had a jam packed schedule to see EVERYTHING we possibly could while we were there. My favorite part of the trip was of course seeing Wicked on Broadway with the most amazing seats that Cassie found for us. While we were in NYC I even got to see my good friend Ashley Gerson (from high school) who is going to grad school and working there.

On our way to NYC in the plane!!

Our first stop is of course Hobokin, NJ to Carlos Bake Shop (Home of TLC's Cake Boss) This is Joe, David (our nephew) and Me in front of the shop.

The crowds were INSANE and the day we went was considered a Light busy day haha BUT grace (Buddy's oldest sister) was working and she was offering to take pictures with people so OF COURSE I jumped on that hahah

After the bakery we headed back to NYC for lunch at the famous Shake Shake and I think Joe Loved it almost (ALMOST) more then IN-n-OUT (not an attractive picture but hey he was digging that food) haha

After getting some food in our tummy's and trying out our sweet bakery treats we headed over to the world famous NYC Natural History Museum, this place was HUGE with some of the most AMAZING dinosaur displays I have ever seen and our nephew David knew the names of EVERY ONE!! This is Joe, David and me in front of one of the HUGE dinosaurs.

We then walked through Central Park which definetly turned out to be one of my most favorite parts of this trip! BEAUTIFUL!!

Continuing on our way during day 1 still we headed over to FAO Schwartz. This statue of liberty is made of all Legos.

To round out our 1st day in New York we finished with the Top of the Rock at Rockefeller Center!! This was also one of the best highlights of this trip and some beautiful views. It was just beginning to be sunset too as we got to the top and WOW was it amazing!

It was VERY windy at the top.

Empire State Building at sunset taken from Top of the Rock.

Day #2 started out by Joe and venturing out ALONE (with out Cassie and kids) to Brooklyn, NY to eat at world Famous Gramaldies Pizza. We stood in line for this pizza at 10am in themorning for 45min BEFORE they even opened CRAZY place! It was so good tho!

We then walked from Brooklyn to Manhattan over the Brooklyn Bridge. Its about a 1.5 mile walk and very worth the time and energy. It was very pretty and relaxing walk.

After the Brooklyn adventure we headed over to, SOHO,China Town, Little Italy and Canal St. for a world of NEW adventures and some bargaining. (No pictures of this because they are not that interesting)

We then were headed over to Time Square to meet Cassie and Dave for dinner and stopped off at The Empire State Building! Its Amazing to me how HUGE these buildings are.

Inside Macey's (they were already decorating for Christmas)!! Macey's is 9 stories too its HUGE and when you get to the top the escalators are so old that they are made of WOOD!

On our way to dinner Hell's Kitchen and a Broadway show with Cassie and Dave, we had to meet up with my high school friend Ashley Gerson at the M&M Factory in Time Square!! It was so good to see her and catch up. When we were in High school we were inseparable for our Junior and senior years, I miss her so much!

To finish off the day we had a double date night with Cassie and Dave and ate at Hell's Kitchen which was good food but just not enough food for how expensive it was and went and saw WICKED on Broadway which proved to be the highlight of our WHOLE trip! It has ALWAYS been a dream of mine to see Wicked on Broadway and every second was worth it!

As we walked back to Grand Central Station to get on the train back to Cassie and Dave's house we walked through Time Square at Night and it is just jaw dropping to see all those lights and Big Screens all over the place! Just Amazing!

Day #3 was interesting to say the least. It was a good day BUT we definetly learned that it is NOT smart to go on vacation in New York with two kids unless you have 4 or more adults to help. It was crazy getting these little buggers on and off the trains and subways with strollers and stuff. Just NUTS! However on the other hand it was so fun to have EVERYONE Cassie, Dave, David Jr., Jacob, Joe and me spending the day together exploring New York City!

Once we got to Manhattan our first stop was seeing the Statue of Liberty. Since we are cheep and it cost $40.00 a person to so to the island we opted for the free ferry that takes you right next to the island AND it s FREE! haha

Such a cute family in front of The Statue of Liberty

This is how close the ferry got us with out me using my zoom. Pretty close if you ask me for it being FREE!

On the train on the way back to the Larsen's home base to eat some pizza from the pizza place downstairs at their apartment (to have a pizza place below your apartment reminds me so much of the "Friends" apartment for some reason)

To round out day 3 and our last night in New York Cassie made arrangements for us to go see the Sleepy Hollow Manner Pumpkin Display. It was so cool to see all these brilliantly carved pumpkins. Behind us is a beehive and a ton of tiny carved pumpkins that look like bees.

Of course our last and final stop had to be the classic Dunkin Donuts! (you cant go to the east coast and not eat some DD)

You would think our fall was over by now but think again...we enjoyed a fantastically yummy Thanksgiving with Joes family here in Salt Lake this year. We watched the Macey's Thanksgiving Day Parade (which was extra special this year knowing we stood right where the star was just a couple weeks before) cooked ham, turkey, stuffing, rolls and all the fixings to kick
off this season of being fat, we then went to the movies at the new theater here in Centerville to watch Aurther's Christmas! HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

After Thanksgiving the last 3 weeks went by like a blink of the eye! I am now on winter break from my work. As of 2 Fridays ago I took my 7 hour test (verbal and written) and finished my IGS Infant and Toddler Montessori Training (which falls under the incredibly hard MACTE qualifications and took me a year and a half to jump through hoops and finish more course work then my Montessori early childhood certification, which I also have!)

On Dec. 20th Joe's youngest brother David got home from his 2 year mission with the Church of jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints from Uruguay!!

The Taylor Boys

On Friday Dec.23rd Joe, Maddux and I left for San Diego to spend Christmas with my family for 7 days! We also went to Sea World this year wich is a HUGE change for our family since we usually go to Disneyland but it had its pros and cons. Pros: less crowds, my dad came (which he NEVER does because of his back), quick drive to and home from Sea World since we live so close, we were able to sleep in and get there at noon and stay till close at 8pm and still see EVERYTHING! Cons: its not Disneyland, cost was still WAYYYY too high for what the park offers, every show included water being sprayed into the crowd and once you got sprayed it felt so cold all day.

some pictures of us all at Sea World:

Christmas day! It was 76 degrees outside when we got out of church!! So BEAUTIFUL!! Man i cant wait to live there again!!

This year we are spending New Years Eve with friends and the Taylor family.
I can not believe the new year is approaching so fast but I welcome it and am so excited for all the new life changes and experiences we will have in this new year! Here is to 2012 being the best year EVER!

Where has the time gone...?

2011-07-30T20:25:00.000-07:00

WOW I can’t believe a whole summer has gone by and I have not updated my blog! However I wish I had so much more to update you all with but unfortunately I don’t haha! Well this summer has consisted of many fun activities but for me mainly rehearsing and performing in Seven Brides for Seven Brother at Centerpoint Theater (more on that later). Joe has been working like crazy and searching for a new office for his business.

Usually our summers are consumed with several vacations and camping trips but this summer has been much much different because of our busy schedules… so some of the fun things we have done thorough June and July are:

Having multiple dinners and game nights/ movies with our good friends the Siggard’s:

With a Groupon we purchased a while ago, we were able to spend a day date with high adventure activities and lunch at Brick Oven:

Me rock climbing

Joe Rock Climbing

Me zip lineing

Joe getting ready to zip line

Me in front of brick oven (the last time I was there I was like 7…its not as good as I remembered it) :/

For forth of July we went to Hoggle Zoo for the first time. It was fun…small… but still fun.

This is after the bird show! I took this with my camera phone! The eagle was being so awesome!

That night we went onto a high hill in The Avenues and watched the fireworks over the WHOLE valley!The location we went to was actually the exact place where Joe and I first met 5 1/2 years ago...on a tennis court!

So far we have had a great summer and have managed to stay fairly cool! We have gone to Seven Peaks Salt Lake 1 time so far, walked the dog almost every other day and have spent many hours just hanging around and relaxing!

Oh yeah...what has Maddux been up to you ask?? well he has spent many many hours playing with his new good friend Khalessi and his cousins (Henry and Molly)...

Maddux and Khalessi:

as well as, spent many hours just relaxing in his favorite spot! :) haha funny puppy!!

Happy Summer Everyone!

2 Years!

2011-05-22T15:18:00.000-07:00

Today is a special day! Today is our 2 year anniversary! I can not believe it has been 2 years already but it has been the best 2 years of our lives! It feels like we just got married last month but so many awesome things have happened in the last two years! WE got our baby puppy Maddux, WE bought a house, WE got our first combined credit card (haha), WE bought a business (Computer Re-Nu/Mobile Computers), WE went on several vacations, etc.! We learn more and more about each other everyday! We are enjoying the time that we are having together now and loving every minute of it!

LIVE*LOVE*LAUGH

Happy 2 Year Anniversary to us!!!!

Happy Mothers Day

2011-05-09T20:08:00.000-07:00

Happy mothers day to one of the best mommy's in the world! I always knew she was an amazing mother but i never really did appreciate everything she did for me and still does for me until I was much older. She would give the shirt off her back if someone needed it. She reminds me more and more everyday of my Grandma Reeves who was also a loving and amazing women. I want my mom to know how much i love her and how much i appreciate everything she has always done for me!

Happy Mothers Day Mommy!

I love you always and forever!

Everyone loves a wedding!

2011-05-09T19:43:00.000-07:00

Joe and I have been good friends with Nate and his family (the Wilkins) for about 6 years now, and last Saturday was just another reason to party and celebrate with the whole family! It was Nate and Jen's Wedding!! Saturday May 7, 2011 was a beautiful day here in Utah. It was a grand 73 degrees and clear skies. A perfect day for a wedding! Nate and Jen got married in the Bountiful Temple, it was beautiful! The reception was held at the Carmelle Reception Center in Holliday, Utah. The reception was gorgious and so elegant, i loved it! Jen looked amazing and Nate looked handsome, these two couldn't be more perfect for each other. We love them both and want to wish them lots of happiness!

*Jen and Nate cutting the cake

*This was perfect! Jen smashing the cake in Nates face!

*The reception from the balcony

*beautiful cake

* Kim and I ( Kim is married to T, who is Nates brother. T and Kim are some of our best friends)

*Joe and I with the bride and groom

*Joe chatting with T and Nick (Nates brother and brother in law)

*T drinking some of the best chocolate fountain chocolate I have ever had.

Congratulations Nate and Jen Wilkins!!

I.am.the.cure

2011-05-09T17:59:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday was the annual Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Walk!! Every year I attend this walk and every year I am amazed at the amount of people that this tragic disease effects. This is something that is really close to me because even though i have never had someone in my direct life be so tragically effected from breast cancer, i have had people close to me that have had family members die or suffer from breast cancer and it is never something you want to see someone go through. I am convinced that getting the word out and making women aware is the cure, if you find out earlier the survival rate is astronomically higher then those that are uneducated and unsure how to diagnose the symptoms and get to the doctor early. As i was walking on Saturday i saw this young girl, probably around 15 yrs old and she was wearing a survivor T-shirt that said "who are you honoring? ME!" I couldn't believe this beautiful young girl has already experienced something so scary and tragic this early in her life, I couldn't help but wonder how happy and full of promise she must feel, and how i'm sure she will never take her life for granted after facing head-on a deadly disease. I couldn't help but think that because of events like the Susan G. Komen walk, young girls like her are getting educated and are able to know when something is not right with their own body early.

Direct in front center of this picture is some of the people that walked in the group with us!

Look at all the people waiting in line behind us right before the walk started.

These are all the people waiting in line in front of us before the walk started

My father-in-law John was the only one who made it out of bed to join me in the walk. (Joe=too tired, Thomas =too early, Dorothy =sick ) But John did a great job and lasted the entire 5K. I was so proud of him!

Some of the people we went with... From left: Kelly, Allison, Nanette, Me/Maddux, Alecia, Maria. Nanette and her sisters lost their mom to breast cancer.

LOOK at the people on that hill in front of us during the walk....INSANE!!!!

All the people behind us during the walk...it is said there was something like 500,000 people CRAZY!

Maddux came on the walk too and he LOVED it!! He wore his breast cancer bandanna and thought he had enough time to say "hi" to EVERYONE at the event haha funny dogie! :)

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T22:13:00.000-07:00

For Easter this year we started out the festivities at my in-laws house with a fun family Easter party!

The kids got to start out the afternoon with a fun little Easter egg hunt that Dorothy and John set up! They loved it!

These are some of Joe's cousins waiting to start the hunt!

From left: Seri, Mazie, Camille, Micheal and Kyle!

Seri barely containing her excitement to start the Egg Hunt!

And off they gooooo.....

Maddux found his treat.... a Frisbee!

Thomas trying to catch the fastest dog in the world! haha good luck!

now Micheal is trying hahah...seriously Maddux could do this for hours!

Grandpa Savage and little William just finishing their Egg Hunt!

My Mother in Law Dorothy and I! She is just amazing at planning family events like this! They are always so much fun!

Grandma and Grandpa Savage helping to get the food ready to eat the big feast!

Everyone sitting down to eat some of the most amazing food ever! We had a turkey, ham, potatoes, rolls, gravey, egg salad, salad, jello salad etc... it was amazing!

We also enjoyed part of the day playing on the Wii Karioke that Joe and i brought! That game is always an amazing party favorite!
This is Mazie singing.

Grandma Savage made the BEST homemade banana cake for all the birthdays in 2011! She always makes amazing cakes!

The day was also filled with playing a lot of family games this is a picture of Dorothy and Seri playing a game of Blockus!!

To end... there was even sugar cookie decorating!
Seri with her cookie!

Camille with her beautifully decorated cookie!

On Easter Sunday!
Joe and I woke up to some nicely filled Easter Baskets (thanks to me haha) AND we decided to set up a small Easter egg hunt for Maddux in out backyard! Now this was Maddux's first Easter Egg Hunt and boy was it a hit! He loved running around the back yard and finding all the eggs with dog treats in them! He even figured out how to open them! It was awesome to watch him run around the backyard and find all 5 little eggs strategically planted just for him!

The rest of the day was spent going to church, relaxing, watching movies and eating a wonderful lemon chicken, green bean and breadstick dinner!

Happy Easter Everyone!!!

San Diego...where the sun always shines!!!

2011-04-24T21:40:00.000-07:00

So because I work at a school I still get to have the wonderful luxury of spring break! This spring break I decided I would go to San Diego to visit my parents! Joe had to work and at this time it just was not possible for him to come, so i went alone! I rarely ever do anything alone so this was a huge event for me to travel all the way back there by myself! I looked into taking Maddux with me but it was more money to fly him with me then it cost for my entire round trip ticket!! So....sadly i had to leave him here to keep Joe company (which he LOVED)!
The trip started out with a flight from here to Phoenix, where i then had a lay over for 2 hours!!Now i don't like to complain but seriously i hate being alone and to be alone in a weird airport with like a million strangers is the worst!BUT i got through it and over it! On to San Diego i went!
It is seriously amazing how wonderful i feel the second i land in California! Its like i can breathe, my skins feels soft and smooth, my allergies go away and man that vitamin D is amazing!!!
I was greeted my my magnificent Daddy with a large hug!
Well all in all I was so happy to be home!
I spent the first and second day just laying out in my back yard and sleeping! It was amazing!

After some good quality time gathering some much needed vitamin D, i spent the evening with a good friend of mine since i was about 5years old! He just recently got engaged to his long time girlfriend Dana. We are so excited for them!
We sat around talking, laughing and catching up!
This is a picture of my good friend Kale and I!

Thursday was pretty much the same as Wednesday, just laying around and resting! However I did visit with my best friends Aubrey and Heather! Man, i almost forgot how it felt to have such good and genuine friends! Its so nice to know how much best friends impact your life and how if they are truly your friend they will always be there for you through anything and will never let you down or give up on your friendship for anything! LOVE YOU AUBS & HEATHER!!!!

soooo... now for the best day of my trip! FRIDAYYYYY!! (also known as mommy's day!) we started out the day with going to breakfast, but when we pulled up to our favorite breakfast joint in Poway, Le Peep, it was CLOSED, indefinitely! :( we were so sad about this because that place is like the best. so we picked another place and decided to eat at The Original Pancake House instead! It was so so so yummy though!! Then we were onto the rest of our day...
We started out by going to this store called City Lights! Yes it is a Christmas/ holiday store and Yes it is April! Did that answer all your questions? haha but seriously it is the BEST store ever! I mean its like Christmas threw up in there and made it look so beautiful and sparkly!! well we had loads of fun wondering in there for a couple of hours! That place is HUGE!

This is my mom looking at all the Jim Shore Disney collectibles they had! I think the count she has now is like 35 placed nicely all around her house!

This is the one my mom bought me (Alice in Wonderland) to add to my growing collection! (Yes we are Disney freaks in the Gardner family)

This is me in the Halloween room! It was soooo awesome looking in there! I LOVED it!

A bird attacking my mom in the Halloween room!

Seriously, the decorations they had were amazing! The pictures don't give it justice! They also had a Christmas town and a Halloween town all set up with Plexiglas surrounding them and they were so huge! like 20' x 20'! with AMAZING DETAIL!

Then we went on to go to the Fashion Valley Mall (which is also what the Gateway Mall in Salt Lake City was modeled after if you didn't know!) we shopped for a while, had dip-n-dots and enjoyed wondering around in the 70 degree weather!
We of course stopped off at the brand new Disney store they have and bought some Christmas presents for my Nephew and soon to come Niece!
This is me in the big castle they have in the center of the store!

After we were all pooped out from shopping, we of course finished our day with going to the Costco in Poway to buy goodies and this fun little treat that i worked hard at bringing home with me on an airplane....

THATS RIGHT!!!!! Uncooked Pat & Oscars Breadsticks!!!!! Soooo amazing! Now for those of you who have never had Pat & Oscars, first of all you are totally missing out but second this is like a fantasy dream/wish come true that now they sell them at Costco for you to make at home!! My mom said that if they turned out good when i got back to Utah that she would send me more ;) ! Then i can freeze them and have them anytime I want! soooo Excited! I know there just breadsticks and something I should not be this excited about but man they are so amazing! Plus its just so nice to have something i grew up with and love so much, finally be somewhat easy to get! :) yay yay yay

The day ended with eating at the brand new In and Out, (finished while i was there) in Poway!

And so my trip was now over! It was so relaxing to go home and not worry about all those day to day chores that get to you when you are at your own house and to just simply relax and see my wonderful, amazing parents! I caught my plane at 6am in the morning and arrived in salt lake at 1pm (of course i had that 2 1/2 hour layover again booooo) but boy was it nice to see the happy faces of my own little family when they pulled up at the airport to get me! Maddux was beyond excited! Oh and so was Joe...i think haha ;)

Holy Cow! ITS APRIL!!!!!

2011-04-21T13:09:00.000-07:00

So when i finally visited my poor little neglected blog i noticed I have not posted since December!!! So if you are still reading this and haven't given up on us through our 5 month hiatus, then i thank you and i will try my best to catch you up on the fun events that have occurred in our lives over the past 5 MONTHS!!!

First off...CHRISTMAS!!!
we had a great Christmas. It was very low key, but fabulous! Since it was Joe's parents year for Christmas, we spent it with them. Since they live in Utah now it was a change for Joe and I to not be traveling anywhere for my favorite holiday. It worked out perfect because we were able to have our OWN Christmas in our OWN home before going over to his parents for the rest of the days festivities. In the days leading up before Christmas, Joe's sister Cassie, Dave and their kids David and Jacob came to visit form NEW YORK! It was so awesome to have them here and spend such good quality time together! I am really lucky to have a sister in law that i get along with so well and love like a true sister! PLUS, I get to see my little lovable nephews!!

Joe and his gifts after our own little Christmas!

Me and my gifts after our little Christmas! (Look at the amazing black UGG's on my feet yayyy)

Us all opening presents at Joe's Parents house, before leaving to eat dinner and open presents at Grandma & Grandpa Savage's house! (I remember it was such a beautiful day that day as we drove through the mountains to their house)

In the days following Christmas, some of the family on my side came to visit! My Aunt Susie, Uncle Tom and their kids, Hunter and Eliza. My Grandma Ulla (my dad's mom) and my brother Jason, Shelly and their kid Mathias. We all had dinner at our house and I had my first chance to make a HAM! It was Fabulous! I loved having them all over, we ate dinner and played games and just laughed and had lots of fun! The next night we all went to temple square and saw all the pretty lights! Joe and I usually do this every year but it was especially special for my Grandma to be there because i don't think she had ever seen Temple Square like that, since she is from San Diego!

Joe and I at Temple Square!

Jason, Grandma Ulla and I at Temple Square

Later...In the winter we went to the car show! It was much more fun then I had ever expected. I loved it! There were practical cars which is what i seemed to be looking at more but there was also such awesome looking cars too tat were just purely amazing (these were Joe's favorite)! We went with our friends Jesse and Mindie and Joe's brother Thomas. It was a lot of fun and all in all a great day doing something different in the middle of winter!

Joe in front of one of his favorite cars at the show!

Me in my future "MOM" car! haha

Jesse in front of his favorite car!

What else were we up too....

Well.... We got new phones!!!! YES we got the HTC EVOs! I know it sounds ridiculous but they are amazing and have Changed our lives its incredible! When i say that this phone is a life saver, there is no joke in that statement hahah! I rarely use my computer anymore because everything is assessable on my phone! It plays LIVE TV and is my daily planner! It has so many down-loadable amazing apps and had a camera quality that is BETTER then my actual digital camera!! Its just amazing!

YOU SHOULD GET ONE! IT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE!!! LOL

we also...
Had BIRTHDAYSSS!
Maddux turned 1!!!! On February 2nd! This also marks the fact that he has been a little bundle of joy in our lives for a YEAR now which is just mind boggling! WE love this little guys sooo much its insane!

Joe turned 28!!!!!! on March 2nd AND....
I turned 24!!!! on March 23rd!
For our birthdays we tried to keep them as low key as possible but we did do one thing pretty fun... we went SNOWBOARDING!! We both love to snowboard BUT it is so expensive! This is why we need to have a good reason to go (like birthdays) and splurge on the fun event!

Me on the Mountain! Brighton Ski Resort!

Dorothy and Thomas relaxing and taking a break in the lodge!

Us at the end of our day!

At the end of March our friends Jesse and Mindie had their baby BRAXTON!!! he is soo adorable! Congratulations guys!!
Welcome Braxton!

The new little Siggard Family!

Joe holding Braxton! This was such an awesome sight for me because Joe is like deathly scared of new babies so when he was holding this little bundle of joy it made me think of our future children and what an awesome dad he will be!

Ok this leads us into April!
Spring is such a fun time and is so full of the beginnings of summer and I am so excited for this summer especially! so more to come soon on: a San Diego vacation, multiple marriages, our 2 YEAR anniversary and many more surprises!! :0

See you soon!

Family Pictures

2010-12-07T13:19:00.000-08:00

We Have started a new tradition in our own family now! This is one that I feel is EXTREMELY important to me. Over the years I have seen families get very wraped up in the hustle and bustle that life brings and I sometimes feel the same way! I have made a promise as Joe and I's family grows to document each year with at least one professional family picture!
This year we decided to get our pictures taken in the beautiful fall leaves that some of Utah's canyons offer!
Our photographer this year was Kari Sikorski and she did such a beautiful job! She was so amazing and even got Maddux to look at the camera without even letting Joe's smile fall off his face in the middle of the rain it was awesome! I just am so happy with every picture she took and am so excited to add them to our yearly family montage!
Thanks you Kari for being so amazing to work with and so nice to us in all our interactions!

If you are interested to book with Kari please contact her at:
Kari Sikorski Photography
Based in Salt Lake City
801 244 6869
or Email her at: kari@Karisikorskiphpotagraphy.com
or visit her website at:
http://www.karisikorskiphotography.com/#splashpage-f4b45

Thanksgiving

2010-12-06T20:41:00.000-08:00

For this thanksgiving Joe and I spent it in San Diego with my family (since Joes family lives in Utah now). We had a ton of fun! we made it down to San Diego in the nice of time before the so called "blizzard" came through Utah.
Right after we got there we were able to spend some good time with my friend Aubrey and her boyfriend Nam! It was so good to see them and eat dinner! We always love anytime we can spend with Aubrey because it is always filled with such love and good laughs!
The next day we went to Disneyland where we used our free passes we earned through the Disney give-a-day get-a-day program back in February. It was so so nice to not have to pay $76.00x2 to get into Disneyland this time and instead we got in FREE!!!! I know right... it was awesome! Anyway Disneyland was way fun but we have discovered (since BOTH of us have been there a million times before) We just don't enjoy it as much when it is just us too... Maybe it is the waiting in line and not enough to talk about to occupy us or something or maybe its because Joe and I both are just such social beans we hate to be alone hahah anyway it was still fun over all. Later that day though we got to meet up with my good friend Lauren Brown who works for Disney and spend the evening with her riding some rides and watching the firework show( my favorite part). Seeing Lauren was so awesome since the last time I got to see her was by chance running into her in the airport while she was on her way to Denmark for her mission and we were going to Las Vegas for a vacation like 3 years ago!! Anyway Lauren is a really good friend of mine form my childhood and it just was so awesome to be able to spend some time with this wonderful lady! :)

After that day...

Was Thanksgiving day!!!!! Since my grandma and grandpa died about 9 or 10 years ago my mom has been holding thanksgiving dinner at our house as also a family reunion for all my family on my moms side (The reeves)! Anyway this year was no different I believe we counted a good 66 people in all that came to thanksgiving this year so ya as you can imagine it was pretty crowded but AWESOME! I loved being able to see all my aunts and uncles and cousins and their own families now it was great!
(pics to come STILL)
After that....

Was BLACK FRIDAY!!!! Yay its like another Christmas for me and also a good reason to go shopping!! hahah since i pretty much only show in the months of November and December I might as well soak it up i guess! Anyway my mom and I hit up Khols and the mall that day and boy was it an adventure There were so many people there but i gotta say the deals made it worth it :)!

After that...
We drove home... It was bitter sweet but it sure was a long ride and I am so proud of Maddux for making it the whole way with out one little peep! :)

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone

FHE...What?????

2010-12-06T20:21:00.000-08:00

FHE… what??

OK so lets face it…my family was never really the FHE (family home evening) Type. Maybe my parents did their best when us kids were really young to keep the FHE tradition alive, but as we got older it just got too hard. I was too busy with dance, Ashley with cheer and Jason with water polo!Sorry mom and dad! Anyway to my dismay... our friends have started a FHE night together with a bunch of married couples once a month. Surprisingly it has been quite a bit of fun!! October was our FHE kick off and we made homemade pizza and carved pumpkins with a spiritual thought at John and Annas house!!

In November we had ice cream and played minute to win it games with a spiritual thought at another couples house! (no pictures of this one sorry)
AND...
IN December we are going to hold it at OUR HOUSE so I will make sure to post about that event as well soon!
Anyway it has actually become a very fun event and good excuse to spend a evening with good friends and fun games! :)
_____________________________________
ALSO..... I Really had to throw in this post as well... This is Maddux this year in his Halloween costume!!! HE'S A SCARECROW!!!! hahhaha He Loved it! Some of our neighbors even gave him bones in his trick or treat bag :)

Traditions... and my attenpt to catch up on life hahha

2010-12-06T20:12:00.000-08:00

Traditions

As the years go on, Joe and I have started to form our own traditions for each holiday. One of our favorite traditions at this time of year is to go to Gardner Village here in Utah. Gardner Village is a witch infested fun festival filled with adorable shops and picture perfect moments. It is a place that strangely reminds me of a real life Halloween Town from the movie once showed on the Disney channel, as I was a kid. This year we decided to go with our good friends Janelle and Hoeun. We had a ton of fun showing them all the neat stuff and guiding them in and out of all the well-decorated Halloween stores. On this particular visit to Gardner Village it was raining!! That’s right raining!!! It started clear but cold and as the day went on it began to rain harder and harder! I was kind of sad about this because I really wanted to show Janelle and Hoeun the magic that surrounded Gardner Village. Even though it was wet and cold they said they still had an excellent time visiting the fun festive Village. After Gardner Village we went out to eat at the one and only GOODWOOD and then hung out with some friends at the “Hunted Hotel” getting scared together! The Hunted Hotel was fun but defiantly not the scariest hunted house I have ever been to. The 3D level was pretty cool but the rest was just so-so…

The only thing that could make this “traditional” weekend come full circle with Halloween fun is none-the-less then my famous Halloween Sugar Cookies!!!! YES “The sugar cookies” !! The one thing about these cookies is that they are AMAZING (not to boast) hahah But this is the reason I only make them in the months of October, November and December. It was a perfect ending to a wonderful Halloween weekend!!

THRILLER

2010-10-21T14:37:00.000-07:00

Every year it seems to be an up and coming tradition for Joe and I to see Thriller at Kingsbury Hall in Salt lake. It is such an amazing show and this year was no exception. However this year was especially special because 3 of my old students I used to teach at the Dance Factory were IN IT!!!! All three were luck enough to try out and make it as chucky dolls in this year’s production. It is always a fun night filled with laughs, tears and pure amazement at the perfection that has become THRILLER!! I love this show so much and it always seems not that Halloween would not ever be the same without it!

Crazy ghosts that climb over chairs to scare the shizz-nat out of people like me hahah :

Joe and I waiting for the show to begin:

Opening number “Thriller”:

One of my favorites “Dem Bones”:

Cooper and Joe playing during intermission:

The girls performing in the Chucky number:

The Girls: Mikele, Cierra and Brianna:

Gev M (From So You Think You Can Dance) was in the show this year!!! He played a Ghostbusters skit several times through the show. He is seen here dancing with an audience member:

Joe and I with one of the creepy CREEPY CrEePy ghosts that wonder about after the show too:

ALL in ALL a FANTASTIC show and such a fun kick off to the festivities that are HALLOWEEN!!!!

Congratulations Megan and John!!

2010-10-21T14:32:00.000-07:00

Today I went to a baby shower for my good friend Megan! I know Megan from when we first met in a class at LDS business Collage and we became good friends fast. We were very lucky to work with one another at the Dance Factory in Bountiful, UT. For 3 years and now we just try and keep in touch as often as we can. LUCKILY, today we got to see each other again for such a fun occasion!! A BABY SHOWER!! I love baby showers. I don’t know if it is the countless hours looking at miniature clothing items or if it is just all the yummy food and funny games that seem to always be surrounding them but they are truly some of my favorite parties to go to. I am so happy for John and Megan who have been married now for almost 3 years, to finally welcome their sure to be adorable little boy into this world (hopefully soon)!! ;)

CONGRATULATIONS MEGAN AND JOHN!!

Megan opening some presents at the shower:

Megan and I:

Smmer and Fall up till now...

2010-09-28T16:39:00.000-07:00

OK so I apologize for my delay in writing anything on my blog lately. Some of the keys on my laptop are broken and I have to find the time to sit on my husband’s computer to write anything....which we all know for me can be hard! ANYWAYSSSSS.... Summer and fall have been a blast for us and have also flown by so fast i can’t even believe Christmas is in 2 months already! WOW! OK so below is just a few things we have been up to in the past few months!

**I FINALLY graduated from the University of Utah!!! GO UTES!!! I got a bachelors in Human Development and Family Studies and Early Childhood Education! yayyy I was so excited to graduate and so proud of myself that I actually finished college. (a lot of people thought I never would hahah who showed up who now haha!)

* At the end of May we went to Yellowstone for a 1 year anniversary. yay we made it! The trip was Maddux's first time and he loved it HOWEVER it was such a cold and wet trip, I don’t know if I can muster up the courage to ever do it again JK! BUT we loved hanging out with our friends the Wilkin’s and catching up on old times! 

**I started my 5th year of teaching at the Montessori at the end of august. Joining Sophie and I this year is our NEW 3rd teacher Janelle! Janelle is a unique add because she is my best friend from before preschool and after years of wishing, her husband and her finally made the move out here to Utah from Boston!! I am so excited and blessed this year to be working with my two best friends and am LOVING every minute of it!!!

**At the beginning of September Joe and I attended the Utah state fair with our good friends Emily and Matt Morris! It was so much fun to spend the evening with them and get to know Emily better! They are truly so much fun to hang out with! Below is a picture of Emily and I about to go on the Farris wheel that Joe and Matt were too scared to go on hahah! It was a lot of fun!

**Joe and I on our way to go on the Giant slide!

 **ALSO at the beginning of September our good friends John and Anna Sullivan got married in the San Diego temple! We were so excited and happy for them to finally tie the knot! We traveled down to San Diego fro like a 24 hour period to attend the wedding and party like rock stars haah JK! It was a fun trip and a beautiful wedding! Congratulations guys!!!!

*** This is Emily, Jane and I at the Salt Lake reception for Mr. & Mrs. Sullivan!

**At the end of September Joe and I attended free museum day! Who doesn’t like free stuff?? Haha We went to the Utah Natural History Museum; it was fun to spend the day together doing something educational and fun! Below is Joe looking at all the different kinds of bees that live in Utah!!!

**Joe looking at a dinosaur head

**Finally last but not least… WE BOUGHT COUCHES!!!!!!! Yayyyy we spend the first 3 months of living in our new home trying to settle in and watching TV on the ground! We were so excited to finally get the couches we had been eyeballing for a long time and complete our new home!

** Some other things that happened over the summer and fall so far that we don’t have pictures of are:
-We got 2 new nephews!! Joe’s sister Cassie and her husband Dave welcomed their new baby Jacob Taylor Larsen into this world in May and we just love this little guy so much!
- Joe’s older brother Cody and his wife Ginger welcomed their new arrival Austin Cody Taylor into this world at the end of August and he is such an adorable bundle of joy!
-We went to Yellowstone again for the Fourth of July weekend with our friends Jessie and Mindy! It was by far the best trip to Yellowstone EVER! We got to stay in a cabin! Who can beat that??
-We moved into our house at the end of June!
-Joe’s cousin Mazie got baptized last Saturday! Congrats Mazie!
-Joes Parents moved to Salt Lake Finally! We are so excited to have them here and more family so close!
-We had several visitors live with us over the summer, including all people who were moving here from varies places! Thomas visiting for 7 weeks from BYU-I , Dorothy and John moving here from San Diego, John Sullivan for 6 weeks because he was getting married and moving back from BYU-I, and my good friends Hoeun and Janelle moving here from Boston! We are so excited to have all of these people living here now and so close to us BUT we are equally excited to have them all out of our house hahahah 
-Maddux is now 8 months old and is loving every minute of having a back yard and his cousin Henry (my sister Ashley’s dog) so close to play with so often!
Well these are some of the things we have been up to and now that I am somewhat caught up maybe It will stay that way…. Hey a girl can dream right?? ;)

Our New House

2010-04-21T12:53:00.000-07:00

So this semester has be extremely stressful not only with school BUT we were also in the process of buying a HOUSE!!! Yes, I know...we bought a house in Utah which was never our plan but it is just where we feel we need to be right now in our lives and this new place couldn't be a better fit for us! We have waited to post or talk about anything until it was FINAL because we didn't want to jinx it or something SO... as of last Monday our house has been closed, signed and recorded and officially in our name!!! yayyyyy I'm so excited to move in and start our life in our NEW HOUSE WITH OUR NEW PUPPY!
The house is in North Salt Lake (west of Bountiful) called Foxboro! It is a one story 3 bed and one din (practically a 4th bedroom if we closed off a wall),2 full bathrooms, 2 car garage, beautiful back yard, built in 2006, in a very friendly family neighborhood and just perfect for us!

**Our beautiful house

**Living room

**Living room fireplace

**Din (off of living room)

**Kitchen

**Backyard

Our new puppy Maddux!

2010-04-01T17:23:00.000-07:00

We recently (and when I say "recently" I mean last Saturday) got a new addition to our little family! We got a....PUPPY!!!! He name is, MADDUX and he is a Cockapoo which is a half and half-mix between a Cocker Spanial and a Poodle which also means YES he is non shedding and YES he is hypo-allergenic (everyone shout hoorray!!) So anyway he is 8 weeks old as of last Tuesday and weighs in at 4 pounds right now, he is just the cutest! This first week with him has been very fun and exciting. We finally pinned down his exact eating schedule as well as decreased his whining at night so, that is good because it breaks my heart to hear him so sad. :( He LOVES his green ball that makes noise and anything he can get his mouth on to chew on! It absolutely runs Joe's nerves whenever he whines which is an interesting incite to see how Joe will be when we have children in the future and they are crying! haha LOL! He is going potty on a pee pad right now but if taken out side he will go right away too (he does great with both methods). Anyway, Maddux has learned the commands: sit, NO, and come (and yes he is only 8 weeks, he catches on quick) haha. He Loves, loves , loves the cats (Simba and Panther) and the cats just LIKE him and are very intrigued with whatever Maddux does. Simba will sit out side of Maddux's running pin and and just watch him for hours haha! Maddux has gotten his first set of shots and has another 3 weeks to go for the second set! He has already discovered PETCO and LOVES it (maybe a little to much)!His best friends right now are his cousin Henry (cockapoo) and his friend Olly(morkie). So all in all we LOVE our new baby very very much and are just trying to enjoy this extremely fun time with him while he is so young!

**His pictures don't do him justice, he is wayyyyy cuter in person (he looks like a little bear in person) :)

**Our Little Baby MADDUX TAYLOR!!!

week one...

2010-02-07T16:07:00.001-08:00

I have lost 4 pounds this week!!! Great start to a fabulous me!

NO News... but its February!!!!!!

2010-02-01T14:16:00.000-08:00

So yes its true we have no exciting news however January was an excellent start to the new year and boy did it go so fast! Some things that happened in our lives in January were:
* I started my last and final semester before I graduate YAY
* We decided we are going to hold out to buy our first house till we move to California :)
*Our cats Simba and Panther turned 3 and was also the anniversary of us having them for 3 years now! WOW feels like yesterday that they were teeny tiny!
* I got Strep for the first time in my life
* Joe stayed extremely busy at his job!

I can not believe it is already February 1st but I'm very excited for this short but fun month of love.
Some things I'm excited about for February are:
*VALENTINE"S DAY
*My mom coming to visit
*My grandma and aunt coming to visit
*My Disney day volunteer activity at the living planet aquarium where we will volunteer 3 hours of our time to get 1 free Disney ticket each!
*2 months of school down and only 2 months to go!!!!
*The fact that I started my diet and workout schedule today and my new goal of loosing 5 pounds this month! (I will keep you posted as it all melts off)

Well that's all my thoughts for now...HAPPY FEBRUARY!!!!!

Free give away... Nursing Covers & Baby Cacoons

2010-01-20T12:48:00.000-08:00

So my Cute sister in law makes nursing covers and baby warm cacoons!! She is doing a free give away right now on her blog if you are interested or if you would like to order one she is selling them through her blog as well @ http://www.memoriescapturedbyshelly.blogspot.com/

ORDER ONE YOU WILL NEVER REGRET IT!!!! :)

**BABY CACOONS** comes in several colors

**ADORABLE NURSING COVERS*** comes in several patterns

November and December 2009

2010-01-17T08:52:00.000-08:00

Ok yes it seems time has flew by and I have not written on my blog in FOREVER so here is a quick catch up on what we were doing in November and December!

NOVEMBER:
November was a eventful month with lots of joys and lots of fun! The first exciting thing that happened to us was In N Out was finally opened in Northern Utah (Draper)which was an awesome experience to bite into one of those amazing hamburgers and have a small taste of California that we both oh so longed for!
Then Thanksgiving came so fast around the corner and this year it was Joe's parents turn to have us all there for thanksgiving. We flew down to San Diego this time, because driving would have wasted to much precious time for such a shot trip. The airport security was so harsh and threw away a bunch of my products (including my expensive Proactive) and it made me so mad because ALL of those things I took with me on my flight to Boston like 3 months before and they didn't have a problem with it but then decided to throw them out this time. Then when we got to the terminal the lady told me I was going to have to check my bag anyway because the plane was to small so in the end they didn't really NEED to throw away my stuff but they did anyway!ya I know kinda annoying! After that we spent some much needed quality time with Joe's family and had a wonderful thanksgiving dinner, played multiple family games (Blockis mostly), went to the movies and shared in a lot of laughter . The next day Joe's youngest brother David got endowed at the San Diego temple, because he was leaving on his mission soon, and since we were all there we were able to enjoy the session with him as a family. All in all thanksgiving was a wonderful and relaxing success and brought a great close to the month of November!

Joe and I at In N Out:

Playing on Thanksgiving day:

Taylor family picture after the temple:

DECEMBER:
December went by so fast it feels like a total burr. At the beginning of the month Joe's brother David left on his mission to Uruguay and we all gave him multiple Hugs and wished him the best of luck for the next two years.
Later that week my work put on their annual holiday party and we all choose white elephant gifts and played the game too. Sophie ended up getting a apron and I, a green glass box. It was a lot of fun to spend some quality time with the ladies at work and eat and drink and be merry for the holidays!
Christmas was an adventure! We drove to San Diego this time because it was a much longer trip and we knew we would need a car while we were down for so long. Christmas this year was spent at my parents house (The Gardner's) and man was it crazy! Christmas eve was filled with a lot of last minute shopping and a fun family night of games and driving around looking at Christmas lights. Christmas morning was a lot of fun and we all got so much stuff. I am very thankful to have a family that is fortunate enough to be able to provide a Christmas for Joe and I and my siblings this way! We all laughed and had a blast on Christmas morning.One of my favorite things I got on Christmas was my Diamond earrings Joe got for me. I had no idea he was even planning that and was so surprised when I opened the box, I still cant believe it to this day but they are my favorite things ever! Joe had a great Christmas too filled with several pieces of much needed clothes! :) Later that day Ashley, Matt, Joe and I decided to go on a run up the mountain behind our neighborhood and somehow I hurt my foot. Im not sure how I did it but the next morning it was all swollen and stuff and I could barely walk on it, however I have been tough and to this day it still hurts but not as bad as it did on the day after Christmas.
The day after Christmas was filled with 12 hours of shopping with the girls and this is where I got majority of my "Christmas loot" but it was so fun to be able to spend a day with just all the girls in the family.
2 days after that we went to Disneyland. The morning started off a little rocky when Ashley decided she was not feeling well and didn't want to go (which is un-heard of in my family) but it all worked out in the end and Jason, Shelly, Mathias, Mom, Joe and I went instead and had so much fun. I was in a wheel chair all day because of my foot, which sucked, but it did allow us to get to the front on all the rides. We never stood in line for more then 20min and it was one of the busiest days of the year where all the normal lines were over an hour long, so that was pretty AWESOME! We meet Micky which Mathias just LOVED and ran right up to him like he had known him forever, it was so cute. We watched the holiday fireworks and saw it snow on main street, it was a great day. Little Mathias FINALLY (at midnight, witch I cant believe he lasted till then)was able to ride the CHOO CHOO he was pointing at all day long. It was a great end to a fabulous day at Disneyland.
The rest of the few days left on our trip was relaxing and calm. We went to a wedding reception for my good friend Jamie Condie. He married a wonderful girl named Sheridan and we wish them all the luck in the world on their marriage. It was really great to see all my old friends and catch up again. After the reception we had a small Christmas with Joe's family and spent a wonderful evening with them to celebrate the holidays.
New years eve was filled with relaxing, doing laundry and watching the ball drop on TV at my parents house. This was a fantastic end to a relaxing, crazy and fun trip with the Gardner Family. HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010

David 2 weeks before he left on his mission:

The Montessori Christmas party, Sophie and I:

Sophie picking a White elephant gift:

The girls and our treasured 7 jeans on Christmas morning:

Mathias enjoying his new Car slippers:

Me opening up the surprise Diamond earrings:

Mathias Playing in the end result of a glorious Christmas morning:

Joe sitting with me in the wheel chair made for the largest person ever:

Joe and I with Mickey:

All of us with Mickey:

Everyone in fornt of the Christmas tree in Toon town, Disneyland:

Holiday Sweaters...Kitty Style

2009-12-14T21:51:00.000-08:00

**Simba, sporting the classic white look

**Panther, styling it in a burnt orange to compliment his complexion

WHAT DO YOU THINK DON'T THEY LOOK HOLIDAY CARD PERFECT???

Fund the Future

2009-12-14T21:32:00.000-08:00

Fund the Future is an event that the school I work for puts on at a beautiful restaurant in Salt Lake. They do this event to raise money for tuition assistance to have children attend our school that might not be able to afford it otherwise. The night is a formal dress night and they put on a silent and live auction for participants to donate money to the cause. It was a fun night and the class project my kids did to auction off ended up selling for, $400.00 which Sophie and I were so excited about! The dinner was amazing and the night was packed with lots of laughs and surrounded by good friends.It was fun to get dressed up and have a good last Autumn night out.

**Sophie and I

**Our hilarious table
From Left:Nanette, Kelly, Alia, Sophie, Me and Maria

**Alia, Sophie and I

Swine Flu...Really???

2009-12-14T21:21:00.000-08:00

So early on in November Joe was diagnosed with the Swine Flu, which he blamed on me for getting somehow... even though I never had it not got it after he had it, but whatever! I think he concocted this sickness from the incessantly coughing rug rats we take care of at church, because we are called as nursery teachers (Booooo). So anyway I had to deal with the never ending whining and coughing and gagging for almost 2 weeks straight... I felt bad for the poor guy but really he brought it on himself by being such a Germ-Nazi all the time, that the one time he didn't sanitize he got sick hahaha! Now today he is alive and well and sill uses like a bottle of sanitizer a day insisting it helps! Whatever makes him sleep at night, right? ;) LOL

*Here he is in all his sick Swine Flu glory!

Saying Goodbye is so hard to do...

2009-12-14T20:58:00.000-08:00

Last month at my work we had a dear co-worker Susan move. Susan has been with us at the Montessori for 2 years and kinda acted as a grandma to everyone. She is such an awesome teacher and I just love her to pieces. She was given the opportunity to move to Vermont to be closer to her daughter and grandchildren and decided to take the opportunity! We ALL will miss her so much and think about her all the time! Good luck Susan in all that you do in the future!
The picture above was was her last night here in Utah and taken at her farewell dinner at the Olive Garden.
People in picture from left: Megan, Alia (both toddler sun's teachers), Robyn (Montessori Owner), Evi (red class teacher), Susan, Diana (toddler stars teacher), Marissa, Sophie (Toddler Moon's teachers), Nanette (Toddler's head &Sun's teacher), Brenda (Yellow class teacher), and Sheila (Blue class teacher).

We love you Susan and will miss you so much!

Better late then never...

2009-11-26T14:16:00.001-08:00

So I know this post is extremely late however,it is still in the right place for time in events in our life that have already been posted because i haven't had time to post anything else either. So besides the pesky date that is at the top of this post, it is right on time.
Sophie (my co teacher at the Montessori AKA "the English girl" because she just moved here from England like 4 months ago)and I decided we really wanted to go see Thriller at Kingsburry Hall (at the U of U) for our fun Halloween festivity. Since I go to the U and students get buy one get one free tickets I was all about going( who doesn't like a good deal?) So Sophie and I decided to meet up with my boss form the dance studio (Alisha) and some other people, and go eat at the PIE and see this AMAZING performance!The dancing was fa-nominal and the entertainment was funny, the makeup was scary awesome and the whole show all together was fantastic.I loved having a night to hang out with Sophie. We are becoming great friends everyday and we find out we have more and more in common all the time. It is so much fun to finally have a friend in Utah here that is a girl and likes to do fun stuff like this or just hang out!
Here is some pictures of our fun night together! :)

*This is a picture of all the creepy actors that were walking around scaring people before the show. They would totally invade your personal space and make you feel way uncomfortable, but that's their job so they were doing it awesome.They would crawl over the chairs and even sit or climb over people that were sitting in the chairs, as if they were real ghosts. I also thought their make-up was amazing it looked so real!

**Sophie and I

**Opening Number to "thriller"

A few week's past...

2009-10-18T17:06:00.000-07:00

Well...so I forgot about posting this because The wonderful picture was trapped on my camera and not in plain sight to remember to post about it but oh well here it is.. better late then never!
So a few weeks ago Joe and I were delighted to be able to go to my sisters play "A choirs Line" at the pioneer theater in salt Lake City.I felt so privileged to be able to go to this musical because it is one I have always wanted to see but Joe and I never would have been able to afford going if Ashley was not in it. This theater company is a professional company who hires majority of their cast straight from the Broadway cast and pays them a lot of money to fly out here and live here for 2 months during the run of the show. Ashley (My sister) was one of the lucky few who got hired into this 20 person cast as well. They only take about 5 actors or actresses from the salt lake area to be in this production and the rest are from the Broadway cast. It was very exciting to see Ashley work side by side with all these amazing actors and really get an opportunity to showcase her talents in an outstanding venue. Ashely played a main character and sang a whole song with one other guy which was so funny. She did an awesome job and we were so proud to be able to see her in this production. Congratulations Ashley!

**Picture of Me, Ashley and Joe after the show!

The type of weekend i'm sad has come and gone...

2009-10-18T16:33:00.000-07:00

So after a relaxing fall break and beautiful fall weather, Joe and I thought we would make the most of my time off school and work. We went to Gardner village were we enjoyed the fun festivities and adorable costumes people were wearing as they walked around in the cooling fall breeze. The shops were filled with all those fun decorations and exciting atmosphere of the exhilarating fall activities there are to do this time of year. Below are some pictures of Joe and I enjoying the day and walking around the cutest shops ever and amazing Halloween decorations that were everywhere.

After coming home we thought we would top the evening off with watching "The Proposal" and...

Baking these yummy for our tummy fall/ Halloween cookies...

As well as laying back on the couch and eating this Halloween favorite treat!

After relaxing and enjoying our weekend thus far we spent our Saturday night watching "The Couples Retreat" with our friends Jessie and Mindy. We HIGHLY recommend this movie to any couple that just wants a night of fun and plenty of laughs. Great Movie and well worth the theater price! After watching our movie we went out to dinner at Rumbi (witch feed me for the next days lunch as well) and was much needed and well deserved after an eventful week and weekend!

Happy week all!

This Week...

2009-10-10T21:54:00.000-07:00

This week was a busy one! I made it through the last week before fall break and am so excited to have next week off of school. I'm so happy to finally be able to just catch up on papers and so forth. This semester has by far been the most stressful and difficult semester of school I have taken yet, and I am very excited for it all to be over. I found out on Tuesday that I for sure graduate with my BS in Human Development and Family Studies & Early Childhood Education This May!! I even turned in my graduation application, so it's official!
I have been sick all week and am just thankful that for work I survived enough so I could make it through parent teacher conferences yesterday. I was very happy and glad to report my parent teacher conferences ALL went really well and that every parent is happy with how their child's education is going thus far!! yay for Sophie (My co-teacher) and I!!!!
We also found out some exciting news in our family this week as well! Joe and I were delighted to get the call from his sister Cassie and her husband Dave, that they are welcoming a new member of their family, to make a family of four. They have one child right now, David. So either a future boy or girl is going to join their family May 9, 2010 (The same weekend as my graduation)!what an exciting time May will be!
Congratulations Larsen family on being pregnant!

That's all for now have a good week everyone! :)

Oh how I love these.... hahah

2009-10-09T16:38:00.000-07:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!
ENJOY!!!

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

(In video- Marissa, Joe, Mom Gardner, Dad Gardner and baby Mathias) hahah

Update....

2009-09-27T18:08:00.000-07:00

So Its been a little while since I have posted and this is because there is literally nothing new going on in our lives right now. I'm ridiculously busy with school and work and Joe is busy at work everyday! We have been trying to catch up on so many shows (Psych, Hero's, So You Think You Can Dance, etc...) and it seems we don't have time for that either! :/ I love to be busy but am very ready to graduate in May and finally not come home from a full day of work to a full night of homework, or devoting my weekends to writing papers and hating math, instead of relaxing and having fun. Well... this week at least we get to do one fun outing together, to my sister Ashley's play at pioneer theater, "A Chorus Line"! I'm very excited about this so that should be fun! Ok well I guess that's it...until next week...maybe :)!

Oh ya...HAPPY FALL!!!

Never Forget...

2009-09-11T18:38:00.000-07:00

9/11

Thank You, to all those men and women who everyday, fight for our
FREEDOM!

Finally A Post About Our Apartment!

2009-09-01T14:25:00.000-07:00

^Above is a picture of part of the kitchen and living room. This is what you see when you first walk into the apartment from the front door.

WELCOME TO OUR HOME!!!

So we have been married for about 4months now and living here almost 5 months and I haven't posted anything about our house so here it is. This is the most wonderful apartment in the perfect location and such an awesome community of people here in the complex. I love living here and I couldn't ask for a better place for Joe and I to build and start our life together. The apartment has everything we needed and wanted and even lets us have our adorable kitties. So here is a tour of our apartment, I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

**This is a view from the front door and looking to the right at our living room

**Entertainment area in our living room

**Our door out to our patio. This is on the west wall of our living room. On our patio we have plenty of room where we eat breakfast on Sunday mornings and I keep my bike. We also have a huge storage unit where we keep most of our food storage and extra (tons of toothpaste that I buy on coupon) storage as well as Christmas stuff, camping stuff, Joe's tools, winter tires, etc...

**Our living room view from the kitchen facing west.
**Our living room/entrance. (view from the kitchen)

**Dining area
**Kitchen

**Laundry room/ extra storage (view from kitchen-there is a door that is on the south wall of our kitchen and in that door is our laundry room entrance.)
**West side of kitchen/peek a boo window (looking out of kitchen)
**East side of kitchen/ pantry
**Peek a boo window(looking into kitchen)
**Hallway
**Pictures in the hallway on east wall
**Bedroom #1 -Guest room/Office (view from room entrance looking right onto the north wall)
Joe's computer and all our degrees in various stuff
**Part of computer and guest bed (view from room entrance and looking at the north-west corner)
**west wall/ guest bed
**South wall/ guest amenities and stuff
**East wall and bedroom entrance/ exit (directly across the hall is our bathroom where we will be headed next)
**Bathroom front entrance looking at our bathroom shower/ bath and
**This is the sink and mirror that I call (Joe's area) in our bathroom
**extra storage in the bathroom as well as our built in litter box area in the wall
**Bedroom #2 Our room (view from back (south) wall in our room- So entrance door into room would be on the right side of the picture)
**Joe's dresser I repainted and made look amazing
**South wall/bed in our room- Picture taken from front entrance door of room
**West wall and window- Joe's dresser would be on the right side of this picture by the window

**East wall and entrance into walk in closet
**closet
**In our house we have a unique thing that is a full sink and counter in our closet (which is what I call MY area) This makes it really cool because all my clothes are in the closet and all the rest of my stuff, like tooth brush, makeup and hair care stuff is in there too by my sink. So I can get ready in the morning and not wake Joe up and limit opening and closing doors early in the morning PLUS when he is getting ready I can get ready at the same time without having either of us getting in each others way. THIS IS MY FAVORITE PART OF OUR HOUSE!
**More clothes in our closet. (which if you know me, our closet is big enough to hold ALL my clothes, shoes, purses and PJ's AS WELL AS Joe's clothes! And there is still plenty of room to have the sink and move around comfortably-That is what I call an amazing closet)

WELL I HOPE YOU ENJOYED OUR HOME AND HOPE TO SEE YOU COME VISIT SOON! :)

The big day- Janelle and Hoeun's Wedding

2009-08-28T20:37:00.000-07:00

On Saturday August 22, 2009 my best friend in the entire world Janelle was Married to the love of her life Hoeun Pronounced (Owen) in the Boston Temple. It was so special and awesome to see Janelle and Hoeun get married in the temple and share such a special bond with one another. The ceremony was absolutely beautiful and touching and I couldn't ask for a better sealing for my best friend. She had her reception at the Rogers Park casino in Providence Road Island and it was more like a beautiful mansion were we ate a cultural interesting and yummy dinner and then danced the night away. I love Janelle so much and am so happy for her that she has found some one to share and spend the rest of her life and beyond with. I wish them all the luck in the world on their future up's and down's in life and know they will be blessed forever!

The day was extremely HOT and humid and a hurricane was right on the coast of where we were but It was so much fun to meet new people and build relationships that all started with the new couple. The food that evening was so much fun because I can honestly say that I have eaten Cambodian for the first time in my life! A few things I was brave enough to try was, teriyaki beef, shark soup, and QUAIL!!!! It was an adventure for me but so rewarding to know I was brave and tried new things! Janelle and Hoeun choreographed their own first dance which was AMAZING and HILARIOUS but besides that everyone rocked it out and danced like crazy!

***Bridal party at the temple
***WWOOOHOOO to the Bride and Groom

Congratulations Janelle and Hoeun Nuon
August 22, 2009

Boston

2009-08-28T19:24:00.001-07:00

Last Friday my Mom, Raquel, Joe and I spent our day in Boston touring all the fantastic historical sites. We made our way through the subway system, walked part of the freedom trail, ate at local food places, and took a duck tour. It was a lot of fun and so neat to be back there after 10 years. It was my mom and I's second time back however Joe's first time so it was extremely exciting to show him all around the cities amazing sites. For those of you that have never been to Boston it is so rich with historical history and a must see place. The day was extremely hot and humid with 90% humidity and 95 degrees so you could only imagine how tired were where when our enlightening day was over.
***This is us on the sub way trying to find our way to get to downtown Boston!
***The freedom trail is this really cool thing that has a painted or brick red path all around downtown Boston that follows the exact trail that Paul revere rode his horse to warn the British were coming. At each historical site you find one of these plate monuments, this one was taken exactly where the Boston massacre happened on March 5, 1770.
***This is Joe and I in front of the Massachusetts State House. This was our first stop on our freedom trail path. One cool thing about this is that the gold dome at the top is 100% real gold plated!
***This is The park street church where Paul revere attended and were many first public christian leaders came to speak.
***This is Joe and I on the duck tour which is a tour that took us everywhere land and water in Boston.
***This is a picture of another duck tour bus that looked exactly like what were were riding on at the time.
***This is us entering the Boston harbor in our duck bus
**Joe and I in the water on the bus with Boston behind us
***I got chosen to drive the duck tour and so this is a picture of me driving the old war vehicle. The tour director said I would have a bright future if I went into the duck tour business because I was such a great duck driver.
**This is a picture of what the duck looks like in the water
***These 6 pillars are in remembrance of the Holocaust and have all the engraved names of every person that was killed during the tragic time- This was super cool!

***This grave yard is the resting place for some of our most famous fore fathers such as, John Hancock, John Adams, Paul Revere and many more. ***The yellow flag says CHEERS on it which is the actual cheers bar and grill that the popular TV show was filmed.
This is a great shot of George Washington on his horse statute in the Boston Public Garden with the beautiful Boston landscape behind him!!
***This is a reflection shot of us on our own duck bus.

Such a fun day and cant wait to go back, maybe when its a little colder next time! :)

Jackson Hole with the Taylor's

2009-08-27T16:05:00.000-07:00

2 weeks ago we decided we needed a family reunion between the Taylor family before David (Joe's youngest brother) leaves for his mission. We all gave the deciding choice of where to go to David and of course David choose the wonderful thrill seeking adventure to white water raft with the whole family! We all drove to Jackson Hole Wyoming where we camped for 2 nights and while we were there went on a white water rafting excugin! The vacation was so much fun and so relaxing to be sourrounded by nature! I loved being able to sit around the camp fire as a family and just chat with one another. I want to say a special Thank You to Dorothy (Joe's Mom) for setting up such an amazing trip. She really went above and beyond to make this trip so much fun and Joe and I really appriciated the time and energy it took her to organize all the small details! Thank you so much dorothy! So all in all we had a great small family vacation with the Taylors this year and hope to make this a yearly tradition, so Cassie, Dave, Cody & Ginger, plan accordingly so you can make it next summer! It was a very long drive to Jackson Hole with no radio because i forgot my ipod and not much senory for us to look at but so relaxing to just leave life behind and finally go on a vacation with no computers or cell phones! :) I cant wait for next year!

Here are some pictures of us white water rafting and going over what they call the big kahuna! David fell out of the boat but my quick thinking and fast reactions from practicing with the kids at my work from falling over, I caught him barely by his leg and helped pull him back in! It was such a fun trip!

Hiking Mt. Timpanogos

2009-08-17T21:18:00.000-07:00

About a week ago Joe and I decided we would take a day off of work and go and do something fun together just the two of us, since we haven't done really anything with just us two in awhile. So we decide we would take the 14 mile trek up Mount Timpanogos to the lake at the very top! Starting out on this hick I don't think either of us REALLY realized what we were doing, but it is pretty much 7 miles straight up hill and 7 miles straight down hill. It was extremely beautiful and took us 9 hours to complete but definitely worth the time and energy! We had one experience that I can say not many people get the opportunity to have while on this hike and it was that about 3 miles into our climb up the mountain Joe stopped very rapidly in front of me, as I proceeded to ask him why he stop he said "look ahead" and right in front of us about 5 feet away was this HUGE wild moose (bigger then a horse with antlers like chairs). I think this was one time that I have never been so sacred for my life in a long time. These wild moose are very dangerous if they feel threatened in ANY WAY and because of the wonderful animal planet that Joe and I watch quite often, I knew we were very close to their mating season which makes moose especially male moose( which this one was) extremely aggressive. So after we waited in frozen movement, another hiker came up behind us and decided he would be stupid and luckily for him and us the moose moved off the trail into the bushes to eat and we were able to pass unharmed.
I'm glad Joe and I got a chance to climb Mt. Timpanogos and even though Joe, two weeks later to this day is reaping the pain still of the 14 mile hike it was definitely an experience we will never forget!

**Beautiful waterfall that passes threw the trail

**Me standing in SNOW almost to the top of Mt. T in the middle of August......CRAZY!!!!

***The beautiful lake where we ate lunch at the top of Mt. T (there was still ice that covered the top of the lake)

How im feeling...

2009-08-03T22:14:00.000-07:00

*Tired
*Bored
*Relieved that my summer classes are over
*Sad I didn't really get a summer
*Frustrated that I never have time to work out
*Excited that I go to Boston to see my best friend get married in 16 days
*Jealous that my sister and her husband and my mom and dad went on a cruise to Alaska last week
*Tired
*Excited my nephew David is coming to stay with Joe and I next week
*Sad that my brother moved to Oklahoma
*Happy my brother got into law school and is pursuing his dreams
*Frustrated that we don't have a lot of money because of school
*Happy I see an end in my schooling career
* Annoyed I don't get enough sleep at night because my wonderful husband kicks and rolls and I am an extremely light sleeper :/
*Tired
*Happy, excited and joyous that Christmas is in 143 days (the happiest time of year)
*Worried that we have no Idea where we will be going for Thanksgiving with Joe's family and we need to buy plane tickets soon...eeepp
*Pumped about my money plan so I don't have to work next summer
*Thrilled that our trip to Disneyland at Christmas time is a for sure!
*Tired
*Enthusiastic about the new school year at my work
*Frustrated that my computer gives me problems daily (even though we got it a new power cord and battery...finally)
*and oh... did i mention TIRED!!!!

That's all for now....

Family Fun and Goodbyes :(

2009-07-26T15:33:00.000-07:00

So last Monday my siblings and I decided to get together with our spouses and go to 7peaks in Provo as a LAST get together before my brother Jason and his wife Shelly and my nephew Mathias move to Oklahoma for Jason to attend law school at the University of Oklahoma for at least the next 3 years. All of us couples are very very close and get together every first Sunday of the month, so it will be very sad to not see 1/3 of my family for along time. Due to Jason not being able to work while in law school will result in them having very little money during this next 3 years to go and visit anyone. So as a last little fun trip before they move this weekend, we went to 7 peaks and had a blast. We all got some beautiful color from the hot sun and rode every slide in the park! It was such a fun time and a good last memory to have for awhile. Joe and I are going to miss Jason and Shelly soooooo much but hopefully some time in the next few years we will get a chance to go to O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A ;) and visit them!! yay
Good Luck Jason in your last few years in school! :)

ANNOYING!!!!

2009-07-23T16:01:00.000-07:00

This is my computer and its a really great computer so don't get me wrong! It helps me do all the things that are important to me like make movies, recordings with my guitar, photography and music uploads into Itunes. HOWEVER, I think I have had more troubles with this computer them I truly need! Right now my computer is once again down because the other day in class, minding my own business my computer charger cord broke (a little peice that comnnects the positive to the positive component inside my computer broke off inside) Funny thing is this is the second time my computer has done this so this was the scond charger that broke on me in one year! Ok so if you dont think that is enough, about a year ago there was a manufacture call back on the batery for my computer (because MAC said they were blowing up or something, weired cuz mine worked perfect, that is untill I sent it back to them gerr) So they sent me a whole new battery and ever since then the new batery that they sent me holds lake a 8 minutes of charge and then dies without the power cord sooooo I could pluge my computer in for a whole night or even a whole week for that matter and no matter what when I try to use it without the power cord it tells me im out of battery and is going to dye in 8 minutes! ANNOYING RIGHT!!!! So the other day when my charger cord broke we finnally go to try and send back my battery because we need a new one anyway and I cant find my apple ID (which probibly got lost somewhere during us moving) which is something you absulutly need before the manufacture will send you a new part. So long story made some what short, im out of a computer right now and I cant post any pics of our fun activity with my family this past weekend until I get my computer back! BUMMER! Not to mention, I find it extremely ironic that fixing computers is what my husband does for a living everyday all day and yet the only problems I get with my computer are ones that just need to be replaced by the manufacture!!! gerrrr!! haha

Creativity and Cognition Class

2009-07-14T17:28:00.000-07:00

So today in creativity and cognition I think I had the best experience in my older school years that I have ever had. My teacher John Funk is the most awesome teacher I think I have had yet, and there is variety of ways that he teaches that helps people like me (right brained creative individuals) to absorb the information being taught with hands on creative ways. His tests are very well written and make you feel as if he is right there giving you a verbal quiz.
Every day we do something hands on that expresses in some way what we have learned during the lecture or text. Today we were able to build our own classroom out of playdough that encourages creativity in young children. My team choose to build a early childhood classroom that express ways like painting, books and active play that encourages creative learning. We do something creative in class everyday such as painting and construction paper cut and glue building. I love this class and Professor Funk is one of the most influential teachers I have ever had!

**Our active play and art area
**reading, peace corner and circle time area
**kitchen and creative cooking area

Janelle's Bridal shower

2009-07-14T12:57:00.000-07:00

**Janelle and I at her bridal shower ^
So those that know Janelle and I we are like twins born from 2 different mothers. Our moms were best friends before we were born and had Janelle and I 4 months apart. From then on we have always been inseparable. We always had twin clothes and hair cuts and even went to the same special education preschool ( which by all contrary beliefs we WERE the only normal ones in the school!) So when we were about 7, Janelle's family decided to move away to Michigan because her dad got a better job there that California was just not able to offer him. However despite all the stories of old friends loosing touch, luckily we were blessed with the best families that found it important to keep your old friends and Janelle & I were able to beat the odds and STAY best friends all this time. We have been fortunate enough to visit each other at least once a year and talk very often on the phone. Now, Janelle and I both got engaged at Christmas time 2008 and are now getting married 3 months EXACTLY from one another (Our wedding 5/22/2009- Janelle & Hoeun wedding 8/22/2009) and ALSO to the Mormon rarity, both dated our men for 3 years exactly before getting married! SO, last Friday was Janelle's bridal shower and man was it a flash back to my childhood for me... the shower was held at her grandmothers house in Provo Utah, were her family was visiting for the week, ( this is also where Janelle and I would take many vacations together because it was kind of a central location between our two homes and lets be honest... CHEAP!)
It was very fun for me to be at her bridal shower and be able to spend such fun and important moments with my best friend and all the people that are close to her. It was a Hawaiian theme shower and she got many things to help her and Hoeun start their life together and many many many recipes for her to learn to cook with. :) (bless her heart, she hates the kitchen... the only thing we differ in I think) :) It was such a wonderful night and so much fun. I love Janelle so much and wish her the best with all her life endeavors!! Congratulations Nellie and see you in Boston in 1 month!!! :)

**Carolee (Janelles mom AKA my second mom) & I
** Barbra (Janelle's grandmother) she still looks the same from when I was a kid ha-ha!! Oh ya and so does her house , I don't thing ANYTHING has ever been moved lol :) Love you Barbra
** Sydney and I (Janelle's little sister)
**Janelle socializing with her guests and eating way yummy food :)
**Yay open present time (Thats the fun gift I gave her) haha
** I was the lucky person that got to write down everything she got and who it was from

**Guest group shot, sooo fun!

CONGRATULATIONS JANELLE!!!!!!!

Honeymoon :)

2009-06-17T18:28:00.000-07:00

So sorry all of you for tanking forever to post about our honeymoon but for those of you that dont know, we were originally supposed to go to Mexico on a 7 night cruise however because of that wonderful swine flu outbreak our cruise was directed to a much more colder cruise up the northern west coast. we visited San Francisco, California, British Columbia, Victoria- Canada, and Seattle, Washington for 7 nights. This cruise was so much fun but was not what we had in mind for our honeymoon! However with the circumstance we were given we made the best of it and had so much fun! We ate our cruise ticket amount in just the amount of free food we were feed and loved coming back to clean room every night! We did a tour in each place and loved them because by the time we were done with the tours we felt like we actually saw the whole place. The dinners on the cruise each night were amazing 3 course meals and the table we sat with were the best group of people and so much fun! We were very sad when the cruise had to end and we are already planning our 1st anniversary cruise to Mexico! (For real i hope this time!) :)

**Day 1-This is us doing the lifeboat drill before we were allowed to set sail :/**Our room view from the front door to the back wall
**This is the view from the back wall to the door hahaha yup small but cozy
**DAY 2-San Francisco, California-The boat approaching to go under the San Francisco bridge

**Joe and I getting closer to the bridge (It was very cold this morning)
** All of a sudden the view got crystal clear and this isthe San Francisco skyline behind me

** Me in front of a very beautiful religious monument
**This is a piece of the huge cable that holds the San Fancisco bridge together

**The San Francisco bridge
**City bridge lit up at night

**DAY 3- Every night we came back from dinner to our room perfectly clean and a cute little towel animal on our bed with the itinerary for the next day.
**Day 4- Victoria, British Columbia Canada
**Stairs on the boat that lead down to the live theater for nightly shows
**Us in front of the boat in Canada

**This is the tallest todam pole in the world and its still standing
**Highest hill in Victoria and the beautiful view behind us
**Joe on the front steps of Craigdarroch Castle
** Staircase from floor one looking up
**Masters chair
**Bus ride back to boat
**DAY 5-Seattle, Washington
**Space needle view from ground
** From top of space needle looking down on a building with not one straight wall inside of it
** View of our boat from the top of the space needle

**In the way back that is Mount Renier (a volcano)- View from top of space needle

**Fishy swims through the hole hahaha
**On the boat just playing around
**Me climbing the rock climbing wall on the sports deck of the boat
**Joe climbing the rock wall (he got to the top so fast I could barely take one picture before he was coming back down) :)
**The wind was so strong it held Joe up when he was stating to fall (We are on the golf course on the sports deck on the boat.)
**DAY 6- AT Sea- Formal Dinner night
**Us before dinner waiting to get in
**This is the wonderful bunch of people we were pared with for dinner every night and we really had so much fun at dinner because of these people. We enjoyed going to dinner every night because we always had such a good time talking to this wonderful bunch. (Richard Richard, his wife and his 2 sisters)

**Day 7- At Sea **Johnny Rockets on the boat- they would sing and dance for you when specific songs came on the radio hahaha so fun!
**Joe and I eating at Johnny Rockets
**Playing on the Ice Skating rink on the boat
**Casino time!!!! ;)
**The captain of our boat captain Johnny
**View of the pool deck- the boat had 3 pools and 7 hot tubs
**Basketball court on spots deck
**These are our activity directors who organize EVERYTHING that goes on on the boat.
**Day 8- Goodbye boat- checkout day :(

The Reception -5/22/2009

2009-06-17T13:31:00.001-07:00

Our reception was held the night of our wedding from 7-10 pm at my parents house in Poway, CA. It was so wonderful and so much fun! We had tons of dancing and social chatter and many many friends and family that surrounded us that night. Tons of our friends and family came from all over the country and it was so awesome to see everyone and visit with them. At one point in the night we had aprox. 200 guests show up and joined Joe and I celebrate our night. We had a toast, first dance, father-daughter & Mother- son dance, cake cutting, garter toss and bouquet toss. The night was so much fun and so exciting for Joe and I to see all the people we love and care about in our lives there with us! **My nephew Mathias playing his role as the chip-n-dale of the night after he spilt juice on his white shirt.
** Joe's wonderful amazing Grandmother (Barbra Savage) made our cake for us. She baked and decorated it herself and did such an amazing job! Thank you sooooooo much Grandma Savage!
Each layer was a different flavor- banana , lemon, chocolate, and party cake at the top!

** Reception Decor' before all the people arrived

** Janelle, me and Ashley dancin' it out on the dance floor

** Our first dance- we danced to the song "We are man and wife" By: Michelle Featherstone
**Talking to my cousin Melinda

** Enjoying our guests

** Cake Cutting ;) I smashed it back....Thats right!!! hahah
** Toast to bride and groom

** MR. & MRS. TAYLOR

** LETS PARTY!!!!!!!!!! dancing the night away!!

**Garter Toss ( I could not believe that Joe really took it off with his teeth) :) ya thats right!

** Our wonderful bridesmaids and groomsmen decorated our car so well we could not see when we drove off that night that we had to stop down the streets at a gas station and clean off the windows so we could drive to LA safely!! hahah They did a wonderful job though!

Joe and I thank all of you for your wonderful kind words and gifts that were received for our wedding!! We appriciate all of you that came out for our wedding and reception and want to thank YOU for making that day a day we will treasure forever and never forget!!!!

Our Wedding 5-22-2009

2009-06-17T11:30:00.000-07:00

We are finally MARRIED!!!! Joe and I had a beautiful wedding and were so blessed with such a beautiful day on May 22, 2009! We were married in the San Diego temple at 2:00pm in the afternoon ! Our ceiling ceremony was such a wonderful experience and it was such a good feeling to see all our friends and family in the temple surrounding us. I still remember Joe's face when i walked out of the brides room in my wedding dress and how stunned he was with a smile from ear to ear. This is something that Joe and I have been dreaming of for 3 years now, and it is such a great feeling to be finally married for time and all eternity. That day went by so fast and i remember so little that it is amazing to be able to look at the pictures and video that were taken that day and remember how blessed we are to find one another and make a commitment to each other for eternity. The temple is so beautiful and nothing like you have ever seen before. It just amazes me that this little piece of heaven is here for us to enjoy and experience here on earth!
Surprisingly the morning of our wedding I was the calmest person in my family. It just was such a amazing and calming feeling to know that I was going to the temple that day to be married for eternity with the one person I love and want to spend forever with.
As we came out of the temple that day we were walking out the walkway of the temple and just as I told Joe to be careful not to step on my dress because my bussel will brake....he stepped on my dress and my bussle broke hahaha! That was a good first moment of being married but luckily my Grandma Ulla saved the day twice that day and fixed it so i could walk and dance that night!
Our wedding was more then I could ever ask for and i'm so happy now to have such an amazing husband and excited to start our long and wonderful life together! :) **Us coming out of the temple (This is where he broke my bussel ;) )

**The whole family at the temple (Both Sides)
**My (Gardner) Side of the family
**Joe's (Taylor) side of the family
** Joe and I only have one nephew each so these our our nephews (David Larsen & Mathias Gardner)
**Our bridal Party ( from Left: Cody Taylor, David Taylor, Matt Carlson, Thomas Taylor , Jason Gardner, David Larsen , John Sullivan, Joe Taylor, Marissa Taylor, Ashley, Carlson, Shelly Gardner, Cassie Larsen, Janelle, Adams, Aubrey kelley, & Ginger Taylor.)
** YAYYYYYYYY We did it!!!

**The studs of the group
**Look at those beautiful people ^ :)
** Lovely Ladies
** I love you!!! ( And probably the only kiss you will ever see in public ) hahah
**Husband and Wife :)

MR. & MRS. JOSEPH TAYLOR

Groomsman Dinner

2009-06-10T11:02:00.000-07:00

Those of you who don't know what a groomsman dinner is, it is a dinner with the 2 families and people involved in the wedding the day before the wedding (kind of like a rehearsal dinner). SO... Joe and I being the laid back people we are decided we were going to have our groomsman dinner be a bon fire catered by Oscar's at La Jolla Shores in California. It was so relaxing and prepared a great atmosphere for all the families to meet and get to know each other a little bit before the wedding! Important information for the families was discussed in a large meeting as well as thank you presents being handed out to all the bridesmaids and groomsmen and itinerary's for the entire wedding party. IT was a great evening all together and so much fun with awesome stories being told by everyone. I am so thankful for all the people who surround me in my life and I am very blessed to have such great friends and family!

*Joe roasting Smore's for dessert
* Here I am leading the meeting and going over the Itinerary and discussing how NO ONE is allowed to call me on the wedding day to ask me where they need to be, because it is written in the itinerary very clearly for each person! haha
* THIS is Janelle's doing!! LOL haha
*Everyone enjoying dinner and such
*Beautiful day and beautiful sunset (Janelle and I)
* Some of my lovely Bridesmaids ( from the left: Aubrey kelley, ME, Janelle Adams, and Cassie Larsen)

Endowment Time

2009-06-10T10:52:00.000-07:00

Joe and I a week before our wedding got endowed together and it was such an awesome experience Im so glad we got to experience this wonderful event together and with our parents. I was very nervous on our way there, not really knowing what to expect but the second I walked into the temple I was comforted with the spirit of the lord and knew I would be fine! It was a lot of information and me being the great student I am felt I needed to memorize everything being said (which is not possible) so I walked out with a huge headache but all in all it was a wonderful day! We ate at PFChangs after and we all had such a great time with the two families together!

Congradulations Joe!!

2009-06-10T10:34:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of May Joe finally graduated with his Bachelors in Business from the University of Utah!! It was a great but long ceremony but it was so exciting to see him get to graduate with something he has been working towards the last 6 years! Im am so proud of you babe!

Joes parents also came to visit that weekend, for his graduation, mothers day and just to visit most of their children who live in Utah! It was great to have them here and it is amazing the amount of love they have for Joe and his siblings, we love them! :)

Great Job Girls!

2009-04-18T23:01:00.000-07:00

Today we had our second competition in Layton, Utah. Our girls did such an AMAZING job! They have been working so hard and been doing so great and really showed that all their hard work paid off today! We walked away with 7 FIRST place dances, 6 SECOND place dances and 1 THIRD place dance. We were awarded the judges choice award for the most entertaining show and the First place sportsmanship award. GREAT JOB GIRLS!!! I love you guys so much and it is such a pleasure to be able to teach all you and watch you grow and become such beautiful dancers! :)

The competition went smoothly on our part even though the air conditioning in the whole gym and dressing rooms was not working, and at the time we felt like we all just might melt into a puddle, and the center bar on the doors to the gym wouldn't come off, so we had to do our show without part of our scenery. Besides those small set backs we still hung in there and did a great job. We had the wonderful privilege to see Gev (from So You Think You Can Dance) and Shorty ( from Beat Freaks on MTVs Americas Best Dance Crew) walking around the competition all day and finally performing at the end of the day. So that was truly a nice treat. It was a very long day (7am-8pm) but all worth it in the end!
*My girls in Salsa just hanging out before they went on!
*Chalee and I just waiting in the practice gym for all our girls to meet!
* Goofing off in our down time
*Gev and Shorty performing
* A successful day...I would say! The girls with their trophies that they rightfully deserved! :)

So much fun!

2009-04-18T22:49:00.000-07:00

Awwwwww, I have the most amazing, wonderful, awesome people that surround my life on a day to day basis. Last Friday my good friend at work Jen Hall, thew me a wonderful bridal shower at Bucca de beppo, for my fellow staff members at Montessori Community School. We had so much fun and it was so great to see all the support I have around me. I love them all so much and appreciate their wonderful and generous gifts,hugs, loves, kind words ect... They are truly all an amazing group of friends and I love them so much! Thank you ladies for such a great time at my bridal shower!!

Sorry there is not more photos, my camera died after I took these two but, Joshi at work took plenty that i will soon add on to this post.

SPRING!!!!

2009-04-18T22:38:00.000-07:00

So this past week it has been spring break for the school I work for, and on the first day off I walked out side to see this beautiful tree in full bloom and couldn't have been more happy. Yes, spring was starting to feel like it was never going to make it to me, but when I saw this tree I knew it was finally my favorite time of year... SPRING!!!!!!!!!!

My First Bridal Shower Experence!!! :)

2009-03-23T16:12:00.000-07:00

Ok, so last Saturday (March 21) I had the privilege of having my wonderful sister Ashley and my beautiful sister in law Shelly throw me a awesome bridal shower here in Utah. This was tons of fun with great food and just a really good experience every bride should have! We played 2 games, Bridal Bingo, this is where the guests guess what is in the brides presents and as she opens them you cross off the ones you guessed till you get 4 in a row and shout BINGO!!! The other game was "who knows who better". This game was very funny and lots of fun. My sister Ashley filmed Joe answering a series of questions about himself and if I got the answer wrong then I was given a piece of gum to chew and then she filmed him answering a series of questions about me and if he got them wrong then the guest got to draw on my lovely face! ( hence the pictures below) This was a lot of fun and was great to see a lot of my friends and family. I want to give a special thanks to all that could make it and made that day so amazing and fun for me & Thank you all for all you generous gifts Joe and I appreciate them more then you know! :)
Thank you
Chalee drawing on my face because Joe Got an answer wrong:
Guests enjoying the answers Joe is giving on t.v.:

Guest sign in table and the generous gift pile:
Alisha, Chalee, Megan and Jen gave us the cookie sheets that Joe and I debated about for like an hour in the store when we were registering yay:
My Lovely decorated face: Guest Pic #2 enjoying each other:

Our Engagement Photos

2009-03-13T11:38:00.000-07:00

Last week we finally took our engagement photos and we love how they turned out, however it was a freezing, extremely bright, and horribly windy day so it made taking these kinds of pictures difficult, but our photographer ( my sister in law Shelly Gardner www.memoriescapturedbyshelly.com) did an amazing job and lucky we had a bunch that we absolutely love. The pictures have a modern feel to them that is totally us. (Thus, all the bright colored lively backgrounds.) We definitely didn't realize how difficult of a choice it is to pick the one that will go in our invitations, but i think we finally made our decision, which one do you think it will be?! ha-ha but here are a few pictures that we love!!!

2009-03-13T10:58:00.000-07:00

2009-03-13T10:56:00.000-07:00

2009-03-13T10:55:00.000-07:00

RING!!!

2009-03-11T18:13:00.000-07:00

MY BEAUTIFUL SHINY RING!!!!!!!!!!
(My wedding band will be coming soon then we will get them sottered (don't know if that is how you spell it :/) together before the wedding!)

We are ENGAGED!!!!!

2009-03-11T17:46:00.000-07:00

YUP!!! Thats right you heard it correct... we are engaged!! After 2 1/2 years of dating we are finally tying the knot on May 22, 2009! Joe proposed on Jan 1, 2009 while we saw the lights on temple square (salt lake city) for the last time (before they took them down till next Christmas) in a beautiful horse drawn carriage ride! He was so cute about it and it was a wonderful way to be proposed to that we will never forget!
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For those of you who don't know- Joe and I first met on June 20th 2006 while he was playing tennis with some friends of ours. We clicked right away and also discovered we are form the same home town (Poway) and our families have known each other for a long time but since there is a 4 year age difference between us, we never crossed paths till I moved to Utah to go to school. We then began to date right away casually and then seriously and now almost 3 years down the road we are getting married! yay
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We are very EXCITED and can't wait till May 22, 2009 to begin our eternity of life together.... (oh ya... and our amazing honeymoon vacation) ;)