Current Creek Camping trip 2010

So I'm a little late, but we finally went camping this summer! We usually go with the Huston fam a couple of times in the summer, but with everyone in school and the busy lives we live, this was our first time this year. We went up to Current Creek on August 7th. The fishing was a great here and it wasn't over crowded which was really nice!

John and I decided we would take Charlie on this camping trip and let me just tell you, he was an angel! He had so much fun eating bugs, playing in the mud, and sitting by the fire. We even bought him a special outfit for the occasion (and for UTAH games.)

We of course loved the Beef Stew for dinner and Brian's famous Peach Cobbler! Thanks so much Carol and Brian for a fun weekend!

(Please pay no attention to the double chin I have going on in this picture.)

P.S.- We got sooo burnt while fishing...we are still dealing with the after effects two weeks later!

Blessings...

Today while driving to work I was thinking about all the many things I have to be grateful for in my life. I am so BLESSED it's amazing! I am so glad I am able to recognize all that I have been given. Even though days can be hard and sometimes I want to just give up...I have the best husband anyone could ask for. We have a cute little house and the custest dog ever! Most important we have an ETERNAL MARRIAGE and for that I am so grateful. Nothing makes me more happy than to know I get to be with my husband FOREVER.

It's a WONDERFUL life!

Our door greeter!

Today was my first day at my new job. I am so excited to be working with such great and fun people. It's a normal routine for me when I am driving home to call John and ask him how Charlie is doing and if we was excited to see him. John says every time it is around six or so...Charlie will just wait by the window so he can see me pull up and greet me at the door. John also says he knows my car from everyone else's and can tell when I pull up. John is definitely right! Today it was the cutest thing ever. I pulled in and parked my car and sure enough I could see Charlie waiting for me. As I walked up to the door he was waiting about half way down the stairs. When I walked in the front door he looked at me, waited for to say something and then bolted it down the stairs to jump and give me some kisses. Our dog is the best! We love him so much! Getting Charlie to be a part of our family was the best decision and we can't wait for him to be around for many years. When we decide to have children, we know they will love him just as much too! I am so glad I get a greet from this little guy every day I come home :)

Fondue...YES PLEASE!!!

The other night Chelsea and Jeremy Ruesch invited us to go to dinner with them. When they told us "The Melting Pot" we were so excited! John and I have never been to this place, but have always wanted to go. Let me just tell you...we were amazed by this place. It's so yummy and so worth the money to go. You get a four course meal and though it doesn't look like a lot of food when they bring it out, we left feeling full and very much satisfied :)

We had so much fun at dinner with Chelsea and Jeremy. It's so fun to get out and have a fun night with them. We decided every couple of months we will try a new fun place that we normally wouldn't go to...no special occasion needed, just a fun night to get out and enjoy some quality time with our friends :) Next we might try La Caille!

Thanks Jeremy and Chelsea for truly entertaining us and inviting us for night out on the town! We had a blast and look forward to our next outing with you guys!

Change...

Well...I recently had a job opportunity come up and will be leaving my current job at Gardner Village at the end of this week. Though it is sad to leave such a fun place, I am very much looking forward to this new opportunity. I'm kinda weird when it comes to change...If I want to change something in my house or change the style of my hair, I don't seem to have any problems, but when I am changing something like a job or something that is a routine I seem to struggle with it a little more. There are some great girls that I work with that I will truly miss seeing every day of the week. I'm not done with Gardner Village completely though :) ...so I will be helping out with events about once a month :) These are the funnest thing to attend and one of the reasons I love Gardner Village so much!

Sometimes in life you just need a change and that's how I am feeling...hopefully it will be the right decision and well CHANGE, that's life! And if you don't take chances, you'll never know.

Thanks Gardner Village...for being like my second home for the past 3 and a half years!

Kidney Stones :(

John thought he was done with these dreadful things we call Kidney Stones...but yesterday was an all to familiar reenactment of pain. John got up in the morning, told me he thought he had another kidney stone and with in a matter of twenty minutes he was on the floor about to die from the pain he was feeling. Now I have never had kidney stones, but I hear they feel like giving birth...I guess I have never done that either ha ha so all I know is that my husband feels like he is going to die. For those of you who don't know, John has a history with kidney stones. The first time he got one was when we had been married about three months. and every since then he has had one every month. He hasn't had one for about three months, so we thought he was done, but we sure were wrong. The one that came on yesterday was the worst I have ever seen him. So we of course rushed him to insta care. He was all out of his pain medication he usually takes for them because he has had so many, so we knew the only way we could get him something was to go in. They gave him a shot that knocked him out and pretty much made him go numb. He was out the rest of the day and all night long. Me and Charlie were pretty bored all day and tried to stay out of the bedroom so John could get the rest he needed and feel better.

Today is much better...I think (He wouldn't tell me even if it was worse) The doctor he went and saw a couple of months ago suspected that John has Chronic Kidney Stones, but we are going to have to help him find something to take care of this issue. I feel so bad for him when they come! Wish us luck in our search for a cure to these tiny horrible things!!!

Have you ever wondered...

Why does love happen between two particular people...well I think

this might explain it perfectly!

"OnE oF tHe PeOpLe hAs FrEcKLEs aNd sO He FiNdS SoMeBoDy eLsE wHo HaS FreCkLeS tOo."

-Andrew, age 6

Randi: 8th grade- John: 9th grade

Our Special Wedding Day!

La Caille Bridal Show 2010

It's that time of the year again! La Caille will be hosting the 3rd annual $100,000 Dream Wedding Giveaway and once again I get to be a part of it. It is hard to believe two years ago I attended this show and walked away as the one lucky bride to win the $100,000 Dream Wedding giveaway! Last year I got to work at Swensen Photography's booth and I absolutely loved being there and helping, so I am getting to help out again this year. Instead of being at their booth I will be helping the brides check in and getting them registered, helping out the models to get ready for all the fun fashion shows, and giving out the $100,000 Dream wedding to ONE lucky Bride! It's going to be some much fun and bring back a lot of great memories from our wedding day :)

It's still hard to believe John and I won this!

This Picture is priceless!

What a dream come true!
Here is the first post I did for The Bride and Groom.com after winning the wedding!

On Saturday, July 19th, 2008 I attended the Bridal Extravaganza Show at La Caille in hopes to get some great ideas for a wedding. Instead of just walking away with a couple of brochures and coupons, I won the $100,000 DREAM WEDDING GIVEAWAY! What a dream come true this really is to write about my experience that day. There really aren’t words to explain, but i’ll try my best.

John and I have been together for eight years on September 3rd. We met while attending the same Junior High and It truly was love at first site. We continued dating all through out High School. There was no doubt in our minds that we wanted to spend forever together, but before we could get married we both knew that it was VERY important for John to serve a LDS mission. He reported to the Missionary Training center on June 28, 2006 and returned home just three weeks ago on July 3rd, 2008. We both knew the minute we saw each other at the airport that we would finally be together forever. Of course most people would say…how will you get married? How will you afford it? And these were questions that we both asked ourselves. The week before I went to the Bridal show at La Caille, John joked around with me and said “You know if you win the $100,000 Dream Wedding Giveaway, then that means that we don’t have to wait to get married.” I laughed and told him he was crazy and said that there was no way out of all those people I would win the grand prize. Well I was wrong apparently (but we don’t have to tell him that ) As I sat there waiting for them to announce the winner, I was surprisingly calm because in my head i didn’t think I even had a chance. When they said my name, I flew off my seat and couldn’t believe what I had won. I didn’t just win a $100,000 Dream Wedding Giveaway, I also am going to be able to Marry my best friend. Even though this wedding is going to be something out of fairytale, my life has always been a fairytale because John has been a part of it. This is a dream come true and I am so grateful for this opportunity and for this wonderful day that I get to share with John. It’s an amazing ending to a VERY exciting Beginning.

We will forever be grateful for the many things we were blessed with from this giveaway. I am so glad we got to work with such great vendors and build everlasting relationships with them. Our wedding day was truly a fairytale and something we will remember forever.

SiMpLe tHoUgHt...

‎"SOmE bLeSsInGs cOmE sOoN, SoMe cOmE LaTe, AnD sOmE DoN’t cOmE UnTil HeAvEn; BuT FoR ThOsE ThAt EmBrAcE ThE GoSPeL oF JeSuS ChRiSt, ThEy CoMe."

-Jeffrey R. Holland

St. George Getaway ~ June 2010

Last weekend John and I went to St. George for a much needed get away. We really wanted to go down there to see Tarzan at Tuachan Theater and let me tell you what it was a fantastic show! I loved every minute of it! Next year Wizard of Oz, Hair Spray, and Grease are going to be playing. We might be making many trips to St. George next year :)

On Saturday, we got up early and went to a Tuachan Farmers Market, the Outlets, and to lunch. After lunch we went and did a Session at the St. George Temple. We had never done a session here and wow wasn't it beautiful. I am so grateful I am married in the temple to a wonderful man. Going to the temple together is something we are trying to do more often. It was such a relaxing day and we really enjoyed having no plans and just being able to do whatever we wanted to. Later that night we took a drive to Mesquite to eat a delicious buffet. (Lets just say John got to eat all the crab and lobster he wanted to) When we got back to our hotel that night we went for an ice cream run to Ice Berg.

While we were gone we sure missed Charlie. He stayed at Grandma and Grandpa Ashcroft's house and lets just say, he had way too much fun! He went on hikes in the mountains, played in the sprinklers, followed Benson around, and played ALL day in the back yard. The only thing he didn't do was take naps. So, you can imagine when we got him back how tired he was. On the way home, he fell right to sleep and we didn't hear a peep from him the rest of the day and all night. Thanks grandma and grandpa for watching Charlie. He sure had fun and misses you guys already :)

Turning 22!

This week was a fun one and one I look forward to every year...MY BIRTHDAY!!! Except this year it snuck up on me pretty quick! It seems that as you get older, birthdays come even faster than usual. I know I am still young, but it's crazy to think that I am actually 22 years old! Next year I am not exactly sure I will be so excited for my birthday. 23 seems so much older than 22 :)

For my birthday this year I took the day off work and did me some shopping (what I do best) I had a lot of fun! I went to Nordstrom Rack and found some awesome deals. I also went to two malls...I had to visit both, they have different stores :) In the middle of my birthday shopping spree, I went to lunch at East Coast Subs with my husband, father-in-law, and brother-in-law. Than of course went and did more shopping.

Later that night John and I went to dinner at Cheesecake factory (yep, just like we did for John's birthday) with my parents! We showed up right in time...this place is always packed! After dinner we headed home to watch a movie and then called it a night. The fun didn't stop there. Yesterday we went to dinner yet again and went and saw Toy Story 3! It was such a great movie and I would highly recommend it.

It was a great birthday and I am so grateful for all the friends and family that make me feel so loved. It was so great to wake up Wednesday morning and have a phone full of texts wishing me a Happy Birthday.

Meet Disney's Biggest Fans

Yes, you got it right! We are Disney's Biggest Fans! Here in this picture, John and I were at Disney World for our Honeymoon and let me just tell you, we had SO MUCH FUN!

John knew before he married me that I was a Disney fanatic to say the least. I have visited Disneyland 5 times in my life and Disney world 5 times as well. Lets just say I have made John the biggest Disney fan now too! This Christmas season we will be adding yet another visit to Disneyland. We were going to go to Disney world, but with school and the cost of airfare going up everyday, we decided we would be just as happy with Disneyland. We have always wanted to go to Disney when it's all decked out for Christmas. There is something so special about this place. Though as cheesy as it may sound there is a feeling there that you can't feel anywhere else. They don't call it the HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH FOR NOTHING! We are so excited to go and have already been planning all the many things we want to do. There is a new show they have at California Adventure called "World of Color". Disney spent $1.2 Billion on it, that will sure be something we go and see!

Feeling a little out of whack...

Do you ever just feel like your life is completely out of WHACK? Because right now thats how I feel. Today John and I had to run to Home depot to buy some supplies for our house. We were standing in the isle and John asked me if I wanted to get the canned lights for the room in our basement we are finishing, and well...out of the middle of no where I began to get teary eyed. John then asked me what was wrong and to be honest I couldn't even tell him what was bothering me. We all know when someone asks you what is wrong, you begin to tear up more and more and more, until all of the sudden you are like me, in an isle at Home Depot crying for who knows what reason!


Well, I actually do know why all of the sudden in the middle of Home Depot I began to cry. My life feels out of WHACK! Between John and I trying to figure out what we are going to do for school in the fall and where are life is going to head from this point on, not to mention working full-time and then wanting to have time for everything else...WE ARE STRESSED! I have tried to not focus on it too much, but when I sit down and look over my schedule for school in the fall, a full-time job, and a calling in young womens, I begin to stress out. I begin to wonder how am I going to do all of this. Thank goodness for John who is always so willing to help out! He might be the only thing that saves me from going crazy!


So after my extreme and dramatic break down today, I have come to one conclusion...I AM VERY BLESSED in my life. I have a loving husband and a great family. Words can't explain how much I appreciate them and love them. With out my family, I would be lost. I am so grateful for my mom. We talk at least twice and day and even if it is just to say hi, how are doing? It's nice to have her there. I am grateful for the life I have and for the gospel. Where would I be without the gospel?! I don't even want to imagine that!



So our next step...

* Get John registered for classes (i'm already registered for my 15 credits! YIKES)
* Celebrate my birthday next week, and have a day of fun and shopping and doing whatever I want :)
* Than, soon enough we will be off to St. George for the weekend to see Tarzan at Tuachan Theather. ( a much needed get away) Charlie will be staying with Grandma Ashcroft.


Oh Yeah...I went and bought one of these to help me get organized!I use one every semester and so I went and got one tonight! Maybe now I can start to get organized again.

Charlie's First "at home" bath

I always seem to find myself blogging about our dog lately! But lets face it, he is like our child and anything we do lately is with him. Last night after I got home from work, John and I decided we would attempt giving him a bath. The last time Charlie had a bath he went to the groomers and they took care of the whole thing for us. The lady even told us he was so good! John thought since he didn't need his hair cute again right now, why don't we just wash him ourselves... Now I have had dogs before, ones that jump out of the tub, run all around the house, getting water everywhere and then when you finally catch up to them, they shake their entire bodies off and you're the one that ends up getting the bath. But I thought, what the heck, this dogs little, he couldn't do that much damage :)

I was right! Charlie was an angel (until we reached the blow drying part) Here he is as a wet rat! Believe it or not, under all that thick hair he is sooo tiny!

Once we were done getting all the shampoo out of his hair, we took him out of the tub, dried him off with the towel, and that's when the real fun began! He HATES the blow dryer! He was barking, yelping, and biting us every chance he got. Not to mention he HATES to get brushed too! So while blow drying and brushing we tried to keep him calm, by holding him close and talking to him (John was really great at this) After about fifteen minutes of drying him, Charlie actually started to enjoy it a little bit. Here is his new do...

Then it was back outside he went to play...and get dirty again. Just like little boys do :)

John Turns 23!

John and I both love this time of the year because we get to celebrate both of our birthdays! Last week was John turned 23! Even though we kind of celebrated the Saturday before and went shopping and to lunch, we decided we wanted to go to dinner the night of his birthday with his family. We went to Cheesecake Factory and I think we all loved it! I don't know if any of you have ever been there, but the food is so yummy and you literally have 17 pages of food to choose from. It took us ten minuted to look at the menu and try to decide what we wanted to eat. Our poor waitress had to keep coming back. Since I know my husband so well I knew he would get something either with shrimp or steak...He decided to get both! I mean, it is his birthday :)

After we had all stuffed our faces and couldn't even think about eating another bite of food, we went back to the Huston's to sing happy birthday and have cake and ice cream.

Later that night when we got home, Charlie wanted to give John his gift from him. A brand new pair of these...

Since Charlie decided he was going to eat John's favorite pair of shoes, he thought it would be the perfect gift to get him :) He also decided he was going to dress up for the occasion...

My Birthday is in two weeks! I am going to be the big 22! I wonder what John and Charlie will give me for my special day :)