12 for 12

I saw this idea on a family member's blog and loved it. I always love ending the year by looking back on how fantastic the previous one has been and where I have seen the Lord's hand in my life. So here we go. In no particular order, here are the top 12 for 2012:

1. This one was an easy pick. Getting this little fur ball seems like years ago! She was my 6 month anniversary present from Jordan, and I gotta say, she's the best $10 source of entertainment he could have gotten me! I was so excited to get a sweet, cuddly kitty, but before long we found out she was anything but that. If you have never met Perri, please come by our home sometime. :) She is the funniest cat ever.

2. Our spring break this year was pretty stellar. We loaded up a couple vehicles with some of our closest friends and went down to our friend Jeff's family condo in St. George. We hiked at Zion, ate delicious food, got in the hot tub, and played games all week. It was fabulous.

3. I graduated!!! I really loved my last semester. So glad to have been able to finish my AAS degree in Digital Media from UVU.

4. We discovered our LOVE for BBQ's at Rock Canyon Park during the summer. We went a couple of times with friends and we even had family BBQ's with both of our families for Father's Day. We had an absolute blast on both days rolling down the hill with our nephews and lounging in the shade.

I love this picture of my sweet father in law and nephew. :)

Play time with the boys.

5. This year we did a lot to make our little apartment feel more like home. We did a faux granite finish to our counter tops and added a few purchases to make it more homey. :) We also got a super rockin' deal on a TV from my work this summer. This picture is from one of our projects from the summer. We purchased a hutch for $50 (from KSL of course) and refinished the drawer fronts. Jordan and his dad also built us a matching shelf to hang above the TV. I LOVE how everything turned out. :) 

6. In August we had the opportunity to go on an awesome vacation with Jordan's family. We traveled through Jackson Hole, Colter Bay, Yellowstone, and ended by swimming at the pools at Lava Hot Springs. It really deserves a whole blog post by itself; I'm still mad I never got around to that one. Here is a shot I got on one of our early morning drives that we went on in an attempt to see a bear. We never saw a bear (darn), but we were able to catch a lot of beautiful photos.

7. Weddings!!! Holy cow, 2012 was the year of weddings. It started in January when my dear friend Shaylin married her sweetheart Cody in the Timpanogos temple. It was the first live sealing Jordan and I were able to attend since our own, so it was a lot of fun. :) Next was Frizz and Brock's wedding in March in the Draper temple. We had such a great time at their sealing, luncheon, and reception. Then in May I got to be a bridesmaid in Kaela and Josh's wedding and what a fun day that was! Jordan and I were both very involved and had a blast. Then Justin and Ashley got married that same month! Jordan got to be a groomsman at that one. It was sooo much fun hanging out with all of our Heber friends at both the Gibson and the Berg receptions. It was also incredible being back inside the Salt Lake temple for their sealings. Last was the wedding of our dear friends, Matt and Karalee, in the Draper temple. We had so much fun helping with a lot of last minute details and doing their photography for them. I think my favorite part of all these weddings was being able to attend the different sealings. There is something so special about the temple sealing. It is definitely my favorite thing about temples! It was also so cool to take mental note of the marriage advice we heard from all of the different sealers.

This is a shot that Jordan and I got the night before Kaela and Josh's wedding. 
What do you think?

8. One of the biggest highlights of our 2012 summer was when we went to visit Dan and Jess on their farm in Fillmore. I felt like we were living a country song as we went on four-wheeler rides through miles and miles of farmland, played latter golf in the back yard, ate at a restaurant called The Garden of Eat'n, saw the most incredible sunsets, and slept in the back of a truck in a farmer's field. It was such a blast and we can't wait to go again.

"There's somethin' 'bout a truck..." ;)

9. In August my sweet sister in law, Monique, arranged an awesome family get together. We had a Mexican food fiesta and she even rented a giant blow up water slide for the adults kids to play on. Our whole family isn't able to get together very often so it was really cool to be together for a family activity like this.

All the kiddos drying off as they feast.

10. Another HUGE highlight was the day that we found out Jordan was accepted into UVU's paramedic program! It was such a relief to have him be accepted his first time applying. I am so proud of him and how hard he is currently working. He is an amazing guy!

11. Jordan and I went all out this Halloween with homemade themed costumes and a super fun Halloween party. It was definitely one that we will always remember. Check out this post if you are interested in how we made the costumes.

Hiccup, Astrid, and Toothless.

12. Last but not least was Christmas. We celebrated with my mom on the 23rd, my dad Christmas afternoon, and Jordan's family on the 26th, which meant that Jordan and I were able to do our own thing on Christmas eve and Christmas morning! It was my absolute favorite. I came home from work on the 24th to an AMAZING meal prepared by Jordan. We ate and then watched the Nativity Story. We both were choking back tears at the end. I had seen that movie before but it really touched me this time. I felt so much love and gratitude for my Savior and his humble birth and life. On Christmas morning we slept in, had a delicious breakfast, showered, and then opened presents at like 11. It was so relaxed and sweet to just hang out the 2 of us! We realize that once we have kids we will never have such a relaxing Christmas so we just soaked it in.

This year has not been an easy one for our families and Jordan and I realize how incredibly fortunate and blessed we are. We have love, a warm home, an opportunity to get an education, and good jobs. Thank you so much to all of our family members and our old and new friends for blessing our lives. (That sort of sounded like I was ending a Christmas letter. We never sent one out, so go ahead and take this post as just that.) :)