Reader's Digest Version of 2011 and 2012

So last time I posted was Oct 2011. Lets just do some quick catch up on 2011 and 2012. Hopefully I'm not forgetting anything big.

2011: The Start of Big Change

-Left Sunshine

-Dad moved to Afghanistan for work

-Baby sister started college

-Went on our first cruise. 3 day relocation cruise from Canada to Long Beach. Explored Canada before the cruise. Hit a massive storm. Discovered that i love BINGO.  Had a blast!

-Gained another niece on the Evans' side. Welcome to the world Sophia!

-Started work at a temp agency

2012: New beginnings and settling in

-Started as a temp at Semco Instruments.

-Began looking to buy a house.

-Gained another nephew on the Evans' side. Welcome to the world Hunter!

-Older sister, Whitney got engaged to Dennis!

-Dad ended his Afghanistan job and came back home!

-Got hired on as "full time" at Semco

-Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Steele!

-Older brother, Garrett and his wife Julie had a BABY! Welcome to the world Greadon! First Myler Grandbaby!

-Tried buying a house and it fell out of escrow after our previous home needed us out and we were left with nowhere to go. Found a chance rental in the home between two of Casey's brothers. and moved in on New Years Eve 2012! Ready to start 2013 in a new home!

2013 was a big year. Big enough to start a new post. :)

Best Disney Day Ever!

So I decided a long time ago, I would not blog about every trip I make to Disneyland – I just done have time to blog that much. Lol. But this day deserves its own blog…

So my amazing friend Elizabeth and I started making a habit of meeting up at Disneyland. (It is kind of a halfway point between where she lives and where I live.) She and her mom would meet me at Disneyland and we would spend the day together laughing and having fun. One day, a run-of-the-mill, amazing, Disney day became something extraordinary!

(9/15/2011?)

To maximize our time we decided to get to the park even before opening. We made the best choice ever and decided to start in California Adventure. After walking into the park a ways, we were stopped by employees making a barrier saying the park is still closed and that we cannot pass them so we waiting right there waiting to be let into the park to start our day. About ten minutes before opening a girl wearing a Tower of Terror uniform approaches us and asks us if we would like to be the first to ride that ride for the day. Of course we said yes. She escorted us through the (empty!) park to the ride.

As we turned the corner to see the Hollywood Tower Hotel, Chip and Dale were waiting for us. As we spotted each other from across the walkway to the ride, they began running towards us (imagine cliché slow motion running towards each other in a field of daisies). Lots of hugging and smooch noises and photo ops and laughs and priceless memories. After a few minutes (felt like a really long time) of borderline sexual harassment (not complaining lol), we were lead into the ride.

It was really interesting walking through the line area all alone. We approached the “reception desk” and were asked to sign a “guest book”. Come to find out….once filled, that book will be kept in the library of the ride. MY NAME WILL FOREVER BE APART OF DISNEYLAND!! Moving on….

We then are escorted into the Twilight Zone Video portion of the ride… just the three of us. Then walked to the doors of the elevator and we were instructed to “Pick your seats”. This picture says the rest of the story.

YEAH! THAT HAPPENED!
Here are some more pictures from the rest of the day:

Needless to say: BEST DAY EVER!

I can’t imagine a day where I am tired of Disneyland… especially after a day like that. Until next time!

4 years Ago

Four years ago today, i went on the best first date (and my last first date) ever. To be honest, i thought Casey was too good to be true... so much so that i didn't really think he and i were actually going on a date until he came to the door and my dad told me my date was there to pick me up.

When i asked him where we were going he told me, "somewhere special". We showed up at The 94th Aero Squadron and had a wonderful meal... i was impressed that he made reservations for us. Most guys are so unprepared for a date.

(pictures taken 9 months after our first date)

After dinner we drove to two really unique places... we call them, "The Lions" and "The Rust Factory". Basically, just cool things to show me but i really got a feel for what i special guy i was on a date with. The unique surroundings and long drives gave us ample time to have great, genuine conversation.

Four years later and the conversation isn't dull yet. He is such an amazing man. I knew that night i would be with him forever. I couldn't see myself with anyone else after that night.

Happy Anniversary Casey! 4 years of amazing memories together... I love you!

PS: ill blog later about the fun stuff i have planned to celebrate 4 years. My new motto, "Celebrate Everything!"

Baby Ruby... My heart breaks

This story is amazing... the strength of this family. It is amazing how your heart can break and go out to complete strangers. Read the story.... but make sure you have a tissue present. This families strength is a testimony builder for sure.

http://www.aniandmatttaylor.blogspot.com/

Weddings are always a good time.

So right after i got back from my trip to Utah, i had a quite the wedding to attend. Now i love weddings no matter what but this one was extra fun because my Sister In Law, Lauren was there with her husband (Casey's brother) and my new adorable nephews. Her oldest son, Maverick was a ring bearer and the best dancer on the floor! I had such a fun time but the BEST part of the reception was the photo booth! I love how Lauren looks fabulous even when shes super preggo! Also, i cannot believe Lauren and I were able to convince Casey to do the photo booth with me.

I just wish i got a picture...or video... of Mav dancing with me and Lauren.

Congrats Allie and Britt! you put on quite the party and are quite the couple!

It has been a while... forgive me

I was trying to figure out how to catch up on everything that has happened since the last time i blogged...and have come to the realization that there is no way for me to do that. Ill do my best. I am sure i will forget something important... here we go.

In May i celebrated my 22nd birthday. It was quite the Disney Event. I had a Minnie Mouse birthday party and I got the Disneyland Annual Pass that Ive always wanted. The one with no blackout dates so i could go whenever i want and has parking included. Ive already used it a ton.

June started Summer Camp at work which means field trips and long days with crazy kids and being more used to being referred to as Bambi instead of Kendell.

Also in June, My dad and i went to Disneyland together where we had a mini family reunion. That pass i got really came in handy. I got to see my cousins that i haven't seen in forever and my aunts (dad's sisters). It was really fun.

July was a long month.

Whitney and i celebrated the 4th of July together while Madison traveled the world.

My dad left for his new job on July 8th... in Afghanistan. Saying goodbye to him was one of the hardest things i ever had to do. He is doing wonderfully and if you want to know about his Afghan Adventure you should check out his blog. I'm so proud of my dad!

After my dad left for Afghanistan and Whitney went back to Utah, i had to say goodbye to my little kiddos at work and being known as "Bambi". I left my job at Sunshine and am now focusing on finishing my real estate as soon as possible. I didn't realize how much i love those crazy kids until i had to say goodbye to them. I miss them so much!

The end of July, Casey and i took our annual trip to Lake Mead with his family and this year we took with us a new toy. Sure was a fun trip! I did the best i had ever done wake boarding before which says something because the waters were really choppy. i cant wait to try again. The sad part was that because it was so windy and choppy, riding our new toy was not as much fun as it could have been. I'm hoping to go again before the season is over.

With my new found freedom with not having a job, i decided to take a quick road trip with Madison to Utah to visit Whitney. It was my first time going anywhere without Casey. It was harder on me then i thought. but i had a really good time. We went to Temple Square, saw the Utah Mylers and visited my Grandpa Boyd's resting spot in Provo.

That brings us up to date. Last week i decided to use my time at home to Casey's benefit and make some yummy cupcakes to cheer him up after a long day of work. It really made him happy and made it tough for me to stick to my eating healthy thing. Next time I bake a bunch ill have to give most of them away.

UPDATE: I told you i would forget something important:

-Madison Graduated High School and soon leaves for BYU-Idaho!

-Garrett left for Basic Training in the air force shortly after my dad left for Afghanistan.

This is QUITE the year for my family. Can't wait to see what the other half of 2011 has in store for us. :)

Easter Weekend Getaway

Casey and I decided to go away for a weekend just to spend some time together. Things have been so busy lately. This is how we celebrated our anniversary even though it was a month late, it was perfect! We chose to go to San Diego and stay with my grandparents in Temecula.

We left Thursday night after we dropped Lady off at Casey's brother's house. We got to my Grandma's house at about 10 and quickly went to bed. The next morning we drove from Temecula to San Diego to go to the Safari Park. It was packed in line but once we got in, it was super fun. I have a new favorite animal, Porcupine! so stinking cute! We saw a lot of cute animals up close and got a lot of walking in. We went in to this butterfly jungle and were surrounded by literally thousands of butterflies. Casey said it was creepy... i had to somewhat agree. But we got an adorable picture out of it.

We went from there to the safari and it was a huge line but i knew it was worth the wait. I saw giraffes and a lot of Rhinos and random deer looking animals. I loved seeing the Zebras! I was just bummed that the Lions weren't there. (they are remodeling the Lion exhibit) :(

After that we were pretty much done with the whole park. We headed the the front and passed a petting zoo. i couldn't pass up a chance to touch some animals. :)

We headed back to my Grandma's house where we knew we had a home cooked meal waiting for us. My grandma made meatloaf which was amazing and a chocolate cake. (uh oh!) I knew right then that sticking to my diet would be near impossible during our trip. We started to watch Fantasia but i fell asleep so we went to bed. Saturday morning we got up and decided to go exploring. We stopped by Pechanga, which is HUGE by the way and then drove around the wine country. it was so pretty. we found the mall and walked around a bit and then went home and changed for dinner. We went out to dinner and planned on going out to see a movie but the movie times were so late, so we went to wal mart and bought Rebel Without a Cause and watched that on Casey's laptop in our room.

Easter Sunday we went to church with my grandma and hung out at their house. Grandma made an amazing dinner and of course some dessert. We watched Phantom of the Opera with my Grandparents and then Casey and i went to bed. The next morning was so bittersweet. The weekend was perfect and relaxing and easy and it was so hard to leave knowing that we had to go back to reality.

I am so grateful to have grandparents who live in such a beautiful place and are such beautiful people. Even though this was my first Easter without the Easter Bunny or Easter Eggs but it was perfect! I was so happy to come home to our Lady and she was so happy to see us. Now its back to reality!