SIX YEARS ❤️

Today, six years ago, Trevor and I had one of the best days of our lives! It really, really, really was. Gosh I love that man. All day I have been thinking about our wedding, and how much Trevor means to me. While I am beyond excited for the new joy that is coming into our lives with our little girl, I realized today that we are ending an era, of just Trevor and me. It has been seven years of just us... and that is all changing soon. We are so ready for that change, but I am surprisingly feeling bittersweet about it all right now. We have had a lot of fun, and we have grown so much. We met in August, married in August, and will be adding to our family in August. This month will always hold a special place in my heart. I can't thank Trevor enough for bringing me so much happiness in life. I am blessed, and can't wait to watch our family grow! Happy Anniversary my love! :)

Trevor pointed out that today is Tuesday, and that we got married on a Tuesday! I love little things like that. I thought I would share our wedding videos from the big day for all you sappy romantics out there :)
 

One beautiful Tuesday morning in August...



The Celebration...
 

PASSWORD IS: McClain

Alycia and Trev Reception from Chris McClain Productions on Vimeo.

Life Lately - Trevor's Surgery

Doesn't his face say it all? haha

I have been a tad silent on the blog lately and that would be because life has really been insane! We have been so busy and not in the I feel fulfilled and am loving it kind of way. I need a break! haha I hit a point last week where I realized that I had been trying to do to much and my body didn't appreciate it. Sometimes I want to go at my normal pace and have to remind myself, "Alycia, you are pregnant! Slow down!" I have been having a hard time slowing down, especially with all I want to get done before this baby girl arrives! My to-do list just got a little more intense seeing that Trevor went and broke his foot last week. Yup! Trevor bought a dirt bike not too long ago, and has been loving it. Anytime anyone ever comes over he wants to give them a ride. My brother and his wife came over and he decided he needed to take Alex for a spin, so off they went for a quick few laps around the neighborhood. Well that didn't go so well, and there was a crash. Nothing too bad but unfortunately for Trevor his crazy antics finally caught up to him. I can't believe with the crazy stunts he pulls this is the first time he has legitimately hurt himself. I mean he is 30 years old. I guess one good thing came out of this, I believe Trevor has finally learned his lesson. His break actually required surgery. And the reality of that opened up his eyes to the fact that he should probably be more conservative and cautious sometimes. I love that Trevor is an adrenaline seeker but sometimes he pushes things a little far and is so intense. I am happy with us getting older and now bringing a baby into the world he might take it down a few notches. You can have fun without risking your life! haha

 

The looks we get walking together at the store. Me pregnant, Trevor broken... oh it is priceless! haha

 

Surgery was yesterday and it was a very long day. We got there on time and he was prepped right away all to find out they were running behind. Like an hour and a half behind. So that wasn't fun, but thankfully I was there to keep him company. Before Trevor kept insisting I didn't need to be there, but I after this whole experience he was very happy I was with him. I was happy I was there too. After his surgery when he was still coming to I was able to help him get dressed and feed him. I am happy I was the one that was doing that and not a nurse. I had a moment while trying to get him back into his clothes by myself behind the curtain where I just felt so much love for him. I was helping my husband who was helpless and needed me, and there wasn't anywhere else I would rather be than there doing that for him. Might sound silly and cheesy but I just felt so grateful that we have each other and love each other so much. The marriage relationship really is sacred and special.

 

Trevor was pretty funny the rest of the night, he was very much still feeling the affects of anesthesia and I would write out all the ridiculous things he said but since this is a public journal of sorts I will keep some things private. My husband does work in the professional world and you never know who will read here, so I wouldn't want to say something that would embarrass him or offended someone, haha but let's just say he made me almost wet my pants!

Trevor will forever have a screw in his foot, right where the big toe bone meets the joint in his foot! The doctor said it "shouldn't" go off in airports, I liked that choice of words, shouldn't HA! He also said he "should" be walking by the time the baby comes, so let's hope that is true! Basically it looks like our summer plans to fix up certain parts of the house might take a little longer to get done now. Oh well, life happens. At least he is okay, that is all that matters to me. Everything else in life is just fluff. We sure do make a funny looking couple though, me being pregnant and him on crutches. I won't lie, my body is exhausted doing double the work. I have to get everything for him and I basically serve him all night when I get home from work. I do it because I love him, but this pregnant body is tired. I just keep thinking about the end goal of our summer, our baby girl! Trevor keeps telling me how thankful he is and that he will be my servant when our little girl arrives, haha. I don't know when you need the help more, before or after? I guess Trevor is good practice for our baby girl, because let's be honest, we will both be serving HER for awhile haha Either way, I am happy we are in this together. We couldn't stop talking about having a little girl while waiting at the hospital all day yesterday. Parenthood is just around the corner, and we are stoked!

 

The BIG 30!

Well Trevor is 30 tomorrow! 30... can you believe it? We can't! It seems like every birthday that Trevor says he feels old, but this is the first one where I would have to agree... it feels weird to be married to a 30 year old, haha! We were practically teenagers when we got married, so getting to this next stage together is a little surreal. 30 will be a big year for Trevor, he is going to become a Dad! And I can't wait to see him step into that role, he will be an amazing father. I couldn't have picked a better man to do this with.

I really wanted to something fun and special for him, so I put together a surprise birthday party. Trevor is one who doesn't like a lot of attention - my total opposite right! ;) haha But I knew it would be something he would be happy I did and appreciate. I invited a bunch of his friends and put together a 40 lap race at a go kart place here in Salt Lake. I had his friend Staton make up some excuse for them to hang out and he brought him to the party where we were all waiting. I honestly don't know how I got away with this because I attempted a surprise party for him in the past and he totally caught me. He was NOT excepting this at all and I am SO happy I got him! The boys had a blast and us girl's who are mostly all pregnant or with little ones (haha) ate pizza and cake while they raced.

Speaking of cake, I felt this was the last year where I could blame our age on doing something so tacky and inappropriate, but I just knew Trevor would get a kick out of one of those "Crap you're old" cakes! Esp. since he has been going on and on about being "old." I didn't have time to make a toilet cake since I work full time and Trevor would have seen me make it, so I just ordered a basic cake and added some "poop" to it myself ;) This was one of those Reese's, Butterfingers mixed cups. It turned out pretty great if I do say so myself hahaha

 

Crowley Party of Two... wait, make that THREE!

Our love is growing by another heart this year! ❤ Introducing the Crowley Party of THREE!

We are already so in LOVE with this little one due to arrive in August! :)

 

August must be our month, seeing that we met in August 2008, got married in August 2009, and now we are expecting our little one August 2015.  

So from our growing family to yours, Happy Valentine's Day! ❤

WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!

Trevor and I bought a house! On Friday we officially got the keys to our first home! I guess this makes us real adults now. Merry Christmas to us (for the next 20+ years) ha! We are pretty thrilled to finally be done with this whole process, but just as I typed that I remembered how much further we actually have to go with this house. You see, we wanted a place that needed some updating so that we could be the ones that built the equity into it. We wanted a good investment. It has the right bones, and now we just need to polish it off. I can't wait to post the progress on the blog as we go! I am sure I will be reaching out for all of your opinions and advice.

Finding this house was harder than I thought it would be. We needed a house that was close to Trevor's work, which is really what made this process difficult because the area where Trevor works is an older area, but with that said is a desirable area. So what that means is that the homes are more expensive, but also more outdated, you are ultimately paying for the location and space. So while I can't complain about the location, it is a good one for a reason (by the mountains, in one of the best school districts in the State, close to down town and super central) it was hard to find everything we wanted in our budget. Because the homes are older, they lack a lot of things that modern homes have (open floor concepts, larger bathrooms, common sense layouts) but they have all the great things that new homes around here don't have (large yards, and square footage). Every home we saw just wasn't fitting the bill until we stumbled on this one. It had the largest bathrooms and kitchen we had seen in any of the homes in this area, and has a massive yard. It is a corner lot so it just keeps on going and wraps around to the other side of the street. It has a great deck, and even came with a trampoline and tree house, Trevor's favorite features obviously. The backyard has fruit trees, garden boxes, and a tiny basketball court with rv parking on the side. We finally have a garage, and we can both park in it! Hallelujah! Seven years in Utah and I have never had a garage, I am so stoked. The house is really way more home then we need right now, with 6 bedrooms, and 3 bathrooms! But it was just too good of a home to walk away from, it was one of the best we have seen over the last few months and I know we can really it take it to that next level.

It is incredibly daunting to make this kind of commitment, but we are excited for what the future could hold for us in this house. I am so ready to make a home! I still can't believe we are at this point in our lives, it feels like yesterday we were packed like sardines in the smallest, saddest, basement apartment that slightly resembled a prison. So much has changed over the last five years, and I can't wait for this next chapter in life!

Husband’s Holiday Man Guide with Kohl's

I have teamed up with Trevor and Kohl's to put together a Husband's Holiday Man Guide! Shopping for men can be such a challenge sometimes, but thankfully to online shopping everything you would ever need has been gathered in one place for you. Kohl's has put together some pretty great gift ideas on their website, and we found a ton of different things through their guide that would make great gifts for Trevor! Some of these are bigger ticket items, while others make for great stocking stuffers, either way you are guaranteed to find something that fits perfectly for that man in your life, whether that be your dad, nephew, brother, husband, or best friend.

Right now Kohl's is offering some serious cyber sales! Pretty much everything is on sale right now, and they even have an online discount code on top of that, use code DASHER and get 20% OFF. And have you heard of Kohl's cash? You basically make money with every purchase you can go back to the store and spend! It is one of my favorite aspects of shopping at Kohl's. If you do it right, you can get some serious deals. Check out our favorite picks!

Plaid Flannel Button-Down Shirt: Get your man the perfect shirt! Nothing is better then a soft and broken in flannel, that soon becomes their favorite shirt. So many options and they are on sale for $9.99?!!

Triumph Sports USA Arcade 8-in-1 Basketball Game: What can I say? We love a good game in our household. My parents had one of these and we all loved doing a quick shoot out game. This is a super fun and unexpected gift that any member of the family will love.

Nike Club Swoosh Fleece Men's Hoodie: Who doesn't need another great hoodie in their life? Get him something comfortable, but that still looks good. Trevor likes to go on runs outdoors, but here in Utah the weather can get pretty chilly. This hoodie will not let the weather get in the way of his workouts, and keep him warm on those cooler days.

Norelco 3700 Rotary Razor: Does your man have a beard? Trevor's grows in overnight, and while he usually loves to sport the beard, he often has to clean up for work and church functions. His current razor needed an upgrade! This is a great tip for gift giving, what is something the person uses a lot that could use replacing? It is the very practical gift, but I have found those to often be the best!

Tek Gear Reversible Basketball Shorts: Trevor practically lives in basketball shorts. His life is suits or basketball shorts. He goes through them so much he is always due for a new pair!

Wembley Jumbo Playing Cards: Trevor loves him a game of Texas Hold'em, or any card game in general. So a new fresh pack of cards is a welcome sight in the Crowley household!

Four-Deck Automatic Card Shuffler: With all the deck of cards we have in our house, this would be a godsend! Who doesn't want one of these for those big games of Canasta

Wembley 2-pk. Ash Leaf Gingham Plaid & Mini-Dot Ties: As an Attorney, Trevor has to wear his fair share of ties! I love the skinnier version, and that these come in a complimentary pack of two!

THIS two pack has Trevor's name written all over it, the slate grey sidecar striped & solid fits Trevor to a T.

Timex Weekender Leather Watch: Trevor isn't a huge watch wearer, but it is nice for him to have something on hand when he gets really dressed up for work, or church. I love how simple this watch is, while still looking really classy.

74-pc. Cordless Drill & Screwdriver Set: Trevor is always working on his car, or random things at our apartment. I think it almost every guy's dream to have a nice tool set on hand!

Nike Flex Experience Run 3 Wide Running Shoes: Trevor needed some new running shoes bad. We picked up a pair from Kohl's just a few weeks ago and they had a huge selection!

LG 35-in. Sound Bar Speaker: Trevor has a passion for music, and he was eyeing the huge selection of bluetooth speakers! I love that the slim design can be set on a TV stand or mounted to a wall.

Reward Utensil Camper Tool: Trevor and I love a good camping trip! Your husband might already have a pocket knife, but does he have utensil's on hand at all times? You won't even begin to imagine how handy this can be! It is the perfect stocking stuffer! It also happens to be 50% OFF right now, only $9.99.

Our Thanksgiving Weekend

Since Trevor and I don't live near our families, we alternate for holidays with our two sides. For example, Thanksgiving this year would be with my family, and Christmas with Trevor's, and vice versa the next year. However, Trevor and I decided a few years ago that we would not be traveling for Thanksgivings anymore. With school and work schedules, it became a hassle to get the time off, all to use most of it for traveling. I kept feeling like I hardly got to actually spend time with family, and hated that we spent so much of our vacation time driving. We figured we would much rather spend our vacation time another time during the year when we could stay for much longer. Since Trevor does have some extended family up here in Utah, we have spent the last few Thanksgivings with them, but this year they are all headed to St. George, making this Thanksgiving our first one just us!

We had planned to go skiing on Thanksgiving day and I had all these grand plans to make a Thanksgiving dinner, but of course Trevor had to go and get himself sick, really sick. Trevor had a horrible cough and sore throat for days leading up to Thanksgiving, he could hardly talk, so all of our plans went out the window. Thanksgiving morning he was feeling much better, but didn't want to push it. At this point I gave up on the idea of cooking a whole turkey just for me and him, so we decided to go out for our Thanksgiving dinner.

Seeing that Trevor and I have never had anything but a homemade meal for Thanksgiving dinner, we didn't expect for every single place you could imagine to be jam packed. Reservations full, lines out the door! No joke, even places like Chuck-A-Rama were wrapped around the building! So we gave up after an hour of driving around and headed to the grocery store and made ourselves a small lunch with the hopes of finding something later in the evening. Those hopes were also lost, so we just stuffed ourselves with pie and apple cider. We aren't huge turkey fans anyways :) Despite our failed Thanksgiving plans, we had a great night. Neither of us have gone black Friday shopping, but decided, why not, since this was becoming a Thanksgiving of firsts for us. It actually turned out to be pretty successful! We are starting to see why people brave the crowds and go out every year.

In an attempt to make up for our Thanksgiving day disaster we decided to use a gift certificate I won at a GroopDealz party to have a night out on the town. Friday night we went to a yummy steak house, Christopher's, in down town Salt Lake and stuffed ourselves royally. We more then made up for our lack of a Thanksgiving meal!

UTAH STATE BAR AND SWORN IN

For those who asked about my shoes, they are on major sale right now!

Last Thursday Trevor was sworn in and officially became an attorney! This day was better than his graduation for me! Graduating from law school is more like a tease because you aren't actually done. You now have an entire summer of grueling studying to do for the Bar. And Trevor had to do that while working, making his summer extra stressful. But now we are now officially FINISHED with the entire process of becoming an attorney, and it feels amazing!

Bear Lake Weekend

I had a TON of questions about this sweater when I posted this pic on Instagram. You can find it  HERE.

 

Trevor and his friends decided spur of the moment to get together at Bear Lake for the weekend. Since moving to Utah I have heard a lot about Bear Lake, but had never been, so I was pretty excited to finally see why this place was so great. For those of your who don't know, Bear Lake is in both Utah and Idaho, right on the border. We got in late Friday night, so when I looked out the window of our condo Saturday morning and saw the gorgeous blue, blue, blue lake, I knew I already loved it there. The town reminded me so much of Waterton, Canada, which I have blogged about a lot in my Canada trips. I just felt at home in a sense. Unfortunately for us the weather wasn't that great. It was rainy on and off the whole weekend, but when the sun came out we soaked up as much of it as we could. Even with the rain it was a great weekend. I couldn't get over how beautiful it was!

 

Our Anniversary Weekend

It was pretty last minute but Trevor and I decided we needed to do something a little more fun than just go out to dinner for our anniversary this year, I mean, it is five years! Trevor and I love being outdoors and being active, so when I suggested boating in St. George he was totally on board. Being on the lake is probably our favorite thing to do! We drove down Friday night and by Saturday morning we were on the lake with Trevor's family! The weather that day was amazing and we had a lot of fun just soaking up the sun and swimming. After we went to lunch and my brother and his wife met up with us. I love that both my brother and I have in-laws in the same city because we get to sneak in little visits when we both happen to be there. We even ran into some friends, which happens a lot when going back to one's hometown, and so it was like a little party at Café Rio!

FIVE YEARS

I have thought a lot about fate, soul mates, and all that jazz. I have always been the person that believes that there are a lot of different people out there you could be happy with in a relationship. But logic goes out the window when you fall in love, because when you fall in love, it feels like fate.

The other night Trevor and I were lying in bed just talking. I brought up how easily we could have not met. I met Trevor at a barbeque on a hot summer night. It was a college party and there were a ton of people there, and because it was so hot there was a really long line for the water. I had gone to this barbeque alone and didn't know anyone, and so with no one to say hi to I got right in line for some water. Unbeknownst to me I was standing in line behind my future husband.

When you think about all the little factors in life that could have made it so I wasn't in line behind him. If I had shown up only a few minutes later, or earlier. If Trevor had decided to get food first. When you think about all the little things that could have happened to make it so that we would have never made a point of contact it can blow your mind. I mean, Trevor only talked to me because the water had run out and he offered to get me some from somewhere else. What if the water hadn't run out? We probably would have never talked.

When you add up all those moments where us meeting could have never happened, it just feels like fate. But I don't really care if it was fate, or chance... I am just so happy I met him. I will forever be thankful everyone was so thirsty that night because it changed my entire life. From the moment we met we were on the fast track. He turned my world upside down.

Five years married, six years together, and yet I feel like no time has passed at all. I mean, obviously it has... but something isn't adding up. I can't be the only married woman experiencing this paradox? I remember my dad telling me that he has never felt older than his twenties. I am just starting to grasp that concept now that I am getting older. Sometimes I feel like Trevor and I just met, yet at the same time feel like we have been together forever? Such a weird feeling. Time is passing, but it isn't.

What can I say about the past five years? After finishing college together, and going through law school, we are finally coming out on the other end of that "are we going to be in school forever?" feeling. I can see the transition happening, a new phase in life, and it is pretty exciting. In life there are absolutely no guarantees. Things happen, people change, we win, we lose. Because of this I know just how lucky I am. How lucky I am that I met and fell in love with a great man.

How blessed I feel to know him. To really know all the idiosyncrasies of who he is, the kind of things you only learn from being totally open with someone for years.

Happy FIVE years my love! I look forward to being "twenty" with you forever...

Here is some of the footage from our beautiful wedding day. I love having these videos, I kind of tear up every time I watch them. Chris, you are the BEST!

trevor.alycia {san.diego.temple} from Eric Richards on Vimeo.

PASSWORD: McClain 

Alycia and Trev Reception from Chris McClain Productions on Vimeo.

THE BAR

A grainy shot from my phone, but I like it none the less. This is us at a wedding, one of the few times we got out together in the last few months!

Trevor graduated from BYU Law School back in April, which honestly, in retrospect seems like some sick joke. I mean, why do they celebrate something that isn't really "done" yet? If you are wondering where my bitter attitude is from, it would be that this whole summer Trevor has been overwhelmed with studying for the bar. Trevor, unfortunately and fortunately, has been working for a firm since before he graduated. He loves his job, but working full time while trying to study for the bar is no walk in the park.

I have watched him go to work all day, come home, and pour what little energy he has left into studying until we go to bed. It was disheartening to watch. I wished there was a way I could do some of it for him! But all of this was on him. He decided to take the month of July off to just study. Since he was behind from working full time he would wake up and spend the whole day in the office studying until dinner. Then after dinner go right back to studying before bed. I can't tell you how much it means for me to see him work so hard. He isn't just doing this for himself, and that is never lost on me.
 

Last week Trevor took the bar, a two day grueling test. And I feel like, now, yes NOW we can actually celebrate something! Our law school experience is complete from start to finish. What an incredible, and difficult journey it was. It feels like yesterday I was rushing to finish a surprise cake for him to come home to after taking the LSAT. Oh man, I remember when I thought the LSAT was an ordeal, what I didn't know!

The last three years have been miserable at times, and amazing at others. The law school experience married comes with it's challenges, but I am grateful for them. They created a deeper bond between us and solidified the fact that we are in this together, a team. There isn't much more comforting in this world then knowing you love someone, they love you, and you are together no matter what. Feeling really grateful for such a strong companion in my life!

Life this past week has already been drastically different! I am so happy to have more time with my husband again. Since the LSAT studying started Trevor's spare time has been full of studying, internships, etc. Life lately has been AWESOME! I forgot what it was like to have him available so much. We are both pretty excited about it :) CHEERS!

Chiang Mai, Thailand - Tigers! เชียงใหม่

Sorry it has taken me so long to write about the next part of our trip to Thailand! Life has been pretty hectic since we got back, and I had NO time! If you missed the first post, check out Bangkok HERE.

Chiang Mai. Oh beautiful Chiang Mai. We got into Chiang Mai very late and grabbed a taxi to our hotel. It was almost midnight and the town was fairly quiet, not nearly as much hustle and bustle as Bangkok. Trevor and I looked at each other, subconsciously agreeing how much better we already liked it here.  So far everyone was so kind, and so helpful. After a cold shower and a good nights rest, we woke up on the hunt to find a highly reviewed breakfast spot I had found online. We of course quickly got lost going up and down random side streets of this old town. We were hesitant to ask for help after our experiences in Bangkok, but figured we had no other choice at that point. We spotted a young man opening up a store and asked him for directions, without a word he just pointed at this man on the street. This sweet man walked us all the way to the restaurant! We chatted along the way, talking about his life and how he was born and raised in Chiang Mai. He waved and greeted those around us as we talked and you could tell all of them were his long time friends and neighbors. Of course the place wasn't that far away at all, and we quickly realized we had been walking in circles earlier. To our defense the streets are tiny little alley ways zig zagging like a little maze all around the city. Even if you knew Thai you could easily get confused. It was so refreshing to meet someone who just wanted to genuinely help us, expecting nothing in return. We quickly learned that everyone in Chiang Mai was like this. A very genuine and kind city.

Breakfast World, the restaurant, sure lived up to it's name! The place was gorgeous. It had all outside seating, and was covered in green plants, and beautiful flowers. It was a mini paradise hidden amongst the local streets of this old city, a true gem. And the food was just as good. We didn't realize how big the portions were and I am pretty sure we looked like we were fitting into the American stereotype nicely, because when our food came out we were shocked with how much there was. SO MUCH FOOD! The guy who took our ordered had given us a kind of weird look when we placed the order and I was realizing why after we could barely fit all of our food on our table, HA! We walked back to our hotel very satisfied and almost too full. I highly recommend it if you are going to be in Chiang Mai.

A gazillion more pics after the jump ;)

POSTS ON THAILAND
Bangkok

Tigers in Chiang Mai

Karen Long Neck Tribe Chiang Mai

Elephants in Chiang Mai 

Koh Samui
Thailand Extras

Bangkok, Thailand - กรุงเทพมหานคร

This post is going to be very picture HEAVY! :)

Thailand has been a dream destination on my list of wanderlust for awhile now. The start of May was amazing traveling around Thailand with Trevor, and I can't wait to share everything we loved, and learned about this beautiful country. I hope that my insight can be helpful for those of you who have thought about or are planning on going someday.

We started the long trek of traveling just a few days after Trevor's graduation. After catching a flight to San Fransisco we boarded the thirteen hour flight to Taipei, Taiwan. Apparently you aren't able to choose your own seats on China Air, and we were separated for the longest part of the traveling, which was a pretty big downside when you are on a flight that long. But we arrived in Taipei excited to be done with the hardest part of the journey and ready to be in Thailand in just a few short hours. We landed in Bangkok and the first thing we did was grab a taxi to head to our hotel.

POSTS ON THAILAND
Bangkok

Tigers in Chiang Mai

Karen Long Neck Tribe Chiang Mai

Elephants in Chiang Mai 

Koh Samui
Thailand Extras

Unplugged.

So I had all these grand plans to have blog posts set up and ready to go for when I was gone. But the reality is, the last few weeks leading up to us leaving for Thailand was so hectic and chaotic. So much needed to get done, so much wasn't ready, and so much was going on with graduation and family in town. Then I thought about how I could swing managing it from abroad, that idea lasted for about a second.

The thing is, I blog about my life and interests, and never want it to to be priority over quality time with friends and family. So often I feel we let our jobs, hobbies, whatever it may be take the priority. I wanted one hundred percent focus on me and my husband while away. I loved being totally unplugged from it all while in Thailand with Trevor. It was a much needed break.

After a grueling three years in Law School, working, life in general... we have not had much time for the kind of quality time all couples need. Can I just tell you how AMAZING the quality time we had in Thailand was?! I think my favorite thing about going to Thailand was reconnecting with my husband. It felt like a honeymoon, like we were dating again. I get a little teary eyed thinking about it honestly. I love that man so much and have renewed the goal to make sure we get that quality time more often, and don't let the common stresses of life get in the way. Oh how important it is. It is THE most important thing.

We both are ready to get back into the groove of things and are looking forward to the new changes happening in our lives! I will be back to blogging regularly, and get ready for lots of posts about Thailand :)

BYU Law School Graduation

*dress details here 

Even when Trevor and I were dating he talked about his plans to go to Law School. It is something I have always known was in his future. Six years later watching him receive his Juris Doctorate was a pretty surreal experience. Law School has been an a ride. We have grown in so many ways going through this together, it is hard to explain to anyone who hasn't been through it. I honestly have to give Law School credit for making our marriage so much more solid and strong.

I am going to take a minute to brag about my husband, because he deserves it. He hates this kind of attention but I don't care. Trevor's work ethic and dedication is something I more then admire, it literally leaves me dumbfounded at times. I have never seen someone work so diligently in my life. He is constantly an example to me of what could be if I really wanted it. He has shown me I can achieve anything if I am willing to work for it.

Because of his hard work and dedication throughout Law School he has had great internships and opportunities. He was on Law Review, and some of his published work even received awards. He achieved the outstanding goal of graduating with Honors, earning one of the top placements in the class. And now he has a job that he is very excited about. This of course makes me so incredibly happy, because we all want our loved ones to love what they do.

I am so proud of Trevor and all his hard work. With Law School done it has been crazy to think about the next chapter in our lives. We can't wait to see what the future has in store for us, because so far, life together has been pretty amazing!

To an amazing man...

Happy Birthday Trevor! Today is Trevor's birthday. Twenty nine. He feels old ;) Where do I even begin when it comes to celebrating such an amazing man? Trevor is passionate. He is passionate about anything he does, and because of that, he has accomplished so much. He is one of the smartest people I know, and one of the most talented as well. Yes, if you hadn't caught on, I am going to brag about my husband today. He has accomplished so much this year, and deserves every good thing that has come his way. Handsome, smart, and talented all rolled up into one of the most loyal and genuine people I know. He makes me a better me. I love him more then he will probably ever truly know. I don't know how I got so lucky meeting him, let alone marrying him, but I thank God every day that I did. Happy Birthday Trevor, I LOVE YOU!

San Diego Bay - New Years Eve 2013

Jtaylor Photography Promotion!

Way back in September, when I was platinum :o, Jalene took some pictures of me and Trevor. She has such a talent when it comes to photography, and on top of that she is one of THE nicest people I have ever met. While I have scattered some of these images randomly over the last few months, I wanted to do a proper post showcasing Jalene's work and images. 

Jalene specializes in weddings, birth stories, and family photography. And boy is she good at it! She is available for travel anywhere, and lucky for you, Jalene is offering a promotion to any of my readers. If you mention my name, you can receive $200 off a wedding collection, $150 off a birth story (have you seen her freakin' birth stories, my gooooooodness!) and $50 off a family shoot. Not to shabby my friends, not too shabby. CHECK OUT her work so you can know what a deal you are getting.

 DRESS: ASOS (SIMILAR)

 After the jump for a heavy photo filled post :)

LOVE.

j.taylor photography

Happy Valentine's Day.

“Love is the very essence of life. It is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Yet it is not found only at the end of the rainbow. Love is at the beginning also, and from it springs the beauty that arched across the sky on a stormy day. Love is the security for which children weep, the yearning of youth, the adhesive that binds marriage, and the lubricant that prevents devastating friction in the home; it is the peace of old age, the sunlight of hope shining through death. How rich are those who enjoy it in their associations with family, friends, and neighbors! Love, like faith, is a gift of God. It is also the most enduring and most powerful virtue.”

Gordon B. Hinckley

Standing for Something: Ten Neglected Virtues That Will HealOur Hearts and Homes

Hope you all have lovely plans with those you love tonight :) XOXO

FOUR YEARS.

Today Trevor and I have been married for FOUR years! Where does the time go? I remember the night I met him like it was yesterday. Over these years I have grown in ways that I didn't even know were possible. I married a great man, who in return has made me greater. 

Last conference Elder L. Whitney Clayton said something that has really stuck with me and thought I would share it.

"Marriage is a gift from God to us; the quality of our marriages is a gift from us to Him."

Check out our special day here.