When we first met...

Today while on facebook I came across a link to a blog. The blog belongs to a mother (Joanne) of a friend of mine (Allison). I'm thinking it would probably make for some good reading seeing as how my friend is hilarious and she had to get it from someone. I was so right. I read through the blog for about an hour when I decided I needed to save some reading material for another day. I guess what makes the blog even more interesting to read is that my friend would always tell me stories about her mom, so this blog just reinforced the stories I had heard. One of the blogged inputs was about how Joanne had met her husband. I've decided it would be a good story to share since not every one knows how we meet. And in a strange twist of coincidences, one of Joanne's daughters (Charley) was a helper in how Daniel and I met.

It was the weekend after Valentine's day in 2008. I was already annoyed from the holiday because all of my roommates had received Valentines from boys, some even multiple (Khealynn). On Valentine's day itself I went out to dinner with some friends of mine who were also single and called it an early night since I was under the weather. Amber had come out for the weekend since she liked to visit often, being only four hours away in Rexburg, ID. We went to a play that weekend too, Jungle Book at BYU, which is initially why she came. Sunday came and Amber and I slept through my church time which was 8:30 AM. We decided to hit up church when our cousin, Branden had church which was 1:30 PM.

We got to church a few minutes late and sat in the back. We happened to be sitting on the same row as Charley so after church I said hello and had a quick chat. Daniel was sitting with Charley, she was pretty much one of the only people he got along with at church. While Charley and I were talking, Daniel was trying to get her to introduce us, but she just brushed him aside. After chatting Amber and I went into the lobby to wait for Branden who was running late. About 5 minutes later this guy came up to me and said, "Hey, you're Charley's friend". I said yes and he then introduced himself and his friend Ben. While talking we found out that Ben was going to the same school as Amber so they started talking. Apparently Ben was fulfilling his wingman duties as Daniel explained to me later. Daniel then started chatting with me. My first impression I was just some guy at church who wanted to talk. Amber had to tell me that Daniel was hitting on me because I was so oblivious. He invited me to Sunday dinner, basically just a bunch of coeds hanging out. I told him I'd think about it, but decided to hang out with my sister instead.

A couple of days later Allison gave me a call. She asked me if I remembered Dan from church and if it was ok if Charley gave him my number. I thought about it for a minute, I was a little hesitant because he didn't really catch my eye, but then Allison said something that made me decide to give the ok. She said, "He just got out of a relationship and that he didn't want anything serious". She also said, "Hey if you're not interested you can just tell him you got serious with the guy you are dating". I figured it was worth a shot. I was dating someone, but it was not exclusive and the guy was a little flaky.

A few days later I received a phone call from Dan. I think I let it hit the voicemail first because I didn't recognize the number. I listened to the message and called him back. I was on my way home from tanning. At the time I used a tingler tanning lotion which if anyone has ever used knows it burns. It makes you feel really itchy so I was looking forward to getting home so I could shower and get ready for a date, with the other guy I was dating. We chatted a moment and he invited me to another Sunday dinner at Charley's. I figured, why not, and I accepted. When I walked into Charley's apartment that Sunday and saw Daniel, I realized he was a lot cuter then I had remembered. Dinner was fun and we were able to talk a bit. I remember being bugged that he didn't offer to walk me home (we lived in the same apartment complex), but it was a fun evening none the less. A few days later he called me. I was in the computer lab so I resorted to texting. He then asked me out on a date via text. I was annoyed that he asked me out through text, but seeing as how I lived at school that semester I figured it was probably the only plausible way he could ask me out.

Things went well on our date obviously and here we are 3 years later. Almost to our 2 year anniversary and we even have our our addition to our family...Keif. I guess my story is not as cool as Joanne's who can add in 20 something years later to her blog, but I look forward to being able to share this story with our kids and even grandkids. For now it's a story for the blog.

Good start to a new year.

So far this new year we are experiencing has been good. We just welcomed a new nephew into the family from my sister Anissa on January 9th. This is their last child, and their first son. She already has 3 girls so this birth was pretty exciting. This is also the first grandson for my parents. They named him Noah Thomas Elias Smith. He is named after Noah's grandfather, and after himself. I haven't met the little guy yet but I am looking forward to seeing him for his blessing next month.

Last Friday Daniel and I took a little trip to L.A. My mom and Amber were both flying out of the Long Beach airport so we decided that since we were up there we would make the most of it. We first decided to find the house that was used in the movie "Father of the Bride", and we found it in Pasadena, CA.

It is such a beautiful house! Daniel says that's the kind of house he wants someday. After we walked around the neighborhood we decided to stop by to see the Rose Bowl. After turning around a few times thanks to the ever so reliable directions from google map, we finally found the place.

It was in a pretty open location and it was a popular spot for people to go running and to walk their dogs. After our little driving adventure we decided to go to UCLA's campus. However by the time we got their it was dark so we didn't see very much. Then we went home which took us a total of 3 hours thanks to L.A. traffic. Probably won't take any more trips up their soon, but it was a fun day none the less.

Something pretty exciting is that Daniel and I will be taking a trip out to the East side. I just booked our trip yesterday. We are flying into Raleigh, NC to spend some time in Chapel Hill and Durham, visit his Aunt and Uncle in Greensboro, NC then we will head to Charlotte, NC and Fort Mill, SC so I can see where Daniel grew up. After that we are going to Frederick, MD to spend time with Daniel's family as well as attend his younger sister's, Amanda, baptism. And of course while we are there we will be spending a couple of days in D.C. to enjoy the museums. It will be a very busy trip, but I look forward to spending time with Daniel, seeing his family and meeting new family members. I'm just hoping the weather will cooperate with us the last week of March so that our flights won't get canceled.

The Last Post of the Year!

It's New Years Eve, well the day of the Eve if you will. This year has been a great one. There were many ups and downs, mostly ups though :) Daniel and I have grown as a couple and I think we have figured out what buttons not to push and what things will make the other person smile.

Christmas was great this year. We were able to spend the day with my family. I helped make Christmas dinner. I even tried out a new pie recipe, compliments of Sister Marolyn Staffieri, and it was a hit! I got Daniel some new shirts since he has been wanting some and he got me a nano iPod since he said the one I had was outdated and pink. He bought me a blue one, that way he can borrow it if he needs to.

The most important thing that has happened to us this year I would have to say was that Daniel and I were able to get sealed! It was a great accomplishment for us and I feel our journey has allowed for us to have that much more of an appreciation for the Temple.

I'm glad to say that I have a wonderful family on both mine and Daniel's side. They are all so supportive of us and willing to help us out when we need it. Next year we plan a trip to Charlotte, NC with our tax returns and I look forward to visiting where Daniel grew up as well as visit his family. Currently we live with my family and once again I'm grateful for patient parents who are willing to let us stay with them while we save up money.

All in all 2010 was a great year, and I'm very excited for 2011 to begin. So Happy New Years everyone and we wish you all the best with the new year!!

It Never Rains in Southern California...

As you can see, this is not the case. It has been raining non stop for the last week, and it's not supposed to let up until Thursday. Hopefully our pool makes it until then without overflowing. It has been horrible to drive in. There is already weird traffic due to the holiday and the shopping, but adding rain onto it just increases the commute time. Daniel has been giving me a hard time about it since we're in San Diego and it's not supposed to rain this month. Must be El Nino or something.

The dogs don't like it either. They have been pent up in the garage, mostly because they don't like the rain. In order for me to get them to go outside for their restroom breaks I have to stand outside with them in the rain. I think they like the company. It's so funny to watch them out in the rain. Dolly hates it and tries to get inside every chance she gets. Keif I noticed was trying to go to places where he would not get as wet. Either way the second that I hint to go inside they are way ahead of me, waiting by the door.

The rain made it difficult for me to pick up Amber from the Long Beach Airport on Friday. I had met up with Allison in Huntington Beach for some lunch at a Thai place. It was called Phuket Thai, pronounced poo-ket :) It was really good and reasonably priced. I told Daniel we'll have to go the next time we are visiting. It was nice to visit with Allison who I had not seen in almost a year. It'll be good to be closer here so that I can try to meet up with her more often.

The Christmas festivities are coming together. I've decided to make an eggnog pumpkin pie, the recipe of which I had found in a family cookbook given to me from a dear friend of the family. I'm glad she gave it to me for mine and Daniel's wedding because the food in it is delicious! I work every night this week so I am looking forward to having this Christmas weekend off.

A California Style Holiday

On Sunday Daniel and I were able to take a little trip to San Diego. The weather was perfect and it was relaxing to not have to worry about work. We first went to Balboa Park to walk around and to visit our favorite spot, the dog park. We didn't bring Keif this time, but it was fun to watch all the dogs play and observe the different personalities they had. Daniel and I even had a lot of fun trying to guess the different breeds that we saw.

We wanted to watch the sunset at the beach so we headed for Coronado to do that. We made a little trip to the Hotel Del and sat out front while we watched the sun dip into the ocean. There were many people around to enjoy the sunset, we even saw an old man wearing a BYU hat. Daniel called out "go cougars" to him and he pumped his arm up saying"yeah!".

Today Daniel was lucky enough to have the day off since I have it off as well, however, since my parents are out of town I have been on phone duty. We haven't been able to leave the house, but we've been able to just hang out and play with Keif. We even discovered Keif has a favorite part of the yard...in the bushes. Hopefully my parents don't mind.

Our Temple Sealing

Although our Temple Sealing took place August 20, 2010 I'm just now posting pictures from it. Mostly because I had to wait to get access to my parent's camera since they were the ones who took the pictures.

Right after we were sealed.

Daniel is stuck with me forever now.

The beautiful Oquirrh Mountain Temple located in South Jordan, UT. We were able to go to the open house for it before it was dedicated last year.

Some of our family were able to attend. We missed the ones who couldn't make it, but they still shared their joy with us over the occasion.

We even had a few close friends who were able to attend. They are basically family.

It was an amazing experience and we are glad that we were able to have those who are close to us share that special day.

Holiday Season

A little bit of catching up to do on here. First Daniel and I have moved to San Diego and are with my parents which means no rent and no snow! I'm definitely grateful for the no snow part since I've been hearing a lot about the large amounts of snow that Utah has been getting. I don't miss driving in it, cleaning it off my car, or being cold in it. I'm definitely a California girl.

Keif has been doing well the adjustment of moving. He now has a couple of acres to run around on and a kennel buddy, my parent's dog Dolly. Although they don't really play together, they do have a mutual tolerance for each other. Since moving back to San Diego we have been able to to take Keif to the dog park at Balboa Park. He had a lot of fun running around the dogs there and was fairly friendly. We've also taken him to the dog park closer to my parent's in Escondido. That went well until he became territorial of the park and started to scare people from bringing their dogs in while he was there. He's just too Alpha for his own good. We've decided it's best we just take him to regular parks when no one is there for him to run around at.

Work has been going well. Daniel is able to clean carpets with my dad and I have the ol' fall back Chili's to work with. I was not able to work at the Chili's in Escondido like I had planned on since they already have too many employees, but I was lucky enough to get work at the chili's in Temecula. The commute is a little longer, but I'm grateful for the job.

Last week for Thanksgiving we were able to visit with my family. Anissa and Noah came

with their three daughthers, and Amber and Aaron carpooled down from school. We all went to the San Diego State football game against the University of Utah. Daniel was true to Utah and sported his Utah shirt. I on the other hand wanted San Diego to win, maybe it's the BYU roots that I have in me just wanting Utah to lose. It was a great game and for a while it looked like San Diego had the game, but at the end Utah pulled through and won the game 38 to 34. We all had a lot of fun.

For Thanksgiving, Daniel, Amber and I started the day playing some Turkey bowl. It was a flag football game with the singles ward here. It was pretty fun, but next year I'd rather watch him play then participate. After that all of the ladies of the house started putting together the Thanksgiving meal. I made some sweet potato casserole, the recipe being Daniel's mom's recipe, and I made a peanut butter chocolate pie. Both dishes were a hit. I even made a sugar free sweet potato casserole that everyone said was also delicious. Our friend from Utah Angie Wilson joined us for Thanksgiving since she wasn't able to to make it home. It was so nice to visit with a friend we hadn't seen for a bit. Afterwards we took her to old town in San Diego to see the Mormon Battalion. We had a lot of fun going through the tour and panning for gold.

This year I decided to try out Black Friday. I woke up at 4 to get ready and made my way to Target, Best Buy, and the mall. I actually got some great deals on gifts and got all my Christmas shopping done. Next year I want to go with someone so it won't be so boring.

Being able to spend Thanksgiving with my family was wonderful. The Holidays are wonderful because they tend to bring out the best in everyone. This time of year is a great time for me to reflect on the past year and to think of the many blessings I have. There are so many people who care for Daniel and me and we really appreciate the extra help others give to us. I'm thankful for a wonderful husband who is always trying to be better for me. He constantly asks me for my feedback on what he can improve on. I only hope that I am being a fulfilling wife for him. I love him so much and am grateful for the sacrifices he makes for our little family. I'm so grateful that we were able to go to the temple and that we were able to have family there to witness it. I'm grateful for the support that Daniel's family gives us in every decision that we make. And of course I'm grateful that my parents are kind enough to let us live with them while we save up our money.

I hope that we are all able to make the best out of this holiday season and that we remember that serving others is the most rewarding part of the Holiday Season. Happy Holiday Season to everyone!