Gratitude

It's been a crazy week.

Life will throw you curve balls sometimes and that's okay.

Sometimes curve balls are nice because you can reconnect with yourself and Heavenly Father.

It's nice to step back and breathe.

I am grateful.

I'm grateful to be alive to see 22. 

(A post about my birthday weekend to follow)

I am grateful to have the amazing friends and family that I do.

I am grateful that those I love are safe and healthy.

I know how fleeting those things can be. 

I am blessed. 

A date to Nickel City last Saturday night with my favorite.

I am off for a weekend full of family and sun in good ol' Las Vegas. 

Have a fun Easter weekend! 

My thoughts and prayers go out to the Gardner family.

And to Melissa for having to be so far away from Russell while he is recovering from brain surgery.

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Did I Forget To Mention...

Did I forget to mention...

that I am the VP of Events for the UVU PRSSA chapter?

Because I am!

I applied a few weeks ago.

I gave a short little speech and the members voted.

I'm super excited to gain more leadership experience in my career field.

Did I forget to mention...

That I am going to Fiji in 1 month and 2 weeks? 

 ^^ That was a really big bug. ^^

Did I forget to mention that I have the cutest niece in the whole world?

Did I forget to mention...

I turn 22 in 5 days!

5 days people! 

And I did NOT forget to mention...

or rather warn you to never watch American Horror Story. Ever.

Scariest TV Show of my life.

And here's a nice little tune for your Wednesday :) 

It's been stuck in my head all day.

The Life and Times of R. Anders Piiparinen

Yes, it's true.

His first name is R. Just the letter R.

And his middle name is Anders [ pronounced awn-ders not and-ers]

So just call him Anders

His last name is Piiparinen

I wish I could listen to you try to sound it out but I'll help you out.

It's pronounced Peep-uh-reen-en

It's Finnish. 

Anyways, this weekend I was in Evanston, WY for a women's conference

but that's besides the point. 

I can talk about that later.

I found myself on a hunt for the cutest/most hilarious pictures of Anders growing up.

His mom assisted me in this endeavor and I was very pleased with what I found.

For your enjoyment and mine:

R. Anders Piiparinen

 "Welcome to good ol' Wyomin'"

2nd birthday party 

A very happy & chubby baby

 Still has some awesome bed head.

 Channeling his inner gangster by wearing a do-rag

 Cousins bonding on a horse

Loving this Olympic beret

They were just too good not to share.

My Favorite

My favorite part of the day is when Anders randomly drops by my work to say hello.

I get so giddy when he surprises me.

It easily makes my day. 

Today he dropped by with some treats for me.

It's like he knows me or something?

He is my favorite. 

I Want One

In my future home I desperately want an otter, pig, and puppy.

How can you not after looking at these pictures??

 Rain boots are a MUST. 

Adorable. Just adorable. 

Fresh Air

Sunshine and fresh air,

that's what I need about now.

Spring time is just around the corner, I can feel it.

But it's not close enough.

I want to be a kid again and just play in my pool all summer.

To get so tan it looks like my white skin is a white swim suit.

When using my imagination was my full time job.

*sigh*

For now, I'll settle for Spring Break and trips up Provo Canyon.

The crisp fresh air was nice.

Nashville

I. Love. NASHVILLE.

No, not the place.

Although I love the place too,

I'm talking about the TV show.

1. Who doesn't love Connie Britton?

Calling out to all my Friday Night Lights fans out there!

2. I love every actor in this show

3. The music is Uh-MAZ-ing

Just add it to the list of my TV show obsessions.

But this one is the real deal.

Hopefully it doesn't get cancelled like all my favorite shows do...

I feel like it's here to stay :)

Just take a few minutes to listen to my favorite songs from the show.

Do it! You won't regret it.

... at least I think you won't.

The Latest...

The latest from this weekend... 

Fridays have been more like homework days for us.

But this Friday we were able to squeeze in a late night sushi date before it got too late!

We even made a friend. 

TJ is the sushi chef at our favorite restaurant Kyoto.

Once he slept for 3 days straight.

No lie.

Saturday:

Anders finally got his car back from the shop.

(After being bruised and broken from the car accident)

Saturday around 10ish we drove up to Salt Lake with Anders' sister Marie.

Their family was in town so we went up to his grandparent's to hang out a bit.

We went to this fun little park with the siblings.

Check out all the ducks!

I had a blast scaring them all.

But don't worry, they got their revenge scaring me as well.

 We stopped at Taco Bell for a little lunch.

These sauce packets just happened to end up on my side of the table.

 Hmmm, funny how that happens!

Anders' parents thought they'd show me a little bit of Salt Lake that I haven't seen before.

Starting with the Olympic park from the 2002 Winter Olympics. 

 Have you heard of Gilgal Gardens?

Ya, I hadn't either.

Turns out it's the backyard of a sculptor (who is now dead) that sculpted all these statues

 inspired by the Bible and the Book of Mormon stories. 

Check out that sphinx with the face of Joseph Smith!

It was a really cool place.  

Anders' parents also showed me the delicious Crown Burger.

I had never eaten there before but we had a yummy milkshake.

The decorations are all Renaissance themed.

After the drive back to Provo,

Anders and I decided we'd conclude the night by seeing Warm Bodies.

(and eating a large bucket of popcorn, it's fine...)

I loved this movie!

It was funny, scary, and had a little romance.

What's not to love?

Till next time!

What would a trip be without a picture of Anders sleeping?

I had my hand in between his hands but had to move to take this picture.

Now it just looks like he's praying or something... and bald :) haha.