Our Summer

We have had a really fun summer and have been able to do so many fun things! Here are a few highlights:

Date nights

Jane, Hannah and Ben came to visit from Florida. It was so fun spending some time with this little cutie!

We were able to go to Europe with the Eichers family. We spent ten days in Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic. 

Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany

Boat tour on the Danube River, Austria

Prague, Czech Republic

My 24th Birthday

Oakley Rodeo

Boating with the Jensen's

 I was able to go to Logan with Karen, Ali, and Babsie to see My Fair Lady.

Yummy chocolate soda in Logan!

Adam and Chelsey came in town to work on some Hires stuff and we were lucky enough to hang out with them. We all went to Sushi Groove and had a fun weekend with them.

Sam's 24th Birthday! We had a little surprise party at our house for him. It was definitely more stressful than I thought to get everything together without him knowing. Also, this is the first year he was able to have a Backer's cake because they are usually closed around July 25th.

Jon and Karen gave me tickets to the Utah Symphony's Disney concert at Deer Valley for my birthday. We were loving singing along to all our favorite songs. 

We went on our annual trip to Newport Beach this year with my family. It was so fun to relax for a whole week! We also stayed in a new place this year which we loved!

Adam and Chelsey were so nice to come visit us. We went to Ruby's and to Balboa for Balboa bars after. 

Crab cooker!

The girls!

Lunch at the Lion House with Grandma and Grandpa Eichers.

Wicked!

The first Utah game of the season!

Vegas

Two weekends ago, we were lucky to get away for a couple days to Las Vegas. We had been looking forward to this trip for months and were so excited to spend some time relaxing, eating, shopping, and going to the Sevens rugby tournament. We stayed at the Pilazzo, which was so much fun! It had the Grand Lux Cafe in the casino where we ate a few too many times...  The gym at the hotel was also amazing...it had a rock climbing wall which I thought was pretty cool. Here are some highlights of the trip! 

On Friday night, we went the the "O" Show and it was amazing!!!! Sam and I love the water so we loved this show. If anyone hasn't seen it I would recommend it. We loved all the synchronized swimming, diving, and acrobatics. Basically the whole stage is a massive swimming pool.

It was also fun to walk around the strip and see everything that was going on. We thought Vegas wouldn't be too crowded since it wasn't a holiday weekend but it was still really busy.

On Saturday, we went to the Rugby Sevens tournament to cheer on Samoa! It was fun to sit with all the Samoans and cheer with them. Samoa even won the whole tournament, which Sam was pretty happy about.

Since, there was a 3 to 4 hour wait for Serendipity when we were in New York over Christmas Break, we decided to have frozen hot chocolate on Saturday night. It was so good!

We left Sunday afternoon and unfortunately hit a huge blizzard between Cedar City and Beaver so we had to stay in Beaver for the night. Our hotel was pretty creepy and they said we got free breakfast at Roberto's across the street at the Flying J which sounded pretty scary... Luckily, we were able to make it home safe and sound!

As of lately...

 As of lately we have been obsessed with a few things...well mostly me. Lately I have been loving anything to do with Fall! Pumkins, cool weather, scarves, boots, and mostly Halloween decorations! I think I put up our decorations about halfway through September...a little early? Maybe. Yesterday was freeezing cold outside and I came home to this little surprise! Homemade chicken noodle soup. Sam even made the noodles and I didn't believe him until I saw it with my own eyes. It was so yummy!

Also, I have been loving certain treats. When I get hooked on a treat I will eat that treat only for a couple months. Lately I have been loving Milk Duds and a Diet Coke.  I know it seems strange. I sent this picture to Sam when I had a bad day and told him this made everything better. Have you tried the new Shaun White Stride gum? It is amazing and it really does last forever! Sam and I are hooked on it.

Another current obsession of our is the new series Up All Night. It is hilarious...even funnier than Modern Family in my opinion. I love these three people.

Sam has been coaching at the Sorensen Center for quite a while and this soccer season he asked if I wanted to help him. I thought this would be a great idea until I realized how much of a time commitment it has been. Basically Sam has been doing all the work so far. I haven't even been to one practice yet and and this is my view during the game. Just watching. (Sam is coaching and he is the one in blue.) My excuse is that I bring team treats every game so that has to count for something.

Happy Birthday Sam!

Sam turned 23 in the end of July so this post is long overdue! For Sam's birthday we celebrated by having a fun dinner with both of our families. Jon and Karen made a yummy summer dinner of Hires hamburgers, corn on the cob, fruit, bbq chicken and lemonade. Everything was so yummy! It was so fun to have both of our families together to celebrate. I am so grateful for Sam and am so lucky I married him!

Birthday cake from Market Street. We kept saying it looked like the cake from the movie Matilda...the one Miss Trunchbull (yes I checked and that is how you spell her name) makes Bruce eat in front of the whole school.

The birthday boy and baby Jane.

The next day was Sam's actual birthday and we were lucky enough to go boating with the Jensen's.

The girls.

Sally was so sweet and made cupcakes for Sam's birthday. They had homemade frosting and were so good!

Clint and Sally.

Hangin' loose.

Best buds.

Book Club

Last night book club was at our house. We read Unbroken and had a really great discussion! I was so glad everyone could come. It was such nice weather and we all sat on the porch while eating treats, discussing the book, and chatting. Even though I don't always finish the book it is so fun to see everyone at least once a month. Can't wait for next month! Anyone is welcome to come if they are reading this (since I know SO many people read this blog). Not pictured is Karen who took the picture for us but she is also in our book club and we love having her there!

Our Wedding Day

Sam and I were married on December 30, 2010. Our wedding day was the best day of our lives even though it was probably one of the coldest. It started out the night before with a beautiful wedding dinner at the Grand America thanks to the Hale family. The next morning we were married in the Salt Lake Temple.

I wore Sorel's at the temple in the morning and it was the best decision I made. My feet were toasty warm while the rest of my body was freezing!

A family friend of the Eichers, Mike Ringwood, performed our sealing. He did a great job and made it so special for us.

The reception that night was at the St. Regis in Deer Valley. There was a huge blizzard the night before so we were glad that everyone made it up the canyon safely! This is the view from the hotel that day.

You ride the funicular from the bottom of the resort to the top where we had our reception.

Emily Brooks did our flowers and made the most beautiful wreaths for all the flower girls. It was probably one of my favorite parts of the wedding.

These are our bridesmaids and groomsmen.

This picture is hilarious! Our photographer asked our dads to hold hands. Their faces are priceless.

The Eichers Family.

The Hale Family.

The beautiful bridesmaids.

Miyo Strong was our photographer and did an amazing job.

Our cake.

Our invitations and rings.

This is our table settings at the St. Regis. Once again, Emily Brooks did an amazing job with the flower arrangements.

Our wedding favors were mini Martinelli's bottles of sparkling cider since New Years Eve was the next day.

Singing the ChiO song.

Sigma Chi song.

Our first dance.

Daddy daughter dance (and yes Carly is wiping tears in the background...one of the best pictures of the night).

S'mores!

That night we stayed at the St. Regis and it was beautiful!

Sam looks pumped! I think he was mostly excited for no more wedding planning!!