Grapefruit

The thought of eating grapefruit

used to make me shudder.

Until... I decided to face my fear.

I bought a nice big package of them at Costco.

I took my first bite and

fell in love!!

They are the sweetest grapefruits I have ever tasted.

I don't even put sugar on them!

I eat one almost everyday... yum!

Syd & Nate

Check out my gorgeous sister

and handsome brother-in-law.

They got their pictures taken recently.

My sister is due in September with their first baby!

I am so excited!!!

Doesn't she look SO good?

Click here to view more pictures.

Hair Cut

Yup, I got a hair cut!

It was time for a change.

I love it.

Thanks Stacey!!

Baked Lemon Pasta

Made this for dinner tonight.

Easy to make and delicious!

Museum of Natural History

We got to go to the Museum of Natural History.

We love going to museums!

There was so much to look at that

we forgot to take more pictures!

My favorite part was walking

through the Gallery of Gems and Jewels!

We definitely want to make it back to this place

so we can learn more!

West Side Market

Dan has Spring Break this week!

It is so fun having him around during the day.

We went to the West Side Market

for lunch yesterday.

We ate Steve's Gyros, the best in town!

I love this market!

This picture only shows the space where all

the meats, cheeses, and bakeries are.

There is more space next door where

you can bargain for fresh fruits and veggies!

Bon Appetit!

Birthday

We celebrated my birthday on Thursday!

I woke up to this.

Opening presents!!

Dan gave me a certificate explaining all the things

he loves about me.

At the bottom right he lists the

three gifts he is giving me:

a massage from my friend Kim,

a little shopping trip,

and dinner.

BEST PRESENT EVER!

My visiting teachers brought me tulips

and dark chocolate Reese's peanut butter cups.

YUMMMMM.

My dear friends and family met us at Aladdin's.

Great Middle Eastern food!

I loved getting all the letters

and packages in the mail,

the text messages,

and phone calls!

I feel so blessed to have so many

people in my life that love and care for me.

It was a wonderful birthday!

I'm a Mormon

I completed my mormon.org profile!

I am grateful I have this tool

to help me share what I believe with

friends, family, and even people around the world.

Click on the button to the right that says,

"I'M A MORMON".

This will allow you to read my own personal profile.

You can read any profile on this site.

Just search by a first name or

click on a picture.

Feel free to explore the entire site

and read about what members of

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints believe.

Questions? Click on "chat with us"

next to my picture on my mormon.org profile.

You can chat with missionaries from the church

that can answer questions and talk to you

about our faith.

Or just ask me! I would love to talk!

Baby Shower

We threw a baby shower for Mrs. Taylor Hall!

It was so much fun to shower Taylor with

gifts and love.

She SO deserves it ALL!

We are so excited for her little man to arrive.

This is the amazing baby shower planner, Katie.

This was our lovely host, Stacey.

The food. Yummmm.

Taylor has so many friends that adore her!

It was so much fun to spend time with all the ladies.

Taylor's mom was able to fly out for the shower!

I know they loved every minute of their time together.

I am so glad she came for the occasion!

Taylor got so many cool presents that I know

will be so useful for her first couple months as a mother.

I am so excited for you Taylor!

Aunt Whitney and Uncle Dan are so excited

to meet their new nephew, but even more excited that

Matt and Taylor will be parents!

Cinnamon Rolls

I am baking these today!

Thank you Pioneer Woman.

Click here for notes on the recipe.

Temple Trip

We got to go to the Columbus, Ohio temple on Saturday.

Getting there was no easy task!

We like to go to the 9am session, so we leave

our place at about 6am.

Because of the brutal snow storm on Friday,

that left us with 10" of snow...

we got up at 5am, so we could have some

extra time, in case of snow, ice, or bad roads.

We usually never have a problem

getting out of our covered garage.

Well...

we shoveled and pushed and salted for

a good hour and a half.

(This is not Dan. Just giving you a visual.)

There were moments when I

asked myself... Is this worth it?

Getting up early, being stuck in the snow,

and shoveling in our good church clothes

in 20 degree weather?

As many times as I asked myself that question,

these words kept coming to mind,

"KEEP TRYING".

I never mentioned my doubt to Dan.

We just kept trying.

We got out of our driveway at about 7am.

Meaning, we were late for our session

so we had to cancel.

We still went to the temple anyway!

They were able to squeeze us into the 10:30am session.

Why am I sharing this story?

I love going to the temple.

Each month, we make the trip to Columbus

so we can enter into the most sacred place

on earth, the Lord's house.

I am so grateful for the peace I feel there.

When I go to the temple each month,

I have a clearer sense of my purpose in life,

(This is me last September when we went to the temple.)

I have a greater love for my family,

and I am ever grateful for the Savior's sacrafice.

This is why I "keep trying" to

go to the temple every month.

Nothing in the world compares to

this safety, comfort, peace, and love that I

feel when I am in the house of the Lord.