Happy Birthday Miriam

I just want to let you know that I love you!  You are by far the best wife I could ever have asked for.  My dreams could not even begin to describe a woman as incredible as you.  It has almost been a year and though we have had our hard times we have been able to get through them and move on to a greater happiness than before.  Thanks for all that you have done for me! You truly do complete me in all ways.  I am so excited for when we are parents and you and I can have little children of our own.  Thanks for keeping the house clean and cleaning the bathroom because I hate cleaning the bathroom.  Thanks for blowing out your brains over school.  Thanks for letting me into your life.  Thanks for helping me with my math even though I am yelling at you.  Thanks for being an amazing cook.  Thanks for helping me to keep the standards of the church in our lives.  Thanks for teaching me the better way to do laundry.  Thanks for being so kind to me and for loving me for all that I am.  I have know idea how it is that I have you as my wife, except by the grace of God but, just know that I love you and am so proud to have you as my wife.  I show your picture to everyone!!
 Love, Your husband

Good bye Elder...

The day is finally here for my little brother.. Jordan has been working on this goal for 4 years and today he is entering the MTC.. I am so excited for him, sad yes, but mostly excited. Jordan is going to serve the Lord in the Montana Billings Mission. I am waiting for my parents to come get me so i can go with them to take him to the MTC.. He is going to do great... I think the hardest will be for my nieces and nephews, as he is their official "Nanny". He is going to be missed but we are so proud of him!!! See you in two years Elder Ika!! I love you!!

Can you tell he is LOVED?

Uncle Jordan with his fan club!! 

These are our nieces and nephews, maybe there will be more when he gets home!!! 

dreaming...

   As i sit here in English, freezing, wearing 3 shirts, shoes and socks ( i never wear shoes, let alone socks), i can not help but think of my favorite place to be.. In the water, swimming my heart out. There is a peace found in the water. The warmth of the sun, feeling of being weightless, and escaping from the world is where i long to be. Will this weather ever come? Will i have time to escape? I wonder..

the littlest Ika

my wonderful sis in law gave me the chance to get out and practice with my camera. I took this adorable lil man with me to salt lake. We were going to go to a play ground but the weather was awful so we improvised. To my delight it was not snowing in salt lake so we got a chance to take some pics outside.. This is our youngest nephew and he is all smiles all the time.. As soon as he noticed the camera was on him an instant smile spread across his face. He was a delight and was so fun to take pics of!! enjoy!!

 As you can tell he is adorable and is the cutest lil man! He is named after his amazing papa's and makes them proud to have their names carried on..

i never loved this holiday till He came along...

To be honest i have never been a fan of this holiday. I always looked at it as a reason to spend more money on the person we love.. I love spending money on Jared, don't get me wrong.. However, being the wonderful poor college students we are, i have been given the gift of making the most of a special day without any money. I laugh and say that Jared made a bad financial investment in marrying me ( my tuition is OUTRAGEOUS!!), but he has been so willing to work hard and support me through all my mood swings (they are often), the stress of school, knowing that our thursdays seem to depend on how i do on my tests i have every week. He works so hard and goes to school at night. Jared is my true knight in shining armor. To get married at 26 was not something i thought would happen in my life, but in all honesty i would do it all over again!!  Yes, i know we have only been married 9 months, but he completes me in so many ways.. Here is a list of why i love him
1. he makes me laugh
2. he tells me how wonderful i am even when i know i do not deserve such a compliment
3. he would walk to the ends of the earth for me no matter the consequences
4. he is worth of his priesthood and is always so close with our Heavenly Father
5. jared has this amazing way of reaching out to others and making all feel accepted
6. he will do dishes, vacuum and take out the garbage without being asked!!
7. he is great with our nieces and nephews
8. he never gives up hope
9. each day he strives to be better and helps me when i want to give up
10. he is my best friend, my EC (eternal companion), i would honestly be lost if i did not have him


The lord works in mysterious ways. i know jared and i  met when we were both ready to. Things moved amazing fast, but i have never been happier in my life. I love you jared and i am so proud of all you do!! thanks for putting up with me!! I hope as valentines day comes up you take time to reflect on those you love and remember the amazing people we have in our lives.. I will let my "scroogeness" go on this Valentines day..

trying something new, no gluten in this recipe but the taste is all there!!

Recently my adorable friend anna gave me a recipe to try..I am always looking to try a new recipe and i thought "why not?" she gave me a recipe for banana bread with out the gluten. My friend Anna and her sister are gluten intolerant and so they needed a recipe for their upcoming birthdays... I thought the bread was amazing and i had this girl who is a whiz at cooking to help me.. the only thing we changed in the recipe is we added almond extract and some cinnamon.. but i think these pics speak for themselves!! Anna i am glad you had a great birthday!! if you have anymore recipes, let me know and i will try them out!! the recipe is on this website... i loved it and i sent it out to family that had NO idea it was gluten free.. 

meet my sis in law and her wonderful hubby!!

I finally got the chance to meet this amazing girl. This is Jared's sister Elise and her husband Kris.. We met them for lunch and i immediately knew i liked these guys!! Its been a really long time since Jared saw his sister and i am so grateful for her being in our lives. We know the Lord brought her back to us and I am thrilled to have another sister!! I now have 3 sisters!! woo hoo!! her husband Kris is hilarious and we have lots of fun laughing at/with Jared and Elise as they are so funny in the random things they do.. Here are a couple of pictures.. I hope you enjoy them, i have not seen my husband light up like this except for our wedding day.. it was truly a blessing.. 

Kris and Elise WE LOVE YOU!!