Bri's Birthday, the big 2-3

I had a birthday recently, and it was so fun! It was my first time having a birthday as a married woman, and I absolutely loved it!

We started it by sleeping in a teeny bit, and then Mason put my presents on top of me while I was laying in bed to wake me up! It was quite a way to be awoken! (Well, I guess he woke me up for the second time. I woke up the first time because he had to wrap them using packing tape. HA.) He got me some new fancy sandals and a pill counter. Just what I always wanted! He picked the sandalias out all by himself with no help from me and they are just perfect! He also told me there was a surprise at the end of the day that I could look forward to. I thought about it all day!

So then we went on a nice walk to try out my new sandals. They  were wonderful. It was nice to walk around and see all the flowers that are in bloom! We went on other walks too and they were all fun.

 New Sandals!!!

 "Goiter Tree"

Then we came home from our work and were debating going on a run, but we ended up just playing on Google Earth for about an hour and a half. It was fun! We looked at things like Mt. Everest, places in New Zealand Mason has been to, the Great Wall of China ... You get the idea.

We also went on a beautiful drive through Provo Canyon. We went all the way to Heber, and then turned around. Mason and I usually have wonderful conversations when we go on car rides, and this one did not disappoint. (Also, that's the canyon we drove through the night of our very first kiss! Romance!) Then Mason surprised me by pulling in to DAIRY QUEEN! I love Dairy Queen, and the one in Provo is disgusting. It was a total surprise and I loved it! Mason is such a sweet heart! So we ate supper there and got medium blizzards. I ended up throwing my blizzard cup away with a little bit of melted blizzard still left in it, into our trash can before remembering there was no bag in there. And then Mason cleaned the trash can. What a guy!

Perhaps the most special present I got was that Mason took the day off from homework/studying. It did help that it was Saturday, too. Finals were coming up and he had tons to do, but he worked really hard all the other days so he could spend lots of time with me on my birthday and not be stressing about school. He is the greatest and I like him lots and lots.

Top it off with presents from my fantastic parents in law (THANK YOU!), and it seriously could not have been a better birthday. All in all, it was fabulous. I felt so loved and special. I look forward to enjoying many more with my sweetheart! Here's hoping 23 is the best year yet!

The Semester of Discontinuance

Well, about a trillion things have happened since I last blogged, so this is my effort to start getting caught up!

So winters out at BYU have always been really hard for me. I think it's the darkness, the way it just seems endless when it's been snowing for 2 months straight and there's no end in sight, the stress of school, and probably a bunch of other stuff. For whatever reason(s), it's just always kind of ridiculous and it makes school darn near impossible sometimes.

That's why this semester, I decided to discontinue. I loved a lot of my classes but decided that discontinuing would be the best thing for me to do right now so I didn't get terrible grades on my transcript. (It's kind of hard to do well in school when you just stay home all the time.) I'll be going back in the fall and everything will be just fine with my transcripts, I'm just taking a little break right now.

Since discontinuing in the middle of March, I have been busy! I switched my major back to psychology, because that means that I can graduate in just THREE SEMESTERS. This is the first time I've really been able to see the light at the end of the tunnel, and it is really exciting!!!!! If I can stomach any more school after BYU, I'd like to go somewhere and get my masters in Social Work.

I've also been painting! You'll remember that on our 6 month anniversary Mason got me some paints and an easel. I actually did a little craft with stencils before that that was super easy, and I wanted to keep painting and get better.
Here's the first craft I did with stencils:

I remember I was SO stressed out with picking out the colors for this project. I like the way it turned out! My favorite one is the cream background with the blue flowers, and Mason's favorite is the purple background.
Anyway, fast forward a month or 2 from that project, and I completed my first painting with no stencils! With paint brushes! Here it is:

I know, I know, try to hold your applause, please. ;) Haha totally kidding. It actually looks a lot better in this picture than it does in real life. If you see it up close, you can see the paint is really uneven, there are several places where the shapes are kind of weird, and the blending in the background is choppy at best. But it was SO MUCH FUN painting this! I followed a step by step tutorial on youtube and picked out my own colors. I loved it. I started working on my next painting a few days ago and I'm not using a step by step video for this one, so hopefully it doesn't turn out totally gross looking.

I've also started learning to play the guitar. Mason and I both have an app called Yousician that has cool lessons so you can practice and learn. It can be really frustrating but it's also really fun and when you finally get something that you've been messing up it feels really good.

I also had to find a new job when I discontinued, so I've been working doing transcriptions at a company called Rev. It's all online so I just do it from home. It's getting less terrible the more I do it, and if I really put my mind to it I can make some decent money. I'm thinking I'm going to get a "real" part time job in the summer so I can actually get some social interaction every once in a while.

And I've also been running. Mason, his dad and I are all running a half marathon in about a week and a half. I would love to PR, but I think my only real goal is to get done and then not have to be stuck on the potty for the next 5 hours, like after my last half marathon. Haha. I know you were all dying to know that.

I've visited Michelle and Nate and their fam a couple of times too, and they always help me to feel happy . I LOVE going up there!

(Asa spent a really long time sticking pins through this fabric strip. Then he showed it to me and said he made it for Uncle Mason, who couldn't be up to visit with me. We sent Mason this picture.)

It is inspiring to me to see Mason working so hard to get through this semester. He is so diligent in his school and has some really long days sometimes, but he always gets everything done that he needs to. I'm glad I have him with me as I go through my hard times, and I hope I can be his rock when he goes through his.

Anyway, that's a little of what I've been up to this semester. Here's to the summer when neither of us have class and it's warm outside!

Six Months Sealed! (Getting caught up)

On February 20 Mason and I celebrated out 6 month anniversary! We didn't have school because it was presidents day, so we had an entire day to relax and celebrate! It was so fabulous. We stayed up really late the night before watching The Office, just because we could, and then we slept in a little the next day. I really wanted to go for a 6 mile run, and we did it by the Provo River. It was really nice to have that time to reflect on these past 6 months with Mason. At times it's been a little hard and stressful but it is oh so worth it. There is no one else I would rather spend a day with than him. He is the best thing that ever happened to me and I love him so much!

After our run we headed over to Michael's so that I could get some painting supplies. Painting is something that I have wanted to learn to do for as long as I can remember. Mason is so supportive. In fact, its kind of funny but when we first started dating Mason asked me if I was an artist. When I said I could barely draw a stick figure, he was slightly shocked because he had just assumed that I was an artist because certain aspects of my personality. I thought it was highly flattering!
Anyway, we went to Michaels and I got a few brushes and colors of paint, and Mason surprised me at the last second by sticking a real life easel in our buggy! He is so great and I felt so fancy. I'm currently working on my first painting now!

Following our fun trip to Michael's, we went home and it was only 4:30 but we were both starving so we decided to go out to dinner. Mason put on his cute green button-up shirt and told me that where we were going for dinner was going to be a surprise. I love surprises, and I love it when Mason does sweet things like get dressed up for dates and open my car door. I know he doesn't do those things because society expects him to, he does it because he really loves me. It's so sweet and so flattering.
We went to Olive Garden! It was my first time going there and it did NOT disappoint. Our waiter was a little weird, but it was SO NICE to go out to a nice restaurant and just be together and eat delicious food with unlimited bread sticks ;)

After that we came home and watched Netflix to our hearts content. It was lovely.

It was a perfect day. We did so many wonderful things and most of all it was just fun to get to spend so much quality time together. Mason is my favorite person ever and I am so happy we get to build our lives together. 6 months may only be a short time in the grand scheme of things, but it is a big deal for us. I look forward to celebrating years and years of marriage with him in the future.

Here's a few great memories from our first 6 months I've loved having with my sweetheart:

Getting hitched, obviously!

Running my first half marathon!

That one time he DYED MY HAIR for me! He is so brave. This was also the day I cut his hair for the first time and it actually turned out ok. I'm glad he was there for me when he dyed my hair because I may or may not have bawled my eyes out in the shower afterward and been in dire need of emotional support ;)

Making this little gem:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emBY-u0qvGw

 Seeing him play with my nieces and nephews, especially Asa. He's going to be a great daddy one day!

 waking up SO EARLY on Christmas morning at the Waites and being so tired but also so excited!

 Our drives down to Las Vegas to visit the Parkes fam. We never fail to have great conversations on those trips, and I love them.

 Going to the aquarium with Maddie and Tony in Las Vegas!

Cooking with Mason is so fun. He has a gift.

The trip to Death Valley with the fam.

And of course, our 6 miler we did on our 6 month mark.