My trip to Ohio, Feb 14-17

I got the opportunity to go to Columbus to visit Beck this February (thanks Ben!) and it was SOOOO much fun! I got to meet and snuggle baby Ezra, and to hang out with Trevor, Lex, and Austin. They all have such different personalities and I really liked getting to know them better and just spend some quality time with them.
I regret to say that I took almost no pictures the entire time! Dah. But here's what I got:

 Mason and I were actually both in the airport together for a while on Feb 14 (Valentines day!) because he was getting flown out to Clemson for an interview weekend. We were on the same flight to Chicago, but didn't get to sit next to each other. But it was really nice to spend some time with my main squeeze on Valentine's Day.

 Ezra! He is so cute! And they call him Ezzie sometimes and I love that!

 Lex, showing me a front flip in the bounce house that is INSIDE THEIR HOUSE!!!

 Lex showing me her guitar she made at her friend's birthday party. Also she got that whistle that's shaped like an airplane and she kept blowing it after like every sentence she said and we cracked up over that.

 Trevor reading me Encyclopedia Brown mysteries that we tried to solve together. 

This is the candle they had in their house that smelled SOOOO GOOD.

And yeah, that's all the pictures I have. I know, I know, those aren't even great pictures and there's none of Austin or Beck and Ben. But I did spend time with them too! I pushed Austin in the swing for forever, and was very impressed that he wasn't freezing to death the entire time. And I went on a walk with Lex and Austin once while Trevor was in school and it was so fun. Austin kept looking for the basketball hoops and Lex was carrying around like 45 pinecones the entire time. It was so fun. 

Then when Saturday came around Ben was home the whole day so we had fun playing Just Dance on their Wii and I pushed Austin in the swing while he played soccer with Lex and Trevor. 

Honestly though, I think the main highlight of the trip was getting to just sit and talk to Beck. I could talk to her for like 500 hours straight and not get sick of it. I also liked it when we made cookies one afternoon and she thought I was industrious for doing it, because apparently she only makes cookies in the morning! She is so funny and optimistic, and I really enjoyed the chance I got to spend some time with her, one on one. I haven't gotten a ton of opportunities to do that with her! 

In summary, I wish I had taken more pictures, but it was seriously so great to get to see the Griffioens. Each one of them is special and great, and I love them with all my heart. I hope I get to see them again soon!

Snowshoe adventures with the Waites

This past Friday, we headed up to Layton to visit the Waites. It had been WAY too long since we'd seen them (since before Christmas!) and I was feelin it. We got there in the middle of the kids' Friday night movie, and they all got up and said "Aunt Bri! Uncle Mason!" with huge smiles and hugs. I love it.

The kids went to bed soon after and then we stayed up with Shell and Nate and played a game called Code Names that I really liked. Emmie has been sick so they were super tired and we let them go to bed after that ;)

The next day was snowshoe day! We went up to cut some fresh pow up by The Castle, a ginormous mansion up on the mountain. It was a blast.

Those are my pictures, and here are Mason's:

It was so fun and so pretty and the snow was VERY deep for most of it. Also, let the record reflect that Shell fell like 600 times (probably because I had one of her hiking poles,) and one time she even did a full on split! It was incredible. 

We hiked on the trail for about 3 minutes before we decided we wanted to blaze one of our own. We went up a hill and kept going straight up or straight down for a long time after that. We had to do some serious bushwacking through the little trees, and sometimes slide on our fannies. Also I got whipped in the face with a branch that someone who shall remain unnamed unknowingly let go of while I was right behind them. It was okay though, my glasses took the brunt of it. 

After we finally made it back to the trail some guy was on top of a giant hill overlooking us and shouting things like, "Hey dummies! This way!" Over and over and over and over again. Finally when we got out of the trees, Nate shouted back to him, "Are you talking to ME?" He wasn't. He was looking for a group of kids. Good grief. 

Then after we went to a couple of bridges, we hiked on the trail home. When I took off my snowshoes I felt light as a feather. Then we went to the gas station and got hot chocolate and drank it at home. It was soooo much fun, and it was so good to see Shell and Nate and their kiddos. 

Various thoughts about the future (unfiltered)

Sometimes the future is a little daunting.

There are so many unknowns. We don't know where we will live next year at this time, we don't know exactly when we want to start our family (or if it will happen when we want it to), we don't know what we want to do for careers, I don't know if I want to be a stay at home mom. We don't know if Mason is going to be accepted to grad school, or where we will go if he is. Heck, I don't even know what to eat for supper tonight.

Sometimes it seems like time has passed too quickly.

I don't know how I am already 24. I'll be 25 in like 5 months. I feel like I should know more about the world. More about "adulting," as they say. More about how to talk to the doctor. More about how to make friends. More about how to manage my (mostly) seasonal depression. How to be patient and control the tone of my voice. More about how I should eat. More about how to manage money. More about how to have a symbiotic, happy relationship with my husband.

Sometimes the future seems really far away.

"Next year...", "Five years from now...", "When I graduate...", they all seem like they'll never actually get here. I think that makes it harder for me to stick to my goals I have set for myself. Also, it is completely impossible for me to imagine being a mother--will that day ever come? It also makes it harder to get through the winter, because it seems never ending, although it hasn't even officially started yet.

Yeah, the future is pretty scary. I guess we will have to figure it out as we go!