Thankful

This year I have really been looking forward to the holidays. Maybe it’s because I am back in school full time and working full time. Maybe I just need a break or maybe it’s just because I want to spend time with my family but I have been really excited this year.  A few of my friends on Facebook have been posting one thing every day that they are thankful for and it has really got me thinking about what I am thankful for.  Not to sound sappy, but this year has been one of the best years of my life, Chris and I got married, we went to Hawaii, we went on some other great vacations, a few of our friends got married, and I started my masters program.  Not to say this year wasn’t hard, it definitely was, there were times when I had no idea how I was going to deal with everything I had on my plate but somehow I did and I think it’s because I have some great influences in my life. 

First and foremost everything comes back to Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ; without their help and without the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life, I am not sure I would have been able to keep the “eternal perspective” in mind.  I am so blessed to know I am a daughter of God and to know where I came from and what my purpose is in life.

I’m also blessed with the greatest family and friends anyone could ask for.  I have a wonderful husband who supports me in every decision I make and is the best friend I could ask for.  (To read a rave review of Chris go here) My parents and sisters have always and still are wonderful examples of love and hard work to me. And I think I literally have the best in-laws (both parents and siblings) anyone could ask for.  Chris and I also have a fantastic group of friends who are like an extra family to us, we love them so much and we are so grateful they still stick around with us even if they have no reason to do so.  I will also say, Chris and I have the best dog ever, I’m serious, she is the sweetest dog-child anyone has ever had and if you don’t believe me, that means you have never met her. (If I sound like a crazy dog person, it’s because I am. See here)

Anyways, in all of this jibber jabber what I am trying to say is, I am thankful.  Thankful for all the blessings in my life: family, friends, school, work, dog, car, roof over my head, and for everyday that I get that was not promised to me.   I hope we can all remember to be thankful this holiday season and to try to remember to be thankful throughout the year.

I Love the Internet

It has to be one of my favorite inventions after cars, planes, shopping malls and cereal.  But seriously, and I say this all the time (just ask my family) we are living in the future guys, it’s here! The Internet has made it possible to buy things online and have them sent to your house, sometimes for free over night! (Thank you very much Amazon!) You can also find some amazing recipes, (who needs cook books these days?) You can have a video conversation with someone half way across the world (If that doesn’t scream Jetsons I don’t know what does), and read useless blog posts like this one.

Never in the history of the world has so much been accomplished and at the same time not accomplished! And now the Internet has provided…. PINTEREST! I think I was the last person to join this party but I just had to share my love for this website with the rest of the world.  It’s amazing! The whole idea of Pinterest is you can “put a pin” in something you like whether it be a recipe, some shoes, home decor, a place you want to travel, anything! You can also look at your friends’ pin boards. Pinterest is awesomeness in form of a website. I’ve also come to the realization that maybe if I give my husband my Pinterest web address he can get hints of what to buy me for upcoming birthdays, x-mas, anniversary or “thanks for being the best wife ever” gifts. 

So basically what I am trying to say is for the next month, until I get over this obsession (or until I start grad school on the 24^th) I am going to be useless. Oh and if you want to talk to me just go here .

The Mullen-Brown Wedding

It finally came! Last weekend was Megan and Danny’s wedding in Newport Beach and it was PERFECT! I don’t think I have ever been to a wedding where every single aspect was flawless! The weather (will someone please tell me why we live in Texas?), the dress, the decorations, the bridesmaids (not that I am biased), and the location were all in ideal condition for an ideal couple.

The ceremony took place at the Newport Beach Temple which is absolutely beautiful.  It was a wonderful ceremony; Megan looked gorgeous and you could tell Danny was very happy with his choice in wife.  It was great to be there with Chris and kind of re-live our sealing that took place just a few short months ago; it’s so easy to forget how lucky we are to be sealed for eternity.

After the ceremony we took pictures and grabbed a bite to eat before we went to the beach to take more pictures. Their photographer was amazing and she also happens to be the sister of one of our friends. See her work here...awesome right? While we were taking pictures, my sweet husband and his wonderful mother ran around doing some last minute errands for the wedding. Poor guy missed the beach but he was happy to help!

The reception was on a yacht and went off without a hitch! As the yacht made its way up and down Newport Harbor we enjoyed food, a little dancing, and some serious basking in newlywed bliss. We ate yummy salpicon for appetizers and along with their mini bride and groom cakes they had Sprinkle’s Cupcakes… All I can say is YUM! Good choice Megan and Danny! I may or may not have had about 2 cupcakes and had a bite of the 2 Chris picked so all in all we shared 4 cupcakes….Wow, it makes you feel like more of a pig when you see that in writing. (I will add here that I went for a run that morning so I reached my 5 times a week workout quota, there is that better?)

In the end, it was a fast and furious weekend but we got to spend some time with Chris’ mom and with some family friends of mine and of course a few quick moments with our wonderful (and now married!)friends.

(Editor’s note: Due to Hannah’s status as a bridesmaid she did not have time to take any pictures so that task was bestowed upon Chris who incidentally is not the official family photographer, considering this, Chris actually did a pretty good job!)

Emily, Rachel and me minus the matching bridesmaid necklace Megan bought me...no one could find it!

Some of the cute flower girls. Jenna (the one on the left) and I danced the night away on the yacht, she is so sweet!

Chris and I basking in the awesome California weather.

The fugitive bridesmaid necklace was found!

The beautiful Newport Beach Temple

The Bride and Groom!!!

Everyone; so happy and so colorful!

Megan had some serious bling.

Thank You for Being a Friend: "Blanche's" Shower

This weekend I hosted a lingerie shower for my friend Jamie Morris.  Jamie hosted my lingerie shower last year and she did such a great job that I had to return the favor.  I love throwing parties for people and I think I am getting better at it; however, I have a ways to go before I reach Hettie Houghton status so I had some help from some talented ladies.  I made some blueberry scones from scratch that were pretty dang good if I do say so myself. Just a side note; it's probably a good thing I am not a stay at home wife because I would probably bake all the time and weigh as much as a baby humpback wale. Anywho...

Jamie raked in some sweet loot including a "Dance Pole" as the box described it. lol

We had a great time seeing Jamie and meeting her fiance Brad. It was fun to  finally get to meet the man that is marrying our sweet friend. We think she picked a keeper! We also had a roommate reunion with our friend Allison. This weekend really made me realize; Chris and I are so blessed to have such great friends! We are excited for all of the big events happening in their lives and we are so happy to share those experiences with them.

Speaking of big events... the Mullen-Browns will be tying the knot this weekend and we can't wait for it!!!!

Below are some pictures from shower. Forgive the sub par quality of the photos... I believe a new camera will be on the Christmas wish list.

Heart shaped scones, "make your own parfait" bar and mini quiches. Yum Yum!



The lovely Bride to be



"Blanche" and "Sophia"



Allison had some fun games planned for the day. Thanks Alli Rae!

The givers of the Dance Pole

Just practicing... all this lingerie leads to something right?

The Bride and her Mommy.

Jamie was a little too good at this pose!



Why yes that box does say "Spank and Tickle Set"

"Public" Display of Affection

Last night Chris and I were watching Glee and were eating a much needed chocolate dessert and I thought to myself, I have the best husband ever! (I mean, he watches Glee, willingly! I'm sorry if this means temporary revocation of your man card Chris!)
I think it's easy for us to forget how much we are blessed by the people in our lives. I tend to get down a lot and Chris has been a great support in my life these past few years.  He is so good at lifting my spirits with his simple compliments or when I come home from a long Saturday in class and he has cleaned the house or washed my car, and when he prays for me in our daily prayers. Or even when he just gets out of my way after a crappy day at work so I can go work out, clear my head, and go back to being non-evil Hannah again.
So I just wanted to say, semi-publicly, to the three people that read this blog, my husband is the bomb.com.

Thanks for being a team player Chris!

Much Love,
Hannah a.k.a Crazy

Now enjoy some of my favorite pictures of Chris...

The year I bailed on our "Juno" costumes. Here's Paulie Bleaker minus Juno.

Paulie Bleaker and a prego nun

I like when Chris has his Brawny Man look going on.



No words can properly describe this photo. All I know is my Tavern Maid costume was lame compared to the Gay Vampire.

So manly!




Yeah he'll get pedicures with me... be jealous.



Carrying my bag through the streets of Buahston! "'ey Petah!"

I got him to marry me! Sucker!

Weddingfest 2011

I have gotten way behind on blogging but the truth is; there’s not that much interesting stuff going on in our lives.  I knew I should have waited to start the blog after we had kids but I just couldn’t wait that long!

Anywho, this summer has officially been dubbed “The Summer of Weddings” Everyone is getting married this summer and I mean everyone. As of now I am a bridesmaid in three of the five weddings we will be attending this summer and two of those weddings are within two weeks of each other.  Not that I’m complaining mind you, I LOVE weddings and I love the fact that I am not the one planning and spending my precious cash money on them!

Last weekend I hosted a shower for my lovely friend Megan Mullen.  It was tons of fun planning my first shower and I had some fantastic ladies helping me! My friend Ami made cupcake bouquets that were beautiful and yummy to boot!

I am awaiting more pictures (since I was irresponsible and didn't charge my camera I had to rely on the kindness of others) but I hope to post more later.

The best part of planning the shower was that I got to do it for one of my best friends! Megan is an amazing person and friend. Chris and I are so excited that she is marrying Danny and we look forward to our life long friendship with them! I mean, who wouldn't want to be friends with these people? 

We love the Mullen-Browns!

On to June and the first wedding and second shower!

Mahalo and Gig'em Kauai!

Last month Chris and I went on our honeymoon to Kauai. I have come to the conclusion that all of us "Mainlanders" are idiots and we should all just move to the Hawaiian Islands. If it had not been for the tsunami scare that Friday before we arrived I would be setting up our cardboard shack (because that is the only thing we could afford to live in) on the beach as I type this. I have been in a state of mourning since our return, Texas is great and all but it's no Poipu Beach... ugh....

OK, I will stop complaining now and tell you a little bit about our trip.  We arrived Monday and after waiting a while for our baggage (apparently things move a lot slower there, which I eventually came to appreciate) we got our rental car and headed for our hotel to check in.  As we zoomed down the road at a whopping 35 miles an hour (45 is the max speed limit we saw on the island) I knew it was going to be quite difficult to leave. After dodging chickens and roosters left and right we arrived at our hotel. (they seriously have chickens just walking around the entire island, it's hilarious if you wanna know the story behind that click here) 

Here is a picture of the road to our hotel. Gorgeous right?



The Tree Tunnel



We checked into our hotel and were treated to free Lilikoli Lemonades....I have never in my life had so many sugary, fruity, jam packed with calorie drinks in one week.... they were amazing but due to the fact that I probably gained five pounds on the trip, I am going to keep them on the island along with the chickens thank you very much!

The next day Chris and I explored the island, we went to Spouting Horn and then to Waimea Canyon, so beautiful! Then we went back to our hotel and hung out on the beach, it was the first of many perfect days. For dinner we went to Plantation Gardens and Chris had some yummy ribs and we finished off our day with a giant Macadamia nut ice cream sandwich and a Guava Cheesecake...delish! If you're ever in Koloa hit up Plantation Gardens!

Spouting Horn

Waimea Canyon

Just FYI: If I ever run away from home... this is where I can be found. (By the way I love my Nook)

The next day we went on a ziplining safari, we hiked, kayaked and ziplined the day away on the Kipu Ranch where they filmed Jurassic Park. I didn't get any pictures so if you wanna see where we were, watch the movie, it looks exactly the same just minus the dinosaurs, obviously.

The next few days we explored the island and on Saturday we went on a cruise to around the island to the Napali Coast. It was beautiful. I learned 2 things that day: #1: Chris doesn't get seasick #2 I do. Oh and lets make it 3 things I learned....#3:I will never consume cinnamon rolls and Guava juice in the same meal, they don't taste that great coming back up. I only remember "tossing my cookies" (or should I say tossing my cinnamon rolls) 3 other times in my life so that was definitely a scarring experience. Despite the sea sickness it was still tons of fun and I would do it again in a second, barf bag and all! We saw a few whales, tons of dolphins and when we went snorkeling we swam with lots of fish that would swim right up to your face. Chris also swam with a sea turtle! Needless to say it was another great day in Kauai.

We saw tons of dolphins! They were even jumping out of the water!



Thankfully, as I was barfing, Chris was able to snap these pictures!



Right after I barfed... don't judge.

The day we left we at the Duke's a restaurant right next to the airport, I highly recommend their Hula Pie... it's to die for.

Here are some more pictures from our trip:

The Grand Hyatt Resort, maybe when we have more sweet cash money we can stay here!

Chris' signature pose

Lappert's Ice Cream... It will change your life. It's the Hawaiian equivalent of Blue Bell, but I think you can get it here in the mainland too. If you ever get a chance try "Heavenly Hana"

All I have to say is, if you ever get asked "Would you like a Snow Cap on your shaved ice?" Say yes!

Unfortunately these are not real legit cave drawings.

It's not a Houghton vacation without Mexican food!

This seal was just livin' the life.....

All freaking day!

My feet are big but NOT as big as flippers...this is proof.