Summer, I love you.

There are many things I love about summer. Mostly, it's all of it. These last two weeks have been almost completely free of wind, rain, and other lame weather conditions. Which means sunshine, sunshine, sunshine. 

SUNSHINE IS MY DRUG. :) 

After weeks of interviews, traveling, job offers, and busyness, things are starting to settle down. We've turned down a few job offers (which, let's face it, we knew we would....

A. Because my husband is such a smarty, and we HAD to get multiple offers...I mean, come on... :)

 and 

B. Because we had to take the one that felt right, rather than the first one that came along. 

Don't get me wrong, this job search has not been an easy ride. It was months of people not getting back to us, our fair share of unanswered emails/applications, and then a few weeks of the phone ringing off the hook with people wanting to hire my hubby. It's been a long, bumpy road. We are so grateful for a Heavenly Father who lets us know he is always looking out for us, despite setbacks along the way.

I won't say where we're going, because we haven't officially accepted yet, but, I will tell you that this job searching process has involved trips to Wyoming, Chicago, Houston, and New York. Some trips were with me, some without.

I, personally, prefer the trips where I'm with my mister, as opposed to those where I'm not. 

Anywho...back to my point...Summer is amazing. Work for us won't start for another three or four months, so we'll be hanging around here for the next few months in the meantime doing summery things. Frisbee, croquet, walks, bike rides, hikes, picnics, trips to the pool, laying on the grass in the sunshine...and, really, just enjoying life. 

Well, along with working. ***Which reminds me, if any of you know of companies or friends whose companies could use an engineering brain in the Provo area (since that's where we'd love to be) for the summer months, please let us know. Matthew has a temporary job for the summer, but we'd love to find one that's relevant to his field, oh--and a little more interesting, instead :) 

Oh yes...back to the point. Summer is my drug and I LOVE it. Ke$ha had it wrong, but...then again, "your love" does roll off the tongue a little easier. . . 

Spidey Senses

 

Last night, the mister and I went to see the new Spiderman movie. LOVED it, by the way. But, from the picture above...you can guess that my reason for loving it was a little different than most people, (or,  most boys, more specifically), who might have chosen a picture more like this... 

or this...

 

or THIS...

haha, yes. I am a girl. Mainly, because I chose this one instead: 

It's interesting, how movies help you reflect on life. Frankly, I'm a person typically opposed to too much movie watching, video game playing and other "brainless activities". I realize there are many arguments to refute that label, and I'm well aware it's an over-generalization, but--bear with me here. I married one of the biggest movie-lovers known to man. I went from having a collection of four movies (three of which Matthew gifted me while we were dating), to having over 300 in our joint collection after getting married. Matthew and I have spent countless hours of our newlywed lives snuggled up watching episodes of Modern Family and The Mentalist. And, you know what, I've loved it. 

Granted, we still go on bike rides, walks, play games, and do other things. But--I have truly loved watching together and laughing when we see things that remind us of our relationship, or just enjoying watching interactions between the characters we're watching. It's so fun to see character development and relate to the experiences we observe in their "lives".

In short, The Amazing Spiderman 2 had a similar effect. It made me think back on our relationship, smile as I saw things that reminded me of us, and just be grateful for my awesome husband. Cheesy as it may seem, there were many parts that prompted me to lean over and kiss that husband of mine on the cheek, or just squeeze his leg. 

Really, what I'm trying to say is....

The fight scenes were amazing. 

The special effects were top notch. 

The storyline was true to the comics and characters were SO true to form. 

haha...okay, maybe not that's what I'm going for....but I sure loved the movie :) 

I recommend it.

4 months and counting

I'm loving this boy today. Tomorrow will be four months of being married. Here are a few of my favorite things about marriage thus far...

1. Waking up to this boys face every morning.

2. Hearing the words, 'I love you' multiple times a day

3. Having my best friend around all the time

4. My running buddy is always nearby

5. The fact that my husband is Matthew Hutchinson

6. Evening walks

7. Late night series viewings

8. Making meals for two

9. Taking life one day at a time.

10. Knowing it's all going to work out, even if logistics aren't all figured out just yet.

Marriage is wonderful. 

But, mostly because I married this guy. Life is good people, life is sure good :)

Graduation, Family and Fun

Alright people, it's been a big week and we've got another big week ahead of us. We had lots of time with family, what with graduation and all. Three of my cousins also graduated, so tons of my family came to town and it was just a party. My mom and dad made the trek as well (which made me ohhhhh so happy :D. There's something about parents that is just so wonderful :)

Aunt Anita also put on an awesome barbeque to help us all celebrate. I'll admit it, I'm not big on fast food burgers in general (unlike my husband), but--you put a burger on a grill, and I'm there. Soooooo delicious. We didn't get many pictures, but here's one--with ALMOST half of my mom and Matthew's faces in it ;)

And, a trip to Provo isn't complete without some JDawgs (two JDawg runs, actually), and some type of sports viewing. This trips, it was the MPSF volleyball championship. 

It was some awesome volleyball

And....some graduation pictures to boot :) 

Rain and wind...Not ideal picture taking weather...but, you know dad was happy, because it meant we didn't take a million ;) 

Day 1 ceremonies had slightly better weather. If my gown looks big, that's because I saved $40 by using Matthew's from last year.... haha. Shoutout to Darla for sending it to us!! 

And, if you're ever looking to make something boring more fun, my cousin here is the person to sit by. 

It's been a good week! So glad we got to share the festivities with family and friends. We're off to Wyoming tomorrow for an interview with Sinclaire. Wish us luck! :) 

I once created a blog and never wrote on it. I mean, literally. Not once.

Let's hope this blog is different :)

We'll start at the "beginning." Matthew and I got married on December 28th of this year. It was a fantastic day.

Lots of people talk about how picture perfect their wedding day was and about some fairytale-perfect story. Between me forgetting my temple recommend in Utah, and just different stressors....I can't say I really relate to those people. However, we DID get some awesome pictures, we DID have some incredibly wonderful family there for us, and I DID marry the man of my dreams :) It turned out to be a wonderful day, mostly because of the man in this picture here with me and because of it being the start of forever.

By the time that day rolled around (after over a year of dating and...well...not dating :), we were sure ready! I couldn't be happier with the man I married and sure do love him to pieces. I was so grateful for all the people who flew/drove out for our big day. I have the best family in the world, and it was so wonderful to have them (by them, I mean pre-marriage, AND post-marriage halves) present for the festivities. I could make a list of all the wonderful things they did...but, let's face it, I don't think you'd all want to read that.

Next was the Honeymoon!

We went up the Oregon coast and spent it in Depoe Bay and Seaside. Matthew surprised me by getting this ADORABLE beach house that we'd looked at online, I'd fallen in love with, and then we found out we couldn't get. Somehow, that husband of mine figured it out--and then completely surprised me when we pulled up to it. I didn't actually recognize for sure it until we got inside, but I was BEYOND excited :)

Here's a snapshot of the inside. Is that not THE cutest thing you've ever seen? Let me tell you, it is.

The Honeymoon consisted of walks on the beach, games, hiking, eating out, downtime, whale watching, and just being with each other. It was an adjustment period (which I don't think anyone really talks about), but so, SO fun--just to not have a curfew or some obligation/responsibility to wake up for.

Coming home from the honeymoon...well, we can just pretty much say the fun of the honeymoon has continued, only--with the addition of job searching. We play a lot and have just loved to have extra time together, figuring things out, and just hanging out. The last few months have consisted of bike rides, runs, yard work, trips to Provo, movies, temple trips, dates, and much enjoyed viewings of Modern Family and The Mentalist. We also threw in a trip to California, for good measure :) It was there that Matthew discovered his love of boogie boarding. He has yet to perfect the art, but, then again, so do I. Had the weather been better, we could have easily spent the whole time on the beach. 

Not Matthew's first time, apparently he'd been before, but never had a boogie board all to himself. It's a whole different experience, people. Sure glad my padre bought some and left them at Grandma's for when we come visit!

Universal Studios... :)

A bike ride from Huntington to Balboa Island

(Ten minutes were spent in pouring rain...but, other than that, the weather was great :P

Me, being OH so artsy on the ferry

The only picture of a game we played while at Grandmas, though we played many more. 

Oh! And I almost forgot Valentine's Day. It was a year ago from this day that this lovely mister told me he loved me. It was also a year ago from this day that we had our first kiss :) A few pictures from our first Valentine's Day as married kids... 

Can you guess which of us removed the arm and made things a little more exciting for the lovely little sugar cookie family? I'll give you a clue: oh wait, I don't need to.

 Ward Valentine's Day Dance. It was so fun! I sure love dancing with this boy. That was actually what we did for the activity portion of our first FHE. And, you know what? I loved it :) 

I was going to upload some more pictures with details on the last few months, but I think this will do for now. 

As far as real life goes, our job search continues. Matthew's just found a temporary job while we wait for things to fall into place, and has had various interviews during our time here. We know there's some amazing, perfect job the Lord has in store for us. Or, just something we'd never pick on our own (without being desperate) that will take us JUST where Heavenly Father needs us to be. 

But, in the meantime, we keep on keepin' on. And you know what, there's no one I'd rather be doing it with :) 

Life is fun, and being married is the best. And, let's face it--so is my husband :) 

If you've made it to the end of this entry and are thinking, seriously?? I'm never going to read another entry--these take HOURS to read. Well, then my friend....I suggest you learn to skim. On my mission, my dad would highlight the fun or interesting parts for reading ease. Unfortunately for you all, he has no editing power on this blog. You have to skim your very selves to find fun details, or TRUDGE slowly and painstakingly through each smiley face, explanation, and picture in order to glean the details you actually wanted to hear about. 

(This is you, struggling through mud and grime--drawn out, over-detailed descriptions of me, loving my life and telling you ALLLLLLL about it, so you can get to the good or funny stuff you are actually looking to read.

Welcome to our blog. 

It's going to be a good time.