So......I am not doing so good at this whole blog thing. I think it is a combination of BJ and I starting summer school and the fact that I am horrible at taking pictures. Anyways some highlights over the past couple of months.....

Another one of my new cousins left to serve a mission. We were able to spend a weekend with him and his family and we were able to be present for his farewell talk. It was so fun to be able to get to know Kalen more and spend time with him. We also were able to say goodbye to him down in Provo at the MTC. He is such a great kid and I am so glad I got to get to know him better before he left for his mission. We will miss him sooo much.

Here is Kalen. I of course forgot my camera both at his farewell and the MTC. However, I love this picture, it shows how sweet he is!

In April I turned 22! However, I guess it doesn't matter to much, since I have had several people lately that thought I was in high school... Hopefully, I still get this when I am 40 and want to look ten years younger than I really am.

BJ and I also celebrated our second anniversary. It is hard to believe we have been married that long; the two years have just flown by. We have had so much fun together and I am so grateful that I have such a perfect, sweet, kind, and handsome husband.



BJ and me at La Caille. This picture is actually from Valentine's Day, but I of course did not take any picture for our anniversary.

I also graduated this month with my Master's of Social Work degree!!! I still have the summer semester to finish and I have to pass a licensing exam.....but after that I will be official. It is hard to believe that after so many years in school I will soon no longer have to go to school. YAY for no longer having to jump through hoops, sit in classes where I don't learn anything, complete busy work assignment, and no more GROUP PROJECTS!!! I do have a lot of pictures from graduation thanks to my wonderful in laws who came and took pictures for me before the graduation as well as my sister and brother-in-law (yes more pictures stolen from their blog). I really do apologize ahead of time for the many pictures but I wanted to show  all those that have supported me during the many years of my schooling.

Oh Jess.. I met Jess in one of my first classes the U. She was so kind and really helped me learn how to be a college student at the U. She is so incredibly smart and she graduated this semester too!

 (We could totally be sisters in this photo, right?)

The next three pictures are girls from the social work program. Lets just say the social work program can be a little......frustrating at times. These girls helped me survive the group projects, horrible role plays, and crazy classes.

I hope you don't mind Amy, I stole this picture off your facebook.

 BJ's parents have been so supportive of BJ and I. They are so kind and I am so lucky to have them as my in-laws!

My dad and Mandi. My dad is so sweet and has also encouraged me....well forced me to go to school and I am so grateful for that. Mandi has always set such a great example for. The only reason I did well in school is because of her example.

My cousin Shelley and aunt Patti. I absolutely love these two! It was so sweet of them to come and sit through a boring graduation for me:)

Mandi, Clay and BJ. Clay also graduated with his masters degree in engineering. Congrats Clay!!!

Mandi threw another graduation party for Clay and I! She is so sweet.

You guys have no idea how much BJ helped me through the program. I have no idea what I would have done without him. He sat and listened to my venting sessions (and continues to do so), he read over papers, spent hours retrieving papers I thought I had lost, and much more. I am so lucky that I married such a smart and patient husband. He is the best!

Sorry for the long post. I just wanted to brag about all of the people who are so amazing and have been a huge influence in my life. There are many more friends and family members who have supported me and I want to thank you all too!

This post would not be complete without me thanking my mother for all of her support throughout my many years of school. She drove me to and from school...even when my high school was only two blocks away. She knew my homework and test due dates better than I did. She spent countless hours helping me write papers, complete assignments, and study for tests and quizzes. She did not make college an option for me.... I always knew that it was something that I had to do. She always knew the importance of Mandi and me moving away for college. Although we were all very close and loved to be together she was strong enough to encourage us to move away so that we could grow and get the experience we needed. When I left for college she was very sick. Even though I could have stayed home and helped take care of her she wanted me to go away to college. She never wanted anything to affect my education. Mommy I love you so much! Thank you!!!







Kylan

Last week one of my new, sweet cousins left to serve an LDS Mission and will be serving in the Dominican Republic. Kylan and his parents invited us to come and see him off at the MTC. I have never had this opportunity so I was grateful that they invited us to share this experience. However, it was so sad to see all of the families saying goodbye to their missionaries and of course it was extremely sad for us to say goodbye to Kylan. However, Kylan was so excited to enter the MTC and serve his mission. His enthusiasm and strength was truly remarkable (and made me feel bad for being a baby...). Anyways, we are so proud of him and I am so grateful that I was able to meet him before he left for his mission. It would have been so upsetting if we missed meeting this incredible young man.

Before you begin looking at the pictures I will admit that these pictures are stolen from my sister's blog. I'm terrible with taking pictures, I'm hoping this blog will encourage me to take more pictures.

Aunt Casey and Uncle Ryan (Kylan's parents)

Yes we kiss our cousins, we're Italian deal with it:)

Look how well this kid fits in our family. He looks exactly like our uncle Nick, who was killed in Vietnam. Oh and Mandi does not have this picture....so I totally one-upped her.

We are going to miss him soooo much! He has already sent a letter home and he is already doing an amazing job. We are so proud of him! 

2011

BJ and I (BJ wants me to say mostly me) have finally decided to start a blog. When I thought about joining the blogging world I didn't think we would have much to post. However, as I review this past year I realized that I have had so many amazing experiences and have been incredibly blessed. I'm creating this blog in hopes to notice all of the little blessings in my life. Through this I also hope to provide some entertainment and keep family and friends informed of the happenings in our lives! So to start of this blog I am going to give a recap of our happenings in 2011!

January

We started off the new year with a trip to California! Thanks to my wonderful dad we were able to go to Disneyland and Universal Studios. We were also able to go see my mom's home that she grew up in as well as my uncles' graves. My sister Mandi, her husband Clay, BJ, and I are so lucky to have an amazing dad that treats us so well!

Oh and we have a brick at Disneyland...don't be too jealous:) 

Mandi & me with Goofy.

April & May

This year I turned 21 and graduated with my Bachelors of Social Work degree. Yay for getting closer to the end of my schooling career!

May

BJ and I celebrated our first anniversary this year at Bear Lake. Time has flown by and it is crazy to think that we will be celebrating our second anniversary in just a few months. I really have married the smartest, sweetest, and cutest guy in the world!

                                        We made s'mores in the grill...we are classy like that.

We played a lot of poker.  As you can see by the loads of sugar packets and garlic I totally kicked some trash.

July & August

This year we gained 15 new family members; two uncles, two aunts, and 11 new cousins. We are so blessed that they found us and look forward to making so many new memories with them. In July we were able to all get together for our first meeting and then we were able to travel to California so that they could meet our grandma's family.

                     My two new amazing uncles!! They look so much like my grammy and mom.

My cute new cousins. We missed meeting two of our cousins who are currently serving missions for the LDS church.

How cute are these two girls? They have me wrapped around their fingers, as you can see by the massages I am giving them:)

Our new family!

Our trip to California. Our uncles were able to meet their Italian aunts, uncles, and cousins.

September

BJ turned 24 this year! BJ loves pastries, so this year we had a donut cake for him.

Sorry for the clutter in this picture. BJ wanted me to post this picture because, "It has everything important in my life pastries, milk....(long pause)....except you."

December & January (2012)

We were able to celebrate Christmas and New Years with our amazing new family. My aunt and uncle made it a wonderful Christmas. On Christmas Eve my great uncle made the Italian Roman Catholic Christmas dinner; the Feast of the Seven Fishes. Even though I am not a fan of fish, I tried all of the dishes (even a tentacle of a squid) and actually quite liked them, except the squid. We also had a ton of Italian cookies and treats that we all ate nonstop.

My uncle made this beautiful tree. At the top is a picture of my grandmother. Each large star on the tree is a picture of her children who have passed away. The bulbs each have a picture of her grandchildren.

My uncle Rick's kids, Mandi, and my aunt. Unfortunately I do not have a picture Ryan's family.

My beautiful mother.

Fish faces with my cute cousin Taden.

New Years 2012

We celebrated the New Year at Mandi and Clay's new home. We all had a great time!!!

Cute pops!

My adorable cousin!

Oh and did I mention my new cousins are amazing at Rock Band?

That is a recap of our last year; sorry that it was pretty lengthy. We have had miraculous things occur in our lives and we will never forget how amazing 2011 was for us and our family!!!

Currently, BJ and I are both at the University of Utah. He is working on his undergraduate and will apply for Physical Therapy schools in the summer. He is so incredibly smart and is doing great in school. He is working hard at a physical therapy outpatient agency and is volunteering to get a lot of physical therapy experience.

I am in the Masters of Social Work program and will graduate at the end of the summer. I am currently doing an internship with Rocky Mountain Hospice and love it!