Tag, tag, tag...

8 things I am passionate about

1. My Aaron

2. My Faith

3. My family

4. Running

5. Eating ice cream

6. Schedules and organization

7. Reading

8. Missionary Work

8 words or phrases I say often

1. Sit, Stay, Down, Come, No, etc...

2. That was HI-larious

3. I'm sorry

4. No way

5. I don't know

6. What do you want to do?

7. I love you

8. I really need... :)

8 things I want to accomplish in the coming year

1. Learn how to be a better wife

2. Learn better communication skills

3. Find a house and move into it

4. Finish our wedding scrapbook and start our next one

5. Have a baby

6. Run another marathon or half marathon

7. Help Aaron take the CPA

8. Learn to make home made fudge

8 places I would love to go or visit

1. Australia

2. Argentina

3. Europe, all of it

4. New York

5. California

6. China

7. Thailand

8. Nauvoo

8 things I need or want

1. New jeans

2. A bike

3. A treadmill

4. A house and everything that goes inside of one

5. New Car

6. Our stocks to go back up

7. To become more diligent

8. To become wealthy so that Aaron could stay home everyday with me

I tag: Anyone who wants to be tagged :)

The Ending of an Era???

Okay maybe not an era but an important event in my life none the less. So for those of you who don't know, I really love clothes. I love wearing cute clothes, finding cute clothes, shopping for cute clothes, all of it. This was not always the case. In high school I would say I did not wear cute clothes or make up, actually I wore unattractive clothes mostly. Then my freshmen roommate was Brooke, who was the epitome of getting ready every day and looking adorable. I started wearing make up and getting ready for school most days. Still I wouldn't say I made a huge transformation. Gradually it became more and more important to me, I purchased my first pair of designer jeans before my mission. (Huge turning point, I can never ever go back now). After my mission it was in full force. Even though I had 8 o'clock class everyday I was ready, fully ready every morning. Not to mention I had two closets to work with here because my roommate, Stacy, is probably the most fashion savvy girl I know. I really realized this when one day I was so sick but went to school anyway and wore a cute t-shirt, jeans, and tennis shoes and one of my students came up to me on campus and asked what was wrong with me because I wasn't dressed like I normally am.

Anyways, this has all gone slowly downhill since I got married. For several reasons, I worked for a small company where I never ever saw anyone and those precious extra 15 mins of sleep became so important. My clothing budget has diminished, well is non-existent. But it is still important to me and I have all my pre-marriage clothes to work with here. But this is all changing. What could possibly bring about a change in my desire to wear adorable clothing everyday? This:My grandmother bought me one of these when I was visiting her last month and I'm in love. It is so comfortable. I wore it all day yesterday, all day. I may never wear jeans again. I wonder if I can find a job where this fits into the dress code...

All Grown Up!

A little late in posting, but Aaron's little brother got engaged last weekend. We just can't believe it. It always seems to happen so fast when its not you. We couldn't be happier about our new, future sister-in-law. She is the cutest, nicest, friendliest, etc. girl ever. For those of you who haven't heard, Kellie (Spencer's fiancee) served her mission in Little Rock (where Aaron is from). She spent 8 months in Aaron's home ward and Aaron's family fell in love with her. I mean we have been hearing about this girl since a year ago. Aaron's mom had her picked out as Spencer's future wife. So did every other family in the ward that had a son. So we have been hearing about her for months and months and then right after she got released she came back to visit with her family and wanted to eat dinner with the Piersons. Well before she left she asked Aaron's mom for her bread recipe. Jeanie said she would hand it over in exchange for her phone number so her son could call her. He called her later that week and the rest is history. I love that story. Needless to say the Piersons in Arkansas are just beside themselves. So they're getting married the Tuesday before Thanksgiving (I know, so fast). So after taking out a small loan (only a slight exaggeration) we bought plane tickets for Thanksgiving week to Utah. We're so happy for him!

Also all grown up is our sweet puppy. I was looking at her this week and can't believe how big she is getting. I thought I would post one of her right after we got to Texas. Her first day playing in the back yard we found her like this. Our Jo loves water and mud, this combo was a special treat.

Lovin the Lake and Bein a Woman

So two completely unrelated topics to discuss today. First of all, one of the greatest things about being in Texas is going to the lake every Saturday. Aaron and I have had so much fun going out on the boat all the time. But no one loves it more than our little water dog. The first time we went she was a little timid of the water but now every time we jump off the boat we hear a little splash behind us and she's in, swimming around. This is Aaron's first summer to wakeboard and he is having so much fun. I, on the other hand, used to be fearless, but have turned into such a chicken. Every time I do a trick in the back of my head I hear, "Haley is this going to affect your ability to some day have children?" How weird am I? Here are some pictures of us tubing, swimming, and having fun.So Jo and I are riding the tube together and I guess she thought she was done because she just jumped off in the middle of the ride and started swimming back to the boat. It was so funny. In unrelated to the lake findings, I read an article the other day about how the week before you start your period your metabolism increases causing you to need up to 300 extra calories a day. 300 free calories (well not free but we make do) people!! Those craving we feel are real. What will I be eating with my extra calories you might be wondering. Well I'll tell you: Sonic chicken toaster (quite possibly the greatest sandwich ever but also probably not the most healthy what with the fried chicken, bacon, cheese, toaster bread and all :) Finally a bright side to this dreaded time of the month. *
*note: I felt good about posting this since I feel that the only people who read my blog are women.

Pierson Family Pictures

When we were in Arkansas for the reunion we took family pictures. A lady in Aaron's ward took them for us and she did a great job. It is really hard to get that many children to sit still but we did the best we could. So if you haven't seen an updated picture of the Pierson clan...here we are. (Anxiously awaiting the newest addition to the family any day now).

Everyone:Our little family:
The original Piersons:
Grankids (they were not interested). If you could only see the parents behind the camera trying to bribe their kids.

Needs Vs. Wants

So something Aaron has been trying to teach me since we got married is the difference between needs and wants. If I ever feel like I need something (clothing is a great example) Aaron asks me if I need new shoes or if I just want new shoes. Its a common occurrence around our house. So the other night we are sitting watching tv and a commercial comes on for this little number, the Colgate 360 tooth brush. Wow, this is a cool tooth brush, I think in my head. It has a brush on the back too so you can brush your tongue and cheeks. I go over it in my head- okay my current tooth brush is fine but this would really help me to better clean my tongue and cheeks. My mouth is important and I want to make sure it stays clean. And actually I'm saving us money by lowering the amount of dental work that I will need done because this will keep my mouth so much cleaner (Right? Right). I've got the argument all prepared in my head.

"Aaron" I say, clearing my throat, "I need that tooth brush."
"Oh really sweetie, you need that."
This was easy, I haven't even gone into my arguments. "Yes, I will use it all the time to better clean my cheeks and tongue, I'm so bad about that now but if I had THIS tooth brush I would do it."
"Oh really, are you sure about that?" (What's going on here...)
"Yes, I'm sure."
"Haley, you have that tooth brush."

Ha, ha... sure enough I do and I didn't even know it. I have started using it to better clean my whole mouth :)

Just a little look into what being married to me is like. Bless my sweet husband.

And We're Back!

I know, I know. I have been a total slacker with blogging. I don't know what happened but I just took the month of August off, not blogging or checking blogs. But today I am going to read and check up on every one's blogs and try and post an update from us.

So yes folks, its true...we're Texans!! It is official. Its been weird being back. It was so hot when we got here, unbelievable really. Aaron started his job last week after Labor Day and seems to be enjoying it. (well after he figured out his way around downtown) He is in Chicago right now for 2 whole weeks of training. That is the longest we have ever been apart, it really stinks. I have been getting settled here and now I am seeking employment. I'm hoping to find something more in the 30 hour a week range.

Exciting happenings from August were making the long drive here in two cars. I couldn't believe we could fit our entire world into two cars but we did. The DI in Provo got a lot of our stuff and we were fortunate enough to be able to sell a lot of it. We stayed with my grandparents in New Mexico for a couple of days and then right after we got here we headed out to Arkansas for nearly two weeks to see Aaron's family and have a family reunion. We stayed in a gorgeous house in Hot Springs right on the lake and did boating and hanging out, it was really beautiful and fun. Here are some highlights from the trip:

All of the kids loved our sweet Jo. She was such a great traveler and she LOVED Arkansas.
Morning Yoga on the balcony at the house (have I ever mentioned how many Yoga instructors there are in Aaron's family?...lots)Aaron's parents got us all a box at a Traveler's Game and it was so fun. The kids got to run the bases afterward. (Isn't my husband a hottie)We could not get enough of this little girl, she had changed so much!Aaron and I shared a birthday dinner:We spent a lot of time having fun on the boat:I have so many more fun pictures to put up. We finally experienced the Spitzer's famous water slide and it lived up to its reputation. Jo LOVED it, she ran up and slid down again and again. (Ambyr do you have pictures of that? We don't seem to have any) My brother and his family came for Labor Day, Aaron has gotten so good at wake boarding, and we have Pierson family pictures.