A Long Overdue Update- Fall Version

See, I told you I would update about Fall too!

September--

The highlight of September was our trip to North Dakota to visit the school there. It makes me laugh that it was the highlight. It was much prettier in September, and we can't wait for this summer!! I don't feel the need to post pictures about it...just wait a few months and they'll all be the same!

Also in September, was my Mother-in-law, Becky's birthday. As in all things involving boys, the highlight was playing with fire...The boys were having a contest to see who could let their matches burn down the furthest before burning them out. Keith joined in too...Boys.

October--

To start off October, we went to First Fridays at the Phoenix Art Museum. We rode the light rail and saw lots of cool art! We didn't have to ride the light rail very far, so when we were done, we just kept riding it...and when we got off, it was kind of in a sketchy area...hence Steven's face.

It was also Andrew's 14th birthday. He picked Texas Roadhouse for dinner. Becky and I went to Ladies Night at Deseret Book and met the boys for dinner after they were done with Conference.

He got to sit on the saddle...he clearly enjoyed it.

And the most important part of October- I GRADUATED!!! Well actually I just finished the courses, graduation is in April. Everyone told me I couldn't finish my last semester the way it was scheduled, and I did it anyways...so HA! Anyways, I came home from my class very late (it was in Chandler) and I came home to a beautiful dinner made by Steven and flowers too!

The following weekend, we went to Prescott for a graduation trip. It was BEAUTIFUL and such a nice break. We went to the movies, went and hiked, ate lots of good food, went shopping, slept in- all things I had been neglecting for the past few months.

Here is Steven in our hotel room--we got a sweet deal on this hotel that was becoming a resort...the only downside was all the new furniture in giant boxes in the foyer. It was a steal!
Steven by the lake we visited...I'm pretty sure it was something original like Prescott Lake or something.
On our nature walk...notice the leaves behind us? It was truly FALL!!

We also celebrated our friend Raf's graduation from Surgical Technology school. It was an interesting ceremony to say the least...This picture pretty much defines their relationship...

Halloween- As far as Halloween goes, I was in charge of 18 different costumes...10 for work (see the sashes-we were princesses) and 6 beehive costumes (we were Bees) and mine and Steven's (he was a pot of honey). It was fun but I will not be volunteering to make costumes for awhile.

The sashes after the first coat of puffy paint...all those outlined letters!
Our parent's ward trunk-or-treat
Me with two of my beehives...we didn't get a group picture of all of us!

At our ward trunk-or-treat!


November--

In November, I went to Kayley's state Band Competition. It was clear out in the East Valley. I actually saw several of the planes from Steven's school flying over it--but none were him. Kayley's band did very good, despite their rating. Here is the fan club :)

And the only other thing that happened in November was that we went to Utah for Thanksgiving break. We spent a lot of time with family. I was up there for a whole week (5 days without Steven!) working remotely and Steven came up after classes with my mom. I got to meet up with some friends from college. It was a fun reunion! We also got to see the lights at Temple Square twice! And we spent a lot of time shopping the day after Thanksgiving...we got most of our winter clothes though! And my little brother broke his ankle and we had to push him around Temple Square in a wheel chair...which made for a lot of fun stories! Ha love you bro!
We were freezing! Steven loves his new coat, so feel free to comment on it...


And December was a busy month, so it will get it's own catch-up post, we'll call it the winter update!

A Long Overdue Update-Summer Version

As far as I can tell, I haven't truly updated since May...As you can probably tell, we've been busy. So here is our long overdue update--summer version.

In May I threw a bridal shower for my sister-in-law to-be:

Steven went on Father's/Son's campout with his dad/ brothers:



I spent Memorial Day Weekend with my sisters and mom in San Diego. We spent time on the beach, went to a Padres game, ate LOTS of good food, went shopping, bought lots of flip flops and had TONS of fun!!!
June--
The best part of June was that I said goodbye to KinderCare and hello to the Make-A-Wish Foundation!! I started as a summer intern and I'm still there. MAW is by far the greatest place I have ever worked. It will get it's own post when I leave in a few weeks :)

Also in June, we welcomed another Dorn to the family...Greg got married to Caitlin. Steve was best man and I was a bridesmaid.
Shortly after that wedding, I flew to Utah to see my dear friend, Katie get married to my other friend Gabe. I got to spend the better part of the week there to see her go through the temple, go to a Kelly Clarkson concert for the bachelorette party, help set up and attend the reception & be in the temple for her sealing. I know Heavenly Father believes in marriage!
A big shout out goes out to Jed and Jeff (two of Steve's mission buddies) who drove me from the airport. They actually parked in the garage to come pick me up in person, but I was waiting on the curb trying to minimize their efforts. They took me to the open house of the Oquirrh Mtn temple & to the temple for Katie's endowment. They waited while I was in the session and ate before they picked me up again and took me to my friend's house in Provo! AND Jed came and got me and took me back to the airport (and dealt with a minor meltdown I was having) on Saturday. Seriously those 2 saved me several times & I couldn't have been there for all the partying without them!!


After flying home, I was picked up at the airport by my cute husband and Raf. We drove straight to GIRLS CAMP!! Seeing as how I have been camp director for two years, I obviously couldn't miss camp. I ended up only missing the initial bus ride up and the decorating the cabin part. Luckily I had an AMAZING assistant director (Rikki) who went up with the girls and everything was great when I got there!!! I learned a lot about myself at Girls Camp...as an individual and as a leader. I got to see little glimpses of how special the Young Women are. I imagine that is how Heavenly Father feels about all His children who make good decisions. I can't tell you it was an easy week, but I sure learned A LOT and more importantly I learned to love the YW even more. It's easy to feel the Spirit when you're surrounded by all of God's beautiful creations!!!


Another fun thing in June was getting to go to a Dbacks game with the other summer interns. We went out for dinner (appetizers) at Macayo's and then took the light rail downtown to the game. We ended up split up for the game, but I had fun with Carrie & Victoria who also interned in my department!!!

Whew---we were clearly very busy in June. No wonder I didn't blog more this summer!!
For the 4th of July, we decided to combine our families (sometimes having in-laws that are good friends is SUCH a blessing & fun thing) to have a big BBQ/ Swimming party. We also watched the fireworks from the roof of my parents house. I almost drown in the early evening but did recover after my inhaler, lots of coughing/puking up water and taking the rest of the afternoon easy. The food was SOOOO good, I ate way too much and it was fun to have both families together.

Next, I turned 21...yipee! Here were some highlights:
-Steven bought me the cutest shoes ever for my birthday and he bought me a pink maglite.
-Steve came to work and took me out to lunch at Macayo's.
-My boss planned a surprise party for me with our department complete with DELICIOUS cake, balloons, streamers, EVERYTHING, even pretty crazy daisies (one of my faves)in a COOL vase
-The CEO of the company came up and wished me happy birthday and talked to me a bit!
-a few of my YW and my sister came over to have cake and watch chick flicks with me (Steve had previously committed to taking his Boy Scouts camping, so it was girls night)
All in all, it was a lot of fun!!

*Note: The shoes Steven picked out for me are the pink polka dot ones. He's pretty great.


For those of you who don't know, I'm daddy's girl THROUGH AND THROUGH...this may have something to do witht he fact that we share a birthday (or it's just that I'm very spoiled and he's always been WRAPPED around my finger...) Anyways, for our birthdays, my mom bought the four of us tickets to go see WICKED!!! Despite the close call of the lake trip for YW (that was supposed to be only morning and turned into an all day thing) and making it to the show, it was amazing. I've seen it before on San Diego Broadway, but Steven had never heard more than a few of the songs...needless to say he was hooked. One of the actresses (Galinda) accidentally threw her wand at part of it and it was HILLARIOUS to see the two leads try not to laugh and keep going. Good to know everyone is human!

*NOTE: I typed this post and then added pictures later...I realized the Wicked pictures are on my mom's computer...I'll have to find those!

Also in July, we said temporary goodbyes to our dear friends, the Drotars. They went to Pennsylvania for a few months for Raf's internship. We had a fun little get together with some other friends & we went to the temple with the four of us and Chris. We missed them like crazy and are glad they're back!!


In July, Steven turned 24!!! July is a month full of birthdays for us!! We love it :) We are three weeks short of 3 years apart. On Steve's actual birthday, we went mini golfing with our friend Tom and his girlfriend Chole (pronounced Show-lee) and her son Caleb. For family celebration, we went to Sardella's and had a cake that I attempted to decorate.



Also in July, probably the most important thing that happened for us was that Steven finally got his private pilot's license!!! He worked so hard and went through a lot of trials to get it, but he did it!! It's so good to feel progress when things start to feel like they are standing still. He felt ligit wearing his aviator sunglasses (birthday present) because he finally had his license. One down, several to go!!! (I'm not really sure how many he'll end up with)


In August, we discovered that our bed makes for a very cool fort. We decided to make a fort and watch a movie in there. While I showered, Steven decided we needed the complete surround sound office set up and snacks. I came out to quite the set-up!!
*Note: see all those cords, those were for the surround sound he hooked up.

My Beehives also threw a triple baby shower for 3 of the ladies in YW who are pregnant. I'm glad they're all finally showing (and one had her baby) because I was tired of getting asked if I was the pregnant one!! The girls did a great job...it was lots of work, but what party isn't?!

Clearly, we had a very busy summer! Stay tuned for the long overdue update-Fall version!

We love the Drotars!

A few months ago, some amazing people came into our lives...in February actually!! Rafael and Rikki Drotar. They are the coolest people since I don't know when. I guess Steven & Raf used to fly together at Turf, but weren't really friends. When we met them officially, we felt like we knew them from somewhere before...if it wasn't at Turf, it was the pre-existence!! Had we known them before we got married, they would have been in our wedding party!
I have the great privillege of working with Rikki in Young Womens. She is the Beehive Advisor and the Assistant Camp Director. I have never worked with someone so closely before! We have come leaps and bounds with the Beehives over the past few months! It is so nice being on the same page as someone you work with! Our lessons have become quite the spiritual experience that I look forward to every week!
Raf and Rikki are great!! We go on double dates often and the most common noise is laughing!!
Since before we were married, we've been praying for another couple to be friends with. A couple that I like both the wife and husband and so does Steven. For awhile, we had no one. Or at least no one that we could handle for more than a couple hours at a time. We were almost giving up hope and then the Drotars moved in! They are more than just friends, they're an answer to our prayers (apparently Heavenly Father was getting them married in order to answer our prayers!)
In some things, Rikki and are a lot alike and so are Steve & Raf. In other things, Raf and I are alike and Steven & Rikki are the same. I wish I could say in words how great we all get along. I can talk to Rikki or Raf for hours (but it's usually Rikki haha--Raf's attention span is shorter!) And Steve could talk to either for hours also! We have never had a couple that fit with us like this!
All in all, we love the Drotars! We are so thankful for having them in our lives! We have created life-long friends with them! We're hoping we have kids that get married so we can laugh with them through the eternities!