Relient K and Half Birthdays.

Last week I was driving in the car with Coleman and Jenn and we were listening to Relient K in the car. It was then that Coleman told me that we would be going to see them the next week. Listen, I totally freaked out, started crying, the whole picture. If you're wondering what it looked like just search "Parents surprise their kids with DisneyLand" into YouTube and you might get the general idea of what my face was like. My love for Relient K started when I was probably in 7th grade. My friends liked them, so I liked them in return. I didn't own many CD's growing up and they were one of the only bands who's music I owned. They were my first concert as well. I think the love I have for them now is just because they bring so many good memories of growing up. They were the soundtrack to my junior high and high school years. So when Cole surprised me with these tickets I was thrilled. Firstly because   it was Relient K. Secondly because he's celebrating my half birthday which is basically the number one best trait a husband can have. 

This is a picture of me and Kim when I saw them for the first time. 

Me and Cole got there pretty early and were able to get right in the front row. Cole even caught Relient K's drum stick for me, what a dreamboat. This is one of the perks of having a tall husband. They came with Driver friendly who are pretty new but I enjoyed them and we were able to meet them after the concert and they were all really cool. They also came with Motion City Soundtrack which was also great. I don't know very many of their songs but I definitely want to. 

I was so glad to run into Kim and Tucker at the concert. It was like the good ol' days. I caught myself thinking during the concert about how lucky I am that even though so much has changed in our lives we have kept the same friendship and I'm so grateful for that. Yay for good friends. 

Speaking of gratitude we are headed to Parma Idaho this week for Thanksgiving. It will be my first Thanksgiving spent not with my family but I am excited to spend it with the Hansens this year. This Thanksgiving is also Extra special because its Coleman's twenty fourth birthday!! And then Jenn's is the next day! (and then my Half birthday, just saying)  So heres to a week filled with lots of food, laughter and biiiirrrthdaysss, which are my favorite thing. YAY

This is Halloween.

Halloween was a lot of fun this year. Coleman, Jenn and I decided to throw a little get together at our house the day after Halloween. On Halloween night we were able to go to a little haunted house in a neighborhood because Parker was working in it. It was actually really fun. There were all little kids working in it so that almost made it a little creeper. I was especially glad because I would have been really sad if I didn't do ANYTHING on Halloween. Plus our house was kind of lame. We didn't get a single trick-or-treater. I mean hello kids! I have candy! and lots of it. That might sound a little creepy but for real. The light was on! I get that most people don't trick-or-treat on the busiest road in North Ogden, but I may or may not have had my hopes up just a little bit. I would have even appreciated a "too old teenager" at my door. 

Jenn was able to spend the night at our house halloween night and we went and got all of our decorations 1/2 off. Smartest move ever if you ask me! We got a fog machine for fifteen dollars and napkins and plates for fifty cents! We spent all day buying decorations and food for the party. Lucky for us we had a ton of decorations already. When Linda Mom came down last weekend she brought us a ton of lights and cute decorations. When we were shopping with her we found this super awesome Willy beard from Duck Dynasty, so Cole decided to be that this year. Our only struggle was finding him a wig. We finally found the perfect one the day of our party for only five dollars. We even stuffed a pillow in his shirt that looks pretty realistic.  I decided to go as the deer that Cole hit with his car last August. It was really fun to go as something gross this year. 

We covered up our washer and dryer and used those as a table for drinks. We made homemade rootbeer in a witches cauldron and it was soo good. It reminded me of Halloween when I was a kid. We were lucky because I swear that we found the last rootbeer extract in Ogden. Shout out to Smiths for not letting us down. 

We had the whole back room covered in spiderwebs and all of upstairs with orange and purple lights. I didn't get a picture of the upstairs at all. Partly because I didn't take a single picture the whole night. I totally stole these pictures from Jenn's facebook and I feel guilty about it but what are you going to do I guess.. Shout out to Jenn for being way better at taking pictures at parties. 

Turns out throwing parties at your own house is pretty exhausting. I have a newfound respect for all the people who have thrown parties that I've attended. I mean Jenn has people at her house basically every weekend. She's a rockstar and a half. Overall it was a really great night and I'm looking forward to more fun in this little old house that I've become rather fond of.

Sisters Do as Sisters Should

This weekend I was lucky enough to have my little sister spend the weekend with me and Cole. My Parents were in Cape Cod attending a wedding and Karlee was able to pick where she wanted to stay. Normally she would stay with one of her fun friends. This time, however, when my mom asked her where she wanted to stay she said ME! This was more than exciting for me because I've always said my siblings were much cooler than me. In fact, just last year I was at my parents house hanging out and I was singing and dancing in the bathroom with Karlee and she said, and I quote, "Ugggchhh Kier! you are SO annoying." Ok hi, she was twelve, and I was the annoying one? Me and Karlee have always gotten along really well but in this past year or so I have enjoyed her company more and more. She is so fun to be around and really easy going. I have always looked up to her because she is so athletic and kind and always has lots of fun. So I was glad she was able to stay with me.

The first night she was here her and I went and ran errands. We had to go to Costco to pick up some pictures. While we were digging around the bin hoping to spy my pictures someone stopped and said, "Hey we are looking for our photobook that we printed, we were just wondering if it was done yet or if you could go and look for it." These people clearly thought I worked there. I was straight up wearing a tribal print skirt and a hoodie. It could not have been more apparent that I didn't work there. I don't know what it is about me but I get asked if I work places all the time. I could be at target wearing lime green and jeans and someone will ask me, "Do you know if you have this size in the back?" I've even been asked if I worked at the DI before, sans red apron. Now thats a blow to the self esteem. But for real, I get asked a lot, so me and Karlee got a good laugh out of that. Then like they say, When in Rome. Well when in Costco, you sample stuff, thats a fact. At one point of our trip I conned Karlee into getting a second sample and the guy yelled "HEY!" she totally got busted. The best part about it is that when you are fourteen everything is about one hundred times more awkward than it is for a normal person. So she walked around the store bright red and awkwardly giggling for the next half hour.

On Saturday she was such a trooper she came out to help us get Jenn moved. She was really tough and helped a ton and didn't ever whine. Then that night her best friend Madi came over to hang out with us. Madi has always been like family. She was even one of my bridesmaids. When you get those two together there is no chance of not laughing. We decided to carve pumpkins together. I was lame and just carved an "H" with polka dots, Karlee did a "K" with the superman symbol around it and some stars. Good ol' madi took about ten minutes to decide what she was going to do and finally decided on Mike from Monsters Inc. It started out really great until she slipped and Mikes whole face fell off. We spent a good half hour trying to nail all the pieces back on and it at least worked for a couple minutes only to fail again. I would have to say her pumpkin is my favorite though. Every time I look at it on my porch I get a good laugh.

                                        

Next me and the girls did face masks because thats just what you do when you have a girls night. I had bought me and Karlees a few days before and then went back to the store that night to get madi's. They didn't have the same one as the ones I already had so I got a different kind. When we opened the package it was a literal mask, not a cream. It looked so creepy because it was skin colored and had holes for the eyes and mouth and nose. Madi made the best of it of course. Later we just squeezed some extra out of our pouches so Madi didn't have to wear the creepy one.

Today we just relaxed, we watched an old Mary Kate and Ashley movie with all three of us in our small bed. Cole is such a good sport. Me and Coleman woke up early to make a yummy waffle breakfast of which I thought it said to make the full box to make 8-10 waffles when it really said 8-10 people. So if anyone wants some waffles..... we have a few. It was such a good weekend. Karlee woke up this morning and changed, into my clothes. She came out of our bedroom this morning wearing a pair of my pants that were much to big for her and one of my hoodies. I used to hate the fact that whenever I got a new pair of shoes they were followed by her getting the same pair. Or every time I liked a new band it was her favorite as well. Now that I'm a little older its my favorite thing, and little does she know that I want to be HER when I grow up. I guess imitation is the best form of flattery. I love being a big sister to that girl. 

Living Room Tour

Last May when me and Cole got engaged we were on the market for somewhere to live. Neither of us had put much thought into it. But one Sunday my aunt Kari mentioned that the little farm house she had lived in five years prior was opening up. Then her eyes widened and she said, "KIER! you need to call the Hill's right now and rent from them." I called them that day and set up a time for when I could go look at the house. When we got there, our jaws dropped, not because of the beauty, but quite the opposite. 

Ok, looking back at this picture it doesn't look half as bad as it was. Let me explain, on the far right of the picture by the vent you can see a square that is lighter than the rest of the carpet. This is because the carpet was SO dirty that where ever there was a piece of furniture it was like, four shades lighter then the rest of the dirty carpet. We did a really terrible job of taking before pictures but trust me, this doesn't even begin to show how bad it was. Yellow walls, dirty carpet with wax and spray paint and gum, yes, gum stuck in it. See that brick wall, the renters before us tore up the brick flooring and hand painted every brick bright red instead of leaving it the beautiful natural brick it was before. The rug on the ground was stapled to the ground with only particle board beneath it. Like, I cant. Anyways, it was a lot of work. We replaced the carpet and linoleum and painted for what seemed like a month straight. Now, this little farm house is my favorite place and I couldn't imagine us anywhere else. 

We were so lucky! Most of the furniture we have has been thrifted and repainted. It has been my favorite thing to do in my spare time. I just did the herringbone coffee table this week and I'm seriously in love. Also that cool green lamp I found for 3 dollars! For realz! 3 dollars, nothing makes me happier than redoing something and making it beautiful, especially for cheap! 

Sorry for the blurry pictures. My mom was the lucky winner for that sweet t.v. stand. She found it for me at the DI and we repainted it navy blue and I love it! Don't mind the fact that I have a bunch of empty frames all over the place. I  was waiting to get my wedding pictures back and now... I've just been lazy. Don't judge me. But I really love my picture wall. We have a picture of each of our families up there and some fun other pictures. Also a number seven, my lucky number.  My other favorite thing in this picture is our awesome globe on a stand. Cole got it from his grandpa before he left for our mission and I think its one of my favorite things in our living room.

One of the first pieces of furniture I repainted was that coral end table by the couch. On the end table is a record player that I gave Cole for our first valentines day and its one of our favorite things. We were even able to use it at our wedding.  I love having a little mantle to decorate for holidays. Even if it is only two inches wide ha! Plus don't you love my burlap banner. My talented aunt Kari makes them and I think it adds a lot to my repainted brick wall. Also, take note of my christmas lights on the edge of the couch. I love coming home at night to some twinkly lights. I already know where I'm going to put my christmas tree! I plan on giving more house tours once I have finished some more projects up my sleeve. We love our little house. 

the new girl in town

I have been wanting to start a blog for quite sometime, and now that I'm married thats what I need to do.  You know, an average newlyweds to-do list.  As I was going to start this blog I realized that I already had not one, not two, but THREE blogs that I had started and only wrote maybe two posts tops. Of course they were immediately deleted after I rediscovered them. I'm a firm believer in "anything you say when you are 14-18 isn't really said by you." Because really, the greasy banged sixteen year old Kiersten really had a lot of embarrassing things to say.

really though, i I had a mullet. 

The main reason I wanted to start it was that I was inspired by my cute sister-in-law Jenn Hansen.  Her blog has been my favorite thing to read ever since I met Cole. If you ever need to pass some time go read her posts. I'm particularly fond of her Wednesday Posts because she has been writing down hysterical quotes for years now. Every time I read them I cry from laughing. It is so great to be able to go back and see all the fun times we have had. It really showed me that having a blog can really document times that you would likely forget if you didn't have it written down. I'm an avid journal writer so I knew a blog would be right up my alley. Also we want our favorite families in Maryland and Idaho to be able to keep up to date with our life!

I married my best friend on September 7th, 2013. I feel like my life is on fast forward now a days. Has it really been over a month since I've been married? We have been loving living in our little house in North Ogden. It was built in 1855 and we have been able to really make it our own over the summer and now. Besides that we are soaking up every second of fall we can get. Haunted Houses, changing leaves, and cool weather. I am going to try my hardest to keep up on this blog!

Until next time!