2012......A Year Gone By!

Well......so I am not the best blogger. I talk to people and they say "you never post anything on facebook" or "you should start a blog so we know what is going on in your lives!" as if that equaled "you both have not done anything your first year of marriage!" 2012 has definitely been the most wonderful year....and we have packed in a ton in our first year! Here is the lowdown!

January.

• We had a wonderful wedding celebration, beginning with an afternoon sealing in the temple, followed by family pictures, a nice dinner in the Empire Room at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building (family toasts, music, really good food that we were too nervous to remember, and blissful happiness about the fact we were married and surrounded by wonderful friends and family), a stay at the Grand America, a Carmel Honeymoon, and a reception at the Salt Lake Hardware building (one of our favorite memories was the mini cupcakes......mmmm delicious.....and of course seeing wonderful friends and family.
• gotta elaborate on our adventure to Carmel. Carmel is BEAUTIFUL!!! We stayed at a bed and breakfast cottage minutes away from the ocean. We ate like kings at the cutest cafes and restaurants, took walks on the beach, hiked the coast, went down to Big Sur and ate at the most wonderful restaurant Napenthes, snuck up to the Pebble beach golf coarse, went on the 17 Mile Drive, and drove in a Bright red Mustang. Whenever we would say the word Mustang, it would come out Mustaaaaaaannnnnnggggg. honeymoon was awesome!
• We moved into our first apartment on 2011 Pheasant Way. Aunt Annette and Uncle David bought the house, Missy and Spenc rent the upstairs, we are down stairs. It was an awesome first apartment! We have enjoyed cooking together, chilling and watching movies, having friends over, hanging out with Missy, Spenc and Ceci, and just havin a blast. We love and miss that apartment!

February

• busy season at Grant Thornton begins....wah wah. Andrew unfortunately had to be out of town most of the month on his audits, but he flew me up to Sun Valley for a weekend! We went to good restaurants and went snowshoeing up near Galena. Andrew surprised be for our Valentines celebration by taking us up in a gondala to a restaurant at the top of the ski resort. Way fun.
• On actual Valentines day, one of my converts from my mission, Scott Hipps, got sealed to his sweetheart Audrey in the Salt Lake Temple. It was a wonderful day and we are very happy for them!

March

• Andy starts to wrap up busy season!!!!!Yay! and warmer weather......huge plus for the Andy man! 

• I put on my BFA Final Show at BYU. It was a show about my Grandpa Choules and the memories we have shared together. I painted watercolors of the rooms where we spent time  together. It was a great experience. I have loved the art program at BYU and all I have learned there!

April

• Busy season is over!!!!!! More time to chill with my sweet man!!
• I graduate from BYU!!!!! Thank you Sunny, Fidalis, Joe, Peter, and all my other professors! Best program ever.
• We road tripped to St. George with my London Ladies and Spouses--Katy and Clint, Brooke, Lauren, and Carly and Chase. We stayed at Katy's Grandma's condo....which is where High School musical 2 was filmed.......pretty cool. Fun trip!

May

• We tended uncle Marc and Aunt Jennie's kids, Chelsea, Cassidy, Caroline and Max. Ten days of no parents and lotsa fun with Beef and Andy!
• did an art show with my friend Abbey Palmer at the Provo library. It was a collaboration of paintings of historic Provo houses.

June

• LAKE POWELL WITH THE BROWNS!!!!!! We got to spend Andrew's 30th birthday at his favorite place on earth, good ol' Lake Powell. Byron and Jennifer got a few hotel rooms in Paige and we spent a few days boating and playing on the beach. We had a lot of fun! Highlights: playing ultimate frisbee in the water, waterskiing, and just relaxing! the Browns know how to party! Thank you Byron and Jennifer!
• Andrew turned 30 on June 3rd! we celebrated with the Browns in Powell, with my family, and then with Andrews friends Brandon and Tiff, Mason and Ashley, and Tyler and Lexi. It was awesome!
• We road tripped to California!!!!!! We realized that by the end of the trip, we had traveled over 2500 miles. Woof! But we had a ton of fun. we started in Sun Valley, where Andrew had a meeting....and where we ate at the Sawtooth Club....our favorite restaurant. We then went to Bend OR where we stayed with Traci and Chad Stephenson and their kids. Andrew met Chad and Traci on his mission, and they have become great friends over the years! They spoiled us by feeding us and showing us all the sites in Bend. we loved seeing the forests and walking through town. We love Bend, and we love the Stephensons! We then went to Crater Lake, stayed at the econolodge (hehehehehe), camped in the Redwoods, enjoyed driving Highway 1, stopped in Mendocino and walked around town and the coast, and then made our way down to Oakland to see my mission! We stayed with the Whitbecks, an amazing couple I taught on my mission. We talked with them, walked through Walnut Creek, had a campfire with our dear friends the Holts, and then went to San francisco to stay with Matthew and Amy Larson, two of our best friends from home. They showed us the city, complete with ice cream sundaes at Ghiridelli Square and amazing pizza at Tony's! Our last day, we went up to the Oakland Temple to see the Visitor's Center. Brought back a lot of good memories! We then said goodbye to the Whitbecks and headed home. It was awesome seeing wonderful friends and seeing amazing places, but our favorite part of the trip was just being together; talking, laughing, and making memories. Cali Road trip with Andy=pure awesomeness.

July

• 4th of July consisted of awesome ward breakfast, a nap on the lawn, and driving down to Lindon to see Andrew's brother and sister-in-law, Nate and Alissa and their kids and all the siblings at Byron and Jennifers. We ended the day with a BBQ at my folks with all the Pinnocks, a panoramic picture of the whole fam, and fireworks in Holladay! (Dad got to help!)
• Let's just say that summer is filled with nice relaxing days in the sun, having Lone Star tacos takeout at the park, going boating, and having sunday dinners outside on the lawn! And I must say....Andrew does great grilling!
• The month ended with the Pinnock Family Trip to Jackson Hole! We stayed in a condo in Teton Village and had a party! We drove up through Yellowstone National Park, Teton National Park, saw Old Faithful and A LOT of bison (bison, not buffalo--there is a difference--according to Mr. Park Ranger ;). We took a day and went boating on Jackson Lake. Andrew is the best hubby, he was on boat control! We had a great time watching the Summer Olympics at night, going to downtown Jackson, and chilling in the condo. The trip ended with going to see Mom's cousin Heidi in Tetonia, near where Grandpa Choules grew up. Heidi and her family live in a beautiful home and spoiled us! We rode four wheelers, had a dutch oven dinner with huckleberry shakes, and rode one of their horses. We played a great game of touch football and enjoyed talking with Heidi, her hubby Gary, and their daughter Paige. Great trip!

August

• I can't remember specifics of this month.....
• We love summer though! It was nice to just relax and for Andrew to enjoy some slow time at work. Happyday!