12 Things in 12 Months

This past week Stefan and I celebrated our one year anniversary. I married young, and I had A LOT to learn when I got married.  I still am learning everyday, but I have decided to write this post for anyone going to get married.  It is 12 things I have learned in the first 12 months I have been married. I have learned a lot more than these 12 things but here are a few big ones!

1. One of the first things I learned was that birth control makes you a crazy person.  It's okay, it happens to the best of us… Sometimes you cry and you don't know why! (husbands- it is okay, they do love you and they aren't completely crazy, it's a normal reaction, sometimes just let us cry and have our moment and we will feel better.)
2. Some of the best advice that I got when we got married and something my parents were always examples to me about is never talking bad about your spouse to ANYONE, not even your mom. When you talk negative or complain to anyone about your husband it makes you think negatively.  Sometimes, other people egg you on even more.  Stefan and I have made it a point to always just talk to each other if we are having any problems with the other person. It always brings us closer together and helps us grow as one.
3. Food goes bad REALLY easy. Every time I turn around my leftovers are moldy, milk is sour, apples are squishy and my potatoes have grown limbs on them! Bomans Grocery Store should give me a frequent shopper discount because I feel like I have to go everyday!
4. Sometimes it is okay to have cereal for dinner.  You can't be a perfect wife, as much as you think you can.  Somedays life gets crazy and you don't make dinner… you're not a bad wife it happens to everyone! Your friends might post their amazing dinners that they made on instagram… but remember that people only post the good things they do!
5. Marriage isn't for you. It is not about you. Marriage is about the person you married. I read this article awhile back and I couldn't have put it better myself. Marriage is all about being selfless, about serving and being there for your spouse. In the article it says "No, a true marriage (and true love) is never about you. It's about the person you love--their wants, their needs, their hopes, and their dreams. Selfishness demands, "What's in it for me?" while Love asks, "What can I give?"  You can read the article here > Marriage isn't for you
6. Realize what it worth fighting about.  You may WILL disagree on things. You were raised differently and you will see things differently. But take into consideration what is worth causing a fight about. DON'T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF.  I grew up in a home where I never once saw my parents fight, they both just talked things through and didn't ever make a fuss about things that don't matter. Is it always easy? No. But it will be worth it! Sometimes I just have to keep my mouth shut and a little while later I will completely forget about it or realize it wasn't worth fighting about.
7. Keep Heavenly Father in your relationship.
8. Pray together and Pray for your spouse.  This is some of the best advice we got from our singles ward bishop. Every time you pray together, thank Heavenly Father for something about your husband that day, big or small, something that you noticed. It is good to hear the things our spouse is grateful for us for doing as well as for us to take a moment and notice what they are doing.
9. You will be tempted to buy a dog now that you are a family…. Don't do it! Especially if you live in an apartment! Haha don't get me wrong, I love my dog! But puppies hold you back and you can't always do as much when you have them.  Now that our dog has gotten a little older it is a lot easier, but when she was a puppy it was a pain in the butt! I love her now… but for awhile there I wish I waited longer to get her.
9b. Marriage makes you baby hungry.  I don't know what it is, but the second I got married I was ready to be a mom. Although I am far from ready, every baby we see Stefan has to deal with my puppy dog eyes asking if we can have one. Then it goes back to my #9 (which is why this is an extension of #9) if I thought a puppy was hard… I shouldn't even think about a baby!!
10. You become your own family.  All your decisions now are between you and your spouse. Not you and your parents. This one was a hard thing for me because I am so close to my parents and I want their opinion on everything.  But when it boils down to it, Stefan and I have to make our decisions between us, not based on anyone else.
11. Money, money, money. Something that I think every couple deals with.  I didn't have the best concept of money when I got married… so this was definitely a lifestyle changer for me. I am still learning to budget and save…. but sharing our bank account has helped us a lot because it is our money not just his or mine. Which helps me think more before I buy!
12. You will never be perfect! It is impossible to be the perfect wife, although I still beat myself up about it sometimes.  I have had to come to the conclusion that I can't do it all. If somedays the house is a disaster and we have to eat fast food, it isn't going to kill us. Sometimes bad days just happen. Don't compare yourself to the people around you, because what you see on the outside isn't the whole story. Be happy in where you are and what you are learning from it.

Marriage really has been the best thing in the world for me.  We have so much fun together and I am so happy that I found Stefan when I did. We had an amazing year and I know we will have many more to come. I know we will have many trials ahead of us but I am grateful I don't have to face them alone.  One year down, eternity to go!

Life Lately

I have been a little MIA here on the blog… So here is a little catch up!  A few months ago I got put into Young Women's in my ward.  I have loved it! In June, I had the chance to go to girls camp and it was awesome!! We went down to Fairview, by Manti, for our girls camp. The young women's president's parents live down there with tons of property that we stayed on.  It was awesome. Because we were so close to Manti, we were able to do baptisms at the temple and attend the Manti Pageant and do service at the temple.

Another day we went to Pallasades lake and swam and kayaked and then all had a chalk fight! Here are the leaders.

I am so grateful for my calling and for the wonderful girls I serve with. Our theme was "Get it, got it, good." "IT" being our individual testimony.  

A few weeks later was the fourth of July! 

(for some reason I didn't take any pictures… so all fourth of July pictures I stole from Carly's blog)

Stefan spent the morning fishing with his dad, and I went to the Kaysville parade with my mom, Carly and these four cute little girls!

We did dinner at Oakridge with Stef's fam… sorry no pictures… and then did fireworks with my family!

A few weeks later, Stefan and I went to one of my very favorite places! My aunt Cheryls cabin! It is a REAL cabin, no electricity, no cell service, just you and nature. It is beautiful up there and so much fun. Sadly, my family was going the week after and Stef and I weren't going to be able to go so my cute aunt let us come early just by ourselves. I missed my family, but still so happy we could go.  They do have quite a few added amenities, Cheryl cooks everything on a wood burning stove and there are propane lights and flushing toilets…What else do you really need??

We did some fishing

My uncle Stan and Stef gutting fish.. yuck

The Cabin

We have had an awesome summer so far! Lots to catch up about, but here were just a few things! I've been hanging with the family a lot while Stefan's working, young women's, spending time at cherry hill, going to drive ins, rodeos, all sorts of swimming, golfing and walking our cute dog! I love my little family!

Walking around the ponds at ponds park 

Lake Powell 2014

My parents have a time share on a houseboat in June every year.  It is the vacation my whole family talks about all year round and everyone always tries to make it.  This year all 19 Crosland's made it as well as our adopted mom Sandy (one of my parents good friends who is basically family). I didn't take many pictures this year. But I will share with you what I have. My cute sister Amy and her husband were in charge this year and we did a Survivor theme.  We were broken into teams and all got buffs in our colors and we had survivor activities everyday. It was so much fun! It was a little big different of a trip because of the 8 grandchildren all under 7. But we still had an awesome time!

Stef and I 

Iceberg Canyon

These are our awesome Survivor flags!!

Sexy man taking selfies

An early morning wake boarding run and I was a little tired… 

Cody!

Callie Goose

Tubing! Callie fell asleep every time she got on the tube and would almost fall off! Then when you would take her off she would cry because she wanted to tube!

This was one of the many trips to costco before we left! When we bought all the stuff we forgot we had to somehow get it home.. 

The Accolade

Stefan had to go home two days early and be responsible and go to work… Him and Kevin both left early and we missed them! 

Me and Clara Mae 

Us and all the grandkids!

We had an awesome time!! Thanks to my parents for taking us and Amy and Luke for planning the activities.  We had a blast!!! Until next year. 

DIY Door Wreath!

I saw a few pictures of adorable burlap ribbon door wreaths on Pinterest and on Etsy. All the super cute ones were ones I had to buy on Etsy for around $70 each… and that just wasn't happening. Since I couldn't find any type of tutorial that would make it look like I wanted on Pinterest...I took matters into my own hands.

These were my inspirations

So naturally I headed over to Hobby Lobby and I got all my ribbon on sale for 50% off and I bought a large wire wreath loop and my letter! 

After A LONG TIME I got as close as I could… and here was my final product!

It's not exactly the same as you can tell but I'm still really excited about it and so I had to share it with you all.  Besides the fact that a moth family has made their home in my wreath and every time I open the front door they all fly around me like crazy, I have really liked it! 

The Painting Adventure

A few weeks ago we underwent the project of painting our 'great room' in our house.  This was the first time I have ever painted a house in my life.  So for all those people like me who have never painted before… I learned a lot so here is my advice.

These are my before pictures 

         
             

Advice number 1:

Buy pizza because painting when you're hungry is a really bad idea.

#2 Put tinfoil inside your paint trays so you don't have to clean them out!

Advice #3: Get a REALLY helpful husband:)

Advice 4: No need to fix nail holes… I just filled them in with bar soap and painted over the top 

**Disclosure: I read this on pinterest and it worked awesome for our walls because they have the hideous texture on them. But I don't know how it will hold up but so far so good. -So take this advice for what it's worth.**

Advice #5: I don't have a picture but you probably won't be able to paint it all in one day so put your brushes in the fridge overnight when you are done for the day so you don't have to clean them out and they stay wet and ready to go the next day!

Advice #6: Again, make sure you have a really helpful husband. :)

ADVICE #7: My best advice I have to give… HIRE IT DONE. Seriously it was awful and it doesn't look very good.  But it was an adventure for us!

Here is the final product… Not the best picture ever but you get the point. Things around here are starting to look more like us! 

A great weekend!

Early last Thursday morning, my mom, Amy and I headed down to Provo to the annual Women's Conference.  What an amazing experience.  I love going down there every year and getting some spiritual enlightenment. We had such a great time and I am so happy that I went.  We slept over Thursday night and were in classes all day thursday and friday!

After women's conference, Stefan and I headed down to Vegas and St. George for the weekend with our good friends Scott and Christine.  We drove straight to Vegas after Stefan's work and pulled into Vegas at 1am.  We had a great time down there. It was so warm! We got some shopping in, and some laying by the pool, despite the tan I didn't get.  

When we were in Vegas we went to the Jabbawockees. When we got tickets they were second to last row, when we sat down a guy that works there came up to us and told us he could get us some better seats.  He moved us to the front row in the center… Heck yes! We were so excited.  During the performance, the jabbawockees pulled Stefan and I onto the stage with them! It was a blast. :)

The reason for the trip was for Christine's birthday! So Sunday we went to St. George and stayed there and Scott and Stefan made us dinner and we bought a cake and celebrated!

Happy 24th Birthday Christine!!