Where has time gone?!

Oh my goodness. I completely forgot that I even had this blog! I was reminded when I wanted to read my nephew and my sis-in-laws blogs and I had to sign in to my OWN blog. I honestly don't even remember what I wrote about last post but I know that it was a long time ago. Anyway, since my sister-in-law and her sweet family moved over seas and will be gone for two years, or more, I thought it would be fun to start it up again so we can keep in contact this way too. It is amazing how much technology has grown over the years. Thank goodness for that because even with them being over seas, we are still able to text and FaceTime anytime we want, as long as they are awake at the same time we are. 
So here I am, writing on this blog again. We went from just being two newly married people to a family of 4 in a matter of 4 years. Landon and I have two very handsome boys, if I do say so myself. Our oldest will be 3 at the end of August and our youngest will be 7 months in just a few days. I look at them every day and am still blown away that they are my children. I am a mother of two boys! When did that happen?! I am so extremely blessed to have them in my life too. Seriously, the Lord has blessed me so much. I have a husband who cares about us so much and works hard every day to provide for us. We have a roof over our head and food to eat. We have our education, and our children will be blessed to have theirs as well. We live in a free country. I know that our country is going through a lot of scary things right now with our government, but we still have more freedom than some other countries do. I don't know how much longer we will, with the way things are happening, but we do now and we should be so thankful for that. I am able to practice my freedom of religion and be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am able to go and do temple ordinances at my free will and feel enriched with the Holy Ghost. That is a blessing, if not a miracle, that we get to do that, that I get to do that.
As our oldest gets older, we are starting to help him learn about all these things too. Yes, he is only 2, but he knows what the flag of our country looks like and gets so excited every single time he sees one. He knows how to pray to his Heavenly Father and thank him for his family, for his food, and most importantly, our Savior Jesus Christ. He knows Jesus and will point him out in every photo that he sees with HIM in it. The other day he was running a high fever all day and so my husband gave him a blessing. I told our son what daddy was going to do and he sat so still, with his arms reverently folded, and after the blessing told his daddy "thank you." He may only be 2, but I think he subconsciously know that his Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ are so close to him and blessing him. He tells me numerous times that Jesus will protect him from monsters and that He loves him. Monsters are a big thing right now in his world. No matter how many times I tell him they aren't real he still believes there is a monster in the workout room. Our son has such a sweet, sincere heart that I don't recognize enough on a daily basis. 
Let me tell you, it is hard being a mother, for me at least. How do I balance my time between a very needy 2 year old, an also very needy 6 month old, myself, cleaning the house, doing laundry, making food for everyone.. It just sometimes seems completely impossible. How do other mothers do it? My mother always tells me to take one day at a time. And I do, but even then it seems near impossible. But when I take the time to get on my knees, and ask our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for help because I can't do it all, I seem to get a little boost. He knows us in our time of need. He is there for us and will help us. 
I know this seems like a bunch of babble because, well it is. I have just been feeling that lately and I wanted to get it out. I want people to know that I truly am thankful for the life that I am living, with all the hardships and everything. I know that my Savior loves me and my family and is watching over us and guiding us. I know He lives and loves us. We are currently in the process of finding a job. My husband graduated with his Bachelors in Marketing from UVU at the end of April. It was such a proud moment for me to see him walk across that stage and know that we did it, together. We will find the right job, soon, and it will be the right fit for our family. Anyway, enough of my rambling. I will try my hardest to write more frequently and be a part of this blogging world. Tata for now!

It has been too long...

Boy I am really bad at this blog thing. You would think I would have PLENTY of time on my hands to blog...and yet I somehow forget everyday. Anyway, I would try and fill you all in on everything that has been happening but I fear I would be at this computer ALL day if I did so.. I will just do a brief update on what has been happening in this Kingston household.

On December 28th, Landon and I found out something extremely exciting...we are expecting to have a little one in our home September 7th! Yup, that means that I am pregnant! We were trying, so it wasn't a accident or anything like that. It was something we both were wanting and we felt it was time to start trying. I stopped taking my birth control November 1st...so that just shows that it was time since it happened so quickly! Right now, I am 9 weeks along and I am the happiest I have ever been! Anyway, we told our families on New Years Eve. Well, we wanted to wait longer but my mom found out because she can read me like a book..even over the phone. She could tell there was something I wasn't saying and she guessed it! How do mom's do that!? I guess I will soon learn. So since my family knew, we felt it was only appropriate to tell Landon's family as well. I had bought a cheesecake and had the people at the store write on the top, "Happy New Year! From, Parents-to-be 2010." Mom Kingston took, what felt like, FOREVER to notice that there was something written on the cheesecake. She was trying to read it backwards, since she was on the other side of the counter, and couldn't quite make it out so she asked us what it said. We just said, "Go look" and as soon as she read it she started screaming and crying. Haha it was such a fun time to see all there expressions. We weren't going to tell anybody else for a while but one Sunday, I believe it was the 10th of January, Mom and Dad Kingston were speaking in church so Landon and I went up to hear them. Relief Society was about to start and I was getting really hungry so I asked Landon to go and grab some crackers from the car. As soon as Donna Halliday, a fabulous lady from Landon's home ward, saw me eating Saltines, she asked if I had some good news to share...because of SALTINES! People are just way to clever. By that point I just didn't want to try and keep anything in any longer so we told our close friends and then posted it on facebook for everyone to see. It is still crazy to think that I am pregnant! However, I have been feeling the effects of pregnancy...whoever thought of the name morning sickness obviously never experienced it because it isn't just in the morning. I have it all day long. Thankfully it has calmed down quite a bit so I haven't been as sick as other people.

Landon was asked to go to California for a kick off convention for his work. I was so proud of him because he has only been in his new position for 4 months now, but three months when he was asked to go. It was in the middle of January. Anyway, they are finally noticing his hard work. We are so blessed to have this job. They really treat their employees with lots of care and respect. What a blessing to have a job like that, especially during this bad economic time. Landon had his birthday a couple days ago! It was a lot of fun! We went to Rib City with some of our close friends, Andrew and Sophie and their little one Kennedy, and with Natalie and her whole family! It was so fun to have loved ones with us on his special day! For his birthday I bought him concert tickets to go see Brian Regan in March. We are really excited to go, especially me because I have never seen him in concert before. Landon just loves watching him because he is so funny so I know we will have a great time.

Then, yesterday was the best day of my life so far. I was able to go to the doctor for our first visit and see and hear the baby's heartbeat! As soon as the nurse put the wand on my belly and we got a clear picture of our little gummy bear, it started waving its arms around like it was waving at us! It was so incredible! There is a baby, OUR baby, growing inside of me! The heartbeat was so fast. It is just amazing to think that this is happening. It was an even more assurance to me that there is a loving Heavenly Father who has blessed our lives with this special spirit for us to raise here on earth. I just can't wait to hold he/she in my arms and kiss every finger and every toe and the cute nose and everything...I am so excited! Of course I cried a little as soon as I saw it. That is one negative thing about being pregnant...you are SO emotional! Everything these days seems to make me cry and I just know it is going to get worse. I am already an emotional person but it seems like it is 10 times worse! haha oh well. It is all worth it in the end.

One other thing that happened is that I withdrew from school just a few days after it started. My school schedule was really crazy. I would have been doing 4 research papers, a ton of reflection papers, as well as reading a ton and working and trying to be a wife and an expectant mother. Landon felt it would probably be healthier for me and for the baby if I withdrew and didn't have that much stress to deal with, especially during my first trimester. At first I was completely against the idea. I felt like I would be giving up on something and I never give up. But, after much prayer and after going to the temple, I felt the same thing that Landon did. So, on January 13th, I officially withdrew from UVU. I have had more time on my hands then I can deal with! I am not working that much, due to being low on hours, so I find myself sitting at home on facebook WAY to much. I can only clean the house so many times and do laundry so many times. I get really bored. But I feel as if I need to be doing something more. I need to find a talent that I can pick up so I can become a better person and a better wife and soon-to-be mom. It is just getting the motivation of doing so. I have never been so tired in my life then I am now. I guess it is a good thing I am not in school because I wouldn't have any energy to do any of the homework or anything like that because of this first trimester. It has definately been an adventure, but it has been a really fun adventure. I can't wait to see what else the Lord has instore for us! I promise I will write again a lot sooner then last time! More to come!

It has been over a month since I have blogged and so much has been happening that I am sad I haven't kept up with it. I don't even really know where to start..I guess I will just summarize what all has happened and hope that it all comes out.
The last time I blogged, we were starting out school fall break. Landon and I both just worked and tried to catch up on some homework... we weren't very successful at the homework part. On the 24th of October, BYU Played against TCU and it was my first BYU football game to go to. Unfortunately, they lost pretty bad, but it was still fun to go and stand with my husband at the game. We were freezing but when you are watching football, who cares how cold it is outside! (Although if it was snowing I know I would have probably been shivering and begging with Landon so we could leave) On Sunday, the 25th, we had a wonderful night with our good friends Andrew and Sophie and there little baby girl Kennedy. We had them over and ater brinner (breakfast for dinner). There was so much food and it was delicious! After we ate we just played games, like usual, and really had a good time. On the 30th of October, our ward had a chili cookoff. I made a chili my mom always made when I was home and my mother-in-laws cornbread. Both are delicious, but I didn't win anything. It didn't really bother me though because I had a really fun time making them both and I was able to learn a new recipe! For halloween, we went to the temple after I got off work, and that was really it. We didn't really do anything exciting like handout candy or dress up or go to parties. We just enjoyed each others company in the temple and then came home. On November 6, Landon and I had our friends Clayton and Anna over for a double date night! We made homemade pizza and then went to Nicklecade and just had a blast! It was so much fun to hang out with them. Then that next week, on Saturday the 14th, my best friend Paige flew into town. She came to visit and just take a week off from her life in Texas. It was so good to see her. On the 19th, Landon and I and Paige all flew down to Texas. My other best friend Charlotte got married on the 21st of November so we were flying down for her wedding. It was so good to see my family and be with them. We drove down to Houston, where Charlotte lives and was getting married, on Friday and then went to her sealing Saturday morning and her reception that night. We had to drive back to Denton Saturday night because we were having a huge dinner Sunday for my grandma's birthday and my sister-in-law's birthday. It was also like a mini thanksgiving since Landon and I won't be there this year. Then Landon and I flew back late Sunday night and that was so hard. I miss my family so much and I hate saying goodbye. I have such a wonderful new family here, but I still miss my family back home. Anyway, The newest news was that Landon and I went and saw the movie New Moon yesterday. His work rented out a theatre that was showing it and bought everybody at work two tickets and a giftcard for popcorn and a drink. It was so much fun! We had a great time and I really liked the movie. It was much better then the first one.
Thanksgiving is in two days and I am so excited! I get to bring the mashed potatoes this year and it is going to be a lot of work. I think we finally decided that I need to get a 15 pound bag of medium sized potatoes and cook them all! I don't know if I have a bowl big enough to put the finished product in! It is going to be a lot of work but I am really excited for it because I LOVE mashed potatoes! I hope they turn out okay. I am also going to be making a family recipe pie. I hope that one turns out just as good as my grandma's..if it even comes close to that! We shall see! I will definately blog after Thanksgiving!

The joy of Fall

October has been a month full of surprises. It started out with us being able to enjoy General Conference and spend time with some of our family members. Then, later in that first week, I had the wonderful opportunity to be pulled over by a woman Provo cop and was given a ticket. I don't think I am supposed to drive in Utah... I was supposedly speeding through one of the 2 school zones that are within 50 feet of each other. I was not a happy camper. I don't know if I talked about this in the other post or what, but Landon was promoted at his work and we were both extremely happy! That means we will now have health insurance. WOO HOO! So we thought things were looking up when we found that out and knew that he would be starting soon. School bombarded both of us and we haven't had time to even think about sleeping! It was crazy. Anyway, things were slowing down a bit and we were able to go and watch Mom and dad's house in Highland while they went out of town. That was pretty fun because we were able to have a ton of people over. We got back on Monday, only to find in the mail that my parking ticket I got at school was not waved and we have to pay for that too. I have traffic school this Saturday and it was not cheap to pay for that either. Like I said, I don't think I am supposed to drive in Utah. I am really hoping that the rest of this month will get much much better.

So we had people over while we were watching the house and boy it was fun! On Friday night, we had Landon's mission buddies over for an Argentine night. Landon's trainer, Owen, married a wonderful Argentine woman and she was just recently able to come to the states. When we went to Landon's mission reunion the weekend of conference, we were able to meet her and catch up with some of his other mission buddies. They thought it would be really awesome if Owen's wife, her name is Amanda, would cook some of their favorite Argentine dishes for them. It was empanadas and guiso. Oh man, that stuff was so so good, but extremely fattening! I was watching her cook that and I just knew somebody was going to have a heart attack. They use so much oil and salt! But hey, it was really good. We were also drinking mate all night as well..by the end of the night I was so full, and I felt sick to my stomach. The next day I didn't want to even think about eating. Saturday, we had the wonderful blessing of going to the Salt Lake Temple and doing an endowment session with one of my EFY girls from last year. She is getting married this weekend and wanted us there for her endowment session. I was so proud of her and it was so beautiful in the temple. It made such a good night. Sunday we made dinner and had Andrew, Sophie, and their adorable little girl Kennedy over. After dinner we went driving through the canyon and then played games afterward. The canyon was so beautiful! I wish I would have known to go two weeks ago because that's when the colors are magnificent. It was still beautiful but I wanted to see more colors. It was a busy weekend but it was really fun.

This week has been nothing but work and school. Landon started his job this week. So far, I think he likes it. He hasn't complained. I was so busy with school! Thank goodness for this fall break right now. We don't have school today or tomorrow. I can't believe it is already October. This year has some by so fast it is unbelievable. Tonight we are going back up in the canyon and having tinfoil dinners with Andrew and Sophie. I am going to freeze, but it will be fun!

Here are some pictures from the Argentine night and from the canyon drive we took on Sunday.

Weeks of fun!

Wow I have been a blog slacker. Our weeks have been super busy though! On Monday, the 21st, Landon just worked and I was working at home like crazy trying to cram for my first biology test that I had to take that week. We both worked on the 22nd, and it was a really long day. We were completely worn out. Wednesday we both worked, except I had to help set up sale at work that night and we didn't get out of there until 12. I was so incredibly tired and I hated not seeing my husband for such a long time. Thursday we both worked again. Amongst all the working, let me remind you that we were also going to school. I took my biology test thursday morning before I went to work. I am proud to say that I made a 97 on my test! Well I technically made an 87 but she gave the class a 10 pt. curve so my grade was a 97. I was so happy. I didn't really get to study as much as I wanted to so that grade really suprised me. In 3 days, I had 21 hours at work. By Friday I was completely worn out. Thank goodness it was my birthday on Friday, the 25th, so I didn't have to work. I am now 21 years old. That whole day was so special for me. I completely skipped all my classes, just because I felt like it, and was with my husband ALL day. I was able to sit and chat with one of my good friends from Denton who moved here this last summer and that was so much fun to catch up. Then Landon and I went to the Mt. Timpanogas temple with his parents and aunt and uncle to do some family sealings. That was so special and just really set the mood for my birthday. After the temple, Landon took me to The Cheesecake Factory up in Salt Lake for dinner!We were able to sit outside which made it really nice because it wasn't so noisy and the weather was so nice and cool!
Landon thought it would be cool to order this ENORMOUS burger...and he ate it all!

They came out and sang to me for my birthday with the cheesecake that I ordered. It was wild blueberry with white chocolate mousse ontop..you definately need to try it! Landon got the Snickers cheesecake and that was really good too.

As we were leaving, we had this beautiful sunset! I couldn't get a good picture because we were in the car, but it was so wonderful. I just love the sunsets here. After our dinner, we went back to our apartment and watched 17 Again. It was an interesting movie...let's just say that. On Saturday, the 26th, we had the Relief Society Broadcast. I went with Alyssa, my sis-in-law, mom kingston and Aunt Carolyn up to the conference center for the broadcast and had such a wonderful time.

Alyssa and I didn't plan this one at all...it just happened that we were matching!

Sunday was so much fun. Landon and I went to church and then went to the parent's house to have my birthday dinner. Mom kingston made this yellow cake with chocolate icing and her famous Cafe Rio salads. They are so good! Anyway, right when we were getting ready to bring the cake in, Mom kingston realized that she doesn't have any candles. Well Chad and Alyssa, my sibling-in-laws, got really creative and this is what they came up with:haha talk about creative! It was pretty tough to blow out too! ha

The next week was just another week of school and work and less time together. The coolest part of this week had to do with Landon and his job. First, he won tickets to the Jazz game on Thursday night. They were playing the Nuggets.

We got to sit 2nd row and even have dinner before hand.

It was all paid for, which made it even more fun! We even got Kenyon Martin to pose for us. He is from the Nuggets. We were sitting right behind them. We had a really great time. Then, on Friday, Landon found out that he got the promotion that he applied for! He will be working full time now, will be getting a pay raise, and will also be able to get benifits, meaning we will have health insurance! I am so happy and proud of him! He has worked so hard and definately deserves this position. It will be tough though having to work full time and go to school full time but I know we will both manage and he will do just fine.

This weekend was just so amazing. We had conference! From Saturday on we were at the parent's house. We watched conference on their big screen all Saturday and today, with the joy of being with the family. Lenae and Nate and the girls came down for this weekend so we were able to enjoy their company and spend time with them. We had girls night Saturday night and went out to eat at Texas Roadhouse...that's my kind of place! I loved being able to be with part of my family during such a spiritual weekend.

Landon and I are home now and feeling a little stressed about this next week. However, I know that we will be able to get through it if we manage our time wisely and do what we are supposed to do spiritually before anything else. Our Heavenly Father has blessed us in so many ways and we are indeed very grateful! Well the bed is calling my name. I will try and not be such a blog slacker this next week...lets see if that will really happen..

Time for Fall!

Oh the fall season is finally here! I woke up this morning, looked out my window and saw the beautiful sun beaming from the sky. I just knew that as soon as I opened my door, I would feel the warmth of the sun overwhelm my face...I was completely wrong. I opened the door and found nothing but a cold breeze kiss my cheeks and make me question what time of the year it was! Being a southern girl, you don't feel this kind of cold until the beginning of November! It is September and 50 degrees outside...there is something wrong with that picture. I guess it only makes sense..I am in Utah. Even throughout the day there was a chilly breeze that would quickly steal any warmth that you were trying to grasp from the sunshine. I just have to accept the fact that I'm not in Texas anymore.
It has been a bit crazy in our little family. Landon and I are desparately trying to find time to be with one another. It seems that we are staying up later than what we should be just so we can enjoy each other's company a little while longer before we go to bed. Of course, we are regreting it the moment our alarms go off early in the morning so we can get ready for school. I am very fortunate though to say that even though we are hardly seeing each other, well as much as we would like to, it doesn't seem to be taking a toll on our relationship. I think it is actually helping up come close together. I am very blessed to have such a wonderful husband like Landon. Anyway, I won't go on expressing my gushy feelings because I know not everyone wants to hear about it all the time. So we ran a 5k on Saturday, August 12th, and it was the most rewarding experience ever! I was so proud of myself that I finished! Sad to say, Landon got really sick afterward. We weren't very smart and we didn't drink as much water as we should have the day before AND after the race. Landon started getting a headache, which turned into a migraine, which caused him to lose his lunch, and everything else he had eaten the past three days it seemed. He couldn't even enjoy the best ribs that I have ever lapped my lips over that our sister Lenae made! They were incredible! He was able to eat them later of course, but heating them up just isn't the same.
School has been busy, like always. I have been preparing for a Biology exam and I am so nervous about it! I should be studying right now actually..ha and yet I am blogging away like it is no big deal. Landon is taking a math test right now and I am praying he does good! Last week, I was burdened with a stupid head cold. I couldn't breath out of my nose for a good 3 days. I really didn't feel bad, but I sounded horrible. It is a new thing to realize that no matter how hard to try, if your spouse is sick, you will most likely get it. Landon is now sick with what I had, but it seems like it is 10 times worse. Poor guy can hardly breath! We stayed home from church yesterday and I took care of him the best I could...by taking care of him I mean getting him orange juice and apple juice every hour it seemed and throwing away his dirty tissues. I enjoyed every minute of it though because I hated the fact that he wasn't feeling well and I was trying everything to make sure he was comfortable. Let's just hope it doesn't turn into anything else and that he will get better soon.
My birthday is this Friday and I am so excited! I am turning the big 21! I was able to get the day off from work so Landon is going to take me out on the town! I don't really know what we have planned but I can't wait! All I wanted for my birthday was to get my ring saudered together..I think that is how you spell it. I just got it back today and it looks so beautiful! It looks brand new! Anyway, biology is calling my name and I need to get dinner finished for when Landon comes home. I made some amazing chili and I'm going to make some homemade rolls..okay so they are Bisquick rolls but they seem homemade to me! I would normally just get the ones that come in that tube that you pop open, pry apart, and place on a pan. But I'm trying something new! Let's hope it works out!

School+work=hardly any time with each other..

It has been a while since I have posted about our little life together. It has been a bit crazy, there hasn't been much time to do anything really. School started on the 26th of August and since then, nothing has slowed down. That first day was unbelievable though. I go to all my classes in a really good mood and come out thinking that I need to go find some super powers in order to get any of that work done. I am taking Biology 1010(the very beginning course), Ethics and Values, and two asl classes. ALL of my classes require that you read a whole bunch for every time we meet and write a summary or outline of what you read and what you think about each one. First of all, I don't particularly like to read so this makes it REALLY difficult. Secondly, when am I going to find time to read when I am working a ton and still trying to get used to married life and find time to be with my husband! Sleep I guess just isn't an option. So I leave the school and I'm on my home to already start on homework and mr. cop thought it would be nice to pull me over. I ask him why I am getting pulled over and he said it is because I used the exit ramp wrong and could have caused a severe accident! I'm pretty sure there were NO cars coming and I didn't know about that stupid ramp! It is hard to describe really because the entrance to UVU is extremely confusing and it is even more confusing to try and exit the school. Anyway, I of course start crying because Landon and I don't even have our insurance card yet. We have car insurance but we hadn't received the card to put in your car, and we couldn't afford a ticket anyway. Oh and to top it all off, he pulled me over on the highway! Talk about scary! Mr. Cop thinks it must be fun to make woman panic because he was back at his car for a good 5 minutes. I don't think it takes THAT long to pull up my file. He comes back, hands me my stuff, and tell me to have a good day...thanks so much. I mean, don't get me wrong... I am VERY thankful I didn't get a ticket, but was it really necessary to pull me over, especially on the highway?

School went on and nothing else really exciting happened until Sunday. Sunday evening, Landon and I went over to Andrew and Sophie's house to play some games with them and just hang out. It was about 10pm and Landon and I were about to leave when Sophie and I started talking about how I want to donate my hair but I don't know if it is long enough or if I really want to. She looks at me, and says "well let's just do it right now!" Without hesitating, I said okay!

This was before...

I chopped off 13 inches!

I am donating it to Locks of Love and boy it is weird to not have long hair! I am amazed at how much shampoo and conditioner I save now, and how it takes me only 10 minutes to do my hair! That is blow drying AND straightening. Before that, it took me 15 minutes just to blow dry and another 10 minutes to straighten. It is a relief to my arms and my neck to have a lot less hair. I am sure I will grow it out again but who knows.

After I styled it the very next day

School just seems to get getting tougher and tougher and time with Landon just seems to be getting shorter and shorter. The only time we have with each other is when we are asleep and technically that doesn't count.. It's a sad story but I know we can somehow manage and pull through. We haven't been training for our 5k, which is next week, so I am sure I will be walking most of that. ha but at least I tried. Anyway, homework is calling my name...oh goody! The joy of school!