Life With The Lanhams

Aug 30, 2013

Fall Semester Is Upon Us

I am not ready for school to begin. However, I am not really wanting to keep the summer going.

I am tired of working full time with nothing to do for half of the day. Next time I work full time, remind me to never get a job like that. It just makes me feel bad as well as making me feel like a horrible employee when my boss looks at me and I am reading or writing a blog or looking at pictures because everything is done for the day and all I can do is answer phones. It makes for a very long day, and this week has been longer than most.

School. I have a very love hate relationship... mostly hate. The love comes from the people and that is about it. Yesterday I had to deliver a package of rhinestones to the ballroom main office. I went there, no one was there (which is odd because I literally had just gotten off the phone with Linda), so I dropped them off at the dance office just down the hall. On my way back to the van I walked back down past the folk dance room. I didn't actually think I would see anyone for a few different reasons. But Lo, and behold Will Farnbach comes walking down the hall. We hugged and I decided to peek into the room to wave real fast. I thought for sure, and so did Will, that they would be busy at work rehearsing and learning dances... but we were both wrong. There was everyone, just sitting on the ground stretching and taking a break. I said high for a few minutes and then I had to leave. I got some hugs and compliments on my hair from people and I felt genuinely loved by these people. That is when I left and got into the van to drive back to work. That is when I just felt so broken.

All of the sudden thoughts of making the wrong decision to not continue on with folk dance teams came flooding into my head. I felt lonely. I felt like I had no purpose at BYU anymore. I didn't realize how much I missed it. Now that I think about it, I almost tried to avoid it with out actually trying to. I went to one rec night. I missed all three performances done by various teams (SPAC Showcase, Festival of Nations, and the PAC Covey performance). It wasn't that I tried to, I just had so much on my hands.

If I could, I would go back to my very first semester of BYU and take clogging and do a folk dance team. I wanted to but I was nervous to try out and didn't think I would make it. I would have, I'm sure. I would go back and not do so horribly in certain classes. I would have passed certain ones the first time. I would have worked harder if I had known what I would be feeling now.

Would I have traded getting married? NEVER. But it will be interesting to see what I end up doing.

Aug 14, 2013

Where Oh Where Has The Summer Gone?

Oh where oh where could Summer be? This has been a great time of life. The hubby and I have had a lot of fun adventures.

1: We got married! I am so grateful that I have been able to marry my best friend. He has been such a gift to my life. He is the better half of this relationship, that is for sure.

One of my favorite pictures from the wedding.

2: We were able to go back to New York during the beginning of June for our reception out there. It was so nice to be back there. This time I got to see it all green and rainy. I had real wings (no more buffalo before them...) from Duff's and was in love! I am not huge on wings but these... these were different. Along with Duff's, we went to a lot of other great places for food.

Other than eating a lot, Chad and I took some alone time and went up to Palmyra, New York. I was able to go there during Thanksgiving Break for my birthday but it was so cold and wasn't really super green. This was an amazing day. It was raining but when we were in the Sacred Grove we were not getting wet. We could hear the rain come down and hit the leaves but we were not even touched. It was so cool for me since I obviously did NOT grow up with this kind of terrain here in Utah.

It was so nice to be with family while we were out there. I was able to get closer to Rachel, Auntie J, and Uncle Greg as well as meet some of the families that Chad and his family raved about that lived in their ward boundaries. It all depends on Grandma for Christmas if we end up going to New York or if we will be in Grand Junction. Either way, Christmas is with the Lanham's this year and I am quite excited (Thanksgiving will be with the Clark's).

So beautiful.

3: Chad and I celebrated our first real holiday together (other than memorial day). We had a good day for the Fourth of July. We watched fireworks and had a good dinner before hand. It was nice to forget work troubles for a day of fun and patriotism.

We love silly faces.

4: We became Grand Junction bound! We visited Grandma for a weekend. We played cards, looked at pictures, ate food, and just relaxed. I didn't get a chance to take any pictures while we were there of us or our doings, but I did pull my phone out and get awesome pictures of Chad and his siblings (mostly Scott, maybe one of Morgan) when they were little. Check out those awesome Halloween costumes! This picture has to be bigger so you can see the magnificent smaller ones.

Look at Scott's half man half woman costume! And the toothpaste Chad was!

5: I got my wisdom teeth pulled. I was in more pain before I got them pulled than I was afterwards for the most part. I also didn't really swell up at all. As you can tell by the picture. I couldn't move my mouth much for a while but I am feeling back to normal.

See? Not much swelling.. even by day 3.

6: We moved! Yay! Wymount was great and all..... uh.... Anyways! Our old place was around 650 square feet and we paid $607 for one bedroom, gas, and water. Electric was around $20 every month so in general we would pay about $630 per month. It was great once we got Chad a bike and we didn't drive as much. We were close to work and loved being there for the most part.

One day in June we got an email from BYU saying that the payment for our apartment would be going up a certain amount. A one bedroom apartment like ours would now become $620 something... not including the electric. I had been feeling that we needed to be leaving and moving somewhere else but I couldn't put my finger on it.

Well Chad and I were on our way to Grand Junction when we found out my best friend Celeste was moving to Texas. It turns out that they needed to sell their lease. She asked if we would be looking for a new apartment and if we would be interested. She gave us the details and it was the best deal ever! We have a washer and dryer with two bedrooms and no utilies for only $600 a month! We love it at our new place. It is exactly what need need.

7: We have made a lot of great food! I love to cook and bake. I love trying new things and making our own favorites. We are taking recipes from Pinterest, Grandma, our own parents, and I have made a few awesome recipes up. I have made changes to some old favorites from home to make them my own, and that is how it should be.

My Mexican Lasagna is our favorite recipe I make.. unless it is the chili... Gotta love great food

8: When Sundays come around I have been finding myself really wanting to just chill and watch a movie. I think that may become a tradition in the Lanham home. Some that we have watched lately are Little Women, Pride and Prejudice, 17 Miracles and many more that I cannot think of at the moment.

I would put pictures up of our new home but until I get some things put on the wall and I really do a lot of cleaning it won't happen. Life has been busy this summer as you can see but the Fall semester is fast approaching. We will see what life brings us from here on out.

And I promise, pictures of our place will come soon. I want to do that before school starts. Maybe on Saturday or sometime next week.

Jul 2, 2013

Kaitlin's Life List

My sister Gillian put her own life list on her blog and I was looking at it today and thought to myself, "I should put one up of my own. Why not?" So I am going to model mine after her list, since we have a lot of the same things, and post it here.

My Life List:

Visit Scotland and Ireland in one trip
Learn to swim and love it
Own a house
~~Get Married in the temple of the Lord~~
Have Children
Pay for someone's groceries
Do the 12 days of Christmas for a family at least once
~~Grow my hair out to the middle of my back~~
~~Learn to play the Guitar~~
~~Learn to play the piano~~
~~Fill up a whole journal- hand written~~
Build a home with a wrap around porch with land (I don't want to see my neighbors bathroom)
Be a great cook/baker
Win a chili cook off or pie contest
Learn to make the best sugar cookies ever
Learn to sew really well
Ride horses with my husband (and not have him freak out)
Own a horse or two
Run a 5k and enjoy it
Throw a huge, successful surprise party
Host a favorite things party
Go to Hawaii and see Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona
See a broadway show
Go to a Sara Bareilles concert
Go to the rodeo with my husband
Watch my Children get married
Visit Barcelona, Budapest, and Sienna in another trip
Visit every temple in the United States, because come on, every temple in the world?
~~Get kissed at midnight on New Years Eve (midnight)~~
Meet Alan Rickman and Maggie Smith. Oh! And Emma Thompson
Have a mistletoe kiss
Own a nikon/cannon... Well a good DSLR in general
~~Learn how to drive a stick~~
Read Harry Potter to my children
See Cirque Du Solei
~~Have awesome in-laws~~
~~Be endowed~~
Become crafty and have a super cute decorated home
See all National Parks in Utah (I have seen none)
~~Go to the Sacred Grove~~
~~Go to Niagra Falls~~
Be a good mother
Make a great Thanksgiving meal
~~Make homemade pie crust and have it turn out well~~
~~Make homemade pizza~~
Tap with Nigel Lythgoe and ~~Savion glover~~ (I sort have done that.. I will be counting it)
Be a dancer for the following: Stacy Tookey, Sonya Tayeh, Tyce Diorio, Tabitha and Napoleon D'umo, Christopher Scott, and Travis Wall
~~Try a cannoli~~ (It wasn't as good as I thought... too thick of filling, like frosting, for me)
Stop being scared of needles
Create a painting from paint in water balloons, like The Princess Diary's

What's on your life list?

-Kaitlin

Jun 16, 2013

Wedding Pictures Part 4

Reception time. Let's party!

Baby Nixon! That would be Ally's baby boy.

Rachel (my new cousin) and our friend Maggie! Maggie is from the same home ward as Chad but is out at BYU for school. We met in the dressing room fall semester. It was quite funny how we pieced it together.

Jaymie and my nephew Sam.

Sure looks like Geoff had his hands full with this rambunctious Austin.

You can see it formulating in his eyes.

Told you. He totally smashed it in my face.

Don't worry though, I got him back.

Matt!!!

I am definitely his daughter. Can you tell?

Our first dance. You and I by Michael Buble.

Same five girls. Different Summer. Different wedding. We got a picture at our friend Sirie's wedding last summer. None of us were even engaged at that point and now three of us are married. I think Ally is next since her missionary just got home. ;) But I could be wrong.

This is Maci (I think I may have spelled it wrong....). She is a doll. I grew up being friends with her older sisters. This little one is a sweetheart. I can't wait for the day that I get to attend her reception to see her all grown up and married in the temple.