Five years ago today...something awesome happened

Ryan and I went on our first date on President's Day five years ago! I feel like I've known him my whole life, but its only been five short years. Considering the rocky dating period we had, you'd be surprised to know that it was actaully love at first sight for me (but then Ryan messed it up and it took forever). I remember after meeting Ryan, I told my friend (remember Lyndz?) while at lunch at the Cougareat that I'd met the guy I wanted to marry....I was only half serious, but little did I know I really would! After we had talked a couple of times, he finally got my number, not from me mind you... he got it from his brother who was my friend. We went snowshoeing at Sundance. Most of you would consider Ryan a true southern gentleman, but this bum did not even come to my door to pick me up. He called me and told me to come out!!! I was living in the dorms, and he was too embarrassed to be seen there picking up a girl. Me and Ry had so much fun together, and I thought he was such a hottie. I'm so lucky he stuck with me. He's pretty much amazing and exceeds my expectations of a husband in almost every way. I have had to teach him a thing or two! Now, here we were in 2012 with the cutest little son that we could have possibly made. We are poor, in med school, and we love it. We have awesome friends, and we have loved having Ry's parents here. Life is good and I am blessed.

Oh, and my all time favorite story is when Ryan came to meet my family. Look closely at this picture... So we were out jumping on the tramp with my little bro and sis, and of course Ryan was trying to impress the family by doing a back flip. Well, as you can see, he fell through the springs and totally scraped up his leg. So my little sister (who was in 5th grade at the time) goes running inside to grab neosporin from my parents' bathroom, and she returns with something quite different...

Here's some more pics of the good old days...

Christmas Break

I've been meaning to write about Christmas and all that jazz, but haven't mustered up the strength to do it. I always end up spending forever trying to upload pictures, get them in order, write stuff, etc. Yesterday my sister texted me, suggesting I update my bog because she's bored at school and needs something to do during Financial Lit class. So, this is for you Abs. I apologize in advance for the long (hopefully not too boring) post.
I flew out to Utah a week before Ryan got out of school to spend extra time with my family, leaving Ryan to his studies. Poor Ryan was without his perfect wife (yes, that's me in case you were wondering;) and his adorable little boy for an entire week. He was sad, but I kept telling him that he was finally going to have an entire week nag-free! Luckily his awesome parents took care of him while we were gone. They fed him burgers and pizza all week to help him feel better. He works so hard in school and we're so proud of him. Even though school is really stressful, he always makes time for Brax and me so I'm really grateful.
The first week home I had sleepovers with my favorite sis in the world! It was so fun, except when she whipped out my journal from high school and harassed me. She had all the ridiculous and embarrassing passages (mainly about loser boys) marked and ready to remind me of my young stupidity. She read some to Ry and I about died! Was I really that retarded??? All my high school friends reading this...you are probably laughing right now because you witnessed it firsthand (we were ridiculous human beings). I guess it was a service to my sister. She says she now knows what NOT to do. hahaha She seemed to have missed all the spiritual and mature passages that were also in there:) Oh well!
My family kind of wanted to see me, but really it was all about Braxton! The first night I got there, he was laughing and smiling all night long. He loves being with lots of people, especially when he's in the spotlight. Yep, he definitely takes after his father. My family was in heaven (especially my mom). She spoiled him rotten! She climbed the top of Braxton's list by giving him little tastes of ice cream, chocolate, and the list goes on. Grandma taught him all sorts of bad tricks (j/k mom.... I love you). But really, it was nice being with my mom because she helped me relax a bit and think more about Brax than my little schedule. I guess you could say I'm one of those paranoid first-time moms that is learning to relax:). Brax is eight months now, always wanting to eat whatever we are eating. He has learned how to feed himself and he grabs the spoon from me all the time. He is definitely a spit fire, but all that personality is so much fun!

Here's some highlights from our trip...

Braxton's first plane ride! He did pretty well. Luckily one of Ryan's good friends, Tim Hansen, randomly ended up on the same flight as me. He sat by us and helped me with my luggage! He was in Dallas for an interview and we have since found out that he got the internship. Congrats Tim!

Went to lunch with some of my favorite girls in the world! I'm so sad because I forgot to get pics when I saw the rest of my best pals. So this is a shout-out to my girls who aren't in the pic... you know who you are:)

Hanging out at Grandpa Park's house.

Brax with his Aunt Madi (Ry's sister).

We celebrated 3 years of marriage on Dec. 20th. Ry continues to make me a better person, and he's perfect for me. It's crazy how two people come together and become one over time. I've become more like him, and him more like me... which is a good thing most of the time. It was our first night away from Brax (thanks mom) and he did great! We went to dinner, roller skating, IMAX, and then the Hilton downtown! We told the guy at the front desk it was our anniversary and he sent up a slice of cheesecake, a slice of chocolate cake, and Martinelli's! It was awesome. Not to mention that cheesecake is my favorite and chocolate is Ry's.

We went to The Park Cafe for breakfast in Salt Lake. It was by far my favorite breakfast place. The food was yummy and I loved the decor. All my fellow Utahns need to check it out!

Playing with Grandpa. Brax was always ripping off people's glasses.

Skeptical of his great grandma... I think it's the white hair.

First encounter with Santa at the Thorpe family Christmas party.

Loves the bag...

Hates the bag.

Brax met his great grandma and grandpa White for the first time!

Two peas in a pod.


Christmas Eve in our new J's.


Christmas Day! Just look at those cute little reindeer feet! He loved this walker.

Opening presents.


We got to see Brandon and Lindsey Anderson, and their little boy, Grant! Linds is one of my good friends and we lived together at (the one and only) Liberty Square.
Braxton and Grant.

Brax and his second cousin, Hudson. We spent the night with Randy and Marissa Brown (Ry's cousin and his wife) at Marissa's grandpa's cabin. Brax and Hudson had a great time.... until they both got sick and kept us up all night!

Randy and Marissa took us to Fleming's Steakhouse downtown! It was AMAZING. I love steak, and this was definitely the best steak I've had. We had a lot fun with the Brown's. They were so nice to take us poor, low-class citizens out on the town for a great meal. We had a night out alone without our kids. It was refreshing be able to eat in peace. I got the Prime New York Strip.... so good! Ry got the Filet, but ordered it medium-well (no good;).
Just look at those steaks...mmm



We saw our good friends, Tim and Anna, who aren't dating but I think they should be. This is the Tim who was on the flight with me! We all hung out at BYU. Tim is Ryan's freshman buddy, and Anna is mine.

I almost forgot to mention that Brax took his first trip to the ER while we were in town. They only had a big bed for him. I just had to take a picture because it was too cute. The last week in Utah he got a really bad fever and ear infection:( After five days of a fever, we took him in on Saturday morning and got antibiotics. He just loved spitting the bright pink medicine all over whoever dared give it to him. Luckily Dr. Ryan got really good at it;)

It was a great Christmas break! We didn't want to come home. I felt like I had my husband back because he didn't have any school or studying to do. So thankful for all of our wonderful family and friends. Christmas is the best time of year, and I must mention the reason for the season, our Savior. I know He lives and loves us. So thankful for his atonement and all of our many blessings this year!

Our Little Skeleton

I feel like time is flying by! Braxton is about five and a half months now, and we love seeing more and more of his personality (most of the time:). He knows exactly what he wants and he will always let us know. For example, when he wants out of his bouncer, he doesn't just start fussing... He does this thing where he arches his back and pushes so hard that he practically falls out of the freaking thing. While doing this, he's not really crying, its more like a yell or a grunt (imagine the sounds you would make if you were strapped into a chair and were trying to get out. That's what he sounds like;) The minute I get him out, he's all smiles.
He already has his two bottom teeth! His second tooth came in last week.
He recently learned how to roll from his back to his belly, but he gets stuck on his belly and gets all mad and starts crying. We usually have to help him roll back over and he acts like we were the ones who made him do it. A few seconds later, the kid is back on his belly and the cycle continues. Just barely, I went in his room because he was crying and he was stuck on his stomach with his legs tangled in the bars. It was hilarious.

Brax Man is my running partner! We run with two of my friends and their kids. It's a blast. We love chatting about kids, husbands, embarrassing moments, happy news, sad news, basically EVERYTHING.

He loves chillin with his daddy. Here they are studying (although I wouldn't doubt that Ry has ESPN pulled up on that computer).

Ryan and I love playing with our little man! We love his little laugh and funny looks. See for yourself...


We had a fun Halloween weekend! On Saturday night, we swung by our ward party for a little while. For those of you who watch baseball (or who have crazy husbands who do).... you know that the Texas Rangers lost the world series in game seven last Friday. So, Ry and I dressed up as "Broken Hearted Rangers Fans." Ryan truly was broken hearted over this tragedy. After the ward party, we went to a party that our friends, the Lee's, were throwing. It was a blast!


Two little skeletons. Braxton and his date, little Sophia, at the Lee's party.


We love our friends here in Texas!


On Halloween day, we had a pot-luck dinner with our med school friends. It was fun to relax, chat, and eat yummy food!