the jackpot.

This past week we spent a lot of time with Josh's extended family after the passing of his step-grandpa, Gary. Funerals are never the preferred reason for getting the family all together, but family is one of the things that helps the most when going through a sad time.

I have always known I married into a great family, but this week I truly realized that I hit the JACKPOT when it comes to in-laws. Josh is the oldest cousin in his extended family, so there are tons of cousins close to our age and just a little younger. I grew up being right in the middle of all the grandkids, and while I am close with several of my cousins, I never had a cousin close to my age.

It is definitely an interesting experience gaining a second family when you get married. I was a little worried that I would have a hard time not being with my family the whole time on holidays, but it was a much smoother transition than I expected. I seriously love Josh's immediate family, and all of his aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents. They have all welcomed me into the family with open arms. I do not know how I got so lucky, but I am forever grateful.

I feel so blessed to have married into such a great family. I feel almost as comfortable around Josh's family as I do my own. And I must say that another reason why Josh and I were meant for each other is because I don't know if very many girls would be able to handle marrying into a family of 5 boys. haha. Growing up with only older brothers, I have had to learn to tolerate being teased constantly and how to hold my own. Having those qualities is a necessity if you marry into the Meadows family! :)

My cute little grandma

I don't mean to brag, but I probably have the cutest and littlest grandma of all time! She is so adorable and I love her so much!

She turned 90 years old this past Saturday. It's crazy to think that she is only 10 years away from turning 100. She has gotten to be pretty funny in her old age, but we are glad she is still plugging along.

I have grown up only a few minutes away from my grandparents, so I have always had a really close relationship with them. They have always been so good to me and shown me so much love. I hope to be that kind of grandparent someday.

I think my grandparents were worried there for a few years that I would never get married. They would tell me all the time that every night they would pray that I would find someone. Bless their hearts. Also, my grandma has always had a big crush on the boys that I've dated. She thinks Josh has the prettiest eyes. haha. She is so cute! I am so grateful and happy that my grandma and grandpa were both able to come to my wedding. It meant so much to me.

I am so grateful to have such amazing and loving grandparents and I know I will be a mess when they are gone. I love them so much!

Our family had a little party for my grandma on Sunday night. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera, but here is a picture of me and my grandparents on Christmas 2 years ago.

This can give you an idea of how little she is! (plus if you've ever met my mom, you will understand where she got her height from) I am about 5'5" and standing flat footed in this picture. My grandparents are SO adorable!!

a belated valentine's post!

I know, I know...I'm about a week and a half behind on this post, but I wanted to blog about Valentine's Day for my memory's sake.

Josh and I had a very fun, but very low key and relaxing Valentine's Day weekend. We saw the movie, "Valentine's Day" with our friends Ty and Lauren on that Friday night, and then celebrated our Valentine's Day on Saturday night. It's always weird when a holiday falls on a Sunday.

Anyway, we had planned to go to Desert Star Playhouse for our Valentine's date, but we called too late and they were sold out. I wanted to do something fun and meaningful, so I decided to make Josh his favorite meal; which is salmon and red rice and beans. His mom makes it and it is soooooo good! So I had my first experience with cooking fish and I must say, it turned out very well! :)

After we ate, we enjoyed several episodes of Prison Break. It was very fun and relaxing and nice to just spend a night at home together.

I sure love my Valentine!

(I didn't take any pictures on Valentine's Day, so an engagement pic will have to do!)

I think Valentine's Day can be such a weird/awkward holiday if you are dating someone and are unsure of where things stand. The holiday gets so much hype, but shouldn't we always show love to the people we love??

However, I must say that Valentine's day does hold a special place in my heart now. Let's flash back to Valentine's Day 2009...That was the first night I realized that Josh really did like me a lot.

Josh and I were dating quite consistently, but I still wasn't 100% sure where things stood. It was probably because I was still recovering from having my heart ripped out of my chest only 6 months before that. I was really liking Josh, (I always had) but was terrified to let myself fall for him or even believe that he really liked me.

Anyway, Josh had asked me out for Valentine's Day and I was super stoked! But I was debating the whole time whether or not I should get him a gift. What on earth do you get a guy for Valentine's Day? Especially when you are only dating? My parents were out of town and I remember calling my mom the morning of Valentine's Day asking her advice. She said it would probably be okay if I didn't get him anything. I didn't worry about it, but was worried about how I would feel if he got me something.

He showed up empty handed and I was so relieved! We had a fun dinner at Bonsai with Chris and Shianne, and then got some ice cream and watched a movie. I was so glad that I didn't have to feel guilty for not getting him anything since he didn't get me anything-or so I thought.

As we pulled up to my house at the end of the night, we were sitting in his truck talking and kissing and then he reached in the back and handed me a little red bag. I.was.shocked. Inside was a bottle of Ed Hardy perfume!! I immediately felt awful that I hadn't gotten him anything, but it was then that I knew Josh really liked me. I knew Josh well enough to know that he wouldn't do something like that for a girl unless he really liked her. I was one happy girl that night! I could hardly sleep and couldn't wait to call my mom in the morning to tell her.

It was a very cute and thoughtful gift and I love to wear that perfume!

Ever since then, Josh has teased me about not getting him anything for Valentine's Day. haha. I think I made up for it this year though by cooking his favorite meal on a Saturday night! I never cook on the weekends! Our Valentine's Day gifts to each other were new cellphones-which I might add are the bomb dot com. Can't wait for many more Valentine's Days with my honey.

Valentine's Day 2009.

makes me smile

Today has been one of the worst days of work EVER!

The only good thing about this day so far is the fact that it is FRIDAY.

I took a little break from my frustrations to watch this video. It always turns my frown upside down.

I hope it can put a smile on your face as well!

She is the funniest and most over the top Galinda I have ever seen. She's hilarious!

I love Wicked with all my heart. But you already knew that!

bend and snap!

My birthday present to myself came in the mail the other day!!!




That's right folks, Legally Blonde The Musical is coming to town on MY birthday!! What are the odds that opening night is on March 23, my actual day of birth?? Those of you that know me well are fully aware that Legally Blonde is my favorite movie(well, it's tied with The Wizard of Oz), so you can only imagine my excitement when I learned that it was coming to SLC on my birthday! I can't think of anything more appropriate than Legally Blonde on my birthday! (Actually, Wicked could maybe beat it but either one works for me!) Elle Woods is my idol! haha. For reals though.

I am a little ticked though because the tickets were originally supposed to go on sale on February 8th. February 8th rolls around and I jump online to purchase my tickets, only to discover that they had changed the date to January 15th!!! Almost a month earlier!!! Luckily, some tickets were still available but our seats aren't as good as I had hoped, but in the long run, it probably saved us some $$$! The better the seats are the more it costs. I am still just as excited as I could possibly be!

Speaking of my birthday, my dear sweet Joshua always complains that he never knows what to get me for Christmas, birthdays, etc... Since I know he reads this blog, I will publicly make him a list of suggestions so that he can't say he didn't know what to get. :) (babe, I know we are poor, so I don't expect much, and I know I won't get most of what is on my list, but a girl can dream!)

• Michael Buble tickets - This is way far fetched because the concert is sold out, but Michael is my favorite performer and I LOVE him! I would give just about anything to go to his concert.
• Skinny Jeans from Buckle - You can get my size from my other Buckle jeans in my closet :)
• This Is It - The Michael Jackson movie. You know how I love MJ!
• A Pedicure - I know you love it when my toes are polished and cute!
• Cute Spring Clothes
• Mac Eye Shadows - Whitney could give you good suggestions!!
• The soundtrack for Legally Blonde The Musical - You know I will want that after we see it!
• This decoration - I know Halloween is a ways away, but I am in LOVE with this. I NEED IT!
• A gym pass
• And my biggest birthday wish is that my cute boy will find a good, full-time job VERY soon!

la caille

On Saturday, February 6th, Josh and I were able to have a nice dinner at La Caille. My cute grandpa who is just months shy of turning 90, gave Josh a gift certificate to La Caille to thank him for mowing his lawn for him this fall. My grandpa does not act like a typical 89 year-old by any means, and had been mowing his own lawn up until this past fall when his lawn mower got stolen out of his garage! Who steals an elderly man's lawn mower?? Anyway, my grandpa figured that at 89, he didn't really need to buy a new lawn mower, and since Josh does yard care on the side, he asked if Josh would mow his lawn for him. Of course Josh wouldn't let him pay him, so my grandpa gave him a gift certificate to La Caille, which just happened to be enough for dinner for two. (Someone had given it to him, but at this age, he wasn't going to use it)

The certificate was going to expire in April, so we tried to think of a fun day to use it. We picked February 6 because it was a Saturday and also our 6 month anniversary!! I cannot believe it has already been 6 months! They have been the best 6 months of my life.

Here are some pictures of our evening...

My chicken entree...yum!

Josh's delicious salmon

When Josh called to make the reservation, they asked if we were celebrating anything special, and he told him it was our anniversary-which in a way it was. When they brought out our desserts, Josh's chocolate cake had a giant sparkler in it to celebrate the occasion.

It lasted for several minutes!

(by the way, Josh is so dang cute!)

My Creme Brulee...TO DIE FOR! I ate every bite!

I had to include this picture even though it is blurry. Check out the walrus(?) and his sweet hat above us!

It is crazy how fast these 6 months have gone by. Josh and I have learned so much about each other and have grown so much already. I hope we can continue to learn and grow together! Marriage teaches you so much about patience, selflessness, love, devotion etc. It isn't always easy, in fact sometimes marriage is very hard. Living with someone is a whole lot different than dating them or being engaged to them, but it is definitely worth it. There is nothing better than coming home to someone that loves you and always having someone there to support you in everything. I look forward to all of the good times and trials ahead.

6 months down, eternity to go!

I love you, Joshua!

Baby Claire

Meet the newest member of the Bringhurst Family...

Claire Kristi Bringhurst

January 31, 2010

2:10 p.m.

7 lbs. 3 oz., 19 inches long

Do you know what's better than having one niece? Having two of them! I love being an aunt and am so grateful that these little girls are a part of my life. I love both of my nieces so much!

Claire was born Sunday, January 31, 2010. My mom and I were lucky enough to go into the delivery room only minutes after she was born. There is nothing better than seeing and holding a newborn baby. It's so amazing to know they are fresh from Heaven and you can just feel their sweet little spirits. I can't even imagine what it will be like when I hold my own babies for the first time. I can't wait for that day.

Here is big sister Ava seeing baby Claire for the first time. They don't allow anyone under the age of 14 in the hospital rooms anymore, so Ava could only see baby sister through the nursery window. Ava loves Claire, but is having a hard time learning how to share the spotlight. :)

I am convinced that this was the first time Josh has ever held a newborn baby girl. He is going to be such a cute daddy someday!

I LOVE my new niece! But I do NOT love this picture of me. Hey-we had 9 sunbeams in our class that day!! Crazy.

Oh I love her so much! She is absolutely perfect!

Somebody please make the baby hunger go away! At least for a little while longer! ah!