Birthday!

I have always kind of hated the fact the my birthday is so close to Christmas. It just is not fair. It seems it is always overshadowed by the holiday. People are busy, money is tight, and thoughts are often on other things. Now, having said that, I had a wonderful birthday this year! It was just perfect! I appreciated the time off work because I was able to be at home relaxing with Bryce. On my birthday we got to sleep in. Heavenly! Then went to get an inspection on our new car (details to come soon). We also ate pizza for lunch with my Gygi family. It was fun to get to see them. Later we came back home and did some Christmas present returning. We lost track of time and had to hurry to the store and back home so we could make my birthday cake. Bryce has taken it upon himself to make my birthday cake each year. Poppy seed cake! YUM!! He does a great job! Thanks honey! We had family over for cake and ice cream. It was fun to have them! Wyatt ended up staying the night even! Thanks, Wyatt! I was spoiled as usual!

~Some presents from Bryce~

One thing I really wanted for my birthday was to get a pedicure with my sisters and mom. Bryce and I tried to make a plan with them but the day of they all kind of bailed. I was quite bummed. To say the least. Bryce knew I was feeling kind of sad about it so while I was in the shower, he came and told me an Asian by the name of Fortune Cookie had shown up at our door and was willing to give me a pedicure. When I came out he had the living room set up with a blanket, the foot bubbler, and the fixings for a pedicure. He is so thoughtful! It was the best pedicure a girl could ever ask for!!

~Master Fortune Cookie~

~Getting ready to paint my toes~

~Husband of the Year!~

I know what you are thinking... How the heck did this girl get so lucky?!! Well, to be honest, I feel the same way all the time! 

Thank you, Bryce, for making this birthday a special one!

Christmas Day

First off, I realized I never posted a picture of our tree:

I love our tree so much! This year we put it up a day or two before Thanksgiving! I just could not wait any longer! We loved decorating it and loved having it in our living room! Our house has a perfect Christmas tree spot right in front of the window! Oh it looked so beautiful all lit up! Ah!! How perfect it was!

This Christmas was a wonderful one! Bryce and I were spoiled everywhere we went! Originally, we had a busy day of travel all planned out so we could make the rounds and see most of our family. Funny how plans change though. We had a bit of a rough night and slept in much longer than we expected. We woke up, got ready, and headed out the door. We did not even open our gifts!! This is certainly something neither of us had ever done before. It was great though! The drive up north was beautiful and we had a wonderful time visiting with Bryce's Roholt family. We went to Gail and Clarice's house in Grace for lunch. We saw most of the aunts, uncles, and cousins. It was good to visit with them! We do not see them nearly enough!! After lunch we headed to Garland. Cole is serving a mission in Peru and he was calling home for Christmas! We made it just in time. He is doing great! I cannot believe what grand adventures he is having! The church is so true! I am glad he is out sharing it! After we talked to Cole and visited with my family, we went to Bryce's house. It was fun to see what they all got for Christmas and visit with them. We had pie and treats and it was a lot of fun! When Bryce and I finally got home we had about an hour left of Christmas to open our gifts to each other. I appreciate Bryce's constant thoughtfulness so much! He is always so kind to me! So, like always, I got quite spoiled and made myself a really good haul! I think Bryce would say the same! 

{Kaylee: jeggings, skirt, sweater, candle, necklace, yummy lotion set, makeup, a whisk, iTunes card, chocolate, gloves, headphones, 3 movies, hat/glove set, carved temple picture, earrings, and probably more!}

{Bryce: Cabelas gift card (new fishing pole and broadheads), water shoes, pearl snap shirt, t-shirt, socks, gun cleaning kit, grill box, griddle for the camp chef, tow rope, hot dog roasters, fly rod case, and probably more :)}

 We are spoiled! Thank you to everyone who took such good care of us this Christmas!! We appreciate it all! The best part of the day was seeing all our family! We sure have a good one!

Christmas Eve {Gygi & Roholt}

We had a fun Christmas Eve! Bryce and I had a nice morning at home together and we headed to my mom and dads house a little later in the afternoon for the party. For years, my Christmas Eve tradition was to go to Salt Lake for a party and dinner with my mom's side of the family. Potato soup was always on the menu! This year the festivities were at my parents house. At first we were not quite sure who would be coming to the party, but the day of, we found a full house! My mom's cousin John made it, her cousin Sue and her family came, her cousin Mike and his family were there, my aunt Paula and her family came, and my grandpa also came up. Tyanna and our husbands were also there. It was fun to chat and catch up with the family!

Bryce's Christmas Eve tradition growing up was opening new pajamas and reading a Christmas story with his family. So, after my party, we headed to his. It was also a lot of fun! We had soup together then opened up pajamas. They were all so cute! Once we got all cozy, Shelli read the family The Tale of Three Trees. It is a sweet little book. Three trees are standing on a mountain top and they all have their own hopes and dreams of what they may become some day. Although it is not in a manner that they expected, they all got what they were hoping for by playing a role in the Saviors life. I really have enjoyed hearing the book the last several years. Wyatt also read us The Legend of the Candy Cane. It's a cute little book about all the symbolism behind the candy cane. It was fun to have some nice, quite time with Bryce's family. 

So, as you can see, we had another wonderful Christmas day! We are so fortunate to have family so near! We sure love them all!!

Bennington {Christmas Party and Fun Story}

We had a great night tonight at the Bennington Family Christmas Party! Getting together with the Bennington's is a favorite thing. It always has been for me. I so appreciate and treasure the close relationships I have with all the Bennington family members. 

Quick story before I talk about the party. Bryce and I sold our car. Yippee! It has been on the market for about 3 months. We had someone drive it yesterday and buy it today. We sure loved our fancy red Kia, but we really think it will be smart to get into a less expensive car. Before the party, we went to drive a little Nissan Sentra that is for sale by owner out in West Haven. The kid was not home so we spoke with his dad. He gave us the keys, we took it on a little spin, and we arrived back at the house shortly to drop it back off. We got to talking to the dad (Lynn S.) and he was telling us about growing up and hunting in West Haven. I told him my family was from Roy and they have similar stories of hunting in the area. He asked me my maiden name and when I told him Bennington, I got the cutest reaction. He said he knew I looked familiar and certainly had a Bennington face! He knew my uncle Lynn quite well growing up and he knew my grandma and grandpa well too. We chatted for a bit about the Bennington family and he seemed to be quite fond of them. What a small world it is! When Bryce and I got in the truck to head to the party, I told him I am so proud to be a Bennington! I love letting people know who my family is! I love to claim Norman and Marilyn as my Grandma and Grandpa! I always get such positive feedback from people who know the Bennington family and it sure makes me grateful to know I was born in to such a great family! I shared the story with some of my family at the party and I got a little emotional after. I really am so proud of my family and the legacy they have left behind! I sure hope I am working on doing the same!! 

The party was a hit! Good food, fun gifts, Santa, and great company! I did not take too many pictures to document the occasion. I started out well...

{The YUMMY trifle I made}

{The husbands playing ball}

...But as the party got going my camera was forgotten. We all just got to visiting and I got playing with the cute babies and by the time I knew it, the party was over. My Grandma and Grandpa gave us some beautiful towels and we got a sweet lantern and a Chick-Fil-A gift card as well. All great!! We sure need the towels too! It was wonderful party! Something I always look forward to and hope we keep doing it long into the future! Yay for such a wonderful family! Life is Good!

Merry Christmas!

It really is the most Wonderful Time of the Year!!

 From our family to yours, 

We Wish you a Very Merry Christmas!

Best Anniversary EVER!

I married a good one!! I mean a really, REALLY good one! Bryce is the sweetest thing! He is thoughtful and kind in everything he does. This past week we celebrated our second anniversary. It was just magical! And, we did not just celebrate the day of, but the week of! That's right, it was Anniversary week at our house! See what I mean?! Totally a romantic! Here is how it went down:

Bryce brought me this at work Monday. Total surprise!

I  LOVE this! I had one that broke so Bryce replaced it! YAY!

Cute sign and yummy chocolates!

Pretty necklace.

I was out of town Thursday and Friday for work. Bryce was at my office when we pulled in Friday afternoon to pick me up. He said we needed to get checked in to the Bed and Breakfast we were staying at. We debated on whether or not we should stay somewhere. It is hard for me to justify spending hundreds of dollars on a room when we have a perfectly good room in the house we pay for each month. But, Bryce was making the plans here. On the drive Bryce gave me clues as to where we were actually going by the conversation we were having. I asked if the place was pricey. He said it was a really good deal. He said we had the whole house to ourselves so that was going to be nice. He also said it was close by and I probably knew where it was. He said the management did not really care if we checked in early. We could pretty much do whatever we wanted at this place. By now I kind of had a suspicion that I knew right where we were going. As we got closer to our house, Bryce told me to get in his back pack and find the brochure for the place.

Homemade with love!

So sweet right?! We rounded the corner onto Teal Loop and came up to our house, AKA "The Romantic Inn Bed and Breakfast." Bryce had done up the house SO cute. He covered every little detail!

He was SO thoughtful all weekend!

I really could not believe how clever Bryce was. The kindness and surprises just kept coming! I am so thankful to be married to such a kind guy! The rest of the anniversary week gifts went like this:

Beautiful pink daisies.

I had no idea this was coming! Yeah!

Heated blanket! Best idea ever!

We had a wonderful anniversary week! I am so lucky to have such an amazing husband! I love you Bryce!  

Season of Thanks

I feel like I have been a bit of a complainer lately. Mostly about work. There have been a lot of changes in my office and it has been pretty rough for me. It seems I have something new to whine to Bryce about regularly. I have never used this blog as a venting place for the goings on in my life... Today I was going to make that no longer true. I was trying to decide how I was going to properly express how fed-up I am with work and all that goes with it. Then, it occurred to me, that many people around me are spending their time expressing how grateful they are for the little things around them. That is a much better way to go about things! I sure have a lot to be grateful for! Things are going so well for me and Bryce! We have a beautiful home, we have friends and family all around, we are both able to be going to school, we have reliable cars, the list seems to go on and on. I decided I better give a shout out to the season and make a list of all the many things I am thankful for. I'm sure there are things I left out, but you get the idea. 

We are so blessed! Life is good!

Pumkins

We had a fun night carving pumpkins with Tyanna and Trevor last weekend. I think we all did a pretty good job! 

We all got really creative this year!

I especially loved the way my pumpkin turned out! :)

Go Aggies!!

 I love what Bryce did with his:

typical jack o'lantern face, a fish, and an A (for Aggies).

We are now ready for Halloween!

Dye It!

I did something kind of fun and out of the ordinary for work today...I dyed fabric! It went really well for a first time! I am quite proud of myself actually. Here is how it all went down...

Supplies {fabric, dye, aprons, gloves, tote to work in, thread (for later)}

Soak the fabric

Eat homemade Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup while you wait {YUM!!}

Wring out the fabric

Tada!

 This little project is a picture backdrop that we are using at recruitment events for my work. It is not something I necessarily wanted to do but I am glad I at least got to have this fun project because of it! I am sure this will not be my last dying experience!

Canoes

We had the best weekend ever last week! We got together with Melissa and Justin Schmidt and rented a couple canoes from the Outdoor Rec Program up on campus. It was a total blast! Bryce and I were saying that was the first fun summery weekend we had all summer. With him working so much we were never really able to do that. So it was great!

Cutler Marsh ~ Unloading the canoes

Here we go!

Melissa and Justin

Kaylee and Bryce

Besties! Tender :)

Trying to fish

Such a fun night!

It was actually quite beautiful!

 The next day we decided we had not had quite enough. We packed up again and headed to Porcupine Dam. It was another fabulous day! We parked the canoes and checked out the salmon running up the river, the boys jumped off a huge cliff, and we all really enjoyed the beautiful weather. Could not have been a better day!

Bryce

Justin

Cute right?!

We "let" the boys beat us back to shore.

We are so glad we have the Schimidts as friends! Love you guys! What a great weekend! Life is good!