Happy 5th Anniversary Love!

On the 24th of May we celebrated out 5th wedding anniversary! 

Most definitely still surreal, and I love it. :) That man of mine had my heart long before the day we were married, but since that day we promised to give everything we had to each other, our love has only grown. It's been tested and I think we've come out stronger. Adam, you have my whole heart! 

These pictures are from our date that night, we enjoyed some shopping (that ended in a laughing fest at H&M while Adam tried on fitted shirts out in the open that were way too small to even button, and we didn't buy a thing. haha!) and then a delicious dinner of Vietnamese. We got little fortune cookies at the end of the night, and I loved what mine said,

"If you wish to see the best in others, show the best of yourself."

I can't help but apply that to our marriage. Neither one of us is perfect, but as we do our best to be our best for the other, we both become better from it and we both see each other in a better light! So grateful for a man that always looks for the good in me. I'm one lucky girl.

5 years ago at a smoothie shop...

"Life's all about moments of impact and how they change our lives forever. ... The moment of impact proves potential for change and has ripple effects far beyond what we can predict."

-- via

One of the greatest moments of impact in my life was while I was blending smoothies at work my sophomore year of college.

It was five years ago today, while working at the pastry/smoothie shop on-campus at BYU-Idaho, that a friend stopped by to say hi. Sharla is one of the sweetest, most outgoing people I know, and I'll be forever grateful that she took the time to stop by after purchasing her books for the semester, and introduce her mom and brother to me. I honestly don't remember much, I was doing my best to blend those smoothies like a pro, ya know? ;)  But I do remember her mom being so genuinely happy to meet me (she is an angel woman and is like that with everyone she meets) and that her brother was pretty easy on the eyes. ;) Moment. Of. Impact.

Little did I know that day at the smoothie shop Adam would become my best friend, my caring husband, my protector, and the sweetest father to our children. So today we celebrated this special anniversary with lunch and, of course, smoothies.

I love you Adam. *Cheers* to our forever together with more awesome moments of impact. And if some happen to include smoothies, right on.

"It's hard to beat waking up beside the person who's given you so many of the best days of your life."

While looking for an anniversary card for my handsome husband earlier this week, I came a cross the card above. Even though we're not technically "old married people" I still found myself smiling and nodding along as I read it. I ended up picking a different card, but I took pictures of this one and showed Adam last night, on our 4-year wedding anniversary eve. :) We both got a few good laughs while reading it together, then shared a couple sweet kisses...it really does describe some of the aspects of how marriage is. And I wouldn't have it any other way.  The print is pretty small, so in case it's too hard to read, here is what it says:

Stuff only boring old married people like us understand...
That Friday night is actually the perfect time to go grocery shopping.
That no one else can drive you crazy quite like the person you love most in the world.
That it's wonderful to have someone you can always lean on...and possibly fall asleep on.
That it's hard to beat waking up beside the person who's given you so many of the best days of your life.
That "date night", although a nice idea, bears little resemblance to an actual date.
That the ten-thousandth kiss, in its own quiet way, is just as sweet as the first.
That "for better or worse" really means "for better or worse."
That love takes work. And time. A lifetime to be exact.
Happy Anniversary

Four years ago today we started this adventure called marriage.  And while Adam and I have shared incredibly romantic moments and have been on fun adventures, big and small, together...we've also done and said things we regret, then have eaten our fair share of humble pie and chosen to forgive. But through it all, Adam and I remember that we made promises to each other and to God that we'd put the other first, and that we would love and devote our souls to caring for each other, forever.  How lucky am I to have a man who keeps his promises. :)

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY LOVE!

3 years and counting!

The last three years of my life have been undeniably fantastic :)

Marrying Adam...me sweetheart, my best friend, my better half...in the Salt Lake City Temple, was the best decision I've ever made in my life.

Together our faith in our Savior and in each other has grown,

we've traveled,

we've eaten too many sushi rolls to count,

we've experienced gains and losses,

we've disagreed,

we've laughed 'til we cried,

(goodness can that boy make me laugh)

we've bought a home,

we're fixing up that home,

we're raising the most beautiful little boy,

we've grown more in love every single day,

and we look forward to forever with each other.

If I were to describe the last 3 years, I would say I've felt safe, and at peace. I trust Adam with all of my soul. My heart, my body, my spirit...they are his forever.

Together, life is sweeter.

Three years ago, yesterday, I married my best friend, and forever love Adam Stanley Kjar. Marriage isn't easy, we've worked hard to keep ours strong :) And with him it's better than I'd ever hoped for!! I'm one lucky girl, truly blessed to be able to grow more in love with him for the the rest of my life, and for the rest of our forever together.

Happy Anniversary babe!

And yes, knowing I will be with him forever makes me want to jump, and then fly :)

PS -

Brooks here again :) Thought I'd squeeze in another post.

Today is my Dad and Mom's 3 year anniversary!!!!

My Mom says she'll be back tomorrow to post about how much she loves Dad :)

But for today, we're enjoying having Daddy home from work!

I'm so glad they got married and started our forever family :)

Anniversary, weddings, & a little laundry :)

Our 2-year anniversary was last month...

i loooooove anniversaries!

It was so sweet to talk about what we've been through and enjoyed together over our past two years of marriage...and what we're excited for in the future...life looks good :)

On the actual day (May 24th) I surprised Adam at work with a candle lit left-over lunch in his break room. I know, how romantic ;)

That night we went to a family dinner at Mama and Papa Kjar's house for the May birthdays :) So we celebrated just us (w/ our little Brooks of course) by going out on Friday night...

Adam surprised me with where we went to dinner and took me to this Vietnamese restaurant he's told me all about before...and it was all that I expected and more! Cafe Trang had a funky, oriental feel that I really liked, the food was delish, and the check was easy on the wallet. Doesn't get much better than that :)

While we waited for our food...

...we have too much fun together...

Our delectable dishes:

And afterward, we got dessert at one of our favorites: Starbucks :) Their heavenly cream-based frapps & some tasty pastries hit the spot.

Love was most definitely in the air in May...

Two of Adam's closest friends got hitched!!

And can I just tell you that weddings make me absolutely giddy :) Just thinking about two people that have grown in love, and are giving each other their hearts, promising to stick by each other through it all...puts a HUGE smile on my face!

And if it was my choice, I'd marry my sweet Adam over and over and over again...

I love love.

Wedding #1: Quin and Dani Monson!!

They are absolutely adorable together :)

We're SOOOOOOOOO happy for them!

* Adam and the groom...best buds since they were wee little schoolers. (even though I don't know if Quin was ever really little. haha) *

Wedding #2: John & Christy Pearson!!

We love John like a brother! Christy is a lucky lady :) We're excited to get to know her better! But from what we do know, she's perfect for him...love it.

They had these fantastic bubble-gun-do-hickies to use as they left the reception on their way to the honeymoon :) brilliant.

And at the reception, which was at John's gorgeous home in the country, they had the most fabulous cupcakes for the refreshments...all homemade. Yowza.

And let me tell you, they were SOOOOOOOOOOO good!

And the best part, they made them regular size AND miniature...so i was able to try one of each! (okay, 2 of some and 3 and others...you caught me).

Here are all the flavors they had:

- Chocolate cake w/ mint chocolate icing

- Lime coconut cake w/ white chocolate frosting

- Caramel cake w/ salted caramel frosting

- Red velvet cake w/ cream cheese frosting

- German chocolate cake w/ coconut pecan frosting

- Chocolate cake w/ peanut butter frosting

- Spice cake w/ cream cheese frosting

- Strawberry cake w/ french vanilla frosting

And I talked to one of the sisters and she gave me the recipes...ALL of them! Score! (I'd love to email them to anyone who's interested:)

Can't wait to start bakin'...

But you know what I think is even sweeter than all of those scrumptious cupcakes???

My little B helping me with the laundry earlier today.

* don't worry, that's clean laundry ;) *

And this is just an assumption...but I think he's smiling EXTRA big because he had lots of sweet dreams last night...during his almost TEN HOURS of SLEEP!!! Woot woot! Of course, Adam and I didn't know he was going to sleep through the night, and we stayed up late watching So You Think You Can Dance online...oy. But hey, I say sleep is overrated! Who's with me??!!

So proud of our good little sleeper!

* 2 years *

Two years ago (from Monday)

Adam and I were married here:

It was a glorious day.

We were sealed together, forever.

We made promises that we'd love & serve each other, and that we'd strive to put Christ at the center of our marriage & family.

We've worked hard at keeping our marriage strong, united, passionate, forgiving, happy...and the outcome has been better than I ever imagined.

Adam & I have grown closer together...truly becoming one.

We are different in many ways, but we compliment each other :)

Concerning the important things:

we are oh-so similar.

The last two years have been the best of our lives...so far. And you know what? We're going to make the next two even better!!

I love you Adam...and thank you for loving me back.

You make me completely happy!

And happily complete :)

ONE

Adam and I celebrated our 1-Year Anniversary this past Sunday :)

It's crazy how fast time can slip through our fingers...and it makes me SO happy to know that, while this year did fly by, we enjoyed every moment together. Adam & I started it out right...in the Salt Lake City Temple with family & friends that we love so much. And since that day, we've loved being able to wake up next to each other every morning, we've learned how to communicate better with each other, we've had differing opinions, we've laughed & we've cried together (at the same time on more than one occassion), we've prayed together, we've sought advice from each other, we've read to each other, we've bought a home together, we've served in the Cub Scouts together (kinda), we've traveled together, we've enjoyed numerous sushi dinners/lunches together, we've danced in the kitchen to candle light, we've enjoyed watching DVD's on our laptops in bed (due to lack of TV, which we like), we've taken millions & billions (okay, maybe not quite) of photos to capture our memories, we've grown in love with each other more each day...we've been blessed.

I'm so, So, SO grateful for my sweet husband. He is the world to me...I thank my Heavenly Father for him in each of my prayers. How I got so lucky to get him, I still have yet to find out ;) He helps me want to be my best. He's my prince charming!!! I feel like a princess as his wife. And I know, from how he treats me & our families, he's going to be an absolutely AWESOME father to our [future] children...those little kiddies are going to have the best Daddy-o on the block!...no, in the world! =)

We look forward to the rest of our life together...and the rest of forever :)

...AnNiVErSary CeLeBRaTiOn...

Here's what we did on Sunday, and mostly Monday, to celebrate the best year of our lives so far!!

Sunday morning Adam was SO stinkin' sweet to make me breakfast in bed :)

(but for the record...what actually happened was that I woke up with my hubby MIA, so I walked into the kitchen, I could hear he was up to something. I found him, oh so sweetly, making me breakfast. "You're supposed to still be asleep sweetheart," he says... "It's okay," I reply, "let's make it together!" "No, no no! You get back to bed, and I'll bring it into you." So, I float back to our bedroom with thoughts of how I am the luckiest girl in the world. I then proceed to fold laundry on the bed while listened to conference talks :] Soon after, we enjoy the yummy breakfast Adam prepared!...which included french toast with Nutella --> to...die...for...)

On Monday, I planned a few surprises for my hubby... :)

* Yea for bring married for 1 whole year!!! woohoo! *

We went out for sushi at Happy Sumo in Salt Lake's Gateway...we sat out side in the perfectly sunny weather and enjoyed our delicious sushi =)

* Chopstick-teeth is always a winner...Yeah for being dorks in a public setting!!! *

And guess who we saw while we were out to lunch?????...the one, the only...John Schmidt!! He was out to lunch with his wife =)

(here's a link to an awesome video of him playing his version of Taylor Swift's "Love Story" mixed with Cold Play's "Viva la Vida"...awesome)

* By the time i thought to use my paparazzi skills, he was walking away...but i got a picture of the back of his cute little red head! heehee *

Next on the mystery agenda was to head over to Liberty Park & ride the ferris wheel (yep, the one from the movie Charly...and I'll admit it's one of my favorite movies...so it was a pretty big deal to be riding it with my forever sweetheart)And for entertainment purposes...look for the difference in the next 2 picutres... ;)
* sigh...blinking pictures...gotta love 'em *

* look at those eyes!! makes me melt... *

* kisses...kisses...can't get enough ;) *

* the sun was so cozy...oh, and i was wrapped up in the arms of my best friend *

* The ferris wheel seat in front of us was #1!...again, yeah for 1 year!! *

After the perfect ferris wheel ride, we went on a little stroll around the park...holding hands, of course =)

We saw these two cute little girls... * Why this picture rocks: the grown-up tricycle, the younger sister in the basket, they both have blonde dreads, & she's wearing pink camo pants *

While wandering Liberty Park, we happened upon a group of super nice hippies that were selling tie-die blankets, shirts, tanktops, & dresses...they had some pretty sweet jewelry & some hand-made sandals (i wanted a pair, but my not-so-dainty feetsies wouldn't fit)...

And being that it was Memorial Day, I found it quite fitting that Liberty Park has this monument...it says "For Those Who Served in the World Wars." We're grateful for those who've lost their lives fighting for our freedom. After the park, we were off to our surprise dinner appointment...which Adam figured out pretty quick...we had reservations at 7 but we had to leave at 6 to get there... ;) We were heading to Midway, which is where we stayed for our honeymoon last May, at the Homestead Resort :) One of the restaurants we ate at on our honeymoon was the Blue Boar Inn...European fine-dining, with such a unique atmostphere. It was so fun to be back there!
We decided our first course would be a delicious salad...and escargot!!!! * My first escargot experience...very unique, and surprisingly really delicious! *

The dinner was absolutely divine...and it's always better when you're sharing it with your other half :)

We had a wonderful time celebrating our first anniversary together!! Here's to many, many more! I love you Adam!!!!

PS - We really wanted to get away for a night in Park City...but instead, we decided to save that $$ to buy a picture of the Salt Lake Temple for our home :) We went by Deseret Book on our way to sushi and found this gorgeous piece...we'll keep shopping around 'til we find "the one"...can't wait to have it up in our front room! Does anyone have suggestions for places that sell church artwork for a good price??