Happy Birthday to my Amazing Father!!

So this is a little belated!! It was my Dad's Birthday on Monday, August 17th, but I wrote the blog about Barry and then I've been SO busy since, that I haven't had time to write this. But I just wanted to let my Dad know what an Amazing man he is, and how much I Love and Respect Him!! He is probably THE BEST DAD in the World!! He is very patient, and loving!! He was the best example of the type of man that I should look for!! He loves the gospel, and he loves his family more than anything!! He works so hard for his family, and always puts them first!! Barry was SO scared to ask for my hand in marriage because he thought that since he had taken so long to ask, my Dad would be mad, or tell him "No." Of course, that is Not even close to what happened!! He just said that he would like him to take care of me. He only thinks of others!! Some great memories that I have with my Dad are when I was a little girl I was a DADDIES GIRL through and through!! On Saturday mornings I would crawl into bed with my parents and ask my Dad to make me go "Flying" up high in the sky!! He would put me above his head, and then him and my Mom would say "Megan, you get down from that sky!" I always loved to go in and feel the love that my parents have for each other, and for me!!
I don't know if my Dad really likes to camp, but my Mom and Chris and I LOVE to camp. He would take the time to help us set up, and usually, while we were having TONS of fun for a week camping, he would be working a couple of those days. But he NEVER complained, and he would come up as much as he could. Then he would help us load up the stuff and take us home!!
I never had to wonder if he loved me, Chris or my Mom. He will willingly show it, no matter what!! He is always interested in what is going on, and tries to find out ways to solve any problem!!
He was persistent and helped to find my ring, when both Barry and I had given up on it!! I seriously could have cried my eyes out when I realized that because of his persistence, he found my ring!!
He is amazing at finding things!! I lost some earrings once and cried my eyes out!! He went an looked where I had been, even after I had "searched to no use!" and cam back with the earrings!!
I Love My Dad SO MUCH!! He is truly an amazing man, and I thank my Heavenly Father that I was blessed into a home with a strong conviction of the church, and that is SO loving!! Thank you Dad for all of the sacrifices that you have made, and continue to make on mine, and our families behalf!! You truly are AMAZING!!

Tribute to My Wonderful Husband!!

So I have been thinking about this post for a couple of days, and wanted to have the time to write it down. You see, I have THE BEST possible husband IN THE WORLD!! I don't know how I got SO BLESSED, but somehow, God smiled down upon me!! He is SO amazingly patient, loving, caring, and compassionate, just to name a few of his wonderful traits!! He understands me, and really tries to help me whenever he sees a need. So this is how the post started to form...My husband told me to take the night off on Wednesday because I had been with Tom for so long, especially while he was in Roosevelt. So I went over to my Mom's house and we worked on crafts. Well, I came home to the two HUGE piles of laundry STILL on the floor...at this point I got a little frustrated because I thought, I can't take a break because nothing gets done. Of course Barry felt bad about it, and apologized. He said that he hadn't seen the HUGE piles of laundry... :0) Well, the next day he had about 2 hours in the morning after I left, and before he had to teach a lesson, so what do you think he did? He cleaned the house!! Sweet huh?!! He knew I felt overwhelmed and needed some help, so he decided to do it all!! I came home to a clean kitchen, and clean floor, clean room, and 2 loads of laundry done, and a clean bathroom!! On Friday morning he had to be gone by 6:00 AM, so I had a couple hours to take these cute pictures...Notice that two of those socks match, but they are only lying NEXT to each other? Not together...

And notice where the tag is? On the outside...HAHAHA!!

This picture really made me laugh because he tried SO hard, and did such a good job, but I think that it might have been a little easier to leave the shirt right side in, instead of right side out...but I'm NOT going to complain!! Anytime he wants to help me out, I will willing let him!!

Then, this weekend, Barry played in the Salt Lake City Open, so I went and followed him around for two days. I got a nice, crispy sunburn, but it was well worth it to be with my wonderful Hubby!! Barry's parents took us out to dinner to Texas Roadhouse (YUM) and as soon as we pulled in to the parking space, I knew something was missing, and that something was my...Beautiful....

RING!!!

Yes, I am serious...my ring was not on my finger where it should be!! I showed the hand to Barry and said "Look!!" And his response was..."What? Are you hungry? Shaky?" My response was "No, what's missing?" "Ummm..." "My Ring!!" :0) As you can tell he wasn't too stressed, but as my stress became more apparent, then he got worried. The last time I had remembered having it was on hole #16, because I had taken if off because my fingers go SO swollen in the hot sun. Needless to say we hurried and ate (Well I didn't eat much) and rushed back to Wing Pointe golf course!! We looked all around, on our hands and knees, and some sweet ladies who had A Lot of sympathy helped as soon as Barry told them what we were looking for (Of course my voice could not utter the awful words that I had lost my wedding ring, because I would break into sobs when I did!) It wasn't there, and on the way home I SOBBED my Head off!! Barry promised to buy me a new, bigger more expensive ring, but that would only make me sadder!! I didn't want a new ring!! I wanted the ring he asked me to marry him with!! I wanted the ring that he gave to me on our wedding day, and that had been on my hand for only 8 SHORT months!! We went over to my parents house because my Dad is amazing at finding things. Finally after deciding that the only way to find it would be to get a metal detector, and since they were expensive and we didn't know anyone who had one, we were just going to have to hope someone found it. I wanted to go home because I was Emotionally, Physically, and Mentally DRAINED!! I wanted to go to sleep, since I had gotten up at 7:00 AM both mornings and walked the 7 miles on the golf courses!! My Dad knew that it had to be somewhere that was obvious so he was checking my car a little...he decided to look in between the console in our car, and found a fork (Don't ask why a fork was in the car. Barry's had it the past couple days while I had his...Who knows why anything is in there!!) When he moved the fork, Barry noticed something shiny, and round...and Oh, he FOUND IT!!! Oh my Gosh!! What a HUGE relief!!! I was SO grateful that he had found it!! We were able to enjoy the rest of the night, and I was able to sleep like a log (minus the crispy sunburn!) I can't tell you how GRATEFUL I am for my Husband, for his understanding when he thought I had lost my ring like a mindless women!! For his loving words and encouragement that we Would find it!! For trying to make me feel better by telling me that it really wasn't that great of a ring, so it would be better to get a new one!! He always tries to help me no matter what!! He cleans up after himself, which is not a common thing among the male gender, I've heard!! He works hard, and has the patients of JOB!!! And loves to joke and kid around with me all of the time!! Even things that would drive me nuts, he lets me do!! I'm amazed that I was smart enough to say yes to this Amazing man, and feel so blessed to be married to Barry Charles Schenk!! I Love You sweetheart!! Happy "two month" anniversary tomorrow!!

The Best Apricot Blackberry Jam!!

And the final Way fun thing we did before Barry got home was make Jam!! We used apricots and blackberrys to make a blackberry jam. The apricots take on the flavor of the blackberries and then it makes them not so seedy. INSTRUCTIONS FOR MAKING JAM...

Apricots in the food processor

Kind of grind them up, but don't pulverize them. Because jam is suppose to be the fruit, while jelly is the juice.
Grind the blackberries up also.

Mix them together with sugar, and the no sugar needed Pectin. Put it into a pot and have it come to a raging boil.

Keep stiring!!! Once it has come to a raging boil add the rest of the "sugar." We used Aguave Nectar because it is sweeter than sugar, but you don't need as much, and it is better for Barry with his diabetes.

And then you get the beautiful product:

It was really fun to be able to use the great fruit we got from the Farmer's Market to make such great jam!! Thanks Mom for your guidance, and providing your kitchen for the mess!! But it really was worth it!!

Continuation of the Fun Weekend!!

Saturday Morning we got up a little too early....

Not really, I just thought those were too cute of faces not to post. We went to the Farmer's Market here is Murray. Then we went to Wheeler Farms for their Kids Carnival. My other awesome cousin Brittany came up from Clearfield and brought her adorable boy, Ryland!! Brittany is expecting another little boy in about a month, and we can't wait for this other addition to SPOIL!!

Here is our sweet boy Ryland!! This kid has NO fear!! He is willing to try anything!! He was up pretty high, but it didn't bother him!! Look at that BIG grin!!

Eddy and Ryland in front of a Batman jumping cage. They love Batman, so this was Awesome for them!!

Ryland in front of the Shark slide. This slide was Huge, so he waited for a little bit to come down it. Really I think he was just enjoying the view!

And the T-Rex slide!! See how big these were??!! In this one, Brittany took Eddie through, and let Ryland follow. Well, Ryland wasn't about following, so after 10 minutes I told them I had to go get him. Let me tell you, this was a rather difficult little climb to go through b/c it is air, and air isn't as firm so you kind of slip a lot. But as soon as I got to the top of the slide, there was Ryland ready to go down!! Really, why do I do these things to myself? He was eventually coming out!! :0)

As you can tell, Eddie really enjoyed it too!!

Then Sissy wanted to get Josie's face painted. She was really good as long as we had a sucker and held it in front of her face on the side that her face was getting painted. What a sweet little girl!!

Side 1

Side 2

They had police cars and ambulances there, and they taught the kids about safety. This is Eddie and Ryland in the ambulance. I think they were getting sick of taking pictures! :0)

I decided I didn't have to pose them on this one!! Here they are in the fire truck, pretending to drive it!! Watch out, here comes some crazy cute kids!!

"My" Fun Weekend...

On Thursday morning, at the early hour of 5:00 AM, Barry headed off to Roosevelt Utah. So I was on my own. Thankfully we have family close by, and my wonderful cousin Stephanie from Rock Springs Wyoming came down with her sweet little kids!! We decided to have a....wait for it....POOL PARTY!! :0) That's the great part of having a place for everyone to enjoy!! We of course had great ribs, and salad, and then it was time to go SWIMMING!!

Introducing Josephine Anderson!!

Our sweet baby girl Josie!! Not trying to post a nude picture of a baby, but those cheeks are too cute to resist!! We're getting her ready to go swimming!

Introducing Edward Anderson!!

Here is Eddie with his sister Josie!! They are probably the Sweetest children ever!! And their awesome Momma, Stephanie, or Sissy! Sissy had high blood pressure with both of her deliveries. With Eddy she was life flighted at 30 weeks down to the University of Utah hospital because she had HELP syndrome. Edward came 10 weeks early, but amazingly without any steroids, he weighed 3lbs 2 oz. He dropped after the first couple days to under 3lbs, but was only in the NICU for 9 weeks. Now that is a VERY long time for a new mother with her first baby, but it was such a blessing that he was realitively healthy!! Now, at 3, you would never be able to tell because he is developmentally where he should be!! Josie was born at 34 1/2 weeks. Sissy was given steroids at 30 weeks in case Josie came so early. So thankfully she was about 4lbs. She was still in the NICU for a couple of weeks, but it was wonderful for her to be born so big and healthy!!

Everyone wave at the camera!!

If you remember Friay, it only got up to about 80 degrees so about 15 minutes into it, Josie was NOT impressed. Eddie did a little bit better, and lasted about 45 minutes, but finally we had to get out to get our sweet babies warm!!

So we stuck them in the Tub!! As you can tell, they were much happier in the tub!! This is Eddy giving his sweet sister a kiss!!

Again, not trying to show nude pictures, but sweet babies!! :0)

Our Garden!!

**WARING**** THE NEXT FEW BLOGS HAVE A LOT OF PICTURES, but I'm going to make my blog into a book someday, so I want a lot of pictures.

On Monday we had my parents come over for a great Taco Ring dinner (easy, and really good!!) We needed some tomatoes and we decided that our tomatoes were FINALLY looking good enough to actually eat!! Now you have to realize that this was my pride a joy, especially before we went on our honeymoon. I think the reason was because I was able to focus on something besides the wedding, and this would be something worthwhile. On Memorial Day we decided to start this little garden. It was kind of late in the year, but we wanted to have something that we could grow. We got the pots, and plants, and miracle grow soil. Little did we know that you aren't suppose to use just miracle grow soil, you are actually suppose to have some potting soil also. Well, most of our plants died, but our tomatoes somehow survived, well kind of. So on Monday, when we got to pick these little beauties, I thought it called for some "Kodak" moments!!
These are our carrots that Barry pulled up to see how they were doing! :0) Well, their dead now, but we got to see that they had been growing!! Ha HA!!! Love my husband!!

Getting ready to pick that beautiful little tomato!!

He wanted a picture with me doing it.

And now, here I am actually trying to get it off!! Goodness, I guess it wasn't that ripe yet because it didn't just fall off the vine!!

So our beautiful, kind of expensive little project has actually produced "fruit!" We were SO excited to be able to grow something!! I sometimes forget to water them now that we are home from our honeymoon, so it's actually pretty amazing that they all didn't die!! But Hooray for us!!

I have a Confession...

Okay, I have a confession to make... I have an addiction!! (Gasp!) I know, I'm LDS, and we shouldn't have such things. But I can't help myself!!! I think about them day and night, and can't wait until I get to see them again!! Yes, I do this with Barry!! But there is something else that I am almost equally obsessed with...

Yes, they are BOOKS!!! Now I've recently learned that books should have a rating!! I thought all books were created equal...pure, whole goodness that really made you feel better to read it. I have since decided that I REALLY have to start being picky about my choice of books!!

Yesterday as I was at searching for a an apartment for Barry and I to live (yes I know we have a great set-up with the man that has MS, but it really is hard to not be newly-weds) I ran across an ad on KSL for BOOKS...Of course I was intrigued because I love them. And to my great surprise and delight, there was an add that read: 24 books for $1.00 each or 6 for $5.00, or take all for $15.00 Most published by Covenant. Now for those of you who don't know, Covenant is the publisher for Deseret Book, so of course these were going to be good reads, pure whole sweet books. At first I wanted to POUNCE on the offer. But I decided that a new apartment was worth more, and I would be good and try to save money. That night, I just happened to mention to Barry my find, and of course he asked me why I didn't get them already? Well...I'm trying to save money, and be a good wife. Then he pointed to his incriminating evidence of Saturday...there on our bed, lay a book that was just purchased for $15.00. One book, $15.o0, vs. 24 for $15.00. I know he thought I was crazy, and as I pondered it, I realized I was. Right then, at 9:30 at night, I called the seller and asked if they had been sold. I was informed that they hadn't even received a single call. YEAH!!! And the best part... we could pick them up now!! We rushed into the car, drove to West Jordan, and purchased all 24 books for a small price!! I am SO ecstatic I can hardly keep my mind on anything else!! So there you are!! I am THE BIGGEST book worm ever!! But reading is my escape, my way to unwind and fill my reservoir so that I can keep giving my time, talents and love to those around me!! What do you do for fun?

I have forgotten to post about my Fabulous weekend!! I forgot that I had a digital camera and sadly, didn't take pictures. But we had another great pool party on Friday with my cousin Brent and his wife Natalie and my brother Chris!! Now the day didn't go quite as smoothly because I did have to work, but it was still a blast!! We made HOBO dinners, and then went swimming. Afterwards we played

And it looked exactly like this classic board because it was Tom's and it was from 1949!! How cool!! It was a fabulous day!! Then Saturday was spent working on my other obsession lately...crafting!! I made a Frankenstein girl doll. And she is SO cute, if I do say so myself!! I will take a picture and let you decide, but I just have to remember my camera!! And of course Sunday was Amazing at church, but I plan on blogging about that later. I hope your weekends were Marvelous as well, and thankfully only 2 days more until the next!!

Our Fun 24th Pool Party!!

This year, for the 24th of July we decided that we would host a party because we had The Perfect place for it!! The Pool!!! I spent the day getting ready for it, which means cleaning so that the house looked presentable!! Barry went golfing about 7:00 AM, so I was able to get A LOT done!! I wanted it to look nice because Barry's Dad and step-mom were coming over for the first time since we've been married, and it actually was clean, not a bachelor pad!! But it ended up that we spent pretty much the whole time out by the pool, so they didn't even walk in the door. All well...that's what I get for worrying!!

Anyways, Albertson's had ribs on for $1.00 a pound, so I got the meat, and it ended up being only $3.50 for 7 Ilbs because they didn't have the correct price. Did you know that if you correct Albertson's on prices, they will give it to you for free? Well, I was pretty proud of myself for getting so much meat for so little!! I put it in the crock pot at 10:00 AM with Famous Daves sauce, and by 6:00 PM they were falling off the bone! We had everyone bring something, so it worked out to be a pretty good feast!! Not bad for my first hosting of a party!!

This picture is of Greg Buckway, our friend, and Barry! They were dressed alike so I thought it was a kodak moment!! :0)

Greg has been a great friend to both Barry and I! He comes over to the house a lot, and has even cooked us dinner a couple times. Barry and Greg met in college, and he was even present on our 2nd date...so I've known him for about 4 1/2 years. It's great to have good friends that you stay close to!

Of course Barry had to change so that he wouldn't look too much like Greg.

Barry and I after eating the great food, and before we went swimming!

***WARNING!!! The picture you are about to see is...well I don't have any makeup on. But just remember, I was about to get in the pool!! :0) But my CUTE new family!!

Greg and our other friend Mindy Falkner sitting by the pool. They decided that sitting by the pool was as good as getting in!

This is Karen and Tom Hurst. Tom is the man with MS that we take care of from 6:00 PM until 9:00 PM at night. I cook him dinner, Barry feeds him, and then we are his companion for the rest of the time. We don't have to do any other work except feed him, and we get free rent and they pay for our food. It has been a good experience for us, as Barry and I have had to learn a lot more responsibility. We enjoy being able to save A LOT of money!

***ANOTHER WARNING!!* Picture in the pool!! We had a lot of fun swimming around and playing!!

This is Larry and Candy Schenk, Barry's Dad and step-mother, and my new in-laws!! I love them so much!! They are SO supportive of Barry and I and are always willing to help no matter what!! Thank you Larry and Candy for all you do!!

Barry's mother Shelly wasn't able to make it because she was in Park City shopping with her family. We missed her, but we will have another party soon for her to come and enjoy the fun of the pool!!

And of course, the night wouldn't be complete until the fireworks!!! We went to my parents house in Sandy to watch them, because Murray didn't have any. This picture is not that great, but it was the best one I could get

So our first 24th of July together was Wonderful!! We Love being able to get with friends and family and really appreciate what is important!! We are so grateful to them, and love them so much!! We are very grateful for all of our pioneer ancestors, if they were pioneers that came to Utah on the wagon trek, or if they came to America by boat from Germany, Sweden or Ireland, we are deeply indebted, and feel so blessed to be in this country, and the Great State of Utah!!

Remember When...

Since my digital camera is on the fritz, and I desperately need a new one, I decided that instead of trying to make my camera work for this post, I would go through my pictures on my computer. As I was looking through them, I saw the Cute pictures of Barry and I when we went to Jim Brickman on February 14th, 2008, and it reminded me of the CUTE story!! So if you've already heard this one...Sorry, but I wanted to write it down!!

Last year in February Barry was in Hawaii the first part. I wanted to do something fun for our FIRST Valentines together!! That's right!! Every other year Barry had been away at a golf tournament (golfers just aren't that romantic), so I was listening to the radio like usual, and FM100 had contest about the quirky things your valentines does. Of course, Barry is the Cutest, quirkiest guy ever, so I had a lot, but decided on one. This is the email I wrote:

"Good morning Brian & Rebecca, I have wanted to email you my quirky Valentine since Monday, but since we moved we haven't had internet at work. So I'm finally able to let you know about my Wonderful, quirky Valentine. I have to preface with asking have you ever seen "My Big Fat Greek Wedding?" The father thinks that Windex is the Cure-All for any ailment under the sun. Well, my quirky Valentine believes that Tums are the cure all for any ailment. It goes from anything from my stomach hurting, to pain in my legs, or just a simple headache. Thankfully he is rather healthy, so he doesn't take them very much. But I love laughing whenever I say "I have a headache," and he says, "Take some Tums! They'll help." And he is completely serious. I love this man, and I love everything about him, especially the cute quirks that make me laugh, and have a wonderful day just talking to him. I hope you get this, and laugh with me about how wonderful my Valentine is! Sincerely, Megan Nelson"

They wrote back:

"Megan, You've won today's My Quirky Valentine contest! You've got tickets to the Jim Brickman Valentine's Concert at Kingsbury Hall and dinner for two at Schneitters Restaurant at Zermatt! Congrats! Brian and Rebecca"

It was 8:00 AM here in Utah, and it was 5:00 Am in Hawaii, but I wanted to tell Barry that we were on the radio!! Unfortunately he didn't answer, but I told him when he called me back!! :0) So here are some pictures of us before heading to the concert (sorry they're grainy, they were taken by my cell phone).

This is at the Concert!!! It was Awesome, and we had SO much fun!!

What a great way to spend our first Valentines together in our 3 year courtship!! Of course we were able to share Valentines this year, but we didn't win tickets!! I made him a list of quirky things that I love about him for that day too. Here are some of them:

-You asked for, and were ecstatic to receive a case of canned ravioli

-You compared me to Lacey (Barry's Dog) when we first started dating

-You never got mad that I told everyone you had turrets

-You wanted to feel a “pop” toy go off on your head

-Our fourth date you hugged me, then didn't touch me the rest of the evening

The dinner to Zermatt was incredible also, though we didn't use them until April after my birthday. But we got 2 appetizers, 2 entrees, and 1 dessert!! We had to pay the tax and tip which came to 30 dollars, so you can imagine what the cost of the food would have been had we not had the free dinner certificate!! I love this memory, Love Barry, and I love remembering how cute and Quirky my Husband is!!

One Month and Counting....

We did it!! We finally got married!! We decided that the best way to stay in touch with our family and friends would be to BLOG!! We're so excited to share our lives with all of you, and we're very grateful for all of your love and support!! This is also a great way to show our wonderful pictures. So here are a few of our PERFECT DAY!!

Me getting ready...that was a crazy, Wonderful day!!

Our First Kiss as a married couple!! (wasn't that about the sweetest kiss you've ever seen!! :0)

Cutting the Cake
Throwing the Bouquet

Famous Garter Toss!! (I was just glad he finally got it!)

"Our First Dance" Not really, but the photographer had to go, so what could we do! :0)

Barry has been the perfect husband, VERY easy going!! He said he wouldn't mind if I cut my hair and after it was done he said he LOVES it, and doesn't think I should grow it out again, because he loves it so much!! We'll see if I do or don't but for now, I'm just happy that he loves it so much!! Our ONE MONTH anniversary was Saturday, and unfortunately we spent most of the day apart because Barry had a golf tournament, but I went shopping with my Mom and Aunt. Then when he got home, at 9:30 PM, we went on a date with another couple and didn't get home until 12:30 AM! But it was a good way to celebrate that month ago, The Greatest Day of Our Lives!!