Weekend Update

Well, a quick disclaimer: this is not a funny "Weekend Update,"as much as it is an update on life that I happen to be writing on the weekend. I'm only as cool as Tina Fey and Amy Poehler in my dreams.

I've debated writing a blog post for a while now... Mostly because I didn't feel like I had a whole lot worth sharing that was all that exciting, and also being too busy with just every day life. It's been crazy! I should probably quickly sum up the highlights of the last few months... Mostly for my sake, as I haven't been keeping a journal or anything to record our lives... Oops!

April: Ian finished his semester of school, and still has a cumulative 4.0 GPA!! I'm SOOO incredibly proud of him and his dedication to school. We also dropped my sister Brooke off at the MTC, since she was called to serve in the North Carolina, Charlotte mission. She absolutely LOVES being a missionary! And on that note, Courtney is loving serving in Arequipa, Peru, and Sean is loving Salt Lake.

May: We were busy with Ian finishing his track season, which he did SO well. He PR'd at 52.2, which was amazing for him, as he really struggled this year. ANNNNNDDD we went to see Ed Sheeran! It was my birthday gift from Ian, and it was SO awesome. We also went and visited my family for Memorial Day weekend, which was great for a birthday weekend.

June: Ian was in Portland with his family for a few weeks, since Brady graduated high school (Go Bray!)... with which I struggled a LOT. I rely on him in so many ways, it really reminded me how much of a difference he makes in my happiness. It was also a hard month for me in that my great-grandma Bessie, and my great uncle John passed away (different sides of my family). Bessie was a little more expected (she was 93), but John's was a little more of a surprise (he was in his 70's, but has been sick for some time). Their deaths weren't sad for me in that I felt that they would be gone forever- the LDS church teaches us that families can live together forever, which was so comforting to me. I mostly was hurting because I missed them incredibly; they were wonderful people that taught me a lot in life.

July- We went to Idaho for Independence Day weekend, and had so much fun with my family at the lake and with fireworks at home. Later that month, we met Ian's family in Las Vegas for a long weekend, and had SOOO much fun! My favorite part was probably seeing Cirque du Soleil with Kelly (my mother-in-law), and hanging around the pool.

August- Not a whole lot happened, it went by so quickly! It was a big month for Ian though, he took his first actuarial exam, and he passed!!! He was a total punk about it though, and let me think for a while that he didn't... But I'm so happy he did! He studied all summer for it, and he did well. He also had his birthday, and turn 24! For his birthday, we just went out to dinner, and stayed home to watch 30 Rock (that was all he wanted for his birthday). I did, however, attempt to make a cake that was WAY out of my league- a layered, chocolate Andes mint cake with THREE different types of frosting. It was intense, but it turned out okay!

And here we are in September- Ian just started another semester, and we are loving having another routine to follow. We have a lot of things coming up that we are SOOO excited for, such as:

Lake Powell- we are going in a few weeks with some friends from the track team! We are renting a house boat- which I've never been on one, so I'm excited to go.

Portland- we are going back home for Thanksgiving, and I couldn't be more excited to have a few days cooking with Kelly! (ESPECIALLY since she has a normal sized oven!)

And last but not least.... we're going to CHILE!!!!

We got our tickets back in April or May, for an amazing price. We had been looking for several months, and didn't think we would be able to go, since tickets were about $1500 a piece, round trip. Then one day, I checked, and they dropped to $742! So we bought them as quickly as possible. We will be going in December for a week, and we could not be happier about it :) We are even excited for our layovers- only for a few hours each, but in Lima, Peru, and Sao Paolo, Brazil!

Ian is so excited to return to Chile, as he served his mission there. I've never left the country, so I'm excited my first chance of international traveling will be with someone that has lived in that country. In fact, my passport just came in the mail the other day! I had no idea they were so small, and could make me so happy!

Anyway, in general, we are incredibly happy. We spend our spare time with each other trying out different restaurants, binging on 30 Rock (which is a true television masterpiece), or going on walks in the evening. Most of the time, we feel unfairly blessed, so much so, we worry that it's a bad thing, as if it means we're in the calm before the storm. Either way, we are loving our marriage, and life couldn't be sweeter!

Oops.

Apparently I missed the memo that it is March, and I haven't blogged in... forever. Oh well, you live and you learn, right? Maybe.

Anyway, a SUPER quick recap since my last post (again, forever ago. So sorry to my crazy large group of readers, meaning my mom-in-law and the two or three other people that love me):

October: My sister Brookie came to visit, and it was awesome.
November: We saw my fam for Thanksgiving, and loved every minute of it. And I chopped my hair!
December: We didn't get to go home to either family for Christmas, but we got to hang with my uncle Jeff and aunt Kristi, who live in Salt Lake. We went sledding and ate waaay too many crepes, which was perfect.
January: We drove to eastern Oregon to meet up with Ian's parents at his Grandma's house to make up  for Christmas. I was so proud of myself, I didn't get carsick ONCE (which, if you know me, you would know this is a huge achievement).
February: We flew to Portland for President's Day/Valentine's weekend, which was amazing. I miss Portland and all the people there like crazy, so it was a huge blessing to be there with family and friends. Bummer was I was carsick the ENTIRE time.

Which leads us to now! We are getting busier and busier each day. We feel like we have plans for the rest of the year, and it's only March. Few new things:

• Outdoor track season: starts in TWO weeks! As excited as I am for this, it means Ian will be gone most weekends. So sad.
• Book Club: I'm starting book club!! Ian and I realized a few weeks ago that we watch waaaaay  too much Netflix, and got library cards to compensate for all the brain cells Gilmore Girls and House have taken from us. So book club starts tomorrow, and I couldn't be more excited!
• New-ish job: I switched jobs in January to work for a law firm in American Fork, and it is so amazing. Just a huge blessing in that I get to come home earlier, and don't come home as burned out or stressed as I used to. 
• Food Truck Friday: Ian and I have implemented a new tradition in that we go to the Food Truck Rally in Orem every Friday night. It is SO freakin' good. I have this terrible tendency of getting the same thing every time; I get the Margherita from the Fiore' food truck, which LITERALLY has the best crust ever. I am 100% addicted to the basil-mozzarella goodness, and have zero regrets. Ian is better about trying new things, like the Korean BBQ truck Cup Bop or the grilled cheese joint Mousetrap. We just love it. 
• We hit our 8 month mark: Wait, what?!?! It's crazy. I love it. I just love that I found my person that I want to share all of my adventures with so early in life, regardless of the size of the adventure. Were we crazy to get married so young and so fast? Probably. But I can't think of any other situation that would make me happier. So we are 8 months and counting, and can't wait for our all of the craziness to come.

Other changes are in progress, but we are so excited for them. Ian and I say all too often that we are unfairly happy, we feel so blessed. We are just so happy, it's almost annoying. Anyway, we are doing well, and hope you are too :)

Love, 

The McG's