the robinsons: 2011

Another Year Gone

I can't believe 2011 is over in just a few hours!

It's been a great year, and we've made a lot of great memories together. I seriously feel like this year has flown by! 2012 promises to be exciting and full of new adventures for Taylor and I.

We are so grateful for the people in our lives who made this year a remarkable one! All our families, friends, coworkers, peers, and strangers who were nice to us!

Thanks 2011! Looking forward to another great year!

Here are a couple of my favorite pictures from 2011 {not in any order}:

{disney land oct 2011}

{disney land oct 2011: Ben, Stephanie, Taylor and I}

{lake powell: jordan, spenc, blake, taylor, kelcie}

{target practice: march 2011}

{camelback with jenna bowman: spring 2011}

{girls trip! manda, sus, em, annie, susan, denise, karen, me, liz, cari}

{my sweet bunny girl, i miss you buns!}

{4th of July hike}

{Jackson: April Conference}

{my bunners}

{oh titus, you messy boy, i love you!}

{hottttt}

{micah and I, love you brother!}

{uncle tay and sweet little hank at early thanksgiving}

See you next year!

We got a lot of fun things for early Christmas, we even decided to exchange our own gifts to each other before actual Christmas day! The main reason for this was that....we went to Jackson for Christmas! {and checking bags is my least favorite thing}

We had a wonderful Christmas up in Jackson, just me and Taylor. It was so relaxing and beautiful.

Mostly we read, and watched movies, and ate delicious food. However, we also spent equal amounts of time playing in the snow and enjoying the cold outdoors! Jackson is where my heart is its happiest, especially when I'm there with my sweet husband!

While Jackson was a lovely getaway, we are happy to be home in Arizona!

{also, everyone should visit Jackson Hole Wyoming, seriously, you want to go to there. promise}

Shooting

Nephew Ben got a new .22 for Christmas and Uncle Tay and Auntie Kelcie went out to the desert with him and Nate to learn how to shoot it!

Ben did so well! He's a good shot, and he listened when Uncle Tay taught him all about gun safety.

We hadn't been shooting for a while and were really excited to go. Taylor bought some tannerite {explosive targets} which were awesome, and we spent a few hours target shooting, it was a blast! {pun intended}

Golf

While everyone on the Robinson side was in town for Early Christmas on the 19th we got to do a few fun things with the nephews.

Davis asked Uncle Tay if he could take him golfing, and Uncle Tay is so nice he said yes! Noah, Ben, and Uncle Nate came too. It was fun watching the guys practice!

{uncle nate getting the boys set up. ben and nate. left handed noah. davis}

{my husband is SMOKIN hott!}

Phooson 2011

And so begins my blog up-date. Not much has been said concerning our life the last month and so I feel inclined to share a little.

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The first weekend of December I got to have a special night out with my friends Emily and Heather.

We went to Phooson, where we got to see Nicole Scherzinger, Selena Gomez, Gym Class Heroes, One Republic and some thugs perform. {I forgot which thugs, they are all so thugish I can't keep them straight, and I wasn't there to see them, I was there for my girlfriend Selena and One Republic, because they know how to rock}

{you can blame the fuzziness on my phone's front camera}

Update

Apparently I haven't posted since October, or something...

This semester has been insanely busy for both Taylor and I. I'm in my last year of school {graduate in MAY, Fall semester officially over so now only one more to go!}, Taylor has been applying to go back to school, I've been studying for my NIC {National Interpreter Certification}, Taylor's been applying to schools {seriously, quite the process, GMat course, GMat itself, applications, essays, reference letters, interviews...the list goes on}, and on top of everything we're still trying to keep every one else happy {we try to anyways, doesn't always work out}.

One piece of good news that I'm willing to share at this point is that all my studying for my NIC definitely paid off! I passed with flying color! WOOHOO! To become a professional ASL Interpreter you have to pass the NIC written exam and the NIC performance/interview. I passed the written, so now its time to start studying for the performance/interview portion! One step closer to having a big girl job!

Taylor also got some exciting news today, but we aren't quite ready to share exactly what that is yet!

This year we were lucky enough to have TWO Thanksgivings! Yes, two!

As Taylor's sisters keep having babies and growing their beautiful families its a lot harder to get everyone together and still balance time with the in-laws, so this year the Robinson's decided to do Thanksgiving a week early! It was so fun to be together, and honestly much less stressful than official Thanksgiving! No crowded grocery stores, no searching for the turkey...nothing crazy!

Our second Thanksgiving was in Globe with the Sirrine family {my mother's side}. I haven't been to a Globe Thanksgiving since before I started dating Taylor so it was fun to see that side of the family.

Now we get two Christmases too! Monday all Taylor's sisters are going to be in town so we decided to early Christmas together! For second {real} Christmas we're going to Jackson Hole Wyoming, my favorite place on earth! We're so excited for all of our holiday plans!

Next time I post it'll probably be awesome. Filled with exciting things! Also, it probably won't be until the New Year! 2012 is going to rock!

our halloween weekend

We had a pretty darn good weekend, if I do say so myself.

Taylor got new seats in the Bronco {I wish I had taken photos of the old torn up seats to compare to}

Bunny got a good brushing {about time! bunny is SO fluffy}

Taylor and I dressed up for Paul and Emily's Halloween party {we're Ron and Hermione from Harry Potter if you couldn't tell..}

We went to a Luau Saturday afternoon that Sam's good friend Junior put on, it was legitimate.

I ran into an old friend and his wife {Chris and Jael Lindblom} at Paul and Emily's Halloween party and we had dinner with them Sunday night :) it was pretty awesome, they're pretty awesome.

I bought "winter makeup" for the first time in my life! {winter meaning, I completely lost any tan I might have had this summer and now need a make-up that is about 3 shades lighter!}

We watched movies just us two all Saturday night, it was nice just being us for the night, Saturday in general was great because we didn't have any plans whatsoever! we were able to get our laundry done, the lawn mowed {I did it all by myself :)} clean our house, clean taylors truck, rinse the outside of our house {its white plaster, and we have a dirt drive-way, you can imagine the mess I'm sure} and still have time to go to the luau and relax all night!

The luau was kind of a big deal too. Junior played football for ASU back in the day, and the luau was a 40th anniversary celebration of the Fiesta Bowl. Junior brought some talented Plynesian Dancers with him from Hawaii and they put on an amazing show! I wish I could my hips like those girls! Also, I discovered the only legitimate use of baton twirling skills.

happy halloween

autumn is here...ish

I absolutely LOVE fall!

I might love it more in other states, after all autumn is so much better when the leaves actually change colors!

Oh, and I totally had hot cocoa this morning ~~with~~ for my breakfast!

Our house is ready for Halloween, and we're excited to go to a costume party tomorrow night at Paul and Emily's house! It's kind of amahhhhing that I convinced Taylor to dress up with me too this year, props to me!

We kind of fit our characters perfectly...

{I'll clue you in after the partay!}

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I signed up for the written portion of the NIC {National Interpreter Certification} Exam this morning, which made me feel a little nervous, and excited, and grown up! Let the studying begin!

I'm excited about my decision to take it now, I have been struggling with the decision of which test to take, and when to take it. I Hope I Win!

I'm getting so excited for the next few years with Taylor. I'm excited to finish school! I'm excited to Interpret. I'm excited for Taylor to go back to school {and excited to know WHERE} and I'm excited to learn and grow with my best friend!

soul

I can't focus today

I can't focus this week

there is a thought flying through my mind at light speed

one.

constant.

now, this isn't a thought I would like to admit to, in fact I've been very anti-this-thought for as long as I can remember.

No, I'm not ready to share what it is, but soon, maybe.

You know that feeling where you try to concentrate on something you need to be doing but your body, no, your soul is yearning for something you want, or rather now all of sudden you desperately need

well my soul is aching, yearning, stretching, wanting, desperate

and it's completely out of the blue {and by out of the blue I mean my body has been periodically yearning for said-something for the past few weeks, a few ago it was out of the clear blue yonder}

What I do?

if I don't consider what my soul is aching for and continue on MY plan, will my aching ever stop?

is MY plan really more important than my soul's?

is this just a passing phase?

I've never felt quite this way before, my longing is literally near painful, its not a passing thought, it hasn't left since it came, and I feel it

in my chest, in my throat, in my heart, in every part of me.

Even why I try to get rid of it, when I try to be logical, I can't.

am I lying to myself?

is this really my soul? or something else entirely?

if only I could interpret my own feelings

our weekend

home made pizzas and scary stories

watching remi gaillard videos in the car

"I'm too excited to sleep!" classic Disneyland

6 hour drive each way

!DISNEYLAND!

stinky hotel {motel 6 is gross, don't stay there}

home.

the best weekend with the best people :)

*song is Lingering Still by She & Him*

goals

1. Make a quilt!

2. learn to play violin

3. learn to paint (oils)

4. learn to use a Letterpress!

5. learn to knit

6. take another dance class, I'm thinking more along the contemporary lines

There are so many things I want to learn. Absolutely none of which {at the moment} are academic. I want to be creative! I want to make beautiful things! I want to do beautiful things. The issue now is finding the time to learn everything I want to!

happiness hit her, like a train on a track

One of my favorite songs to run to is Florence and the Machine's Dog Days are over. Maybe because she's telling me to run fast, I don't know.

I haven't been running consistently for months now, partially because of the heat, an excuse not a reason, as my sweet husband would say, and he would be right. Its silly really, my body loves to run, its the closest I come to feeling like I'm flying, yet I make all these excuses and keep my body from being happy.

not today

I pushed myself

I set a goal and I accomplished it

That's what life is all about isn't it? Making goals, achieving goals, pushing yourself

Yesterday at church a return sister missionary whom I have never met spoke. She quoted an authority in our church {and I wish I could tell you who} I think it may have been from our semi-annual general conference, but what she said really made me think, about a lot of things.

"the fastest swimmers become that way because they kick when they don't want to kick, they stroke when they don't want to stroke"

so I ran, even though my mind didn't want me to run. and I kept running even though my lungs felt like they were collapsing, and you know what? I did it, I ran 4 miles without stopping {which if you know me, that's pretty pathetic, so it shows how out of shape I am} and I felt like I was flying.

Now understand, this doesn't just relate to swimming, or running in my case, and when this sister was speaking I wasn't thinking about running. I was thinking about school, I was thinking about all the goals I've made my whole life that just because I can't get them PERFECT I give up on.

I am a perfectionist, there I said it. And I don't mean this in the sense most people use the word 'perfectionist'

I literally have to get everything I do perfect.

If I can't get a meal perfect, I will never make it again.

If I can't get a song on the piano perfect I give up and move on to a song I can be the best at.

If I get a B, I used to quit the entire class preferring to have a W on my transcript than a B, now I just freak out until I bring my grade up.

If I disappoint my family I stop trying to make them proud.

Because for me, imperfection is failure, imperfection means I'm not good enough.

perfection, or not at all has been my motto for years

but this talk changes things

On Castle a couple weeks ago {best show EVER} it was said
"rejection isn't failure, quitting is"

I can't be a failure, and if quitting is failing {which I now see that it is} then I can't quit.

I can't quit school, I have to push through the B's

I can't quit making dinner, I have to get over the burnt chicken

I can't quit piano, its one of my strongest gifts

I can't quit loving and trying with my family, even when it seems I can't make them proud

I can be imperfect, and with the help of my sweet husband, Richard Castle, and Heidi Clark in Biltmore ward I see that now.

I have to keep kicking even though I don't want to

and if I do, who knows, maybe I can become the fastest I can be maybe I can become the best I can be

I can never be perfect, I understand that and have been told that over and over again.

but I can try, and as long as I know I'm my best, it shouldn't matter if someone is better

and from now on it won't

{I love you Taylor, I love that you make me feel like I'm perfect for you, that I know you love me completely.

without you, I would feel inadequate, but you make me feel important.}

Oh Jackson

Conference weekend was PERFECT! Not only did I get a lot from the talks, but I got to be in my favorite place in the world, Jackson Wyoming, with my favorite person in the world {TAYLOR} for 4 days!

Jackson was gorgeous! Thank you Sam and Susan for inviting us every conference! While we were up in the true wild west we turned off our phones and forgot about work and school, it was just what I needed! I've been having a tough semester, I am an A student, I put 100% of myself into everything I do, and I never turn in work that I don't feel I did my absolute best on, so its been hard when my 100% effort gets me 80% grades {and a couple below :/} but going up to Jackson Hole was just what I needed to put things in perspective.

I realized that education is important, and as long as I feel like I'm progressing and learning it doesn't matter what my grade is, a C does not define me {and luckily this time I am able to redo the assignment to improve my grade, C's do not sit well with me!}. I know I'm in school to LEARN, I don't want a full time career and especially when I have children I don't want to be away at work while they grow up without me there, I do understand that that scenario is a perfect world, and I would like to help my husband support our family, but not full time or if it is full time, not away from home. I believe that I'm in school for ASL not necessarily to become an interpreter {though that may be the case for a few years before we start our family} but to improve a skill that I can use to SERVE others, and that's what I intend on doing.

Of course I believe in setting goals, and I believe in achieving great and difficult things, but my goals have a different purpose than I thought they did before this weekend. I don't know how to explain it, but I know I'm learning these skills not only for my benefit but so I can use ASL to benefit others as well, I've known since I was 17 that my college experience would teach me skills that I would someday use to serve others and I know that service is the whole point now, not money, not a job, but skills that enable me to serve.

While we were in Jackson we went to the annual Quilting in the Tetons quilt show. It was so inspiring to see what people are capable of! I've been wanting to start quilting for a while now, and I have several quilting ideas that I want to tackle, but its been hard to find the time to get into it, but after seeing these beauties I think I'll challenge myself and just dive right into it!

{warning: the following photos are evidence of my inability to take good photographs}

{there are no two alike blocks in this entire quilt! AND it was hand appliqued with the edges under, the whole thing!}

{this was Taylor's favorite, and my tied-favorite with the quilt above it}

Some funny things we learned this weekend:

1. Ever since I started learning to interpret ASL to ENG I've been talking like a Deaf person signs, I emphasize and reiterate EVERYTHING and I using contrasting {"it was HUGE, not small at all" actual quote from my mouth!} a lot more! If you have ever interpreted you know what I'm talking about. Taylor though it was pretty funny...me not so much.

2. I am shameless {and should probably look around for cars before doing something pervocative towards my husband..}

3. Flies in Jackson are bigger and louder than flies in Arizona, and I hate them

4. French people who make chocolates are snooty, but their chocolates are delish

I wish I had more pictures to share but as shown above I am NOT a photographer, and I'm pretty embarrassed to share the other pictures I took, because they are awful.

I'm so grateful that we were able to go to Jackson Hole this weekend, I feel like my high from our trip could maybe possibly get me through the rest of the semester now! Maybe that I've been able to recognize my perfectionism I'll be able to keep in under control {not likely, but there's a chance}

If you'd like to know more about what we learned this weekend click here.

That Awkward Moment When...

1.That girl in your class is telling everyone she's in the IPP but you are, and have never seen her in your life {liar!}

2.You avoid eye contact with your teacher hoping she won't call on you, and she calls you out on it

3.You reference Star Trek in class and not even the nerdy teacher has ever watched it

4.The same thing happens with Battlestar Galactica

5.And then Star Wars

School has been awesome so far! There are only 10 of us in the IPP and luckily we all get along with each other! Our teachers right now (Vicki and Kay) are amazing, and we're all learning so much!

We just started working on consecutive interpreting {when a segment of a message is given and then the speaker/signer pauses while you interpret, and then continues once you've finished your interpretation} and I'm excited to slow down a little! I've been simultaneously interpreting {interpreting WHILE the message is being given} for Primary, and its interesting to see how much more accurate my interpretations are when I have a little more time to think about the message before I try and change the language!

The program is pretty intense and literally every second I'm not in class I'm working on homework {except right now I guess...I DID just finish an interpretation though :)}.

Taylor is busy with work and filling out applications for Masters Programs, we picked 5 schools to apply for, applications are due Oct 10th, and hopefully sometime in the Spring we'll find out who wants us!

Taylor's work has been busy, when he first started working there business was really slow and projects were hard to come by, so we're thrilled that the market has picked up enough for them to be working on 3 different projects right now!

Side note: I am having the worst wake-boarding withdrawals of my life! We didn't go this last weekend because Taylor had a campout for scouts, and the weekend before that I was over loaded with homework so I was too stressed to go {we did go on Saturday, but my body doesn't remember it}, and then the two weeks before that Taylor was studying for his GMAT! Oh Bartlett, I miss you so...mostly I miss my Ronix being strapped to my feet and the wake the Mastercraft puts off.

p.s. Taylor had the picture above from when we first started dating! I admit its not my best, but I love it! My husband is so cute! {please don't focus on my make-up less face!}

Today

Classes start today and I could not be more excited! My signing skills have slacked over the summer {my fault} so I'm ready to get them up to par again! Hopefully they aren't too horrible.

I finish in May, and hopefully take the first portion of the test this December, and the second portion right after I graduate! I'm excited to improve and practice and prepare to become an actual ASL Interpreter!

Also this week Taylor is taking the GMAT! He has been taking a prep class and studying all this month and last, he's nervous, but I know he'll do great! He is the smartest most motivated person I know and I'm excited for him to see evidence of that on his test scores!

Needless to say the remainder of the year is going to be extremely busy! Between his GMAT and all the applications to MBA programs, and my classes and prep for my National Certification test, by the time December rolls around we'll both be ready for a little break I'm sure!

So good luck sweet, charming, handsome, intelligent husband of mine! And good luck to myself as well!

I hope everyone else has a splendid week with whatever may be occupying your time :)

I'm not one to wear loads of jewelry, in fact majority of the time I only wear my wedding ring and stud earrings. But...

I need this ring, desperately

{by Marco Bicego}

thoughts

1. I eat waaaaaaay too much Kellogs Honey Smacks

2. Flo on the progressive commercials is SO annoying,

3. but not as annoying as Madison on ALT nation on my xm radio

4. unlike Flo and Madison, the lady on the Hillshire Farms commercials is HILARIOUS

5. I eat waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much Kellogs Honey Smacks

pardon me

while I'm under construction!

update

This is most likely going to be a fairly random post. I have nothing specific to blog about, so I'm kind of mashing everything from the last couple weeks together.

For those of you who would care to know, I shut down my pitty party shortly after my last post. It's still hott, but that's life, so I got off my lazy keister and have kept myself pretty busy!

Now, I'm not the most crafty person, but thanks to pinterest I have a lot of crafty examples before my eyes, and I chose to copy some. I'm most proud of my wreath, its pretty impressive, and rather Fall-y {I can't wait until FALL!}

{I am by no means a photographer, but you get the idea..}

We had our Robinson Family Lake Powell Extravaganza at the end of July, and while I didn't personally take any photos, Kelvin and Christy were kind enough to share some of theirs.

We celebrated my 22nd birthday while is Powell! It was so fun! My sweet husband decorated the house boat, my mother in law made me my favorite Chocolate on Chocolate cake, and I even got a special fireworks show! It was so fun! I love having Lake Powell birthdays! {this was my second in a row!}

The Daniels brought 'The Brawler', it was literally the funnest tube I've ever been on, my entire life! It was a nice little change up from wakeboarding :)