The Sutherlands!

 I could post a million things... for now my update will just be some pictures. I married Steven Walter Sutherland on August 21, 2012 and it was a perfect day. We are happy and very busy!!! Our new life together has been great. Thank you to all who have supported us in our journey. 

My Life is GOOD!

Life is so good! Yes there have been times when I was not a fan of life.. but in all reality.. things are so good! I am going to school (hoping to one day graduate), working, doing homework, being with my boyfriend, and spending time with my family. Could things get much better?? I could be graduated, that would make it better. But really.. Things are so good!

I have been thinking about life and reflecting on the things that I have accomplished and things I would like to accomplish. I have also been thinking about how blessed I am. Really. One of my friends was just diagnosed with cancer and I talk to her aunt quite frequently. Her cousin is one of my best friends and I got to know this friend a few years ago. She is adorable, young, cute, and has so much going for her, then one day.. BAM.. Everything changed. It really helps you to put life into perspective. 

Today while I was at work I was talking to {R} and we were talking about {P} the girl who was just diagnosed. She was telling me how hard it has been the past few weeks because {P} and her mom don't go to church and don't have a desire to. It makes it hard because with the gospel.. everything else seems to make more sense. No I don't understand why a 20 year old girl has to get cancer and almost die, but I do know that when I rely on my Savior I am a whole lot better off. I don't know where I would be without that knowledge. I don't think I would be able to make it through my trials. {R} and I talk about how maybe this will help {P} and her mom to come back to church. I hope and pray for this. They are in my prayers every day.

I am so grateful for my life. I love it. I really do. I have an amazing family, an incredible boyfriend who I love, admire, and respect for the trials he has had to go through, friends that even though we don't talk all the time I know they are always there for me.

It is so easy to get discouraged. It is one of Satan's biggest tools. He doesn't want us to succeed and if we are discouraged it makes it a lot harder to succeed. I don't like him. I am reading an amazing book right now that is called "Putting on the Armor of God: How to Win Your Battles With Satan" SOOOO GOOD! And I would recommend it to every one whether you are going through a trial right now or not.. Get it, Read it, Live it. 

I wasn't expecting to write a post like this when I got on here today.. but I hope that this will help someone. Be happy! :) Here are a few pics from my life! 

Happy New Year! 

At the Car Show! 

We do a LOT of homework.. and sometimes we end up like this! 

Over my birthday we (+4 more couples) went up to Lava and then stayed in  Grace. We had a fun relaxing weekend! 

Happy Holidays!

It has been a while! I don't have a ton to update you all on.. I don't even know if anybody really reads this but I thought I would update a little about my life! I am still working as an aid at the elementary school. I will be starting school in January at Weber State and I have been accepted into the Education Program there. I am getting all of my pre-recs done and on the fall I will be starting my levels! WAHOO!! 5 more semesters and I will be done. Lets just pray I can make it through.

I have had a lot of fun lately. I have not wanted it to get cold.. but I am getting more and more excited for Christmas. I did some shopping (online) today and I am almost done with my shopping! YAY!! It feels good and I am very excited. Thanksgiving was amazing. We had dinner on Wednesday night with my moms side of the family and it was a success! Then on Thursday, my parents and brother headed down to Vegas so I went with my sister to her in-laws for dinner. Then I was lucky enough to head down to Southern Utah to do some slot canyons with my boyfriend. He was already down there with his dad so I waited all day for his twin to let me know when he and his wife were headed down. We left here at about 7:30 and I couldn't wait to get down there to see Steve. We got to our campsite at about 11:30 and we went and woke Steve and Paul up. We got in our tent (I was in the tent with Mike and Lori) and got all ready for bed and I tried to sleep.. It didn't work too well. I couldn't get warm and I most definitely couldn't sleep. Friday morning we woke up and cooked breakfast and got ready to go to a slot called "Leprechaun" IT WAS A BLAST!! It was super tight and there were some spots where I couldn't fit through! It was so much fun. We went down three weeks before that (Steve's brothers last weekend home) and did another slot called "Not Mindbender" I think I might have a new addiction! 

Life is so good. I have the best boyfriend ever and I couldn't be happier! I have a good job that is so flexible and so good to me. I am excited for the holiday season. I love my family, I love Steve, I just love life! I'll add pictures so its not quite so boring! :) 

Enjoy! 

Throwing rocks during our lunch break! 

Steve being the brave one to go check out how much water we had to go through! 

Mitch staying high in the slot so he didn't get wet.

Us! 

Its so beautiful in these canyons! 

He is SPIDER-MAN!!

I love him! 

Coming off of the last repel in my first slot! AMAZING!!! 

IT WAS FREEZING!! (our first trip down) Luckily the second trip was MUCH warmer! 

Me, Steve, Mitch, Lori, Mike, and Sami. Right before Mitch left on his mission!

The beginning of Leprechaun!  

Bryce's first repel! 

The Lurg and Myself! 

On Saturday we went to Goblin Valley and Steve wasn't feeling too hot.. so he found a nice rock to relax on!

Mike! 

The amazing rope swing that Steve and his dad made at camp before we got there! 

Me, Steve, Mike, and Lori.

The sign Paul and Steve made so we would be able to find camp on Thursday night.

Twins.. they turn into little boys when they are with each other.. its cute! 

Hiking up so we could drop in the slot.. Isn't he good looking?? :) 

My Life!

I have decided that I need to have a life when Steve goes away on the weekends! This past weekend he has been in Wyoming hunting and I decided that I wasn't just going to sit home and be lonely and miss him! Soo... I hung out with some of my friends (Thanks Taun for keeping me entertained!) and I spent a lot of time with my sister Angie and her boy Corbin. It was a really fun weekend.. yes I do miss Steve A LOT!! But.. I was able to cope with it quite well. I can't wait for him to come back though, today it is killing me just not knowing what time he will be home and if I will get to see him today. 

On Friday I REALLY wanted to do a craft. I text my cousin Mandi and I told her that I wanted to do a craft. She asked if we could do one on Saturday. So I went over to her house on Saturday and we went to Wood Creations (one of the best stores EVER) and I picked out a couple of SUPER cute crafts! I was sooo excited. We went back to her house and I painted it all and put it today (I may have bought two but I am saving one for another Saturday!) We had so much fun being together and talking. I haven't seen her a whole lot since she got married (like 4 years ago) and it was so great to chat and have fun. She has the cutest little boy so I played with him and painted my craft and talked. It was a blast! After I got it all finished I called Angie and wanted to go over to her house to show her. I am so proud of it! The rest of my family was all in St. George so when my parents got home I had it displayed on our mantel. I could be a crafty person! Who knew?!?!

My Cute Craft! And the best part is, is they have a different "o"
for each holiday/season! So its an on-going craft!

I have such a good life! I have no complaints! I have a great job, an amazing boyfriend, the best family ever, and I am just happy and content! I'll just post a few of the pics of my life! Enjoy! 

The Golf Tourny!

Not bad for my 2nd time EVER!

He is so cute!

Hiking Timp! Up and back in 6 hours!

Wow.. SUMMER FLEW BY!!

It has been a while since I updated! My last update was about how I was thinking about going to Weber! Well I did it, got registered, and got on the wait list for a couple of the classes that I really needed. I was sooo excited and thought everything would work out great. Well.. I couldn't get into the two classes that I really needed so I decided to drop all of my classes. I didn't want to waste the money and still have to go another semester. So I am working on finding a full time job (or two part time jobs) and working lots and saving money so I can feel good about starting school in the spring.

An update on my summer: 

It was an AMAZING summer!I worked as a nanny (which was by far the hardest job I have EVER had!!) and I started dating a really amazing guy! We did a lot of fun things together. I had a blast. I also had one of my converts up here visiting Utah. She stayed with us for about a month and a half and it was so great! We also had a Japanese foreign exchange student with us for 3 weeks. We were a house of MANY cultures and I wouldn't have had it any other way. It was a summer full of stress, anxiety, love, learning, fun, friends, and family. Words truly cannot do it justice! There were times when I was so angry and other times when I felt complete joy! I had so many emotions go through me. I learned a lot, it can probably go down for one of my best summers yet (even though I didn't get out on the boat as much as I would have liked!). 

My Summer Job: I was a nanny for a 4, 6, and 8 year old and it was HARD! I love them.. but there were many times that I said "I NEVER WANT TO HAVE CHILDREN!!" I have since repented. It was honestly the most trying job ever. I was exhausted. They wore me out physically and emotionally. There were days when I just wanted to get off work so I could see Steve because I knew he would be able to say something to me to make me feel better. He would tell me that I was doing a good job with them even when I would tell him the horror stories of how they told me they hated me or how they wouldn't listen or how they would break things. I learned things that I want to do and things I don't want to do as a mother. They are cute kids, they have had a hard life, and I tried so hard to show them that I really do love them and that I care about them. I hope they know that! 

My Jaedin Monster!

The Kiddos at Temple Square!

Marcela: Marcela is one of the amazing members from Chile. She came up here on July 4th and spent a month and a half with me. SHE IS AMAZING. I love her. I found her and started teaching her when I was in my third area. She got baptized after I came home and we have kept in pretty good contact. She said that she wanted to come to Utah with her daughter Sofi and we offered her a place to stay. Little did I know how much of an impact it would have on my life. She has become one of my best friends and I miss her so much. We would stay up late talking about life and boys and she would give me advice. She is just amazing. Her daughter is ADORABLE! We went to Salt Lake a few times, to Park City, we shopped till we couldn't shop anymore! I got to speak in Spanish a lot. We had BBQ's and ate yummy food (she didn't like anything spicey and she most definitely didn't like home made Root Beer) It was an amazing experience. She talked about her conversion and everything that she felt and how Alyssa and I (the two missionaries there at the time) were at the right place at the right time! I hadn't ever felt like someone had really been prepared for ME to teach, until I heard her life story and everything that she had to go through so she could find us and talk to us and learn of the truth! It was so amazing! I feel SOOOOO blessed! It was so hard saying good-bye to Marcela and Sofi. They are amazing and will do SUCH amazing things in this life! I can't wait for them to come back and visit! 

Life: Life is good! Like I said earlier, I am not going to school this semester, which has been a blessing in some ways because I have been able to help out one of my good friends while she has been recovering from surgery. I have been able to work as the head secretary in her place for the past few weeks and it has been amazing. I love being at Kaysville Elementary! I wish I could find a position here! I love the people, the kids, and it is just fun. I find myself thinking "Man.. I could totally be a secretary! Which one would I like more.. teaching or being in the office?!?!" It is so good though. I don't want to find another job because I just want to stay here! Maybe something magical will happen and they will find money to pay me! That would be a miracle!! That is what I am hoping for!

I am happy. That is pretty much how I can sum things up right now. Here are some of my summer activities in pictures! Enjoy!

Before the Hike! WAHOO!!

We went up to Camp Loll To Visit Mike and we hiked Union Falls! LOVED IT!

Learning how to shoot the Pistol!

Skiing.. my favorite past time!

Batting Cages!

My Amazing Family!

Playing at the Gateway!

Ay... the decision!!

The stress has once again come into my life!! Today I took a trip up to Logan to check out housing with my good friend. We looked around and around and around some more and we found a couple of places and a lot of places were already full! Well... I cannot make any decisions or put any payments down on anything until I actually get IN to the education program.

As I went up there I kinda felt a little... um... unsure about everything. It just didn't feel like the place for me. I dont know.. I am not making any decisions yet.. I came home and I was able to go to my nephews preschool graduation.. and it was SOOO GREAT!! I got to get my mind off of things for a while. It was wonderful! He did such a good job and he is SOO dang cute! While I was sitting there I thought, THIS IS WHAT I WANT TO DO! I want to have a pre-school.

After the Graduation I came home and I started talking to my mom. I told her that we had a hard time finding somewhere.. and I just felt a little unsure. She then told me "Well I wasn't going to say anything but I have had this feeling that it isn't the place for you to go." I then asked her "Well.... do you think I should go to Weber?" and she said "Well... yeah." I told her that I had that thought cross my mind SOO much in the past little while. Today I thought about it A LOT... and I just don't know.. I was SOO anti-weber when I came home from my mission. I did NOT want to go there. My dad has always told me that I should go there.. and I was so hard headed that I didn't even give it the time of day.

Well.. when my dad got home from work today my mom said so Paige is thinking about Weber without me even having to say anything..  So.. that is where I am at right now! I am also still trying to decide if I want to do Elementary Education. I do want to, but sometimes I am not very patient.. I am looking into options right now! If you have any advice.. please let me know!!

And sorry for the boring post with no pictures! I will get some pictures up soon!! :)

I have been tagged!

My amazing friend Kiana Don tagged me... Soo... here it goes!

4 Honest Things....

4 shows I watch:

1. Say Yes to The Dress

2. Criminal Minds

3. NCIS
4. The Office

4 things I'm passionate about:

1. Family

2. The Gospel
3. Food
4. Life (most of the time...)

4 phrases I use a lot:

1. Don't Judge Me!
2. Be Strong.

3. Life is hard!

4. um... I dont really know... I will have to pay more attention to what I say!!

4 things I've learned from the past:

1. Life is hard... but if you put your faith in God.. everything will turn out ok!
2. I don't need a boy to make me happy, I am can be happy and independent! (sometimes I struggle with this one)

3. Its amazing what one friend can do, whether it be a simple text or phone call, it can brighten a day!
4. Be grateful for ALL that you have! So many people are less fortunate that I am and often times I am soo ungrateful. Gratidud is SOO important!

4 things I did yesterday

1. Worked at Kaysville Elementary

2. Played with my cute nephews Cooper and Brody.
3. Ran 4.3 Miles

4. Watched Say Yes to the Dress! (and The Office)

4 places I'd love to visit:

1. The Carribean

2. New York

3. Chile (not as a missionary)

4. Hawaii.. again!

4 things I'm looking forward to:

1. Going out in my boat!
2. Getting a tan!
3. Being a Nanny and playing ALL summer!
4. RAGNAR!!

4 things I love about Spring:

1. The warmth
2. Running outside.. when its not cold bipolar sprin weather!
3. New life, flowers, greenery, the beauty of the outdoors.
4. Ending another semester!!!

I tag... Kelsey Sorensen, Amanda Mitchell, Alison Jarret, and Crysany Bean!