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Monday, July 7, 2008

baby time

ok, ok, it's not what you're thinking. we're not pregnant (and won't be for years) but like any other newlywed couple, josh and i constantly talk about how many kids we're going to have, whether they'll be boys or girls, and what their names will be. however, we have totally different opinions on the subject. josh wants boys, i want girls. josh wants 2 or 3, i want 5 or 6. josh wants to name his first born son thor, i won't have it. we can name our dog thor. so, my friend ashlee posted this baby name website on her blog and it has been so entertaining! i told josh that since we can't decide on names (and since we have no control over the gender), the baby-name-genie may be the only one to solve our baby-naming problem. so, i've decided to post some of our favorites that have been generated by this website:little girls
1- kayla thalia hankins
2- kyra gretchen hankins
3- luna miracle hankins
4- violet ryan hankins
5- priscilla galilea hankins

little boys
1- nash gabriel hankins
2- jan ryder hankins
3- leroy theodore hankins
4- keanu titus hankins
5- sullivan josiah hankins


ok, so when i said favorites, i meant classics- some of them are pretty bad! but it sure is funny to see what kind of names get randomly put together. they did have some cute names though that josh and i hadn't thought of that we actually agreed on, so maybe this website isn't a total joke! anyway, if you want something to do to kill a little time or to bug the crap out of your spouse (josh was getting so annoyed with all the names i was spitting out), this is sure thing!

http://www.babynamegenie.com/baby-name-generator/

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

go-go-go

Josh and I have had yet another fun and eventful week! It all started last Tuesday with a trip up Logan Canyon with some friends (Danielle and Brian). We had a great time, even though cooking our tin foil dinners took a little longer than planned! :) We also roasted smores and had dough-boys- if any of you don't know what those are, basically you take a crescent roll, wrap it around your marshmallow stick, cook it over the fire until the outside has been browned but the inside is still a little doughy, put a little bit of butter and cinnamon and sugar on it and ENJOY! Oh, they're so yummy. Anyway, we were a little absent minded and forgot the bug spray and let's just say I got attacked! Those terrible little buggers practically ate me alive, including 3 gnarly bites on my face and forehead (they looked like huge zits but itched like crazy!) and 2 right next to each other on my neck that from a distance looked like a hickey. Stupid mosquitoes.


On Wednesday night, Josh and I were just hanging out in our family room... we just happened to look outside in our backyard just in time to see 4 little kittens! We opened up the door and they all ran away, except for this brave little guy. We tried to find something in our house to feed them (I know you're not supposed to feed stray cats or dogs, but these little guys were SO small and looked so hungry!) and figured tuna fish would be the only thing they would enjoy. This little guy was the only one with enough guts to risk his life for a little food. We ended up luring him into our house and Josh shut the door, but it just scared the crap out of him! The kitten was wigging out, hissing, and tried scratching Josh. I don't really care for cats (kittens can sometimes be cute) so I told him to let the cat go. We put some more food outside for his little friends and they all were able to fill up on fish that night. They still hang out in our backyard but they are terrified of humans so as soon as we go back there, they scram. There are 2 gray striped ones, one black one, and my favorite is a cream colored one with a black nose, ears, tail, and paws. He's the cutest but the most shy out of all of them. These cats have officially cleaned us out of all of our tuna fish.



On Saturday, my parents came up to spend the day with us. My mom hadn't seen our house yet so it was fun to show her around and let her see what has been keeping me busy these past few months. We went to my place of employment for lunch- Cafe Sabor- and it was yummy as usual. We then headed to the temple to do a session there. I like having my mom there with me since I'm still new at the whole thing! After the temple we headed to get some world famous AGGIE ICE CREAM! My dad and I always get ice cream when he comes up to Logan, so we had to keep the tradition going strong. This time I branched out from my usual Strawberry Cheesecake to try their Raspberries and Cream ice cream and I was thoroughly impressed. They also make the best waffle cones that I just can't resist. After my parents left, Josh and I headed out for a scooter ride and decided to hit up a movie to end the day off right.


Josh and I always try to plan an outing on Sunday afternoons after church and this past Sunday I put Josh in charge of deciding where we should go. After church, he told me he wanted to go to Maple Grove Hot Springs up in Idaho. We have been there before and it's about an hour's drive from here (well, it's supposed to be as long as Josh follows the directions. When he doesn't follow directions, it takes about an hour and a half). When we got there, it was still super hot outside, way too hot to sit in the hot springs, so we decided to play in the river that runs right along the springs/campground. The river is very slow-moving and looks more like a big lake than anything and the water was cold but felt so good since it was so hot. We then hopped into a canoe and paddled around the river a bit. Well, let's be honest, Josh paddled and I enjoyed the ride.


Ok, so Josh has been bugging me for the past year or so to get a pair of Chacos. Honestly, I don't consider myself much of a Chaco wearer, but he was adamant that I get a pair. My friend Danielle had the same issue with her husband and she ended up getting a cute pair that she said she really liked. So, one day while I was at work, Josh went and picked out a pair or Chacos for me. He figured if he took me with him, I'd never decide on pair and would only complain that they cost too much. He's probably right. Anyway, this is the pair he picked out for me. I don't think he realized it, but it's the same pair that Brian had Danielle get. I'm still getting used to them and told Josh not to expect me to wear them all the time, but for a day of canoing and walking around in the mountains was the perfect time to start breaking them in. This picture makes my feet look really fat and I need a pedicure in a bad way.


Our Monday nights are always spent watching this man:Well, I guess you can say we watch as he attempts to win the heart of the beautiful DeAnna on the Bachelorette. I have never been into this show (thanks to Kelsey and Lauren who got me hooked) but from the first episode, I've been cheering Jason on and it's finally down to 2 bachelors and Jason seems like an obvious pick! He is such a romantic, he's so cute, so nice, gets so excited and practically runs to DeAnna every time he sees her... he's perfect! And to top it off, he's a single dad to the cutest little boy named Tye and seriously watching the father-son bond they have is absolutely adorable. The other finalist is Jesse- a long haired pro-snowboarder that I didn't even think would make it past the first rose ceremony. But he has continued to stay in the competition by building up a friendship with DeAnna, but I really think the end of the road is coming soon for poor Jesse. He's just not the "right" guy for DeAnna and Jason is! I'm so excited for the finale next Monday I can hardly stand it. Even Josh is into this show- that says a lot!

To end the week off right, Josh's parents came up to visit us last night. We went to dinner with them at Hamiltons- a nice steak house here in Logan that is actually the sister restaurant to Cafe Sabor (where I work). The meal was fabulous and it was fun to have Dave and Kristi up here to play with us for the night. Josh even took Kristi on a scooter ride! They were also lucky enough to see the kittens in our backyard as we fed them another can of tuna. Well, that pretty much sums up the week's events... I'm excited for this week, too because it's the 4th of July as well as the "Cruise-In", which is the biggest car show in Utah. I've never been here during the summer to see the parade of cars and enjoy the festivities, but I hear it's super fun and we're definitely looking forward to it!

Monday, June 30, 2008

4.30.08

drumroll please....

jk. so, here are some pictures from the wedding day. i have hundreds and tried to only pick my favorites so my slideshow wouldn't be too long. sorry if it is!

we were married at noon in the salt lake temple. our sealing was perfect and we were so grateful we were able to get the sealer we wanted. he did an amazing job and we know his words and advice were meant just for us! outside, it was a day full of every type of weather you could imagine- rain, snow, hail, wind, sun- everything! we were lucky enough to have only wind after we came out of the temple, and we tried to be quick with the pictures, especially for everyone who came to see us. we told everyone we'd take our group pictures later at our dinner in hopes that it wouldn't be so cold and windy. we were fortunate that things did clear up for just enough time that got the shots we wanted- as soon as we started the dinner, the clouds rolled in and it started snowing.

we didn't have a reception, just a dinner party that night at the gathering place for family and friends. we tried to keep it small and intimate. everything turned out so well- the flowers, the cake, the food, the band- and we had some great help putting it all together. i planned the whole thing myself and was so worried seeing how it's something i've never done before! but i couldn't have been happier with the way it turned out and wouldn't have changed a thing. after an evening of dinner and dancing, josh and i headed to the airport and caught the red eye to new york (refer to previous post if you want to see about the honeymoon). our wedding day was perfect and we are so grateful for everyone who came and supported us, especially my parents and josh's parents for making it all possible! you are amazing!

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

the moment you've ALL been waiting for...

Ok, so I finally got my bridals and wedding pictures back yesterday! I've been waiting in great anticipation for the last 2 months to get them so I could finally post them. However, I don't know if they are super big files or what, but uploading them has been somewhat of a challenge. With that said, I've finally been able to upload some of my bridals onto a slideshow, and will attempt to do the same tomorrow with the wedding pictures. It just takes forever! Hopefully the slideshow doesn't take too long to watch- sorry it's kinda long! Hope you enjoy... there is more to come!

Just an FYI, I took my bridals downtown at the Beehive Tea Room. It was so cute and I think we got some great shots- especially the ones with the antique lights, books, and couches in the background. We also walked around for a bit downtown, but I got SO cold that I had to call it quits before I started looking like Bo-Zo The Clown with my red nose.


Sunday, June 22, 2008

Living It Up... Logan Style!

Josh and I have been keeping ourselves busy this past week! Last weekend, Spencer (Josh's brother) decided that he liked our scooter so much when he came up to visit us the week before, that he wanted one himself. So, of course when he came to buy one he brought my little sisters with him! Laura just got back from a month in Europe so it was fun to hear her stories, show her our house, and get European souvenirs! And Katie's always up for a free ride to Logan! Too bad Spencer's scooter got in a minor accident within an hour of him getting it, but with a little bit of paint to touch it up, the damages will be unnoticeable!

SCOOTER TIME!

Here are the boys with their matching scooters...
Me taking Katie for a ride...
Just Another DAM Day!

So Josh and I usually go to First Dam on Sunday afternoons, but since we were in Salt Lake this past Sunday, I decided we needed to go sometime during the week. So, on Tuesday while Josh was at work, I picked up some fried chicken, some Mountain Dew, and treats to munch on and packed us a picnic. As soon as he got home, we headed to First Dam and spent the whole night there eating, reading, napping, and playing frisbee. I haven't had a real picnic in SO long so it was fun to surprise Josh with one!


The Rockin Rodeo

One of my favorite summer activities is attending RODEOS! I have missed them so much since living in Alaska for the past couple of summers and I was so excited to go to one this past weekend! I love sitting outside on a warm summer night watching all of the events while eating nachos and snowcones cheering on all of the cowboys!

Kim and Nick (our friends from Murray) stopped by Logan on their way to Bear Lake and went to the rodeo with us...
Cute Danielle and her husband Brian also joined us. We used to work at the hospital together and they're newlyweds too!
One of the most popular events is the Mutton Bust'n... poor little children are put on a sheep and told to hang on for their lives! I still have a hard time seeing what sane parent puts their children up for this... but Kim and Nick said they'd totally have their kids do it, and Danielle used to Mutton Bust when she was a kid! Josh agreed with everyone else and said that our children will participate in this event too. We'll see about that. Anyway, this is the kid who won. If you look closely, you'll see that he's on backwards and his face was pretty much in the sheep's butt the whole time. He was able to hold on like a champ and we were all quite impressed. The trophy he won was almost as big as he was!

Poor cowboy was bucked off while competing in the saddle bronc riding. We soon found out that he had a compound fracture on his left leg.
Of course, to pass the time while we waited for the ambulance to come, we had another ugly face competition. Everyone participated, but Danielle said I couldn't post their picture (even though they performed very well considering it was their first time competing). We all decided that Josh won this round. I think he looks like a vampire.

Finally, about a half hour later, the ambulance came, hauled Mr Compound Fracture Cowboy away, and we continued with the show.


Sunday Ride

This Sunday we decided to pack up the scooter and head to Hyrum Reservoir. We found the beach area, laid our blanket out, ate some snacks, and relaxed! It was an amazing day and I wish we would have had our swimsuits on so we could have cooled off in the water. The water was freezing though so I don't know how long we would have lasted anyway.




After the lake, we decided to head up Providence Canyon. We found some campgrounds, walked around a bit, and decided to test out the waters up there. FREEZING! Much colder than the water at the lake! I could barely stand keeping just my foot in the water. We won't be floating down that river any time soon.

We decided we'd keep our eyes out for some wildlife... you know... birds, bears, mountain lions... anything. Well, other than a chipmunk we saw in someone's yard, this is the extent of wildlife that we came across. This snake was definitely dead but Josh made us stop and made me take a picture. Disgusting- I hate snakes!

Thursday, June 19, 2008

TAG! You're it...


This is a hubby Tag...

What is his name? Joshua David Hankins

How long have you been together? This is actually an interesting question... we've been best friends for 8 years, we started cuddling about 2 1/2 years ago and we've been together for 2 years.

How long did you date? Previous question, please. We dated for 1 1/2 years before we got engaged, and were engaged for 7 months.

How old is he? 23

Who eats more? Josh eats constantly throughout the day, but I'm more of a 3-times-a-day eater so my meals seem to be a little bigger than his. Unless he's got a "powerful appetite"- he's been known to order 2 meals when we go out to dinner.

Who said I love you first? He did, on Christmas Eve when he gave me my Christmas present

Who is taller? He is by a couple of inches. 5'11 vs 5'6

Who can sing better? I would have to say Josh- I can't carry a tune to save my life. I think that's why my parents always had me take piano lessons- so I was never part of the choir, just accompanied them. Josh will rarely sing while playing the guitar, but I LOVE it! He thinks his voice isn't great, but I think he's underestimating himself

Who is smarter? We both have our strengths. I am more educated and have a lot more of the "book-smarts" than he does. I'm really good at math, english, grammar, anatomy, and the sciences. Josh has a lot of the "street smarts." However, if he puts his mind to it, he can pick up on things super quickly, much faster than me. He knows the random things in life that I couldn't care less about and don't know how he retains the info. We balance each other out pretty well- when we watch Millionaire, between the 2 of us, we can usually win 1 million almost every night!

Who does the laundry? i do

Who pays the bills? josh physically pays them. i let him know what is due and when

Who sleeps on the right side? Josh does

Who mows the lawn? our landlord takes care of our lawns (speaking of which, our grass is turning yellow, it's so dry here!) but when we actually have a house, Josh will be doing the yard maintenance. He says I'll be in charge of the gardening, but we'll see.

Who cooks dinner? I do. Unless we're bbq-ing, then I prepare it and he cooks it up. I think it makes him feel manly to bbq.

Who drives? He does. Even on the scooter he's the driver.

Who is more stubborn? We are both super stubborn. He usually is the first to apologize though. I usually just like to have time to let things blow over.

Who kissed who first? That's a toss up. He and his friend Dan were up in Logan visiting me and Chana. Josh and I were cuddling on the couch and had been for a while. Our noses were practically touching but he didn't go in for the kill. Finally I said, "Josh, are you going to kiss me? Because if you're not, I'm going to my bed." He immediately kissed me. Haha! He hates that that is how it happened, but I think it was kind of cute.

Who proposed? Josh... I didn't think he had a ring yet, but he and Chana planned the proposal while we were traveling through Costa Rica. It was on Oct 13, 07 at the beautiful Arenal Resort at the base of the Arenal Volcano. I couldn't have asked for anything better.

Who has more friends? That would be me. Josh has a few close friends but I definitely branch out more and stay in contact with my friends more than he does.

Who is more sensitive? That'd be me, but I'm a girl so it's ok. Josh is great about it- he's always so patient and understanding with me which is amazing.

Who has more siblings? Me. I have 2 sisters and a brother, and he has 2 brothers.

Who wears the pants? It depends on the situation. Josh always says "I'll do what I WANT!" and all I have to say is "No you don't" and he immediately agrees. We both try to make our decisions together, but I'm definitely the one who plans things out more.

Well that was kind of fun... Let's see, I'll tag any of my friends from high school who are married (Sorry Stace) or anyone else who wants to kill some time!

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Happy Father's Day to our Favorite Padres

So, tomorrow is Father's Day and while Josh and I were at Hallmark earlier, we couldn't find a single card to get either of our fathers. Most were not cheesy enough, not sarcastic enough, and didn't have enough humor in them to go to either of our dads. So, we decided to do the whole blogging thing to tell our fathers how much we love and appreciate them and their great attitudes. In order to keep things fair (haha) and even, we'll list some of 5 favorite things about each of our dads. 5 things should be easy enough seeing as how we have hundreds of things to sort through.

First, meet Trent, AKA Daddy BringhurstSorry I don't have a better picture of him, I don't keep too many pictures on my laptop. Anyway, this one was taken while the Bringhurst family came to visit the Alaska gang in Juneau last year. One of the highlights of the trip was a kayaking excursion out to Sandy Beach. Neither of my parents had ever been ocean kayaking so it was quite the experience.

Anyways, top 5's:

1- He's known everywhere for his contagious laugh. I remember many times throughout my childhood of being somewhere (at church, in the neighborhood, at the store, etc) with friends and all of the sudden you hear this explosion of LOUD laughter. Immediately my friends would turn to me and say, that's YOUR dad. It didn't matter where we were or who I was with, everyone knew he belonged to me.
2- His dance skills are amazing. I wish I had pictures from my wedding to post on here. He was dancing his heart out- the band loved it and my photographer loved it! He was definitely the hottest dancer at the party. I also remember him giving me ballroom dancing lessons in our kitchen when I was younger. I loved it!
3- He is the most giving person I know. He is constantly looking out for others and finding ways to serve them. He will always donate his time to help others- from going above and beyond in his home teaching callings to doing all the yard work for cute ladies in our neighborhood to volunteering to be a chaperon at any school or church function. He's an awesome example of Christlike behavior.
4- My friends all love him. Throughout Jr High and High School, it was hard for me to know if my friends came over to hang out with me or my dad. Everyone referred to my house as "Trent's house," never "Liz's house." Lindsey and my dad even had pet names for each other- Pumpkin and Cupcake. (Don't ask). And most of the time when we'd be hanging out talking or watching tv, my friends would invite him to hang out with us. Trent was right there with us in the conversations and everything, and no one seemed to mind that it was my DAD, not just another FRIEND! :)
5- He cares. My dad is constantly doing the little things that show he cares about his family. Since we've been living in Logan, my dad has been up a couple of times to help us move in, but also to help beautify our garden (or lack thereof). Josh showed up at our house one day on his lunch break and saw my dad fixing up our soil and planting flowers. It means a lot to have him drive an 1 1/2 hours just to make the outside of our house look cute.



Now, Meet Mr. Dave Hankins....
This picture was taken at one of our favorite Hankins family activities- Saturday lunch. We all look forward to spending the afternoon at Rumbi or Jason's Deli so we can hang out and catch up on the week's activities.

Our Top 5's-

1- Dave's love for movies. He watches so many movies and quotes all his favorites all the time! (He has taught his boys to do the same). Sometimes while sitting at the dinner table, they have a whole conversation with each other just based off of movie lines. Stuff like this goes way over my head, but Dave and his boys LOVE it!
2- Dave is full of great advice. He makes time to talk with Josh about dealing with challenges in life, he has given him pointers on his relationship with his wife (me!), and can recognize the things in life that really matter.
3- He has a great sense of humor. Dave is always doing things to keep everyone smiling. As long as Josh can remember, Dave and Kristi constantly debate as to who is the comedian in the family. Josh apologizes to Kristi, but he says Dave wins. One thing that always gets me laughing is his famous Ape Walk. You've gotta see it to believe it. :)
4- He loves to be where the party is at! He loves to hear every story, see every picture, and hear every joke. When Josh and I got into the Prison Break seasons, Dave was right there with us every night until the wee hours because he didn't want to miss watching an episode with us. When we got home from our honeymoon, he stayed up late with us asking questions about our trip and listened to all our stories despite how tired he was. He cares a lot about what is going on in everyone's lives and shows it with how attentive he is.
5- Dave LOVES his boys. He lucked out by getting 3 boys who like sports, hiking, tools, all of those typical "guy"things. Josh has told me a couple of times how he wants Dave to help him build or refinish something. All the boys have fond memories of having "boys only" camping trips ever since they were younger. Dave taught his boys how to work hard, and how to play hard.

To sum everything up, Josh and I are so lucky to have such great dads. They are amazing examples to us and we love them both so much. We both consider our dads to be our fathers (whom we love and respect) as well as our friends.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!