Ode to the A.B.E

What is A.B.E? The alphabet? Some kind of code word?

How about a bestie friendship? Right!

A=Ashlee: I've known this woman since the very beginning of 8th grade. I thought she was Hispanic(she still hates me for that), and she thought I was a floozy because my shirt was a little low cut. Little did we know that it was the start of a beautiful friendship. We bonded over our sewing class and the fact that the teacher had a bald spot on the back of her head. We were inseparable all the way up though high school and have remained besties ever since.

B=Brady: Brady and Ashlee have been friends since they were like months old. Literally. They have grown up just a few houses away from each other and are still there to this day. Brady and I initially met probably in jr. high. I don't even remember. All I know is that Brady HATED me. We've come to the conclusion that it was because he felt like I was taking Ashlee away from him. Throughout the years we never really hung out or even talked. However once Brady came home from his mission, an instant friendship was formed and we've been besties ever since.

E=Emily: That's me. The last part of the trio.We don't really need to know more about me because well, it's me. We know me.

These two are my breathes of fresh air. No matter the situation or what we are doing, we can find humor in everything. We have so many inside jokes, half that we don't remember, that we still quote on a daily basis. We can text each other one word and the other person is cracking up. We have more fun together than most and we love it that way. Our bestie birthday traditions are legendary and we always try to go over the top every year.

I know that I can always go to these guys no matter what and they are always there for me. We've been through all sorts of different things together and our bond just keeps going stronger. Our last big hurrah happened this past weekend. Ashlee and Brady came down to St. George to help us move into our home. We have an amazing, fun last weekend together before we had to say our goodbyes.

Watching them drive away was definitely one of the hardest parts of this move aside from saying goodbye to our families. I couldn't stop crying and my heart had it's final heartbreak as the last link to our home faded into the review mirror. I know our bestie-ship is never going to end. We will be in constant contact with each other and are going to visit whenever we can. We're going to continue our Halloween tradition and watch Hocus Pocus all together at the same time even though we're far apart. We are going to survive being so far apart.

Real Friendship Knows No Distance

I love you guys forever.

5 Days

We move in 5 days people.

We're excited yet nervous but I'm sure that's normal. I can't wait to be there but I'm not ready to leave here. I'm ready to be on our own but not ready to leave my family. I'm ready to have a house full of space but will surprisingly miss our little bedroom. I'm ready to have lots of people come visit us but it's going to break my heart not to see my mom every day or have my besties just a few blocks away.

I know all these feelings are normal but moving is hard. This is the town where we met, where we fell in love. This is the town where I met my besties. This is where I really grew up and got to know myself. This town is our home.

Now St. George will be our home. We'll make new memories there. New adventures will happen and we'll enjoy every minute of it. Nothing however, will compare to the family and friends we have here. Our lives are changing and we just have to hold onto each other for the ride.

So where does that leave us? With 5 days. 5 days to finish packing. 5 days to keep working. 5 days to make all the final arrangements and have everything ready down there for us. 5 days to spend every possible minute with our friends and family that we can. 5 days to say our goodbyes. 5 days until I cry the whole drive down to our new home.

To everyone we don't get to see before we go, we love you and will miss you.

I know it's not goodbye forever, just goodbye for now.

We're Gonna Make This Place Our Home

Whelp, we did it. We are now homeowners. At the tender ages of 24 and 22, we have officially bought our first home.

I can't even begin to tell you how excited we are for this. This little place is all ours. Our own space to do with what we please. For this being our first house though, it was relatively an easy process for us. We hit one snag through the whole thing and even fixing that was a breeze.

We are so lucky to have worked with the people that we did and we are beyond thankful for their help through everything. Shout out to Josh at Wells Fargo in Lindon, and Walter from Fidelity Real estate in St. George. We couldn't have done it without them. Also a huge major shout out to my parents for their support through this whole thing. We couldn't have done it without them either.

We have lots of plans for this little place. So many things to take it from a house to a home. We move down there May 16th and can't wait for this adventure to begin.

WE OWN A HOUSE!!!!!

 

 

Growing Up

We're slowly, officially becoming adults. It's a slightly terrifying fact but a true one non the less. Some BIG changes our coming our way soon. Hopefully all of them are great ones. Once everything falls into place, you will all be updated.

We also bought a couch. Our second "adult" purchase. The first one was our T.V. Owning our own stuff is AWESOME! Now we just need some place to call our own and put it all.

As Of Late

As of late, we have been doing a whole lot of NOTHING. Winter is not my favorite season. It's cold, gray, and everyone either has a cold, is getting over a cold, and is coming down with a cold. COLD. COLD. COLD.

A few highlights from the month of January:
Celebrated our 2 year anniversary. Marriage is AWESOME.
Went to Washington again. Love Seattle. The Space Needle may be my new BFF. Trina cooked me lots of BACON. And GELATO is to die for.
We had our first Harry Potter marathon of the year. That happens about every 3 months in our house. TRADITION!
I'm back to working one job. WORD.

A few low lights from the month of January:
SINUS. INFECTION. It won't go away.
Only working one job. LESS MONEY. Boo
Having to leave Washington. I cried.
Almost running out of fruit snacks. TRAGIC

We're pretty boring here in the Griffin household. We enjoy curling up in bed with our puppy and Netflix. Monk is on all the time and occasionally Toddlers and Tiaras when I can convince Derek to watch it. We've been enjoying more time together being stupid, laughing our heads off, having heart-to-heart talks and finishing it all up with our new addiction, Dr. Pepper. Okay, MY new addiction but still.

Wonder what February will bring?

2 years ago

2 years ago today, the hubs came home from his mission! I was a complete bundle of nerves that day and couldn't believe that after waiting 2 long years, he was finally home for good! It's been an amazing 2 years since he's been home. Let's look at some of the things we've done since then, shall we?

-We got engaged(obviously)
-I got my endowments
-We got married(again obvious)
-We've been to Disney World twice
-We almost burned down our first apartment
-We've welcomed 1 niece and 2 nephews into the family
-We took our first trip to Logan and had Aggie ice cream
-We took our first road trip
-We visited Derek's mission
-I had my first trip to Washington and fell in love with Seattle
-We moved into my parents basement
-We paid off all our debt aside from student loans
-We bought our first adult purchase in the form of a TV on Black Friday
-We inherited a car that is solely in our names, no one else
-We've been to 3 midnight premieres
-We got our first puppy, a purebred dachshund named Charlie, for free

There's lots more I'm sure but those are the big things that I can think of right now. I just can't believe he's already been home for 2 years. The whole waiting 2 years seemed to take forever but these past 2 years have flown by, seriously. Waiting for him, marrying him, and getting to love him for the rest of eternity is the best thing I've ever done for myself. He's amazing and was totally worth the wait :)

Let's have adventures!!!

Derek and I are about to embark on a glorious adventure! For 2 years, Derek served the Lord in the beautiful state of Washington. Tonight, we take our first road trip as a married couple and head out to that wonderful place.

We couldn't be more excited!!!!!!!!!

We have many things planned, people to see, and time to spent together. Those are the best vacations, when we just get to completely focus on each other and spend time together. I'm excited for my first trip to Washington!

See you when we get back!