Intramural champs!!

Josh is on a team for intramural flag football with a couple friends this semester.
Apparently last year this team didn't win any games! This was not the case this year!!

One of his friends on the team happens to be his best friend that he played football with in high school! They had so much fun getting to play together again.

In the normal season I think they only actually won 1 game. They won another one by forfeit and somehow they still were able to make it to the middle division of playoffs!

Earlier this week it snowed a whole bunch and for the semifinal game they shoveled just the parts of the field that had the lines. And it was only thirty degrees outside! It didn't really surprise me that I was the only wife there from our team. But even though it was freezing cold (literally) they won!

For the championship game last night I was so thrilled that 3 other wives, a sister, and a daughter of the other players came! Even though it was still freezing cold, it was much more enjoyable to sit in the cold with others:)

And guess what...they won!! they all played so well and it was so fun to watch!
Josh got a touchdown the first play of the game...so it was a great start for them!

Josh was so nervous for the game but later told me that once he scored that touchdown he felt so pumped that the nerves all went away!

So proud of my man! He wouldn't stop talking about the game all night!

Audrey Jo

Halloween 2016

I love Halloween. I love dressing up and going out!

Luckily the office I work for gets super into Halloween. Remember last year?!

Last year we didn't win best office...unfortunately. So we were pretty determined to win this year!

This year the options for dressing up were: Star Wars, comic books, and Peter Pan.

Peter Pan tooootally won! (Yay!)

Here's a close(er) shot of my make up that my super talented friend did! (I could never do it that well on my own!)

"Team Take Down" The 3 of u work for Todd Seamons, the best PA I've ever known and one of the greatest people I've ever known! Seriously, you should meet this guy.

Now to start preparing for next Halloween! Any ideas??

Audrey Jo

How to save money (and make your money last!)

So when Josh and I got married we had no problems with money.
I was working part time as a hostess at a restaurant and Josh was working as a bellman/valet at a hotel

I wasn't making much but it was enough to pay for groceries and gas (which was a lot considering we were both driving 30 minutes to get to work).
Josh was making tons in tips at his job and that gave us more than enough for rent. We could go out to eat as much as we wanted to, we could go shopping, and not have to plan out our purchases!

When we moved up to Utah we knew that my income was going to be our sole income, for a while at least.
It was definitely a lot harder to make ends meet. Although it isn't fun having to watch what I spend, it is a skill I will always keep with me!

Here is what I do to save money and make it last:

Plan your meals for an entire month! I will be making a whole post devoted to this concept because I am that passionate about it! I use to think it was too hard to plan out a whole month worth of meals until I tried it. I save time and money by buying things in bulk at the beginning of each month and I am able to motivate myself to try new recipes by planning it into my month. (Josh loves when I try new recipes!)

Shop discount and thrift stores Josh has a thing for Nike. He refuses to wear any other kind of athletic apparel. Did you know that they sell Nike at Ross? The other day I got him some Nike leggings (are they still called that when they're in the guys section?) that were originally $90...for only $19! And a Nike shirt that was nearly $20 off! I've gotten a lot of our decor from Ross. I got one of my favorite coats from a thrift store. There's good stuff out there, you just need to spend some time to search for it!

Shop off season I try to buy all of my bathing suits in the fall and winter when they are on sale. Winter coats? Buy them in the spring when stores are trying to clear their racks to make room. I always go to Target to buy "Halloween" candy the day after Halloween-it's still fall, the colors are the same...why is it on sale? Who knows. But I totally take advantage of it!

Don't shop a sale just because it's a sale How many times do you go shopping just because there's a sale? I have and I sometimes do! But why go shopping when you don't need anything? Save that money for when you do need it! Of course there are exceptions to that rule: when I go grocery shopping and they are cereal on sale, I'll buy it because I know Josh will be needing cereal the next week. But I don't go shoe shopping just for the fun of it.

Don't use a gift card just because you have one Target gift cards are one of my favorite things ever. When we got married we got tons of gift cards to Target and Bed Bath and Beyond. I didn't go out shopping there just because we could. I waited until we needed something to use the gift card. This came in handy when we moved to Utah and needed to buy a lot more...like a microwave, things for our second bathroom, etc.

Find ways to make a little extra A popular way to make a little extra money here is to donate plasma! It takes about an hour to donate plasma and you're able to make $25-30 each donation-they pay you for your time (and you are helping people! They are able to make medicine with the plasma that is donated).

Sell your old things As long as you take good care of your stuff, why not try to sell it once you're done with it? We take our old clothes to Plato's Closet when we don't wear them often enough. There are tons of Facebook pages that you are able to sell things on. I'm part of 3 "indoor yard sales" and take full advantage of it with selling things AND with buying things.

Plan out your purchases This is a new thing for me. Josh and I both get paid every 2 weeks. I made a list of things that we "need" and things that we "want." I'm able to look at this list and decide when to buy things. For example, when I knew my car registration was coming up, I was able to plan when the best week would be to pay for that. If there isn't a "need" I am able to decide if it is a good week to get a "want."

What do you think? Pretty easy little changes, huh? It was definitely a transition to go from buying what I wanted to needing to plan out my purchases. But I am so glad I've been able to learn these things.

What ways do you save money? What have you learned over the years and how do you stick to your budget??

Fall has arrived! (almost...)

I love fall!
I never really understood the hype with fall until we moved to Utah last year. Fall is so beautiful! The temp finally isn't 100 degrees every day. The crisp morning air. The leaves changing from green to all shades of red, orange and yellow! Football season. Getting to wear boots, scarves, and sweaters without having to scrape snow and ice off my windows yet!
I love it all!

Last year around this time I was just starting to become better friends with the girls I work with. We went to a haunted house together and it was awesome!

This year I'm able to call these girls some of my best friends! We are already planning on doing fun fall things together. And it is going to be so fun!

So here is my 2016 Fall To-Do List

1. Go to a pumpkin patch. Josh and I have these things called "Pass of all passes" that gets us into things for free! (It was only $15 and is good to use ALL year!). This pass gets us into a pumpkin patch for free! Of course there are things you need to pay for once you're inside...but admission is free! I love mostly free dates :)

2. Drive through Provo Canyon to see the changing leaves. Well...it doesn't have the be Provo canyon. Pretty much just any canyon where the trees are all around us! My grandparents have a cabin that is in the middle of tons and tons of trees. I hear it is the most beautiful drive up to it in the fall!

3. Go on a few more hikes before the snow hits and I just want to stay inside and cuddle. There are a few hikes I've been wanting to do so I better hurry up and do them before it gets too cold! Last winter was so hard for me! I was so cold that I didn't want to go outside at all. Maybe this year will be different since I know what to expect with winter. We'll see.

4. Carve a pumpkin. I guess this kind of goes along with going to a pumpkin patch. But Josh and I didn't carve one last year and I was pretty bummed about it. We'll be sure to make up for it this year!

5. Go to a BYU football game. Last year I wasn't able to go to one even though Josh was at every home game (he worked with BYU recruiting and got in free). I love the atmosphere of football games and I want to go to one this year!

6. Run for 45 minutes without stopping. Again...something I want to do before the snow hits! I miss the days when I could just go out and run 8 miles just because I could. I remember looking at my running schedule and being excited that I would only be running 6 miles that day. Because that's so easy, right? (HA!). I want to get my endurance close to what it was when I was running everyday.

7. Take family pictures. We had some taken last year by a dear friend and we loved them! I'd love to have some done every year to look back on.

8. Finish Unbroken. I've been reading this book for a few weeks no and I LOVE it! But for some reason I keep finding other things to do instead of reading it. I will finish it!

9. Go fishing. My dad is planning on coming up here in a few weeks and we're going fishing with him! We're so excited!

10. Run a 5k. Josh and I love running 5ks together. We have run 2 so far and are hoping to run one again for Halloween! They are so fun, especially when the pressure is off and we do it just to have fun.

I'm back!!

So I've been pretty MIA for a while...but I'm back!

Josh and I recently returned from an amazing trip to San Diego. While there my mom mentioned that I haven't blogged in a while...so I decided to start up again. I miss being close to family and I just think this is a great way to keep them a little updated on the fun adventures we go on here!

On our trip we got to spend a ton of time with family. We babysat my new niece for a day (it was awesome!!). My mom taught me how to make a dress for my niece. My mother in law taught me how to make the best ribs every and a family recipe of meatloaf! We had so much fun and I cannot believe how short the trip felt!

So to start back up...here are some pictures from the trip!

There were other pictures that I wanted to share but they don't want to upload...so that's cool... 

Audrey Jo

Our Sunday drive

After church today (well after my nap after church today...) I convinced Josh to go on a drive with me! This is something I've been wanting to do for a while now and since we got some beautiful new snow yesterday...what better time, right?
Last month we dropped my brother off in Heber and it was such a beautiful drive that I was convinced we had to take the drive again just for fun.
So that is where we went! We just drove and drove until we saw a beautiful field of snow that I could *try* to jump around in. The snow was up to my knees. It was crazy. Crazy beautiful!

I loved my Sunday adventure with my husband. Isn't he just so handsome?!

Audrey

1 year anniversary!

Today Josh and I celebrate our 1 year anniversary! Wow, how time flies!!
This year has been the best of my life. I love being married to my best friend. As cliche as it sounds...we totally complete each other. We have the same random thoughts and share the same random dance moves! At the same time...he surprises me every day with something new! It has been such an adventure growing with him these last 365 days.

In the last year...
I finished school and started working in my field right away!
Got an Xbox
Went to Disneyland 3 times, Safari Park 1 time
Josh applied to BYU and got in!
We traveled across the country to attend a wedding together
And drove or flown to/from Utah 6 times
Moved to Utah!
Josh thought me how to solve a Rubik's cube!
Been to 4 different gyms
Moved 3 times
Traded in our Xbox for a Wii U
Been to 5 different temples
And of course...We got married!

We love being married and we can't wait for what our second year of marriage will bring!

Here are pictures of some of the highlights (in no particular order), for your enjoyment!

Josh's flag football team after a faahhreeezing game.

 Disneyland and they're churros. Obviously Josh was not ready for this.

 Rhode Island for Tim's wedding!

 Seven Peaks before BYU started

 My first day of my new job and Josh's first day at BYU!

 Josh's first time donating blood. He was such a champ!

 My first attempt at cutting Josh's hair myself. The finished product looked good! But when I started buzzing I started freaking out at how short I was cutting it!

 Aleigh Joy took family pics of us!

 Our first time seeing the lights at Temple Square in Salt Lake City!

 A Christmas party hosted by the Moores!

 Our first time sledding, New Years Eve.

 The Eve of our Anniversary at the Ice Castles in Midway

  Our beautiful wedding day!

Audrey Jo

Yes. I'm THAT girl.

So you know how at work they were making fun of me for running outside to stand in the snow flurries?
Well today it got even worse!

This morning I woke up to about 4 inches of snow on my car! Which meant tons of snow on the roads! So yes, I'm that girl, with the California license plates, driving 20 miles an hour down State Street.
I felt a little better about myself when I got to work and everybody else said they were a little nervous driving on the roads. But I realized I probably need to get my tires changed...

So not only was there a ton of snow on the ground (well, a ton for me at least)...but it was snowing all morning! Before it got too crazy at work I asked a coworker to take a picture of how excited I was for it all!

And scrubs are definitely not warm, snow clothes. Just in case you were wondering!

Luckily it stopped snowing in the afternoon so the roads weren't in terrible shape by the time I left work to drive home! (Well...to Target then home!)

Audrey Jo

Oh hey there Fall, nice to meet ya!

Everybody keeps asking me how I like Utah so far. My answer? I love it!!
The only thing is that I'm freezing cold already. Super excited for Winter.

I have never experienced Fall before! I'm use to the leaves just dying and falling off of the trees. The weather starts to calm down in November. And I wear boots and scarves just because they're cute.

Now I get to see the trees turn beautiful yellows, oranges, and reds before they fall and turn to brown. Now I understand the real beauty of boots and scarves. And fuzzy socks...because my feet have been getting soo cold!!

Fall has been going easy on us and it wasn't cooling down for the longest time. It doesn't matter so much for me because I'm inside all day wearing scrubs. But now it is starting to be so cold at home! So cold. Like 65 degrees cold in the middle of the day! I'm not completely use to wearing giant fuzzy socks, warm leggings, and sweatshirts inside. I guess that is something I'll have to get use to! (We have always refused to turn on the AC or heat. That might have to change.)

Wednesdays are my day off and I usually spend my morning running errands then come home and clean, do some laundry, and relax. Today was a bit more difficult. I just wanted to stay in bed all day! Not to mention we have been trying to work out every morning. As in 5:30 am. It has be so hard. So today we skipped the workout part and went with the warm cuddling option instead.

Anyways...after my chores today I decided to enjoy the wonderful Fall. I drove to a park close by our home and just walked around and enjoyed(?) the cool air and the beautiful trees. While wearing my scarf and boots.

So...yes, I do love it here! But it also hasn't been Winter quite yet. So I'll let you guys know when we get to that point.

But for now, I will enjoy this beautiful time of year!

xoxo

Simply Stephens

PS. Be sure to check back on Saturday. At work we are dressing up as Disney Villains and you do not want to miss out on my costume. It is going to be epic.