Over the River and through the Woods to Gram's House We Go!

Last Thursday my mom, dad, and Brett brought Dennis out to Utah to get ready for school. Since Dennis just came home from his mission, we decided to go visit my dad's parents in Idaho. On Friday while Dallas was getting ready for the big game with the rest of the team, I went with my family to Pocatello to visit Gram and Grandpa Bob. It was so good to see them and to catch up with them. They are amazing people and I am proud to be their granddaughter. Here are some memorable photos at their home.

Gram and me

Grandpa Bob, Gram, me

Grandpa, Gram, Dennis

Uncle Jim, Dad, Grandpa, and Gram

WELCOME HOME, DENNIS!!!

A couple of weeks ago my little brother (well, not so little anymore!) came home from his mission!! Dennis served for two years in the Argentina, Mendoza mission. It was soooo good to see him and I am so excited for him to be going to the Y! We will have lots of fun going to the football games together. I had a great time in CA with ALL of my siblings! We almost had our ENTIRE family together (minus Dallas--Fall Camp). That hasn't happened in over two years! It was a blast hearing about Dennis' adventures in Argentina and hearing him speak Spanish and English with a thick accent. Welcome home, Den! We love you!

Elder Steele, fresh off the plane!

Looking around, realizing that he's really home

Stunned at how big our little Brett is!

Starting to adjust and showing us some souvenirs

Look at this mate (sp?) cup! Crazy!

Dallas and I can't wait to have you over to hang out with us, Den! We love you!

Final Days of Summer...

Since it's almost been about a month and a half since my last post and SO MUCH has been happening, I thought it about time time to update!!!

BYU Football has officially begun!! Dallas had his season opening game last Saturday and it was a blast! We played Norhtern Iowa and won 17-41. Dallas has made a big position change over to Center since Tom Sorenson had shoulder surgery (get well soon!) and did a great job with his new assignment. Matt started at Left Tackle and it was so much fun watching them out there together. My whole family was able to attend the game (minus J.T. and Britney) and it was so nice to have everyone there. Here are some pictures from the game. Way to go, babe!!

Dallas and me before the game

Dallas running out of the tunnel

Dallas and Matt after the "Haka" #65 (Dallas) and #70 (Matt)

Dallas' first play at Center and Matt's at L. Tackle

Good job boys! We think you're amazing!!! Rah, rah, rah rah rah... Goooo Cougars!!

Happy 4th of July!!

Happy Fourth of July everyone!!

I know that it's a little bit late, but Dallas and I took some well needed time away. We have been in Bear Lake the last two weeks and over the fourth--we had a blast!! Dallas and I went up around June 20th to Bear Lake, just the two of us. We decided not to bring any water equipment up with us, but brought the family Rhino instead (it's a side by side four-wheeler... sooo fun!). It was nice to get away and to spend some time outdoors with each other. We loved taking the Rhino on lots of trails, splashing through giant mud puddles, and the pretty views from the mountain tops. And we both enjoyed just relaxing and being together! We were able to stay there for about a week and then came home for just a day to do some laundry. The next day we took Matt back up with us and brought the boat and jet skis. It took me about a day to get over my fear of open water (I go through this every year), but after that I was good to go! A few days later the rest of Dallas' family joined us and we all had such a great time. We both loved all the time that we were able to spend out on the beautiful lake, our milkshakes from LaBeau's, and spending time at Grandma Ruth's condo. Thank you Grandma Ruth for making it all possible and to Lance and Leslie for all that you did for us up there--we know it was hard work!!

Since I didn't get to throw up a post for the fourth I will just say how extremely grateful I am to live in such a wonderful country and for the freedoms that I take for granted everyday. When I sit back and think about the sacrifices that so many men and women have made to protect those freedoms I am humbled. Bless the troops-- I love the U.S.A.!!


CAUTION: LOTS of pictures!!!

On the way up we stopped at the Maddox Steakhouse. The fried chicken is the best and a trip to Bear Lake wouldn't be complete without it!

I had to post this picture. On our way through Logan there was a group of men on motorcycles "packing some heat." Look carefully right below the man's hip. Crazy!

Taken on our first Rhino trip at the top of a mountain! Beautiful!

I got out to take a look around!

Dallas in our fun little "ride."

The two of us enjoying the view.

We spent one day down on Grandma Ruth's lot. We mowed the lawn and made sure it was ready for everyone to come up for the fourth. We decided to stay and have dinner: Hot dogs and s'mores. I love Dallas' clever way of roasting his hot dogs!

Dallas' favorite purchase we made before we went up to Bear Lake (the little saw)! He's soo handy :)

Since we didn't make it to the spa on this vacation we decided to get mud baths! ;)

More mud!

You can't tell from this picture, but this hill was soo steep! I was literally hanging into the Rhino by my seatbelt!

After Matt came up we all took a Rhino ride! Here we were going like 35mph and the bugs kept splattering on our faces. I even got yellow bug guts in my hair! Eww!

Dallas and Matt on the mountain top

The view

We were so high we made it to the snow!

This is Dallas and Matt on the tube after everyone made it up. Lance was driving and this is on their way down!

Picture almost 700 lbs going over this wave!

Another turn-- Hang on guys!!

You can tell they like it when Lance drives the boat... I think their expressions say it all! ;)

What can I say... we had a great time. We look forward to Bear Lake every year. Thanks everyone for such a good time and especially a big thank you to my sweetheart. I loved getting away with you and I just can't get enough of you!

Will You Marry Me?...YES!!!

On Sunday, Dallas and I went for a walk up in the canyon with his family. It was such a beautiful day after all the rain that we've had. It felt so nice to be outside and to see the beautiful mountains, the river, and to finally see some trees with leaves and blossoms. We had such a long winter that there are still spring blossoms on the trees in the canyon! We were walking along the trail and Dallas and I found the spot where he proposed to me! It made me remember what an amazing day that was and how excited and utterly SHOCKED I was when he proposed! I had no clue it was coming and next to our wedding day it was the best day of my life. This is where the man of my dreams asked me to marry him!

The only thing that's missing in this picture are the huge dragon flies that were hovering over the water and a rainbow.I asked Dallas to show me how he felt after I said yes... :)

To this day I can't believe how amazingly wonderful the past two years of my life have been. Dallas, you are so amazing in so many ways. Every time I look at my ring I get giddy inside. Each day I am so happy knowing that I get to spend my life with you. I love you so much!

Congrats Grad... Go Elite XC!!

Last week I had the opportunity to go to California and visit my family for JT's LAW SCHOOL graduation! He has worked really hard these past three years and we are all so proud of him! I know that Britney has gone through a lot,too while JT has been in school, so we are so happy for you guys! JT has also been working really hard with the MMA organization Elite XC and has been doing amazing things. Now that he's finished with school he can really focus his talents on his job. In fact, Elite XC is airing a HUGE fight featuring Kimbo Slice on CBS May 31st @ 9pm ET/PT, so everyone watch!! Here is an awesome link that gives the details. Check it out! http://fight.proelite.com/elitexc-primetime.html

JT, we are so proud of you! Congratulations!!

It was great to see my family and to be a part of JT's graduation. These are some pictures that I took while I was there. I was so happy to spend time with my niece Brooke, who is just darling! I hadn't seen her since Christmas and it just made my day when she wanted me to hold her or sit by her. The only thing that was missing from the trip was my sweetheart, Dallas! I missed him sooo much while I was gone and it was great coming home to him. He really is the love of my life. JT, Britney, and little Brooke. What a darling family!

Mom/ Grandma Leesa and Brookie

Brooke, JT, and Brett!

I've been tagged... a few times!!

Since starting this blog about a year ago, I had never been tagged... until now. I was tagged three times all within about a week of each other. I have to apologize though, I've been a real slacker in actually doing something about it until now! So, finally, here are my responses!!

Husband Tag

His name: Dallas James Reynolds

How long have you been married? 1 year and 5 1/2 months! (time flies!!)

How old is he? 24

Who eats more? You might be able to guess this one, but if you can't it's me... only if Dallas is sick that day or something :) Although I am known to be able to put down a bit of food

Who said "I love you" first? Dallas did.... and I of course said it right back!

Who sings better? Even though I sing more, Dallas definitely carries a tune better than me! I love hearing him sing!

Who is smarter? I think we actually balance each other out. We definitely have our strengths and they are usually in different areas, so it works great.

Whose temper is worse? It takes quite a bit to make our tempers go awry, but if we are both getting hungry we tend to start getting a little grouchy (I learned this about Dallas when registering for our wedding during lunch time and had to make a quick intervention and wisk him off to Chili's! Wedding planning + a hungry Dallas DO NOT mix well!! :) ha ha ha)

Who does the laundry? I do most of the time. It's funny though, we can only fit two pairs of his pants and one of mine in our tiny washer!

Who does the dishes? I do most of the time. He makes me do all of the household chores... he brings home the bacon... wait... I do that too... and you all better know I'm joking! Dallas is the biggest sweetheart and does the real work, plus helps around the house whenever he can! I do some of the household stuff to thank him for everything else he works so hard for!

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Well, lately we've been alternating, but previously it was Dallas (from a laying in the bed point of view)

Who pays the bills? Mostly Dallas. He's great at this. He makes me sit down with him and go over our finances each night.

Who cooks dinner? I definitely do this one; although, Dallas can hold his own in the kitchen and is master of the grill!!

Who mows the lawn? Well, we don't have one now, but when we go to his parents he does, so he will probably when we get one. We both love to work outside.

Who drives when we are together? Dallas always does. He is such a good driver. (not that I'm that bad...)

Who is more stubborn? This would definitely depend on the topic. We can both be pretty darn stubborn.

Who is the first to admit they are wrong? Ha ha ha... That's a tough one... we usually just end up laughing about it.

Whose parents do you see the most? Hmmm... Dallas'! Mine live in CA and Dallas' live just down the street, which is wonderful!

Who has more friends? Dallas definitely has more friends here since he grew up here and I'm not the best at keeping in touch. I

Who has more siblings? TIE! We are exactly the same! We're both the middle child with an older sister and older brother and two younger brothers!! Cool huh?!

Who wears the pants? He definitely wears bigger pants than I do... does that count? :)

I tag : Brittany Faiga, Jennie, Robyn, Whitney, Rashelle, and anyone else who's never done this one!! (If you want to!)

3 Things

3 Joys:
1. Spending time with Dallas
2. Spending time with Dallas
3. Spending time with Dallas

(I can't help it--he makes me so happy, but I should add these to the list because they make spending time with Dallas even better: Being a member of the church, and the temple). I also love spending time with all of my family. If I didn't have Dallas, they would be the top three! :) )

3 fears:
1. Something terrible happening to Dallas or loved one

2. Forgetting something really important (I have a tendency to be forgetful sometimes!)

3. Getting my eye punctured or falling face first and breaking a front tooth (don't those creep you out just thinking about them?) That's one of those silly ones I've had since I was little


3 goals:
1. Be a good wife and mother
2. Be HAPPY
3. To get back in shape! (I don't like knowing that it would be difficult to run a mile!)

Bag Tag

Ok, so the rules for bag tag are: Take everything out of your purse, and without throwing anything away take a picture and then explain the items found therein.

* I'll be honest. I cheated. I started cleaning out my purse one night and realized I hadn't done my tag yet, so I am missing a handful of receipts and gum wrappers.

I am going to start at the top and then try to go in rows from left to right so you can follow, hopefully :)

1. The purse

2. My Las Vegas Bowl 2007 game ticket, and right below it my KA (Cirque deSoleil) ticket from when we were in Vegas for the bowl game. I'm not sure why I still have these in there. I want to save them and I guess I didn't have anywhere to put them!

3. $5.oo off coupon for TGI Fridays. Yum!

4. Sunglasses slip cover (notice, however there are no sunglasses in the purse!)

5. Good ol' cell phone

6. Shopping list for WalMart

7. Lots of batteries! 7 to be exact. I usually have my camera with me and there is nothing I hate worse than running out of batteries during an important event! :)

8. Receipt from WalMart shopping trip: Looks like I got a few more items than were on my list. I need to be better at that!

9. "Just in case" medicine. Dallas and I have sensitive stomachs so we always have some stomach meds on hand.

10. Neccesity: Chapstick. I have horribly chapped lips most of the time. I've tried the, "If you don't use it as much your lips will get used to not having it." Doesn't work.

11. One lip-liner, two different lipsticks, and a lip gloss. The funny thing is that if you know me I'm never wearing any of that except on Sunday. Maybe I have it in there in hopes that maybe I'll notice it and put it on? Don't really know...

12. Let's count: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6...7 pens! No wonder I couldn't find any in my apartment...

13. Checkbook

14. Card holder with some gift cards

15. Dallas' Las Veags Bowl watch. Not sure how or why that made it into my purse?

16. My little wallet

17. Camera

18. Some spare change

Now you know why I was cleaning it out!! Can you picture all of that fitting into my purse? Needless to say, I have downsized the amount of things I carry in my purse and my husband and shoulder are thanking me for it :)

Finally! Now I am all caught up on my tags! Anyone who feels like it can be tagged to do these!

Spring has Sprung Birthdays and Fun!

I am now a quarter-of-a-century old! Yikes! I just recently celebrated turning the big 25. I think that means I'm officially an adult now. And, if there's one thing you should know about me, I hate growing up! I guess it's pretty much inevitable though. I'll just stay young at heart. I had a great birthday and I was surrounded by my friends and family. Dallas took me out to dinner to my favorite restaurant and I had such a good time on our little date. He's the best! His birthday is coming up pretty quick here, so I'm excited to be able to do something for him for once! Thank you to everyone who made my birthday special.

Last Saturday was the BYU Blue and White Game. It was a great day, not to mention the best spring weather possible! Before the game they had a children's clinic where all the kids came down on to the field to practice drills with the players. Our nephews Jackson, Jared, and Lance all came to have some fun with Uncle Dallas and Matt! Those boys (and that means Matt and Dallas, too!) were so cute, not to mention athletic doing the drills! It was so much fun to watch. I especially loved watching my Dallas with the kids. He is going to be the best dad someday.
I love him so much!







Go Hit!


Jared avoids the tackle!


Jared, Lance, and Jackson
ready in their three point stance... well maybe we need to work on that a little :)