a wonderful weekend

Guys. This weekend was so good :)

That may have a lot to do with the fact that the semester is suuuuuuper close to being over (just two finals to go!) so I don't have the stress of a million assignments and tests going on--just two :)

But it was also just great :)

On Saturday, after studying for and taking a final, Russ and I drove up to IKEA. We ate delicious Swedish meatballs and had so much fun looking at things and thinking about how we want our future home. For the record, some of the things I most look forward to in a future home are:

1. Dishwasher
2. An island in the kitchen--aka counter space
3. A backsplash in the kitchen
4. Dishwasher. It's here twice because I really really can't wait for the day that I have one in my life.

And though we were tempted to buy a lot of cool and unnecessary things, we actually exercised some self-control and came away with exactly what we went for: a shelf and some brackets to hang the shelf. Spending only $17 in IKEA? I consider that a success!

Then we went to a park back in Provo where there was an event going on. We missed most of whatever happened there, but we made it in time to do what I had wanted to do: watch Frozen on a big blow-up screen. I saw it for the first time about a month ago. At first I thought it was pretty good, but not worth the hype. But then I realized I really do like it a lot, and Russ still hadn't seen it, so it was time to rectify that situation. 

It was definitely more fun watching it with Russ, even though it was FREEZING outside. How fitting, right? ;) But he liked it. One of my absolute favorite things in the world is hearing Russ laugh. For some reason, I especially like it if I can anticipate it . . . so since I had already seen the movie, and I knew when I had laughed and therefore could guess when Russ would laugh, it just made hearing his laughter even better :) Gosh I love him :)

And after the movie, I was just in a happy/skippy/dance-y mood, so that's how I "walked" the half mile back to the car--skipping, dancing, and smiling :) It was good to be on a date with my man :)

Then Sunday, of course, was Easter! We ended up not doing Easter baskets, and I was fine with that. We decided we didn't need to make Easter about gifts because no gift can compare to the greatest gift that was already given to us--the Atonement and Resurrection of our Savior. It was good to think and talk about spiritual things with Russ :)

In the afternoon, we went up to Salt Lake for a Holmes family dinner. The conversation was good, the company was good, and it was nice to just relax and be with family :) After dinner, we were so stuffed that we needed a walk, so we went to the Gilgal Sculpture Garden. Russ's family always seems to know so much about random things, and that's because they're museum-goers and trivia-game players--it's a way that they're really different from my own family, but also something I love about them. I'm still working up to being a good museum-goer, so I'm not as patient as they all are about reading everything, but Russ was good to read the pamphlet and then explain things to me. It was an interesting place. And it's free! So free is always good in my book :)

Mormons don't worship Joseph Smith, so I'm still a little confused as to why
his head is on a sphinx, but this is the most famous statue in the garden.

Then we ate trifle and played games, and it was just great to be with family :)

Kenzi, me, Lacey, Mom (Barbara)
Lance, Dad (Trent), and Russ

 Also great were the car rides to and from SLC. Russ is typically more of an observer than a talker. It's something I love about him, because it teaches me that I need to quiet down a little, and it also means that when he does talk, he's saying something worthwhile. But it means that long car rides are often pretty quiet. However, on our car rides yesterday, we had good, long, deep, meaningful conversations both ways! Which was awesome. Because I love talking to my husband :)

So grateful to be so blessed with such a good husband, family, and life :)

How was your Easter weekend? :)

**ashleynicole