Sam & Lacey

Kalie - Welcome to the Mitchell Family!!!

2010-07-09T17:41:00.006-05:00

Dear Kalie,

Thank-you for making my brother such a lucky man. Just look at his face! I've never seen him with such a genuinely happy smile. But no wonder he is so happy. You are the definition of a "catch". You are beautiful, you are smart, you are a good girl, you are athletic and outdoorsy, and you actually laugh at Brian's jokes. I'm so glad to be able to call you my sister!

P.S.

I'm sorry you had to marry into such a silly family. :-)

ALAN & AMBER CANNELL: May 15, 2010

2010-05-17T17:09:00.009-05:00

CONGRATULATIONS AMBER & ALAN!!!

Alan is a very lucky guy to be getting my sweet gorgeous sister!

(Sorry I don't have a better pic of the bride and groom. I'll have to wait until the real photographer posts her pics....)

Does anyone else covet her dress?

Is this not the cutest wedding cake you've ever seen?

Me and my beautiful sisters.

A Bunch of Other Stuff I Should Have Blogged About in 2009

2010-02-21T09:23:00.010-06:00

In May Sam was playing in an adult softball league. His position was outfield. While playing in the outfield he tried to be a hero for his team. He dove to catch a ball and in the process he broke his hand... and he didn't even catch the ball - but don't tell him that I told you that. :-)

In June Sam and I ran the Hospital Hill Half Marathon. Sam is a much better runner than I am - but he is very patient with me and will run slower to keep pace with me. Sometimes he will get a little bit ahead of me, but he will always jog in place and wait for me to catch up. That is exactly what happened during this race. Up until mile 11 he stayed by my side or jogged in place and waited for me to catch up. But at mile 11 he got a side cramp and had to stop. I probably should have been patient with him and waited with him since he was always so patient to wait for me. But he insisted that I run ahead. So I did. I finished the half marathon in 2:09. I beat my goal of 2:15!!!!! Sam finished shortly behind me in 2:11. I like to brag that I beat him - even though in all fairness he very well would have finished ahead of me.

(You know I must be proud of my accomplishment for posting such a heinous picture of myself.)

In January of 2008 Sam was rear-ended while driving his Ford Escort. The damage wasn't huge, but it was enough to consider the car totalled. We were given 2 options: Either we could accept an insurance buyout of $2900 and give our car to the insurance company, or we could take a check for $2750 and keep the car. That was a no brainer! We kept the car. We spent about $75 to fix the tail light and get the car up to code. So for the 20 months between January 2008 and September 2009, Sam drove around a car that looked like this:

In September 2009 Sam's was involved in yet another accident. A guy turned left and pulled out in front of Sam, leaving the front of Sam's precious Escort to look like this:

Obviously the Escort was no longer driveable. And Sam really wasn't too disappointed about it. He always said he couldn't feel like a man in that thing. I, however, was slightly sad to see it go. I will always remember watching Sam pull up driving that car the night that we met. My very first impression of Sam is that he was a super attractive guy who didn't need some big, masculine, expensive car to feel like a man. In a way, the Escort was a turn-on to me.

Anyways, we got yet another insurance payout for the Escort. Between the 2 car accidents, we got $5300 out of the Escort. That isn't a bad deal considering we probably couldn't have sold it for much more than $1000.

Sam upgraded from the not-so-manly Escort to the at-least-kind-of-manly Camry.

All in all, Sam has been a happy guy. Not only did he upgrade from a not-so-manly car to an at-least-kind-of-manly car, he also upgraded from a not-so-manly bedroom to an at-least-kind-of-manly bedroom.

Not-so-manly bedroom:

At-least-kind-of-manly bedroom:

We've also updated a few of our light fixtures in the house. Its not that our light fixtures were ugly, they just weren't compatible with my taste in decorating. This light fixture is my favorite!!!

And of course I've been busy knitting. Here are a few of my newest creations.

Isn't this bonnet so precious? The picture doesn't evn do it justice. (Thanks to adorable neice Aven for modeling!!)

The leggings were kind of an experiement, but I think they turned out so cute.

This is my girlier variation to the typical "Uggs".

This next set is one of my favorites. I searched high and low for a pattern for knit baby cowboy booties. I found crochet patterns, but no knit patterns. So I took it upon myself to make up a pattern. This was no small task. I had experiment for hours before I finally got the shaping right. But I think they look so cute. (Thanks to baby David for posing and looking so GQ in the cowboy boots!)

Finally, I had to do some knitting for myself. I can't claim to have completely created these two patterns, but I definitely mixed them up and added a little bit of Lacey flair. Is it bad to say that I am proud of myself?

There we go. Now I am all caught up on my blogging. For now anyways. :-)

The Adventures of Sam and Lacey (Part 2)

2010-01-24T13:34:00.022-06:00

So five and a half months ago I posted an entry entitled "The Adventures of Sam and Lacey (Part 1)". I know you've all been dying to read "The Adventures of Sam and Lacey (Part 2)". Well here it is... Better late than never...

Why so late? I would like to claim that I am too busy to blog. Obviously, that isn't entirely true. But maybe if i create one massive post showing everything that I haven't gotten around to blogging about, then maybe you really will believe me if I claim to be too busy to blog.

BRANSON, MISSOURI

May 2009

The main attraction of Branson is the cheesy, family friendly shows. Sam and I went to 4 fun shows while we were in Branson: The Acrobats of China, Six (6 Mormon brothers who sing A Capella), The Duttons (another Mormon family that sings), and the Dolly Parton Dixie Stampede. We didn't get any pics of the shows, but we took some pics on our bike ride. It was pouring down rain, but the trail was so beautiful that it was worth it. We rode clear into Arkansas. (It was only like 8 miles round trip - but it was fun to say that we crossed the state line!)

GIRL'S CAMP

June 2009

I spent a week at our Stake Girl's Camp. Lots of fun memories. Makes me wish I was a Young Woman again. (kind of.......)

OUR 3 YEAR ANNIVERSARY

June 16, 2009

For our anniversary, Sam surprised me with an overnight stay at the Chateau Avalon. We stayed in the Jesse James Escape theme room. It was very fun and even romantic in a wild, wild west kind of way.

HOT SPRINGS NATIONAL PARK, ARKANSAS

4th of July Weekend

If you've never heard of Hot Springs National Park, you aren't the only one. I hadn't heard of it before either. But it was a fun little getaway. It is just a charming, old street that was used to be used as formal bath houses. Most of the bathhouses are closed down, but the buildings are still standing.

Rub-a-dub-dub....

Sam and I are always up for hikes and there were lots of cool trails to hike near the Hot Springs National Park. Yes - I was hiking in flip flops. (Side note to the Mitchell Family - yes - those are "the" flip flops.)

One of our favorite parts of Hot Springs National Park was this Shaved Ice Stand. Super Shady, but super yummy.

DALLAS, TEXAS

JULY 2009

I had to go to Dallas, Texas for a staff conference this summer. Staff conference wasn't so fun, but it was fun to see my little nephew Kellen. And his parents of course :-)

THE MITCHELL FAMILY CABIN

McCALL, IDAHO

JUlY 2009

For my family, a trip to the cabin is not complete without a massive white elephant gift exchange. I'm not kidding you when I say that some members of my family prepare months in advance for this party. We get regular texts from my brother informing us how many months, or weeks, or days we have remaining to prepare for the white elephant party.

So here we are, looking over our toes at the massive pile of white elephant gifts to be opened.

Us Mitchell kids get a little goofy at the anticipation of opening all of these thrift store treasures.

Here we all are sporting the bathrobes Brian picked out for us.

Not sure what this is that Sam is wearing.

In case you can't read my dad's outfit it says "Nasty Curves." Too funny!

This is my special brother Brian. No need to say any more.

Another family tradition is to take a 30 minute hike. When we were little my mom used to always tell us that the hike would only be 30 minutes. I guess it is okay to lie if you are a mom???

Here I am with my lovely sisters.

Me and Sexy Sammy.

It was a hot day, so a few of us jumped in the lake.

Dad and I are giving a thumbs up. Not sure why.

Here we are all dressed up. We were good boys and girls and we went to church while we were on vacation. (Nevermind the fact that we left after sacrament meeting.)

Another family tradition is to hit golf balls off a cliff. Driving ranges just aren't nearly so fun as this.

Sam and I took a break from the rest of the family and took a hike down to Goose Creek Falls. It is times like this that I really miss living in the beautiful state of Idaho.

ROAD TRIP TO SOUTH DAKOTA

LABOR DAY WEEKEND 2009

Our first stop was Mount Rushmore.

Our second stop was the Crazy Horse memorial.

This is what the memorial is supposed to look like some day:

This is what it looks like right now:

We took the journey into Montana to visit Devil's Tower. I wasn't too keen on the thought of driving an additional 2 hours to see this, but it was totally worth it. Pictures don't even do it justice.

We drove through Custer State Park. Apparently it is famous for donkeys and buffalo.

This is me trying to act cool, but my window was rolled down and I was completely terrified that this donkey was going to reach in and bite me.

We also took tours of a couple of caves while we were there. These pics were taken in Wind Cave.

Here we are at Badlands National Park. It reminded me of a white rock Bryce Canyon. I never would have guessed that a place like this would exist in South Dakota.

On our drive home we stopped in Mitchell, South Dakota.

Apparently this town was named after one of my ancestors.

So this picture is for my family. Love you Mitchells!

Mitchell, South Dakota is home to Dakota Wesleyan University. This is the University that Sam had a baseball scholarship to. He toyed with the idea of coming here his Freshman year of college, but in the end he decided it just wasn't the right thing for him to do.

Mitchell, South Dakota is also home to the semi-famous Mitchell Corn Palace.

This place is too wierd.

Yes - the entire outside of the building is decorated in corn cobs and corn husks.

Even the inside of the building is decorated in corn cobs and corn husks.

Sam and I have had several other adventures that somehow went unphotographed. In no particular order, they include:

* Camping at Smithville, Lake

*Visiting the Kansas University campus in Lawrence, Kansas

*Hanging out with my cousins in Wichita

*Attending LDSFS conferences in Salt Lake and St. Louis

*Chloe and Tyler visited us for Thanksgiving. (Check out Chloe's post about it)

*Spending 2 weeks with family over Christmas break

etc... etc... etc...

My Little Masterpiece

2009-08-29T22:49:00.004-05:00

Yarn: $4.26

Ribbon: $2.41

Hours Spent Knitting: 40+

Postage to Idaho Falls: $4.95

Knowing that Jenn loves it & Saydee will look beautiful: Priceless

I Am Such A Good Example :-)

2009-08-15T20:49:00.003-05:00

This morning I went with the Young Women in my ward to the Winter Quarters temple to do temple baptisms. After all of the youth had changed into their jumpsuits, we were sitting in the chapel waiting for the temple president to come in and give his little talk.

After a few minutes of waiting, one of my Young Women leaned over and asked, "Sister Scott, can I go get a drink?" I said sure, and she left. As soon as she got back another one of my Young Women leaned over and asked, "Sister Scott, can I go get a drink?" I said sure, and she left. As soon as she got back these two girls, along with a couple of the other Young Women, were very giggly. So I asked, "Hey gals, what is going on?" They stayed quiet for a minute until one of the girls finally said, "David Archuleta is in the hallway." No wonder they all wanted to go out and get a drink!!!! And what are the odds of a couple of Kansas City girls just randomly running into David Archuleta in Omaha, Nebraksa?

So being the wonderful Young Women's leader that I am - you know, the perfect example of maturity and reverence - I told the girls to settle down. And then I went out in the hall to "get a drink" and sneak a peak for myself! Sure enough, he was there. He joined our group for the baptisms. It was my job to stand by the door to the confirmations room, so I got to open the door for him and smile at him, but I was way too afraid to say anything. (Plus, he deserved to worship in peace.) But Sam actually got to shake his hand and sit in the room while he was being confirmed. I've got to say, I was (and still am) a little jealous.

So I'm still feeling giddy. Am I crazy?

The Adventures of Sam and Lacey (Part 1)

2009-08-12T16:53:00.010-05:00

This has been a summer of lots of adventures for me and Sam. In the past 3 months we have been on 9 trips, and we've got at least 2 more planned before the autumn hits.

One of these adventures was to....

Fabulous Las Vegas Nevada

..... for a Scott family reunion.

Of course we spent some time on the strip. You can't go to Vegas without enjoying all of the lights and bling. No wonder I like Vegas so much. Everything is overly shiny, sparkly and accessorized! :-)

Tyler, Chloe, Charlotte, Jason, Me and Sam

The "Cowboys" (note the famous cowboy in the background)

The "Cowgirls" (note the famous cowgirl in the background)

The "Queens"

One of the nights we had a girl's night out and we went to see the Cirque du Soliel show Mystere. i LOVED it! So awesome!

Here I am with my cute sister-in-laws and mother-in-laws. I am so BLESSED to say that I call these ladies my friends. (And I'm pretty sure they consider me a friend too. I couldn't have married in to a better family!!!)

Chloe, Charlotte, Me, Laura and Ann

If you were wondering who took these pictures of all of us ladies on our girl's night out - just look below to see who tagged along....

Sam was an honorary Scott "sister" for the night. Anyone who knows Sam knows that he doesn't like to miss a party. He'll even invite himself to a girl's only party :-)

One of the best parts of the trip was playing with our neices and nephews.

Am I just biased, or do I have the cutest neices and nephews around?

Reese, Aven and Gwendolyn

Sam and Kellen just munching on some rubber duckies by the pool.

Aven playing with my necklace. The kiddos may not have always liked me, but they always were always fascinated with my jewelry.

Sam and Owen

Gwendolyn and me

Reese, Kellen and Aven

All of us Scotts. I love you guys! Thanks for such a fun trip!

You know it is bad...

2009-05-24T22:02:00.003-05:00

You know it is bad when people randomly come up and tell you, "It wasn't that bad."

Those of you who were in my ward today already know what I am talking about.

For the rest of you... this is what happened...

I was asked to fill in for the organist in sacrament meeting. The opening hymn was not only an uncommon one, it was an incredibly difficult one to play on the organ due to the bass cleff notes that were all over the place. To put a long story short, I COMPLETELY BOTCHED the hymn. Once I missed a few notes I just got all flustered, and I just couldn't get anything right. I hate to admit this, but it was so bad that I literally wanted to cry. I knew the congregation had to have noticed, but it was just more and more confirmed to me as the day went on. The bishop even said over the pulpit, "We want to thank Sister Scott for filling in on the organ. We all know it is hard to fill in when we keep switching the hymns at the last minute." (Obviously, he wouldn't have said that if I had actually played the hymn well, or at least semi-well.) After sacrament meeting I had several people come up and say things like, "It wasn't that bad" and other such well intentioned words. One woman, who is rather quiet and has never even spoken to me before actually took me by the arm and said, "You are so brave. I just felt so bad for you up there."

So, yeah, it was bad. But thank-you to all those of you who tried to make me feel like it wasn't that bad.

I Finally Updated My Blog!

2009-04-26T16:33:00.000-05:00

MINI-WEEKEND IN ST. LOUIS

When Sam and I first moved to Missouri we set a goal to attend the temple once per month. Seeing as our closest temple is nearly 3 hours away (the Winter Quarters temple in Omaha), this has been quite the commitment - mostly because it requires us to give up one Saturday a month.

I am proud to report that we have not yet missed a month!

In March Sam and I had only one Saturday available to go to the temple, and one week before we were to go, we learned that the Winter Quarters temple was closed for cleaning. My first thought was, "Well, its the thought that counts, right? If the temple were open we would go, but it isn't, so I guess we'll stay home and play!" But my conscience wouldn't let me think that way. After a few battles back and forth between the little devil on my left shoulder and the little angel on my right shoulder, the little angel won. So Sam and I packed our bags for a little overnight trip to St. Louis.

Of course the main purpose of the trip was to go to the temple, but since neither of us had been to St. Louis, we spent the afternoon in downtown St. Louis. And who can go to St. Louis without a trip to the famous gateway arch?

We rode to the top of the arch in one of these tiny egg cells with a couple of strangers. Thankfully the ride to the top was only 4 minutes, and thankfully neither one of us has claustrophobia. Sam was wearing his CTR ring and one of the "strangers" in our cell recognized it. They were a couple of Mormons visiting from Washington. Those Mormons are everywhere!

Here is the view of the "Mighty Mississippi."

I'm so used to gorgeous white capped mountain rivers in Idaho that I found the Mississippi to be disappointingly ugly.

I think they should call it the "Murky Mississippi."

SOME UPDATES TO OUR HOUSE

We got a piano and I LOVE it. I feel like such a grown-up having a piano of my own.

The only thing I don't like about having the piano is that everytime I sit down to play I am reminded of how much better I used to be. I never thought I would lose my ability to play, but I have learned the hard way the lesson taught in "The Parable of the Talents." If you bury your talent, the Lord will take it away.

I've been doing a bit of painting around the house.

When we moved into our house the downstairs bathroom was a boring sage green, and the upstairs spare bathroom was an ugly lavender. I hated both of the colors, but I hated the process of painting too...

...But you know how sometimes you just get it in your mind that you want to do something? Well, one day I just got it in my mind that I was going to paint these bathrooms. They were random, spur of the moment projects, but I am very happy with the outcomes!

DOWNSTAIRS BATHROOM BEFORE:

DOWNSTAIRS BATHROOM AFTER:

UPSTAIRS BATHROOM BEFORE:

UPSTAIRS BATHROOM AFTER:

SOME OF MY RECENT KNITTING PROJECTS

Like always, I've kept myself busy with my crafts. As of right now, I think that knitting is my craft of choice. (Jewelry making still comes in as a close second, but currently knitting is my favorite.)

Most of what I make I give away as presents. (I apologize to those of you out there who are sick of getting homemade gifts from me.) Here are a couple of pictures of some knitted projects that I have given away as baby gifts.

100 Things To Do In This Life...

2009-02-11T13:39:00.000-06:00

I've done 53 out of the 100 things. How many have you done?

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band (Centennial High School Marching Band, District III Champions!)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a Praying Mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run (only on the Wii)
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant (no - but I had a stranger buy my meal at a restaurant... it's a long story...)
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in movie
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (does a fish count?)
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Talked your way out of a ticket

ATTENTION ALL BOISEANS!

2008-12-17T23:11:00.000-06:00

New Year's Eve Party!

12/31/08 @ 8:00 p.m.

My Parents' Place

(They have moved since I lived at home, so if you don't know where they live let me know and I'll get you directions - I just don't want to post them on here)

Please bring an appetizer or dessert to share.

Spouses or significant others are welcome.

Dallas, Chicago, and a Little Surprise Getaway For Sam

2008-12-14T08:27:00.000-06:00

THANKSGIVING in DALLAS

Sam and I spent Thanksgiving this year in Dallas with his sister Chloe, her husband Tyler, and their new little baby Kellen.

Is he adorable, or what? This little cutie was even born on my birthday, so I am extra partial to him.
Chloe humored me and dressed him in this little hat I knit for him.

This was the first Thanksgiving dinner Chloe and I ever made, so we were proud of ourselves that EVERYTHING turned out. There was sure a lot of food for the 4 of us.

One afternoon we took a picnic / walk around a local lake. (I don't remember the name, but it was pretty.)

We also visited the place where JFK was shot.

BEARS FOOTBALL GAME in CHICAGO

Sam got his Christmas present early this year - he got to go to a Chicago Bears football game LIVE in CHICAGO. This has always been a dream of his, and it was fun to watch him as his dream came true. I don't think I've ever seen him more excited. Just look at him. That big happy smile tells all.

While we were in Chicago we took a day to do some sightseeing too.

We checked out the Navy Pier.

And of course we had to take a walk down Michigan Avenue - Chicago's Magnificent Mile.

(This picture of the Omni Hotel is for my mom, because "Guests of the Oprah Winfrey show stay at the Omni Hotel, in the heart of Chicago's Magnificent Mile!" -I love you, Mom!)

Sam's favorite part of the Magnificent Mile was the Dunkin Donuts.

He LOVES Dunkin Donuts, and they don't have one in KC, so getting a donut was must!

And a trip to Chicago wouldn't be complete without seeing the famous Chicago Bean, or whatever this thing is!

(Our reflection in the bean.)

We also visited the Museum of Science and Industry.

The museum had a special "Christmas Around the World" exhibit. This tree is the tree to signify England.

It's hard to read the plaque, so this is what it says.

"In England Father Christmas fills stockings or pillowcases with gifts for children. Youngsters pop open Chirstmas crackers filled with chocolate golf coins or a trinket to signify good fortune. English tables overflow with dishes including mince pie, Christmas cake and Christmas pudding. The first Christmas card is said to have been sent from England in 1843."

Now I know why Sam's family has some of the Christmas traditions they do. I can't want for the Christmas crackers and mince pies!

This is the only picture I got with my friend Stephanie.

Thanks again Stephanie (and Ben) for letting us come and stay with you and for showing us a good time. We had a BLAST!!!

A SURPRISE GETAWAY for SAM

I LOVE surprises. I love getting surprises, and I love planning surprises.

Sam was getting a bit overwhelmed with everything on his plate, so a couple of weeks ago I planned a surprise night away for us.

I picked him up that night from work and blindfolded him. He was a good sport to stay blindfolded on our way to the.....

GREAT WOLF LODGE!

The indoor waterpark at the lodge was AWESOME. Whoever said this place was meantfor kids was way wrong.

What We've Been Up To....

2008-11-09T23:39:00.000-06:00

I know, I know, I know. I'm a really bad blogger. But can you blame me? After I spend all day behind a computer at work, the ABSOLUTE LAST thing I want to do is come home and get back on the computer. I still look at all of your blogs during my lunch breaks, but my computer network at work won't let me make comments on your blogs. (Commenting gets blocked as some sort of "on-line chat.") So anyways. I just wanted all of you out there in blogger-land to know that we are alive and well and we are still keeping tabs on what is going on with you and your lives.

So this is what we've been up to in the 3 months and 1 week since I last posted....

For my 27th birthday Sam surprised me with a fancy evening out. We went to dinner at Piropos, a fancy Argentine restaurant, and then to see the Broadway production of The Lion King. Sam and I have been to several Broadway musicals, including Wicked, but I'd have to say Lion King was my favorite, hands down!

Here we are, all dressed up for our evening out.

For Halloween this year I dressed up in my default costume - Pippi Longstocking. I had more people tell me they loved my hair that night that I've ever had in my entire life. Since I got so many compliments, I'm thinking I'll start wearing pokey braids more often. :-)

Sam has gotten really involved in his Tae Kwon Do class.

He is up to his purple belt now, but these pictures were taken a few months ago when he got his orange belt (or his "o-rain-gey" belt as his instructor pronounces it).

As for me, I've been keeping my free time busy with crafting, as usual. A few months ago a friend taught me how to knit, so I've been getting really into that. Here are a couple of pics of some of my completed projects:

I even knitted myself this sweater!

I do love knitting now, but I still haven't given up on jewelry making. Here are some pics of my latest designs:

Liverpool: The Birthplace of the Beatles

2008-08-02T20:17:00.000-05:00

I'm not exactly the hugest Beatles fan, but for those of you who are, these pictures are for you.

The House of the Lord

2008-08-02T20:15:00.000-05:00

The London, England Temple

As trite as this may sound, one of our neatest experiences on this trip was being able to go to the temple. Before going to the temple, we had seen so many beautiful and historic cathedrals, all of which were extremely showy, known for their elaborate architecture and decor. But the London Temple was different. It was much simpler, and yet, it felt so different. It was peaceful there. The spirit was there.

This is the temple where Sam's parents were married nearly 35 years ago. They were married in a very private sealing with just themselves, the temple sealer, and the 2 witnesses. Because there was no crowd of friends and family, their wedding took place in a small, intimate sealing room just off the balcony which looked down over the Celestial Room. Sam and I were able to go into this room which marked the beginning of the eternal Scott family.

We also did a session at the Preston, England temple. This wasn't nearly as sentimental for us, but it was a beautiful temple nonetheless.

(Plus, we counted this as our July temple attendance and saved ourselves the 3 hour drive up to Winter Quarters!)

Conway Castle

2008-08-02T20:00:00.000-05:00

Since I've been back from England it seems that everyone asks,

"What was your favorite thing?"

To be honest, I had lots of favorite things, but if I had to pick my most favorite, I'd probably have to say exploring Conway Castle in Wales. Unlike so many of the museums and other historic buildings we went to, this place had no restrictions. We could explore wherever we wanted, touch whatever we wanted, and take pictures of whatever we wanted... and on top of that, this castle was by far the coolest old building we saw.

York

2008-08-02T19:41:00.000-05:00

York Minster Cathedral was absolutely gorgeous,

but my favorite part about York was walking around the old stone wall that once served as a protective barrier to the city.

Blackpool: The Tackiest Place in the UK

2008-08-02T19:34:00.000-05:00

Before we left on our vacation, Sam's dad gave us a map of England and on it he circled Blackpool and wrote the note,

"The Tackiest Place in the UK."

We couldn't agree more.

Just imagine a dirty boardwalk filled with run down arcades, casinos, trashy women, drunk men, and a pier with some carnival rides...

...and you've got Blackpool.

We Love Grandma Scott

2008-08-02T19:29:00.000-05:00

Grandma Scott may be pushing 91 years old, but like this picture shows, she is still as "cheeky" (British slang for sarcastic humor) as ever.

Sam's Childhood Home

2008-08-02T19:17:00.000-05:00

It was very surreal to stand in front of Sam's childhood house and think he actually lived here. Obviously, I knew that he was born and spent his early years in Rochdale, England, but for some reason that seemed to far away, so unreal.

Let's Play the Memory Game

2008-07-28T23:23:00.000-05:00

I know I need to be working on posting some more Europe pics, but this looks fun.

Memory Game:

Here is a fun little game... leave a comment (or a few) on my blog of a memory that you and I have had together. It doesn't matter if you've known me for a short time or a long time, anything that you remember! Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It is pretty funny to read the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you are playing and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. On your mark... get set... blog those memories

The Most Beautiful Place in England (According Least According to Lacey)

2008-07-27T17:09:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I have been putting off posting some pictures of our trip to England. Why? Beause we have soooooooooooo many of them. 1,303 pictures to be exact. So it's been a little overwhelming for me to have to actually sort through them and decide which are the best ones to post. This might take a few posts, but I thought I'd start with what I would say is the prettiest place in England:

The Lake District National Park.

I've done some amazing hikes in Idaho and Utah, but the hikes we took in the Lake District National Park were just unreal. The pictures don't even do this place justice. I have never seen anything so bright green in my entire life, and green just so happens to be my favorite color.

Part of our adventure in the Lake District was renting a Land Rover Destroyer (at least I think that is what kind of Land Rover it was) and took it off roading through the rocky backroads of the Lake District.

Believe it or not, these super rocky super narrow roads are actually considered public roads.

Happy Anniversary To Us

2008-06-21T09:47:00.000-05:00

On Monday, June 16th, Sam and I celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary, and believe it or not, we still love eachother! :-)

We had heard rave reviews about the Melting Pot's "1/2 Price Cheese and Chocolate Happy Hour," so we thought we'd give it a try. Maybe we had heard too much hype about this place, because after the cheese, we were both so unimpressed that we left the restaurant before our chocolate even came. I've got to admit I was pretty disappointed, but we decided to turn this into a fun night of restaurant hopping! (Good thing there are lots of yummy restaurants on the Plaza!)

Course #1: We shared the spinach artichoke fondue at the Melting Pot.

Overall Rating: Average.

Course #2: We shared the carne asada pizza at California Pizza Kitchen.

Overall Rating: Definitely better than your every day pizza.

Course #3: We each ordered our own piece of cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory.

(This stuff is just too good to share!)

Overall Rating: Yummy, yummy, yummy!

Overall Rating for the Night: I actually quite enjoyed the restaurant hopping. It was a lot more fun than sitting down for a full 3 course meal at any one particular restaurant. This will definitely be an anniversary not to forget.

Countdown to the Motherland

2008-06-01T22:03:00.000-05:00

Sam has been telling me that since I am married to him, and he is 100% Brittish, that I am 50% Brittish. (I try to argue it is our kids that will be 50% Brittish, but he still insists.) So, since I am theoritically 50% Brittish, Sam decided its high time that he take me to Brittain! (I've always wanted to go to England, so I guess it worked out well that I married an English boy.) We'll spend a few days in London, a few days over in Paris, and then we'll spend about a week up in the Manchester area with his grandma, and Sam can show me where he actually lived. Yay! I can't wait! June 24th just isn't coming fast enough!

LAKE OF THE OZARKS: I Never Dreamed Missouri Would Be This Beautiful

2008-05-04T08:27:00.000-05:00

Are ponchos still in style? If not, I'm in big trouble!

On Easter Sunday Sam surprised me with a weekend get-away to Lake of the Ozarks, which is in central Missouri. We took our little vacation last weekend. We had heard it was beautiful down there, but I never dreamed it would be this beautiful.

One of my favorite parts of the weekend was going to Ha Ha Tonka Stake Park and hiking to the castle ruins. Who would have thought Missouri would have castle ruins? I seriously felt like we were in Scotland or something. In the picture above you can kind of see the top of the castle above the trees.

The bluffs surrounding the castle were too steep to hike on, so the state park built these stairs to traverse the park. Its a little different than hiking in Utah and Idaho, but I definitely liked it!

Its kinda hard to tell in this picture, but this is a natural bridge that we hiked to.

Look at how pretty this is! I never would have thought I would see this kind of scenery in the Midwest.

Below are some pictures of our tour of the Ozark Caverns. (I think that is what they were called.)

We spent one afternoon on our mountain bikes. I am by no means a brave person, especially on a bike, so this trail we did was a bit of a stretch for me. Sam was very proud of me. Heck, I was very proud of myself!

This little dip was a lot steeper and scarier in real life than it shows in these pictures.

This was my attempt to cross a decent sized stream. What the picture doesn't show is that half-way across I got nervous, stopped pedaling, lost balance, and got my feet very wet.

We were both a little dirty when it was all said and done.

I know you're supposed to save the best for last, but this is probably the least exciting of our pics. My mom wanted to see a picture of where we stayed - so this one is for you Mom! We love you!

The latest Scott family gossip

2008-04-10T22:13:00.000-05:00

I know that there has been a rumor floating around out there that I was pregnant, so I wanted to confirm the rumor. Its true... I was. Unfortunately this must not quite be our time because I miscarried at 6 weeks. As physically and emotionally painful as it was, the good news is that the miscarriage was fairly routine and we should be able to have a healthy pregnancy sometime in the near future. So in the mean time... Stay tuned...

999 Days Ago...

2008-04-10T22:00:00.000-05:00

Anyone who knows me well knows that I have a strange fetish with numbers and dates. I also like to find silly ways "anniversaries" to celebrate. So I figured out when our 999 day anniversary of when we met, and I surprised my husband with the following. There was a note on the garage door that said "999 days ago..."

There were some rosepetals leading from the garage door to the door to the basement stairs. On that door was a sign that said, "...My life changed forever and for the better..."

And in the stair well was a final note that said...

So we celebrated with a "romantic" dinner of Arby's on our lawn furniture in the basement.

Sam and I went to Logan on the night we met. I took him up to the famous True Aggie A. We did not kiss that first night, but I made a little "A" for us to stand on and kiss for our 999 day anniversary. It was as close as I could come to the real thing.

I am a PUBLISHED jewelry designer!!!

2008-04-10T21:46:00.000-05:00

It’s true! I’ve been designing (or maybe I should just say making) A LOT of jewelry lately. A friend in my ward pushed me to submit my designs to a couple of magazines to see if they could get published. I submitted 6 pieces, and ALL 6 got picked up for publication! Yay!

[I should probably clarify that these magazines are not catalogs to order jewelry from, they are magazines that aspiring jewelry makers (like myself) subscribe to in order to get ideas of jewelry to make. These pictures are the pictures I sent in to the magazines. Once the magazines let me know they wanted to publish the jewelry, I had to mail in my jewelry and the magazines took their own pictures.]

These pieces are published in the March/April 2008 issue of Bead Trends.

Title: Naughty Knotty

Title: Who Said A Clasp Must Be Worn in the Front?

Title: Crystals for Chloe

Title: Golden Tassels

Title: Petals and Chains

Title: Shell - Casually Elegant

This last set will be published in the Under $25 edition of BeadStyle Magazine in May.

GO BEARS!!!!!!!!

2008-04-10T21:38:00.000-05:00

Sam is a HUGE Chicago Bears fan. I tell him I’m a Pittsburgh Steelers fan just to oppose him, but really, I don’t care too much about football unless it is BSU. (Go Broncos!) This night I humored him and wore some of his Bears garb for the game. He said he’d never seen me look sexier.

My Little Tae Kwon Do Champ

2008-04-10T21:30:00.000-05:00

Sam decided that one of his goals for 2008 was to learn Tae Kwon Do. Doesn’t he look so cute in his karate outfit? (Are we allowed to call men’s uniform’s outfits??? :-) ??? Maybe calling it an outfit makes it sound a bit less “tough”).

Memphis, Tennessee

2008-04-10T21:11:00.000-05:00

In October I had a 2 week training for work in Memphis, TN. 2 weeks was just too long for me to be away from my Sammy (especially since he had recently spent 2 weeks away at his own training in Utah), so I had him fly out for the weekend in between. This is what we did:

We went to Elvis Presley’s house, more commonly known as Graceland.

We also visited the hotel where Martin Luther King was shot. It has since been turned into the National Civil Rights Museum.

Perhaps the highlight was when we visited the Peabody Hotel which is famous for having these ducks that swim in a fountain in the hotel’s lobby. At 5:00 every night a special tune is played and these ducks march in a single file line out of the fountain, down a red carpet, and onto an elevator which leads them up to the roof where they spend the night in an outdoor cage. Kinda wierd if you ask me.

You can kinda see the red carpet in the top of the picture below.

Notice the sign for the "Duck Palace."

This is the Duck Palace. Some palace, huh?

Home Sweet Home, Missouri

2007-12-11T16:33:00.000-06:00

Perhaps the biggest news in our recent life is that we moved to Missouri and bought a house. Yay! Now you may wonder why I wanted to post so many pictures of our house. Well, there are 3 reasons for that.
1.) After living with roommates for 6 years (I shouldn't complain, Sam lived with roommates for 11 years), and after living a year in a dinky basement apartment right in the middle of Ogden's ghetto, I was so excited to have a place of my own.
2.) Since most of you probably won't make it out here for me to give you a live tour, I'll substitute a live tour with a virtual tour on our blog.
3.) I haven't been very good about taking pictures recently, so these pictures of our house are literally about the only recent pictures I have to post.