Dunn update!

I haven't posted in a while and there are a lot of fun things I want to remember so I will give an overview of what the Dunns have been up to lately!

April was my 24th birthday and Miles definitely made it a great one! Bon Iver was playing in Vegas the weekend before my birthday and my little brother was also getting baptized and my other brother, Cole was having his homecoming in Hurricane so we thought we would make a weekend out of it.

Bon Iver was amazing. He really puts on a great show. The only thing I would recommend is getting seats. They are not a band you need to stand for and it would have been more enjoyable if we sat.

We had a Travelzoo voucher for a night at the Rio hotel and casino. When we got there they upgraded us to a 1600 sq ft room. It was amazing! It really made my birthday extravaganza that much better.

After our night in Vegas we drove back up to my mom's house for Malcolm's baptism. It was a great day and I am so proud of that boy! We had a really fun time being with family. Cole also returned from his mission and gave his homecoming talk the next day. It was great timing!

When we got back from our Vegas trip we had a Birthday dinner for me at Chilis. It was fun to get everyone together to celebrate!

In the Spring we also purchased our cute little puppy Oliver! He has brought so much into our home (good and bad!) We love this little guy, he has been our training wheels for when a baby comes. It has been so much fun watching him grow! I really think he is the cutest dog in the world. 

In May we celebrated out 1 year anniversary by going to Thailand. I am going to give Thailand it's own blog post but it was such a wonderful time. Miles and I are very blessed to be able to have so much fun!

 In June I finished my last semester at the University of Utah! I now have my Bachelors in Communication. It feels so good to know I accomplished that and can close that chapter in my life. I have started working out with a personal trainer, getting scrap booking done and decorating the house. I love having all this new free time!! Miles decorated my office on the last day of class and a girl in my training class made cookies. It was so fun to celebrate and I have appreciated all the love and support that got me through school. My mom and Allen were able to come up on very short notice and go to dinner with them and my mother in law, Marianne. We had a really great time together!

Miles got a big promotion at work and is now the Workforce Associate Director at 1-800 Contacts. He looks over forecasting our service levels, time off, schedule changes, etc. We are extremely blessed to both have good jobs that we love. I am amazed at how Heavenly Father continues to bless us. I am grateful for my husband and for how hard working he is!

We celebrated Miles 28th birthday June 27th by going to the Melting Pot. It was delicious! I had never been before but it was a really fun time. I made his coworkers sing to him at work and got him this little boy soccer cake. I also decorated his office! I'm really really good at embarrassing my husband :)

Hopefully I will be better at blogging and won't have to do large updates like this. I am impressed if you made it to the bottom!  It's easier to write about all the great things that are happening in life and that's what I hope to remember. Love to you all!

Shout outs!

I think I will do shout outs every once in a while. These will include products I love, people I love and just things in general...that I love.

SHOUT OUTS GO TOOO.....

This girl:

This hottie turned 26 this week and I love her.

Next shout out:

My sister introduced me to this hidden gem. It's the waxey feel that I loved about Burtsbees but it also has oils that moisten your lips as well. It is the BOMB and I love it.

Moving right along:

Eye Pot. It has changed my world. You put it on before your eyeshadow and it makes your eye shadow stay all day long without creasing. It has changed my face and I love it.

This guy:



I started school this week and found my time limited. I came home after a long day this week and the house was clean, dinner for the next day prepared and flowes on the table. He takes care of me and I love him.

 This show:



Miles doesn't laugh out loud. But alas, I have finally found a show where we can both LOL together. I always embarrass him in movie theaters with my laughter. It's nice to hear a chuckle out of him!


That should do for right now. If you haven't checked any of these things out (for the exception of my husband) you should definitley do so! My sister is available so feel free to check her out as well.

Until next time!

Letting out some bottled thoughts.

If someone would have told me this is where I would be at 23, I wouldn't have believed them. I thought for sure I would not be married this young. I would have lived out of the country or done something spectacular with my life before marriage. If I allow myself to be really honest, I find myself day dreaming about it. What if I did move to London and go on that internship? What if I did continue to date what's his name just a little bit longer? What if I moved back to Atlanta that one summer? What if I wasn't such an idiot in high school, how different would things have turned out? As enticing as all these different scenarios seem for that brief moment, all my thoughts lead back to Miles. No matter how different my life could have turned out, the thought of not being with him seems almost impossible now. Maybe I was a little naiveté when getting married but I thought your past and the dreams you once had just sort of disappeared because all you needed was that one person and that's all you were going to think about all day. To my surprise, when you get back from your honeymoon and life moves on, you are still the exact same person. SHOCKING! After 8 months of marriage, I feel like I am yearning for that balance. Miles hangs out with friends and plays sports and has his own hobbies and I find myself at home waiting for him. I would even get upset that he didn't want to spend every second with me. (I know, I am rolling my eyes at myself.) I am  making the decision to come back to me, myself and I. For some reason, today after leaving my real job and driving down to the University of Utah to attend my class, I realized how much I missed myself and feeling accomplished. I have spent tons of money on scrap booking and have yet to do it, I have a list of friends I am dying to see and a workout plan that my body could definitely use. There are so many things I want to try and I just have become such a homebody, daydreaming about things. (and watching ALOT of How I Met Your Mother).

 As I was driving home tonight from the U, I passed my old town home in Sugarhouse where I used to live with room mates. I was overwhelmed with happiness as I kept driving and headed home to Lehi. As I find this new balance in my life, I realize that I have the best of both worlds. I get to be myself, have my hobbies, accomplish all the things I want out of life and still come home to the cutest boy in the world.

I will still do spectacular things, I just don't have to do them alone now.

Goodnight!

Soundtrack to my post:

The year of 2011

 I have a lot to say on here and a Bon Iver mix will help me get through writing this post. 2011 has been a good year to me. The beginning of it was a bit rough with calling of my wedding and everything...That was definitely the low. But there have been so many highs that it will be a hard one to top. This year, I turned 23 years old. I am an adult and am starting to run out of reasons to be childish. That is something hard to let go of! I married the one man who has brought me more happiness than I could have imagined here on this earth. We went on a sweet honeymoon in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico and bought a home together. We have spent the year getting used to being first time homeowners. Sometimes we just sit down and soak it all in. We are incredibly blessed. We went on a fun camping trip to Fish Lake and then Flaming Gorge in a matter of two weeks. We put in a sprinkler system and backyard for the first time. We welcomed a niece into this world in October. She is beautiful and I am excited to watch her grow. We also have a new nephew! He is in Australia so hopefully we will be able to meet him soon. Being an Aunt is so much fun. For Thanksgiving, we went on a very fun vacation to Florida which included seeing Gran Gran and Paw Paw, Harry Potter world, Mosi Science Museum, Bush Gardens and canoeing with alligators. It was so much fun and gave me a week to relive some of the best times of my childhood. I absolutely love my grandparents. I wanted to spend a week with just the four of us so Miles could get to know them and that I would have these memories to hold on to forever. We split up our first holiday between in laws. I love Mile's family and am very blessed to have such wonderful people to celebrate things with. It is difficult being away from family for the first time but I am lucky to have such great in laws! I got promoted at work to a position I have wanted since I first started at 1-800 Contacts. I am their Corporate trainer and am a salaried employee for the first time ever. My job has brought me not just financial stability,tuition reimbursement and a husband but also a lot happiness. It has been a huge blessing in my life for so many reasons. As I sit here and think back on 2011, I have everything I could ask for. I am exactly where I want to be and am so happy with the things I have accomplished so far in my life.   Miles and I know there will be trials and I am sure they will come soon but right now, we are seriously living the good life. I will know provide a timeline with pictures in case people don't make it through this novel. haha!

Went through the temple for my endowment. A day I will always remember and something that strengthened my testimony in the gospel.

Your wedding day is something you dream of your entire life and I can honestly say that mine was everything I hoped it would be.

Honeymoon- Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Spent a whole week with my new husband, no responsibilities, the beach and all the food we could ever eat. Do you really need anything else

Our cute new home that we are so blessed to call our own. We are living the American Dream!

Fish lake for the big Dunn- Lord yearly camp trip. I love Fish Lake and this family tradition. It is so beautiful and relaxing. 

Yearly Flaming Gorge trip with Mile's friends. This will now be a staple in our summer memories. The picture sums up exactly how it feels there, free, careless, great weather, perfect water. I love this place!

I chopped all my hair off and my cute husband turned 27! Threw him a soccer themed birthday party.

My awesome husband wanted to end our summer with a fun little get a way. We stayed at the Ellerbeck Mansion Bed and Breakfast in Salt Lake City. It was perfect.

Welcomed Brielle Jane Fullerton into the world. My beautiful niece.

Had Butter Beer at Harry Potter World. It is delicious!!

Our super fun vacation with Gran Gran and Paw Paw. We are grateful for their health and hospitality. They are so fun to spend time with and we love them!

Canoeing with the alligators. We felt like the Swamp people! haha

Annie and my mom came in to stay with us for a week. It was the best. We stayed up all night making Peppermint Bark for my coworkers. I love these two more than anything, I really treasure the times we are all together.

Miles and I had our first Christmas as a married couple. It was so fun decorating our  house for Christmas!



Our family just keeps getting bigger and bigger! My dad and Kaye were married this year so we have yet another addition. She is great and we already love her.



Our house looked so warm and cozy with our Christmas decorations! We love our new tree :)

Last we had a wedding! Zach Dunn married Becca on December 29th. It was a great way to end the year. We are excited for the cute new couple. Marriage is the best.

The Garden after the wedding

Well, this was the longest blog ever but it was really for Miles and I to be able to look back at a great first year of marriage. We have done so much together already and I can't wait for our next adventure. 

2011, we will truly miss you. You have been good to us. 2012, you have a lot to live up to!

Happy New Year everyone!

Yard update!

There have been some improvements made on the backyard! Mile's dad came over with the John Deer to help clear and level the yard. They worked all Saturday on it and we really appreciated his dads time. Now for the photos!

Now that the backyard is all dirt, we have to spray it to keep the weeds down and the find time to put in sprinklers

We have also finally installed blinds!! Which our neighbors are probably very grateful. Only took us 2 months!

 Our house is really coming together. We are getting more and more furniture as we can afford it and the decorating is slowly starting! I think i'm taking my time because I want it to be stuff I really love. I have already bought three pieces are furniture that were returned because I changed my mind haha. I'm hoping  I will just come home one day and it will be completely decorated. Until then, it's fun deciding what will look good!

Summer Time!

It has been a very fun and eventful summer lately for Miles and I. Last weekend my family came up from St. George and we made sure they had a good time! 

Saturday we went up to East Canyon for some boating!

This picture pretty much sums up how exciting their day was...love these kids.

To celebrate the 24th of July we set off some good ole' fireworks! Simon, Amanda and sweet little Huston came over for the party!

Sunday after church we went over to the Dunn house for some horse back riding!

Then that night we made homemade pizzas!

I really love when family comes to town because we are scattered all over the world and I miss them all the time. I wish Annie and Elliot were just a three hour drive away too! It was a very fun weekend for us and hopefully they had fun too :)