To Rob

Today my husband caulked the counter top in our kitchen (we don't know why that wasn't done in the first place, but we noticed water sliding down behind the sink and we thought we had better fix it), epoxied the dishwasher to the the counter top so it doesn't wobble anymore, deep cleaned the shower, made me Mac & Cheese just because it sounded good, raked all the leaves in the yard and picked up pizza for dinner to watch during the Cal game. I think he deserves recognition. I love him very much.

I feel that I need to post something. . .

So we are getting drapes! People, that is the kind of exciting stuff going on at this Crockett household. Wow, having a blog really is pointless unless you, a) have kids or b) are extremely dedicated. I am neither a or b.
But really, the drape issue has been fun. Rob is suddenly set on getting something put on our back sliding glass door. We were pondering shutters (we are going to get shutters for the front windows) but then decided against it. At that point, I didn't really know what we were going to do... Then I saw these drapes in the Pottery Barn catalog. They were perfect! Gorgeous, stylish. I loved them. They were totally going to add to the cosy, comfy feeling of the reading nook (see two posts below, the sliding glass doors are adjacent to the reading nook next to the cream-colored love seat). It seemed the issue was solved. And then I added it all up: Over $300 dollars! And that was just for one panel!
Thank goodness Bed Bath and Beyond is down the street. They have drapes too. And with our 20% off coupon, we are set. We are going there tonight when Rob gets home to get them. I promise a picture will be posted of the whole reading nook area when the drapes are hung. Like I said - Exciting, right?! :)
Speaking of Rob, I just love that guy so so much. He is with the youth in our ward right now, doing baptisms for the dead at the Draper Temple. I love that he is dedicated to his calling, that he is dependable and always willing to serve. There is nothing better in life than to be married to a good man. And one that gets excited about drapes with me to boot! He really is the best.
Stayed tuned for photos. Hopefully soon...

Fall in Little Cottonwood

Okay everyone... It has been a very long time since I blogged at all... and I don't have any promises about how exciting this post will be...

The most exciting thing for me right now is the finishing of my "reading nook" in my house. We have a long room off the kitchen that is mostly filled with a long rectangular dining table, but the end wall area has turned into easily my favorite part of the house. It is where Rob and I are right now, drinking big mugs of hot chocolate, flipping through magazines and enjoying each other's company. It is exactly how this part of the house inspires and invites that kind of behavior that is the reason I love it so much. I will paint a picture for all of you, since I don't have an actual picture at the moment:
There are two large bookcases filled with books. On one side of the bookshelf is a small green endtable with a blue vase lamp. Above it is hung a rectangular mirror with a black frame. Next to the green table is a cream colored loveseat with rectangular pillows and a soft brown blanket above which there is a series of photographs of me and my love. On the other side of the bookshelf is a big overstuffed leather chair with an ottoman, also equipped with a very soft (this time, white) blanket and two floor lamps to provide light for reading. Above the chair is a big clock with roman numeral numbers. Below all this is a red rug.

It really is perfect to me. I can't believe that I put it all together myself. I didn't know I could create my perfect retreat. It is cozy and inviting. I know I will be spending lots of time here during the wonderful cold months of the year.

Life is really good.

Our new place!

Thanks so much to Don and Kerry Lynn for helping us make it look nice.

Exciting times!!

Well, Rob and I are under contract on a house! We were really strong and stuck to our feelings about the importance of living within our means and found a fantastic house that we can afford and that will serve us well for years to come. We are really reaping the benefits of being in a position to buy a house in this buyers market. It is in a great neighborhood with lots of young couples with kids and no street noise (which is of critical importance to my husband). The house has 6 bedrooms (what the heck are we going to do with all that space!), two large family rooms, a nice living room, brand new kitchen (I am ecstatic about that) and a nice backyard. We are now just keeping our fingers crossed that everything will go through smoothly. We had an inspection done and there are some electrical and plumbing issues that we would like to have fixed or get fixed by the seller so we will see how that goes. Then there is financing stuff and the actual moving part (I have pretty much never moved in my life, so moving is a strange thing for me, let alone the fact that we are first time home buyers). However, we don't have much furniture so that will help. And everyone is more than welcome to come visit us and sit on our floor. We haven't budgeted for any type of seating (dining or living room) until about September or October.
We will be busy, but I am excited about putting things away in the brand new, clean, never been used kitchen cabinets and organizing everything (that is kind of my forte). And I like how moving helps you to throw away any un-needed stuff.
So knowing that, don't expect much from me in the next coming weeks. I will be busy doing other stuff. Or in others words, this blog won't be much different :) Thanks to any loyal followers me have. I promise, stick with us for a few years and it is bound to get better.

ZIONS!!!!

Okay people, I really did just about forget about this blog. I am terrible. Rob did a good job of doing a few little posts here and there. But I am back! However, I can't promise I will be consistent. But hey, when I post, I do a big post :)
Last weekend Rob and I went to Zion National Park with our friends, Clint and Kelli Hansen. It was a wonderful weekend. We left after work on Thursday (Clint works at the firm too). On our way, Rob got an email from work (because he is never far from his email providing phone) and we laughed that maybe when Rob said he would be away for the weekend they would contact Clint to do the work. Yikes, maybe two associates shouldn't go on trips together. One always needs to be available :)
We didn't get to the campsite until almost midnight. Clint and Kelli's friends, Jan and Lee, had arrived a few hours before us and were asleep in their tent. We sent up our tents as quickly as we could and went to sleep.
The next day (after I had slept on a deflated therma-rest all night, someone forgot to screw mine shut when he screwed his shut) was the big hike day. We ate a quick breakfast and were off. We did the West Rim Trail hike. It is a 14 mile hike that takes you around the rim of Zion's Canyon and shows off some great views. You dip down into some hollows and climb back out and then the hike ends at Angels Landing. Here are some pictures:



The hike took all day. We packed our lunches and ate on the trail. It was a great day. The hike was not too hard so we could really enjoy ourselves. I piled on the suncreen (as usual) but I got some in my eyes early on and that was uncomfortable. That night when I took my contacts out it stung so bad and I couldn't open my eyes for a while. We had foil dinners that night with sweet potatoes, beef stew meat, cabbage, onions and carrots. It was really yummy.
Our campsite had showers so we all took advantage of that. That night we slept well. We were really tired. The next day we did Hidden Canyon. It is straight up (like most of the hikes in Zions). It's pretty crazy. You walk right along the edge. Rob did some research and found out that more people have died on that hike than on any other in Zions. But at the top there is a beautiful hidden canyon and you can walk up it for miles. More pictures:





We ate lunch after Hidden Canyon and Jan and Lee headed home. Clint, Kelli, Rob and I went to the Narrows. It was closed because of high water. We did the Riverwalk hike which takes you to the beginning of the Narrows and we walked back down the river in the water. It was so cold!! My feet were aching because of the cold. But it was the perfect way to end all of our excursions.
We went into Rockville to the Dreamcatcher Bed & Breakfast. It was very nice. We highly recommend it. We got cleaned up and went out to dinner and relaxed. What a great weekend.
We went to sacrament meeting the next morning (after an awesome breakfast of blueberry pancakes and eggs and bacon) and drove home. My mom welcomed us back with her awesome homemade brown bag apple pie.
I don't know if this is going to sound right or be conveyed in the right way, but it is weekends like that one that make me feel so excited about everything that is to come in Rob and my's life. I don't know, there is something about hiking and talking and being with Rob all day and ponderng as you hike and conversing with friends and .... I was just reminded this weekend that we are so blessed and we are very grateful.

The Eagles

Whitney and I saw the Eagles in concert last Saturday, with Don and Kerry Lynn also attending but in a different part of the stadium. It was awesome. I love all their hits and I have for a very long time, so it was great to see them perform before they get too old. I especially loved One of These Nights and Witchy Woman. Very cool.

Update

I thought I would post an update so that all of our fans didn't think this blog was dead. So here's my update. We had Cindy visit us this weekend to tour the University of Utah, where she will be attending this fall. We took her to all our favorite places, including Brick Oven in Provo, The Pancake House, and the Bombay House. We also went to the Lakers Jazz playoff game. It was a lot of fun. Thanks for coming to visit Cindy. We hope others will visit us as well.

Much to Carly's disgust . . .

Rob and I celebrated this past weekend royally (in all its holiday-ness)! I used to be pretty neutral about Valentines Day. I didn't really care either way. Celebrate or don't. Whatever. It is very commercial, but what better thing to celebrate than love, right? But I discovered this year that now that I have a forever Valentine, I love it! Not only am I guaranteed to always have someone who loves me, but I have someone who will love me for always, and I, him. Okay, and it probably helps that our anniversary is the next day. The two biggest excuses to celebrate and smother each other in tokens of love and affection are right next to each other. So you can pretty much count on us celebrating at this time of year, every year. Carly and Casey, we won't hesitate to let you guys babysit that weekend if we are in California. We know you won't be busy :)
Last year we spent our wedding night at the Grand America Hotel. We had a fantastic time. It is so luxurious and fun. Because it was our wedding, we received a certificate from the Hotel, providing us with a free upgrade to a suite if we came and stayed there again the next year during the month of our anniversary. So we did. I am a ridiculous planner (sorry Bob) so we had this planned months in advance. Friday I took a half day at work and went home early to pack and then checked into the hotel. I lounged around in the hotel robe for a while and then got all dolled-up for the evening. I wore the same outfit I wore to our wedding luncheon a year ago (I am a sucker for traditions). Rob had made reservations weeks earlier at the Five Alls, an old english style restaurant that serves a five course meal. I went to the office and walked straight up to Rob's office without him even knowing I was on my way yet (one of the perks to us both having after hours access to the same office building). He said I was gorgeous and after about 25 minutes I finally got him out of the office. He talked the whole way to the restaurant on the phone with one of the partners about a case they are working on. I went into the restaurant alone to make sure we still had reservations (we were a little late) and waited at the table for Rob to come in. The food was fabulous. We both had filet mignon, his topped with crab, mine with blue cheese. We talked, one of my favorite things to do. I LOVE talking with my husband.
When the meal was done, we drove back to the hotel. Rob was so tired because he works so hard. We had a relaxing evening full of bubble baths (one of my favorite things about the Grand America, tubs big enough for bubble baths) and foot massages.
The next morning was Valentines Day. We went to the breakfast buffet which was so tasty. Then we stayed in the room. Rob worked a little, I read. It was just nice. We went to a movie with my parents and early dinner and then went back to the room again. The rooms at this hotel are so nice, you really like to just stay in them.
Rob got sick that night, I had to go get him some Pepto Bismol (It was the hot wing sauce from dinner I am guessing. This is very normal for us, Rob's stomach is very sensitive). We watched Seinfeld and he felt better.
The next morning was our 1 year anniversary! We slept in and then packed up to check out. Rob waited until 11:30 am, the same time we exchanged rings in the temple last year, and he presented me with another diamond accented band to go with my wedding rings. It is so beautiful. I am very excited about it and can't stop staring at my hand, kindof like right after we got engaged.
Anyway, the rest of the weekend was great. We went to a fantastic fireside that night about the Joseph Smith papers by the managing editor of the project, Brother Esplin. Monday we bought a bread maker from Macy's with gift cards still left from our wedding. Rob is finally totally happy. He says he will be the bread maker in our house and I am completely okay and excited about that. We will let you know how our first loaf is.
My cousin came from Arizona for one day to have my mom alter her wedding dress. She is getting married in March. We had dinner all together on Monday and then Rob and I took her to the airport.
But honestly, Rob and I are more in love than ever it seems, and I think that anticipation and fulfillment of the celebration of our love is something that keeps us so excited about each other and the life that we are building. I know Valentines Day is cheesy and commercial, but I like to think of it as a way to get creative about how I can show Rob that I love him. It is a great excuse. I get excited thinking about all the different ways we are going to celebrate in February in our lives. Like next year, for example, I could be hugely pregnant in February. Yikes! I will have to be really creative! :)
This weekend was absolutely wonderful. Thank you Rob, for all you do for me always.

Happy Anniversary!! I can't believe it has been a year...

I am a few days early with this post. Our Anniversary isn't until Sunday, February 15th. But I just don't know when I will get another chance to post this.
I want to say that this has easily been the best year of my life. I love you so much Rob. You are a dream come true. I love being married to you. I love living with you. I love hanging out with you always and getting to tell you everything about my day and cuddling with you at night. I love love love you!
Since there is no way to express my sentiments enough, I am going to copy Jac (again) and answer 25 questions about the man I love and our life together.
1) What is his name? Robert Gordon Crockett
2) Who eats more? Rob, I think. But not by much.
3) Who said I love you first? Okay, I love this story. I said it first, but it was because Rob made me. I don't remember the date, we had just gone to a session at the Timpanogos Temple and then gone to my grandparents house for dessert and so I could introduce Rob to my Uncle Kim and Aunt Melinda who where in town from Michigan. We had a great evening visiting but then when Rob walked me out to my car so I could drive back to Salt Lake, we ended up talking for a long time together out by my car. We talked about everything (I always loved our conversations) I wish I could remember all the details about our conversation that night. But at one point, we were hugging and I said, " Rob," and I paused. A few nights before I had done the same thing. Of course I wanted to say "I love you" but hadn't been able to. I wasn't sure what Rob was going to do. But this night I said, "I love you." He was just waiting for it!! He said, "I love you too, Whitney" and hugged be deeper and lifted me up. When we talk about it now I say, "Why didn't you just say it first if you knew I was going to say it?" and he just says, " I wanted to let you say it first."
4) Who is taller? Rob. We all know that if that wasn't the case, we wouldn't be married.
5) Who is more sensitive? Depends on what we are being sensitive about. I am more sentimental about things, but Rob gets more bothered and worried about things.
6) Who is smarter? Rob. But I am smart too, or else he wouldn't have married me.
7) Who does the laundry? I do now, but Rob did for the first few months of our marriage when he was in school and I was working. He had to teach me how to use our washer and dryer.
8) Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Right side when you are laying on it on your back? Me.
9) Who pays the bills? Rob. I have never really had to deal with that before. But I pay the tithing.
10) Who cooks more? Me. Definitely me, and I love it!
11) What meals do you cook together? Umm... Rob will always help with anything I ask when I am cooking, but mostly I just cook.
12) Who is more stubborn? Me. Rob always says sorry first. He is amazing. I am a little stinker sometimes.
13) Who is the first to admit they are wrong? Rob. Always. See, he is a better person than me. Completely.
14) Who is cleaner? I am tidier, but Rob is a mean bathroom cleaner and floor mopper. He is very clean and I appreciate it very much. He is a better cleaner than me.
15) Who has more siblings? Umm, Rob by about ten times. Wow.
16) Who wears the pants in the relationship? I don't understand this question and I don't think I like it. We are equal. We talk about everything. So I guess we both wear the pants, or we each have a leg in the pants, or we are both wearing the same pants at the same time.
17) What do you like to do together? Everything. I am not even kidding at all.
18) Who eats more sweets? I don't know.
19) Guilty pleasures? Appropriate ones??? Bombay House, In-N-Out, Kobe Bryant
20) How did you meet? Rob fell in love with me at the work place, before I even knew his name :) But then I asked him out first. Wait, how did that happen?
21)Who asked who out first? That was me. Unless Rob wants to count that lunch thing, but no. It was me. Rob is into "letting" me do things first.
22) Who kissed who first? That was me too. Rob kissed me like he would kiss his Mom, TWICE, so finally I just kissed him, really kissed him. Granted, he really kissed me back, but it would have been another Mom kiss if I hadn't held him close.
23) Who proposed? Okay, Rob gets this one. And he did a fabulous job. His heart was pounding! But he was so calm the whole day leading up to it, which is amazing for Rob. He kept the ring a secret, which was awesome. He took me to Berkeley, which in itself was romantic and impressive, and then he proposed to me at the Oakland Temple, over looking the sunset/starry sky and then we ate at the perfect little restaurant in San Francisco. I love you babe! Good job.
24) His best features? His hands, I love his hands. His eyes. I love his nose too. He is so good looking all around. That is a good feature.
25) What is his greatest quality? He is the most Christ-like person I know. He is kind and caring and helpful and sometimes I don't know how to handle it. I watch him doing something or feel him caring for me and our life together and I get overwhelmed and tears well up in my eyes. I am so safe and loved with him. He loves me so completely. That is his best quality to me. I don't know how I got to be so lucky.
So Happy Anniversary babe! One year down, eternity to go.
All my love -
Whit

Since it has been a while. . .

I am feeling the need to write something. Not because I have some unsatisfied urge to be on the computer and update everyone on what is going on in my life, but because if I don't, I will forget about this blog and never succeed in being a successful Crockett blogger.
We just watched the Super Bowl. We started enthusiastically rooting for the Cardinals in the fourth quarter. It was fun for a while, but then they lost. Sad. The Steelers had some very unsportsmen-like and unrespectable behavior. Not good.
Tomorrow I actually have to report to jury service. Hopefully I won't be picked. But, we will see. I think it could be kind of fun just to see how all the selection process goes.
I have a stomach-ache. I ate too much of my mom's wonderful food on an empty stomach and then got too worked up about the game.
Umm, see I already ran out of stuff to say. Any suggestions for blog topics would be appreciated.

I love having visitors that sleep over!

So Bob is here for the weekend. He came to see if he was up to snuff to be the next GA only to have Pres. Uchtdorf shoot him down and say that he "was just not GA material." Ah, too bad. But having him here is so fun. Even when I was just sitting at work I was excited that he was at our house.
Also, his being here brings more of the family around. We have been able to see Kirk and Kelli twice this weekend, which has been great. I really like them :) And Scott is here sleeping over, which is fantastic!! We pulled out the fouton mattress and put it downstairs so he wouldn't be kept up all night by Bob wall shaking snoring. I then made up the bed for him, true Friday night bed style, Taylor you would be proud. It is just wonderful having visitors. You all hear that? Bob and Debbie, Kelli and Kirk? Taylor and Jac and kids, Lindsay and Ryan and kids, Casey and Carly and kids? (At least I think that we can accommodate kids, I know we are good on the couples). Anyway, I am loving this. Sad that it will all be over tomorrow :( Thanks for coming everyone, hope you come again soon. We love you!

see i already messed up. . .

That last post was supposed to be this post really. I just didn't know that pressing "enter" would publish my post before I had written anything. Oops.
Okay, so what kind of things do you write on a blog? I see people just spilling their thoughts out on their blogs, anything that comes to mind, they put it out there... Well, I am opinionated, I have lots to say, but I have never thought of just flinging my thoughts out so everyone can read them. It lacks the conversation element and the discussion element that I thrive on. That one on one-ness that I thought life was all about.
Anyway, I will practice this spewage of thoughts, and then I will tell our family about our blog. Hopefully after practicing for a while, what I say might actually be interesting to others to read.
Today I woke up 6ish, like I always do. We just got new black-out drapes for our room so getting up is harder now. I never realized how much those blaring park lights help me throw the covers back. Anyway, then I have my usual 45 minutes or so in the bathroom. I must admit, this is a good part of my day. Everything is warm, everything is quiet. I think about my day, what I have planned, what I want to accomplish. As I dry my hair and put on my make-up I think about dreams I may have had, or really good memories I have. And I never look as good at any point in any day as right after I have gotten ready. Hair looks good, face looks good. That all fades with the busyness of the day it seems.
Next is another favorite part of the day. I go into the bedroom to get dressed, the dark bedroom where my husband is still slumbering. He groans and shifts under the covers as I turn the corner light on. I try to be quiet, lots of times he admits to not ever knowing I am in there, but he is so cute, sleeping there, it makes me smile.
Down the stairs to eat breakfast and out the door to work. Another good part of the day: being at work before anyone else is there. I LOVE that. I start the day on my terms, working on what I need to work on without any interruptions. I really think that it helps the rest of the day go smoother. I can plan and prioritize and get to work.
My days just fly by. I am constantly so busy at work that before I know it, it is lunch time. And then after lunch I only have a few more hours to work and I have so much to do.... Wow, yep days fly by. I can't believe I ever thought a day was a long time. But even though I am constantly crazy busy, I always take a lunch and I always leave when 8 hours of working are up. It is how I stay sane. I have never intended work to be my life, even though I love my job. Life is about so much more and lunches (especially with Rob) and leaving work help me remember what life is about and keep my priorities straight. Hey, I am paid to work 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. That is what I do. And I do it well. I am not going to lie. I am great at my job. And I want to be great at my life too. I have so much I want to do, try, read, see, etc. Anyway, I don't think I am articulating this thought very well...So I will move on.
I will move on to why I don't articulate well on blogs. I need the instant feedback of conversation to help me articulate. I need to just ramble off and give examples and look into people's eyes to feel like I am getting my point across.
So I am sitting here at the end of a good day, Rob is in the other room. And I realize that we are what so many other couples in this day in age are, two separate people at two separate computers doing separate technological things.
Okay, I am getting off right now. Too much practice. I know that someday I will love this. I know that blogging has so many good things about it.
Just give me time.

this is just a practice