2010: Year in Review

The year 2010 seems to have come and gone all too quickly. When we hit January it seems as if a year is so far away, but I am amazed how quickly time really does fly and how much can happen in a year. 2010 was quite the roller coaster year. It was definitely filled with great memories and lots of joy.

January-February: We spent a lot of time together lounging around as much as we could anticipating planting season.

March: Tanner and I were lucky enough to visit the Happiest Place on Earth. I am a disney FANATIC so it was one of the great highlights of the year for me :)

April: We celebrated Tanner's 23rd birthday.


May:We celebrated our first year of marriage together. It was a great year! At the time it was hard to believe that anything could top it, but I believe year two just might(weird to think that is creeping up on us so soon).



June: We welcomed a new member of the family...our dog Taz. I have never been much of a dog person, but he is pretty precious and Tanner loves having him around.



July: Lots and Lots of family reunions

August-October: Harvest...need we say more.

November: We visited Maui with my parents, Devonee and Heather and Tyler

Something that I am very grateful for this year, my mom is now cancer free. So many prayers were answered and I am thankful everyday that I live so close to her and I am able to see her everyday.





We had to say good-bye to Connie Kimball Wahlen. That was definitely the low point of the year. What an amazing woman. There are not adequate words for Connie. She was an amazing example of Christ. I am so grateful that I was able to know her. I love her family dearly and I continue to keep them in my thoughts and prayers.

Tanner and I are so grateful that we have so many family and friends so close. They are all such great blessings in our lives. I have a big place in my heart for this town. I have lived away from it and I have come to the conclusion that there is no better place in the world than here.

The greatest blessing of all...the knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We do not know where we would be without it in our lives. We love having the opportunity to serve in our ward and strengthen our testimonies each day. We know tha we would have nothing were it not for our Heavenly Father. We owe everyhting to him. We are so blessed to have temples so close to us, but sadly do not visit them as often as we would like, but that is one of our main New Years Resolutions as a couple. We are looking forward to growing closed to our Heavenly Father and Savior this year as we go through out this journey another year.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

~October Fest~

I discovered this year that October is quite possibly my favorite month of the year. I do know for certain that it starts off my favorite time of the year. I LOVE FALL! I love it when the leaves turn different colors. I love the cooler weather. I love HALLOWEEN! These last few weekends have been very eventful for us and we have had a blast. Last Friday we went out with Travis and Heather Pincock and Braden and Rebecca. We set Devonee up on a date with Travis' brother Trent and it was so much fun! We started off by having dinner at Chili's, then we drove up to the Corn Maze by Shelley. It is so neat! The man cut it in honor of The Boy Scouts of America. There are several different trails you could take and we took the 3.2 mile trail. Tanner and I are not good at this stuff. We had no idea where we were. We just started calling out to our friends and tried to find them. Devonee and Trent ROCKED IT! They totally knew where they were the whole time! We finally gave up, along with Braden & Rebecca, and we took a ride in the barrell's they had pulled by a tractor.

getting ready to head into the maze

We had an awesome time! I am trying to do to better with my camera. So far I haven't done so good, because the next night we went to a Halloween party at Lincoln and Stephanie's and I TOTALLY FORGOT MY CAMERA! I am so sad, because I finally got tanner to dress up. We were Danny & Sandy from Grease. It was so much fun! I found the Pink Lady jacket and everything. That was the most intense party I have ever been to. It was a scavenger hunt and here is an insight to let you know just how intense...We had to find a black light in a cellar and find steph's hidden message in the cellar. we had to go to Winger's in and sing Twinkle Little Star while lifting weights to her dad who was dressed in a buff man suit and also a speedo :) One of our clues was in MORSE CODE! When we finally figured that clue out it lead us to the Haunted Grandstands. I am not going to lie...I am too big of a chicken and I couldn't go in. But everyone else said it was aewsome :)

On Friday, my mom held her annual family halloween dinner. My mom dressed up as a witch and she was soo cute! The grandkids loved it. All of my nieces and nephews looked so cute! I thought I had a picture of all of them, but that is on my mom's camera. I got a picture with a few of them. I wanted to be in on the action, but since I was heading from work I just brought Tanner's old football jersey along with me :)

Heritage

This semester I am taking a course that is soley dedicated to studying the Family Proclamation. It has been a little less than a month and I have already learned so much. We have discussed a lot about how a marriage cannot work unless you work together with your spouse and rely on our Heavenly Father. The topic of Heritage keeps coming to my mind.

This summer we had our Driscoll Family reunion and it was so much fun. It is crazy to see how much this family has grown and how it keeps growing. It is even more amazing to think that it all started with two, very amazing people. Tanner and I were talking a few days ago about how incredible it is to see the family that has come from these two people. My grandpa grew up not being able to go to church, but always wanted to. When he married my grandma they set a goal to never miss a Sunday, and to tell you the truth I don't think they have. They have instilled their faith and love for our Lord and Savior in everyone of their children and I am so grateful to be a part of that legacy. My grandpa started out with nothing and with a sense of hardwork he created a business that has grown and has been very successful. He always makes sure to tell each of his grandkids that we always need to remember how important it is to work hard and never give up.

I have such great respect for these incredible people. I am so grateful for the way that they raised my dad and how my dad raised me and instilled the same beliefs in me. They have taught me so much by their example. Tanner and I both agree, that if we follow these examples that have been set for us we will never have to worry. They are all such strong examples of putting Christ first in our lives and never waivering from the path that will lead us back to our home with our Heavenly Father. I only hope that as I go through life I can build a family and have a heritage as wonderful as the one they have built.

"Running the Gap"

I have discovered that I am not a very good blogger :) I have been meaning to post about this for a while, but I have started up classes again and things have been crazy!!

So...for those of you who don't know the city of Pocatello holds a marathon each year Labor Day weekend. My sister Devonee (who is the runner) decided to run the half marathon this year (keep in mind she ran the full marathon 2 years ago) and she got my mom in on it, but my mom just wanted to run the 5K (3.2 miles). I am so proud of my mom. She has come such a long way since her diagnosis almost a year and a half ago. She was so excited and was really working hard to be ready. Devonee kept trying to get me to do it with mom and kept saying, "Mom needs a friend to run with her!" I would not give in. I am not a runner, nothing about it sounds fun to me at all. Well...the Monday before Devonee calls me and says, "I don't care...I am signing you up." And she did.

Saturday morning we were up bright and early, we dropped Dev off at her bus and they took her up the hill. About an hour later my mom and I hopped on our bus that drove us approximately 3.2 miles down the road :) We lined up with the rest of our fellow runners, they blew the whistle and we were off! I would be a liar if I said I didn't have fun. My mom and I had some great chats while were were chugging along :) Our plan was to run 2 minutes and walk 1 minute. I caught my mom trying to trick me a few times. I would ask her how long we had been running and she would snicker and say "3 and 1/2 minutes." I am grateful for that thought, because it definitely helped me to push myself further than I thought we could go.

I honestly cannot put into words the accomplishment I felt as I crossed that finish line. It sounds so cheesy, because I know it was only 3.2 miles, but I didn't train myself so I couldn't help but be proud. I loved the feeling of running with my mom and seeing the joy on her face and she crossed the line with me. We were both on such a high. It meant the world to me to see Tanner there as I crossed the line. He surprised me and it was great to feel of his support! We went behind the gates and we waited for Devonee to come across along with two of my moms sisters who also ran the half. I don't know if this will make a true runner out of me, but it was definitely an experience that I will never forget.

Feeling a Little Sentimental

• July 26 was the day that Tanner and I had our first date. It was 2 years ago??!! That just seems too unreal to me! On Aberdeen Daze a memory came back to my mind. To this day my {awesome} sister-in-law Rebecca never fails to tell me that she had a major part in Tanner and I getting together. On Aberdeen Daze {June 2008} I was in at the breakfast with Braden and his family. They had four kids so the three of us adults had plates and rebecca was pushing the stroller. As she was struggling to get to the table, a very nice young man got out of his seat took the plates from her hand and took them to the table for her. Yes, that nice young man was Tanner. When she sat down to the table she look right at me and said "YOU HAVE TO MARRY THAT BOY!" I guess since she said it it had to happen. About a month later we had our first date and the rest is history =D I cannot believe that I have spent 2 years with the most amazing man. I could not imagine spending my life with anyone else. Some things I love about Tanner...
  
  

• He has the most contagious smile. {I melt every time he smiles at me}


• He can make me laugh in a second. {he has the greatest sense of humor}


• He called me "Krys" right away. {It takes some people a long time to call me Krys, he fell right into it}


• He is one of the hardest working people I know. {he's had to work for everything he has and it has made him a very strong person}


• He has been through so much in his life, but he never fails to be optimistic.


• He always tells me he loves me when we hang up on the phone. {Even if we have talked to each other 20 times that day=D}


• He always kisses me goodnight!


• He has a strong testimony of Jesus Christ. {he helps to keep me on track in my life. He always makes sure that we have scriptures and prayer and makes sure that we are obeying the Lord's commandments as a couple}


• He loves me for me! {He always tells me that my personality and smile caught him immediately. He never fails to tell me that he has never met anyone like me and I can say the same for me. He is the most amazing person I know.}
  

I am so grateful that my Heavenly Father brought Tanner into my life and I am so grateful that I get to spend this life and eternity with him. I cannot imagine spending eternity any other way. I love Tanner with all of my heart! I love and cherish everyday that I get to spend with him!

Catching up

We have had a lot going on this summer. Before it was officially summer we talked about how nice it will be to just go for walks every night, go camping(maybe), hang out with friends and family and be lazy. Well...that changed very quickly. I totally forgot that I would be in school all summer long. Even though I only took 2 classes it consumed a lot of my time along with working. We had family reunions, wedding receptions and work, work, work. Last year it was hard to adjust to the farm because we were newly married and now I LOVE IT! I calling Tanner up and hearing that he is in the tractor or he is doing potato samples or even fixing pivots. He loves what he does and that makes me so happy. I told him right from the start I would never care what his job was as long as he is happy. Our first big adventure this summer was welcoming a new member to our family...Taz. He is an Olde English Bulldog. Tanner LOVES dogs. He has wanted one ever since we got married. Infact after we had been married a month he tried to talk to me into a hound dog. This time I caved, but I am glad I did. This little guy can melt my heart. We traveled all the way to Lehi, UT to get him and he was worth the trip. He is so lazy, which we LOVE. He just comes and lays on our laps and falls asleep. He is still in the biting stage, so we are working on that for now, but we are in love with him already!
I have so many photos from the summer to share so I thought I would share one of my favorites. This was taken at my family reunion up in Island Park. My mom decided to have an activity for the grandkids. Devonee and I kind of gave her a hard time, because it was the 4th of July and she had them dress as pioneers. She explained to us that it was in the same month as we celebrate the pioneers so she had a good reason. (I LOVE MY MOM!) I just thought this picture was priceless. My mom also dressed up and her and my dad took the kids on a short "trek" around the area. They loved it of course. I love how my mom is always thinking of ways to teach her grandkids in such creative ways and they enjoy every minute of it. I love summer time because it means family, friends and the SUN! We have had a great time so far and still have lots more to look forward to before the summer ends.

Has it really been a year already?

I honestly cannot believe that Tanner and I have already been married for a year. In July it will have been two years since our first date. Time has certainly flown by. I can't help but think back to to when Tanner and I first met. I LOVE our story. so caution this may be a long post :)I was running late for single's branch. I called my friend Treg (tanner's cousin) and asked him to save me a seat. I walked into the chapel and sat my Treg. Tanner was on the other side of him. He leaned across and said, "Krystle you look really nice today." It really took me by surprise, because I really couldn't remember a time when a guy said that to me and meant it genuinely. After our meetings we sat at the same table during "linger longer", my brother eric was there and he was giving me a hard time that I was dating someone who was younger than me. etc. As I am driving home I get a call from Treg and he starts telling me that Tanner was asking him if I would consider going on a date with him. I told him that I wouldn't mind going at all :) A couple days later I get a phone call from tanner and he said, "When are you going to let me take you out?" I replied with , "I guess when you decide to ask me." We went out that Saturday, July 26, 2008, and I had never laughed harder than I had with him. I was so comfortable around him. We could talk about everything. He called me everyday from that first date and we would talk till 2 or 3 in the morning. He tries to say that I played hard to get, but trust me I didn't. I was under his spell from the very first moment he talked to me. Within a week of our first date, I told the other boy that I had been dating that I couldn't see him. I felt awful but it was really how I felt. I didn't want to see anyone else but Tanner. When the summer ended he went to ISU and I went to BYU-I. I was really nervous at first and didn't know how long it would last with us going to different schools, but I knew the first week that I didn't care to date anyone else. None of the guys I met even compared to him. I was hooked :)

He finally popped the question after 7 months of dating on February 14, 2009. It was one of the best nights of my life. He took me to his house and said he wanted to show me something. He took me into the living room where his computer was and started playing a movie he had made of all the pictures we had taken together, with I Don't Want to Miss a Thing playing in the background. After one of the pictures the screen said "I love you Krystle." I looked at him to tell him that I love you too, but he was still staring at the screen. I turned and on the screen was a picture of him down on one knee holding the ring and below the picture it said, "Will you marry me?" I went completely speechless. My mouth just dropped. He put down the computer and got on his knee and asked me again and finally i exclaimed, "YES." And it was the best decision I have ever made.
May 29, 2009 has so far been the happiest day of my life. Tanner and I drove up to the temple together and we just kept saying to each other, "I can't believe we are really getting married." It all seemed so sureal. We were so blessed to have so many of our family and friends there with us that day. The support was overwhelming. I am so lucky to have found my best friend and that I get to spend eternity with him. He makes me so incredibly happy. He does so much for me. He is always looking for things around the house that he can do. He has been there for me whenever I have needed him. I cannot imagine spending my life with anyone else. I am so grateful that my Heavenly Father led me to such a wonderful person. Every morning I wake up and think to myself that I am the luckiest girl in the world. This has been the best year of my life. We have had our hard times, but we have always stuck together. When I think about all of the other years we have a head of us I cannot help but be so grateful that I have found the love of my life.

"Oh, the places you'll go..."

Last night I went to my cousin Savannah's graduation. I cannot believe that she is old enough to graduate. I have so many memories with this girl. She is quite possibly the most caring, considerate, kindest, beautiful, talented person I have ever met. And that isn't even enough to describe her. The medal she is wearing, is for outstanding grades :) We used to clean our family's truck shop together and now I am married and she has graduated high school and will be attending BYU-I this fall. She is trying out for the dance group, Dance Alliance, which travels the world! I am so proud of her and the amazing person that she has become! She is always there for me when I need her. Last night during her commencement ceremony the Dr. Seuss book Oh, The Places You'll Go, kept coming into my head. I know that she will go far in life and I can't wait to watch her accomplish her dreams!

O...Walt...

OK- So I am a WALT DISNEY ENTHUSIAST! when we got back from d-land i decided that I needed to start my very own collection :) I made a list of every possible disney animated movies I could think of, calculated how long it would take me to build my collection if I bought one every three months...its about 8 years. Yes it is a long time, but I figured that would be the fun of it. I could have something to look forward to and it is something that I find a lot of joy out of. I am kind of a nerd, but I certified that status a long time ago when I was six and would blast the Pocahontas soundtrack, jump on the couch singing, "just around the river bend." I love old school disney movies. It really makes me sad to think that kids grow up with such lame cartoons now a days. I definitely grateful that I was a kid during the golden age. While we were in disneyland I learned so much about Walt Disney. He said that he wanted to build a place where families could some and forget about their troubles and be taken back to their youth. That is how I feel every time I watch a disney movie. It takes me back to being a kid, and wishing that "i would never grow up."

Finally... =D

After months and months of trying to figure this blog thing out, and from the help of my wonderful sister Heather, I think I may finally have this blog thing up and going :) Tanner and I just returned from a much needed vacation in Disneyland and it was amazing. I have to say though, I was a little disappointed because I was not able to see my favorite disney princesses. the only reason I was able to see Belle was because I peaked through a bush. O well, you can't win them all. Its been five days since we've been home and I already miss "the happiest place on earth..."