When We Weren't In Maui...

So we did other things this month besides go on the most amazing vacation to Maui...

Tyler works so hard on our backyard and it really shows. We love our backyard! So much, that we entered in a contest for best backyard. Hopefully we win! 

 The kids really wanted to have a lemonade stand. Makayla and Caden sold lemonade and cookies and said all the money was going to go to the firefighters. I don't quite know if they understood what that means, but we will be donating $30 to the firefighters!

 Brynnli had her last day of preschool and Makayla and Caden got to come with me to help at her Carnival party.

 Brynnli had such a fun year at preschool and really learned a lot. We love her teachers!

 How cute is this picture? All three of our kids have had Miss Aubrey as their teacher. She really is the best!

 Daddy's work had a summer party at the Bees game. We had so much fun!

 When I got home from Maui I had to head straight to the Weeblos Walkabout. I was a little irritated at first that I had to go, but these three boy scouts were pretty entertaining and made the event worth it.

 My cousin Sara has a goal this summer called #projectbicyclebuiltfortwo. She has a goal to go on rides with new people everyday on her tandem bicycle. What a weird, but fun idea! She drove all the way to our house and took all of us on a fun ride.

 I really admire Sara... seriously she is a true role model for me!

Oh.my. How in the world is she this cute?

 Happy Father's day to the best Dad around! Since we were gone the whole week before Father's day, his day and gifts were a little last minute, but so cute! Brynnli walked around the house and put "presents" into the bag. She gave Tyler a stuffed animal that Tyler got when he graduated, Caden's whoopee cushion, and a decoration from one of Caden's birthday parties. And the best part? She was so proud of herself!

 Caden created a scavenger hunt for Tyler and came up with the clues all by himself. The clues led Tyler around the house to find the final present...

 A box of Oreos... Tyler's favorite.

 Makayla made Tyler the cutest coupon book for things like "A huge hug" and a "10 minute back tickle"

 We love our Daddy so much!

 How cute are these cousins in their matching 4th of July outfits?

 Looks like they all found the donuts!

 Its not summer time until you spend a day at the splash pad.

Check out the butterfly in the flowers.

 Tammy called us last minute on a Sunday and asked if we wanted to go to the Bees game in the Coke Suite! You don't have to ask us twice! We loved it!

Caden got a cool kid hair cut. Doesn't he look so handsome!?

 Movie day to see Toy Story 4! Such a cute show, but the ending was pretty sad to me.

 Do you like my new 4th of July Decor?

Tyler kept suggesting we go on a family day to hike Donut Falls. If you know me, you know that I'm not much of a hiker, so I was really reluctant to go. But he kept insisting, and we took a Saturday and went, and I am so glad we did. We had so much fun together and the hike wasn't too hard. Good thing Tyler is persistent!

 What a great photo bomber!

Love this family of mine. 

Remember when I used to post funny convos with our kids? Well as they get older they don't say as many funny things, but this one stands out... We were having dinner one night and Makayla was tired, or worried about cheer camp. When she gets worried about some thing, suddenly EVERYTHING is a big deal. So we were just talking and Makayla randomly starts bawling because, "If you guys die, no one is going to want to adopt me because I'm the oldest!" After chuckling for a minute we told her that if, in the unlikely even that something happened to both of us, we have already talked to Tracy and Jeremy and they would take care of the kids. So Makayla is bawling, and because Makayla is crying, Brynnli starts crying too... and suddenly Caden screams out, "I can't wait for you guys to die because then Camden will be my brother!" See? Caden always manages to find the positive in every situation. Welcome to another hilarious night at the Evanses!

Every Love Story is Beautiful, but Ours is my Favorite!

10 Years!! 10 Years I have been married to this handsome guy!  In 10 years we have been through quite a bit. We have had amazing highs, and some very trying and humbling lows. 10 years later we are still so incredibly in love and so incredibly grateful for this life and family we have built together. I thought it might be fun in this anniversary post to highlight some of the best parts of our 10 years together.

I don't know if I have ever posted about how we met or our first few months dating...so for our kids' enjoyment, here's how our story began:

Tyler and I met when our mom's set us up on a blind date in December of 2007. Our moms used to work together before either of us were born and stayed in touch through Christmas cards each year. We tease my mom that when she met Tyler at Tracy's wedding, she fell in love with him. Terry and my mom started suggesting in the Christmas cards to set their kids up on a date. That went on back and forth for a few years, until 2007 when they really set us up. Initially I didn't want to go on a date with Tyler. I had been on so many bad blind dates, and didn't want to go on another one. Tyler called me on December 24, and after talking to him for a bit, I was excited to go on a date with him. Our first date was on December 26, and we went to Macaroni Grill and to see a movie. Honestly Macaroni Grill was not my favorite place to eat, but I didn't want to tell him that. Despite not loving our dinner, I think it was safe to say I was hooked on the first date. Tyler had really white teeth, he had a nice truck, and more importantly, he was a great conversationalist. We talked the entire first date and figured out we had a lot in common. Tyler asked me on a second date for Saturday, but I had a date planned with another guy, so I had to lie to him that I had plans with my old roommates that day.. and hopefully he thought I was playing hard to get. Tyler later told me he knew I had another date...oops! We did go on a second date, to Texas Roadhouse where Tyler would later admit that he was so proud of me for ordering ribs on a second date and eating all of them. Our third date was a double date with Tracy and Jeremy on New Years Eve. I was pretty sure this would be our first kiss, but much to my disappointment, he didn't kiss me that night. I don't remember the date of our first kiss, but I do know it was kind of awkward. Don't worry, we practiced a lot after that!

Tyler lived in Richfield and I lived in West Jordan. Since we were 3 hours apart, we spent a lot of time on the phone. Around January of 2008, we officially started dating. Here's one of our first pictures together... wow, we look young!

The next few months I knew Tyler was the one I wanted to marry. He was perfect! He was smart, caring, genuine, funny, ambitious, close with his family, responsible, dedicated, and one of the hardest workers I had ever met. He treated me so well...and he was pretty cute too. 

Although we weren't officially engaged, we started planning our life together when we started building our home in Richfield. 

After almost a year of dating, we got engaged on December 6, 2008. Tyler took me ice skating at the Gallivan Center, then we went on a carriage ride through Salt Lake. He was in the middle of proposing when we were stopped a red light. Tyler abruptly stopped the proposal and said that people were looking. Once we were going again, Tyler pulled out the ring and asked me to marry him! Of course I said YES!!!!

 We called our parents to tell them the news then walked around Temple Square. I always knew this Temple had special meaning to me!

All the details of our lives from this point are in our blog books, but here's some of my favorites from the last 10 years. 

 We were married on a very rainy day June 20, 2009 at Magnolia Grove in South Jordan.

 We went on our honeymoon on a cruise to the Bahamas.

 We started our lives together in our new home in Richfield and learned a lot about each other. They say the first year is the hardest, and I might have to agree. It was hard living away from home, starting a new job and starting a new life together, but looking back on it, we agree that living in Richfield made us rely on each other and gave us the best start for our marriage.

 We had so much fun the first year of marriage. We went on a lot of vacations

 And on our first anniversary found out we were expecting our first baby.

The next few years were a whirlwind. We welcomed the most beautiful baby girl

Decided to move to South Jordan, buy a home, and start new jobs

In August 2011 we were surprised to find out we were pregnant with Caden

And in April 2012 Caden was born!

The next few years were crazy raising two little kids under two while we were both working. Our family was just beginning and we loved our crazy life. We worked hard and played hard. 

Even with two young kids we managed to go on some pretty great vacations

Our family just wasn't complete yet, so in 2014 we completed our crazy family when Brynnli joined our fun in September 2014

The next chapter of our lives was raising our small family. I became a stay at home mom and Tyler worked hard to provide for all of us.

We love being together as a family

We went on vacations... a lot!

And loved watching our kids experience all their firsts

Our family became eternal when we were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple just last year on our 9 year anniversary on June 20, 2018

And just like that, we've made it to 10 years!

This post definitely highlights our best times together. While we do have a very blessed life together, it has also been filled with heartache, trials, tears, fears, and worry. Our life is beautiful, and hard, and so worth it. Tyler, thanks for being the best husband. I love you so much! I love that we get to experience the ups and downs together. You are my rock and the one person who has gotten me through some of my hardest days and you have been right by my side during the best days. I love that I get to spend eternity with you. I love that you challenge me to be better each day. And I love that you forgive my flaws. We make a great team and together we have raised a pretty amazing family. I feel so lucky to be your wife. I know that we will work hard and make it through any trial together and I know we will cherish all the great days ahead. I love growing old with you!

We celebrated our 10 year anniversary with a trip to Maui and on our actual anniversary we went to the Salt Lake Temple and to dinner at the Roof.

Here's to a great forever!