Arvo Adventure

Kelsie is one of my favorite photographers here in Utah. She took the engagements and bridals for one of my friends and I’ve been following her work for a couple months now. She is absolutely amazing! I love everything she does so when she asked Trent and I to come shoot with her I freaked out. I was so excited!! (Trent thought I was nutso). Kelsie and I were texting back and forth all day figuring out logistics and around 2:30 I headed up to Ogden for hair and makeup. The darling hair and makeup artist, Bailey, was a dream to work with and I was so impressed by everything she did. Go check her out on Instagram (@schiessstyles) She is phenomenal. After we finished that, we went up to Snowbasin for the shoot. The shoot was a product shoot for a company called Corda. They are a business that make these incredible rope sandals while providing sustainable jobs to underprivileged people in Ethiopia. It was incredible to listen to their story and  hear about all of the good they are doing. I was so impressed. Not only do the sandals support a great cause but they are insanely comfy! I didn’t want to take them off! On top of the sandals we got to shoot with a rad van, the arvo van. It was sweet. Trent and I totally wished it was ours. This shoot really was such a blast and I can’t wait to work with Keslie again. Here are some images for your viewing pleasure. 🙂

I can’t be done without saying how ridiculously grateful I am for Trent. He is the greatest adventure buddy anyone could every ask for, he does crazy things simply because I asked and he loves me so so so incredibly well. I love you T.

Photography: @kelsieemmphoto

Sandals: cordalife.com

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Presidents’ Day Adventure

Thank goodness for Monday Holidays! It makes the weekend one day longer and the week one day shorter. Trent and I slept in, big time, went to a small pottery studio with some friends and then as we were driving home, Trent suggested that we take my little sisters rock climbing. For Christmas I had given Trent a rock climbing harness and although we are no professionals, it is fun for us! We called up the girls and headed up Big Cottonwood Canyon. The day was gorgeous! It was a little windy down in the valley but as soon as we made it into the canyon the wind stopped. We hiked back to the wall, where Trent and I had been before, and it ended up being a perfect adventure. My little sisters were braver than I was and it was fun to spend time with them. Trent belayed all of us and I think we wore him out but he got to climb too! The day was beautiful and we all got so excited for springtime and now it’s snowing…gotta love Utah weather.

I think I will deem this sweatshirt my adventure sweatshirt because I wear it pretty much every time we do anything…

Trent literally pulled me off my feet.

Birthday!

Today, February 2nd, may or may not be my favorite day of the whole year…it totally is. I am in love with birthdays. Is there anything more fun than celebrating someone you love for a whole day? I don’t think so! So I am especially in love with today because I get to celebrate my favorite person’s birthday! Trent is turning 23. Woot! Woot! Best day ever!!!

Tonight we are going out with Trent’s family. Tomorrow is his birthday date! Wahoo! And Sunday we’re celebrating with my side of the family. So much to look forward to!

I’ve known Trent for a long time…in fact, I think it was around this exact time 6 years ago that we first became friends in math class. Emma and I switched into that class at the beginning of the semester and we sat right next to Trent. I thank Heavenly Father often for that little miracle.

So..for Trent’s birthday I thought I would tell you 23 things I love about Trent.

1. He loves me…all the time. Even when I’m grumpy or moody or just plain tricky to love. He loves me.
2. His willingness to learn about things that I love. I think in the past couple years Trent has heard more about dance, music and teaching than he had his entire life.
3. His willingness to share the things he loves with me. Trent could easily take a buddy on his adventures but more often then not, he invites me.
4. Trent is always happy. Even when it’s the worst situation possible and there is no reason to be happy, he finds a way to be happy.
5. His love for the outdoors. He loves to be outside, doing everything and anything.
6. His stories. Trent has some crazy stories from his teenage years and I could listen to them forever.
7. I love Trent’s willingness to try new things with me. It may not be the first thing on his list, but he is always so supportive.
8. He always knows what to do. We’ve had our fair share of dangerous situations and I’m always amazed at how Trent pulls through. (Just ask me about when our boat caught on fire…)
9. I love how Trent loves his mission. Whenever he talks about it, it’s with a passion and a love that amazes me every time.
10. He has such an adventurous spirit. He thinks of the wildest ideas and then somehow convinces me to tag along and I always have fun. 
11. He loves Mexican food as much as me.
12. He has a scary good Paul Walker impersonation.
13. He loves to make new friends.
14. I love how much Trent loves the Gospel and how much he loves teaching Sunday School in our Ward. (The kids in his class bring treats every week so what’s not to love but still.)
15. I love how much Trent loves all of his family but especially his Mom. They have the sweetest relationship and I love it.
16. I love how much Trent loves my family! He is always so go with my little sisters and we all love having him around.
17. I love that Trent picked me. He could have picked anyone in the world, and he picked me. We had a wild ride after our missions (story for another time) but I just feel so blessed that he chose me.
18. I love Trent’s hands. They always show the stresses of life but they also show the adventures of life and I can do anything with his hand in mine.
19. I love how respectful Trent is of me.
20. His adventures. There is nothing like them. Sometimes they’re planned and other times we just pull over on the side of the road and go climb a mountain. Never a dull moment with this wonderful boy.
21. I love what an incredibly hard worker Trent is.
22. I love how Trent and I can be so goofy together. The other day we were saying something back and forth to each other  and someone asked if we were quoting a movie…nope, that’s just our life.
23. I simply love life with him. There is nothing better.

I am forever grateful for my forever adventure buddy, my love and best friend.

Happy Birthday darling!

Photography: Alyssia B. Photography

This weekend we took to Midway for some pictures with Shutter Lush by Paige Jackman. First of all, Paige is an absolute doll and we had so much fun getting to know her and hearing her story. She’s a newly-wed, just like us! It was fun to swap our “So how did you meet your husband?” stories as well as simply get to know her. She is such a darling person and we highly recommend getting any photos done by her. Paige knows exactly what she is doing. I love the warm feel her photos have and she plays with light so beautifully. We seriously could not have had a more wonderful time.

We drove up the lane to the farm and almost got stuck, there was sooooo much snow! I’ve never seen so much snow up there! The fields were covered and everything was frozen. It was crazy beautiful but we were all wondering how these pictures were going to work. Luckily, Paige is an absolute genius and we wound or way down the lane finding perfect little spots to shoot. We eventually ventured into the horse coral for some pictures with Trent’s horse, Britches. There was snow up to my shins and Paige was climbing all over the place. To say it was a simple photo shoot is an understatement…

Britches thinks we’re crazy…

There was snow in my boots and my toes were frozen but it was totally worth it. Trent was such a good sport running around with us and he is always fun to take pictures with. I am so in love with this boy…it’s ridiculous. (P.s. It’s his birthday this Thursday and boy do I have a celebration planned…stay tuned for the details)

Photography: shutterlush.com

Dress: shopjessakae.com (Darling new arrivals. Use code elizaj10 for $$ discount)

Everyday Moments

I’m sitting at my computer and listening to the soundtrack of the musical Hamilton. I’m a little late jumping on this wagon but I’m loving it. The song “It’s Quite Uptown” has been on repeat for the last 30 minutes and every time it finishes I think of this world we live in and the turmoil that’s been going on the past couple days. In the song, Alexander Hamilton has just lost his son, is seeking the forgiveness of his wife and quite simply trying to figure out life. I ache for Hamilton as I listen but there is a hopeful tone that carries the song. Yes, his situation is unimaginable but they are going to be alright. We are going to be just fine. There is much sorrow and heartache happening in the world around us but there is forgiveness, there is joy and there is always hope.

I saw this sunset when I was filling up for gas a couple weeks ago and to me it was just a reminder to treasure the good in life because there truly is so much of it.

“The happiest people I know are not those who find their golden ticket; they are those who, while in pursuit of worthy goals, discover and treasure the beauty and sweetness of the everyday moments. They are the ones who, thread by daily thread, weave a tapestry of gratitude and wonder throughout their lives. These are they who are truly happy.”

-President Uchtdorf

So go out there and find the good, find the light and realize that happiness is up to you.