mother

My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mother. I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her.

- George Washington

      Our first president was definitely on to something. I'm so grateful for a mother who is beautiful, caring, smart, silly, fun, strong, creative, talented, and always up for an adventure. My mom has been the most amazing example to me, especially in her love for the Savior and for her family. I love that as I have grown I have seen my mother grow with me: we have grown to be the very best of friends. And as I have grown, I have seen that I have become more and more like her, and I am definitely okay with that! All I am, and all I ever hope to be, I owe to my dear mother. She has taught me more than anyone else: she has taught me to love love and to love life. I will always be so grateful for her love and her support and her ability to be herself. I'm so grateful for my mom. 

So even though I am a day late, Happy Mother's Day Mom. You deserve to be celebrated every day of the year. Thanks for being the best mom I could ever ask for and for just being so much fun! Thanks for helping me to get where I am and for helping me become who I am. We have shared so many lovely, hilarious, and happy memories, and I look forward to many, many more good times ahead! I love you so much!

Love always,

Mads

con-grad-ulations

high school graduation, june 2008.

68 classes

14 dance classes

53 As

175 credit hours

9 semesters

1 in France

1 engaged

1 married

5 apartments 

1 old house covered in vines

11 roommates

6 wards

4 years

4 crazy summers

1 husband

so many friends

hundreds of great memories

and over 50,000 pictures

(that is not an exaggeration. really.)

last thursday and friday, my BYU legacy officially came to a close.

i graduated in december with a Bachelor of Arts in French Studies and a minor in Family Life, so i still managed to be part of the class of 2012. (however, BYU does not have a graduation ceremony in december, so i have been in the limbo of unofficial graduated life for several months...)

my last class at byu was volleyball.

it is so nice to finally put college in the done pile.

like this nice...

or this nice...

but mostly this nice...

i decided to walk in the spring commencement and convocation ceremonies, and i am so glad i did.

it was the perfect closure for my wonderful adventures here at brigham young university. 

there i am. 

2008 and 2013. 

have i changed at all? or am i just less tan...

ready for some sappiness and gratitude?

i sure couldn't have done it without the support and love of these guys!

and i really, really missed this guy,

who had to support from a-far as he was in the high school play back home!

doesn't he look handsome as fredrich?

 i'm also so grateful for the support of my in-laws. they are great!

 my parents are so awesome, and the harts have always been a second set of parents to me. 

they too have been a wonderful support throughout my journey at byu. 

 i simply wouldn't have wanted to do it all with out this kid.

i'm so grateful for my grandparents. they are truly some of my best friends.

i'm grateful that they were able to make it and see their first college graduate grandkids.

i love these two and i am glad that we could finish our journeys together.

mal and daniel, i wish you the best in pennsylvania!

we did it!

i could write a whole post about my mom.

she is the best. there is no other way to say it.

dave is tall. i'm glad he is my bud.

i'm beyond glad i got to spend a semester at college with my fave sister j. 

she is such a great example to me!

and though i missed having this college grad around, i know she was there to support me in spirit!

 hallie and i didn't get quite make the festivities last april,

so we did it this year!

commencement was great. 

we took a lot of photos (as seen above), 

and then i rang this bell.

and rode the cougar.

and posed by this sign.

we then had a delicious celebratory dinner at communal, yum!

and prepared for another round of graduation the next morning.

convocation was also great.

i shook the hand of this guy that i don't really know.

they pronounced my name right. 

 and i got this sweet diploma cover with a fake diploma in it.

i still love this guy.

 and i'm grateful that this grandma could also make it to see her first college graduate grandkid!
and that we could document the kid that kept rolling down the hill with a sweatshirt over his head whom we periodically had to jump over and avoid whilst taking pictures. see him?

 p.s. i really liked my graduation dress and neon shoes.
the shoes helped my family spot me amidst the rest of the graduates. useful.

graduation weekend was a blast.

there are so many people who supported me along the way, 

and so many friends were made.

i'd like to thank all of you who had any role in this college journey of mine, 

be it large or small.

because thanks to you...

i did it.

one year.

we've been married one year!!!!!!

i've said it a million times, but i can't believe how fast the year has flown by. it seems like just yesterday we were sealed for time and all eternity in the salt lake temple. that truly was the happiest day of my life, and it's been the happiest year too! i love anj so much and i am so lucky to have him.

because we decided to snag my sister's birthday for our wedding day, and because our anniversary fell on a sunday.. we had our big celebration on saturday. 

the day started off great when anj purchased two perfect chairs at a garage sale...

 and surprised me with a most beautiful bouquet. 

 right before anj got home from volunteering at the hospital, he texted me to get a bag together "in case we stay somewhere tonight" !!! i was in for a night of surprises.

the man did good!

after tricking me about 7 times, we finally reached our destination: park city.

last year on our wedding day we went to park city for dinner, and another table in the restaurant overheard that we had been married that day. we later found out that they paid for our meal! they left before we could even say thank you, and it was truly a tender moment that i will never forget. that great act of kindness made me so grateful and made me feel like we really were doing something right. 

anj surprised me by taking me to dinner at this very same restaurant, buona vita, and it was just perfect. 

i had gnocci, and anj and pizza, and it was G-O-O-D!

last year and this year: two desserts on the house!

(and holy cow, the crème brûlée was the best thing i have ever tasted.) 

i talked about it all weekend!

 to continue with our tradtion, anj took me to the outlets to do a little shopping. 

(we went to the outlets to buy each other wedding presents last year)

i ended up with a sweet new pair of nike running shoes! 

 i got anj these really great socks. who doesn't want to sport jazz legends on their feet?

 when we arrived at our "luxurious suite" we discovered a kitchen, a dining table, a fire place...

and this really awesome bed. it added some humor to our park city getaway.

there was some really nice polar bear decor too.

wildlife forever.

the next morning we went for a scenic drive, and when we got home anj made us some scrumptious omelets. 

 on our scenic drive we stopped at our favorite bridge up in midway and took some sweet pics.

church was great. anj wore his whole wedding ensemble, and though i was tempted to wear my wedding dress (it is still hanging in my closet), i decided to go with just the wedding shoes.

 love.

 after church we had a parrr-tayy for miss j's nineteenth birthday.

 i was trying to go for a honduras theme... it worked out pretty well. 

anj was the master decorator and even took on the responsibility of the birthday chair!

 i love this sister of mine so much. it was great to have her and her besties over for dinner and angel food cake and birthday songs and fun.

she has grown up so much the past year!

 we enjoyed testing out our new chairs. 

 it was an overall great way to celebrate april twenty-first.

 we ended the night with some law and order and a few rounds of skipbo. i won, of course. 

how else would you end your anniversary weekend party extravaganza?

and in case you haven't seen enough pictures, 

here's a little throwback to our honeymoon adventures in mexico.

wishing we were back here right about now!

well folks, it's been a year. one whole year. i can't wait to see what the next has to offer!

here's to many, many more.

happy anniversary anj!

(he's the very best!)