I Feel oh so DOMESTIC!

Ok, many of you know I don't cook....or bake, with the rare occasion of baking my mom's cookies. My meals usually consist of a sandwich, soup, tuna helper, salad, ect. pretty much any food that doesn't take any time to make. In some of my free time I have been getting on pinterest. There are so many good recipes on there! I decided on Saturday to bake an actual meal, I was kind of scared at first, not sure if I could do it, but after listening to some Rocky music I was pretty stoked and ready to conquer the recipe. The one I chose was a Chicken & Spinach Pasta Bake. The main reason I chose this was because there weren't very many ingredients. That is the first thing I look at on any recipe....how many ingredients it calls for, and this one didn't have very many so I gave it a shot and it was delicious!

I think when I am done with school and I have more time I will cook more....maybe even bake something. Anything to make me more domestic, because I need a lot of help in that area.

Here is my masterpiece :)

And here is the recipe so all of you can try it as well! It was really easy (If I can do it then anyone can) and it's delicious.

Chicken & Spinach Pasta Bake

8 oz uncooked rigatoni

1 T olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

1 (10oz) pack frozen spinach, thawed

3 cups cubed, cooked chicken breasts

1 (14 oz) can Italian-style diced tomatoes, drained

1 (8 oz) container Philadelphia chive and onion cream cheese

1/2 t salt, 1/2 t pepper

1 and 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Prepare regatoni according to pkg directions. Spread oil on bottom of 11x17 in baking dish; add onion in a single layer. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes or just until tender. Transfer onion to large bowel, set aside.

Drain chopped spinach well, pressing between paper towels. Stir in rigatoni, spinach, chicken, and next 4 ingredients into onion in bowel. Spoon mixture into dish and sprinkle evenly with shredded mozzarella cheese. Bake covered at 375 for 30 minutes; uncover and bake 15 more minutes or until bubbly.

Giving Thanks :)

My heart seems to be swelling with more gratitude this year than normal. Each day I am noticing so many blessings that I have on a daily basis that I take for granted. As I thought about all the blessings I have, I have come to realize that they all originate from my Heavenly Father. I am so grateful for the gospel in my life! The knowledge that I have of the plan of salvation and eternal families. I am grateful for temples and that there is going to be a temple built in Star Valley :) When President Monson announced the temple I just started tearing up, it is going to be such a wonderful blessing to little Star Valley.

I am so grateful for my health. I think we often don't realize how incredibly blessed we are to have healthy bodies. As I work with people who are so unhealthy and have all sorts of problems on a daily basis it makes me even more grateful for my health as well as the health of my family. I am grateful for my trials. I know that we each have our trials to help us become stronger. As we come upon difficult trials we need to be grateful for them because it shows the confidence our Heavenly Father has in us because he knows we can get through the trials he gives us.

This will be the first year that I will not be able to spend Thanksgiving with any of my family, but what better way to spend it than with those who are going through a difficult time :) I hope I can be a light to them on Thanksgiving day!

Fall in Star Valley:)

Can I just say how much I love fall!? It is my favorite time of year! I love the beautiful colors, the crisp air, hoodies, ah the list goes on and on :) I was able to go visit home in Star Valley (the place where the first temple in Wyoming is going to be built!) for a few days and loved every minute of it. I love visiting Star Valley and getting out of the city.

My mom and I went on a little walk, this is just a 10 minute walk from my house!

Beautiful!

I also got to pick up my Grandma on the way home and take her to Star Valley to visit. She is 92 years old, and quite the hoot!

Major Updates

Time has flown by and I have a few things to update on. I have been able to make many trips home this summer and loved every minute of it. I love Star Valley and am so grateful I was able to grow up in such a beautiful place.

My Dad and I before we left for our 20 mile horse ride to Alice Lake

I love this picture, brings a smile to my face every time :)

Beautiful!

Alice Lake

This was a natural spring that is supposedly 80 feet or more deep. I love the pretty blue color!

Amanda came to visit and we took the 4-wheeler up swift creek and hiked to the Intermiting Spring

This is where we get our water in Afton

I also turned 22! I can't believe it, I definitely don't feel my age. I'm excited for this upcoming year though and plan to make it my best year yet! Glad I was able to be home with my parents for my B-day.

Love my mom!

So grateful for my parents!

Been together for 33 years.

My last night at home I took Equity for a hike up to the star to watch the sunset. It was beautiful and a memory I will always remember.

My beautiful valley

A perfect end to a wonderful summer. Now back to the real world and on Monday I start my last semester of school! Can't wait :)

Hiking

Lately on my days off I've started to get into the whole "hiking" thing. There are so many different hikes in the Salt Lake Valley and I'm really starting to enjoy it. After working inside for 13 hours it's nice to spend time outside on my days off :)

This hike is right about the Huntsman Cancer Hospital. I see people on the trail all the time and decided to finally try it out for myself. It was beautiful.

View of the Salt Lake Valley

This next hike was called "donut falls" I went on it with my roommate. We never made it to the falls, we got lost somehow along the way but we didn't care because we saw something much better!

MOOSE!

Or you could call it a flock of meesen :) It was so cool to see so many, and kind of scary. They started looking at us and that's when we decided we should start heading back. But I loved the hike, everything still is so nice and green and hopefully i'll get more hikes in before the cooler weather comes :)

D to the C (Warning, lots of pictures!)

Ethan and I had the amazing opportunity to go to Washington D.C for 4 days to visit my sister. We all had a blast together and it was fun to see the sites and especially spend time with my brother and sister. Here are some pictures...

Starting the touring off with Mt Vernon

George Washington's Grave

The original copy of George Washington's resignation address

Touring the Naval Academy. I loved seeing all the guys in their white uniforms:)

Chapel at the Naval Academy

Biggest Milkshake in the world! It took 4 of us to eat it

6 lbs of chocolate chip milkshake!

Naval Academy

WWII Memorial

Each star on this wall represents a soldier who died in WWII

Represent Wyoming!

Korean War Memorial

Abe and I

Vietnam Memorial, I love how you can see the Washington Monument straight ahead

Tomb of the unknown soldier

Taking a break from walking around

Arlington

Washington D.C temple

Love this temple!

Thomas Jefferson Memorial

University of Maryland

Yes, I did hold hands with Jim Henson

In front of my sister's building, soon to be Dr. Amanda Wilford :)

U.S capitol

With tomorrow being the 4th of July I am so grateful for this wonderful country I live in. I loved learning more about the history of the country and being able to see it first hand. The founding fathers truly were inspired when they wrote the Declaration of Independence (I got to see the original copy, but pictures weren't allowed). I love this country! God Bless America.