Kevin and Lacey had a baby!

Welcome to the family baby Adley Harper Hart!
She was born on June 27, 2013. :)

So happy for these two, Adley's a super lucky girl to have such great parents.

Happy Anniversary!

Sunday was mine and Devin's 1 year wedding anniversary. I remember how after he proposed to me it felt like the four months until we got married was years away, and it literally just creeped along. Though the past year that Devin and I have been married has seemed to go by extremely fast. It feels like yesterday when we were in Hawaii celebrating our marriage. So weird how time seems to just bend at it's own convenience. Hahah. A year ago today Devin and I were in Kona, Hawaii, where I saw the ocean for the first time, where we saw multiple huge sea turtles, went kayaking in the ocean, and hiked around a volcano! It was such a great trip and all the while with my cute husband.

It feels like yesterday we were married, but at the same time it feels like we've been married for like 5 years. It seriously blows my mind how time works like that.

So Devin and I celebrated the whole weekend for our anniversary. First, we celebrated on Thursday by doing lots of service in the area that we live in because of the crazy storms and floods. Okay, so we didn't plan to celebrate that way, but we always grow closer together when we serve together, so I feel like that is celebration in its own way :)

Second, on Friday night, I met Devin at his office in Downers Grove, and we drove to the temple together. It was the greatest night ever. Truly, we both needed to go to the temple and both missed it so much. Though it was such a change from all the Utah temples that I've been to! :) Satan knew very well how much we needed to go, and did his best to keep us from getting there. Like I mentioned, there was lots of flooding around the area the day before, so as I was trying to get to Devin's work, I was turned around by two giant rivers flowing over the roads in the direction that I needed to go. I have only been to Devin's work a few times, and each time it was the same route, so that threw me off really bad not being able to go the usual route. Then, right during rush hour, I got stuck at two different intersections with broken stop lights, and hundreds of cars in each direction. I still don't know how I got through there alive. But finally, I made it to my sweetheart with tears running down both my cheeks, my makeup messed up, and my stomach sick from the stress determined that we weren't going to make it to the temple in time for our session. But of course, we kept our decision to go to the temple and finally made it there in one piece. It was a terribly stressful drive, but oh my goodness, the temple was absolutely the best thing ever and oh how we needed it. It was incredible - and I have now been in a new temple, the Chicago Temple is small, but oh so beautiful and such a great experience :) I can't wait to go back again!

Isn't it beautiful? :D

Third, on Saturday we rode the train into downtown Chicago (where they also had to reroute the train system right through the GHETTO to avoid flooded tracks) .. to celebrate for real. First we went to lunch at Panera Bread Co.  - I know, I know, not terribly exciting, but we were hungry and that's the first thing we found, and it was delicious :) Then we caught a cab and went to The Field Museum. We spent about 4 1/2 hours at The Field Museum and loved every single second of it. It was so much fun! We sound like lamos because we spend so much time at the museum, but seriously, it was great. They have the worlds largest and most complete T-Rex, lots of mummies, TONS of dinosaur skeletons, and all kinds of stuff that kept us busy forever. We went through every single attraction with the determination to have fun. I actually learned all kinds of cool stuff - like how the mummification process works. It's some crazy stuff, believe me.

                           

Then we went to Water Tower Place and picked out Devin's anniversary present. :) He got me the most beautiful Opal ring (my birthstone), and he picked it out all by himself! My husband is the greatest :) So I took him to Fossil because he needed a new watch, and I didn't want to pick it out, because I am NOT watch savvy and didn't want to get him something he didn't want. hahah. So on our way, we went to the Lego store, and a few other places just to have fun window shopping :) 

So here's what I got him

Here's what he got me

And this is me with lego woody :)

Basically - we had a blast. But it's not over yet! :)

Then Devin took me to the nicest restaurant in Chicago, The Signature Room :) It was seriously so nice. He had to make reservations two months ahead in order to get us in! Whoa! So it's on the 95th floor of the second tallest building in Chicago, the John Hancock Center, and oh my goodness it was awesome. There was a line about the size of the lines you'd see at the most popular roller coaster at Disney World. Seriously - that long, and we got to skip the whole line because we had reservations - but all of those people were still there waiting when we came back down from dinner - weirdos are going to starve to death before they get up there. Haha. So we went up there, he had requested a window seat, so we were on the corner that had Lake Michigan, Lake Shore Drive, and the White Sox Stadium. It was an absolutely beautiful view, even looking straight down! We had great service, delicious food, and so much fun :) It was so nice we weren't even allowed to wear jeans. ( So we wore our dress clothes everywhere the entire day - we had a 'fancy day' ) :D I even tried duck for the first time, it was absolutely delicious - but I felt guilty when we pulled into our subdivision and there were duckies on our pond, I felt bad that I had eaten one of their friends (not really, but it was a funny conversation)

The beautiful view

 

So basically, we had the greatest anniversary weekend ever :) 

On our actual anniversary we went to church, came home early because Devin's tummy was sick, and just relaxed together and had a great time. I'm very grateful for my sweetheart, and I am so grateful to be sealed to him for time and all eternity. I know that Heavenly Father sent him to me for a reason and that reason being that he is my perfect match. We may not agree all the time, and I may think that I'm always right, (but who doesn't?) We are truly a great match and I am grateful for the example he sets for me every single day and the absolute love and joy we have in our marriage. Not everyone can say that they are purely happy - and I am blessed enough to say that my husband is the greatest husband in the history of mankind :) 

So here's to many more years by your side through thick and thin and never wavering! 

You're my best friend, I love you to the moon and back for eternity. 

Our Real Anniversary Picture - At Church, where it all started. :) 

Zoey Girl .. Or Not So Much

So since Devin and I don't have children yet, we treat Zoey like our child. She's pretty cute, so it's okay.

We had Zoey spayed this past week, and she's been about as needy as a newborn child, so it's been good practice for when we do have kiddos. :)  She's been having trouble messing with her incision on her tummy - so I put her in a onesie that I had bought as a gift for a friend - sorry, now it's Zoey's! Haha

Here's a few pictures of her cuteness in the onesies and feeling absolutely miserable after this huge change. Oh! And on top of being spayed, she has started losing her puppy teeth and her mouth is also really bothering her. Poor thing, so many changes in her life!

She's ADORABLE. Love my pup

Welcome to the world Baby Ryan! :)

Congratulations to Matt and Sarah Despain on your new adorable little boy! :)

(Here are a few pictures of the family that I stole from Sarah's blog) 

Dylan, Savanna, & Zach with their new baby brother

Daddy looking proud of his new baby boy!

Great big sister Savanna

Sarah and Baby Ryan Matthew

What a handsome little guy

Love him already! :)

 Matt and Sarah did such a great job at being disciplined and not finding out the gender of this little guy until he came into the world! We were all so excited to hear that there is a new Mr. Despain in the family! He was born a little early and spent a couple days in the NICU, but he came out strong and is at home and doing great now! 

Oh and I know how excited Savannah, Zach, and Dylan were to meet their new baby brother/sister, Savannah wanted a sister, and the boys both wanted a brother, hahah but I'm so sure that they're doing a great job helping mommy and daddy take care of the cute little guy :) 

Devin and I are so excited to meet him and are so happy for Matt and Sarah on their super handsome little guy! 

Welcome to the world baby Ryan Matthew Despain! Your Aunt Amy and Uncle Devin already love you so much! <3

It's Finally Spring Time!!

After living in Chicagoland during the winter, I never want to be cold again. I spent the past three months constantly bundled up and still shivering, my ears constantly hurting, and my nose running like an olympic track star. 

Finally, it's getting into the 50's and 60's! Which is absolutely incredible! 

Zoey and I have been going on walks every day, having lots of fun checking out all the new sights and smells, meeting new dogs, watching the ducks and just having so much fun! We have started house breaking her so that she doesn't have any more accidents in the house, and it's just been a blast so far. Well, the walks and playing outside, I'm not going as far as saying that house breaking has been a blast! Hahah, that would be insane, because it's driving me crazy. 

Isn't she adorable, playing in the backyard with the sun shining down?
Soooo nice! 

Basically - we're super excited about the sun coming out to socialize with us, we're finally meeting neighbors and people around the neighborhood because everyone isn't just hiding in their houses anymore!  Next winter is going to be so sad after this beautiful spring weather. 

Easter Sunday

This Easter was my first ever! Since we are in Illinois with no family and few friends, I had the responsibility of cooking an Easter dinner that I've never cooked before! Like, everything was new. Not to mention I was using recipes that Devin's mom has been making for him since he was little - needless to say she has more experience making them and they taste much better, but Dev said I did great! :) He's a sweetheart, ha(: 

I made our ham in the crockpot since we have afternoon church, parmesan potatoes, brussel sprouts, butterhorn rolls, and pineapple upside-down cake! I'd like to think it was pretty tasty, especially that ham. I've never been a big fan of ham, so it was a surprise to me. :) 

Here are a few pictures of our Easter fun as a family:) 

 

Our Easter eggs of course did awful, we didn't realize that you were supposed to put vinegar in there our the dye wouldn't work. So basically, the pink was the only one that worked. We had lots of pink eggs for Easter (: 

We hope everyone had as great of an Easter Sunday as we did!! :) 

The Harts Come To Visit

So this past Saturday, my family came all the way up to Chicagoland to come visit us! Boy was it fun. Saturday night we went to the Pinewood Derby with our new ward here, (because of my new calling, cub master) and Chance won the entire thing! We had a blast! :) On Sunday, we were bad, but it was the only day they were supposed to be here that would be nice enough to play outside! So we skipped church, and we went to Downtown Chicago. We started off the day by taking the 8:40 a.m. train into downtown, and walking down to the Sears Tower (Now Willis Tower) and enjoying Skydeck Chicago! We were 103 stories in the air, and stood out on a glass ledge where we could see all the way down to the street! It was terrifying! 1) I'm TERRIFIED of elevators, I get sick in them, and I just can't stand the feeling. This elevator was no normal elevator, it took us like 1 minute to get all the way up to the 103rd floor - which is like 2-3 floors per second. In my old apartment building, it took about the same time to just get up to the third floor. So basically, I was terrified, almost cried, and Devin held my hand the entire way up. My ears even popped on the ride up! We were higher than the Eiffel Tower! I just can't believe how high we were, even now. So basically - it was a big fear that I CONQUERED on Sunday :)

103 Stories above the ground, with only a few inches of glass between us and *SPLAT*!

YIKES!

           

 After the Skydeck, we found a couple taxis, and had them take us to the Schedd Aquarium. If anyone doesn't know what that is - it's a GINORMOUS aquarium with just about everything from whales to pirañas. It was incredible. They had the cutest little sea otters who were snacking on giant ice cubes that were flavored like some sort of treats, and they were playing so hard, jumping around, and going crazy. It was hilarious watching them. We also got to see a Sea Lion be trained and fed. The trainer was throwing little fish at him, and he would catch it every single time. She told him to wave at the audience, and he waved, she told him to salute, and he saluted, she told him to swim, he swam. Monkey see, Monkey do. It was super incredible seeing how well all these wild animals can be trained and I can barely even get Zoey to sit down so I can pick her up!

Sammy the Sea Lion

 

 After the Schedd Aquarium, we caught a couple taxis and headed over to Millenium Park - I hope you know that taxi riding is the most terrifying thing in the world, and had 3 taxi rides that day. They seriously drive like crazy maniacs, weave in and out of traffic, get up to 50 miles an hour and slam on their brakes all within a block. They are crazy, no doubt about it, and I hate riding in taxis. So anyway, after we get out of that dreadful thing we find the other half of our group and meet up at the big Bean in the middle of Millenium Park. So basically - it's a GIANT bean that is made of mirror materials. You can walk underneath it, and at one point you can see yourself like a million different times, or something like that. It's neat, so we took some fun pictures :)

            

 We then took off to walk down the 'Magnificent Mile", so if you don't know, the Magnificent Mile is Michigan Avenue. It has the most incredible shopping you could ever think of, it can also be called the "Million Dollar Mile" simply because it wouldn't be hard to spend a million dollars by the time you get to the end of the mile. (That is, if you HAVE a million dollars to spend, which I DON'T.) So we just stick to the name Magnificent Mile. So they have Tiffany's, Crate&Barrel, Allen Edmonds, Rolex, a 6 story Nordstrom, Burberry, all the super high end brands and stores that you love to look at, but would die if you bought. So basically, it's just super fun to go in and out of all those stores and see what these crazy rich people can afford to buy. Haha:) At least it's fun for Devin and I. Finally, we made it down one side of the mile, and back down the other side and made it all the way back down to the Chicago River. So I've failed to mention that this day is St. Patrick's day and apparently everyone in Chicago celebrates St.Patty's by dressing up super goofy, matching everyone in their group, and just drinking til their heart's content. It's pretty crazy and packed. So since Chicago has such a high Irish population, they celebrate St. Patty's Day by dying the Chicago River GREEN. I don't know how on earth they do it, or how they undo it, or why they really do it, and what the heck was going through their minds, but it looks like some sort of chemical waste that you would jump in and come out with freaky super powers. But apparently it's just plain old river water, just bright green for a few days (or weeks).

Dev & I posing at the Chicago River

Chicago River Rockin' The Green

     

 So we all had the best time with the Harts staying with us, the house was always crowded, loud, and full of laughter and fun:) We played card games and board games every single night, had Portillos and some true Chicago pizza. It was just a blast. Zoey got so much attention all day, every day that she just didn't take any naps (when usually she sleeps most of the day and plays at night time).. so needless to say she was absolutely exhausted by the time everyone left. She just absolutely loved all the attention and play time that she got. When she needed a breather, she would always go and lay on Derek's lap. For some reason, she just fell in love with Derek, she was never mean or aunery to him, she just gave him lots of kisses and lovins and laid next to him (could have something to do with him being sick while he was here), but she was oh so sad when they left. They went out the front door and she sat there and stared at the front door waiting for them to come back in, when she realized they weren't coming back, she cried for a few minutes and immediately went to sleep. Here's an adorable little picture of Zoey just POOPED after a long, crazy weekend for her. Her 'Papa' (My dad) got her a raccoon to play with. She's like our child, already getting spoiled by her grandparents. haha.

Exhausted Zoey

 

 Hart Family we miss you already and can't wait until you come and visit us again! :)

Valentines Day!

Valentines day was on a Thursday this year, and fell on an extremely busy week for both Devin and I, but we had a blast! We had a tasty Noodles and Company dinner in candlelight (just like our first Valentines together) and decorated sugar cookies shaped like hearts. We had a great time with the few hours we had together before we both passed out from exhaustion! :) I love my husband every single day of the year, but Valentines day is a day that you show everyone else in the world how much you love them.. Haha, so I thought I'd write a cute little blog about how incredibly much Devin means to me. Are ya'll ready for this? Devin and I met about a year and a half ago, and I didn't have any interest. We were in the same Family Home Evening Group at BYU, same ward, same apartment complex, and we didn't even know each others names. A few weeks later we had a fun activity where Devin and I actually interacted. Shortly after that activity, Devin added me on Facebook and invited me to play games at his apartment with his roommates. That was the most awkward night of my life. I knew ZERO of these men and I was playing card games with them. The next day we played tennis all together, and I hit Devin in the back of the head with the tennis ball. I don't know what the heck he saw in me after those couple days, but then he asked me to go to a BYU football game with him, then to General Conference with him.. And suddenly we were practically attached at the hip. I don't know how it really happened, or when exactly it happened, but I do know that it was the greatest blessing of my life. Devin snuck up on me when I wasn't expecting anything, anyone, or any relationships, but he snuck up on me and found a place in my heart immediately. He showed me what it was like to be treated like a lady, to be taken care of, and to be happy. We spent every single night together playing card games and board games and just having fun. Then Devin asked me to be his wife on December 31st 2011, and of course I said yes! On April 21, 2012 Devin and I were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple for time and all eternity. That day was truly the happiest day of my life. Every day since then I've had Devin by my side, we've had our struggles as a newly wedded couple, but we sure have figured out how to handle things. It's been the greatest almost year of my life! Devin Eric Despain, I absolutely love every single thing about you. You make me laugh and smile when I don't want to, you take care of my when I'm sick, you do all the little things that make a girl happy. You bring me home flowers and teddy bears when I've had a hard week and you make me feel special every single second of every single day. I remember when I was about 12 years old in Young Womens, our leader had everyone make a book about our perfect prince. I remember writing silly little things like "I want him to have blonde hair, blue eyes, be an RM, blah blah blah.. You know, the usual. But of course I never thought that I would ever get exactly what I had hoped for! You are truly exactly what I wanted when I was a little girl, what I dreamed of every single day as I grew up, and what I hoped to find when I moved away from home. I don't know how or even if I deserved it, but Heavenly Father blessed me so much when he gave me you. He gave me someone who was not only perfect for me, He gave me someone who was more than I asked for, cuter than I ever imagined, more than I ever needed, and better than I could ever imagine. You are the best thing that has happened to me. I love you more every single day of my life. Today I love you more than I ever thought was possible, and I know that tomorrow it'll be even more, even though I can't see how it's even remotely possible to love someone more than I love you right now. I'm so grateful for all the things you do for our family. You take care of me, you support me, you work so hard just so we can have a nice life together, and you always help me. I'm so grateful for the example you set for me daily. You are always suggesting prayer and scripture study when I regularly forget, and you are always doing the little things in life that make our marriage so much stronger. You are the best man I have ever met, and I am so glad that I get to spend eternity with you learning about you, learning from you, and holding your hand through the hard times and the good times. You are my world, my everything, my eternity, and I've never been as happy as I am with you in my life and knowing that you'll always be there no matter what happens. I love you to the moon and back a million times. For time and all eternity. Amy Despain There you go peeps! Now you know how stinkin' adorable and cheesy I am when it comes to loving my sweet husband, Devin. We make you sick, don't we? :) Heavenly Father has blessed me enormously, and I thank him daily for what an incredible man He brought into my life. Happy Valentines Day!!