the summer happys

This time, we actually have a legitimate excuse for why we haven't blogged in so long. We have been having way too much fun. For real though. I think it's safe to say that Sarah and Ashley have never been happier. We are having a BLAST. So, to try and show you a taste of our summer adventures, I have chosen a series of words and pictures to describe the past few months of our lives. Enjoy.

Vampire Diaries

Yes, we were skeptical in the beginning, too. But we will forever be in debt to the boys who invited us over for our first viewing on this wonderful show. Don't judge until you try it. Stefan = our love.

Sonic Happy Hour

Kind of an addiction. Ashley's drink of choice: Diet Coke. Sarah's: Cherry Limeade. Life is all too exciting with you realize it's been 2-4 in the afternoon and you have an extra $1.07 in your wallet.

The Star

Dang. Look at that girl. Ashley has been singing up a STORM. It's pretty insane. Not only has recorded several new songs, included a duet with ALLRED!! (dying inside), but she has performed at battle of the bands, at Sammy's, as well as at the Real Salt Lake game on the 4th of July! She is INCREDIBLE, and that's an understatement. And she has the best fan club ever :)

Palm Springs

Sarah took a graduation trip to Palm Springs, which is pretty much her favorite place ever. in the world. It was lovely, obviously :)

City Creek

Ashley was reunited with Nordstrom. It was a good day. Love us some shopping.

Kristen

This stunner came to visit and spent a week with us. We didn't to go bed before 2am any night she was here. LOVE THIS GIRL.

Mackenzie

We have this roommate. Her name is Mackenzie. And she is obviously a babe. (Babe is the word of the summer, just fyi.) We adore her!!
*also this is paul. we love him too. and this was at a rooftop concert. which is also super fun. love us some summer nights

Our Friends

I think at least one of us mentions everyday how we have been blessed with the best friends in the world. Seriously, we don't know how we lucked out. We love them all so much!
*Not all are pictured here, but this is a good group :)


And this is just a teeny sample of our thrilling lives (and this time that is said without sarcasm). We are two happy, happy girls! There are been countless pool days, movie nights, and laughter to fill in the empty spaces. Life is good :)

peace, love and temple marriage

big things

Big things have happened in both of our lives in the past week. REALLY big things. 

If you haven't bought Ashley's single on iTunes. . .

GET OFF THIS PAGE AND GO BUY IT RIGHT NOW!! It is seriously amazing. And if you haven't heard, it's a little different than the original cut so add it to your music collection immediately. And once you're hooked and wanting more, do not fear, Ashley is headed to the studio next week :) The response has been CRAZY and amazing (but who is surprised by that?) and she is working to have an entire demo CD done by the end of the summer. Like I said, big things.

As for me, I graduated from college last week.

Yeah. It's weird. It didn't really hit me until I was at Commencement and we were presented to President Samuelson as candidates for our degrees and I thought, "I now have bachelor's degree. From BYU." So, I cried right there in the Marriott Center. As a younger girl, I dreamt of going to BYU and I always wanted to make sure I finished my degree. And I did it. 

I thought it would feel different. I thought I would feel like I knew everything about my major and just smarter overall, like I would just know things. But I don't. And that kind of scared me, like I didn't do it right or that I was not prepared to enter this next phase of my life. But over my first full week as a college graduate (which was spent sitting on the couch of my parents' home. typical) I thought a lot about what I learned and who I have become because of my four years at BYU, and it has changed me dramatically. I have learned much more then just about public health and some other general information. I learned a lot about me and about life, and that I still have a whole bunch to learn in every area that exists as I continue on. So, without further ado:

Sarah's top 5 lessons learned in college:

1. The gospel is true and the Lord loves us.

I had a testimony before I started at BYU, but man, has it grown exponentially! I love the gospel of Jesus Christ and it is the greatest part of who I am. I have such a testimony of incorporating the little things in our daily lives (prayer, scripture study, etc.) and how important those things are to having the spirit with you always. I have also learned how to better communicate in my Father in Heaven and hear what he wants me to do. I need to rely on Him every day and I know he has a plan for me. 

2. It is okay to ask for help.

And we should! All the time! And I'm not just talking about in school work, but in so many areas of life, and especially from the Lord, but also from parents, bishops, friends, etc.

3. I want to go into worksite wellness.

I love health, but I struggled knowing what area of public health my passion lay in. But after my internship, now I know! internships = :)

4. Even if you don't do so hot in high school, you can get good grades in college.

My college GPA is totally better than my high school one was. I learned a ton about how to study and apply myself in ways I didn't know were possible. 

5. I am a heck of a lot stronger than I realized.

Part of that comes from having faith and learning to rely on the Lord, but my motto is (even if Ashley hates it) I can do hard things!

There are a billion more of course, but these are a few of the basics. I hope to learn even more in this next stage of my life! (and that it gets even better :)

peace, love, and temple marriage

DC love and our famous girl

Sarah here. I've been a little absent as of late and Ash has taken over the responsibility of updating y'all on our lives. But now that I have officially finished all my classes at BYU and graduate this week, I have some free time for the ole' blog (look for a graduation/college reflection post next week).

I realized I never talked about my trip to DC, which is weird because if you are around me you know that I talk about it a ton. I am now blissfully obsessed with Washington D.C. I LOVED it. I can't put my finger on what is exactly that I love about it, but while I was there I just found myself soaking it all in and loving the beauty and history of that city.

For those that don't know, I went with BYU for a health advocacy summit. Basically, it was conference where we learned about effective methods for advocacy work and specifically the topics pertaining to public health that were advocating for. Then we stormed the Hill Monday morning and that was that.

It was a good experience and something great to put on my resume, but I don't love advocacy work, nor is that the area of public health that I hope to make my career in. Guilty confession: I just loved the free trip more than anything. . . Oops! :) Well I thought I'd share a few photos of my favorite parts of my trip.

Georgetown. I LOOOVED this place. I went there probably 3 nights of the 5 days I was there.

The Metro! I definitely learned my way around the metro routes as that was our only form of transportation. Tons of walking and switching trains, but I loved it!

President Lincoln. It was amazing to see this memorial in person. I felt a little star struck!

Blueberry buckwheat pancakes from a little place in Eastern Market. FABULOUS and a definite must have if you're in the area.

I have never been much of a cupcake person, but after trying this little baby at Baked n' Wired in Georgetown, I am converted. YUM.

Crazy cool little hole-in-the-wall bookstore.

The White House! We didn't have time for a tour unfortunately, so that's on the list for the next time I go :)

Ahhh, looking at these pictures makes me miss it immensely. But there's exciting things going on in Provo, too. . .

If you've been on facebook at all lately, you've probably listened to Ashley's song!! And I'm sure you can agree that it is absolutely and insanely AMAZING!!! How talented is my best friend?!? I was lucky enough to go with her to the studio with her both days and it was so cool! The first day they worked on just laying down the music and yes, that is Ashley playing the guitar :) But the amazing David "Dub Dee" produced it and made it into the amazing song you hear today. He added so much cool stuff and helped Ash find the places for harmonies and all that jazz. They spent 5 1/2 hours the first day just making the music and then 2 1/2 hours the second day recording the vocals and putting it together. There might be some work being done this week to polish it up and make it more amazing. . . just a hint ;) Then please look for it on itunes!!! More info on that in the future. But for now, the response to the song has been amazing! So many people, even people that don't know Ashley are obsessed with it. It's definitely going places :)

You know in movies when they want to talk to the person in the recording room and they push a button to talk to them? Yeah, this was my button to talk to Ash. Kinda legit.

The studio and Dub Dee.

My girl, doin her thing. Could she be any more amazing?!?

Where the magic happens :)

If you are one of the few, unfortunate ones to have not heard the Ashley Hess original You'll Miss Me yet, go here. Warning: You won't want to stop playing it and you'll be jammin to it constantly for probably at least a week. p.s. you might see a little special appearance of the voice of yours truly in the third chorus. . .

Good things are happening. Opportunities are coming. Doors are opening.

peace, love and temple marriage

sarah out of town + insomnia = ashley's brain dump.

well, let's start with today. today was one of the four best days of the year. it obviously wasn't christmas so that's an automatic elimination, well i don't even really like christmas day. i like the christmas season. but i guess there would be no season without the day itself, so i'm grateful for christmas day. and it's a lot more fun now with nieces who are so excited and animated... wow. i digress. okay where were we? oh.. best days of the year, right. well, it wasn't the first day of summer because the wind doesn't usually knock the garbage bins, small trees, and me over during the summer... and it did today. (i have a bruise to prove it) so, considering the last two days (which are actually four days...) are the same event but occur twice a year, by process of elimination that leaves us with... GENERAL CONFERENCE!!!

but really. general conference is my favorite. and not just because i love to be in pajamas all day, but because i learn so much every time and feel so inspired and prepared to better myself and work on my weaknesses. i have had to opportunity to go to at least one session of conference every year for the past two years, and went again this year to the saturday morning session, which was absolutely incredible. i am so blessed to be able to have such a rare and amazing opportunity, to be in the presence of so many men and women called of God. i think i take it for granted and don't realize how remarkable being at conference is until i return each year. but how can one forget such a powerful experience; to be in the presence of our prophet and apostles and feel of the incredible spirit that resides throughout the entirety of the meeting. and the mormon tabernacle choir...... SO AMAZING. ohh don't get me started. i decided that i will be a member of that choir before i die. but really. their sound, pitch, quality, pronunciation, dynamics, emotion, control, and ability to be so perfectly in unison is unbelievable. it is truly an amazing thing to hear live and i recommend if you haven't heard them before, take the next opportunity you can because you will not regret it. their rendition of "Come Thou Fount" that they sang to end the Sunday morning session brought me to tears. they are truly incredible and i could go on for days and days.

so what were your favorite parts of conference? favorite talks, favorite songs, favorite one-liners? everything! well, i'll tell you mine :]

i honestly could write every single word, whether spoken or sang, throughout each session of conference and say it was my favorite because each message was so inspired and powerful that it's hard to pick only a few from the many amazing messages. so i'll try and narrow it down to five (in no particular order because i can't rank one higher than the other, i love them all).

1. Donald L. Hallstrom: The Gospel and the Church.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YReZdNbLBlw

i loved this talk. he talked about the differences in being active in the church and being active in the gospel and how those who fall away may be active in the church, but not in the gospel itself. he gave three ways to help us be active in the gospel: one: deepen understanding of diety, two: focus on ordinances and covenants, and three: unite the gospel with the church. "The Lord wants the members of HIS church to be fully converted to HIS gospel."

2. Jeffrey R. Holland: The Labourers in the Vineyard.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYogSVAZZVU&feature=relmfu

Elder Holland is one of my favorite apostles. are you allowed to have favorite apostles? well, if you are, he's mine. he is such and eloquent speaker, always speaking with such power and knowledge and i have never listened to him speak without being overcomeby the spirit. He always has great one-liners that stick with you, and this talk was no different. some of my favorite quotes from this talk were, "why should you be jealous because i chose to be kind," "the formula to faith is to HOLD ON," "surely the thing God enjoys most about being God, is the thrill of being merciful," and my personal favorite "it is not possible for you to sink lower then the infinite light of Christ's atonement shines." what a powerful message with a powerful spirit from a powerful witness of Christ.

3. When President Thomas S. Monson walked in saturday morning for the first session of conference and patted his sweet wife on the head as he passed her. i don't know why, but it made me laugh and just smile. I love that man so much!!!!

"the prize belongs to him, the endures to the end" - Thomas S. Monson.

4. When the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sang "Come Thou Fount." that songs has a special place in my heart for multiple reasons. their rendition added to my list of reasons. it was so powerful and moving and words, especially mine, could not do it justice to describe how incredible it was. so listen to it.... :] (this was the recording from 2007, but it's the same version and amazing just the same)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uslytyVrWFw

5. Dieter F. Uchtdorf quoting a bumper sticker. haha that was so awesome and hilarious, but it was perfect. "don't judge me because i sin differently than you." i love that!!! we all sin so who are we to judge? his talk was also one of my favorites. i need to remember to be quicker to forgive rather than hold grudges and remain angry and upset over petty disagreements. also that i need to forgive myself before i forgive others, which is the hardest part for me.

did i seriously already say five things a loved about conference? i haven't even scratched the surface of all i wanted to share!!! Elder Eyring's talk about trials and faith, "trials aren't always for punishment, but for polishing," MoTab's rendition of "Love At Home," Sister Julie B. Beck's talk- "rags to robes," seeing Elder David Archuleta in the MTC choir, and the example he is setting of the importance to serve a mission, for young men especially, Russell M. Nelson's analogy of the big bang theory to a printing store blowing up and producing a dictionary (haha! i'm totally using that), Sister Esplin's talk about teaching kids at a young age the doctrine of Christ, M. Russell Ballard proving me theory and basically saying that young women are more often willing to start eternal families and seek after marriage while men are not putting in sufficient effort (i'm totally going to get crap for that... if anyone even reads this lol) Elder Uchtdorf's two words: STOP IT. i could honestly go on for hours, and i apologize to those of you who are probably annoyed or bored because i basically just restated the entire weekends worth of conference, but i just love it so much.... as you have probably come to understand by now, but i really can't say it enough. I LOVE CONFERENCE.

well i could go on and on about conference and go into detail about what i loved about each talk but i'll spare you. haha. thank goodness for journals, right? ;] i also could talk about all the crazy things running through this brain of mine but, once again, i'll spare you. not because i don't want to bore you, but i have class in about six hours and so i should probably try and battle my insomnia to get at least five hours of sleep so i can function.

okay so i don't actually have insomnia, i just diagnosed myself with it since i never sleep. i actually diagnose myself with a lot of things. i get random headaches and, as of late, migraines, so i diagnosed myself with a brain tumor. i obviously don't have the equipment to take an MRI of my brain, and i probably just get headaches because i never sleep, hence my diagnosis of insomnia, but i am thoroughly convinced i have a brain tumor. a couple of weeks ago i got pretty sick and i still have a cough from it, so naturally i diagnosed myself with swine flu. i don't think that a symptom of swine flu is a lasting cough, or any cough for that matter, but it was kind of a big deal a while ago so i thought that might be a fun thing to tell people. last year i noticed a little bump on my back that was pretty close to my spine and i thought it was the source of my back pain so i went into the doctor to get an ACTUAL diagnosis. you should all be proud i put this one in the hands of a professional. well, turns out it was a lipoma, but i heard lymphoma... so i thought i had cancer. that was a scary ten seconds of my life. but the doctor reassured me that it was just a group of fat cells clumped together, chillin by my spine. (he didn't use those exact words, obviously. if he did, i would be a little concerned... which goes to show why i am not a doctor and why my self diagnosis's are most likely 100% FALSE. insomnia being an exception). is that a fat joke?? whatever. so i then proceeded with my usual self diagnosis and diagnosed myself with an allergy to food. whenever i eat it i break out into fat. awesome. so now i'm an insomniac with a brain tumor, swine flu, almost cancer patient but instead fat girl. and now you probably all just diagnosed me with depression and low self-esteem for calling myself fat. don't worry. i don't actually think i'm fat, i just say it because i'm a girl, and it's what we do. we say we're fat and complain about being fat when most of us aren't even fat. we just say we are anyways because we can. which leads me to my last diagnosis: girls are crazy. argue it all you want but it's a fact of life. girls are legitimately crazy. and i'm not saying that guys aren't crazy, or have the right to call us crazy, because they most definitely do NOT. why? because that would make us more crazy. well maybe it's just me that's crazy... i guess i can't diagnose all girls as crazy when it could be just me... but then again i'm right. girls are crazy. but you learn to love us..... or at least tolerate us :] but this video CRACKS ME UP! these guys depicting girls.... nailed it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gspaoaecNAg&feature=relmfu

"i shared half my bagel with the garbage." "i inhaled a gust of wind on my way to work." haha props to these dudes. wow... so much for not rambling. okay, i'm done.

i would end this quite lengthy post with peace, love, self-diagnosis, general conference, and temple marriage, but thats too long. and i'm not quite sure how sarah would feel about that.

peace, love, and temple marriage.

WE'RE SO COOL.

we've got a confession to make. one that may come as a surprise to many of you... but probably not. drum roll please...

we suck at blogging. period. considering this is our first blog post of the new year... and it's march 18th. yikes. so much for a new years resolution.

so what have we been doing for the past three months? well, sarah has been a busy busy girl with school and her internship. she is such an amazing student and is pretty much a genius. but seriously though. her report card should be on display at BYU in one of those big glass display cases. or they should make a statue of her in the front of the school. either would suffice. she also went to DC the first week of march for an advocacy summit for her major, public health. she did a bunch of professional stuff that professional people do for their professions. legit, right? and did i mention that only 10 undergrads and 15 grad students were picked out to go on this trip and she was one of them? well yeah. shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. if you look up impressive in the dictionary... sarah lynne topham will be the definition. (with a HECKA cute picture next to it). she is kind of a big deal these days.

ashley has been a busy girl as well, balancing school and work and..... BOXING. yes, i said boxing. she has been getting personal lessons for three weeks now. so don't make her mad or try to wrestle her. you might end up with a black eye.. or a broken jaw. oops. :) she also has been having success in her musical endeavors. with two recording offers in one day, she has a scheduled date to record, this thursday, march 22. the day an angel graced the world with her presence. yep you guessed it. reese witherspoon. oh and it's ashley's birthday too. birthday twins! but quite the birthday gift, wouldn't you say? and since no one reads this blog anyways we can announce that ashley is going down to LA in two weeks to audition for the voice! never know until you try, right? life's an adventure and you've got to make the most of it so TAKE CHANCES WHILE YOU CAN! something we all need to remember at times. :)

ashley and sarah are still very much in love. we still do crazy, random stupid things and don't need anyone else to entertain ourselves. but seriously. look, we have proof.

and more proof.

creepers.

gangsters.

beauty and the beast. (ashley CLEARLY being the beast). but for real. why does sarah look so SMOKIN?! someone missed the memo.....

...... don't ask.

and through all this.... still so in love <3

bffs for LIFE. g3t 0n 0ur l3v3l. <<----- our bestfriend motto. haha but on a more serious note..

God is SO GOOD and has blessed both of our lives so so much. so much, that sometimes we both feel we don't deserve it but he just continues to bless us. but not everything has peachy keen; there have been plenty of bumps along the road, but the blessings and love we receive EVERYDAY make all the difference. He is so aware of us, AND you. don't forget that!!!! believe in Him because He believes in you.

we apologize for our lack of blog posts and will try to get better. but really this time. yes, we say that every time we post (so every seventeen years) but we will really try and be better. no excuses.

peace, love and temple marriage.

2011 review - in numbers

(please note that some of these numbers may be more guesstimates, rather than actual figures)

Sarah's number of. . .

students mentored = 73

weeks of efy worked = 4

credits completed = 28

zumba classes attended = 55

Pizza Factory bread twists consumed = 41

Cities visited in Mexico = 2

pounds lost = 15

articles of clothing eaten by our bedroom = 6

Ashley's number of. . .

concerts performed = 5

times she's driven a Range Rover = 2

nieces born = 2

boys that drooled over her singing voice = 32

ward parties planned and implemented = 5

phone numbers from customers = 21

shifts worked at Pizza Factory = 2384920375847538957

cars purchased = 1

Together. . .

General Conference sessions attended = 3

late night trips for froyo, In N Out, etc. = 34

times we've laughed so hard we cried = 68

apartments lived in = 2

trips to Tucanos = 3

nights we stayed up too late doing nothing = 103

peanut butter M&M consumed = 311

pointless drives around provo, singing at the top of our lungs = 39

another year as best friends and roommates. . .

priceless

peace, love and temple marriage

baby come back.

that awkward moment when sarah leaves me. alone. in utah. for like three weeks.... awkward.

so it's been almost two weeks of us being apart. it's been the weirdest two weeks of my life. is this what newly-wed life is like when your spouse goes on a trip and you don't know what to do with yourself because you've secluded yourselves from the world of social interaction because you're so in love? well that's exactly what ashley-sarah life is like because we love each other so much we don't socialize. but for real though. i'm not joking, we don't talk to anyone else when we're together, it's bad. put us in a room of 100 people, whether we know them or not, if we are together it will stay that way. we'll get lost in our own world and just talk to eachother (probably about nothing) and yet be thoroughly entertained and content. probably not good. BUT, i have come to find the good in all of this. how many people have someone in their life that they can be that close with and have that good of a relationship with and not be married or dating them? not many. but i am a lucky girl because i just happen to have that good of a relationship with my best friend. and she loves me even though i'm crazy, loud, hyper when she's ready for bed, crazy, embarrassing to take out in public, embarrassing when we're not in public, awkward, crazy, sarcastic, crazy... oh and did i mention CRAZY!?! and even still, considering that tiny list of the beginning of my flaws, she liiiikes me (inside joke). and the best part about all of this.... she still loves me even when she is super sexy and i look like THIS. (see breathtaking picture below.. and remember. coveting is a sin. so try your absolute best not to covet my stunning beauty).

may i just add that this picture was taken on my computer in the movie theatre while waiting for the midnight showing of breaking dawn to start? we were in public, and i made that face. shamelessly. and she STILL sat next to me. see what i mean? the girl's a saint. you are probably beginning to understand why i keep her around.... because no one else can handle it. HAHA jk... because i love her of course!

baby come back.

peace, love and temple marriage.