First Christmas as Mr & Mrs

Christmas is one of the happiest times of the year. It’s a time to reflect back on the past, our marriage, what we’ve accomplished these past 7 months, our blessings, and of course, the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. I can’t believe that a year ago this month Travis asked me to marry him. It was a time of excitement, jitters, and concerns as we planned to commit ourselves to one another for eternity. I had only known Travis for 4 months, but what I knew then was all I needed, to know that I could be happy with him for eternity. As the year has gone by I've continually received confirmations of the choice I made that cold winter night on an illuminated bridge in the Provo Canyon, and I know the sacrifices and choices we’ve made together since, have blessed us in so many ways.

This Christmas Trav & I reached a marriage milestone, we bought a new car! We’ve made sharing a car work all these months, but Trav working full-time as he waits to get into BYU come Spring and me graduating and working full-time in the Spring, it’s a much needed necessity that we can’t live without now. Car shopping was so much fun! I let Trav do all the test-driving, first car of the lot and he runs a red light! LOL After letting him try a bit of everything, we finally climbed into the seat of  a Honda CR-V. I had been leaning towards this car since the beginning of our search, but it was until Travis was behind the wheel of one that he was on board. It had leather, tons of storage space, a navigation system, and my favorite feature, a sun-roof! Travis and I love camping and the outdoors, so summer couldn't come sooner to take our CRV, new go-pro, and inflatable kayak we also got for christmas, on a camping trip.

As if all these gifts weren’t enough, Nu Skin hooked it up this Christmas and had a private concert with American Authors which was catered. Travy and I got rows in the 6th seat, the food was delicious, and they showered us with gift cards and a bonus check.

This Christmas, like last, we spent it at the Robert’s home. Travis' siblings came up from Arizona with all their kids and it was a fun time of ginger-bread house making, family meals, staying up late, playing games, and spending quality time together. Christmas morning is so different as an adult, I personally find more joy in seeing my nieces and nephews open their gifts than receiving my own. It’s such a magical moment to see the excitement and wonder in their eyes. It snowed non-stop Christmas Eve, although I’m not a fan of the cold, I have to admit that it does make the season that much more magical.

After opening the gifts and eating a star breakfast, we headed to Trav’s aunt and uncles house for dinner and to hang out with extended family. We also spent the weekend with my sister and went out for dinner and a movie and saw the last part of the Hunger Games.

We ended Christmas with a big family dinner sunday night; it was delicious and a perfect way to end the Christmas Season. I’m just so grateful for a season made to cherish our families, recognize our blessings, and worship the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. Travis and I have been blessed in so many little ways as we started this crazy journey called marriage, and I know that it’s because we strive, although imperfectly, to follow in Christ’s footsteps and make his teachings the center of our home. 

Roberts go to Arizona!

Married life can just be so crazy somedays! Between work, school, family, and finals coming up it’s easy to get caught up on everything else and put “fun” on hold. So naturally I was so excited when we started planning our road trip to Arizona for some other important family events. It was our niece Danika’s wedding and her little sister Arianna’s baptism!

The trip to Gilbert was 10 hours, we wanted a head start, so we left Wednesday as soon as Travis got out of work and stayed at my mission companion’s parents house in Panguitch. (Thank you Amy for opening your home to us!) We rolled in around 10 p.m. and just crashed, it wasn’t hard because there’s hardly any cell phone reception or wifi connection out there to do our usual bed routine of binge-watching House until we fall asleep. 

The next day we were up bright and early to drive the rest of the 7 hours. Travis was so excited to see his sibblings that he drove the whole way there! On the way we passed by a ton of little obscure towns I’ve never heard of, like Orderville, Glendale, Mt. Carmel, and Tuba city! For fun I would look them up on wikipedia and read out the history of the town, who settled the area, and whatever fun facts I could find. No surprise that most were established by Mormon pioneers ;) After a couple of naps, gas stations, and snacks, we finally made it to Gilbert at 3 p.m. And just in time too because Danika’s endowment was at 5 p.m.! We unpacked, greeted the family, and got ready for the session. As we were getting ready, Travis was worried because he doesn’t own any temple shoes and this temple doesn’t rent, what he didn’t know was that that was the least of his concerns! As he searched his wallet he realized that he didn’t have his recommend! Aaaaaaaaah! Of course this would happen on a very important day when we were a state away from home! I told him to call our bishop, that he could call the temple and get him cleared to go in. Neither him nor his councilors answered so we decided to get to the temple early to see what we could do. 

The brother at the temple desk took his name down and started making some calls. I went to the lobby area to let his family know the situation, when two men walked into the temple. They were dressed in shorts and sneakers and looked around in awe at the foyer. It was obvious to me that they were not members so I immediately went into missionary mode and greeted them. I asked them if they knew what this place was, if they’ve been here before, and where they came from. Apparently they were in town from Minnesota, they were amazed at the beauty of the building and were so intrigued that Mormonism is the only and fastest growing religion in the world, so they decided to check it out. I explained to them what the temple was and what we did there. I shared that I was there for my husband’s nieces wedding, one man asked, “Your husband’s wedding?!” I said, “No, my husband’s niece! I’m his only wife.” he laughed and said, “Yeah, I heard about that!” Hahaha, a really funny moment! The two fella’s thanked me for what I was able to share with them and left. I had such a warm feeling inside me after that, a feeling I once felt everyday when in Chile. How I miss it...

Us with Vivian, Travis’ niece who is so in-love with him! 

Eventually everything got cleared up with Trav’s recommend and we were all able to attend the session. The session coordinator invited us to be the witness couple which was so special and fun! The only other time we had that opportunity was when we went to Florida, and it really makes it a more personal experience as we make these covenants with our heavenly father directly from the alter. After the session we went to eat at a restaurant called Rancho de Tia Rosa. I’m not a huge fan of Mexican food, but this place was AMAZING! It was a party of 30 so they had the entire porch reserved for us and we ate, laughed, and had such a good night in preparation for the wedding.

The next day we were up bright and early for the sealing. Travis had to go early to the temple again to take care of the whole recommend situation. This time was easier now that the bishop was expecting his call. The ceremony was so special, and a lot of what the sealer said made me so grateful and reminisce my sealing to Travis. I don’t remember a lot of what our sealer told us word for word. But something this sealer said as he spoke to Danika and Savio was that wedding bands are a great reminder that no matter how bad things get, there is someone there who loves you and is there to support you. And that’s exactly how I feel about Travis, I’ve had some pretty overwhelming days at school, been sick, had issues with my family, etc. but Travis was there for me each of those days and his love means everything to me. Marriage is such a blessing in so many ways, temporal and spiritual, and I’m so excited for Danika and Savio as they discover these blessings throughout their new life together.

After the sealing and pictures we went to the chapel for a luncheon and then home to nap before the reception at night. The reception was so adorable, it was at a stable in a neighbors backyard, and had lights and a rustic victorian feel to it. They had chik-fil-a nuggets and frozen yogurt with all sorts of toppings and sauces. The cake was made by my amazing sister-in-law Katie who made our wedding cake and tasted amazing! In fact we took several frozen slices home to relive our wedding day! The rest of the night we mingled and danced until it was time to go home. It was back to bed early because the following day was Arianna’s baptism!

The baptism started at 10, and thinking back, the last baptism I attended was that of my own investigator Carolina & Benjamin over a year ago. Such a sweet spirit was felt at her baptism, especially as she went up to share her testimony after the ordinance, all on her own. All the testimonies shared there were just so powerful, including the bishop’s, and it was just such a spirit-filled weekend for the family! 

After the baptism we went to the park and had pizza and all the wedding leftovers from the night before. Ari opened her presents and we all sat in the sun eating frozen yogurt and enjoying the perfect Arizona weather. That night we went to a hot air balloon expo and they had booths set up and all sorts of amazing hot air balloons were up for display and taking people on rides. After walking around and taking the kids on some bounce houses we went back to Tia Rosa's for dinner and enjoyed our last night in Arizona. In the morning we had everything packed and ready to go and got up early to take Melissa, Trav’s sister, to the airport with her little girl, Vivian, who follows Trav everywhere. Trav and I have entertained the thought of moving to Arizona once we graduate, and after this trip I was so sold! The sun, the palm trees, the clay tiled roofed homes, all reminded me so much of my home in FL! We’ll see where life takes us, but for now we’re back in Provo, our home sweet home.

A Christmas Miracle in November

Thanksgiving is always a memorable time of year. Last Thanksgiving I remember we were all going to the airport to pick up my mom who always flies in to see my sister and I out here in Utah. Travis was nervous cause it'd be his first time meeting her and he wanted to make a good 1st impression, I was anxious too, but overall we were all excited! When on the way to pick up a friend at a pizza place, my mom surprised us! Her friend had already picked her up from the airport and when she saw us through the window she ran to the bathroom to try and hide but it was too late! We already caught her! It was one of the funniest moments and memorable Thanksgiving.

This year was also unforgettable, but for a different reason. My mom came as usual to visit her daughters  and Travis and I spent the weekend at my sisters for some family fun! My mom made us baleadas, we went to Bella's school play where she played the part of a nazi (intense), and then we went out for ice cream at Cold Stones and stayed up all night talking and catching up.

Saturday we all got ready and after breakfast we had lunch at Blue Lemon and took my mom to Scheels. We walked around the store, took pictures, and forced my mom, who was convinced she'd throw up,  onto the Ferris wheel. She had her eyes shut the entire time! She's a it of a wimp when it comes to rides.

Then we went to an old family friends wedding (Paolo Buendia) who I've known since my primary days, in fact, his dad was my bishop and interviewed me when I was baptized. Travis and I had such a blast dancing the night away and hanging out with some of my old friends from So Fla.

(Photobooth fun at the wedding!)

The next day we spent it in Provo. The family attended our ward and then I made chicken enchiladas for dinner and a chocolate raspberry tart to die for! We watched Mulan and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (the new one with Jonny Depp) and just hung out in our cozy apartment.

The rest of the week went on as usual for Travis and I with work and school. Wednesday afternoon my mom, sister, Bella and Gabe came to pick me up and we had lunch at Indian Palace and hung out at the mall and killed time until Travis came out of work. We had plans to go to the temple but it had closed early for thanksgiving so  we had dinner at Zupas instead, drove back to Eagle Mountain, and spent the night at my sisters again. Thursday morning the Thanksgiving preparations began. My mom baked the turkey, Sherlyn made yams, I put together a salad, and we got all dolled up to go to Travis' parents house where we'd be having Thanksgiving dinner. Travis left early to go help his mom with the Thanksgiving preparations and we met them there fashionably late for dinner. There was Turkey, yams, green beans, salad, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, gravy, and the fluffiest rolls ever! For dessert we enjoyed pumpkin and chocolate pecan pie with ice cream. We were stuffed! As usual, out Thanksgiving tradition includes going to the movies after. So we packed up our leftovers, helped clean up, and went on our way, when just around the corner the inevitable happened.

Trav and I made  a left turn and were in the median lane waiting for my sister to make the same cross. There was a stampede of cars coming, and Travis uttered "don't go Sherlyn" hoping she'd wait for the cars to pass. I looked back and saw that she went for it and was approaching our lane when a white pick up truck slammed into her door, glass and plastic shattering everywhere! I gasped in shock! We reversed to get closer and I jumped out of the car as soon as I could, cars whizzed past me and debris continued to fly around under my feet. I opened my sisters door to make sure she was okay since the impact was on her side. All was well, so I checked on the kids in the back seat, when I opened the door Gabe immediately asked "Am I bleeding?!"he had his left eye closed and blood was dripping down his face. I went into nurse mode and got a tissue to clean him up and apply pressure on the two cuts on his eyebrow from the frame of his glasses that had broken on impact. All the while, Travis was on the phone with 9-1-1 and getting an ambulance and police over. We put the kids in our car and I took them away from the middle of the road and to the side curb to wait for the ambulance to take a look at Gabe. My mom came over to, and as the police and everyone arrived a crowd gathered to see what had happened and if everyone was okay. Police reports were filed, Sherlyn gathered her things and a towing company took her car to a nearby yard. The front left headlight and bumper were blown out along with the tire. The trucks entire front was smashed in and likely totaled, their airbags had deployed and they also had a small child in the car. There was a brief comedic relief when one of the police vehicles slowly started moving down the road. My sister asked if anyone was in the car when all of a sudden it went up the sidewalk, knocked over the street sign, and parked itself in someone’s front yard! An officer ran over, apparently someone had forgotten to put the car in park!

Paramedics took a look at Gabe and gave him a gauze for his cut. After all was said and done, we took my mother-in-law's SUV and drove everyone to the ER where my mom got an x-ray for her chest; she felt a lot of pain from the seat belt pulling her back and Gabe got 7 stitches for his battle wounds.

(Gabe getting stitched up)

The whole time Travis and I kept thinking how grateful we were that everyone was okay and  no one was seriously injured in either party. We got home at around midnight, everyone got into their PJ's, and Travis gave my mom and Gabe a blessing that they'd recover quickly. The next day my mom was feeling TONS better, in fact, after getting Sherlyn a rental car and picking up our car from West Valley, my mom took us to City Creek for a Black Friday shopping spree and dinner! I'm still haunted by the images of the accident replaying in my head, but I am just so grateful for the true power of the priesthood that I have tangibly felt through this experience. It wasn't the best way to end the holiday weekend, but it was a testimony to us all that God's hand was present that night.

Gabe’s birthday!

Adam Gabriel Simon was born in Provo, UT on November 6, 2003. This weekend we celebrated his birthday and it was a big deal for the family because he was turning 12. It was an exciting time as he reached another spiritual milestone- the priesthood. Grandparents traveled from California, Travis & I drove from Provo, and all were there that Sunday to sustain him in his new responsibility of carrying the power of God entrusted to man. Gabe is such a silly boy and in many ways he’s still a kid. In sacrament meeting he was called up to be sustained and he stood there chewing his gum. We all laughed at his cool, nonchalant attitude on the stage. After the meeting we all went into the bishop’s office and sat around with the Young Men’s presidency and Sherlyn’s home teachers. Gabriel sat in a chair in the middle of the room, his father behind him, and all the men in the room surrounding him with their hands on his head. Adam’s (Gabe's father) prayer and blessing as he conferred the priesthood power upon his son, was incredibly powerful and heartfelt. The spirit engulfed the room, and it was amazing for me to see how through imperfect vessels, the Lord’s perfect power is manifest. Afterwards, Gabe got to go to priesthood with his dad. When we met in the car, he couldn’t stop telling me how awesome his priesthood meeting was and how they taught him how to pass the sacrament and that he’ll be #3 in the line. It was precious :) We ended the day with arroz con pollo for dinner, brownies for dessert, and snuggling on the couch playing video games and watching movies. I love and am so grateful for my family. We may not have it all together, but together we have it all.

Trick-or-Treat

Halloween is by far one of my favorite holidays of all time! I have dressed up every year, the only exception being the year I was on my mission in Chile. I’ve been a variety of characters: disney princesses- Cinderella, Jazmine, and Esmeralda, a french maid, queen Nefertiti (my dad is a nerd for egyptian stuff), p50’s oodle skirt girl, flapper, girl scout, zombie, vampire, baby (this one was great cause I just wore pajamas all night) olive oyle (Trav was popeye), and a bunny (as a baby, not the playboy kind;) )  But I have to say that of all these costumes, nothing was as cool as this year, when Trav and I were a dia de los muertos bride and groom. 

People asked us all now how long it took us to get ready, it took us 2 hours to paint our faces and get ready, the make up was a lot of hard work! What was so great about this costume is that it cost us less than $15! We got the top hat at walmart for $5, I made the head piece by glueing black lace and plastic roses, that cost me $4, to an old headband, the clothes we already owned and the paint was like $1. We do have one tiny secret about how good the details of our face paint came out- they were face tattoos we bought on Amazon! So no, we’re not master face painting artists, but we surely took credit for being so!

This was Trav and I’s 2nd Halloween together (our 1st as a married couple) and like last year, we went trick-or-treating with my sister’s kids in Eagle Mountain. My niece is a blossoming teenager who went trick-or-treating with her friends portraying social media (she was Facebook), so we went with my nephew Gabe who was 'The Scream' with a pump that would make “blood” drip down his mask. Together we were all a spooky bunch!

We went to 4 different neighborhoods picking up candy, specifically the ones with nice houses ;) Some had candy and vending machines that were giving our prizes, others had the coolest decorations, including this one house in Daybreak that actually came out on the news for decorating their house like the Haunted Mansion in Disney. There must’ve been hundreds of people there checking it out and signing the guest book to the ‘Dead in Breakfast’ and getting candy from the home-owners. 

After 2 hours of neighborhood hopping and running around with Gabe, we called it a night, and decided to drive with Sherlyn to pick up some pizza and get Bella from her friend’s house. Sherlyn was upset that Gabe had sat in the front because he’s a minor and tends to not wear his seatbelt correctly (the old flip it around the shoulder trick). I was joking around with Travis in the back, who as usual, refuses to kiss me when I’m wearing lipstick (Halloween included) and even though his face was already painted! At one point, I had removed my seatbelt and leaned over for a kiss, and put it back on. A minute after that had happened, we saw one of the most horrifying images that would make any heart sink- the flashing lights of a police officer pulling us over. I immediately thought, “Oh no! This is all my fault! He probably saw me take my seat belt off!” and was ready to be responsible for the ticket. Sherlyn was thinking that she was getting a ticket for having Gabe in the front seat. And we all just sat in silence awaiting our impending doom... In reality, he had been following us for a while and noticed Sherlyn was driving in the bike lane and too close to the car in front of her. He let us go with a warning and we ended that night with the biggest fright of our lives…close one!

All’s well that ends well, and we finished the night with pizza, a movie, and pounds of candy for dessert :)

Falling Leaves & Failing Hearts

It’s the season for everything pumpkin, knit sweaters, and corn mazes. Fall is one of my favorite seasons because of all the holiday fun for Halloween and Thanksgiving; who can say no to the best meal of the year and all the candy you can eat?! Plus I just love fall fashion; any excuse to dress-up is my favorite :)

(These are some pumpkins Trav and I carved with some friends for FHE)

The leaves are turning the most beautiful of colors, so Trav and I decided to go up the canyon for a mini photo-shoot with our selfie-stick for fun. We did it last year when we were dating so we wanted to keep the tradition. And of course, our photo shoot wasn’t complete without some hipster and gangster poses. That’s one of the things I love most about Travis, his goofy side :) 

With all this play we’ve, of course, been working just as hard. Travy got a new job with Allstate and has been attending a morning class and studying a lot to pass his licensing exams (on top of school). Our mornings start at 6 a.m. getting dressed and ready. Trav drops me off at work and then heads to his early morning exam-prep class, afterwards he’ll do some homework and eventually pick me up from work; we’ll have a quick bite for lunch and then I’ll head to school and Trav to work, and all this before 1 p.m.!

One day in particular I felt like the world was turning on me. I had to deal with an annoying customer at work, my water bottle exploded in my face, I ordered something online and it wasn’t what I expected, and I fell getting onto the bus to campus. On top of that I had a really scary grammar exam I had to take, for a class I didn’t feel I was doing well enough in, and I got really sick and congested the day of the test. After my miserably, long day I crashed in our bed, feeling overwhelmed and teary-eyed. After saying a prayer, Travis turned to me and offered to give me a blessing. Hearing him plead for me filled my heart with so much love and gratitude. God put such an incredible man in my life to love me, he may have his flaws, but to me he’s perfect in every way. 

I’m so grateful for the restoration of priesthood power and the peace that it brought to me that night. It is so amazing that worthy men today harness the very same power that Christ had and gave to his disciples- the power to make the lame walk and blind see, the power to command the raging sea and  comfort failing hearts.