california

Newport 2016

You all know I love this family trip of ours. We have traveled down to Newport Beach every summer for as long as I can remember. I can remember one year I wasn’t able to go because of a dance conflict in college and I was HEARTBROKEN. So being all together this year was nothing short of amazing!

On Saturday I went on a morning beach run with my Dad and then we played games at the condo (we love Cover Your Assets right now!), ate at El Ranchito for dinner in Newport and then had Go Greek for dessert! We ate at a lot of new restaurants this time around which I loved. It’s always fun to mix it up. I will type up a list of restaurants we went to in the next post.

On Sunday we went to church and then took a family stroll on the beach. The weather felt incredible and I loved watching how excited Lu got when she saw the water come up and over her toes. To see something through a little kids eyes for the first time is amazing!

More to come! Including a fun little video because what’s a Diederich Family trip without a video of Jensen dancing?

My navy blue dress is from Asos (it is what my bridesmaids wore at my wedding!), hat is from Urban Outfitters and white sandals are from Gap.

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diederich

Running through Summer

When I look through my pictures from these past couple of months of summer all I see are pictures from my jogs and the treats I eat afterwards ?

I am training for my first full marathon with two of my best friends (I am so nervous ah) but I have loved going on runs and seeing new areas and places around Salt Lake or areas where I’m traveling. I usually have to wake up super early to go but morning is my FAVORITE time of day so I don’t mind!

My summer has also consisted of reading Harry Potter (currently on #5!), babysitting, working, spending time with Will and my family, backyard games (KANJAM! Have you played it??) and obviously eating good treats it looks like? Haha!

My favorite probably being the Lick’d Pops I found at the SLC Farmers Market! Vanilla Bean popsicle dipped in Dark Chocolate and dipped in coconut. I was giddy all day long after that treat!

Right now I am spending this week in Newport with my family. My favorite week of the year! It’s so great to have Mitch back from his mission and have my family all together again. Be prepared for an overload of pics soon. 98% of them being my niece, Lu. Not mad.

HAVE THE BEST WEEK!

-Liv

ps. Any Newport recommendations you love? Send them my way!

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missions

He’s Home!

He’s home! He’s home! My little brother is home from his mission!

Yesterday was just the happiest day.

After two years, Mitch Man returned from his LDS mission in Peru.

I have been looking forward to July 30th for SOOOO long. The day my family would be together and whole again.

Isabelle and Alex move to Oregon on the 13th of August so I will be soaking up these next two weeks with my fam all together like NO other.

Today I am grateful for families, missionaries and the fact that my little brother made it home safe and sound.

Welcome back, Mitch! I love you!

If you follow me on Snapchat, apologies for the excessive snaps yesterday.

And if you read my blog, apologies for the repeat outfit from this post and the last. Haha! What can I say… I am loving this Anthropologie top. And I am the person that when I splurge and buy something new you can’t get it off of me the first couple weeks ?

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concert

8 Years Ago… Then & Now

Last week Will and I were able to go to the JAMES TAYLOR concert!

(aka my favorite singer in the whole wide world)

I was giddy the whole entire day leading up to it.

Our first concert we ever went to together was James Taylor (8 YEARS AGO!!!) so of course we had to reenact our picture that we took together at the concert so long ago.

But we are idiots and accidentally took the picture the wrong way so I had to flip it while I was making the collage ?

How crazy is that picture though?! We were BABIES.

And the 2016 picture above makes me laugh and cry.

Laugh because you can tell how much pain I am in by my face and cry because we had to leave the concert early so I could go to InstaCare #stomachprobs.

If anyone knows James Taylor, ask him to come back to Utah please so I enjoy a full concert ?

Or if anyone has any connections to a time machine just HIT ME UP.

THX.

-Liv

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new years resolutions

Resolution Check-In

July is such an odd time of year to think of NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS. But it’s also a great time to realize you are half way through the year so it’s a great time to do a little check-in!

Yesterday morning around 4:45am I woke up with the WORST stomach ache. I couldn’t fall back asleep so I went into the bathroom and let’s just say I stayed there for a couple hours. 24 hour flu! Again! I just had the flu in February so this was a major bummer for me.

I feel like I hardly get sick but I heard marathon training hurts your immune system? Can anyone confirm or deny this? Woof.

I tried to tough it out and ran a work errand in the morning but then I came straight home, practically ran to my bed and slept form 11am-6pm.

Will brought me some ibuprofen and water (two things I went all day without… we didn’t have any at home and I felt like I could NOT leave the house without fainting so that was my fault) but I felt a little better before I went down to bed around 10pm.

For the couple hours I was awake yesterday I was able to finish Harry Potter (#4!), take a tub and basically stare at my ceiling and think.

I thought about we are already half way through the year. How crazy is that? I also thought about my resolutions and if I am on track to complete some of them by the end of the year or not.

So as far as a little check-in goes….

I have read 1-2 books per month ✔️

Kept up to date on the news: ✔️

(thanks to the Skimm! my favorite source of news! go sign up!)

Overall developed more patience: ✔️

Spent significanlty less time on social media: ✔️

Attended the temple more: ✔️

But there are also lots that I have yet to complete/even get around to working on. So since I still have plenty of time I’m glad yesterday I realized that it’s never to late to tackle those resolutions! I opened my journal, reminded myself what I have to work on, woke up with my joints not aching and my stomach still mad at me but ready to tackle the last 6 months of the year!

Hopefully with no more cases of the flu ??

Go get em’ tigers

-Liv

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camping

Glamping!

Every year, the Gochnours take a family trip to Jackson Hole! Last year we stayed up in Signal Mountain right by Jackson Lake but this year we decided to mix it up and went GLAMPING up in Moose Creek Ranch!

I definitely packed my bag for a summer trip so I am SO glad Will suggested I bring some leggings and my Patagonia just in case it was a little chilly.

WELL.

The first night in our glamping tent it was 34 degrees when we went to bed hahaha. I was so cold but Will stoked our fire every couple of hours which helped a ton.

On our first day we hiked DARBY FALLS. Half of the hike is in Idaho and half of it is in Wyoming which is pretty cool. It’s a 3-4 mile hike up to this beautiful waterfall that you can actually get through and hike in wind caves.

Our crew before the hike…

Aaaand the other half of that picture ? Hence why I look distracted in the picture above. I was hiding my phone haha. It was just too classic of all the parents and I had to capture it!

This is me in the cave at the top of the waterfall before it flows down. It was seriously one of the most breathtaking hikes I’ve ever been on!

One of my favorite parts of the trip was going to a DRIVE-IN movie one night! In Victor it is called THE SPUD and they were playing Secret Life of Pets. If you ever go to the spud.. get their FRIES!

I am always in awe at how pretty the Tetons are.

Of course we had to stop into Jackson Hole for a couple minutes. Honestly we went just to get candy from Yippy-Io…. holla to those chocolate covered pretzel balls.

It was a wonderful trip and I am already excited for next year! Annual trips with family are the BEST!

Do you go anywhere every year for a tradition?

-Liv

Outfit details:

Embroidered top: Anthropologie

Pink Patagonia jacket: Backcountry

Backpack: Vera Bradley

Nikes: Custom iD on Nike.com

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4th of july

Bear Lake for the 4th.

Ah! There is seriously so much to catch up on in this little space right here.

I guess I shouldn’t have mentioned my goal of blogging once a week… because obviously I haven’t lived up to that goal at all. Haha #whoooops. I truly haven’t had 10 minutes of time to just sit down and type for a bit!

But here I am. Luckily the craziness has died down and I really don’t think I’ll be that busy again for a long, long time (I hope!).

For the 4th of July, we were able to head up to Bear Lake for a couple nights to spend some time with my family.

As you know, Bear Lake is my absolute favorite destination so this was just what I needed. A couple days filled with family, backyard games, food, boating and reading in the sun.

And of course I loved celebrating “Baby J!” Born on the 4th of July!

(and in 2000. So that makes it easy to always remember his birthday ?)

I am truly in denial that he is now 16 years old. I remember bringing him home from the hospital and rocking him to sleep at night time. I finally felt old enough to care for someone younger than me and Jensen was my perfect first project.

Jensen has a heart like no other. He cares so deeply for other people and always just wants everyone to have a good time and get along. If there is ever contention or yelling in our family, Jensen is the first to tell everyone to be quiet and be happy! I admire him for how much he cares for other peoples happiness and not just his own.

Lu’s 4th of July attire was on POINT.

And I am loving this Casablanca dress form Roolee Boutique.

Since the 4th was on a Monday and we had to be at work on Tuesday morning, we drove home Monday afternoon and spent the evening watching fireworks in Holladay with the Gochnour fam. Who knew Holladay had such a fab fireworks show?!

I seriously do love the 4th of July.

A recent article shows that American’s are expressing a new-low for being Extremely Proud to be an American. Which makes me sad but at the same time I do understand where people are coming from. The future of our country is unknown, scary and fragile.

However, the 4th of July was a good time for me to reflect on how truly proud I am to live in America and for the life I get to live. I have huge pride in America and hope that we can all pull together in these days that are filled with terror, violence and hate.

END RANT.

Love y’all.

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babysitting

Babysitter for us Babysitters

Coming at you live from day 9 of babysitting these crazy little goons.

Sanity = almost gone.

This past week was filled with Will and I working full-time, babysitting at night, a BBQ at Isabelle & Baker’s cute house, swimming with the fam, work events and most importantly DATE NIGHT.

Even before we began this babysitting gig last week Will and I hadn’t been on a date with just two of us in what felt like forever.

On Saturday night, Will’s sister Grace came over at 6pm to babysit for us (while we were babysitting ?) so Will and I could go out on a date. I felt giddy for it all day! I just kept looking at my watch to see if it was 6pm yet. Now I feel like I’ll really never cancel a babysitting job because I know how much it means to the parents hahaha. I felt completely desperate for some alone time.

We went and tried Fat Fish in Taylorsville and my golly it was some of the BEST sushi I’ve had in a long time. Any big sushi fan in the 801 needs to go try it! The Imperial Roll is so delish.

After dinner we went to Trader Joe’s to grab groceries (so romantic), drooled over our giant Red Mango’s and then hit a bucket of balls at Old Mill. I’m still not the best golfer ever but practice makes… progress? Probably never perfection in this case when it comes to golf haha!

And those last photos are pictures I took today of the babies after church. I am truly only seconds away from starting a fashion blog for them ?

Here’s to 6 more days of spending everyday with our baby bffs!

-Liv

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donuts

Weekly.

I have this unwritten goal that I am trying to update my blog weekly since this blog is one of my main journal sources.

However, sometimes I feel silly since not too much has happened in the past seven days.

But then I remember I’m probably the only one that reads this written text right here soooo a goal is a goal and here are some pictures from last week!

One major highlight was the fact that I ran the farthest I’ve ever run!!! I am still limping around but the run was BEAUTIFUL and I felt awesome after. Couldn’t have done it without Tay!

Albion had a HUGE sale so I grabbed some Banbury Cross donut holes and gave them to our customers waiting in line. That cinnamon crumb donut hole has my ❤️

We had TWO family get togethers last week. I forget how rare it is to have so many cousins living so close together! We all live within a ~10 mile radius from each other. Pretty crazy! Can’t believe my sis is moving to Oregon soon. That will be quite the adjustment!

I had an event w/ Albion and gave each guest a mason jar full of flowers to take home as a favor. I am starting to notice a trend that I really really really love flowers… Have you noticed? ?

I finally had my hair done! It had only been 13 weeks… I usually go 6 so that was pleasant.

And we began a babysitting job with our best buds! These kids make me so happy. They keep us on our toes but there’s no one else we’d rather eat endless Z bars with.

Here’s to another week!

Hope you have a great one! That is, if you’re reading this written text haha!

-Liv

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albion fit

What a Saturday!

Yesterday was such a CRAZY, fun-filled day.

I woke up at 5:50am, arrived to my bosses house by 6:30 and then we drove up together for a news segment at 7am on Ensign Peak.

After the segment we zoomed down to City Creek to set up for our High Fitness event that started at 8am. This workout is so much fun if you haven’t tried it yet! Our goal is to have even MORE people at the next event so be sure to come if you are in the area! (These are free events, people!)

After the event, we cleaned everything up and then some co-workers and Will and I headed down to Lone Peak to volunteer at the Special Olympics!

(of course I stopped at Orange Peel on my way down.. it’s impossible for me to pass that place and NOT get off the freeway..)

During the Special Olympics we all helped out with Healthy Athletes. The athletes would come in after they were done competing in the games and we would do health screenings (i.e. calculate BMI, educate on healthy foods, perform physical therapy tests etc.) and there was even a vision section to help them evaluate possible better vision options.

How amazing is the Special Olympics organization? Honestly!

I absolutely LOVED volunteering and am sad the Special Olympics only happens once a year in Utah. If anyone has volunteer projects they love to participate in please let me know! We are always on the hunt for different organizations to be apart of.

And from the Special Olympics I went straight to a hair appointment because we had to get all fancy for the Charity Vision Fight Night. Albion was one of the main sponsors of the evening and MAN DID I LOVE WILL IN A TUX OR WHAT?! HOW HANDSOME DID HE LOOK? I felt like the luckiest girl in the world. And I also felt like I was going to Senior Prom sooo ?

The fights were entertaining, the food was tasty and we loved mingling with some good friends. The evening raised over a million dollars from the silent auction which is SO incredible! Charity Vision is another amazing organization if you are looking into donating time or money.

And then after the event we stopped by In N’ Out because it just sounded so good to me after the longest day ever. The tacos at the Fight Night were delicious but small (and I felt like I’d look stupid if I literally grabbed four plates of tacos and nachos and churros) so In N’ Out it was!!

Perfect way to top off a crazy day. Because what’s more classy than eating a burger in a fancy dress?

-Liv

Details:

My dress for Fight Night was from a flea market in California.. $20 and it fit like a charm! I’m all about that!!!

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concert

Goodbyes & Sunshine.

This week we said “see you later” to Lucy Lu!

Lucy is off to serve a full-time mission for our church in ROME, ITALY for the next 18 months. It was so sad to say goodbye to her but she was SO excited and ready to go serve the Lord. I know she will be the most amazing missionary!

Also, we are still questioning why in the WORLD Will’s shirt is GLOWING in that picture. Will claims it is his spirituality coming out of its shell….

We miss her already!

I’m all about days devoted to DONUTS!

No lie though… the food holidays these days can definitely get out of hand. Every day is National Pasta Day or National Pretzel Day etc etc. HOWEVER. I do take NATIONAL DONUT DAY very seriously.

In fact, I probably take it just as serious as any other holiday ? I started the day off with a ten mile run with my two best friends to gear up and then went to Granite Bakery and bought all the donuts they had left (4 dozen), waited in the 20 minute line at Banbury Cross to get my favorite old fashioned blueberry donut and then proceeded to eat myself sick throughout the day.

Will and I haven’t had a date night with just the two of us in what seems like forever so on Friday night we went to MACKLEMORE! He killed it live.

I’m not a HUGE concert-goer (I actually get pretty light headed in big crowds) so we just stood in the back on the side and it was perfect for us.

And (please no one be surprised) on Saturday we babysat some cute kids. They had this amazing back porch swing and I’m 100% obsessed with it! If you need me this summer, you know where to find me.

-Liv

Details:

Denim jacket is from GAP, pink/yellow dress is from Anthropologie FOREVER AGO, Gold Salt Waters are from Roolee Boutique, White linen shirt is from Madewell, and the Blue slip on Sandals are from Urban Outfitters.

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family

Memorial Day Weekend.

Will and I both took Friday off of work and had a nice little head start on our Memorial Day weekend. We woke up early and took a little road trip down to Palisade to play some golf and eat at the Lakeside Grill!

The entire drive down was just the best. We were able to have uninterrupted conversation together, jam to some good tunes (Will: Drake’s new album. Me: James Bay) and drink our Orange Peel smoothies.

Will and I LOVED playing the 18 holes of golf together (I really do love the game and want to get better!), meeting the cute owners of the grill and enjoying the afternoon together.

Their chicken berry salad? Literally the BEST I’ve had. Will kept on stealing my plate!

After golfing and lunch, we drove down to St. George to meet up with my family.

As Will and I were driving down, we were discussing the last time we thought we had that much alone time together and realized it was THANKSGIVING! So sad. We need to do more little trips together while we can. It’s just that a free weekend is so hard to come by these days!

I requested this weekend off from work/babysitting jobs all the way back in March ?