Life Lately!

Hey guys! Long time no see! Sorry for the lack of posing for the past 3 months, I have been trying to decide what direction this blog will take since the wedding is over. I still think I will use this blog to give updates, newlywed advice/updates, maybe dating stories, and for future kids. So here is an update of life lately!

First of all, we have been married for over 4 months now and it is beyond incredible. I couldn't imagine my life any different at this point. Cody is truly my best friend and we have each other's backs. It is just fun being with your soulmate doing everything together. So in the last 3 months, we have been settling in adjusting to our new normal and events. People who say that those who don't live together before marriage have a rude awakening when they finally do, are wrong! It has actually been the easiest transition. I have been with 4 roommates in college, and this has been by far the easiest living transition. We had about a month of miscommunications about each others living expectations such as cleanliness and organization (since I am the neat freak) but once we butchered through a rough and frustrated day-long-conversation at the end of July it has been smooth sailing since.

So to end the summer, Cody and I spent a lot of time swimming in his parents pool and walking around their gorgeous farm.

Also on July 18th I started Shaun T, T25 and have been doing it ever since, planning to continue until the end of January when I have completed 3 whole rounds of the two months cycles. I have seen definition results and a little bit of weight loss. (I hold on to weight really really well :/) (I guess that will come in handy if I'm ever stranded on a desert or something) But I'm keeping on keeping on!

So early August when the teachers were in meetings before the kids started, Cody let me come to school with him and I was happily put to work! We spent all day setting up his classroom! Besides the snakes, rats, roaches, and a million ants, the room is spacious and nice! I hope in the future to be able to help Cody set up his room every year just like I have done for my mom a bunch of times!

At Brainerd High School, the teachers are supposed to dress in a suit for the school day to show professionalism! Isn't my honey so handsome in a suit!

In early August as a late birthday present (since I was so sick on my birthday) Morgan and I finally got to go rock climbing at that new cool place in downtown Chattanooga! It was really cool and we rock climbed until our arms about fell off. I forgot how much it stresses your arms/fingers when you're not used to it. We totally temporarily lost use of our hands later that night. I literary couldn't grasp or hold on to anything. 

One neat thing about marriage, is Cody and I can go at all times (mainly late late at night) or on a whim for a Sonic run to get tea or a slushie or even ice cream!  I love these times together and we can have some of the best conversations together.

The joys of wedding season and getting to bring my husband as a date to weddings ;), has given us the opportunity to attend numerous weddings we have been invited to during July and August and they were awesome!! Well first I enjoy weddings immensely and wouldn't miss one for the world. And one of the weddings we were invited to was in Nashville and we got to enjoy the gorgeous views on the way there. Tennessee is so beautiful. I am so happy to belong in such an amazing place!

The devil/cutie dog Sasha and a piece of her destruction on her nose. (I know I've already showed this but she still hasn't improved with her everything) poor dog. 

So early July until mid August, we took advantage of Cody only having football during the day before school started, and weekends were filled with amazing hikes and adventures. This is from hiking at Harrison Bay. We hiked here many times every few weeks. I just think this picture is so interesting and there is just something so beautiful about being in the middle of the forest seeing something like this. 

Of course we have squeezed in many date nights throughout the months of marriage and both think it is extremely important to still "date" once you are still married. We love our date nights together more than anything in this world! (I also love the opportunity to dress up and look nice for Cody :))

Now going back to our hiking trip from heck. It was the worst decision Cody and I have ever made. STORY TIME: Well way back when, my granddad took Morgan and I (8 and 5 at the time) on THE mud trail and we didn't make it. There was mud to our waists, reeds over our head, and no direction of the path. We were stuck, lost, without shoes due to the suction-like mud, and to be honest, scared. It was starting to get dark, (because when is it not when you're lost) and our bikes were 3 feet deep in the thick mud. It took us 4 hours to get out of there with Granddad leading the way and we had to be hosed off outside once we reached the camper along with our bikes we had to dig out. BAD experience.

So back to now. Cody and I decided it was time to conquer my fear and re-write the bad memory and give it a try because it hadn't rained in like a month and it was the middle of the day, and we didn't have bikes. So the map of the trail is above, We smartly took a picture before heading in (it still didn't matter) and kept walking, and walking, and walking AND walking. 4 hours passed and I calculated how much time it should have taken us to go 4.5 miles on flat terrain and it was defiantly not over 4 hours. The trail started to not look like the directions of the map and it of course was starting to get dark at this time. Cody and I realized a heart-stopping thing around the 4th hour. What if this was all one way and we had to turn around and go back at some point once we reached "the end". The map wasn't very clear if it was one way or one large loop. So we slightly panicked because at this point our legs were on fire and it was a struggle to put one leg in front of the other truly because we seriously SPED walked the ENTIRE 4 hours. We decided to still keep pressing on and not to turn around anyway because even though we knew we definitely would make it back if we turned around but 4 more hours and in the dark!?! No way!! It was scary enough in the trail with no one in sight and creepy looking bear sized lumps randomly in the forest. After another hour we finally saw a post in the ground that said 1.2 miles left. We about cried, we were so relieved. We picked up the pace even more and practically ran out. We made it back to the exact point we started, thank the Lord, and ran to our car and downed like 5 water bottles. (It was 95 degrees). We left and never looked back. I don't know about the map but I promise with everything I have, that that trail was not only 4.5 miles. It was at least double. I am a fast walker and in shape and it definitely wasn't 4.5 miles. So yes. That is our true story and we will NEVER do that again. EVER. 

A picture of us like 20 minutes in. We looked so happy. If we only knew what was ahead. 

Now one weekend Cody and I drove to Knoxville and explored my favorite place, Ijams Nature Center. This is my favorite spot in the entire place. It is so calming! It only takes an hour and a half to get through the entire place at Ijams going through 10 trails. Now that is my kind of place!

The next weekend was UT family weekend and sadly Cody couldn't come because of football so I went up alone and had a good time with Mom, Morgan, and Nana! Morgan and I also went to Ijams nature center for her fall break!

Here is me and Nana before the UT game trying to find Mom and Morgan in the crowd. 

And now I'm going to grace your presence with a picture of me in this pink wig and my too-long hair poking out underneath. Nana's house is great!

The Dyar girls after the win and the 97 degree game. We almost died from the heat. 

Now I have an official coaches wife shirt I get to wear every football game with Cody. I have enjoyed being a coaches wife, traveling with Cody, staying after for the meetings, setting up, talking to the players and making snacks for everyone!

Brainerd High on a late sunny afternoon before game day.

I love this time of personal reflection and time to deeply think as I am able to walk around the local park through the crisp autumn air some days.

On Cody's by-week, we stopped by our old stomping ground, East Hamilton, and saw their homecoming game! We had so much fun! It was nice both being on the bleachers side of the game rather than the sideline. 

The next day we went to UT's checkerboard game against Florida and it was the absolute best game of our life. UT is good again. I can't even explain how happy we were! For the first time in about 17-20 years we are good again! Truly good!

So the first game we lost after our winning streak I sat here in my UT clothes defeated after 4 straight hours of willing us to win in the second overtime with all my might, but we just couldn't make it. I was so sad to give up our 9th ranking too.

This is what Cody looked like the rest of the night. (We were at Crackerbarrel here).

So on Codys Fall break, he still had 4 hours of football a day but no school, so one day we went to the Mayfield Dairy Farm and toured the factory. That is my favorite thing ever! We got free ice cream below!! Also above, I hope seeing Cody overjoyed to wear his two hairnets has made your day!

A few days ago I just set up all of our wedding pictures around the apartment and I am so beyond excited! I am so proud of them! It has taken so incredibly long to handle, sort through, put in albums, and hang the photos. I have been working on it since late July.

To get you all in the fall mood, here are beautiful images of my Grandmothers house decorations for fall. I always loved her style and hope to have my future house look at least a fraction of the way her beautiful house looks!

Well I'll see you guys sooner than later as Cody and I prepare to host our first family Thanksgiving at our apartment expecting 11-16 family members! We can't wait!! And I can't wait to especially take pictures and write about it! I am honored to host everyone and spend quality time all together with good food. Oh and when Cody and I say we are hosting Thanksgiving that means we are providing the place and you bring the food;). Ha

Also I plan on going to UT's engineering alumni game and tailgating in a few weeks. Can't wait to go as alumni! #proudtobeavol

Love, 

The Raborns!

10-25-16

Our Birthdays!!!

For starters, our birthday's are 1 day apart, July 11th and July 12th. Cody is exactly 24 hours older than me! How cool is that! So we both just turned 23 and celebrated our first married birthday together! Life is so much more fun married! You always have someone on your side! Your best buddy!

He was so happy :)

So for Cody's birthday he had to work from 6:00am to 9:00pm so I had plenty of time to set up! After Cody took me to the doctor because I felt HORRIBLE, and he went back to work,  I ran and got him a surprise cookie cake from American Cookie Company since he has always wanted to try one. His mom also helped me surprise him with his favorite carrot cake that she makes! So she graciously made her cake for him which helped me a ton since I felt like death. (I had this nasty sinus infection) So when he got home that night, we had a lot of cake! I also got him this neat new glass water bottle for football, some other small stuff, and a really cool and creative card! The other cards you see in the picture are from his family and mine! We played his favorite board games and went to bed early, his favorite!

So roll around to my birthday a few hours later....literally. I was still feeling pretty lousy but managed to put it aside. I had so many active outside plans for my birthday but figured 9 mile hikes and swimming wouldn't be too good for a been-on-antibiotics-for-only-a-day new sinus infection. So instead, I slept in and woke to find Cody made my favorite "pasta"! Zucchini noodles!! So I had that and his amazing chicken for lunch and he had 2 dozen roses sitting on the table! He is such a sweetheart!

For dessert he made me these AMAZING Oreo cream cheese balls!! They were seriously so incredible and only lasted 2 days HA! Cody got me Guitar hero that I have been wanting since I was 9 years old! And oh my, the look of shock when I opened it! He is truly the best guys and listens so well! He is so sweet and good to me, he loves to see me happy. He also got 4 movies that I loved from my childhood since he knows I like that kind of stuff. It was by far the best birthday I have ever had!

Our birthdays were Monday and Tuesday so my mom and Morgan came up that weekend before to celebrate the day after we got back from Disney and they had a sweet set up for me in the dining room. Mom is so thoughtful!

All I wanted was all the watermelon in the world to eat so that's exactly what I got! It's my favorite food!

Oh and here are our Disneymoon tshirts we created in downtown Disney that we had to show off! Aren't they so cute!!

My mom surprised me with my favorite protein powder and a plethora of Lush bath bombs! They are so worth the small investment by the way!

Back to my actual birthday day. When Cody went to work from 2:30-10:30pm I stayed with Mom and that was such a blessing! I would have been so lonely for a large chunk of my birthday! So we walked around the house and talked about flowers haha.

I also couldn't help but jump on the trampoline! Even in a maxi dress. Man I sure am going to miss our house if it ever sells. 

The beautiful red cherry blossoms around the house. 

I can't wait for more birthdays to come that we can share married! I still think it is so cool we basically share a birthday! We will never have to forget one another's birthdays which is a plus!

Love,

Kayla Raborn

8-4-16

P.S. Today is our 2 month anniversary!!!!!!! Whoop Whoop!!

1 Month Married! 10 Things I have Learned

10 things I have learned in the first month of marriage:
(remember this does not exactly pertain to us, but is what we have observed that could or may have arisen)

1. Go to bed with the house in order.
If you don't, you will never ever catch up. Seriously. Start with a clean slate every morning. Especially with the dishes!!!! Seriously!!

2. Say I love you a lot. 
You are each others priority and only each other. Family may have trouble adjusting to your new normal so keep each other first, and communicate effectively.

3. Take a lot of time for one another because this is your foundation for the rest of your marriage. Gaze into each other's eyes and hold hands, treat each other with love and respect as you adjust to living together in the same space. Treat everyday like you just started dating, lovey-dovey. This trains you to never lose that new luster of the newlywed life and will help carry it on to the rest of your marriage. You never know the future and when kids will pop up! This is the time to establish the "us". Treat it with the upmost importance.

4. Don't be selfish with bed space. 
Don't push your spouse onto the floor on accident or on purpose. Learn what new space is now yours and what is not. You are no longer the only one in the bed!!!

5. Save all the money you can. But do spend some to make each other feel special. 
Saving is extremely important but if you put that over everything else, it gets in the way of your relationship after a while. There are so many other more important in life like making memories. Save some money just for the 'Lets just go's' spur of the moment short trips or decisions. So buy those waterpark tickets for a day trip every now and then.

6. Don't generalize and use 'always' or 'never'. It never ends well. Lol!
When you use these words negatively it can bring points and frustrations to a new level of hurt, such as when you are frustrated when your spouse hasn't done his/her part with the laundry and you say impulsively, you 'never' do the laundry. Well that's not true, and that could be hurtful. It immediately shuts each other down and the lines of good communication are temporarily destroyed. That tears down your spouse, not builds him/her up.

7. Bring each other up not tear each other down.
You are each other's biggest supporters, don't wound the heart with harsh words!

8. Against contrary beliefs, go to bed frustrated.
You will have a clearer head in the morning and a new outlook on the situation! But don't forget to address the issue before leaving bed to start the day.

9. Be understanding. 
You both have made some pretty life changing changes lately. Give each other slack during the adjustment period. Rome wasn't built in a day.

10. Enjoy the new interests and lifestyles you have found together.
Thought you knew everything about each other? Wrong! You don't truly know each other until you actually are married and living together. It is so different! (In a good way) Embrace new interests/hobbies openly that each other has possibly found. Life is a continual growth, constantly moving, changing, and progressing for the better! For example, you spouse has found extreme interest and job opportunity living in Colorado,.... don't shoot it down. Discus how this could or couldn't be a possibility, and give each side of the idea equal thought and consideration both ways. (remember this does not exactly pertain to us, we love Tennessee!)

All-in-all marriage is the greatest gift from God on earth, and I highly suggest it for everyone! I hope you like what I have learned in our first month of marriage!

With love,

Kayla Raborn
7-4-16

First Married Trip!!

So Cody and I have finally taken our first trip together outside of the honeymoon! We are visiting Franklin Tennessee for Cody's personal finance certification which he will be teaching this semester at Brainerd High School in Chattanooga along with history. We look forward to this new school year for him! 

So we left our apartment Monday at 6:00pm after dinner (to save money on on-the-road-dinners) and arrived in Franklin at 9:00pm. We enjoy driving together so much! Cody is so much fun to talk to! On the way our GPS also lead us through a cow pasture. I know, it was weird. But when we arrived I realized I had brought all of our food so we didn't have to buy anything there but soon discovered I didn't bring utensils. I also realized hotels don't have free water (we don't trust water fountains or sink water in places) so we didn't have water. So we did have to buy those two things. (I drink a lot of water in a day) so I didn't want to get dehydrated in a strange place. My body has a hard time cooling itself down (I hardly ever sweat) so I get overheated EXTREMELY easy. I have to monitor my outside time in the summer. But anyways, once we arrived we saw the most beautiful sunset in the entire world! The picture doesn't do it justice! The entire sky was this beautiful hue of pink!

We stayed in a Ramada Inn and it was pretty nice! Our room had two beds but they were double sized beds so we really had to squeeze tight together. We are too used to our king sized bed!

When we first checked in, the lady at the front desk looked at us up and down and said, are you both over 21? And we both said yes. But she didn't believe us and made us show her our ID's and looked at Cody and asked if he make a fake ID because we both look 17/18, and we were like no! And she still didn't really believe us! I was like, we are about to turn 23 too, and she said don't push it!! It's like what!?! LOL Funny story but true!

It was senior Olympic week in Franklin so we always had to wake up at 6:00am and beat the older people to the breakfast line before they ran out of food. I love old people! They make you feel so comfortable! 

So on the first day of Cody's conference I was going to wake up at 6:00am with him to get the breakfast but Cody saw how tired I was and let me go back to sleep and left for his conference at 8:00am. When I woke up at 10:30am he already had my breakfast there waiting for me in the microwave! He is such a sweetheart y'all!

After the first conference, Cody was tired of sitting all day so we gave each other a strenuous workout in the pool! We were the only ones there so it was awesome!! I love swimming so much!

We left back home to Chatt after the second and final conference day at 5:00pm. We got home just in time to have dinner (yes to save money ;)). I love trips with Cody and now we are feverishly packing for our Honeymoon Part 2 just here in a few days!!!! :D :D we are so excited!!

Love, 

Kayla Raborn

6-29-16

P.S.-Happy early birthday to my mother-in-law!!

Newlywed Life!

Just a side note for you guys before I start this blog:

I am going to wait a little bit to post all about the wedding day details just so I can get a few more posts up fist. Plus our wedding pictures aren't even in yet. 

So...Cody and I are settling in beautifully to the newlywed life! And man, life seriously can't get any better! I thought I loved Cody then but seriously you love each other more and more every day! I am not worried at all about the first year of marriage. Everyone says it is the worst but I have to disagree so far. If the whole first year is like this than I can't imagine how awesome the rest of our life will be haha! It is so much fun waking up to each other right next to one another and making breakfast together. Each night is like a sleepover with your best friend!! We have movie nights and stay up laughing to all hours of the night! We have so much fun together! Marriage is exactly what I expected and exactly what I had envisioned with Cody!

To start off, when we first got home, Cody and I had major beach withdrawals. We severely missed the beach and were a tiny bit sad our toes weren't in the sand and we couldn't run down to Thomas' Donuts. So we had to get these matching t shirts and wear them ASAP. 

So Cody and I have started immediately reading devotionals together every morning to start our day off right! Right now is the time we are establishing us, our routines, and the new norm for us, and if we want to make these spiritually healthy habits from here on out we have to start now. For example, never going to bed with a messy house, working out together every day, and feeding our spiritual needs of going to church, Sunday school, and bible study every week!

Lets just take a moment to look at these gorgeous rings!! Cody did so amazing!! The wedding band was a surprise with the first time seeing it being at the altar. I was in awe!

I took a mini photo shoot of the rings in my bouquet on the car ride to the Gaylord Opryland Hotel!

One neat thing Cody and I do are cook most breakfasts' and dinners together! (We eat every meal together but cook only one or two meals a day (I like yogurt)) We both LOVE cooking so we have a blast together coking new creations! The collage bellow are just some of the many dishes we have created! Cody and I cook plant-based lean protein meals with minimal ingredients. We swap out unhealthy ingredients in recipes with greek yogurt or hummus depending on the recipe.

From top left to right:

-Whole grain waffle mix with vanilla greek yogurt instead of butter and 100% pure maple syrup with zero preservatives. 

-Same for the blueberry pancakes

-Buffalo tuna, quinoa, and veggies

-Zucchini boats with lean ground beef and reduced fat cheese with avocado deviled eggs (just boiled egg yolk, avocado, lemon juice, and paprika)

-Zucchini Parmesan fries baked in extra virgin olive oil and olive oil baked chicken

-Homemade pizza with 100% whole grain crust and low fat cheese (but with pepperoni ;/, good though!)

-Baked acorn squash with ground beef and skinny deviled eggs (just boiled egg yolk, plain greek yogurt, pickles, and paprika)

-Oreo quest bars

-My favorite breakfast, kicks cereal with strawberries and no sugar added almond milk

-Breakfast eggs for dinner

-Cody's sandwich creation

-Our grocery shopping

-Fresh lemon water for digestion health

-Meat, cheese, spaghetti squash casserole

-Mashed sweet potatoes with only sweet potatoes, dash of pure cinnamon, and plain greek yogurt for the 'sour cream'. Spaghetti squash for a side and olive oil chicken

-Oreo quest protein powder

One of the things we have had to do since getting back to reality is changing my name. Wow it is a process! It has finally been changed but has taken working at it every day. We make an errand list for us to accomplish and are 3/4 done! Some of those list items include hanging wall items, going to the bank every day for 3 weeks :( NOT happy with them, grocery shopping, and visiting family. With Cody and I combined, we have 16 close family members with July/June birthdays. Every day is a celebration! Why is everyone born in June and July?!? But as of now, all of my legal documents are changed to my new last name! I am now officially officially (and legally ) Kayla Nicole Raborn. And yes I still write and sign Dyar on everything and mess up constantly lol, i'll learn!!:)

Through the hustle and bustle of settling in, we still have to plan date nights every week. I feel like that is so important! A date night could be anything from seeing a movie, going to dinner, riding bikes, or having a picnic in the park! Cody is so much fun!

I still can't get over calling Cody my HUSBAND!! After 5+ years of dating it feels so weird but so so right!

One of the really neat things of having our own place is having family over. Mom and Morgan came over the other day to make Morgan's birthday cake! Morgan is 20 now and out of her teen years! I just can't believe it, I remember turning 20 like yesterday! It's so fun being with family now because they do treat you a little differently! Cody and I are like one now and our own family!! It's so cool!! I've anxiously waited 5+ years for this. 

Sister selfie! We both wore the exact same black shorts and a pineapple willies shirt. We have done this our whole life from time-to-time without even planning it! Morgan and I are a lot alike.

The end product of Morgan's birthday cake. I love how we can all still be kids! We came over to my mom's house to celebrate Morgan and played Clue, Life, Mancala, and Yahtzee! We also had a neighborhood get-together with my street just like old times! Wow had everyone grown! It was so bittersweet and was such a fun fun time! It was one of the best times I've had with my old neighborhood in a long long long time. College did that lol! ;)

So this was one of the honeymoon shirts I purchased in PCB. I love Pineapple Willies shirts! I also found my old Vans from high school so that was just perfect!!

From the day we got back, Cody has had football every day from 3:00pm-9:00pm so I have been learning how to be alone in our apartment and not go too crazy. But one of the days Cody came home early and surprised me with flowers! He is such a sweetheart! He always thinks of me first!

My look of surprise that he took of me lol!!

More adventures are to come and Cody and I's birthdays are coming up very soon! And I guess that leaves me now to have to start looking for my own job. But to be 1,000% honestly I don't want to work until December. I am so fried from school I want nothing to do with engineering right now. And I am completely content with being a wife! I have my whole life to work. Since you are probably wondering since this seems to be people's only question, lol, we are waiting at least 5 years to have kids. I want to have all the time in the world with Cody before kids. Because once they come your life changes forever and will never go back to the way it was. It is a wonderful and beautiful change but only when you are ready. And let me tell you what. I am NO WHERE near ready, maturity-wise either. I'd rather be jumping on the trampoline right now or swimming all day in a pool than worry about motherhood. Also Cody and I want to be living in a small house before we have kids. Raising a kid in an apartment sounds like a horrible idea. We want to live in an apartment as long as possible (5 years max) to save money and we also want to have money when we have our kid so we don't have to extreme penny pinch. When it is time to have a kid I want to buy all the cute stuff LOL! I already look at the baby section when I go to Target! They have absolutely adorable stuff!!

With Love,

Kayla Raborn

6-29-16