Truly Madness...



We love our March Madness.

Gile & I fill out brackets every year for March Madness. This year, Gile & I have the same teams playing for the Championship, Ohio St. & Kansas. Except Gile has Kansas taking it & I have Ohio St. taking it. If all goes well, (cross your fingers) they will be the last two teams playing and then it’s going to be a fun night in the Empey household. Haha. The loser has to make the winner a delicious dinner!!! My the best person win... =) 

We love DK...

The last few nights, Gile & I have been playing the new Donkey Kong Country on our Wii. It is so much fun!! I used to play the first Donkey Kong Country on my brother Drew’s Super Nintendo when I was younger, so when we heard they were coming out with a new one… we were SO excited. It’s has been a lot of fun playing with Gile. Even though I know Gile could beat it much faster if he played by himself, he is a nice husband & plays with me anyways. We are both really competitive & like to talk smack!! Let’s be real though, he is AMAZING at everything he does & usually “smokes my butt!” Haha.

Mike & Chloe's Wedding

Yesterday, Mike & Chloe got married!! It was a fun day. We went to the temple for their beautiful wedding ceremony! Mike & Chloe just lit up as soon as they walked into the room. They are such a cute couple. When they were looking in the mirrors the guy that married them said, “To infinity and beyond… that’s not scriptures, but should be.” Haha. IT WAS AWESOME!! After taking pictures at the temple, we went to their luncheon at Joy Luck. There was SO much food and all of it was so delicious!! Congrats Mike & Chloe!!! We love you both.

Emilee & I laughing at the temple.
Love her!!! 

After the luncheon we had a little time to kill before their ceremony, so we went to my parents and hung out. It was so much fun because Gile and I got new phones that have an awesome camera and we were talking funny distorted pictures. My mom, dad, Gile, & I were laughing so hard. I can’t believe I’m posting these, but here are some of our pictures…

After 7 plastic surgeries. 

I look like a CRAZY doll. Haha.

My HOT husband. 

Big eyes... Small tongue.

Later that night, we went to their reception. It was decorated beautiful!! It was at the ward I grew up at, so it was really fun to see all the familiar faces!! We decorated their car & it was so awesome!! We wrote on their windows & stuffed the inside with balloons and Starbursts & then all the guys wrapped plastic wrap around it in every direction. It was insane!! Haha. They wrapped it so thick, that when they pulled it off the car… it looked like a mold of the car!! 

I thought I better include some slightly normal pictures so you don't think we're goofy looking all the time. Haha.

Gile & Kinzie.

Lovers.

Our Adventures...

Last August, we went camping at Bear Lake with my family. My brother has a wave runner that we took out & it was so much fun to drive. All our little nieces & our nephew loved it! It was so much fun just to relax & spend time as a family. I could have stayed and went swimming, played Frisbee, & made sand castles forever!! I can't wait to go again this year!!

LOVE BUGS.
Waiting for the 3D Bugs Life movie.

Last September, we celebrated our 1 year anniversary at Disneyland. It was so much fun!! I've been there a few times, but Gile had only been once when he was really little & didn't remember anything. It was awesome seeing him experience everything. We went to the World of Color one of the nights we were there & I think that's my new favorite thing ever!!!! IT WAS AMAZING!! For our anniversary dinner, we ate at the Blue Bayou at the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and it was really fun and delicious. Gile's favorite ride was Screamin... we laughed the entire time & there were no lines, so we just kept riding it over & over again!! SO FUN!! My favorite rides were definitely Pirates of the Caribbean, Soarin' California, Indiana Jones, & Toy Story- Zurg ride. Haha. All of our pictures taken on the Zurg ride were SO FUNNY!!! We were so concentrated on shooting Zurg, that we didn't know where the camera was to pose. On all the rides that had cameras, Gile & I would try to do the funniest poses. Some of them were pretty awesome!!

Last October, we went on our 2nd annual trip to Goblin Valley with Drew & Ambree, Jeff Miller, & Paul Walker.  It is so beautiful there!! We went on some amazing hikes & climb through some scary narrow caves. Gile caught a lizard and found a baby scorpion... SO COOL!! Our last night, we broke out the glow sticks & made a huge bonfire. It was so much fun!! It was so HOT that you seriously couldn't stand within 5-10 feet of it or you would no longer have eyebrows!!! Haha. We burned Drew & Ambree's old coffee table in the fire too!! Ambree was so excited to see it go, but Drew was a little sad because he liked it. It was pretty cool to watch it burn. It caught on fire pretty fast & then the middle slowly caved in & collapsed.

That was the enterance to the cave we went in.

Cute Gile.

The Bon Fire!!!! It got much bigger than that.

The Fast & The Furious

Gile-
A few years back, Gile & his brother Chris were in a horrible accident. They were on their way home from visiting their grandparents in Montana. It was early in the morning & they reached Tremonton when his brother accidently fell asleep while driving. They rolled the white mustang convertible several times!!! Gile called me that morning & said, "Kinz, I've been in a little accident. We are ok, but I just wanted to let you know." I was going to Lagoon that day with some friends, so I didn't think anything about it until my friend Sadie's boyfriend showed me the pictures, that Gile sent him, of the car!!! He didn't want to show me at first, but then I asked him to & I could not believe it!! "Little accident" my butt!! I immediately was sick to my stomach & didn't even want to be there anymore!! Gile was taken by an ambulance to be checked out... It is truly a miracle that Gile & Chris made it out alive... let alone without any broken bones!!!

Kinzie-
Right after high school, I started shopping for my first car. I was SO excited when my dad said we were going to go look for a car. First he took me to the Suzuki dealership because I had mentioned that a girl I knew in high school had a Forenza that was really cute. The second I got there, it was love at first sight!! I knew that's what I wanted. My dad told me to keep looking to make sure it's what I really wanted since it was the first big purchase I have ever made. My sister Ashlie works at a body shop & was teasing me because I wanted a Suzuki rather than a Honda or a Toyota. I think all my family was getting frustrated because I would ask each of them to go with me car shopping. I looked at a white Honda Civic & I really loved it, but it wasn't MY car. I looked at a Red Chevy Cobalt & I liked it (mainly because the blinker sounded cool... haha), but it wasn't MY car. I looked at a green Jeep Wrangler & I would have instantly bought it, but it was above my price range. I looked at a sparkly baby blue Scion... LOVED IT, but when I told the guy, half jokingly, that I would give him $12,000 straight up for it... He laughed hysterically... so I knew it wasn't MY car. Finally, the day came when Gile & my brother Karter said, "Kinz, if you like the Forenza... then let's go get it!!" I was so excited & felt like a million bucks driving my little Forenza off of the lot. This was before I would drive on the freeway though, so I had to pull over & Gile drove it on the freeway home for me. Haha. I was so excited to show my friends. I drove & showed my friends Katie & Liz... I showed it to Gile's family.
Anyways, I hung out at Gile's house for a while & then left to go home. I was driving up to my house when all of the sudden I look in my rearview mirror & there was a car driving on the wrong side of the road going probably 75 mph when the speed limit is 25, if that. He hit two trees on the side of the road and was headed straight for me. I just kept thinking, "He's going to hit me... He's going to hit me!!" It all happened so fast. He hit my brand new car and spun me sideways and kept driving!! Then he went up the curb & hit a shed.... got out of his car and ran!!! I just remember getting out of my car and yelling, "You hit my brand new car!!!" All the neighbors came running out at 12:30 AM to help me!! I couldn't even talk I was so mad & upset!!
We drove my car up the street to my house & parked it. There it sat for the next couple of days all smashed. My family would laugh at me because I would say, "Hey, do you want to go sit in my car and listen to the radio. =(  I think they were all more mad at what had happened than I was because they all knew how excited I was & felt bad for me. It sat there in the driveway until Ashlie's work towed it to their place. The worst part was, the bank gave me the check to take to the dealership to pay for my car... that was a very depressing day, delivering a huge check to pay for something I didn't even have.
Anyways, later we found out that my car, with only 20 miles on it, was TOTALED!!!! They found the kid that hit me & he was drunk & didn't have insurance. I had to go to court multiple times because my insurance company & the city were sewing him for the damages done to the road, trees, shed, & my car!!! I sat there quietly in front of the kid that had ruined my new car & listened as he turned to his friend & said, "They said I hit some girl's car or whatever" and then laughed!! I was so sad!!! A month or two after, I got another brand new Suzuki Forenza & was happy again!!

Gile got JIMMERED!!!

January 31, 2011- My sister gave us tickets to the Jazz vs. Bobcats game. We sat on the 17^th row of the lower bowl & if that wasn’t cool enough… Jimmer was sitting about 5-7 rows directly in front of us!! Gile was so excited & even though we are Utah fans… I think he has a new man crush!! Haha. He got to meet him & get a picture with him. The Jazz won 83-78!!! I think that was the best night of Gile’s life. Haha.  

It was the BEST of times, It was the WORST of times

Although I had just married the love of my life & my best friend, our first year of marriage was one of the hardest times in my life. It all started when I found out I had a really bad sinus infection. YUCK!! I was in so much pain! My teeth were so sensitive, I didn't even want to talk because it hurt so bad and I had a burning sensation in my nose all the time. NOT FUN!! I was going to an ENT for my problems & later found out that I needed surgery!!

During that same time, I almost cut the tip of my left pointer finger off with a hand mixer while making cookies for a Christmas party & had to go to the ER for stitches. That was a very dramatic experience & I traumatized poor Gile. He was asleep on the couch & woke up to me screaming & a blender stuck to my hand. He was freaking out more than I was, so I knew I was on my own to get my finger free!!! While he frantically tried to control himself & searched for the keys and a towel to wrap around my finger, I was busy turing the blade the other way to free my finger. I had cut the tendons & it took a long time before I was able to bend my finger again, but now it's pretty much normal (minus the scars & that I don't have as much feeling in it).

And if being sick & hurting my finger wasn't enough, I got pneumonia that same week!! Once that passed, I had my sinus surgery & although I'm still in pain, it is much better than it used to be... so hopefully I will continue to heal. I don't know what I would've done without Gile by my side during that time in my life. He is so awesome and helped me get better!!! Love you Gile!! 

Where We Are Now...

Gile & I bought a beautiful condo in Pleasant Grove, UT. Although I was excited for our adventures too begin, I grew up in the same yellow house in Sandy, UT all my life... so I was a little nervous to move away from home. Gile has moved several times though, so he helped me through it. He also helped me get over my fear of driving on the freeway. He would make me drive no matter how much I kicked & screamed!! And even though, I'm the one driving in the slow lane and semi-trucks are passing me, I like to drive on the freeway now (as long as it's not rush hour). My parents always tease us, when they come & visit, that they had to stop & grab lunch & stay the night at a hotel on the way to our house because it's so far away. Haha.

Last Christmas, Gile gave me the cutest kitty! We named "her" Tink, however a few months later... we found out that our girl cat is actually a BOY!!! Now his name is Champ (aka Champmillion). Even though he is a naughty cat & not very friendly, he is still our best friend. 

Fun Facts about Us

- No joke- Gile's Kindergarten teacher's name was Mrs. Kimball (my madien name) & my Kindergarten teacher's name was Mrs. Empey.
- One day, Gile & I went to his dad's house up in Heber to visit for the weekend. I was looking at a picture they had hanging on their fridge of Gile's brother Chris & his grandpa at one of Gile's football games... all the sudden, I noticed my friend Alison & I were in the background of the picture. SO WEIRD!!! I didn't even know him when the picture was taken!!! I was in family pictures before I was even part of the fam. Haha.

- Gile lived just down the street from me when he was little & we didn't even know each other. If he would have stayed in that house, he would have been in my stake & would have gone to the same elementary and middle school as me.
- Gile's dad worked at a furniture shop up in Heber for many years & my 2nd cousin was actually the owner of the furniture shop. CRAZY STUFF!! 

- We got married on September 9th, 2009. Yes, that is 9/9/09!! It's kind of funny because I was born on 8/18/88 & graduated on 6/6/06. My cute mom, Lorraine, thinks that it's awesome that all the significant dates in my life have really cool numbers, so when we were talking about wedding dates in September... she got all excited & said that 9/9/09 should definitely be our date!! 

This is our story...

Gile & I were introduced by our friends (Katie Egbert Wiseman & Nate McDonald). He was a sophomore & I was a Junior. I had just gotten home from our Lacrosse game & wasn't lookin or smellin the cutest when my friend Katie called & told me she was with some people at the bowl park by my house & told me to come up. If I would have known that I was meeting my future husband, I probably would have showered & gotten all cute, but NO!! Once I got there, I was introduced to Gile. We instantly hit it off!! We were standing on the curb talking & he nudged me & I fell off the curb. Then we turned it into a little game & we tried to see who could get the other off the curb first (of course I wasn't successful since he's so manly & strong... Haha, but I sure tried). After that, we went to Nate's house & hung out in his backyard. Gile & I were still flirting & having a good time. Gile was driving his mom's white mustang convertible & I thought it was so cool, so I asked him for a ride. He took me for a ride & I was SO SCARED the entire time because he was going so fast, but it was lots of fun!!!

After that night, we didn't really hang out much besides ever now and then at a mutual friend's house or when all of our friends would hang out at the Draper Wendy's & the occasional hug in the halls at school. Then he asked me to the Christmas dance and we started hanging out more & more after. He asked me if I would be his girlfriend a couple of times, but I was always hesitant because he was a year younger than me in school & I enjoyed being single!! However, I started liking him more & more... till one day, I sent him a text & said, "Hey, are you good at math because I have a problem I need help on?" & he responded saying, "Yeah, what's the problem?" Then I said, "What does Gile + Kinzie =?" Haha looking back I can't believe how cheesy that was, but that's how it all went down. He immediately text me back & said, "Are you saying you want to be my girlfriend!?!"

And... We have been inseparable since!!