Flashback Friday: California/Cruise 2002...

In July of 2002 Steve and I took a fun vacation with my sister Jamie and her husband Ben. We drove to California and then took a short cruise to Mexico.

We spent some time in San Diego and stayed with a relative of my sisters. We had so much fun and spent some time at La Jolla beach which was beautiful.

The guys being a little crazy back at the house...I'm pretty sure I'm going to be in trouble for these...oh well! Love you Benny! :)

Getting ready to finally(it was a pretty long process) board the ship. We kind of look a little cranky don't ya think!

Sitting through the mandatory emergency drill...we look really scared don't we! HAHA :)

Happy to finally be out to sea...

Our first stop was at Catalina Island. This was the view as we approached.

The day we spent at Catalina Island was a really nice day weather wise. The rest of our cruise was mostly rainy. :( We had a lot of fun walking around, shopping and of course snorkeling. The only picture of me is the nice backside shot on the side...go figure! I know this sounds dumb but I remember being surprised at how salty the water was. I know it's the ocean but it was so salty! I had a hard time with the whole snorkel thing(I'm a bit claustrophobic) so I swallowed my share of water. :(

The four of us on Catalina Island.

Steve and I at dinner on the cruise ship. I really like this picture of Steve!

Food and Entertainment! Of course we did a ton of eating while on the ship! The food was amazing and by the end of the cruise our waiter just knew to keep bringing Steve food! He ate multiple entrees every night. We also shared a table with two fun ladies that hooked Steve up with some good medicine to help him get over the motion sickness that hit him from the get go. There was also lots of dancing and fun entertainment. I actually got some pictures of Steve getting his grove on but he banned me from posting them. :(

My sister and her hubby Ben. As you can see they were still newlyweds. :)

Some of our fun. While we were in San Diego we saw some orange trees and my sister freaked out because she had never saw one before. So of course we had to stop and pick some(top right picture.) We also spent a day in Ensenada but I didn't take any pictures. There really wasn't much to see. Lots of cheap shopping but the novelty wore off quick because you started seeing the same stuff over and over. There was also a lot of little kids practically begging you to buy their stuff. It actually was kind of sad because you knew their parents had sent them out. I ended up scoring some really cool sterling silver jewelry and some cool marble games for dirt cheap.

On our drive home on the long stretch from Vegas to home we were lucky enough to see this...

Ice & Kisses...

Steve recently tore some ligaments in his knee and was icing it a couple nights ago. Ever since then Maddy is obsessed with ice. If I say anything hurts(which has been a lot lately because I've been pushing myself more during my workouts) then he quickly goes and gets ice for me and even wraps it in a towel. He also fakes his own injuries so he can put ice on them. This is a cute video of one of his faked injuries from today and him doctoring himself. The cutest part is towards the end when he also adds kisses into his treatment.

Whatever Wednesday: One Word...

I didn't have anything for my post and saw this on my friend Valorie's blog so I thought I would go for it.

TYPE ONLY 1 WORD...IT'S HARDER THAN YOU THINK!!!

1. Where is your cell phone? Desk
2. Your significant other? Steve
3. Your hair? Straight
4. Your mother? Talkative
5. Your father? Quiet
6. Your favorite thing? Bed
7. Your dream last night? Weird
8. Your favorite drink? Water
9. The room you're in? Office
10. Your fear? Loss
11. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Here
12. Where were you last night? Home
13. What you're not? Rich
14. Favorite muffin? Blueberry
15. One of your wish list items? Glasses
16. Where did you grow up? Utah
17. The last thing you did? Chat
18. What are you wearing? Jeans
19. Your TV? Off
20. Your pet? Fish
21. Your computer? On
22. Your life? Average
23. Your mood? Mellow
24. Missing someone? Always
25. Your car? Acura
26. Something you're not wearing? Shoes
27. Favorite Store? Express
28. Your summer? Hot
29. Your favorite color? Aqua
30. When is the last time you laughed? 11:40pm(ish)
31. Who will/would re-post this? Stacy
32. FOUR PLACES I GO OVER AND OVER: a. Mail b. Bank c. Church d. Wal Mart
33. FOUR PEOPLE WHO E-MAIL ME: 1. Stacy 2. Jamie 3. Jennifer 4. Dad
34. FOUR OF MY FAVORITE FOODS: a. Lasagna b. Pizza c. Cream of Broccoli Soup d. Salad
35. PLACE I WOULD RATHER BE RIGHT NOW? Vacation

Snow! Snow! Snow!

Last week we got tons of snow! We lost track after about the forth time shoveling the drive way in a few hours and I know many of my neighbors will say the same. I finally got around to trying out my new camera(which I'm loving) and took a couple pictures.

I know this doesn't look like enough snow to even bother shoveling but Steve is a little ocd about it and my car seriously won't make it up the driveway if there is anything on it.

The backyard...

Music Monday: Hallelujah

I love this version of Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley! It is very emotional and definitely pulls you in! It was originally done by Leonard Cohen and I think it is brilliant. The lyrics are genious! You can get some more insight on the song and lyrics here.

Flashback Friday: High School Sports...

While in high school I played softball, basketball and ran track. None of which I was very good at, but I made the teams(which wasn't very hard in a small town.) I don't have any track pictures but here are my softball and basketball ones. Some of you fellow bloggers might see yourselves. :)

Funnies: Pennies and Dimes...

Yesterday while Steve and Maddy were exchanging hugs and kisses before Steve left for work...


Maddy: "Daddy, where are you going?"
Steve: "To work to make some money for your mom."
Maddy: "Oh, so you can get some pennies and dimes?"
Steve: *Laughing* "Yes."
Me: "Lets hope it is a lot more than pennies and dimes, may be a hundred dollars!"
Maddy: "Oh, yes a hundred dollars would make me really happy!"
Steve: "I'm sure it would! It would probably make your mom happy too."


If only pennies and dimes could pay the bills...

Whatever Wednesday: Favorite Photography Blogs...

I admit it I am a total blog stalker! Among my favorite blogs to stalk are photography blogs! So I thought I would share some of my favorites along with some of my favorite posts from their blogs.

And one more to freak your freak...

First up is Rebekah Westover Photography. Rebekah is actually my neighbors sister and has photographed a lot of people in our neighborhood as well as my cousin. She is seriously amazing! All of her work is stunning and I especially love how she uses light in her photographs. It probably helps that she somehow photographs some of the most beautiful people! She seems like a really cool person as well. Check her out in all her awesomeness in the pictures above(probably the sweetest Halloween costume I've seen!) Check out some of my favorite posts here, here and here.

Next is Simplicity Photography. I love Angie's urban shoots! There is so much texture and color to her photographs! They practically jump right off the screen! Her clients are also always dressed so funky with cool hats and clothes. Isn't the picture above the cutest thing you have ever seen! Check out some of my favorite posts here, here and here.

Last but certainly not least is Veronica Reeve Photography. I love how colorful Veronica's photographs are! She also does a great job capturing candid moments! Check out that picture above! That Dad deserves some kind of award for highest toss! She also does some really unique shoots like the ones here and here.

Eventually when I save up the money and the kids are a little older I plan on having one of these fabulous ladies take our family pictures. Check them all out and I'm sure you will be stalking them too! :)

The Bachelor...

SO looking forward to watching this tonight!!! Want to join me? Let me know!

So I have to confess...my sisters and I nominated our beautiful, outgoing and surprisingly single sister Shalane(Laney). Sadly for Jason she isn't among the top 25! :( O well, she said she would prefer doing the picking anyway. :)

Music Monday: Far Away/Notebook

Love this combo...

Flashback Friday: Wedding Pictures(6/15/96)...

I've been meaning to post my wedding pictures for quite a while now. It just seemed like such a big project. Finding them, scanning, editing, uploading, etc. I finally just did it! Some of them aren't the best quality(we were on a budget so we didn't hire a professional photographer but we had a great family friend that had some experience that did them for free and just gave us all the originals.) My Aunt Carolyn also got plenty of shots in and is the reason there are so many kissing ones-she kept insisting! Also remember that I was married nearly 13 years ago so I'm dating myself and styles have definitely changed.

Jungle Fever anyone? I had to post this for laughs! Yes there was a time when Steve didn't shave nearly his entire body. Also you can see he(really tan) had been working outside all summer and I(really pasty) had been working inside. The fact that he has olive skin and I am naturally pasty probably didn't help either! :)

Some of my immediate and extended family.

My parents and Steve's Mom and Step-Father.

Steve's brother Victor and our friend Nevin.

Steve's brother Victor and his wife Bernadette.

Three of my sisters.

My parents and my Grandfather and Great-Grandmother.

My cute little Great-Grandmother Helena.

The four generations picture.

Steve wasn't too excited about doing this...but our photographer insisted! I like it!

Got to love this one! :)

My immediate family.

My sisters.

My youngest brother and the baby of the family.

My friend Dawn.

The weather was perfect and it was a beautiful day...one that I will always remember!

New Years Eve...

Steve and I actually went out for New Year's Eve. I know shocking! We went to the big party/dance at the McKay Events Center in Orem. His new company was one of the sponsors so he kind of had to be there so I went along. It was definitely entertaining. Thanks Justin for watching the kids!

Steve and I at midnight.

John and Lyndsey(friends/Steve's partner.)

Steve and our friend Dan(who is like family.) He practically lives at our house and is one of those people that doesn't have to knock when they come(I have to make sure I'm always dressed!) :) He is the one that helps Steve with all our projects around the house.

Some of the entertainment! The DJ's and dancers were awesome! Of course David Archuleta was the biggie and you could definitely tell by the crowd! Tons of young screaming girls! Rockapella was actually pretty entertaining and of course they sang "Where in the World is Carmen San Diego" as the encore. Ashley Tisdale introduced VFactory. Apparently she is dating one of the members(Jared) who is from Utah. The pictures are pretty bad because we stayed at the back away from the craziness so I had to zoom way in. There were also some very weird/entertaining people that kept us laughing all night. Especially one tall skinny guy in particular. He got moving so fast his shoe flew off. We couldn't stop laughing!