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!

Whatever Wednesday: My Bare Essentials!

My favorite place in the world is probably my bed! I know it looks all nice and made in this picture but when I'm in it I love it a mess. Steve likes the blankets and sheets all nice and straight and tucked in. I on the other hand love to make the blankets, pillows and such conform to me. I love getting in my perfect comfortable position and get annoyed if I have to get out of it. Like when Steve asks me to pop his back after I'm all cuddled up. Oh the sacrifices we make! I always make sure he knows I probably won't be able to get back as perfectly comfortable as I was before his request! :) He is a good sport though and gives in to my requests as well. Now if I can just get past the phase of having two baby monitors on my nightstand!

My most favorite thing during my awake hours would have to be my computer! It is what keeps this stay at home mom of two connected to the outside world. What would I do without Blogging, Facebook, Digital photo. editing, Email, Youtube, Watching a missed episode of one of my favorite shows, Online banking, Business bookkeeping, Shopping, Googling, etc. I would be very lonely and bored. I mentioned to Steve the other day after one of those long days with the kids that if I ever go crazy and he decides to admit me to some institution he better make sure I have an internet connection. He just laughed and said "I know, I know."

This is random I know but I LOVE olives. In my opinion they are the best 10 calories ever invented(grown?) You all know you can't just have one and if I wasn't concerned about my waistline I would eat the entire can in one sitting!


Sleep, Friendship, Entertainment and Food...what more could a girl ask for?

Funnies: Broccoli and Carrots...

Today Maddy called me in to the bathroom after "taking care of business" for the third time. This was our conversation:

Maddy: "Look Mommy, I pooped again!"
Me: "Wow, you did a good job!"
Maddy: "It is because I eat lots of broccoli."

Later, while I was putting on my makeup...

Maddy: "Mom are you cleaning your eyes?"
Me: "No, I'm putting my makeup on."
Maddy: "Mommy you should eat more carrots so you can see better."

So my secrets are out...these are the kinds of things I tell Maddy to get him to eat his veggies. I guess whatever works right?

Christmas 2008...

Don't we all look so happy! We really were, it is just nearly impossible to get a family picture with everyone smiling AND looking at the camera AND with my eyes open. We had a great Christmas this year! Christmas Eve we ordered our favorite pizza(I didn't feel like cooking), watched Pirates of the Caribbean("At Worlds End"-first time I watched it all the way through) and of course let the kids open their Christmas pajamas before going to bed. They looked so cute and nuggly!

Christmas morning the kids slept until about eight and of course as soon as Maddy walked out of his room he saw Santa had brought him the four wheeler he had wanted so badly. He was so cute and was a little bit shy about it at first but once he started riding it he didn't stop until the battery died. He also got some cool pop up books, coloring book, and clothes.

Avery loved her new "baby." She also got more pajamas, coat and clothes. She wasn't too excited about opening the presents. Probably because she has been told no for so long. Her favorite part was trying to eat the wrapping paper.

Steve and the kids looking at Steve's new "Memories With Daddy" book(see previous post) they gave him. Isn't this just the sweetest picture! Steve also got clothes, the "Planet Earth" DVD collection, "Reflections of Christ" book and CD(OK I admit it, he got those because I wanted them.) :) Of course I got exactly what I ordered, a new camera with all the accessories. I also got a bunch of clothes and they even fit. Great job Steve!

Avery checking out her new leggings. Doesn't she look so cute!

Christmas afternoon we headed over to my sister Stacy's for our annual family Christmas dinner and gift exchange. Steve and I look a little happier in this picture than we did in the first one but the kids not so much. :(

Caught in the act! Yes he does eat chocolate! Good thing he got that workout in. :) He really did! Such dedication! He said it was nice because he had the gym completely to himself(who else would want to work out on Christmas morning?) This picture was taken right after he put a chocolate covered pickle in his mouth. Yummy! Not! My brothers dared him so he did it. He actually said it wasn't that bad.

I stuck with the fruit as far as the chocolate dipping went, pineapple being my favorite! :) The food was so yummy and I think I munched way to much before eating because I didn't have much room for the real food. I made an artichoke dip which seemed to be a hit along with the fondue. We had turkey roast(these are the best-tastes like roast beef), my brothers special mashed potatoes and gravy(which he claims are the best ever-and they were pretty tasty), corn, veggie tray, my aunt Carolyn's rolls which she sent up with my mom(yum), and my sister Shalane's special drink(7 up, pineapple juice and a few other things she threw in there).

Avery spent the majority of the day pulling the bows off the unopened presents and trying to eat them. This girl will eat anything but real food. :(

The adults relaxing, watching the Lakers game and playing some "Trivial Pursuit." We had so much fun hanging out and laughing! Seriously I haven't laughed that hard in a long time! The kind of laughing that makes you cry and makes your stomach hurt! It's pretty interesting the things that sisters can end up talking about! :) Sorry Dad that you overheard! We also decided this year to opt out of our regular pricier gift exchange and do a "nice" White Elephant gift exchange. It was really fun and probably what we will do from now on. I got robbed of my box full of dried fruit that my parents made. :( I ended up with a "Memoirs of a Geisha" DVD(which I actually haven't seen yet) and some "PM Lip Plumper." ??? LOL! I didn't know that stuff exists but I guess I will have to try it out. Stacy's mother-in-law swears it works! I have always wanted "plumper lips" and heck it beats injections right!?! Thanks Stacy-I really do love my gift even though you stole from me! :( The kids also did a cousin gift exchange. Maddy got "Martian Matter" from his cousin Dallin and Avery got the cutest shoes from her cousin Claire. My sister Laney also spoiled all the kids and got them presents. Maddy got a motorcycle and Avery got the cutest stuffed cat. Nana and Papa also got the kids puzzles. My brother Justin gave us all some steaks! Now that's what I'm talking about! Thanks Justin! Now if I can just get one of my brother-in-law's to come cook them for us! :) It always tastes better when someone else makes them!

Maddy and his favorite person, his cousin Dallin doing what they do best! Being silly!

The kids enjoying themselves playing the piano.

The kids on Sunday morning wearing their clothes they got for Christmas. Maddy wasn't too happy because he crashed into Avery's head and got a fat lip. Poor kid!