Fall

I was so lucky to get to enjoy the last beautiful Sunday in fall. Julie kicked my lazy butt off the couch and we went out for a nature hike by Alpine, UT. It was so beautiful out! We played around with our cameras and had a great afternoon out enjoying nature. I am sad to see it go. Good bye fall! Catch you next year!

disconnected...

We have been having internet problems for the last couple of weeks. I have felt disconnected (literally), frustrated and had a lot of free time open up! I am glad to finally have the internet running smoothly again (knock on wood and cross your fingers for precautions). I have missed posting on facebook and the blog. Doesn't mean I will catch up on the posts I meant to blog, but I will try. During this time I have finished some projects around the house (made new throw pillow covers, scrapbooked and actually cleaned the house instead of browsing the web) and spent extra time with Luke (since he wasn't glued to the computer either- he had no choice). I have realized that my life doesn't have to be spent in front of a computer (insightful, I know), there is a big beautiful world out there to enjoy (I have still loved my past hour- okay- maybe 2 glued to the computer)!

I thought you packed the toilet paper

Over the 24th of July, we had the opportunity to go camping up in Idaho with Luke's family. We had a really good time. I was able to go canoeing with Taci and the girls on Friday night and then 4-Wheeling with the boys on Saturday morning. I loved sitting around the campfire roasting marshmallows and singing songs while Dave and Luke played the guitar. It was so peaceful and relaxing and I enjoyed the time with family. the weather picked up on Saturday night and Ben rolled his 4-wheeler on him so we ended up packing it up early and making a trip to the ER to make sure Ben wasn't going to die ;). Even with the "incident" though it was a good time had by all...and oh we found the TP.

*okay..for some reason I can't load pictures right now, so I guess I will post those at another time.

BFF

Luke and Jason were able to spend a lot of time together this summer. Luke went to San Fran for a week and then Jason came out here for a couple of weeks. It was fun to have him around. They act like little school girls when they around each other so I decided to make them BFF bracelets. Aren't they cute?

Only in San Francisco

In mid June Luke headed to San Francisco by himself to spend a week with his BFF, Jason. It was a welcomed break and he had a ton of fun- came home exhausted, that's how much fun he had. They walked around the pier, saw some cool sites, lots of interesting people and had a good old time.

zoom zoom

We broke down and bought a motorcycle for Luke at the end of May. It is a Vulcan 900, so a good amount of power and a whole lot of fun! Unfortunately it rained most of the month of June, so we really didn't get to enjoy it as much as we would have liked. Every clear sunny day, you can bet that Luke will be on it though. I have enjoyed riding with him as well. It is a nice quiet time to be together, no talking, just enjoying the scenery, weather and being together.

a part of me is missing...

Isn't it weird how the longer you are married to someone the more you become a part of each other? I sent Luke off on his own yesterday to visit our friend Jason in San Fransisco for the week. It is a much needed break for him and I was happy that he had the oppurtunity to go hang out with his BFF (besides me). But today I woke up feeling less than whole, like something was out of place, an important part of me missing. It took me about half of the day to realize what it was! I can be slow sometimes....anyhoo- I love that Luke and I are integral parts of each others lives. It may seem a bit sappy, but I am not the same without him. Together we complete each other.

Have fun in San Fran Babe....but hurry back to me!!!!

Over this past year, Luke and I have become huge fans of Penn & Teller. We have been watching their series on Showtime, BullShit! and are hooked. Now, this show is not for those with sensitive ears or rigid ideals. Penn & Teller's mission (on their show) is to expose the truth to an otherwise desperate and gullible public and debunk many things from recycling to mind reading. We respect them for their wit and sensibility. We share a bit of the same skepticism that they do and love that they encourage people to question things in our society that are often accepted as truth, but really take advantage of people. While planning our trip down to Vegas, we decided that we had to go to their Las Vegas show. Their show is a combination of magic and comedy. It was truly delightful to take part in. We were seated 3rd row from the front and still have no idea how they did most of their tricks. The highlight of the evening was actually getting to meet both of them. They came out after the show for a meet and greet and autograph signing. Being the uber fans we are, we could hardly speak a coheirant sentence as we met them and got our pictures taken with them.

DAM!!!

While visiting Vegas this past week, we decided to drive out to the Hoover Dam since I had never been there. It was a beautiful drive out there and the dam itself was breath-taking. I was awestruck by the enormity of the dam. It is hard to believe what man can accomplish, well I believe! I saw it with my own eyes and I can just say that I am glad that there are people brave enough and talented enough to create such modern marvels. They are working on constructing a new bridge over the dam right now- again, I was utterly impressed by the enormity of the project!

You can see the bridge being built behind us in this picture- it is really much bigger than it looks here.

She wore an itsy bitsy....

...teeny weeny yellow polka dot bikini..... okay, it wasn't a yellow polka dot bikini but it was the first bikini I have ever worn. I know that a lot of us struggle with self image over the years. At least, I know that I have! Well, I decided that I was going to get over myself this year and bought a very cute bikini with a gift card I received. I strutted my stuff at the Luxor pool in Vegas. Definitely easier when you are surrounded by strangers!

Girls gone WILD

it's not what you thinking...though it was wild in our book. A couple of weekends ago my sisters and I got together for our annual sisters weekend. This is a weekend that we designate each year to get together just the 4 of us, no mom, husbands, children or anyone else allowed. The theme that Amy came up with this year was "girls gone wild". We each bought each other a cheap gift that fit the theme (as wild as we go, that is). It ended up as more of an 80s themed weekend (you will agree once you see the pics). Some of the gifts included wild lingerie colored hair extensions, wild jewelry, lively make-up and bright clothing (oh- and I got a very surprising gift- I wont mention what it was since this is a family friendly blog ;). We dressed each other up and went out on the town. We had a great time, laughed a lot and will remember this weekend for quite some time. Thanks for being such great sisters! I love you!





AMY














COZETTE















AMANDA















KASIE

Happy Belated blog B-day hunny

Okay, I admit...I am not on the ball. I was so busy enjoying Luke's birthday with him that I didn't post a "Happy Birthday" blog for him. As you should expect, I do not have any pictures from his birthday to post, but this one makes me laugh- so I thought I would share.

Didn't I marry a hunk? I my gosh I love this picture! I just wanted to shout out and say how much I love this man. Luke makes me laugh everyday. He is such a great friend and so much fun to be around. He keeps me in line, encourages me to fulfill my potential, helps me to think before I talk and put my foot in my mouth, helps me to be less judgemental of others, among many many other things. I also love how smart, witty, thoughtful and of course sexy he is! I am totally looking forward to another 80 years together! HAppy birthday babe- I love you this much...............................................................................................................................................................

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Crazy cat lady

I know that I haven't really come through with my promise to post a million pictures of my cats. The truth is, I am not very good at photographing them, it is a lot harder than you would think. They just don't pose very well and any time I pull out the camera, they stop doing the crazy funny thing they were just doing. Like the other day, Spot was chasing her tale around and around in circles while under the chair in Luke's office. As soon as the camera came out, the tail chasing stopped...one of these days I will be sneaky enough to get Spots craziness on film. She seriously is the funniest cat. Until then, here are some pictures where they posed pretty well...

Gun Slinger

Luke recently got his concealed weapons permit (don't worry, he doesn't carry heat ALL the time) and has been dying to get a hand gun. He bought one just over a week ago so we went out Saturday with his brothers (Kortnee and Nick came too) to do some target practice. Now, I grew up shooting rifles and shotguns but have never really felt comfortable around hand guns, because honestly I had never used one. So Saturday I got some lessons- I am not good at all, so it will take a lot of practice, but I feel a lot more comfortable having a gun in my house now that I know how to use it. Mainly that I know how to use it safely. I also want to point out that I have really improved my shotgun shooting skills. I hit almost every clay pigeon I aimed at!

New camera

So the screen on my camera was busted during my flight to Oregon in January. I was totally bummed- it made it through the entire trip and then my bag must have been dropped or something on the flight back because when I pulled my camera out the screen was cracked. I have hated not having a camera, I didn't realize that I used it so much. We just ordered a new one and hope to have it next week. I will make sure to post some new pictures when I get it :)

February

Each year it seems like January and February are such slow months. They seem to last forever and are so cold and dull. Well this year it has not been that way! January was over before I could really blink and now I realize that there is only one week of February left now! I guess sometimes it is good for time to fly, I really do look forward to warmer weather...but as time goes by faster, the more I realize that I need to take advantage of my life and live it to the fullest. Which at times can seem challenging. How do you fit in all the things you NEED to do to keep your world turning and still make time for the things that you WANT to do? I don't have an answer (any suggestions are welcome)...but I do know that for myself I have to take baby steps, prioritize and take a step back and enjoy the little things in life. Last week Luke bought me flowers and I have moved them all around the house so that I can enjoy them. I know it is silly, but it has brightened my days. I spent the morning yesterday cleaning my baseboards and walls, and it has been so nice to walk through my house and see it sparkling clean. I am making progress I guess...

Little bit-o paradise

So a couple of weekends ago Luke and I went down to St. George to visit his dad. The weather was so beautiful, it was in the high 60's and just absolutely nice out. It was the perfect brake from the cold and blahhh that I really needed. We went around to all of the church history sites down there, to the Dinosaur excavation site and over to Zions. We even got to go swimming while we were down there! It was a ton of fun. We loved spending time with Gene and had a very enjoyable and relaxing weekend. Here are a few pictures from our trip.

I'm alive!

Don't fret I am still alive. December went by all to fast. I was very busy with work as usual and didn't take the time to post much. Luke and I had a wonderful Christmas just the two of us (and the kitties of course!) We kept it simple this year, but as always had fun shopping for each other and trying to surprise one another. The holidays were bitter-sweet this year as my parents' divorce was finalized the week before Christmas and my grandfather passed away the Sunday before Christmas. I struggled with feeling sorry for myself and MY trials and quickly realized that my struggles are small and that I have been very blessed. I have a wonderful family that has grown closer together through our varying trials this year and have gained a lot of strength and unity. I have an awesome husband and best friend, and soul mate. Luke took special care this year to make my birthday special; breakfast in bed, time alone to read, took me out for lunch and shopping and a yummy B-day cake from Cold Stone. I have a challenging and rewarding job that gives me the opportunity to stretch myself and gain new skills, this past week I was able to spend in Springfield, OR getting to know my boss and colleagues better. I am so very blessed and I want to thank all of the wonderful people that I associate with that enrich my life and remind me those days that I am forgetful, that life is good and I have much to be thankful for. Thank you for being that person to me...