The Before and After:

We have done all but the concrete in the past 12 days!! We have been BUSY! Working hard in the yard and making this home ours. Putting our stamp on it, and making it feel like home.

This is a shot from March.. Look at the yucky bushes in front of the porch.. I hated all of it. So out it came!!

Now we have hostas, shasta daises, lilies, and dwarf rhododendrons. Next year I think it will be BEAUTIFUL!! And the porch is much more noticeable now.

The back yard. Nothing done. And the concrete stoop was like 2X5 or something lame. Check out the swing set.. the kids are in HEAVEN!!
And more of the back yard.
And the after a 14X20 concrete patio. We added flower beds, lots of pretty plants and we are loving it.

And check out my awesome garden boxes. Tomatoes, Yellow peppers, and cucumbers.

And look this one has lettuce, spinach, and carrots! We did it last Tuesday and they are already sprouting!!!! WOO HOO!!

We All Chose This Plan

This has been on my mind a lot. And I keep wanting to blog it.. but I don't. But it matters to me, it is important, and it needs to be shared.

A long time ago we had our great Council in Heaven. We lost one third of our brothers and sisters, they followed Satan's plan. As a Mother it makes me so very sad to think that one third of God's children left. So with that I have come to realize that one third of the host of heaven is constantly trying to get us to not follow the plan of Salvation to return to live with Jesus Christ. And when you think about that, that is a lot of people working on each of us, all of the time.

And then I have thought some more. Every person on this Earth chose to follow Jesus Christ. Each of them knew this would be hard, it would be a test, and it wasn't going to be easy. But we knew it was right. We loved our Brother, Jesus Christ, and we had a great desire to follow Him. When I was in the Chicago Airport I was looking around with my kids at all of the people passing by and I wondered, do they know the truthfulness of the Gospel? Have they had an opportunity to learn? Do they know someone who has it? Am I being the type of example that I need to be? Will people know I am LDS by the way I act? I hope they do. I hope I treat others in such a way that there isn't a doubt. And I know I can ALWAYS do better. But I pondered this.

And I sat at a table with the kids for some "healthy" McDonald's for dinner and we had a few cookies and a kind older gentleman had offered us seats at his table, and Little Man gave him a cookie and we talked for a brief moment. I wished as he walked away that I had a Book of Mormon or a pass along card. I sat there looking around and thought I have the most precious wonderful gift in the World.. Am I sharing it with people enough? I don't think I am. I have had fear that people would feel I was a religious fanatic, or people would think if they weren't interested in the Church, I wasn't interested in them. But these fears are lessening. I want my friends, my neighbors, everyone I meet to know about our Savior Jesus Christ. I want people to know the blessings that His Gospel will bring to you. Eternal families, the Atonement, the plan of Salvation. These are all so very important. And when I stand in front of my Father, I want to tell Him I did my best. I shared with all I could. I lived my best. I tried my hardest.

I feel like the time is now to share this Gospel. I feel it more urgently than I ever have. We all chose this plan. We all believed in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Somewhere our Spirits recognize the Spirit, we have to push aside the Natural Man and let Him in though.

I am going to step out of my comfort level, out of my box, and do what I know I need to do. I will do my best to live the Gospel, to share the Gospel, and be the best example that I can be.

If you want to learn more about what I hold so dear, please go here, here, or here.

Yet Another Reason To Like Indy

Concerts. I don't have drive hours to attend concerts anymore. Not that I have really attended many concerts, but now I can. And yesterday, the 4th, I decided to check out the John Mayer, Colbie Caillat concert and see what kind of tickets were left for the concert tonight. They had seats left.. so Randy and I decided we had to go. Had to! In our married life we have never went to a concert together, and we both thought this was the way to kick it off.

Our seats were AWESOME! 10th row, dead in the middle. Do you see how close we are?? ANd do you see I am in more than one picture!!!! Seriously could we have planned it better?? The only bummer is I wasn't allowed to bring my nice camera in.. But I could bring the point and shoot, that I realized tonight definitely needs replacing.. but it worked.

I love the venue, just minutes from my house, an outdoor music center. It totally rocks!!

They had a band that opened for them.. they were okay. I was anxious for Colbie and John!!

Colbie totally rocked it. Seriously it was just awesome to hear her sing. It was wonderful!! She puts on quite the performance, and I was wishing I could hear more from her!!! And one of her guitarist looked an awful lot like Randy. He wasn't quite as cute.. but close! :)

And then John Mayer came out. He is an awesome guitarist. Oh my goodness. I had no idea, and he was just amazing. I love his music, the sound, the feel all of it. This is a concert I would HIGHLY recommend to people. Randy and I enjoyed every minute.. and I have a few short clips that we took, I haven't even seen them yet. But it was totally rad. And now off to bed!

Not Dead

Just busy. I am planning a post to show all of wonderful work we have been doing in our yard. In one week it has changed a lot.
I am almost all caught up on my editing. Well except for the last wedding from almost two weeks ago.
I am finally getting back to Eastern Time. Bouncing around the Country makes it hard to get a real schedule. Also bouncing around makes my allergies worse. A lot worse. The kids.. well we are finally going to bed before 11:00 PM.. YAY! Hopefully an 8:00 bedtime is in the near future.
I am still running!! YIPPEE! I am doing about 3.5 miles now. I am so excited. I had no idea that in such a short time I could do this. WOO HOO! And maybe.. just maybe I will be able to run a lot longer distance and do a race. We'll see.
Now back to being busy.

Home

After a week of glorious time with my Mom, the kids and I are home. It was a wonderful week. It involved me taking thousands of pictures, thanks to a few photo shoots, running early in the morning, giggling, hanging out with my coolest sister, and just feeling like I was in my element. It was nice to go back and visit my family and a few friends, sadly I couldn't see everyone I wanted to, but hanging out with my family was definitely number 1. Also Little Miss had a BIRTHDAY! She is 5! How did that happen?? It was a wonderful week. And now I am home. And be on the look out for some fun pictures!

Ready for it to be over?

Are you done with the anticipation? Ready to see it? Go HERE! Make sure you look under Specials to check out the best deals for the summer!

Father's Day

It wouldn't be right to not pay tribute to the man I love. He is an amazing father. He teaches our kids so much just by his example.
They laugh together, make gross boy noises together, and are the best boys in my life. He is Little Man's Hero.

This one has her Daddy wrapped around her finger. She hugs and kisses him in excitement each day, and proclaims she will marry Daddy. He is her first love. And because we rarely get a picture together, I stretched my arms and captured a moment of my very best friend with me. The one I love, cherish and thank my Heavenly Father for each day. Happy Father's Day dear, to the best husband, and Dad I know.

And lastly, I need to thank my own Daddy, for the blessing he is in my life. I have been born of goodly parents, those who taught me the gospel of Jesus Christ. My Dad is wonderful, and one of the best Grandpa's I have ever met. Thanks for being my Daddy.

Anticipation..

I am so excited! I bought myself a template for a website and all of my free time I am working on this sucker so I can go live. I cannot wait! I love the layout of it and everything. Right now I am trying to get pictures loaded up in the gallery and get it all ready to go live. Can't wait!!

And the iPod Stopped

It's late. I stink and I desperately need a shower. I just got home from a late night run, hoping it would be less humid. It wasn't, in fact I think it was more humid.. we have a storm rolling in. I run with my iPod, and it helps to pass the time and make the run seem less daunting and more doable. (It's crazy to think that 6 weeks ago, I wasn't a runner at all. Not that I really call myself a runner now... I am more of a wannabe.) Anyway.. back to my rambling. Today 13 minutes or so into my run my iPod quit. It said it was playing but no sound was coming out and so I ran with my friend listening to the pounding of the pavement, the breathing, and to all of the thoughts going on in my brain.

Right now I am pondering how to be a better mother. I read this talk today searching for answers that I feel right now I desperately need. There are answers in there that have been going through my head since I read this today. "There is no one perfect way to be a good mother. Each situation is unique. Each mother has different challenges, different skills and abilities, and certainly different children....What matters is that a mother loves her children deeply and, in keeping with the devotion she has for God and her husband, prioritizes them above all else. " -Elder Ballard. This part of the talk was good answer, and I have mulled it over in my brain. It feels like an answer that I have needed. And this one, "First, recognize that the joy of motherhood comes in moments. There will be hard times and frustrating times. But amid the challenges, there are shining moments of joy and satisfaction." These are the things I needed to hear today. And my iPod turning off ended up being a blessing. I was able to think clear my head and ponder what I should do to be a better Mother, and the Mother I want to be. To be the type of Mother my Mother was for me.

I also pondered the Second Coming of our Savior Jesus Christ. It has been on my mind. It seems like the world is getting more wicked and things are happening more and more. I wonder are we prepared? Am I doing the things I need to do to be prepared for that day? Is it closer than I would like to think? Because sometimes I think it could be. I have often thought I don't want to live when the world is THAT wicked, but the Devil is reigning over the Earth, it is THAT wicked now. And I am making it through each day. Maybe that is why Mothering is weighing so heavily on me right now. I feel like I have a enormous battle to fight, and I am ready to kick the crap out of Satan.

And I am sitting here, letting my battery die so my iPod will work another day.. but I am glad I had sometime to think and run. To ponder answers I have, and think more on questions I still have, and realize what I have to do.

Weird Wednesday

I am starting something new.. Wednesday is going to be Weird Wednesday. Embrace your weirdness. While getting dinner ready I ate a frozen potato wedge. I realized that is kind of weird. I like frozen fries, tater tots, potato wedges, any form of fried potato frozen I pretty much enjoy. I think I might like them better frozen than cooked. Weird.. I know. Jump in and embrace your weirdness.

In Case You Were Wondering...

My feet still hurt. I put off running until today, thinking they would get better, they haven't yet, but I ran anyway. I think I will be investing in some cute black maryjane crocs to shoot in from now on. At least for part of the day. But they were cute and I still say it was worth it.

Now back to your regularly scheduled day.

I Forgot to Mention

I have more wedding pictures posted here. Some today, and some in the next few days. And sometime I really need to go to just one blog and get everything else organized.

And for everyone concerned about us and the floods we are fine. Thanks for all of the love and concern. And I wasn't here for it so I have been totally clueless. Time to pull my head out of the sand and get back to life.

6 Things I Learned This Weekend:

1. Texas looks about the same as Indiana, except less green, but still greener than I expected.

2. Texas is hot and humid, but not any worse than Indiana's hot and humid, at least Dallas.

3. Wearing cute new heels all day for over 12 hours will leave you with very sore feet, even two days later.

4. I actually don't mind the humidity, I think it is wearing on me. I love the heat.

5. I still think I would like to live in Texas one day.

6. Red and Yellow are gorgeous colors for a wedding. I wasn't sure, but here is the proof.

The Start of Summer

Little Man just finished Kindergarten. In two months he will be in First Grade. That doesn't seem possible to me. How quickly he is growing up.
Little Miss turns 5 in just a few weeks. And in the fall she will be in Kindergarten. After this summer I won't have my lazy days with her. And the times to just snuggle. Not until next summer.

This summer I am going to take my time to enjoy the lazy days of summer. To look for the butterflies, catch worms, play at the park, blow bubbles, eat Popsicles and have fun. I am realizing how quickly they are growing up. The time passes too quickly. I want to sit at the pool and have fun. I want to capture the moments that we remember throughout our childhood.

Hot.. Humid..

I wasn't planning to talk about running again.. because I am really just beginning, and well I have no idea what type of running I am going to end up doing.

I was supposed to run yesterday, but we had thunder and lightning storms, and I just don't want to chance my luck. So I ran today. It was 80 degrees out and 75% humidity. Oh.My.Goodness. It is like running in my bathroom after a shower. I walked in all sticky, sweaty, I think I was sweating more than I ever have. I never have it just running off of me. It was totally gross. And I hear this isn't as bad as it gets yet. I think I am going to melt. And the sad thing is this was 7:30AM.

What happened to my cool mornings and nights I am used to. I miss the dry desert climate. All though the tornadoes intrigue me... is that weird? Because I would love to see one. I know strange as it may be I want to just see one, and not have it touch us. Call me crazy.

Go Me!

I forgot to mention because of my many other distractions on Friday. I ran two miles straight, in twenty minutes. I am excited. I haven't ran that far solid in years. In the next two weeks I will be running three miles straight. It has gotten so much easier, and I am hoping to start my 10K training by the end of this month. And hopefully I will reach some of my other fitness goals along they way!

Eventful Day

I didn't mention what my snazzy new gear was. But here it is. Overnight from Amazon. My heart is fluttering, I am in love.
My mail bomb as Randy calls it. I say it is the UPS bomb, I was ripping open the packaging, plugging batteries, and waiting to play! My girl. Seriously she is just the sweetest thing!
Chilling on the front steps.. just being herself.

Little Man with a handsome grin!
My kiddos looking like the happy siblings they are!! YAY!I was thrilled to get to play with my camera. And then I was able to play some more.. and run. scream. hide.

We had a storm.. with lightning. Thunder. Wind. Tornado Watches. All sorts of fun things. (This never happened in WA!!)

A lightning flash

See how dark it was with out the lightning.



Sorry for the blur, it scared me. Really it did. I have never been around stuff like this before.

And more of our neighbors backyard.


Needless to say, last night was eventful and a little crazy.

Photo Shoots in Washington

As many of my friends know, I am coming back from the 18-25th of June. I will have a few days that I am able to schedule photo shoots. Please leave me a comment or email me if you are interested, and I will send you a price list. This is a first come first serve basis. I have had several inquiries so I am just putting it out there for everyone.

Can't wait to see you, we are now under three weeks until we are there. Can't wait!!!!
And I will have my snazzy new gear. I am excited!

I Cleared the Memory Card

Normally I clear my memory card daily. Lately.. I am totally slacking. These go all the way back to May 10th. Seriously what is wrong with me. I guess I have just been preoccupied with all my stuff around home. And other hobbies.

First they had a Kindy-500 Race.. The INDY 500 is huge here. Personally I am so not interested in it, but whatever. I was totally giggling at the fact that this was such a huge thing at the school, and they even studied it. See the boy next to Little Man, nice little card. Now do you see the BIG UPS truck made out of one of our wardrobe boxes.. yep that is Little Man's. He totally did it all by himself.
He ran his heart out and did a great job!! Even if his car was 3 times his size.
And because this is funny.. his look for Mom when I take pictures. This was just this past Friday, he loved every minute of it.. and I just sat there giggling.. we are from Washington, we so don't get this.

And then we had the Beach Bash at the school. It was tons of fun for both of the kids. They played, won prizes and just enjoyed every minute of it! They even got to climb a rock wall. Here they are all harnessed up.
Little Miss did her best, and enjoyed every minute. Little Man had a harder wall, but he did great!

All the way back to May 10th we did the Zoo. The kids went on the 8th.. remember the bucketing. I promised we would go back when it was warm.. it was nice two days later so here are some of my favorite Zoo pics. I totally giggle at the farm animals there, and the sign that says they will Bite, Kick or Butt.
The big Grizzly Bear. Looks so sweet chewing on his nice bone.. some poor sucker jumped in there.
I love the flamingos. I thought they were just awesome!
And the butterflies.. Not as many as at the Science Center, but it was still cool.

This is Little Man's common pose when I get out the camera. I am not sure why. Seriously pull one leg up jump up and down and think it is just awesome. Whatever dude.. you are cute and I love the memories.. they always make me smile.

The seals sun bathing.. they were just awesome to watch!
Randy and the kids before the Dolphin Show And we had to get one of me, to prove I am actually there!


The Giraffe's were so cool. You can feed them but the line was so long, I figured we would go another day. And the Zebra. I totally dig Zebra's.
So with tons of pictures here are a few things we have been doing this month. We had cousins to visit and I have those pictures, from when we went to the Speedway.. (overrated IMO) and I need to put those up.. maybe if I get around to it. I should.. but we'll see. Have fun with the picture overload.

70.69

That is how much it cost me to fill my van with gas today. Does that even seem right? I remember back when Randy and I were married in 1999 it was 98 cents a gallon. Now it is $.3.93 today and going up. When gas hit $2.00 I thought it was ridiculous. And hearing that it will go over $5 this summer is just crazy. Thankfully not everything has increased by 400% in the past 9 years. But I do know that I am definitely watching how much I drive and trying to conserve as much as possible. One good thing about not living by family or really having friends I pretty much stay home all the time and just hang out in my house. I drive less. Since moving here I have now filled up twice. Not too shabby.
What about you? How much was your last fill up? And what are you doing about it?

Tagged!

I was tagged by April!! Finally.. I am doing this. I think I might have done it a while ago.. but whatever.

5 things I was doing 10 years ago:

1. Getting ready to graduate High School!!
2. Getting diagnosed with Lupus.
3. Getting ready to see Shania Twain in concert.
4. Getting ready to move.. something that has become quite a pattern for me.
5. Enjoying being a kid.

5 things on my to do list:

1. Clear my memory card.. I should upload and show off some pictures.
2. Get working on a Logo.
3. Practice Piano.
4. Finish the Host.
5. Get all my workouts in this week.

5 favorite snacks/food:

1. Ice Cream.
2. Skittles.
3. Starburst.
4. Chips and Salsa.
5. Smoothies.

5 things I would do if I was a billionaire:

1. Pay off our house.
2. Invest.
3. Go on a cool vacation.
4. Donate to a charity I believe in.
5. Serve several missions for our Church with my husband.

5 bad habits:

1. Talking short in my tone, when I don't mean to.
2. Procrastination.
3. Shopping for therapy.. Bad habit.. but I love it!
4. Chewing Gum.
5. Not finishing my thoughts.

5 Places I have lived:

1. Washington State
2. Washington State
3. Washington State
4. Washington State
5. Indiana

5 People I tag:

1. Jackie!
2. Misty
3. Tiff
4. Alli
5. Marilyn

Peer Pressure

I finally succumbed to peer pressure. For a year I have been told I should read the Twilight series. I have resisted, I didn't want to read about Vampires, not my cup of tea. And finally some one handed me the first book to read. I took it resistant sure that it was going to be BORING. I am sure you can see where this is going...
I finally after having it for a few days started to read it. And then I kept reading it, and it was just awesome. And then I ran to Wal-Mart.. okay I drove and bought Book 2 and ordered number 3 from Amazon, and also ordered the Host. They arrive today! I finished book 2 last night and I am anxious to read the next book. They are great and taking all of my free time.
If you are fighting reading them, just give up. Read it, join in the obsession. I am glad I waited until now.. Book 4 is out in August. I can't wait!

28

I have officially been 28 for a day. It's not too bad. I feel the same as I did two days ago when I was still 27. The perks so far, after 9 years of celebrating birthdays I finally got what I have always asked for. I got to go shopping. And Randy chose all sorts of wonderful clothing items for me and it was just awesome. Thanks dear! Seriously what could be any better! And then this morning I see a sweet post from my best friend for the past what... 5 years Tiffany, wishing me a Happy Birthday. It was totally sweet and just made my day. Thanks girl. I had calls from those I love, and cards in the mail, and flowers from a sweet sister-in-law, and just a great day. So far 28 rocks.

Dude..

Our house is now under contract back home... I guess where I live is home now.. but that feels like 'home' anyway. I am giddy it is sold!!

And a quick shout out to my twin Dr. Kelli! Hope your birthday was awesome!! And how are you liking 28! Sadly I don't think she blogs.. if she does she hasn't let me in on her secret. We have been friends for 20 years now. Dude.. we are so old. Happy Birthday Girl!

Proving my Immaturity

I never profess to be like totally mature. Because like, I am so not.

Here in Indiana I have seen the names of two medical facilities that makes me go.. really you couldn't come up with a better name? And then I giggle. First the Colon and Rectal Care Center. Guess what they do? The other one is even better Hemorrhoid Center Plus. I pretty much bust up every time I see the sign, and it still shocks me. You can't help but see it driving along the freeway. Seriously is that the best name they could come up with? Hemorrhoid Center Plus.. plus what? What else do they do? They have no problem telling there main problem they deal with. Think the plus means they do pediatrics? Geriatrics? At least you won't stumble in there or the Colon and Rectal Care Center and get any surprises. The names lays it all out there for you. No questions at all.

And hey it give me a great laugh every time I see it. My kids are going to be like so mature too.