Like A Fat Kid Loves Cake

Reason For Our Absence...

2011-11-04T12:32:00.000-07:00

We have spent the past two months on our knees. It is amazing how quickly you can be brought to remembrance of how precious life is and how incredibly giving our Heavenly Father continues to be. It is no secret that Dallas and I have been trying to start a family. It’s been a long frustrating and heartbreaking journey over the past three years. We have become accustomed to the sadness of receiving negative results test after test. And have become even more accustomed to the sadness that follows after receiving positive results and then weeks later being crushed by miscarriages. I know there are several people that can relate since loss is so constantly prevalent in our day-to-day lives.

At the beginning of September we found out that we are pregnant again. It breaks my heart to admit that we wouldn’t allow ourselves to get excited. Immediately the fears and worry returned from the previous experiences. I love Dallas so much. I am constantly baffled as to how I ended up with someone so kind, loving, patient, and understanding. He has held me through some of the hardest weeks, trying to not feel anxious while being frightened every time I would feel a cramp. He has come home to a house full of messes and not full of food; to a crying wife worried that the worst would happen.

It is in these moments of fear that I have turned to our Heavenly Father; to ask for comfort and peace and to fill my heart with hope again, which He has done so. We have heard our baby’s heart beat (three times now), seen our baby bounce around (and I’m pretty sure, wave to me), and have felt all of the extremely “fun” symptoms that a pregnant mom feels during the first trimester.

Even though we are still very scared, I keep telling my family that it helps to know that there are people out there excited for us; so that when our fears and worry overwhelm us we still know there are people celebrating.

We have successfully made it through the first trimester, finishing up 13 weeks…further than we have made it before. Our little one is due the first week of May and we couldn’t feel more blessed.

So I apologize for our absence; for my not responding to emails, texts, and voice mails and not keeping updated on our blog. My life right now consists of sleeping, eating, and more sleeping. I should probably also try to fit in a little grocery shopping for Dallas at some point…

Photo of the Week 33

2011-09-13T17:44:00.000-07:00

Nothing like a great jumping picture at the beach!

Dallas and I spent Labor Day at the beach with our family and we had a blast. More pictures to come...

I love the surfers waiting for the next big wave in the background. The ocean was full of them that day and it's always fun to watch them surf.

Seattle: Pike Place Market

2011-09-10T19:02:00.000-07:00

The next morning mom, dad, Stuart, Dallas and I walked up the hill to Pike Place Market for breakfast. We had fresh baked breads from the local bakery and wondered through the market place. I love coming to Pike Place. The colors lined on both sides from food and flowers are absolutely gorgeous. We bought fresh Rainier cherries, blueberries, and raspberries and then took them to the neighboring park to snack on while we people watched in the sun. It was the perfect morning!

We couldn't believe how big the shrimp were! The fish smell was a little strong, but we couldn't resist from taking the classic fish face picture.

I loved all the different flowers row after row, but my favorites were the dahlias. They have gorgeous heart shape petals and come in vibrant shades.

We had a wonderful morning eating fresh fruits and relaxing. We made it back to the hotel a few minutes before check out and then headed to the theater to see Les Miserables with the rest of my family. I'm in love with Seattle!

Seattle: Marriott Waterfront

2011-09-10T17:34:00.000-07:00

On our second night in Seattle we met up with mom, dad, and my younger brother Stuart. My parents spoiled us with a relaxing nights stay at the Seattle Marriott Waterfront Hotel. It had incredible views of the ocean and pier. It was a lot of fun to explore the waterfront shops and watch all the interesting people pass by.

For dinner we walked across the street to Anthony's at pier 66. We were seated next to the windows for a gorgeous view of the bay and sunset. I loved looking out at the marina and watching the people take care of their boats. There was a lady laying on the back of her sail boat while her husband took care of tying up the rigging...what a life! I also loved that there were police speed boats docked as well.

Dinner was wonderful. The food was so fresh, caught that day. We had a lot of fun catching up with mom and dad and hearing Stuart's latest antics. We really do have an amazing family, such generous and hilarious parents. After dinner we wondered along the pier, window shopped, and enjoyed a gorgeous evening.

Thanks again for spoiling us mom and dad!

Seattle: Owen Beach

2011-09-09T23:22:00.000-07:00

After Heather and I took the girls to Point Defiance Botanical Gardens, we drove five minutes up the road to Own Beach for a picnic. It was an absolutely gorgeous and warm day, pretty rare for the Pudget Sound. We ate lunch and then quickly helped the girls get in their swim suits.

My sister-in-law, Heather is gorgeous! It's no wonder that my nieces and nephews are such cuties...they've got some great genes!

Sadie was so funny to watch. She is fearless and LOVED the water, even though it was freezing. She would walk backwards into the waves, spread her legs and lower herself into the splits, get pounded by a wave, want help getting up, and then run willingly back into the water. I should have taken a video, because it was pretty hilarious to watch.

The biggest difference between beaches in Washington and beaches in California is the sand. There is no sand in Washington. The beach consisted of small and medium sized rocks, which made for a classic diaper picture while Sadie climbed on drift wood. Nothings cuter than a rocky, saggy diaper!

Seattle: Point Defiance Rose Gardens

2011-09-09T21:59:00.000-07:00

The weekend in August Dallas and I flew up to Seattle to see Les Miserables, Dallas had to work one of the days in the Seattle office. Heather and I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to visit Point Defiance Rose Gardens near Tacoma. My two youngest nieces, Katrina and Sadie, were super excited to see all the gorgeous flowers and I was more than happy to take several pictures of it all.

Each entrance to the garden had a long archway path covered in flowers. I felt like we were walking into the "Secret Garden." Sadie is quite the character and it was all we could do to make sure she didn't tear apart all the petals as we passed. I love this shot of Katrina kissing Sadie. They are both such sweet girls and I absolutely LOVED being able to spend such quality time with them!

There were several different paths we were able to explore. I loved the different wooden arches and benches spread throughout the garden. They also did an amazing job with the mix of colors from all the different types of flowers.

Katrina was such a great model! I have never had her so willing to smile for the camera. There were even several times where she would say, "Ooh take a picture of me here!" She was also pretty cute dancing through all the tall rows, as demonstrated in the picture below. Sadie was hilarious to watch. She would be walking and jumping around and then the next minute lay on the ground for a break. At one point we looked over and she had sat herself down right in the middle of a gorgeous flowerbed. Needless to say those flowers were pretty squished when she stood a few minutes later.

When we left the garden, the neighboring park was covered in geese. It was pretty cute to see Sadie chase after them and Heather chase after Sadie trying to save her from the annoyed geese.

Photo of the Week 32

2011-09-05T17:37:00.000-07:00

Have you ever looked back through a set of pictures that you recently downloaded and found one that literally melts your heart? I don't know if there is anything sweeter than getting a glimpse of how incredible Dallas is going to be as a daddy. He's already an amazing uncle!

Photo of the Week 31

2011-08-29T19:05:00.000-07:00

Taken at Point Defiance Botanical Garden in Washington.

I absolutely LOVE the water droplets along the leaves.

Neighborhood Celebrates Shawn's Birthday

2011-08-29T18:53:00.000-07:00

At the end of July, our neighborhood block got together to help celebrate Shawn's birthday. His wife, Aubrey, is a close friend of mine that I've had a blast serving with in Primary. We all brought something to share for dinner and then started up the BBQ. I've loved the summer days here in California allowing everyone to get out and have fun with each other!

Shawn blowing out his candles.

Who would have thought that the parking lot would be such an awesome hangout!? Now if only we could find a good patch of grass...

The Bishop came riding in on his motorcycle to help celebrate the festivities. His son, Nick, joined in as well. Like father; like son!

It's no secret that Dallas and I have been trying to start a family. It's been a frustrating and unsuccessful process, but I have to admit that I have the most amazing friends surrounding me. They are so understanding about letting me fawn over their children and practice my photography on them. There were so many opportunities at this party to capture what sweethearts they are.

Look what cuties I have around me...

I feel so blessed to be surrounded by such incredible friends!

Flashback Friday: Poly Flava

2011-08-26T17:23:00.000-07:00

During the summer of 2003, my friends and I threw one of my favorite parties of all time. I had just recently returned from my semester teaching in New Zealand and I still had a "bit" of the Polynesian Islands on my mind. What better summer group date than a themed "Poly Flava" one!?

All of the girls pitched in with the decorations. It was quite the feat! We covered all of the apartment walls with light and dark blue butcher paper. Than we all spent hours cutting out and creating fish and other sea animals to put in our 'ocean'. The Heimback sisters pretty much took over using their creative genes to come up with some of the most creative sea life. Becky even made duck butts to put on the ceiling so it looked like we were in the water looking up to the surface...genius! We made a kelp garden out of brown butcher paper, hung green and blue ribbon and streamers from the ceiling to make it have the feeling of being surrounded by sea weed. We also had a big bucket filled with sand for people to make sand castles and burning tiki torches. We even filled an entire kiddie pool inside of our apartment and then put 30 gold fish inside...I'll fill you in on what we did with the left over gold fish later... In short the decorations turned out amazingly!

Everyone came dressed in their Polynesian outfits. It was a good thing I brought back 7 different sarongs from New Zealand so those who didn't have anything to wear could borrow one. JT even borrowed my coconut bar to wear for the evening, although it was a bit difficult to stay up!

We started the evening with dinner, Hawaiian Pizza, but since there were over thirty of us attending, several sat outside on the grass to eat. We then broke up into groups to play games while Polynesian music played in the back ground. It was a great way to meet new people and have fun with friends.

In the above picture you can see the kiddie pool along with all the gold fish. The fish loved all the music! After games we all packed into the apartment for a fun dance party. One of my best friends, Whitney, and I ended up getting a little out of control (like usual) and almost fell into the pool...no worries though, no gold fish were injured...at that point...

In the above picture you can see Mikey in front of the sandbox and tiki torches. Thank heavens we had such great guy friends! They were great about helping us move all the sand the next couple days.

After dinner, games, and the dance party, we all drove out to the Heimback's cousins' house. They have an incredible valley in their back yard that was perfect for an outdoor movie. We all brought tons of pillows and blankets, coated on the mosquito repellent, and then sat back to enjoy our movie. It was the perfect ending to a super fun date!

Thanks to all those who were a part of this night! It continues to be one of my favorite memories from the 198th ward :) Love you guys!

My Birthday...a month ago

2011-08-26T16:13:00.000-07:00

I had a great birthday this year.

It was the day after I got back from Utah, so I spent most of the day trying to recoperate from my week long road trip. I watched some movies, did laundry, went out to lunch with a good friend, and enjoyed my surprise gifts from the morning. Dallas surprised me with three dozen gorgeous roses. They were absolutely beautiful and made our house smell amazing!

I also found this incredible gift from my niece and nephews...

They had snuck over to our house at some point in the night and had "heart attacked" our front door. Their drawings were pretty creative with a lot of inside jokes. It melted my heart to see them all! I love that we live so close together. Here are just a few of my favorites from the door.

That night a bunch of girls came over to help celebrate. One of my close friends, Jenny, also had a birthday that week so we thought it would be tons of fun to combine them. All the girls came over for fun treats and then, since it was Monday night, we watched the Bachelorette :) It was a perfect birthday!

Most of our group, some girls came a little later and missed the picture. (Back Row) Michelle, Stephanie, Jen, Ashley, Jules, and Kenzie. (Front Row) Rachel, me, Jenny, and Emily. I am so incredibly blessed to be surrounded by such fun and loving women! They're GREAT friends!

I have to admit I am feeling a bit older. It is weird to think that I am officially in my thirties and my gray hair never seems to slow down. I guess that's life though. We'll see if I'm still so calm about it next year!

Final Rose Ceremony

2011-08-25T00:15:00.000-07:00

My summer has been so full with lots of fun! Therefore I am spending these next couple evenings trying desperately to catch up with all of my posts before I start teaching next week. Let's see if I can do it!

I have a guilty pleasure.

I happen to love ABC's the Bachelor and Bachelorette reality TV shows.

It started when I was living in south Provo with roommates Jules, Brittney, and Brooke. They all loved the show and would record it each Monday night so we could watch it together as an apartment. No matter how hard I tried (which wasn't that hard) I couldn't help but get sucked into the mind numbing drama. So here I am four years later and I am still watching each season. The best part, by far: the girls' parties each week!

Every Monday night a group of us girls would get together at my place and watch each episode. We would gather and chat about which boy Ashley should choose, what ridiculous dramatic element each of the people were adding to the show, and giggle over the cheesy romance and one liners throughout. It has been a great way for people to get to know each other and I love any excuse to throw a party and hang out with my girls!

So obviously I couldn't just do the basic for the final rose ceremony/season finale. I had a lot of fun planning, decorating, and coercing my sweetheart of a husband to execute all of my ridiculous ideas. First of all you can't have a Bachelorette Party without roses! Thank you to Safeway for throwing a killer sale on roses that week! Our house was covered from head to toe in red balloons, white candles, and hundreds of rose petals. You would have thought it was our honeymoon or something!

Dallas was such a sweetheart and helped blow up hundreds of balloons, cut strawberries and lemons, and do most of the cleaning while I was preparing the party games. I found pictures of each of the bachelors faces and created a Go Fish deck of cards for the girls to play while waiting for everyone to arrive. It was pretty funny to hear the girls ask each other, "Do you have Aimes?" etc, "No, Go Fish!" I also had a Bachelorette quiz game where I would throw chocolates at those who could answer the question correctly. As people entered the apartment, they voted for who they thought Ashley was going to choose, Ben or JP. I also had a raffle with fun give aways people put their names into.

The girls brought fun treats to share with everyone, so we were set for the evening. One thing that you have to know before coming to one of our parties is that there is LOTS of talking, all about the show. Needless to say when Ashley finally did make her choice there was an uproar from Ben supporters and cheers from JP supporters. Hopefully we didn't scare my neighbors too badly!

It was such a fun night and I feel so blessed to be surrounded by such fun women.

Thanks for coming everyone!

We will have to do it again soon!

Guess Who's the Birthday Girl??

2011-08-24T22:53:00.000-07:00

Much to my mother's protests, I am dedicating an entire post to her in honor of her birthday. Growing up in the middle of a whole bunch of boys, my mother was my ally. True we had our ups and downs once I hit puberty, like I have mentioned before I tended to be quite the drama queen, but she literally was, is, and will continue to be my best friend.

I have several favorite memories with my momma.

I love coming home and singing for hours while she plays the piano. We are the best at duets since our voices literally match one another. There have been countless road trips where we sing along to musical after musical at the tops of our lungs, even conducting the orchestra on the side.

My mom has held me through all of my hardest moments in life and constantly lends a listening ear. When I taught full time, she would drive all the way down to Utah a couple weeks before school started just to help set up the classroom. Any teacher knows how crazy those few days before school starts are!

Mom is a perfect example of love. She loves so opening and freely; family, friends, neighbors, ward members. Her constant example to love and serve those around you is inspiring. Both she and dad have emulated throughout the years unconditional generosity. No matter what their circumstances, they always find ways to give to others.

I loved shopping for the wedding with my mom. I remember standing in the mirror swishing my puffy white wedding gown back and forth with my mom. We both were so excited to have found the princess dress of my dreams. I loved having her in the temple with me, in the bridal room, putting together the finishing touches.

Dallas jokes about how touchy my family is. I realized a long time ago that my love language is touch, but Dallas pointed out how each of the siblings, when we return home, tend to fight over who can sit close to mom. He said it's pretty funny to sit back and watch us casually get closer and closer, stealing eachother's spots, so we can be closest to mom. We lay on her lap, have her scratch our backs, play with our hair, etc. It says a lot when your six children, even those in their 30's, are still trying to get snuggle time with their mother!

Mom, I love you.

Your children love you.

Your husband loves you.

Your family loves you.

Your friends love you.

I'm sure the owners of the 5th Avenue Theater and Paramount Theaters love you.

That's a lot of love.

Hopefully you feel very blessed!

Happy birthday, mommy!

I hope you had an incredible day celebrating.

Seattle: Les Miserables

2011-08-24T01:43:00.000-07:00

When I was a little girl, I remember my mother first introducing me to the music of Les Miserables. I would lay on my bed listening to the cassette tapes and sing along reading the lyrics as I went. There were even times I would act out different scenes from the play in front of the mirror. I was quite proud of my Fantine and Eponine death scenes in particular. (If you couldn't tell, I was quite the drama queen...) I remember my mom getting the sheet music for the piano and quickly we made it a tradition for me to sing with her as she played the accompaniment.

I vividly remember seeing Les Miserables for the first time in Seattle. I was around 10 years old and couldn't get over how beautiful the 5th Avenue Theatre was. From the time the orchestra started to play to when the conductor cut off the final note, I was mesmerized; literally enchanted by the music, voices, and talent from the stage. Tears streamed my face throughout the evening to several of my favorite songs; "I Dreamed a Dream," "On My Own," "Bring Him Home," "Little Fall of Rain," "Stars," "One Day More," and "Do You Hear the People Sing." Throughout the years the magic never faded. I was able to see Les Miserables another three times, twice in New York and once in London, all with the same emotional outcome.

I was lucky to have music surround me growing up and was blessed to have parents put forth such an effort and priority in exposing us to the beauty found within musicals, specifically Les Miserables. So you can see why last month, when PBS reran their 25th Anniversary Concert program of Les Miserables (staring my absolute favorite of all time--Lea Solanga as Fantine) I found myself sitting 'on my own' in front of the television sobbing my eyes out singing along to each of the songs. I quickly called my mom in tears giggling at my obnoxiousness. It was during this conversation that she told me she and dad had gotten tickets for both Dallas and I to attend the 25th Anniversary tour coming through Seattle this past weekend. It was the absolute PERFECT birthday present!

From my family: Mom, Dad, younger brother Stuart, younger brother Richard and his wife Leisha, Dallas and I. We also met up with our "extended family," Ben and Kim.

The 5th Avenue theater has always been one of my favorite theaters, probably due to all of the childhood memories. It is gorgeously decorated with intricate gold and silver Chinese designs and has an incredibly detailed ceiling. All of the below pictures were taken from various sites on the internet.

We were extremely spoiled with INCREDIBLE seats eight rows from the stage. (Thank you again mom and dad!!)

It is a family tradition to get together during intermission and compare/discuss what we think of the production. I love to talk with mom about the different voices and compare them to past cast members we have seen. There wasn't much to say except praise during this intermission! They all had such incredible voices, especially Jean Val Jean. His rendition of "Bring Him Home" was to die for; flawless falsetto.

For the 25th Anniversary Tour all the sets have changed. I loved the new additions. They used a great mix of modern technology yet still stayed true to the original feel of the play. The orchestration was also revamped, adding lots of new and interesting instruments to the mix.

Once again, Les Miserables did not dissappoint! I swear I could see this play another 30 times and still feel that same tingle down my back lifting the hairs on my arms every time that opening chord plays from the orchestra pit. It continues to be my favorite musical of all time.

Thanks so much for the amazing weekend, mom and dad. We love you both so very much and feel constantly spoiled by your extreme generosity!

Couldn't help but share two performances from my favorite Broadway star of all time, Lea Salonga. I first fell in love with her when she starred in Miss Saigon. She later starred as Eponine in the 10th Anniversary Tour of Les Miserables and as Fantine in the 25th Anniversary Tour. After all these years her voice remains incredibly pure and powerful!

Photo of the Week 30

2011-08-22T17:41:00.000-07:00

Dallas and I just got back from an incredible weekend in Seattle visiting family and seeing the 25th Anniversary touring cast of Les Miserables. Needless to say it was an amazing weekend and I can't wait to post all about it! The photo of the week captures two of my little nieces enjoying the cold water in the Pudget Sound at Point Defiance beach.

Utah Trip

2011-08-15T19:16:00.000-07:00

As the summer is coming to a close, I look back and am in awe of how quickly it flew by!

Do I really start teaching in a couple weeks?

I was told that as you get older the years fly by faster and faster.

I look in the mirror and see the gray roots coming in and the smile lines visible next to my eyes and can only imagine how fast the years will continue to fly by!

In July I spent a week in Utah visiting friends and family. It was a last minute decision to drive out for a few days and was unfortunately not able to see several dear friends due to the limited time. If you were one of those friends I wasn't able to get in touch with, I'm so sorry and hope to be out there again soon!

The main purpose of my trip was to spend some time with my new little niece, Brynnlee. Brynn was born in February and I couldn't wait any longer without meeting her! I spent the first couple days of my trip hanging out with my sis-in-law, Ashleigh, and getting as many snuggles in as possible with little Brynn. Anyone who knows me, knows that I tend to be a little obsessed with my nieces and nephews and Brynnlee is no exception to this rule! Within seconds I fell in love with her sweet smile and heart melting laugh. It's so much fun to see Ashleigh and Robbie as parents. They are so proud and excited, how could they not be!? Ash and I had tons of fun going out to lunch at Kneaders and then spending the rest of the day shopping. I may have had some fun buying clothes for little Brynn. My only wish is that we lived closer and we got to see them more often. The good news is that we will all be together for Christmas this year in Wyoming. Can't wait to see our Perkins family!

The second day in Utah I met up with some of our closest friends, the Aydelottes. I wish I could put into words how good it was to see them. They recently moved from California to Utah in April and it has been so hard to have them gone. Tammy was my first friend I made when I moved to the Pleasant Hill area and they quickly became a permanent fixture in our lives. It was a serious "pick-me-up" getting to catch up with them!

Stella had just barely turned 2 when Dallas and I moved to California, now she is a big 5 year old riding a bike! I can't believe how old she is getting. She was so excited to show me her new bike and tell me all about her upcoming year of Kindergarten. My favorite: she would come up behind me and jump on my back giving me a big hug and say how much she missed me. The feeling is mutual, Stella, the feeling is mutual!

Ruby was born on New Years and is probably the chunkiest little girl I have ever seen! I loved going over to their house before they moved and spending hours simply snuggling with little Ruby. She's such a sweetheart and so kissable. Don't you just love all the fat roles? To say we miss you guys would be a horrible understatement. We love you guys so much and can't wait to see you all again. We are counting down to New Years!

The Aydelottes: Ruby, Glenn, Stella, and Tammy

My third day in Utah I drove from Ogden down to Salt Lake to have lunch with one of my New Zealand girls, Ashley. It had literally been since 2005 that I had last been able to see Ashley. After our semester teaching in New Zealand, Ashley and I decided to travel back to NZ two years later for a month of adventure. The below collage is just a few highlights from our second trip to NZ together. It was SO good to catch up with her. Ashley is one of the most genuinely kind people I have ever met. She is such a dear friend and is so beautiful, talented, and loveable. As you can tell, I could go off about how incredible this girl is, but I will refrain for the time being. Needless to say, lunch was so much fun seeing her again and reminiscing about old adventures together. I love ya, girl! We totally need to have a girls weekend asap!

After lunch in Salt Lake, I drove down to Provo/Orem and up the Provo Canyon. I lived in Provo for 10 years going to school at BYU and then later accepting a teaching position in south Provo. It brought back so many memories revisiting my old stomping grounds and feeling so blessed to have met such incredible people along the way. I absolutely love living in California now, being so close to the ocean, but I do miss the Utah mountains. I had a gorgeous drive up through the canyon and down memory lane.

After my drive up the canyon, I picked up Cammi for a fun girls' afternoon. I started mentoring Cammi back in 2004 until I got married in 2008. I love Cammi with all of my heart. She is one of the most brilliant and creative people I have ever met. I used to call her my little Camstar, but when I picked her up, I quickly realized she is not so little any more! She is now in high school, wearing makeup, and talking about boys. It was SO much fun to hang out with her and catch up! We went and got pedicures and then out to dinner. She is such an amazing girl and I am so excited to see all that she'll accomplish in her life. I love ya, Cammi! Thanks again for the fun afternoon!

After my fun afternoon with Cammi, I drove down to south Provo and spent the night with my good friend Tracy. It turned out to be a rather long night, since my air mattress I brought kept deflating and I ended up on the hard ground. If I were smart I would have just moved to one of Tracy's couches...but that would have required me to be coherent in my decision making. When she left for work the next morning, I drove out to Spanish Fork to meet up with one of my best friends, Janelle. Janelle is my sister, or the closest I can get to a sister having all brothers! She has been such a strength throughout the last 7 years that I've known her. I love her so much and count her friendship as one of the sweetest blessings I've received in my life. We spent the morning chatting and then we went out to lunch at one of my favorites, Cafe Rio. Many a night I've dreamed about the grilled chicken salad with fresh pico, lime, and cilantro. It was a perfect relaxing afternoon of talking and eating.

After our lunch we headed over to Jason's house. Both Jason and Janelle taught with me at Sunset View Elementary for several years and have continued to be two of my closest friends. They've both been out to visit the bay area twice a year since I moved, so our crazy adventures continue.

One of my other main reasons for visiting Utah, was to attend the midnight showing of the last Harry Potter movie. I know, I'm in my thirties and I planned a trip around the opening of a kid's movie, but the Harry Potter series has been a huge chunk of my life the past few years. I've spent years teaching in the classroom, using the characters developed by J.K. Rowling to show the value of friendship, bravery, creativity, forgiveness, love, etc. Wonderful memories have been shared with friends reading the books, attending the movies, and even traveling to Harry Potter World. As teachers we would attend the midnight opening movie and then go into school the next day for work. I thought it was only necessary that I make the journey out to Utah to attend the midnight showing one last time with my dear friends.

Janelle, Jason, and I decided that the perfect way to warm up before our midnight fun was to watch the first of the Harry Potter Deathly Hallows movie. Jason has quite the bachelor pad, so we lived it up on his leather couches, surround sound, and massive projection screen.

Janelle and I got the job of getting to the theater early to save seats for everyone. We thought it would be smart for us to grab some dinner to sneak in while we waited. My other favorite restaurant in Provo: Gurus, where they serve the absolute best cilantro lime quesadillas ever!

Provo Town Center was crawling with thousands of crazy Harry Potter fans. It made for the perfect evening of people watching and catching up with friends. Gregg and Julie met up with Janelle, Jason, and I for the evening's festivities...and yes I brought my Elder Wand I bought at Harry Potter World. It was an incredible night. The movie was great and I thought did justice to a priceless series. I was pretty tired by the time we got home at 3:30am, though!

The next morning Janelle and I slept in and tried to recuperate from the previous night. For lunch we met up with our dear friend Suzanne. She used to teach at Sunset View as well and quickly became an incredible mother figure. She was even able to attend Dallas and I's temple sealing, so it was so good to see her again.

That night I met back up with Tracy. Tracy has been one of my closest friends since we started hanging out in 2006. We met through mutual friends and quickly became inseparable. It's been hard living in California and she in Utah to not have our weekly movie and lunch dates, but we've still been able to see each other. She's been a great travel buddy over the years as well, going on our Mexican Cruise and our recent trip to Florida. While Tracy and I were in Florida we spent an entire day at Harry Potter World, so it only seemed fitting to see the last Harry Potter movie with her as well! We met up at the movie theater, took fun pictures with all the posters after, and then went out to dinner. We spent hours talking about boys, future plans, and old adventures. I love her so much and wish we could see each other more often!

Saturday morning, Janelle and I woke up early to go out to breakfast with some of the teachers from our old school. It was so much fun to catch up with them and laugh for hours. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect teaching experience in Provo. I made some of the best friends, learned from some of the most talented teachers, and made incredible life changing memories. Thanks everyone for making time to see me and catch up! It was so good to see you all!

Saturday afternoon I drove from Spanish Fork up to American Fork for a small Devonshire Reunion. I previously posted about my experience living in the apartment complex, Devonshire, while attending BYU. Dallas laughs at how often I talk about my "Dev" friends and how I would literally do anything for them, but it's totally true! My three years living in the Dev were some of the most memorable, loving, and exciting years of my life. I made my best friends there. It was so good to see some of them and spend the afternoon catching up on everyone's lives. Thanks so much Jill, Alex, Lindsey, Ashley, Cory, Don, Jeff and Stacy! It was so much fun to see you all and feel that Dev love again! Can't wait for our next get together!

After the BBQ at Jeff and Stacy's house, I met up with my little Kelsey. Kels became a close friend of mine while she was living with her sister (my neighbor) in California. She and I went on some pretty interesting adventures, hiking and exploring San Francisco. She has been attending BYU-Idaho and drove all the way down from Rexburg when she found out I'd be in Utah for a few days. Boy, do I love this girl! She is such a sweetheart and so full of life. We had so much fun hanging out at the Provo River trail.

Kelsey drove down from BYU-Idaho with her roommate, Crystal, who was also a doll! We got Jamba Juices and then walked along the Provo River Trail. I'm not sure how it all started, but before long Kels had managed to dunk herself in the freezing river water. Have I said that I love this girl!? Luckily I had a blanket in my trunk to wrap her in for the ride home.

As you can see I did A LOT in my five days in Utah. I feel so blessed to be able to see so many of my dear friends. It was a perfect week full of laughter, hugs, pictures, food, and catching up with some of the greatest people in my life. I love you guys. Thanks so much for taking time to meet up with me!

Photo of the Week 29

2011-08-15T14:49:00.000-07:00

I just finished editing little Maddie's pictures yesterday. I can't wait to send them off to her mom and dad. She's such a sweetheart and looking through her pics made me miss her momma. Hope you guys are doing well, Johnson Family! We miss and love ya.

My Date with little Will

2011-08-10T01:23:00.000-07:00

A few days ago I took my little nephew, Will, out for our special day together. True, he is only 2 and will not remember our outings, but I couldn't wait to spend a little one on one time with him. Will holds a very special place in my heart. I've mentioned before that his birth and subsequent years of cuddling have been extremely therapeutic for me, especially during our miscarriages. Will's hugs, laughter, and mischievous personality are so addicting and lovable. You can't help but fall in love with this little guy!

We weren't out all day, just a few hours and we kept our outing local. I took him to Water World in Concord with a good friend and neighbor of mine, Michelle. She has an adorable little 6 month old, Brooks, that Will had a lot of fun growling at. We mostly stayed in the kiddie area of the swim park, but did venture out to the lazy river for a little while. Will brought his favorite swim toy with him and was literally inseparable from it. I decided at the last minute to bring along Dallas's old point and shoot camera to capture some of the fun. It felt so weird to hold such a small camera again!

I had so much fun with my little guy.

I made sure to lather him up with sunscreen, change his swim diaper, feed him snacks, and keep him hydrated...I felt like such a mom!

I love you little Will!

Thanks for letting me shower you with hugs and kisses whenever I see you!

My Date with Rulon

2011-08-09T23:59:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago I spent the day with my nephew, Rulon. It feels like only yesterday that I was snuggling with this little guy. Wow, how the time flies! Continuing the tradition of taking out my nephews and niece for their own special day, Rulon got to choose anywhere in the Bay area he wanted to go. He chose the Aquarium of the Bay at Pier 39 in San Francisco.

We left in the morning and drove into the city, parking across from the pier. Rulon loved the sky walkway connecting the parking garage to Pier 39. Outside of the aquarium we found plants that had been shaped into sea animals. I wish you could have seen his face when he realized the plant was actually an octopus...priceless!

The Aquarium is located at the entrance of Pier 39. They give all the children crowns as they enter. It was pretty cute to see little Rulon have to readjust his crown over and over again to fit on his head. Rulon is at such a fun age, going into second grade. He is so curious about everything and wanted to read each sign and display description he could find...of course this is a teacher's dream!

The main portion of the Aquarium is on the basement level. As you exit the elevator you go through a room filled with all sorts of jelly fish. Rulon and I both loved watching the moon jelly fish right in the middle of the room. Another display was dedicated to bring awareness to the pollution problem in the ocean. I loved Rulon's expression as we passed by...

The basement level contained two large tanks with flat escalators that tunneled through the center so you could see fish all around. It was pretty amazing to see the size of all the different fish. All along the tunnel there were signs with facts about different sea animals to look for. We spent forever finding each one and naming them silly names. I also loved the star fish that had settled along the windows of the tunnel.

The second tank contained all of the sharks and rays...thus the scared crazy face Rulon was showing off. His favorite were the leopard sharks.

The second half of the Aquarium takes you back up to the upper level where you have the chance to pet bay rays and explore tide pools. It's connected with a hands-on exploration for kids where they get the chance to solve different puzzles and learn how to observe animals through a microscope. Rulon was in heaven with all the different puzzles. He is such a smart kid and watching his face light up when he learned or discovered something new was incredible!

The last exhibit showed the drastic need for change with the taking care of our oceans. Rulon had so many questions and couldn't believe the amount of garbage left behind by people. It was amazing to see him so concerned and wanting to take care of the world around him. I even caught him picking up trash along the pier later in the day. What a great kid!

I try to get something small for each of the nephews and nieces on our outings, so they have a momento of our trip together. Rulon spent a half hour in the gift shop trying to decide. While rummaging at the bottom of a big container of stuffed animals, I heard him squeal as he pulled out a fluffy penguin. I'm not quite sure what was so special about this penguin, especially since it looked like so many of the others he had sifted through, but he immediately fell in love and named it Oreo. We also ended up getting him a sweatshirt since the wind picked up and made it a little chilly along the waterfront. Of course he picked out a shark sweatshirt!

Next we decided to explore the pier. There is ALWAYS something fun going on at Pier 39, whether it's magic shows, crazy street performers, or watching the sea lions, there is always something to do. We ended up making our way to the carousel where Rulon chose his favorite sea dragon to ride on. I opted out, due to the excuse of needing to vomit afterwards...carousels do not agree with me!

While exploring the pier I made the silly mistake of telling Rulon he could choose anywhere to eat for lunch. I gave him lots of different options: Bubba Gumps, Wipe Out Grill, Hard Rock Cafe, etc...he chose the local hot dog stand. Anyone who knows me knows that I HATE hot dogs...unless severely charred over the fire while camping, so you know how much I must love this boy! I even let him pour the condiments on. He was one happy boy and couldn't believe that he got to make all the decisions.

I sure do love my little Rulon. To say that I am blessed to be his aunt would be an understatement. I am so grateful that I get to live near him and his family and spend so much time with them. I absolutely LOVE this tradition of having one on one dates with each of them and am already looking forward to our next outing.

I love you, Rulon!

Thanks for being willing to hang out with your crazy aunt Kirsten!

Photo of the Week 28

2011-08-08T20:15:00.000-07:00

Nothing I love more than a future rock star!

July 4th in San Francsico

2011-08-05T16:09:00.000-07:00

July 4th turned out to be quite the crazy day.
Dallas and I were on the road for the first part of the day, driving back from Washington and all our family reunions. We couldn't just chill at home for the 4th of July festivities, though! One of my cousins, Greg, and his wife, Heidi also live in the Bay area and were more than willing to brave the craziness of San Francisco to join us for fireworks at Ghirardelli Square.

We began our adventure by meeting up at Jack London Square in Oakland to ride the ferry across to Pier 39. I love riding the ferry across the bay. I swear I could live on the water! It's funny the temperature change from our place in Pleasant Hill to San Francisco. Even though it's only 20 miles away, it drops about 20 degrees. The Embarcadero was closed down to traffic since the crowds were so large and everyone was walking in the streets. This allowed for all the "crazies" to emerge, which is always the most fun to experience. I especially loved the old dancing man in the pin striped white suit...priceless!

For dinner we decided to eat at Boudin, famous for it's sour dough bread. Surprisingly the wait wasn't too long and the food was perfect. Nothing like fresh clam chowder and warm bread bowls.

After dinner we walked along the Embarcadero and explored the patriotic displays. There was a military submarine and battle ship allowing tourists to board. Of course we found this to be a great opportunity to take some pictures!

We slowly made our way through the shops down to Ghirardelli Square. San Francisco is such a unique city. I love the drastic rolling streets, the fun-loving spirit of the many diverse people, and I swear no matter how many times I have visited the city I ALWAYS see something new.

Ghirardelli Square is right on the beach. The city had a pretty great set up with lots of vendors and a live cover band playing until sunset. Their outfits were absolutely amazing and Dallas got some great shots of them in action. I especially love the picture of the guitarist with the foggy Golden Gate in the background.

For the fireworks display we designed a back rest in the sand for the four of us to lay on. It was a perfect way to enjoy the half hour show. The fireworks were set to several different songs; I was very tempted to sing along, but figured I would give Dallas a break from my singing, considering we had just finished a long road trip with me yelling along everything on the radio.

The fireworks finished around 9:30pm and we slowly made our way back through the crowds to Pier 39 where we were to catch our ferry home. Unfortunately someone passed out drunk on the ferry and the crew couldn't legally move him until EMTs arrived. We ended up waiting on the pier for almost 2 hours waiting to load the boat. I felt bad for Dallas, Greg, and Heidi who all had to be at either work or school the next morning, but I have to admit, I had a lot of fun with them and watching all the crazy crowds get worked up.

We finally got home well passed midnight after a chilly ferry ride and a memorable evening with cousins. We love you, Greg and Heidi, and had so much fun with you guys! Can't wait til we can get together again!

Photo of the Week 27

2011-08-02T16:35:00.000-07:00

I'm on "mom" duty this week and get to look at this beautiful face. I am watching my four nephews and niece while my sister-in-law is at Girls camp for the next few days. I'm exhausted, my back hurts, and I'm only on day two, but you can't beat the cuteness of these kids!

Facial Hair and Camping

2011-07-30T00:30:00.000-07:00

On our last night in Ephrata, our family decided to throw simultaneous boys' and girls' nights out. All the boys decided to grow out their facial hair for a few days and then shave them into mustaches for their camping trip. My brothers dug a big pit out in the orchards and set up several tents for the night's festivities. Then they took literally almost all the food from the kitchen and tried different ways cooking it over the fire...their most proud finding: tin foil tater tots. Little Rulon was planning on sharing a tent with uncle Dallas until his father, Erik, explained what 'snoring' was. Rulon then decided that he didn't want to sleep with a 'growling tiger.' The boys had a lot of fun, but grandpa returned home in the middle of the night to use an actual bathroom and didn't quite make it back to the chilly tent. He's a true camper!

The men are quite proud of their nasty mustaches! Needless to say, Dallas was not allowed to keep it (and kiss me) for more than 24 hours.

The boys were very proud to show off their sleeping arrangements, especially Stuart who made a make-shift lean to with a tarp, tree, and some rope. Oh how I love the creativity of boy scouts!

Us girls, on the other hand, enjoyed an evening full of coloring large princess posters, watching Tangled, having a dance party, painting toe nails, and eating yummy popcorn and icecream...all while staying nice, warm and COMFY in our PJs and soft beds.

I feel so blessed to have such an amazing family.

I wish we lived closer to be able to see everyone more often.

Dallas and I had so much fun and can't wait for our next gathering!

Love you guys!

Picture Scavenger Hunt

2011-07-29T18:05:00.000-07:00

Mom, Leisha, and I created a picture scavenger hunt for the family. We thought it would be a fun way to get everyone together and cause some needed embarrassment. We broke the family up into two teams by pulling people's names out of a hat. We had two designated drivers and photographers (I was one of the photographers which is why you won't see me in any of these pictures...the curse of always being behind the lens.)

Here are the two teams...

Each team was given a list of tasks that they had to complete while making sure to capture each activity for evidence. It was quite the adventure and we definitely had some fun sending everyone all over the farm. I have to let you all know that I am NOT posting everything that happened...some images are just too graphic for certain eyes! Just know that we all had a very memorable experience.

Task: Each team member had to successfully make a basket

Task: Write a creative message to BJ

(Bradley is our youngest brother serving a 2yr mission in Brazil.)

Task: Climb the boxes and take a group picture with at least 7 members of the team inside the boxes.

Task: Build a human pyramid next to row 21 in the Cherry Orchards. Make sure to have the row number visible in the picture.

Task: Find the metal bridge and take a group picture; see how many team members you can fit on the bridge.

Task: Most creative team photo in one of the outhouses

(Don't worry they were recently cleaned.)

Task: Trampoline Jumping Picture at the Bair's House

Task: Reenact a proposal in the orchards.

(My older brother, Bryan, and my younger brother, Richard, both proposed to their wives in the orchards.)

Task: Jump off the sawdust pile; most creative photo at the sawdust pile.

Task: Swing on the Tire Swing at Uncle Ken's house

Task: In front of one of the Willow Drive signs, the team needs to do the "Roger Dance"

(Dad is famous for his dancing skills, often done in his sweats hiked up to his chest and his t-shirt tucked in...it is quite the sight and the grand kids LOVE to copy him!)

Task: Most creative "scary" picture in the warehouse sheds.

Erik was a little too creative with this one!

Task: Our last task was in honor of daddy as well.

Car wash, make sure to clean all the windows!

Cherry Picking and Four Wheeling

2011-07-28T13:01:00.000-07:00

After our crazy weekend at Ensign Ranch at the end of June, my family drove over the mountains to Ephrata. Over the next few days there were over 20 people coming and going from my parents house, so needless to say it was a bit chaotic, but I loved every minute of it!

We were all raised on our families farm, Willow Drive Nursery. I have so many fun memories running through the orchards, picking fruit off the trees, playing games with all the cousins, etc. It was fun to see the next generation of kids enjoying the very same thing. Grandpa had fun taking all the kids on their own four wheeler rides and pretty soon we pulled out the "Mule", a glorified golf cart that Dallas and I took the little ones out on. We all had fun eating fresh cherries off the trees and feeling the wind in our hair. I forget how beautiful and peaceful home is sometimes, since it's been years since I've lived there. This was also Dallas's first time visiting in the summer with everything green and alive, as opposed to Winter for the holidays. We loved being home and spending so much time with family.

Adams Family Reunion: Ensign Ranch

2011-07-26T17:20:00.000-07:00

ADAMS FAMILY REUNION

By the looks of the photo above, our Adams family has grown to be quite large. We used to get together every year, then every other year, now it's more like every three to four years, mostly in part to how large of a group we are now! Grandpa Paul and Grandma Vera had six kids and each of those kids had 4-6 kids, and now most of those grandchildren have gotten married and have had kids of their own, which probably explains how hard it is for grandma to remember all of our names!

A couple of my cousins, Jimmy and Gina, decided to take on the daunting task of planning this summer's family reunion. It was held at the Ensign Ranch in Cle Elum, Washington. Jimmy had to reserve it a year in advance since the demand is so high. It had a large main building holding several individual rooms, an enormous kitchen and dining area, and a large gym/meeting room with pool and ping pong tables. Also on the ranch, there were several individual cabins with a bedroom and an attic area. I knew in advance that it would be more of a camping feel than a ranch feel, but I have to admit that I have been a bit spoiled lately with accommodations, so Dallas did a lot of consoling and reminding me to "suck it up..."
What a good husband, huh?

(TO ENLARGE THE PHOTOS DOUBLE CLICK ON THE IMAGE)

Dallas and I unpacked, set up our cabin, and then met up with our nieces and nephews a couple cabins down. The main building was just far enough away that we ended up driving to and from a few times. On one of the drives we let Will have a turn at the wheel, since all he talks about is cars. It about blew his mind to be in the driver's seat! Don't worry, I don't think the car ever went faster than 5 mph. Needless to say, Dallas was Will's best friend after this.

It was so much fun to be able to see everyone. From our immediate family, five of the six of us siblings were able to attend (lil Bradley is serving a mission in Brazil and won't be home til April), four of us are married, and now have 11 children. Dallas and I get to see Erik's family a lot since we all live in California, but it was so much fun to see Bryan and Richard's families whom all live in Washington.

One of the joys of growing up on our family farm, was being so close to so many cousins. I remember spending hours playing out in the orchards, climbing boxes, making up crazy adventure games with everyone. We literally had acres of land for our playground and often found very creative ways to get into trouble and/or cause havoc. I sometimes forget how lucky we all were to be so close to each other. I love that some of these cousins now live in the Bay area as well, and we get to see them every so often.

After dinner there would be a program or activity for the whole family. My favorite was when the five siblings (my dad and his 2 brothers and sisters) were questioned about some of the crazy antics they did while children. Dallas now knows exactly where our craziness comes from! Dad and Aunt Pauline got into trouble all the time and were known for their practical jokes. It was so much fun to hear them and their siblings recount favorite memories.

Dad took Dallas and I on a fun drive through out Ensign Ranch. There are some gorgeous camping spots, lots of beautiful wildflowers, and a very willing model to help me take human interest shots. I sure do love my daddy! After our drive we helped collect firewood for the different cabins and checked out the fun sleeping arrangement all the kids had in the attic.

The next morning, after breakfast, we all congregated for family pictures. Erik designed our family t-shirts, but I didn't get any shots of the back with the actual design...

I love the picture of Grandma with her kids. Grandpa passed away in 1996 and Aunt Julie wasn't able to make it to the reunion, so we are missing two in the picture, but I still love it.

After family pictures, we split up into three separate groups to go on hay rides and some rode horses. It was fun to see all the kids piled into the back of the wagon with Grandpa and Stuart hanging off the back. After the hayride, Will wanted to pet the horse. Even Dallas conquered his fear of horses to please little Will!

Canoeing was also available at the ranch. Dallas and I opted to watch little Will while everyone else went out on the lake, mainly due to the cold wind that was picking up and the unsturdy look of the canoes...not to mention an adorable two year old that wanted our attention. Bryan was a sweetheart and went with all the girls, Natalie, Katrina, and Ellis. He ended up rowing by himself for 90% of the time out on the lake, so I'm sure he got a good work out! Stuart went with Lincoln and Max and Erik and Heather went with Rulon. The boys got into some trouble when they started to play "bumper cars" with the canoes. It was pretty fun to watch Erik and Heather squeal at them!

Our last fun activity before leaving the ranch included a MASSIVE water slide. You could go down on tubes or on your own, but Dallas and I opted again to stay out of the water...at this point it was down right chilly and we were not wanting to risk hypothermia for the cause. Instead I was the one taking all the pictures :)

The kids loved going down with their Dad or Uncle Bryan, piling the tubes on one another, and jumping into the large puddle that had formed at the bottom of the slide. I absolutely adore how much all my nieces and nephews love each other and literally count down the days to see each other again. I am constantly amazed at how blessed Dallas and I are, on both sides--Perkins and Adams, to have such loving and crazy family members!

It was such a fun reunion and we are so grateful for all the hard work put into it by our family members. We love you all and can't wait for the next time we can all see each other again!

Photo of the Week 26

2011-07-26T07:25:00.000-07:00

Moon Jellies at the Bay Aquarium in San Francisco

Neighborhood BBQs

2011-07-25T18:11:00.000-07:00

I love summertime.

It tends to bring everyone together.

Whether it's the relaxation of a less hurried schedule, the longer hours of sunlight, heat drawing us to seek local pools, watermelon, the summer always tends to bring the best out of people.

I have been loving this summer and even though I've been traveling for a good portion of it, we have definitely enjoyed time with our neighbors. Our block is filled with lots of young families, and at nights it is a common occurence to see people start to congregate out behind our apartments, allowing kids to play on the swings and ride bikes while the adults catch up with each other. A couple of our friends have started a tradition of throwing potluck BBQs, which has been a great excuse to get everyone together.

Our latest gathering was dedicated to Kenzie and Adam. They moved to Utah over the weekend and we thought it would be fun to all get together to say goodbye before they left. To be honest, I'm sick of saying goodbyes. It's been a couple hard months having to say goodbye to some very close friends, and Kenzie was no exception. Adam got a great job offer back in Utah where they have bought a beautiful home and will be close to family, so I understand their reasoning for leaving. I guess I just continue to struggle with change and having to say goodbye to good friends. We have been so blessed to be surrounded by such amazing people in our life. Johnsons, we love and will miss you, but are excited for you guys and this new step in your lives! Come back to visit any time!

(MAKE SURE TO CLICK ON THE IMAGES TO ENLARGE)

Jenny's photoshoot

2011-07-24T16:43:00.000-07:00

I got the chance to photograph Jenny before they moved to Southern California and we had a blast! I can't believe how grown up she is getting. Jenny is such a gorgeous girl, inside and out. I miss her and her family like crazy!

Photo of the Week 25

2011-07-21T01:01:00.000-07:00

JENNY

Oh how I miss seeing this face!

Now that I am finally home from all the crazy traveling of the summer, I am tackling the daunting task of catching up with all the editing and blog posting from the past couple months. In short, there will be a lot of updates soon!

Photo of the Week 24

2011-07-11T23:38:00.000-07:00

Wild flowers in Central Oregon

Sad Will

2011-07-11T23:36:00.000-07:00

Realization.

Will just realized that he may be a little too short to make this basket...

Maybe in a few years, sweetheart!

Ephrata (a small glimpse)

2011-07-07T22:27:00.000-07:00

Dallas and I got back recently from a week full of family...over 100 members of our Adams Family. Needless to say it was a jam packed few days full of crazy anecdotes, wrestling, hugs and kisses, camping, canoeing, dancing, and great food just to name a few. I plan on posting in depth about our crazy adventures, but for now here are just a few glimpses as to why I love my family and home so much!

Photo of the Week 23

2011-07-06T13:59:00.000-07:00

Although I've only been home a couple days, I'm already getting a travel bug. Good thing I'm heading out in a few days! Oh how I love the summer break!

Stanley Park

2011-07-03T22:54:00.000-07:00

On our last day in Vancouver we decided to explore Stanley Park.

Stanley Park is located downtown and is over 1,000 acres (larger than New York's Central Park.) It attracts more than eight million visitors every year and has a 5.5 mile seawall path that circles the park. Most of the park is forested with half a million trees that are as tall as 249ft and hundreds of years old. We loved the drive through Stanley Park and stopped several times to get out and explore; especially the totem poles and Prospect Point for a killer view of Lion's Gate bridge. Vancouver quickly became one of my favorite cities and I couldn't help but think it was a perfect blend of San Francisco and Seattle; two other favorite cities of mine.

On a side note...

A big congratulations to my amazing husband who just passed all his CPA exams and got promoted to Manager at PriceWaterhouseCoopers. He's pretty much incredible and I couldn't be prouder! Way to go, sweetheart!

Gastown, Vancouver BC

2011-07-03T20:15:00.000-07:00

Dallas and I are on our tail end of family retreats for the week, so I will slowly be posting all the adventures over the next few days. For now, I'll continue with our quick jaunt to Vancouver last weekend.

After visiting the Capilano Suspension Bridge, we decided to spend the evening exploring Vancouver's historic Gastown. Named after "Gassy" Jack Deighton, a steamboat captain who opened the city's first saloon in 1867. Obviously a lot has changed over the past century. Cobble street corners and funky shops line the blocks now and we were lucky enough to be in town for the International Jazz Festival taking place in the center of it all. Five Alarm Funk was the closing band and they were incredible! It was so much fun to be surrounded by hundreds of dancing people all screaming and rocking out to the music...made me feel young again. After listening to all the live music, we walked the streets, people watched, Dallas bought some interesting street art, and stopped for lots of photo ops.

We slowly made our way along the harbor line to the Pan Pacific Hotel where we ate at the Five Sails Restaurant for dinner. They had floor to ceiling windows looking out at the bay to watch the sunset. It was absolutely gorgeous and the perfect way to end such a fun day. We are totally in love with Vancouver!

Capilano Suspension Bridge

2011-06-29T18:02:00.000-07:00

Dallas and I have been traveling for the past week.

Last Thursday I drove from California up to Seattle where I picked Dallas up from the airport (not sure how that was fair having to drive while he got to fly!) From there we drove over to the Ensign Ranch located in the Snoqualmie Mountains, meeting up with over 100 members of our crazy Adams Family. I will be blogging specifically about the reunion weekend in a future post, but I'll just say that it was a blast of organized chaos, loved ones, camping, and great food.

After the weekend we drove up to Vancouver, British Columbia for a fun adventure. I hadn't been there since I was a child, but remembered the Capilano Suspension Bridge as being a fun memory with my family. "Fun" being the relative term for "scared out of my mind" since my dad and brothers liked to rock the bridge back and forth as high as they could! We drove in around midnight and luckily got one of the last rooms at the Hyatt, downtown Vancouver. It had an amazing view of the city and an incredibly large balcony, not to mention the bed was so comfy! Our first day in Vancouver we decided to head up to the Capilano Suspension Bridge for the afternoon.

A new attraction, the Cliff Walk, had just opened at the beginning of June, so the place was packed with all sorts of tourists, but it was totally worth the crowds! We couldn't have asked for better weather, especially since Vancouver is known for it's rain and over cast skies, we lucked out with sun and almost no cloud coverage.

Totem Poles lined the entrance to the park and of course we couldn't walk through without having ourselves a little bit of fun! We then made our way towards the main suspension bridge over the Capilano River, hanging 230 ft high and 446 ft long. It was absolutely amazing, which is why it brings in over 800,000 tourists a year.

According to Wikipedia, "the bridge was originally built in 1889 by George Grant Mackay, a Scottish civil engineer and park commissioner for Vancouver. It was originally made of hemp ropes with a deck of cedar planks, and was replaced with a wire cable bridge in 1903. In 1910 Edward Mahon purchased the Capilano Suspension Bridge. "Mac" MacEachran purchased the Bridge from Mahon in 1935 and invited local natives to place their totem poles in the park, adding a native theme. In 1945, he sold the bridge to Henri Aubeneau. The bridge was completely rebuilt in 1956. The park was sold to Nancy Stibbard, the current owner, in 1983."

Dallas has been loving our camera just as much as I have. He took the above pictures and totally has an eye for photography I think. We had a blast taking pictures of the gorgeous nature paths and man made lakes on the other side of the bridge.

Another attraction featured at the park is the Treetop Adventures. It consists of seven footbridges suspended between old-growth Douglas Fir trees on the west side of the canyon, forming a walkway up to 98 ft above the forest floor. I couldn't help but feel like we were Tarzan and Jane up in the tree tops!

Dallas had fun testing out the strength of the steel cord in the suspended bridges. Needless to say...they are very strong!

As well as the bridge itself and Treetops Adventure, the park also features rain forest ecotours, award-winning gardens, nature trails, North America's largest private collection of First Nations totem poles, period decor and costumes, and exhibits highlighting the park's history and the surrounding temperate rain forest.

After exploring the Suspension Bridge and the Treetops Adventure, we made our way towards the newest attraction, the Cliff Walk. The pictures in the first collage below were taken from their official website, before the rush of crowds. I thought I would include them so you could imagine just how severe the circumstances of this walk were. I loved every minute of it!

The official park website, www.capbridge.com, has an incredible video of how the Cliff Walk was made. "Open June 3, 2011, this heart-stopping cliff side journey takes you through rain forest vegetation on a series of unobtrusive cantilevered and suspended walkways jutting out from the granite cliff face above Capilano River to previously unexplored areas of the park. Not for the faint of heart, it is high and narrow and, in some sections, glass (very strong glass) is all that separates guests from the canyon far below."

The pathway is very narrow and only made for one direction, so you had to commit to finishing the walk before starting. It was a lot of fun, though and we both were amazed at the engineering that went into building it all. The workers were literally harnessed onto the cliff side while drilling large holes into the mountain; not a job I would ever want!

It's been such a fun trip so far with Dallas, especially after the long busy season that he's had this year. I'm so grateful I married my best friend; it makes these long drives and impromptu adventures so much fun. We end up laughing for hours and simply enjoying our time together. I don't think I could ever ask for anything more!

Room With A View

2011-06-28T15:08:00.000-07:00

Our view from our balcony of the Hyatt, 25th floor...loving the Vancouver Harbor, British Columbia.

Photo of the Week 22

2011-06-28T14:44:00.000-07:00

Butterfly Gardens at Epcot Center

My Date with Lincoln

2011-06-22T13:32:00.000-07:00

I should have titled this my "outing" with Lincoln, since he was not up to calling it a date, but I just couldn't resist! I have recently started a tradition of taking my nephews and niece on a "date" by themselves with crazy Aunt Kirsten. I have noticed that with four of them, I don't get to spend one-on-one time with them like I used to. So having a special day just for themselves seemed like a perfect solution.

Last Friday Lincoln decided that on his special day he wanted to spend it at the Lawrence Hall of Sciences in Berkeley. I was secretly excited since I had never been there before. Lincoln had been on a field trip with his first grade class a couple years ago and had wanted to go back ever since, so it was fun to have him showing me around and telling me stories from his previous visit.

Outside of the Lawrence Hall of Sciences they have a large fountain, whale, and metal structure replicating a DNA strand. I of course had some fun taking pictures and Lincoln was a total sport when asked to smile at the camera!

(MAKE SURE TO CLICK ON THE IMAGES TO ENLARGE)

Can I just tell you how much I love learning!?

The Lawrence Hall of Sciences is a hands on discovery center for kids of all ages and needless to say, Lincoln and I had a blast. He is going into fourth grade next year and had some really interesting questions. We were also able to shine during the planetarium presentation about constellations. We were the annoying people who kept raising their hands to answer all the questions! There were so many great exhibits for us to explore and I loved watching Lincoln's mind work.

They had just opened a new exhibit on dinosaurs.

My close friends know how I feel about these prehistoric lizards...they scare me to death. I even still have nightmares about Jurassic Park, which I saw when I was 12! Now usually in museums, they have exhibits of dinosaur bones, fossils, etc. Here they had life-like moving replicas that clawed and growled when you walked close to them. I knew the minute we walked around the corner and heard the roars coming from the dark exhibit room I was going to have a serious problem. Of course, Lincoln on the other hand, loved every minute of it...

After our nerve-wracking adventures at the Lawrence Hall of Sciences, we drove through the Berkeley hills, Tilden Park area. At the last minute we thought it would be tons of fun if we stopped at the steam engines for a quick ride. It was a little chilly, especially for Lincoln only wearing his soccer jersey, but we had a lot of fun goofing off in the back of the train. We may have done some song writing, a little bit of screaming, and I'm sure a lot of annoying our neighbors...it was perfect!

Even though we needed to get back for dinner, we decided one more stop was a necessity...frozen yogurt! Because who doesn't want to eat dessert before dinner on their special day?

Love ya, Links!

Thanks for letting your obnoxious auntie take you out for the day!

Pereira's Goodbye Party

2011-06-21T12:20:00.000-07:00

Pereira Family: Carlos, Lisa, Jenny, Jules, Lacey, and Jakey

Anyone who knows me, knows I don't like change.

It's weird to think that Dallas and I have been married and living in Pleasant Hill for 3 years now. I remember moving here, excited about being married to Dallas and starting our life together, and yet at the same time scared to death to start a new job and find new friends. I look back over the past three years and feel so unbelieveably grateful for the blessings that have been placed in our lives; one LARGE blessing being the Pereira Family.

I don't know when it happened or how it happened; whether it was just through the ward, or teaching their daughters in primary, or having her children at my school, or having Tammy as our close mutual friend, but Lisa became a dear friend to me. Dallas and I found ourselves being included in on family trips to Capitola, Muir Beach, and weekly weigh-ins for our weight loss competition. We found ourselves laughing for hours listening to Carlos, Glenn, and Dallas rant and rave about who-knows-what and somehow convincing Dallas that jumping off the Pereira roof into their pool while wearing Carlos's swim trunks was a good idea! We found ourselves wrestling with all the kids while trying to watch conference or, more appropriately, the super bowl. I enjoyed lunch dates and photo shoots with Lisa and her four gorgeous kids. We found ourselves best friends with one of the most amazingly kind and loving families we had ever met.

Recently job opportunities have encouraged this incredible family to move to southern California. Case in point...my fear of change. I realize that it's an amazing opportunity for their family and I'm so happy that things are working out for them, but selfishly I sit back and wish it wasn't happening. We have already had to say goodbye to our close friends, the Aydelotte's, who moved to Utah at the end of April, and now the Pereiras. I know that change is a major part of life and it's a blessing in desguise, but it is hard none-the-less.

To help say goodbye and celebrate the years the Pereiras have lived in the area, there was an open house held in their honor Sunday night. It was so much fun to be able to see all the people that have been affected and felt loved by this family. They have had such an impact on all those they are around. I hope they realize how much they are loved, how much they will be missed, and not be annoyed with how often I come down to visit!

Enjoy the many faces of just a few who love the Pereiras!

(Make sure to click on the images to enlarge.)

Carlos, Lisa, Jenny, Jules, Lacey, and Jakey, Dallas and I love you all so much. We are so grateful to be able to consider you family. We can't thank you enough for opening your arms to us and sharing your friendship, humor, and love of life. It's not goodbye, since we will be seeing you again, but we will miss the daily interactions and seeing your lovely faces so frequently.

We love you.

Photo of the Week 21

2011-06-20T14:31:00.000-07:00

In honor of the best father in the world.

Love you, daddy.

Flashback Friday: Snow Camping

2011-06-18T14:51:00.000-07:00

Have you ever come up with an amazing idea and then gotten into the middle of it and realized how NOT amazing that idea was?? Flashback to February of 2001 while I was living in Liberty square with some of the most adventurous and fun loving girls I'd ever met. Our good friends in the ward had come up with an idea to go snow camping in the middle of a blizzard. This was a late-night spontaneous decision, so instead of our previously planned warm movie party, we all quickly threw on some layers and piled into the back of two vehicles; a covered pick up truck towing four wheelers and an SUV.

We should have had a good idea what our evening would hold when both cars got stuck and almost slid off the face of the mountain we were trying to climb, but we pushed onward. What should have taken us a 25 minute drive up hill to our camping area, ended up to be a two hour adventure getting stuck and unstuck while huge flakes fell from the sky. We had some determined guys with us though and somehow we made it to a safe enough pull out to set up "camp" a little after midnight. We had two tents that slept four each, the back of the covered pick up, and then the rest of the guys were busy digging holes to make snow caves... I wish I would have gotten more pictures from our crazy night!

While camp was being set up, Beth and I took the four wheeler for a ride. Bad mistake, since neither of us had driven a four wheeler in the snow, let alone a blizzard! We ended up driving off the road into the trees (luckily on the opposite side of the cliffs) and getting it stuck pretty bad. We then had to hike all the way back to camp, inform our friend who owned the four wheeler what had happened, and then hike all the way back to help get it out of the snow banks. Good thing we were with pretty laid back people, because everyone thought the whole process was pretty funny.

Needless to say it was the coldest night of my life. I remember curled up in a group of five or six of us in the back of the truck thinking when the night was going to end. One of the guys let me wear his big hunting overalls to help cut the chill a bit, but I was still shaking and chattering all night. Good thing my roommate, Lisa and I were already used to snuggling!

We woke to a gorgeous sight of beautiful snow flakes and a warm fire that one of the guys had made while we were sleeping. Even though it was the coldest night of my life, I look back at it and just laugh. I really have been blessed with amazing friends in my life. Friends that have been spontaneous, fun, accepting, and willing to make and create such memorable experiences. I can't believe it's been ten years since living with these girls. It feels like just yesterday I was losing feeling in my toes and laughing at how ridiculous we all were for thinking a blizzard was a good time to go camping!

The Amazing Facial Expressions of lil Greta

2011-06-17T01:48:00.000-07:00

The other day I had a photo shoot with one of the most gorgeous little girls ever!

Greta was nothing but smiles and was so much fun to take pictures of. She openly laughed at her mom and dad and didn't cry once...what six month old does that! I'm not quite done editing all the shots, but I couldn't wait to post these adorable pics.

The many faces of little Greta...

A Perfect Surprise

2011-06-16T01:51:00.000-07:00

Today I spent a perfect day at the beach.

One of my closest friends, Lisa, is moving to southern California in a couple weeks and I am trying desperately to spend as much time with her and her family as possible before they leave. It was a perfect day laying out under the warm sun, watching her kids play in the chilly waves, eating fun junk food you never allow yourself to buy, and talking for hours about anything and everything.

When I arrived home several hours later with my skin fried to a crisp I found these on my doorstep...

The card read:

To my lovely wife, because I miss you and can't wait to get back to you.

I called Dallas right away to thank him and give him obnoxious kisses over the phone. Sometimes I sit back and just ask myself how in the world I found this man? Why would someone so wonderful, kind, and thoughtful have chosen me? I guess it's moments like these that make the snoring and ESPN watching seem so minuscule :)

Photo of the Week 20

2011-06-13T17:38:00.000-07:00

Love the Color Purple

Blue Man Group

2011-06-12T11:26:00.000-07:00

It's been an eventful few days.
Dallas and I are coming up on our third year anniversary tomorrow, so we decided to spend a romantic weekend in San Francisco. Friday night I caught BART into the city and met up with Dallas at his office. From there we drove a few blocks up to the Hilton where we checked in and found out that they had upgraded us to a junior suit. I love it when hotels make mistakes and you get to reap the benefits!

We had a relaxing evening and slept in Saturday morning. It felt so nice to just sneak away for awhile. True, San Francisco is only 15 miles away from our apartment, but it has been exactly what we needed; separated from our daily lives, staying in a nice hotel, ordering room service, and living up the uniqueness of this quirky city.

Saturday afternoon we decided to explore Union Square and the neighboring areas first by car and then on foot. The city was full of tourists and locals mixing together in a very dynamic manner. At one point, while waiting at a stop light, a group of 20 bicyclists passed our window. We didn't think too much about this, until we realized they weren't wearing any clothes! We about died laughing, Dallas even rolled my window down to up the awkwardness of waiting at a red light next to a bunch of naked men on bicycles...boy, I love my husband! Unbelievably, it remained PG13 for me (probably due to my tears from laughing so hard) while Dallas got a glimpse or two of a bit more.

After an eventful afternoon of people watching and shopping, we headed to the Golden Gate Theater to see the evening performance of the Blue Man Group. Neither of us had seen them before and it was truly amazing! First off they had the most amazing drumming rhythms. I kept thinking how much my mom would LOVE to see them perform and feel the rhythmic vibrations from head to toe.

My favorite, of course, was the paint drumming. How many of us have dreamed about drumming into a big bowl of paint, splashing in every direction, and not having to clean up the mess?? It was absolutely stunning! The thing that I was most surprised by, was how funny the show was. There is no dialogue and we were laughing out loud for most of the performance. The Blue Men used body language, gestures, and interactions from the audience to communicate. It was pretty amazing to watch. Basically if you get the chance to see them perform, take it!

Reason #135 Why We Love San Francisco

2011-06-11T18:39:00.000-07:00

Reason #135 why we love San Francisco...you never know what you're going to see when you look out the window!

Claremont Hotel & Spa

2011-06-11T00:55:00.000-07:00

In the teaching professional there are very few material perks. Sure you have the tender hugs and smiles from your students, but lets be honest with ourselves...wouldn't it be nice to feel appreciated with a dinner, gift card, or a day of fun on the school district's dime? If you work in corporate America you are probably familiar with these forms of compensation, but definitely NOT in the public education world.

On Thursday, Dallas's company treated a group of their employees and their spouses with a day at the Claremont Hotel in Berkeley. Built in 1915, the Claremont has been a consistent award-winning recipient for decades. Count Basie, Louis Armstrong, and Tommy Dorsey were all regular performers in their jazz lounge. Fully refurbished, the Claremont was awarded the AAA Four-Diamond Award, Michelin Guide Recommended for 2011, and Millennium International Award of Excellence, while the spa was recognized in the San Francisco Chronicle Readers Choice Awards as "Best Place to be pampered." Needless to say, we were well taken care of.

It was such an amazing feeling to be totally pampered for the day! We started by all meeting up for a gourmet lunch at the Paragon Restaurant located on the main level of the Claremont. Dallas's coworkers were so nice and welcoming, even before all of the alcohol consumption! I have to admit that I have become a total food snob since moving to the Bay area. The cuisine is always so fresh and authentic and the Paragon did not disappoint. It was an entertaining lunch full of funny stories and anecdotes, who'd have thought accountants could be so humorous? Then the boys left for a game of golf, while the girls made their way to the Claremont Hotel Spa for the rest of the day.

If I had the money, I would go to this spa every day!

We started by each receiving 80minute deep tissue massages, followed be full access to the spa facilities where we spent time in the steam room and then made use of the waterfall and 9 headed showers. I told Dallas it gave me some great ideas about how we are going to remodel our bathroom when we own a house.

After we were all thoroughly relaxed, we headed back upstairs, sat out on the veranda under the heat of the sun, and ordered incredibly yummy gourmet desserts.

Does it get any better than this!?

Flashback Friday: Red Rock

2011-06-07T17:50:00.000-07:00

Since I didn't get the chance to write a Flashback Friday last week I figured I would sneak one in today to somewhat feed the nostalgia I've been feeling as of late. There are many things that I have loved about teaching. I have kept pages after pages of silly quotes from my students, projects they completed, letters and cards given me in thanks, and thousands of pictures to document it all over the years.

One of my favorite teaching memories took place while I was teaching fourth grade at Sunset View Elementary in Provo, Utah. Every May, the school would take a group of students, ages 4th-6th grades, on a three day camping trip in Goblin Valley located a couple hours south east of Provo. They called the program Red Rock.

When I was first asked to attend as a chaperon/group leader I was a little apprehensious to spend three nights camping with over sixty elementary kids. If you know me and my family, we were raised with the idea that camping included air conditioned rooms at the Marriott, but I agreed to go and have been grateful ever since! I was able to attend Red Rock three out of the four years teaching at Sunset View; each year creating unique and crazy memories...I will give you a glimpse into the last year I went--Red Rock 2007.

(MAKE SURE TO CLICK ON EACH IMAGE TO ENLARGE)

A few weeks before we left for Goblin Valley students attended a series of different preparation meetings with team building activities. Group leaders helped the students come up with clan animals, names, and group cheers. We chose the coyotes and our color was red. It basically felt like I was an EFY councilor for little kids. All of the group leaders were teachers from the school whom volunteered their outside time. You can imagine how much fun we all had since my best friends were the teachers that went along!

We all met up at the school on a Wednesday morning at 7:00am for check in and a parent send off. We then loaded into the bus (group leaders got to relax and travel in an air conditioned SUV) and drove to Green River. There we were all able to explore the John Wesley Powell Museum; each student filling out their own homework packet along the way. After lunch and the museum we continued on our way down to Goblin Valley. We did three major hikes over the course of the next four days, the first being through the "mushrooms" of Goblin Valley. It was such incredible beauty and the kids absolutely loved the chance to climb all over the rock.

After a fun-filled afternoon in Goblin Valley we made it back to our campsite where the students were shown how to put up six large tents (3 girl's tents and 3 boy's tents, each sleeping about 10-12 students.) Us group leaders, on the other hand, were spoiled with sleeping in a camper! You gotta love Ron for taking such good care of us! Although now that I think back, I'm pretty sure Janelle demanded a camper in order for her to be a group leader again, so I guess I should be thanking her?

The second day was jammed pack with team building activities, owl pellet dissecting, problem solving, rock climbing, journaling, and lots of hiking. We spent most of the afternoon exploring the San Rafael Swell. One of the best parts was when Ron and Jason took all of the kids for an hour and allowed the rest of the group leaders to hike back through the Swell on our own. It's amazing how much fun you can have with seven pent up teachers excited to be given a break from kids!

I loved my crazy coyotes! They were such hard workers and never complained. They tried so hard to get along and work together to solve all the difficult problems we threw at them. In the picture below you can see a couple of the activities they accomplished throughout the day.

The third day continued the fun marathon with a hike up to the "Hole in the Sky." During the hike, students had the opportunity to try repelling if they wanted to. It was so fun to see some of my TINY fourth graders strap on the harness and show little fear! After repelling we continued the hike, searching for specific Utah plants and rocks. This wasn't my favorite day since ALL of the hiking was up along the ridge with little to no shade. Let's just say we were all melting by the time we reached the top!

Each night we would eat dinner and then sing songs around the camp fire. We had a skit night where we acted out the legend our clan created, a cheer off, and then the last night an awards ceremony. The group leaders had all made beaded bracelets for each of their clan members. We also spoke a few minutes about each student. It was pretty sweet and a perfect way to end the evening.

The fourth and final day, we woke for breakfast and then spent the next couple hours packing and cleaning up camp. You can see from the picture above that Janelle and Ashlee were much better about completing their camp duties, while I tended to "monkey around" a bit!

I loved Red Rock.
Looking back I feel so blessed to have been a small part of such an amazing program. The lessons each of us took from this experience were priceless and continue to be some of my most cherished teaching memories. I'm not sure how Ron, Jason, and Melanie were able to organize and pull off such an intricate and well executed trip for so many years, but I am sure glad they did!

Photo of the Week 19

2011-06-06T16:14:00.000-07:00

Obviously I did not take this picture, but I am feeling very nostalgic this week. It's our last three days of school before the summer and I am going back and forth between feeling excited and sad to say goodbye to another group of students. I figured this was the absolute perfect picture to depict the joys of teaching. I've loved so many little faces throughout this decade of working with children and I hope that they know and remember that love.

Photo of the Week 18

2011-05-31T15:34:00.000-07:00

It's been a very rainy Memorial Day weekend.

I'm missing the sun, heat, and excuse to shed the clothes for sundresses and swim suits.

I'm missing Kho Phi Phi, Thailand...

Flashback Friday: Christmas with Emmie

2011-05-28T15:25:00.000-07:00

I've embarked on an overwhelming task of converting all of my past images to digital. For all those who know me, especially during my pre-digital camera college years, you know that this task is incredibly daunting! But with the school year coming to a close and me needing to find productive projects to complete while I have the time this summer, I figured I couldn't procrastinate the inevitable any longer.

I have spent the past couple days after work scanning hundreds of pictures, and have only just made it to my 22nd birthday...considering I will be turning 31 this July, you can imagine how long this project will take! Dallas teases me saying that you could condense his entire life of pictures into one month of pictures I've taken, so that's hopeful when I start to convert his images.

The fun thing with this project is that I am able to take a trip down memory lane, which makes for perfect Flashback Friday posts. This flashback takes place in December of 2001; Christmas in Ephrata. I had spent the summer teaching in Mukono, Uganda and lived with the most amazing host family, the Tumwesigyes. Their oldest daughter, Emmaculate (Emmie), came back with us to America to attend university. This was Emmie's first Christmas away from her family, so of course my mom and dad jumped at the opportunity of opening their home.

Since I had always complained about not having a sister, mom went a little crazy with the matching outfits. We had matching stockings, hats, pajamas, and stocking stuffers. It was so much fun to see Emmie's face light up when opening presents. To be honest I think she was a little overwhelmed with everything. She couldn't imagine how Mom and Dad could be so generous.

All of my siblings were home for the holidays, including two sister-in-laws, and two nephews, so needless to say it was a packed house and we loved every minute of it! My brothers immediately inducted Emmie into the family, she even got lots of snuggle time with little Bradley. She loved our family traditions, especially the Christmas Eve present drop. She even held her own at the crazy Bair, Adams, Rundle Christmas party!

My favorite part of the holidays was snuggling with my nephews Max and new born Lincoln. I've always loved a good snuggle! It was funny to hear what Emmie loved best. She kept talking about how funny she thought dad was and how much she loved him. Dad is polar opposite from her father and I think she was just amazed that you could have a personal relationship and actually laugh with your father.

It was such an amazing experience having Emmie in our home for the holidays. She had such a unique perspective on things and was so gracious and thankful. I loved being able to share my family with her, like she had done for me.

I love you, Emmie. I wish we lived closer and were able to see each other more often. I am so grateful to call you my sister. I miss and love you so much!

Photo of the Week 17

2011-05-22T18:39:00.000-07:00

Redwoods in Muir Forest

Nothing makes you feel smaller than standing next to these gorgeous trees!

Fun in the Sun

2011-05-21T23:09:00.000-07:00

I love three day weekends.

Heather and I always seem to find something fun to do with the kids on three day weekends. I get the benefit of hanging out with everyone and she gets the benefit of an extra pair of hands to help with the kiddos. Not too bad! This past adventure we decided to enjoy the afternoon at Baker Beach. You can't ever go wrong with sand, sun, food, and the ocean.

My Father the Hero

2011-05-21T11:54:00.000-07:00

To know my dad is to love my dad.
No matter where we are, the grocery store, an airplane, theater, foreign country, or restaurant, my dad will make friends. His philosophy is if someone is wearing a name tag you call them by their names. I've always been amazed at his ability to make people, even total strangers, feel absolutely loved. I asked Dallas to give me two words to describe my father and he said "quirky" and "adorable". Not sure how my dad will feel about his son-in-law thinking he is adorable, but I couldn't help but smile. I thought of my quirky characteristics of not being able to use the same utensil from dinner to desert, or needing to be at the airport at exactly 1.5-2 hours before my flight, or needing to smile at every stranger who passes on the street. How many of these qualities come from my dad? Dallas later continued with adjectives such as generous, humble, spiritual, benevolent, etc. Both of my parents are extremely generous, to the point where it may seem ridiculous to the average onlooker, but when you are raised with such generosity it doesn't shock you when your parents give two cars away because there are people in need or spend countless hours and finances to anonymously take care of neighbors and members of the community. I'm sure they will read this post and be totally embarrassed, so I will refrain from continuing, but I'm sure all who know them will agree.

The other week my dad was asked by one of his Sunday school students to take him to Palo Alto. Dad has been very close to Oscar's family for years now. He loves them as if they are truly family and would literally do anything for them. So when Oscar was accepted into Stanford and needed someone to attend the upcoming orientation weekend, which his parents were not going to be able to attend, his first thought was to ask my dad if he wanted to go. I thought it was so sweet that a high school senior obviously feels so loved by dad that he was his first choice after his parents.

Like I said, to know my dad is to love my dad.

Oscar spent three days touring Stanford campus, attending classes and orientation training, and bonding with current college students. He left, so excited to start this new step in his life and amazed at how diverse California is, especially from our little farm town of Ephrata. Dad was so sweet with the whole experience. Read every page of the thick Stanford handbook, contacted the Institute director and introduced everyone to Oscar. The last day before they flew back to Washington, Dallas and I took Oscar and Dad around the city. We started at the Oakland temple where the grounds were covered in gorgeous multicolored flowers and the view of the city was to die for. Then we drove them into San Francisco to the Golden Gate Bridge, Lombard Street, Palace of Fine Arts, Pier 39 and Fisherman's wharf, Coit Tower, Chrissy Field Beach, and ate at the Hard Rock Cafe and shopped for souvenirs along the pier. It was a perfectly sunny day, the perfect way to end the weekend. I kept telling Oscar that the city was trying to convince him to stay.

You can't see San Francisco with out the Golden Gate Bridge!

Thanks, dad, for letting us spend such a fun day with you. We love you so much and are constantly amazed by your pure heart and desire to love all those around you. I pray that I will be able to shape my life around service as you and mom have done so frequently over the years.

I love you, daddy.

Flashback Friday: Brick Making in Uganda

2011-05-20T23:43:00.000-07:00

In the summer of 2001 I had the life changing opportunity to study in Uganda, Africa. I had mentioned to my parents that I wanted to study abroad for a semester while at BYU. When I went to turn in my application for the Spain program, my eye was drawn to the Uganda flier. I had always loved the African cultures, specifically the music, and immediately changed my application from Europe to Africa. I still remember the phone call with my parents explaining that I had been accepted into the Uganda Educational Development program leaving April 2001. Needless to say, they were a bit shocked and nervous to be sending me to a third world country at the age of 20 for four months.

(MAKE SURE TO CLICK ON EACH OF THE IMAGES TO ENLARGE)

While in Uganda, we stayed in a small village called Mukono, about an hour east of the capital Kampala. Our experience was a service-based program, where we spent each day of the week teaching or working at different schools in the community. One of my favorite schools we visited each week was the Good Samaritan Primary School. I wish I could put into words what a humbling experience it was to see almost a hundred kids crowed into three different "classrooms." Classroom being a generous term for a three sided area with dirt floors, tin roof, and a few wooden benches.

(I'M IN THE BOTTOM RIGHT CORNER)

While at Good Samaritan, we each took turns between teaching English and music and making bricks for additional classrooms and bathroom facilities. The kids loved learning different primary songs "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" and "If You're Happy and You Know It." You haven't seen cuteness until you've seen a group of adorable little Ugandan children with thick accents dancing and singing along to music! The brick making was obviously more physical. It was an interesting process that we all became quickly familiar with. We first had a group mixing mud and clay together with bits of straw and other random materials. We would take turns stomping on the mixture, similar to the process of stomping on grapes to get wine. Then we would take the mixture and throw it really hard into a rectangular mold. We would then line the molds out to dry under the sun, taking at least 2-3 weeks to completely harden. Needless to say it was a VERY dirty process!

Good Samaritan Primary School was such a community driven project. Mothers of the children would come to help, donating whatever supplies and services they possibly could. During the week they would also meet for an adult English class taught by a couple of the girls in our group. Our last visit to Good Samaritan they threw us a going away celebration and dressed all of us up in traditional Ugandan attire. All the kids performed different dances, including amazing rhythmic drumming.

One of these days I'll share more stories from our adventures in Uganda; the safaris, close encounter with Muammar Gaddafi, rafting down the Nile River...

But for now, I'll leave you with a very dirty me, eagerly anticipating her cold bucket bath.

Photo of the Week 16

2011-05-16T13:45:00.000-07:00

Oakland Zoo

2011-05-15T00:15:00.000-07:00

There are many reasons why I love living in the bay area; the biggest being that I get to go on fun adventures with my three nephews and niece as often as I want to. When I got back from Florida there were still three days left to spring break, so Heather and I thought it would be fun to take the kids to the Oakland Zoo.

It's been so much fun to see their personalities develop over the years, especially Lincoln and Rulon who seem like they are growing up so fast. When we entered the zoo Rulon received a map and quickly became our navigator. He was pretty excited about his responsibility. All the kids got a hoot out of the baboon exhibit. I think it had something to do with their bright, red, puffy bottoms.

The Oakland Zoo has a great children's section. There are tons of objects for climbing, the kids loved the frogs and turtles. I'm constantly amazed when I look back at pictures of Ellis. I don't think I'm being totally biased when I say she is gorgeous! I guess it helps that she is so stinkin' funny as well.

I love brothers, coming from a family of five boys and myself, I had a lot of them. This is probably the reason I love watching Lincoln, Rulon, and little Will interact. They had so much fun playing on everything and looking at the different animals. They also have a lot of energy...I wonder how Heather does it sometimes. After spending the day with all of them I usually end up going home and taking a nap. I guess that's the benefit of being the aunt and not the mother!

To end our fun for the day, we spent some time in the petting zoo. The kids had a blast brushing all the different goats. Although Will's version of brushing involved throwing straw all over their backs. It was so much fun to watch the goat's reaction to having a crazy two year old groom them.

I feel so blessed to be so close to family. It really was the perfect day!

Color vs B&W

2011-05-14T11:58:00.000-07:00

I've been going through the pictures from my photo shoot with the Jones family and I can not decide which I like more, color or black & white. Both are so gorgeous to me and I think it kinda depends on what you're using the image for, so since I can't decide I'm posting both...

They sure are adorable kids!

Make sure to double click on the images to enlarge.

Flashback Friday: New Zealand Bay of Islands

2011-05-13T17:35:00.000-07:00

While attending Brigham Young University, I had the incredible opportunity to go on two separate study abroad experiences. I have the most supportive parents in the world whom wanted me to get the most out of my education, so they sent me to Uganda, Africa for four months in 2001 and then to Auckland, New Zealand for another four months in 2003. It became a habit, a travel bug if you'd like to call it that, for me to travel international as often as I could.

In June of 2005, my friends and I decided to spend a month in New Zealand visiting our host family, friends, and revisiting some of our favorite places from our study abroad experience. We spent a few days up at the Bay of Islands, located a few hours north of Auckland on the North Island.

It was an interesting experience to return to one of my favorite spots during an entirely different time of the year. Our first experience was in the month of January (New Zealand's summer), so we spent most of our time out in the water parasailing, swimming, playing in the sand dunes, and visiting the 20 mile beach. This visit was very different! Since my friends and I had all graduated from college and were now in our teaching careers, the only time we could travel was during our summer (New Zealand's winter). We quickly found out that we would not be doing much laying out or swimming on our visit.

We stayed at a really nice hostel, The Mousetrap (don't be swayed by it's name), and were able to meet some amazing people, all backpacking their way through New Zealand. Our first full day, we decided to take a hike through the kauri forest, which held the largest trees I had ever seen. It started to sprinkle and mist a bit, but we loved being able to find shelter under the huge ferns growing densely along the path.

Our second day, we took a boat tour around the Bay of Islands. Our captain let Lisa and I each take a turn steering the boat, which is always a fun opportunity! We were also able to feed fish off of the front of the boat. The skies were gorgeous and clear, so the water reflected amazing color. On one of the stops, they took us to a great restaurant isolated on a private beach, where we ate lunch. It was absolutely beautiful.

While we were out in the bay, there were a couple dolphin that loved our boat. Our captain cut the engines and the dolphin played around the boat for over 15 minutes, diving in and out of the waves. They were such performers and I didn't even have to use my zoom on my camera!

It was such an incredible day. I loved the endless beaches and the breeze off the water. After our cruise we took our time enjoying the local area, shopping, eating, and just living up the breathtaking scenery.

One of the things I love about New Zealand is how drastically diverse it is; from the people to the landscape. The North Island is covered in gorgeous rolling green hills spotted with white coats from hundreds of roaming sheep. There are actually more sheep in NZ than there are people, which is pretty amazing. We took our time driving back to Auckland, stopping to take pictures and to explore the different treasures that make up the North Island.

I miss New Zealand so much. I miss the laid-back life style, gorgeous scenery, accents to melt your heart, but most of all I miss the people. I know the saying goes, "I left my heart in San Francisco," but I live in San Francisco and can say I left my heart in New Zealand!

Keeping Up With The Jones

2011-05-10T20:51:00.000-07:00

This afternoon I had a fun photo shoot with the Jones Family. They're moving in a week and wanted to get some pictures of their little one, since she's a true California girl. It was so much fun to be around such an active, funny family. They have two adorable boys and a six month old girl, whom the boys absolutely love. It was pretty great watching them maul her with kisses every chance they got! I have several images to go through still, but here's a quick preview of how beautiful this family is. And on a side note, Amy is so stinkin' creative and made the adorable headband...yeah I'm jealous I don't have a talent in that department!

Make sure to click on the images to enlarge them.

Photo of the Week 15

2011-05-09T15:28:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure how I ever lived in a land locked state for so long.

I am so in love with the ocean!

Wrestlin' Gators at Gatorland

2011-05-08T00:30:00.000-07:00

On our last day in Orlando we decided to save the best for last...Gatorland!

Our flights didn't leave until 4:30pm so we had a good portion of the day set aside to wrestle us some gators. We were able to see a couple in the wild during our trip, but wanted to get the up close and personal experience all the locals were telling us about.

Gatorland consisted of several different man-made ponds/lakes, each sectioned off and holding gators of all sizes. We thought it was pretty amazing that turtles and birds were everywhere, none of which were fearful of the gators, probably due to the fact that the gators are very well fed.

After exploring some of the surrounding ponds, we made our way down to the Gator Wrestlin' Show. The trainers were pretty funny and use different gators for each show to ensure the safety for both the audience and animals. He showed us some pretty crazy moves, while sharing facts about the gators. After the show we were able to wrestle our own gator (a.k.a. get our picture while sitting on the back of an Alligator.) I'm not sure how he knew I'd be so jumpy, but right as I grabbed the gator's jaws the trainer grabbed my leg making me squeal like a little girl...he thought it was pretty funny!

There were a few different shows that we were able to watch, one being a Gator Jumping Show where gators would jump out of the water for food. There were signs posted everywhere warning parents that it was a feeding area and that children were not to be near the railing...reassuring huh??

Gatorland has become a bird sanctuary of sorts. At the back of the park is a large breeding lake with 100 female gators and 30 male gators. Along the outskirts of the lake were lined with hundreds of nests from birds of all kinds. It was such a gorgeous walk. I loved how the wooden path was elevated off the water just high enough to allow gators to use the shade underneath. It was crazy to be soaking up the sun, watching birds feed their babies and then look down to see a gator next to your feet.

Basically, Gatorland was a perfect way to end our QUICK trip to Florida.

Tracy and I had so much fun and are already thinking of our next girls' trip for next year! I sure do love her and can't wait til our next adventure!

Epcot Center: Journey Around the World

2011-05-07T22:45:00.000-07:00

Tracy and I had an incredible spring break in Orlando a couple weeks ago.

One of our favorite places we were able to visit was Epcot Center. We had heard amazing things and were very excited about spending the day there. Epcot is basically a Disneyland for adults. There are a few rides, but the main attractions are the different villages designed after countries around the world. There are shops and restaurants in each village with all the workers being native to that country. A couple villages (Mexico and Norway) had rides similar to Pirates of the Caribbean and Small World, while China and Canada showed films in 360 degree theaters. It was amazing to literally feel like we were traveling around the world in just a few hours. After exploring the park, we ended our day by watching an incredible fireworks show.

I hope you enjoy the journey as much as we did!

MEXICO

NORWAY

CHINA

GERMANY

ITALY

ENGLAND

FRANCE

MOROCCO

JAPAN

Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival

2011-05-05T16:59:00.000-07:00

I'm in love with color.

Color in clothes, food, people, my classroom; basically color makes everything more magical.

While Tracy and I were in Orlando we spent a day at Epcot center. We had no clue that we would be going at the perfect time...during the International Flower and Garden Festival. To say that Epcot was covered in flowers would be an understatement. The horticultural department spent countless hours creating hundreds of arrangements, sculptures, and exhibits made entirely out of living plants. I have never seen so much color in my life...it was perfect! Tracy and I literally spent the day searching for all the different sculptures around the park and since both of us are obsessed with photography, we were able to capture some pretty beautiful images. I'm sure you'll recognize my favorite princess at the end. You gotta love Disney and their creativity!

I realize that I am posting a ton of pictures, but I couldn't simply choose a few, it would not have done it justice. So enjoy all the color and Make sure to click on the images to enlarge them.

NASA

2011-05-03T23:40:00.000-07:00

Tracy and I had the incredible opportunity to tour NASA while we were visiting her aunt and uncle in Florida last week. Her uncle works at NASA and was kind enough to get us tickets for the afternoon; just another reason why I love them so much!

NASA is located about 10 miles away from where we were staying in Titusville. In fact the launch pad is visible across the river where hundreds of locals line the banks to watch the space launches. We arrived at the Space Center just in time to meet Wendy Lawrence, an astronaut sharing her experiences from different missions in space. We then toured the Rocket Garden and had some fun climbing into the pods placed throughout the grounds. In the early stages of space exploration, two men orbited space in this pod for 14 days with absolutely no leg room. I'm pretty sure I'd go crazy with claustrophobia!

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After the Rocket Garden we watched a 3-d IMAX film narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio about the Hubble Telescope. I have to admit the movie was quite soothing and I may have drifted off a bit for a minute or two. After the movie we walked along the grounds to the Astronaut Memorial and then toured the Explorer, a retired space ship.

My favorite part of the afternoon was the Shuttle Launch Simulator. It's a ride that simulates what an actual launch would feel like. It was an incredible feeling being smashed to the back of your seat and feeling the skin on your face being forced back by rising gravity and pressure. I may have shed a tear or two in the process. After the simulation, we caught a tour bus out to one of the original launch pads where we were able to tour some amazing exhibits from the past missions to space.

Overall it turned out to be an amazing experience. I am continually baffled by the concept of space and other planets, so I am amazed at the knowledge these scientists share. If you have the opportunity to spend sometime at NASA it is well worth it!

Photo of the Week 14

2011-05-02T23:24:00.000-07:00

This is one of my absolute favorite images I've ever captured of little Ellis.

It doesn't get much cuter than her!

Blue Springs State Park

2011-05-01T00:03:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, our second full day in Florida, Tracy and I were able to go to Blue Springs State Park. We stayed with her aunt and uncle in Titusville for the week and they were kind enough to take us around during the weekend. They are such kind people, so easy to talk to, and so generous and hospitable. They even had cute welcome gift bags for us when we arrived!

Blue Springs is about an hour drive Northwest of Titusville. It is known for being a preserve for manatees and other Florida native animals. (According to floridastateparks.org) "Blue Spring State Park covers more than 2,600 acres, including the largest spring on the St. Johns River. Blue Spring is a designated Manatee Refuge and the winter home to a growing population of West Indian Manatees. The spring and spring run are closed during Manatee season, mid-November through March. For centuries, the spring area was home to Native Americans. In 1766 it was visited by Colonial American botanist John Bartram, but it was not until 1856 that it was settled by Louis Thursby and his family. The Thursby house, built in 1872, remains standing. The spring´s crystal clear, 73 degree water can be enjoyed by swimmers, snorkelers, and certified scuba divers with a partner. The river is popular for fishing, canoeing, and boating."

We had the opportunity to explore the trails of Blue Spring and then cool off by tubing down the river. It was incredibly beautiful and I couldn't get enough of the draping vegetation and wildlife...we even saw our first Florida Gator!

Harry Potter World: Hogwarts

2011-04-30T21:56:00.000-07:00

I realize this is my third post about Harry Potter World, but I have had a lot of requests to share in detail so I figured the more images the better. You of course, always have the liberty of skipping to the next post!

(MAKE SURE TO CLICK ON THE IMAGES TO ENLARGE)

After spending most of the day in Hogsmeade we loaded the Hogwarts express to "Harry Potter's Forbidden Journey" located at the Hogwarts castle. We had to wait forever to get on the ride, but it was totally worth it. The line was pretty amazing too, besides the whole having to wait in a line aspect, because it led you first through the herbology classroom and then inside the castle. We were led through hundreds of talking portraits, Dumbledore's office, the defense against the dark arts classroom, and then the Gryffindor common hall. It literally was amazing walking through the halls of the Hogwarts Castle!

The main ride "Harry Potter's Forbidden Journey" was pretty incredible. It was a good mix of virtual and reality. The goal is to make the person on the ride feel like they are truly on a flying broom in all the different situations (i.e. a quidditch match, escaping dragons and dementors, etc.) It was such an amazing ride, we couldn't just go on it once, so we went on it another time along with a castle tour.

The outside of the castle was also amazingly designed. It made me feel like I was back at Disneyland outside Sleeping Beauty's castle, especially when the lights came on at night.

While relaxing in the sun, we were able to see a replica of the TriWizard tournament from the fourth book.

I'm so glad I got the chance to visit Harry Potter World, especially with Tracy since she is such a big fan as well. We had an incredible time, even suffering through the sweat and heat with our Butterbeers. If you get the chance to travel to Orlando, make sure to visit Islands of Adventure and give yourself lots of time to live it up in Harry Potter World!

Harry Potter World: Honeydukes

2011-04-30T13:28:00.000-07:00

While visiting Harry Potter World, we spent a lot of time at Honeydukes, the Hogsmeade sweet shop. It was amazing to walk in and immediately feel like you were five years old again with the excitement of colorful candy everywhere you turned. I thought about all of my adorable nieces and nephews and how much they would have loved to be there with me. I figured it was the perfect place to bring home souvenirs. Every Flavor Beans (jelly beans in yummy and disgusting flavors packaged together) was a perfect option for everyone back home. I also brought back dark chocolate mint frogs and told the kids they had to bite the heads off quickly or they would jump away. Last night Dallas and I had dinner with my brother and his family and had a blast watching the kids be soaked up in the magic of Harry Potter. They were so excited to try the candy from Honeydukes and kept waiting for the frogs to come to life. I "forgot" to tell the kids that some of the jelly beans tasted horrible and Lincoln ate one tasting like bogies...needless to say that spawned a mission for him to try and get someone to taste the vomit flavor ones! I sure do love my family!

Thank you, Honeydukes, for helping us have so much fun!

Harry Potter World: Hogsmeade

2011-04-30T13:13:00.000-07:00

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I mentioned in my previous post that I spent the past week in Orlando, Florida with one of my closest friends, Tracy. Our main purpose for our trip was to explore Harry Potter World at Universal Studios' Islands of Adventure. We are both huge Harry Potter fans and couldn't wait to walk the streets of Hogsmeade! It was amazing to see all the details. The streets were lined with all the different shops described in the book; it was literally like having my imagination come to life...I loved every minute of it!

I loved the girls restroom, indicated by the witch symbol above the door; Moaning Myrtle even talked to everyone while using the stalls! There was an Owl Post Office for delivering letters, a book store featuring Gilderoy Lockhart's novels, a sporting goods store with all the quidditch equipment you would possibly need, and Hagrid's house was located right next to one of the roller coaster rides.

One of my favorite shops had to be Ollivander's. Before you can enter the wand shop they take you through a quick show where the wizard Ollivander picks someone from the audience and matches them with a wand. It was such a cute show and got us super pumped about picking out our very own wands...yes, I'm 30 and I spend at least a half hour picking out my own wand...

For lunch, we decided to eat at the Three Broomsticks. The ceiling was incredible and had moving stair cases leading to no where. To be honest the best part of lunch was the air conditioning. I'm pretty sure I would never get used to the heat and humidity that is Florida!

But by far, the absolute highlight of Hogsmeade was the Butterbeer!

On a scorching day in the 90's with 80% humidity, nothing tasted better than this yummy drink; we even got it twice, just so we could get the collectors cup. It tasted like a butterscotch candy with caramel and in a slushy form. I wish that description could do it justice. Let's just say it was a little piece of heaven on earth...definitely worth fighting the crowds for!

Universal Studios Orlando

2011-04-29T10:32:00.000-07:00

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Last Thursday I flew from San Francisco to Orlando. My close friend from Utah, Tracy, invited me to come with her to Florida for a week long adventure with the sole purpose to visit Harry Potter World at Universal Studios. I jumped at the opportunity! I have been a huge fan of the Harry Potter series for such a long time. I've loved watching it motivate my struggling readers be excited about books. I've been inspired by the emphasis on friendship and bravery within the story line. Needless to say, when I heard that Harry Potter World was opening, I have been wanting to go for nearly a year!

Universal Studios Orlando is made up of two different parks (for those familiar with the West Coast Disneyland, it's like having Disneyland and California Adventures.) The sister park of Universal Studios is called Islands of Adventure and this is where Harry Potter World is located. We spent all of Friday here.

While waiting to get into Harry Potter World, we spent most of our time wandering through Jurassic Park. I hate to admit this, but I have loved and feared Jurassic Park since it came out in the early 90's. I remember reading the book, listening to the soundtrack, and then having reoccurring nightmares about dinosaurs attacking me. I may still be deathly afraid of velociraptors...

We had such a fun day exploring. After leaving the park we ended up eating at a cool Italian restaurant in downtown Universal Studios with an amazing live band. It was the perfect way to end an incredible day!

Harry Potter World will be another post :)

Will's 2nd Birthday

2011-04-28T17:54:00.000-07:00

Last week my little nephew, Will, turned 2.

There is a special place in my heart for little Will. I love all of my nieces and nephews, sometimes to an unhealthy degree, but there is something very special about Will and I's relationship. He was born while I was finishing my first year of teaching here in California. Dallas and I had almost been married for a year and were facing frustrations of my job laying me off, Dallas's stressful work hours, and trying to start a family. Over the course of the next two years, Dallas and I have continued to struggle with starting our family; having two miscarriages along the way. I wish I could put into words how much little Will has helped me through all of this. I have spent hours rocking him to sleep; loving all the snuggling. He loves me in return and will light up when he sees me walking up to the house. I've watched him learn how to crawl, walk, run, and now talk. Much of my healing has come from his hugs, kisses, and smiles. I'm so unbelievably grateful to my brother, Erik, and sister-in-law, Heather, for letting me spend so much time with their kids and for allowing me to love them as my own.

Will's birthday was pretty entertaining.

His older siblings, Lincoln, Rulon, and Ellis are obsessed with this little guy and tend to smother a bit. So you can imagine how excited everyone was for Will's big day. Lincoln proudly made the birthday cake/brownies, while Ellis and Rulon helped with setting the table and decorating.

Will loved his "choo-choo" pajamas from Grandma and Grandpa Rundle, his Diego dancing tools from "Kiki" and "Bunda" aka Grandma and Grandpa Adams, and bubble machine from Dallas and I.

Here's a little glimpse of our adorable little Will...

Photo of the Week 13

2011-04-18T19:27:00.000-07:00

Is it odd that this monkey totally reminds me of my brothers?

Being the only girl out of six children, our home often felt like a zoo...and my parents may have mentioned something about how we always acted like monkeys... What do ya think, mom and dad, any resemblance?

Brothers

2011-04-18T19:12:00.000-07:00

The other day I got to photograph my friends' two adorable boys.

I had a blast watching them interact and dig up worms from the dirt.

At one point they each carried two worms in both hands for over 30 minutes...I'm pretty sure the worms didn't survive!

Thanks Aubrey for letting me steal your gorgeous boys for the afternoon.

Cold Sunset at Baker Beach

2011-04-16T02:10:00.000-07:00

To end our day, Janelle, Jason, and I decided to watch the sunset at Baker Beach. We arrived about 15 minutes before the sun went down, luckily we brought blankets, because the wind turned very cold. It was a perfect way to end our day full of photography.

Streets of San Francisco

2011-04-16T02:02:00.000-07:00

After the Palace of Fine Arts we drove to some of the more "colorful" streets of San Francisco. All I can say is that I'm glad I don't have to drive a stick shift through the city!