March 12, 2011

... What We Did ...

To Celebrate Our 11 Years Together:

We had a wonderful anniversary this year! We decided to keep it simple and stayed in town! We ate some tasty lunch at Mandarin Garden,



We caught a Matinee showing of "Just Go With It" and for a while, we were the only ones in the theater:



We drove up to Spring Hollow & hiked around with our cameras:




And we had a nice quiet dinner at "The Coppermill":



We had a great time together and had fun reminiscing about our wedding day and about the many wonderful memories that we have made over the years!

March 10, 2011

... eleven years ago ...


... eleven years ago today I married the love of my life and my best friend ...


... here's to the next eternity ...

February 26, 2011

... when ...

my siblings come to town, we:


get gourmet dinners cooked for us by Blake & Dan,


skype the family that didn't come to town,







get our hair done,





visit the yummiest restaurants,






go bowling,





and have a wonderful time!

February 19, 2011

Crazy Cupcakes


Last week, we got to hang out with 5 of our favorite kiddos!! We picked up Omar & Marisol from school and headed out to Smithfield to decorate cupcakes with Daisey, Isaac & Maggie!!






We had stopped at the store for some cupcake decor and ended up leaving with a bag of Doritos as well! Who knew that the Doritos would be the most popular choice of cupcake topping? Popcorn, gummi bears, chocolate bars & conversation hearts were also included in the decor!

We had a fabulous time hanging out with the kiddos (and Brittany, of course) and giggled quite a bit at the crazy cupcakes that they made and ate!!



February 18, 2011

Belated Valentine's Day Wreath

I attempted to make this wreath for Valentine's Day! I finished yesterday - just a few days late, but it is hanging on our door anyway!


It took me some time, quite a few movies and episodes of"Big Bang Theory," but I finished it! In case you want to make one for yourself, I made this:


After your rosettes have been made, just glue them to the wreath & enjoy!! Just so you know, if you're looking for a quick project, this is not it! The rosettes, while easy to make, were very time consuming and I had to keep going back for more felt because I kept running out!! All in all, I really don't know how many rosettes it took - sorry - I suppose my tutorial is not all that informative - so if you attempt your own - good luck!! :)

But, I LOVE the way it turned out and I'm proud of my recent crafty attempt! Perhaps I won't wait so long until my next one :)

February 15, 2011

... all you need is love ...

In honor of all things Valentines Day, here is a picture of Nate & I at our first Sweethearts Ball in 1997!!


We had a wonderful Valentines Day yesterday! One of the best things about being married to Nate is that I don't have to wait for Valentines Day to come around every year to know how much he loves me!! He has always made me feel special and I have never doubted that I have always been his Valentine! To celebrate the big day, however, we had some dinner at the always tasty Olive Garden and then headed back home to spend the evening in! I am so grateful for Nate and for his love and I will be forever grateful that he stole my shoes from me at the Rec Center on Valentine's Day in 1996, lighting the flame that keeps us together today!

And, just because they're kind of funny, here's another photo (Sweethearts Ball - 1998)!!

i {heart} shutterfly

I've developed an addiction to photo books!! Nate & I have taken so many photos around the valley with Nikki the Nikon and they just sit on our computer - so when Shutterfly emailed me a 50% off a photobook code, I hurried and made this book!!

Click here to view this photo book larger

January 27, 2011

So, it turns out that taking a break from school gives me more time to think about the reason that I started going to school in the first place...

I started going to school to keep me distracted from the fact that we don't have a baby. Now that I have more free time on my hands, I can see how well it has worked. There have been countless times over the last several years that homework and testing and making plans for things we only have time for in the summer have saved me from myself and have kept me completely distracted...

So many people that I know are announcing pregnancies, having morning sickness, decorating nurseries, attending baby showers and so many other things that I long to experience and while I am so thrilled for them, my heart aches - and I feel it, and it hurts.

There's really nothing to do about it, I'm just sick of keeping it to myself.

January 6, 2011

Harrison Family Party

Nate's sweet grandpa turned 80 on December 24th! He is one of the most outgoing and quick witted 80 year old men I have ever met!!


To celebrate this exciting occasion, Nate's aunt planned a wonderful birthday bash for him in Salt Lake!! We braved the icy roads last week and drove down to celebrate and enjoy time with Nate's family - some of whom we have not seen for, literally, years!





We had such a great time catching up with cousins and aunts and uncles and meeting family members that we haven't gotten a chance to meet yet!

We played some Human Foosball -


and some "Minute to Win It" games - Nate & I were the first group drawn & rocked our challenge, resulting in the win of some yummy Sour Patch Kids -


and many other wonderful activities, including a pinata & "toy" walk for the kiddos, question and answer time with grandpa, a very yummy catered dinner and raffle, and the MUST HAVE when large groups of people get together: photo time (of which I was put in charge)!

The Law Family (minus Tom)


The cousins & spouses (minus a few)


The "original" Harrison Family!


and the adorable and entertaining great grandkids!


We had such a wonderful day and we are grateful that we were able to take work off and to spend the day with the beautiful and loving Harrison Family!!

January 4, 2011

*** {30} Questions about {2010} ***

I think that I say this every year, but I can't believe that the New Year is here!! Really, it feels like we welcomed 2010 in just a few weeks ago, but once again, life has flown by and happened as I stood by and let it!

I saw these questions on my cousin's blog, so I decided to follow suite and throw them up on our blog! So, without further adieu, here are my answers to 30 Questions about 2010!

1. What did you do in 2010 that you have never done before? Off the top of my head, the main thing that I did this year that I've never done before is had a car accident! I had my first ambulance ride, my first x-rays, my first neck brace and my first time being strapped to a body board!! Other things - purchased an AWESOME camera, started visiting a Chiropractor and held a Hissing Madagascar Cockroach!

2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions? Seeing as how I don't really remember the resolutions I set last year, I'm going to say probably not!! ;)

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? My sister in law, Ollie, gave birth to our beautiful niece, Sadie Jane!

4. Did anyone close to you die? This year my grandpa passed away (in March), which was a blessing! My cousin Cory also passed away (in August), which was a tragedy. They are both loved and missed very much!

5. What places did you visit? For our 10 year anniversary this year Nate & I went to Zions National Park to celebrate and spend time together! We also took at trip to New York City in August to visit Nate's parents!!

6. What do you want to do this year that you didn't do in 2010? I would like to be more focused this year - at school, at work, at home - I feel that my life has kind of meshed together from the stress last Semester, so I hope to be more balanced! The two BIG things that I hope to accomplish this year are to get a step closer to being a mommy and to finish school (the two go hand in hand, so I am looking forward to accomplishing them both)!!

7. What days from 2010 will be etched in your memory? I think that the things that I remember most about this year will be our trips to Zions & New York, the relief that I felt after my head teaching week at the Child Development Lab, and the day of my car accident!!

8. What is your biggest achievement of 2010? I am really pleased to say that I have booked a lot of photo shoots this year! My camera has paid for itself and more, which makes me feel successful and very happy! I am also really pleased to say that Nate & I survived the Fall Semester - and we not only survived it, but we still loved each other! :)

9. What was your biggest failure? I am going to change failure to disappointment, because I feel that the year was pretty successful! My biggest disappointments in myself for the year are putting of my math classes (which I am determined to finish by April), and not getting pregnant (maybe 2011 will be our year!)

10. Did you suffer any illness or injury? Aside from my car accident? I had a few major colds (that happened to be during our trip to New York and during my head teaching week), but they were manageable and I feel blessed to say that I've had a pretty healthy year!

11. What is the best thing you bought? I think the best purchase that we made this year was Nikki the Nikon!

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Nate rocked my world during Fall Semester when he took on being a “housewife” – including cooking, laundry, cleaning, working full time and still finding the time to help me with my crazy assignments and lesson plans!

13. Whose behavior appalled you? Truthfully, I can’t think of anyone who has truly disappointed me - and even if there had been, I feel that this would be the time for me to forgive and forget!

14. Where did most of your money go? Hmmm... good question! Bills and dining out!!

15. What did you get really excited about? This year brought a lot of exciting things! We got to spend a lot of time with our nephews and nieces, which always brings us joy! I was also really excited about the trips that we took. And, of course, the camera!

16. What song will always remind you of 2010? I'm pretty sure that the soundtrack to "Glee" has been the soundtrack to our life this year! Because the songs are so diverse, it happens to be on most of the time in the car, at home while cleaning, and on the I-Pod while working!

17. Compared to this time last year are you:
happier or sadder: just as happy!
thinner or fatter: probably about the same
richer or poorer: about the same

18. What do you wish you had done more of? I wish that we would have saved more money, I wish that we would have spent more time outdoors in the summer, and I wish that I would have seen more sunrises!

19. What do you wish you had done less of? I could have spent less time in front of the TV and computer, and I definitely could have procrastinated a lot less!

20. Did you fall in love in 2010? Yes!! Every time I looked at my Nate!! I also fell in love with our camera (is that weird? Am I a little obsessed?)! Other things I fell in love with? Smoothies made in my magic bullet, my new cream boots, photo books and getting adjusted by the Chiropractor!

21. What was your favorite TV program? This year we watched "Glee" pretty religiously! We also enjoyed watching "30 Rock" and finished up "LOST!"

22. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't last year? What a silly question! I’m a lover, not a fighter!

23. What was your greatest musical discovery? I'm not sure we discovered any NEW music, but as I mentioned before, we adore the "Glee" soundtrack! I have also really enjoyed Paramore and Taylor Swift this year!

24. What did you want and get? If you don't know the answer to this question, I'm not sure I want to tell you!!

25. What was your favorite film of the year? I'm trying to remember what movies we saw! I REALLY loved "This Is It," (the Michael Jackson movie)! The only movies that I remember seeing in the Theater were "Eclipse" and "Harry Potter 7," both of which we really enjoyed!

26. What did you do on your birthday and how old? On my 30th birthday, I worked for a few hours! After work and dinner, we met up with our families and closest friends for treats and what ended up being a water party at a local park!

27. How would you describe your fashion of 2010?
- School attire: jeans and a sweatshirt
- Work attire: slacks & sweaters
- Home attire: pajama pants, tank tops & ponytails

28. Which celebrity/public figure did you like the most? I really respect and admire Ellen Degeneres! I know that a lot of you will disagree with me, but I think that the things that she does to support people who need it are amazing and I can only dream of being as generous and kind as she is!

29. Share a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010: I think the biggest thing that I learned this year is that it is okay for me to be me! I have spent a lot of my life worried about what others think about me and how I come off to other people, but this last year I have really felt like I have been able to shed that way of thinking and I have really enjoyed discovering who I really am!

30. New Years resolutions for 2011: As I mentioned before - my goals this year include becoming more balanced, finishing school in December, and getting pregnant!!

Happy 2011 everyone! I hope this year brings you joy and happiness and that all of your dreams and goals for the year are remembered and accomplished!!

Copyright Notice