Cali and Brett (Plus 3)

2012-01-06T16:55:00.001-07:00

Christmas was amazing this year.. thanks to 3 beautiful little girls! It was very different having kids but it was so fun watching them experience things they never had before.

Here are some Christmas pictures of the girls in their christmas dresses.

My new niece- Hannah was blessed the weekend before Christmas. She is very cute and the girls like spending time with cousins.

Christmas Eve at Papa's house. By far my favorite christmas tradition. We get together and go caroling to a few families around town. I LOVE my family so much and cant even imagine the day that we wont do this anymore. Hopefully it will never come. After Caroling we come back to Papa's house, eat, visit, and open our present from Papa.

Christmas Eve at my mom's house. They got new pajamas, we waited for Santa to come and then hid in the dining room- (Anavy was looking under the door to get a look) Then they opened all of their gifts and went to bed.

Christmas Day at Smith's house.

New years Eve, we went to the Jewkes family Christmas party. It was fun to see everyone. On New Years Day, we went to the Smith annual soup night and then on our way back from Orem, We stopped to see the lights at Temple Square. It was pretty cold so we didn't stay long but the girls were excited to see the temple and the lights.

I had off and on feeling of guilt this christmas season. I have always known that there are people who literally have nothing and Christmas is nothing but an ordinary day. I have really been made aware of this more since being in the Young Women program at church. Our townhouse complex is about 7 years old but other than that, nothing has been built on our ward boundries for 50+ years. Our ward boundaries runs in a 10 block strip and the end of it is really rough neighborhoods. Some of my YW have very very little. Some come from rough homes and unloving families. It really makes me sad. My 3 girls were spoiled rotten this Christmas by so many people. It made me feel a bit guilty that we are so fortunate and blessed because people a couple of streets over are struggling to have Christmas Dinner. It is important to remember this at Christmas time and do what we can to help out :) I tried my best to do that.

I hope all of you had a great Christmas Holiday.

Teachers & Bus Drivers :)

2011-12-20T14:46:00.000-07:00

I was up super late last night because I am a procrastinator and I waited till the last second to make gifts for Anavy & Khloe's teachers and bus drivers. Brett thinks I always go way overboard with these things but they turned out super cute. For the teachers I made cookies in a jar.

You put all these ingredients in a Mason jar:
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup -leveled
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup cooking oats
3/4 cup m&ms
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 – 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Then all the teachers have to do is add:
1 slightly beaten egg
1/2 cup butter (melted slightly in the microwave)
1 teaspoon vanilla

And you end up with yummy oatmeal cookies.

For the bus drivers I put hot chocolate mix, chocolate chips and marshmellos in a smaller jar.

I really am so so so grateful to all of their teachers for all they do. My girls are doing so well and a lot of it is thanks to them. And of course the bus drivers get them to school safely.

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update with pictures!

2011-12-08T15:16:00.001-07:00

Savannah has decided that her bed is not for sleeping- it is for just laying there jabbering, crying, pounding on it, jumping on it.... pretty much anything but sleeping. It is an out of the blue habit she has formed and it is exhausting. The last 4 nights it has taken her an average of 2 1/2 hours to fall asleep. At night she cries mostly and at nap time, she talks. The frustrating part of it all is that she is so exhausted. I would just take away her daytime naps but she is so tired and sometimes even asks to go 'night night'. But once she gets there, she wont sleep. I am not sure what to do. Any suggestions??

Anyway- Here is my life lately via Instagram (a picture app on my iphone)

Anavy is doing amazing in school and we are so so proud of her. This is her progress i writing her name.

Their new favorite thing to do is Skype. They talk to their Nana a few times a week and sometimes with Macy.

I am working on learning to french braid... I'm getting better.

We turned Savanna's crib into a big girl bed because she was waking us up at night to go to the bathroom. By the way she hasn't had a accident day or night for 3 weeks.

We bought new stockings to hang above our fireplace- we have never had a fireplace before.

All 3 girls had surgery to put tubes in their ears. They had ear drums full of nasty fluid that made it so they couldnt hear very well. Now that they are all cleared out Anavy and Khloe pronunciate words a lot better and are improving faster.

We bought a new Christmas Tree and put it up together.

Signing Time is their favorite time of day. They soak it in so fast and are always signing around the house.

Thanksgiving holiday was fun- Black Friday was crazy but playing volleyball with the whole family is one of my favorite things to do.

And then there are the pictures that need no explaination... My girls are happy, funny, loving and messy. Period.

28.

2011-11-30T14:01:00.001-07:00

Brett is 28 today!!! We are slowly growing into old people and it is weird to think of howfast time is going. He has his 10 year reunion this summer... and mine is the summer after. Wow.

Brett is an amazing husband and is such a wonderful father to these girls. They are so lucky and they love him so much. Its fun to watch him as a dad and them playing together makes my heart melt.

Happy Birthday sweetie. I love you more and more every year so dont worry about getting old. :)

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Grateful

2011-11-30T13:37:00.001-07:00

I have had a great week and I have definetly been able to count my many blessings. I have so much gratitude for the things that I have. I am definetly blessed with an amazing husband, three beautiful kids that light up my life and make me so happy, my husbands job, our home, and the list goes on and on.

A friend of mine had this quote on her blog and it is so appropriate.

He is a wise man who does not grieve
for the things which he has not,
but rejoices for that which he has.
Epictetus

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family. Whats not to love about this holiday- I especially love shopping on Black Friday. This is how this crazy tradition goes in my family.... All of my aunts and cousins sit down at a very large table and we all come up with our individual lists of what we need from what store. Then we decide who is going to what store. This year since Walmart has their specials starting at 10- most of us went there first except the few that went to wait in lines in the freezing cold. We then divided into sections of the store. This year I was in the DVD department and I will say this- i will never do the dvd section again. I got hit, scratched on my face, my glasses got knocked off, I got pushed into a shelf. It was madness. I was out to get everyone's dvd's and I came away with less than half of what I was supposed to get. Oh well. Everyone else got what we needed elsewhere in the store and we all met up and got in line and divided up who's stuff was who's. After Walmart, we divided and went to other stores that were opening at 12, 4, &5. I went from Walmart to Best Buy then to Target. I got almost everything I wanted- thanks to my family who divides and conquers on black Friday.

My family is amazing and I am so grateful for them!

How beautiful are they???

2011-11-21T15:10:00.001-07:00

Wow. They are just the most gorgeous girls ever.

Rrrgggg!

2011-11-10T17:19:00.001-07:00

Cars are the worst!! I am so frustrated by Brett's car. Granted, it was given o us for free but we put 1200 dollars into it in January and now, again it is needing another 1000. It's just not worth it at this point so we are going to park it to gather dust in our garage.
It isn't like we can not survive without two cars. Brett only goes to work in that car so I will have to drive him and pick him up but other than that, he doesn't go anywhere else without me. The crappy thing is it cost us over a hundred dollars to find out that it's broken. Bummer. But it lasted us a good two years or so.

Lion & Tigers & Bears- OH MY!!

2011-11-01T14:03:00.003-06:00

Halloween was a lot of fun. We had a trunk or treat at our church on Saturday and Khloe & Anavy had school parties on Monday. Then we went to Brett's work for a really fun party and trick or treating. Then we drove to Orem to go trick or treating some more with the girls' Nana (my mom)

They had a lot of fun and didnt want to stop but it was getting cold and so we spent some time with Brett's parents. They had a long day and fell asleep instantly when we got int he car to go home.

Pumpkins!!

2011-10-25T22:25:00.000-06:00

So, I was trying to figure out what to do with our pumpkins that was kid friendly- no knives ;) So I asked this lady at walmart if they had anything and she suggested washable paint and let them go to town on them... I thought this was a good idea and knew they would really like it. So this is what we ended up with.

Then when it was all done- I put the pumpkins outside to dry and as they were drying, the paint was flaking off.... washanle paint was not a great idea. So I put them in the sink and washed them off and I was back to square one trying to figure out what to do. I was in the craft section and saw these foam stickers and today we had some fun with them.... these are the final product.

Cookies & Family

2011-10-25T21:57:00.003-06:00

Sundays are the days when we make cookies. Anavy, Khloe and Savannah LOVE to help make them... even more than eating them surprisingly. Its a lot of fun- just me and my girls :)

We had some family in town and we went to Weber State to see Macy play volleyball.... the girls had a fun time and so did we.

2011-10-11T12:57:00.000-06:00

I have to thank the people that offered support, emails, phone calls, voice mails, comments etc about my last post. I was in a rough place that day... I'm not going to pretend I dont have days like that and I am glad that when I do, I always know that I have the support of the ones I love the most. So thank you- you know who you are.

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Chaos

2011-10-05T17:45:00.001-06:00

There are just those days when things get chaotic and I get frustrated and the kids are in and out of time out all day and by the end of the day the kids are in Anavy's room playing and I am in tears because I just dont know what to do. Today was one of those days.
I feel like I am not good enough for these girls. Of course I know they are better off with me then where they came from but then again they may be better off with another mom who knows what she is doing.
I just let the frustration build up all day and by the end there is no patience left. And then at that point I failed that day. I wake up every morning and say to myself, today is going to be better and I am going to keep calm and not get frustrated. It works really well, we have great mornings, but there are only 2 kids at that point. When 4:00 rolls around and I am anxious for Brett to come home, and I am getting dinner started, and they are hyper- ah! It is sometimes too much.

Had to vent.
Wish I was a better mom.
And a better person.
I'm working on it.

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Savannah's 2nd Birthday

2011-10-03T12:24:00.000-06:00

Savannah turned 2 on Saturday! So after our family pictures (see post below) we had a big family gathering because there were a few birthdays and the Gee family loves to get together anyway!

My Cute Family

2011-10-03T12:15:00.000-06:00

I had family pictures taken on Sunday of my cute little family... they turned out so cute. These girls have become the loves of my life- Second to my husband of course :) They make us so so happy and we are so grateful for them.

Life is good. Capture it.

2011-09-08T13:34:00.001-06:00

Wow... things are getting busy around here and you know what? I love it! I am taking pictures like crazy!
I have 3 family shoots , one birthday shoot, and one bridal shoot this month and 2 weddings, 2 family shoots, 1 engagement shoot and a 50th anniversary party next month. But surprisingly, there is room on my calender if anyone has anything else going on. :)

http://calismithphotographyanddesign.blogspot.com

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The girls love Papa

2011-08-28T20:52:00.001-06:00

While we were in Orem this weekend, we went over to see Papa. The girls love him and it was so good to see him!

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Macy's here!

2011-08-24T23:15:00.005-06:00

The girls met Macy & Drew today. They immediately loved them.... so cute. K & A can say Macy just fine but S can only do Cici... which isn't surprising since my other sister Alyssa is Sasa. Mace & Drew drove down from Montana for Grandpa's funeral this weekend. Glad to see them. Miss my baby sister like crazy.

My Sweetie Lucy

2011-08-23T09:45:00.007-06:00

My precious dog Lucy died in my arms this morning. She has had a heart murmur for 2 years and I was told then that she wouldn't make it 6 months and she made it 2 years. We loved her so much and it was hard to lose her. It was especially hard to see my husband cry when he told the girls that she won't be waking up. The girls keep asking where she is. They don't understand.

We packed the girls in the car at 8:30 this morning and drove across town to the Animal Shelter where they will perform the cremation. We opted for a private cremation so that someday when we have a house, we can give her a proper burial.

I miss her already. It was strange to come home and not have her right there at the door wagging her tail. She was such a good dog and will always have a place in our hearts.

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Grandpa Merrell

2011-08-22T09:32:00.007-06:00

My sweet grandpa Merrell passed away in his sleep last night. He was a great man. One of the sweetest I have ever known.
I will always have regrets when it comes to this situation. I let certain people drive me away from that family after my dad died and it was never the same. That family never treated us the same. They were never my real family again with the exception of my grandparents. They were there for all the main events, came over to my parents house to see us often, always sent cards for birthdays, always supported me. But I had a hard time going to that house and as the years went on, the visits on my part were less and less. I should have done better. I know that he loved me and that is what is important. He always told me that. He always told me he was proud of me. The two things that I miss hearing from my dad, he said often.

What a great reunion- My grandpa, my dad and my Nana in heaven.

Not sure when the funeral will be but I will be going. I owe him that much. He was a great example in my life and he will always be in my heart.

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ZOO!!

2011-08-20T21:36:00.011-06:00

We decided that today would be the day to take the girls to the zoo.... Alyssa and Kellen came with us and it was really fun. I don't think I have been that hot in a long time. It was easily 100 degrees outside but it felt like 214 degrees. We rode the train and saw all the animals and the girls were exhausted! It took K & S about 1 minute to fall asleep after they were buckled in :)

Getting the hang....

2011-08-02T20:21:00.003-06:00

I have to give a huge shout out to all the m0thers out there. Being a mom is very hard. Not that I thought it would be easy but it definitely is a lot harder mentally and emotionally than I ever thought.

I have been a mom for a little over a month. I have to say that I was scared for probably the first couple weeks and unsure that I could do it. I am happy to report that I am getting the hang of it and I no longer feel stressed and frustrated all day. I am enjoying it a lot. I am so blessed that these girls were the ones to be able to teach me to be a mother, I learn new things everyday and I know that I am becoming better at it. They are so sweet and I am very lucky.

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Happy 5th birthday Anavy!

2011-07-28T12:16:00.002-06:00

Happy 5th birthday to my sweet girl!!

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My Girls

2011-07-26T21:18:00.008-06:00

Things have been busy around our house for the past while. We have had these 3 little girls for almost a month and they are sure a handful but they are beautiful and so loving. I finally got permission so here a a few pictures of the girls.
Anavy is turning 5 on thursday, Khloe just turned 3 this month and Savannah will be 2 in a few months.

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Smith Family Reunion

2011-07-11T20:35:00.007-06:00

This last weekend was our Smith Family Reunion that we have once every 2 years. It was really fun. We had 3 days of fun with family. The Smith family is huge (90 people, I think) , and every one of them are so sweet. I am so lucky to have married into a fantastic family.

UPDATE: I put all the pictures up on this website for the family to look at or download so you can print them for yourselves.. :) Enjoy.
http://smithfamilyreunionpictures2011.shutterfly.com/

The whole family (those who were there... i think we were missing like 20 people)

Grandpa Smith and all his grandkids, spouses and great grandkids

Grandpa and his kids and their spouses

Grandpa and his kids

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Smith Famiy Pictures

2011-07-10T13:06:00.005-06:00

I am finally getting around to posting family pictures that we took a couple weeks ago. Our family is really growing. Nate got home this week so he will be photo shopped in where the gap is as soon as I take his picture. :)

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Bridal Veil Falls

2011-07-10T12:57:00.003-06:00

While all the grandkids were here, we walked up the path to Bridal Veil falls. First we had a picnic Subway lunch. It was fun to be out with everyone.

The only one missing is Reed- who is too small to sit by himself. :)

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26

2011-06-27T23:16:00.002-06:00

Wow. I am 26.

Tonight we had a small get together at our house. My mom, Trevor & Elise and thier kids were all here and it was so fun. The girls enjoyed chasing the dogs around the house and running around int he backyard and the chocolate cake... Each of the girls brought me a balloon- it was sweet.

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Baby Reed's Blessing Day

2011-06-27T23:07:00.006-06:00

Sunday, Baby Reed was blessed. We went to Morgan to be there and then to Elise's mom's house after. I am so glad that my nieces and nephew are in town... they are the absolute cutest kids ever and I love that they love me. It was fun to play with them and just hug them... There will be a lot more of that in the coming week.

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Camping/Canoeing

2011-06-23T20:12:00.005-06:00

Last weekend my sister decided to go camping for a few nights... She invite us to come up so, we went up for a night and camped with them. We had a lot of fun. We built a HUGE fire- (me and lyss are pyros) and then we played around with the camera and the fire :)

The next day, we rented a canoe for the day and took it up to Cauzey Reservoir. We had fun canoeing although I had a slight anxiety attack when we crammed all 4 of us into that canoe and took off into the water.... It was scary. But we didnt tip over.

I ended up getting pretty sunburned and it is just now healing...

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Orem Summerfest

2011-06-23T19:59:00.003-06:00

A couple of weeks ago, we drove down to our hometown to go to the festival that celebrates the wonderful city of Orem.... We basically went for the fireworks because they put on the best show I have ever seen. Some of my best memories are at Summerfest and this year we had a bunch of cousins and my siblings there to hang out with.

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A Quick Update from us...

2011-06-04T23:20:00.002-06:00

Hi everyone!

Just thought I would let people know what is going on with us lately.

First, I got a new job to get me out of the house. I am a photographer at Kiddie Kandids in the Layton Hills Mall. I am really enjoying it. I would love to have my own studio someday so I am learning a lot and am going to be getting a lot of practice. :)

Brett is liking his job a lot. He is excelling and I am proud of the great job he is doing.

Ogden is growing on us a bit more. I do miss being so close to my mom but, we are getting used to it here and though we don't have friends here yet, we are getting used to it.

Plans for starting our family/kids joining our family have been put on hold for another 2 months.... we are waiting around and staying updated with court happenings and everything. We will know more in Aug.

The summer is finally here and we are really excited because there are some really fun things going on...
-Nate comes home in July
- Brett's other siblings will be visiting this summer
-Smith family reunion
-J0e's Valley Camping reunion

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Family Love

2011-05-23T15:00:00.006-06:00

My family took pictures yesterday.... they turned out so so cute I just had to post them. I love my family and I love love when we are all together!

Thank you to my brother's girlfriend Jaden for helping with my camera and taking the pictures that I had to be in!

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Replay

2011-05-18T15:00:00.003-06:00

Our lives have been taken over by the replay of the same day over and over again... there is always something to be done.

I wake up and go to the gym when Brett goes to work. He works all day while I workout, do various errands and things around the house and when Brett gets home we go to the gym together. After he is done doing weights and I'm done with my workout we usually sit in the hot tub for a bit then we head home. By that time it is getting later and we are tired so we relax on the couch for a bit, or on Wednesdays we drive to Layton for my volleyball games, then head up to bed. Then it starts all over again the next day exactly how it happened the day before.

I feel like each day is on replay. Which is ok for now but I know it will get old.

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The Women in My Life

2011-05-12T14:17:00.003-06:00

I didn't get a chance to do post for mothers day. I am so blessed to have such great women in my life.

Starting first with my mom- who has given me so much, who would do anything for me and taught me the value of independence. Who has become a great friend to me after I was not the best teenager. She is a great example of unconditional love.

My Aunties who have been there for me my entire life and helped mold me into the person I am today and who have also become some of my best friends. Who are some of the greatest examples of strong women, who I strive to be like everyday.

My Nana who I miss terribly every day and who taught me so much about love and life, Who was the most accepting and loving person I ever knew, and who taught me to keep fighting until the very end. I got so many of my good traits from her and I am lucky for that.

My mother in-law who opened her heart to me, who has been the greatest example of commitment and hard work that I have ever known and who approaches everything in life with grace and determination.

My sisters who are my best friends in the world and I share everything with. Who have been around to pick me up when I was down and wipe my tears when I was sad and also to celebrate with me in times of happiness. Who have taught me so much about myself- good and bad and help me better myself everyday. I don't laugh harder with anyone else. :)

To these women and all other other grandmothers, aunts, cousins, sisters in-laws and friends who are always there and love me for who I am- Thank you. I love you all so much!

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Great America & Jelly Belly

2011-05-05T09:18:00.005-06:00

The day after San Fransisco, we went to Great America amusement park. It was a lot of fun and we got a lot of sun.

The day after that we stopped by the Jelly Belly factory in Fairfield on our way out of town. We had the BEST vacation. I loved every minute of it!

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San Fransisco

2011-05-05T08:41:00.007-06:00

The day after the big wedding, me, Brett, Alyssa & Kellen left to go out to San Fransisco for the day. First, we went out to Alcatraz Island. It is an island in the middle of the bay that was used as a high security prison until the 1960's. It was really interesting to walk through and learn all about it.

After that we rode in a bike taxi :) from Pier 33 to Pier 39 where the sea lions are.
Then we went out to the Golden Gate Bridge. It was awesome. We walked 1/3 across it and the view was beautiful.

After San Fransisco, We drove south a bit to Half Moon Bay beach and played in the freezing water for a bit.

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The Wedding!!

2011-05-05T08:10:00.004-06:00

So this past weekend, I photographed my first wedding. I had so much fun doing it! My cousin Todd and Kelsey got married in the Sacramento Temple. It is a beautiful temple and I am so glad that I got to do their pictures.... here are a few.....
more are up on my photo blog.

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Jeffery James Duval

2011-04-18T00:17:00.003-06:00

Another Nephew for me!! My step brother Devin and his wife Crystal had their second little one on Saturday.
They named him Jeffery James Duval. I guess he looks just like his daddy.
Congratulations you guys!

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Reed Lawrence Smith

2011-04-06T22:36:00.003-06:00

I have a new nephew today!! After 4 girls they finally had a boy. Congratulations to Elise & Trevor!
He is very cute and I can't wait to meet him this summer.

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Vet Visit

2011-04-06T17:23:00.002-06:00

My dogs are old ladies. They both turned 12 years old this year. So of course they are going to have medical problems right. Well, I wasnt prepared for what I heard today.

Lucy has had a heart murmur for 2 years now. We knew about it and she has been on medication off and on for liquid in her lungs. The last few months she has had episodes where if she is too excited or stressed she will fall over and go limp for several minuites. I found out today it is called Syncope and it is a symptom of congestive heart failure. The vet really wanted to do a chest x-ray to see how bad it was and also to see if she had liquid in her lungs. We did the x-ray and sure enough she is in heart failure and has an enlarged heart. Her lungs looked good though. He put her on 2 different heart medications that will slow the heart failure down but it is what it is. He couldnt give me a definite time estimation that she has left. He said 6 months to maybe a year if we are lucky. But she is a fighter so we will see.

Mimi was the real reason I went in to the vet today. Last week she started doing this head tilt thing. She would not straighten her head and it is so strange. I asked Google first and he said that it was most likely an ear infection but I needed to go in to get antibiotics. The vet saw no sign of an ear infection at all. He did say that it was possible that it was an infection so deep in the ear canal, behind the ear drum that he could not see but Mimi was not bothered being touched there so he doubted it. He wanted me to do an x-ray on her as well today to check for the ear thing. He said if he found anything that he would put her on antibiotics. I asked if we could just do the antibiotics now and see if the tilt improves and it saves me a $300 x-ray fee. He agreed to do that so she is on antibiotics. Scary part: I asked what it could be if it was not an infection and his answer was- Brain tumor. great. To diagnose a brain tumor for sure is a $1500 MRI- n0 thanks. but if it isn't the ear, there is nothing else it can be. He told me that most people chose to put thier dog down at that point. He did say it is not painful. I am still hoping that the antibiotics will fix the problem. We will know in the next couple days.

So a lot of money and a lot of bad news later we are home with new meds (that I hide in grilled chicken strips) Hoping for the best cause I dont want to lose my babies.

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Brett's Graduation Party

2011-04-05T17:14:00.005-06:00

I am planning a get together for Brett's Graduation. It will be fun for him to see everyone and it is a big accomplishment for him. It will be on April 17th at my mom's house in Orem- Open house style.
So, hopefully everyone that is local can come. I emailed this out but for those who didnt get it, here it is again.

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Packing...

2011-03-26T22:29:00.003-06:00

Ugh. Packing is terrible. We spent the entire day in our pjs but it was not relaxing. Kitchen, office/scrapbook room, garage/ under the house, master closet all done. We have to get the rest done tomorrow because Brett has school Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday nights and will be sleeping at my sisters those nights and we load the truck Thursday. We got about 50 boxes from Walmart last weekend and we are going to have to get up early and go over there tomorrow to get more because we used then all already. Good news is that we have been throwing things out all day too.... garbage, recycle bin and a few boxes to go to DI are all full. We have too much stuff.

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The Move- updated

2011-03-15T16:16:00.002-06:00

The move to Ogden is proving to have a few more bumps in the road than we would like. We found the PERFECT place. It is right off the street that Bretts work is just 2 miles down the road and it is a mile from my sisters house. It is a newer townhouse- built in 2009, 3 bedrooms 2 1/2 baths plus a small loft. It has a garage and a backyard for the dogs and a patio for Brett and his barbecue grill. And the best part.... it is cheaper than what we are paying for our Lehi place and the deposit is very reasonable.
Now the bumpy part: It is currently occupied by a family. They put in their notice a while ago and had said that they would be out by the 15th of March and then we old move in on the 26th... at least that is hopefully the plan. They said later that they might not be out till the end of the month. The management company of the house has been trying to get a hold of them all weekend to get a concrete date and they are being avoided which makes me nervous... I just want them to get out so we can get in. It really is perfect and we have not found anything even close to what this place is so we are willing to wait but not knowing a for sure date makes it harder to make plans. We have to be out of our place by the end of this month... the latest we could move out and in would be April 2nd. In the mean time, Brett is commuting to Ogden everyday for work until we do move in so the sooner the better.

This week, my sister and her husband went to Las Vegas for spring break and left us thier house. So that way Brett doesnt have to drive from Lehi to work this week. I am a bit bored. My homework is done and I am left to spend my spring break alone until 5. But if I wasnt up here I would most likely be spending it alone at my house until 7 after Brett drives all the way back. So we get some more time together and save a ton of gas money.

UPDATE: So heard back from the townhouse management today. She said that the tenants will be out by the 31st. But so do we so that's a bit of a crunch. So we will most likely have to stay at my moms for a few days while the house gets cleaned. They said we could move in on the 6th at the latest but we are hoping we can move all the stuff into the garage on the 31st. But this place is worth it.

Today is Brett's 3rd day at his new job. He really likes it there- his favorite part is hat the breakroom is always stocked with snacks and there is a Mt Dew fountain drink machine. :) He is basically just learning all about the company and just doing what he is told for now.

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Big news- Update

2011-03-03T20:59:00.001-07:00

Hello friends & family!

No we are not pregnant :) but I thought it was about time for an update from us. Things are going pretty great here. The biggest news is that Brett will be graduating with his masters degree in a month and a half. 1.5 months!!!! I can't believe this chapter of our lives is just about over. I am so excited and Brett obviously is even more excited than me. It will be nice to have evenings with my husband again. I will be throwing a party for him which will be on Friday, April 15th in Orem. But I will send more info about that later. Brett has been doing interviews with accounting firms and companies for the last couple months. It has been a long process with a few disappointments. Today we had a really happy moment. He got a job offer for a company in Ogden called JD Clark & Co. They do accounting and administration for hedge fund investments. He doesn't know much about it yet. He starts work on the 14th. So that means that we are moving to Ogden. We are starting to look for a place and hoped to get moved up there in a few weeks or so. My sister and her husband also live in Ogden so it will be nice to be close to them.

As for me, I am still loving school. I switched my major so that now I am a graphic design and photography double major. After looking at it, the classes required are not that different and I have done some classes for one major that can be used also for the other and the other way around- plus I really love photography and design. So, I am doing a lot of digital stuff this semester and I really love it. Other than school, I am doing some photography on the side- including a wedding coming up in 2 months. fun :) I am learning a lot and still loving my new camera. I will finish up the semester at UVU and commute down after we move for my classes twice a week. After that, the plan is that I will transfer to Weber State and continue my education up there.

Brett and I have a much needed vacation planned for the end of April. We will be in Northern California for the wedding and after we are staying a few days and going to San Fransisco. It will be a week after graduation for him so it will be really fun to get away for a few days. Hopefully his new job will let him have the time off... if not, then we will make it work another time. :)

preparation overload

2011-02-25T13:02:00.004-07:00

So the reality is getting more and more real that I will be shooting my very first wedding in 2 months for these guys....

Cute couple right? I Love my new camera, however it has been a big pain int he butt learning to use it... thank heavens for my digital imaging teacher at UVU who has been so so helpful and has spent tons of after class time explaining things to me. The engagement shoot well pretty well. I had a little over exposure problem however I shot them in raw format so I was able to fix most of them where you don't even notice.

I made their announcements which are now being prepared to be mailed this week.

I will take Kelsey's bridal pictures when the spring decides to come and the wedding is April 29th in Sacramento CA.

Until then, I am left preparing. I have spent countless hours already preparing, bought books, watched videos.... everything I can do to make me feel more confidant and prepared for this. I love that this is happening for me because it forced me to learn so much about my camera and wedding techniques. :)

Photography is fun!

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Valentines Day

2011-02-14T09:07:00.003-07:00

Today is Valentines day for most..... well not really for me. I am at school all day till 5 and Brett is at work till 4 and then off to school until around 10 tonight. So we did our valentines celebration on Saturday night. It was quite romantic. We went to see a movie during the day- we saw Just Go With It. It was really funny and cute. Then we came home and started cooking.

The steak was SO good. I got the recipe for the Garlic Cheddar Biscuits that they serve at Red Lobster and they turned out great. I had never made a homemade cheesecake before and it turned out super good as well.... no disasters in the kitchen (surprisingly) :)

We ate it in candlelight with Martinellis and made romantic toasts to each other with our wine glasses. It was fun (and sappy)

Happy Valentines to everyone I love! I hope you all have a great day and no matter if you have a valentine or not, I love you!!

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school....

2011-02-02T12:05:00.004-07:00

School is a little different this semester than last semester. I am much more involved in the digital classes... Digital Media, Digital Imaging, & Digital Prepress. They have been so much fun and I am loving what I am doing. I am also taking a 3d design class because it is required. Its ok but I would rather be playing on my computer in Photoshop or In Design. :)

Here are a few things I have done for assignments so far...

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Job Interviews

2011-01-26T18:43:00.003-07:00

Brett has been busy busy with school and work but on top of that, he is interviewing for a new job. Yeah! I cant believe that his school is finally coming to an end and he is looking for the right place to start his career. It has been a long road but it has all been worth it. He has interviewed with several accounting firms. They are located in Salt Lake and he had an interview an accounting and consulting firm in Ogden today that went really well. He had a second interview with a firm in Salt Lake the other day and now we are just waiting to see if they will make him an offer. Surprisingly they have been really understanding of him still being in school till April. He is still able to work 30-35 hours a week- same as he does now and they are understanding about that. If he gets a job in Salt Lake then we an stay in Lehi but if he takes a job in Ogden, then we will be moving up there- my sister lives there so it would not be a bad choice :) I'm super proud of my husband!

Keep your fingers crossed for us.

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New Years Eve

2011-01-02T14:48:00.004-07:00

My sisters and I decided to spend New Years Eve together in Ogden this year. We got this great deal at FatCats where we got to bowl for 3 hours, mini golf and ride bumper cars. It included pizza, drinks and ice cream for $50 for all of us. It was really fun. After that, we went back to Alyssa's house and played games and waited for the new year to come in.

New Years Day Macy and Andrew were going to leave but decided to spend one more day with us so we went to the movies and to lunch together. Then we played some more games. It was a fun weekend with them. They are 2 of my best friends and I am so grateful to have them. I just wished we lived closer to each other.

I GOT IT!

2010-12-31T09:49:00.003-07:00

My new camera is here!! We went to pick it up last night and it is SO beautiful!!!! I love it and cant wait to actually figure it all out and know how to use it. :)

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Christmas eve...

2010-12-27T12:21:00.004-07:00

Christmas eve was a blast! I love having our annual extended family get together to go caroling on Christmas Eve. And then having my entire immediate family together in the same room to open presents. My family does our entire Christmas on Christmas Eve- we wait for santa and then open gifts till the early hours of the morning. Although there is mo longer anyone in my family who believes in Santa Clause anymore. It was a really good Christmas this year!

Christmas day we got to talk to Nathan which was really good. He is doing well and it was good to hear his voice. We had breakfast with Mom and Dad Smith and then they were off the airport pretty early- mom is going to see Mandi's family in Columbia MO.

I love Christmas and cant believe it is over... but next year will be here before i know it.

On another note- today is Brett and my 5 year anniversary. Time has gone by so fast. But I am so happy that I married Brett. He is amazing and is a trooper for putting up with me.

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Christmas Card

2010-12-25T02:22:00.003-07:00

I emailed my Christmas Card out to all my family- Here it is in case I missed anyone. Merry Christmas!

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Christmas with the nieces

2010-12-24T14:24:00.003-07:00

We were so so happy that Trevor and Elise and their 4 girls were able to spend 4 days here in Orem this Christmas. We thought that they were not going to be able to be here so it was awesome to spend time with them. Those girls are the cutest girls that I know and it was fun to play with them. We did Christmas on Friday before they headed out. It was really fun... the girls got lightsabers with were a big hit. We miss them already but will see them this summer!

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5 year anniversary getaway

2010-12-24T13:39:00.002-07:00

For our 5 year anniversary which is on Monday we went up to Salt Lake to spend a few days. We stayed at the Hilton and they upgraded our room to a big room for free since we were celebrating a big anniversary. We went to Temple Square to see the lights one night and the net night went to a nice dinner and to a movie. It was really fun to just get away for the weekend just the two of us.

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FInals are over!

2010-12-16T13:51:00.002-07:00

It is the time of year that both Brett and I have been waiting for.... Finals are over and we are back to a normal life... at least for a few weeks. At one point I had 8 projects in the works plus I had 2 final tests so it got a bit stressful for a while. Brett did really well on all of his finals and despite being really stressed and working practically full time he managed to get a 3.75 GPA. I'm so proud of him. He is half way done with his Masters program and he is so happy about it. I did pretty well this semester as well and I learned SO much. I don't have my final grades but I think I have all A's and A-'s except in drawing- So I guess I'm pretty proud of myself too. :)

Now I am just at home working on a few crafts and a video for my cousins court of honor. Brett's work schedule is really busy now that Christmas is so close so he is working long hours. I am so excited for my sister to get here from Montana on Saturday and even more exited for Christmas!

Brett and I are going to Slat Lake for a couple nights this weekend for a getaway/5 year anniversary celebration. I'm not sure what we are going to do but it will be fun.

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Brett's 27th Birthday

2010-12-01T20:22:00.005-07:00

My Honey B turned 27 yesterday. He was able to get off work around 4 so we headed to a movie- We saw Unstoppable and it was really good. Then we headed over to Red Lobster for dinner. It was fun to just get away from work, school and homework for a while to be together. When we got home, We had some cake that I made and I sang to him. The girls enjoyed some cake too. :)

Happy Birthday Sweetie!

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Black Friday Recap....

2010-11-27T19:49:00.003-07:00

Thanksgiving was a blast! I had so much fun with all my family. Macy was not able to come because roads in Montana were either closed or frozen same with Idaho. It was really sad but at least Drew's family lives in Bozeman too so they had somewhere to go for thanksgiving.

Black Friday Shopping is a tradition in our family... our motto- Divide and Conquer! Walmart did part of their Black Friday at Midnight so we all went to that- even Brett came with me. It was really crazy there. Then Alyssa and I went to Shopko. We had a big list of things to get for ourselves as well as others that were at other stores. We got there around 2am and were about 7th or so in line. We took a heater and blankets and stayed really warm.... We got everything on our list and were home and in bed by 6. I am still trying to catch up on my sleep and have been a bit grouchy because of it the last 2 days. The people in our family who went to Target did not have the same luck we did and came home empty handed- I guess it was pretty crazy over there. :) I'm glad I went to Shopko-

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Thanksgiving is almost here!

2010-11-23T09:34:00.002-07:00

I am getting excited for the holidays... Family will be arriving tomorrow night. My sister Macy and her Husby Drew are driving from Montana- Alyssa and Kellen are coming from Ogden, and my aunt and uncle are driving in from Northern California. I am a bit worried about them all driving in the cold snowwy weather. There has been a blizzard warning put out and that is supposed to hit this evening and all through the night. I am glad that the rest of us live so close and will not have to drive so much. We are having Thanksgiving in Orem at a church because there will be 30 something of us here this year. I just love big family get togethers. The only family missing is Keith's. We will miss them.
Another exciting thing is Black Friday shopping!! This has been a tradition for as long as I can remember. The last 2 years were spend out of state with the Smith's so I have missed out so I am excited for all the hustle and bustle of all the crazy people who get up at 2 in the morning to wait in line in the freezing cold.
My immediate family will be getting a new family picture taken this weekend. We do not have one with Andrew added except ones from their wedding.
So that is the madness/funness I have have going on this week. But today and tomorrow will be spent on homework projects and laundry folding :(

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New blog layout & new camera

2010-11-08T08:20:00.004-07:00

I redesigned my craft blog so now it has videos that I have made, my photography portfolio, all my crafts and also a place for my other projects- school, painting, drawing (I will post those later)
http://creationsbycali.blogspot.com

I am SO excited for christmas this year... well its more like the first week of January when I will get my only gift from brett... but its a big one and I have been wanting it for a long time. It is the just barely released last month Nikon D7000- Isn't it so pretty... oh I cant wait. - I am doing my very first wedding in April so I will have to get used to it pretty fast. :)

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BoO

2010-10-31T18:01:00.003-06:00

Halloween was low key again this year... however we kinda had costumes. We went to our ward Halloween party on Friday night just to see our primary kids all dressed up. Brett put on a tie dye shirt and a peace necklace and I put on a tutu...

I was the only one to do a pumpkin this year... and it was a little one. I didn't want to carve it so I just put brads in it... easy enough and it is cute.

Last night we drove up to Odgen and spent the night with Lyssa and Kellen. We went to dinner and then made caramel apples- ( they may look good but we didn't make the caramel right so they were not very good, but they were fun to make.

We then watched a scary movie called The Crazies. It was pretty scary. We spent the night there and came back home today. Its always fun to hang out with them. :)

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Blocks Project

2010-10-31T17:56:00.002-06:00

I did a cute new project.... Memory Blocks! they were super fun to make. There are more pictures and how I made them on my craft blog here.

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Volunteering

2010-10-14T09:47:00.004-06:00

Doing volunteer work for the Now I Can Foundation has been so awesome... Helping kids with Cerebral Palsey learn to walk again is not only a miracle but it is so humbling and uplifting. These kids have such drive and determination to walk that they push through the sometimes painful therapy and I see improvements everytime I see them. Therapy sessions are everyday for 4 hours- for 4 weeks. Its tough but so worth it.

This little girl was the first girl I worked with... She is 3 years old. I worked with her for 4 weeks. She is now done with therapy for now. What an amazing little smile she has and she now has a place in my heart. When she started therapy this year she just dragged her little legs around to get around. Now, with a little help, she is walking.

I am alive... I promise!

2010-09-26T13:39:00.009-06:00

Wow- I have been a major blog slacker... things have been really busy around here. Brett is in school 3 nights a week and I have school every day.

I started volunteering at a foundation called Now I Can. It is a intensive therapy program for kids with Cerebral Palsy and I really love it. I have been working with this little 3 year old girl named Bella for the last 4 weeks and she is such an amazing girl... so strong and determined to walk on her own. It is fun to be able to help her do that. We had a fundraiser concert in the park a couple of weeks ago with a few local bands at the Scera Shell... It was really fun.

AutoNetTV called me last week and asked if I could come back to work part time for a little while. The office manager is quitting and they need a bit of help in the transition. I dont mind doing it.. I actually like it. I always loved my job- but full time was too much for me. So I am doing that a few times a week for a few hours a day.

I have done a few fun things since I last posted. Last week, I went to see Brett's mom get dunked in a dunking booth for her school carnival... she went in the water 4 times... It was pretty entertaining because the kids were trying so hard. :)

I have been spending a lot of time with my mom. I go to orem everyday for school and after school I go over to her house and hang out with her until volunteering or work start. It is so much fun. I cant imagine living far away from her.

Brett and I both sold our old phones on ebay and got iphones- which we love!! I have so much lab time for my classes that i use my ipod all the time and it is so nice to not have to carry around multiple devices..

I have been busy with a lot of art projects... I found that i am decent at drawing and I have been having a lot of fun painting with acrylics.. I will post some pictures of projects someday.

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Freedom is Amazing!

2010-08-30T15:07:00.004-06:00

So it has been a full week since my last day at work. It has been amazing... except it has been full of dentist and eye doctor appts for both me and Brett... my insurance runs out this week so we wanted to take advantage of the benefits we had left... We both got a pair of new glasses and I had a cavity filled today...

Last weekend my mom and me were in Bozeman for my sister Macy's birthday. It was really fun to be out there and spend a few days with her and her hubby in their cute apartment. We went to her Alumni game which was fun to watch... I miss her so much!

School is going really great. I really like it. I am taking 4 classes.... Drawing, 2D Design, Photography & Graphic Design Computer Applications. I am nervous about the art projects but i think it will be a really fun semester.

I ordered a MacBook Pro for school because with a Graphic Design Major you need one... and I got an ipod touch and a printer for free with it... I got them today and LOVE them. I need to learn how to use a Mac but that wont take long.

Brett is in school 3 Monday, Wednesday and Thursday until 9:15 at Weber State so he doesn't get home until about 10:30 at night and I have class on Friday nights till 9:30 so we don't see each other a whole lot... but at least we have the weekends to spend some time together. And Tuesday nights too. But I am getting a lot done here and hope to have my mess of a scrapbook room straightened and functional soon. :)

Last day at work... off to Bozeman

2010-08-20T10:10:00.003-06:00

Today is officially my last day at AutoNetTV Media. I have really loved it here and the people are what I will miss the most. I am being kept on temporarily part time until my replacement feels absolutely comfortable. I have been training her all week and she seems to be picking stuff up really well.

School starts for both Brett and me next week. Brett on Monday and Me on Wednesday. I am excited... Brett is not. But he will be totally done with his Masters in 8 months so that should keep him going.

Life is funny. Such an up and down roller coaster. Some good and some bad. I am so glad to have Brett in my life to go though the ride with him.

We finally got everything in order as far as paperwork goes with the foster/adoption thing. We are waiting for our social worker to contact us to start the home evaluation process.

I am currently in Bozeman MT- Visiting Macy with my mom. We surprised her by showing up around 10 pm. Her birthday is on Monday and she has her first pre season game tomorrow so it will be nice to spend a long weekend with her.. I will post pictures later in the weekend. We will be here until monday and then drive back... Im excited for a fun weekend. :)

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Alana time!

2010-08-09T11:27:00.003-06:00

On Thursday, my best friend Alana flew in from New Hampshire. She moved back there last summer to be closer to family. Her family has a reunion in Boise this week and they flew into SLC. I had not seen her in a year so I was super excited to see her. Thursday night we got together with friends over at Mallory's house. It was a lot of fun seeing everyone. Friday I took off work so I could drive Alana to boise to meet up with her family for the reunion. We left around 11am and got to Boise around 6pm. Around 7 pm I was back on the road headed for home. It was a long drive and I finally got home about 1am. Brett thought I was not going to be home until the next afternoon so I surprised him. It was good to spend time with Alana. I miss her already.
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30 meals in my freezer- made in one day..

2010-08-09T09:35:00.003-06:00

A friend of mine has read this book on how to prepare and cook 30 meals all in one day. She did it and has loved the freedom of not having to cook. So I recruited my mom to do it with me. We went shopping on Saturday night and cooked on Sunday... It took us about 8 hours of cooking to finish everything plus a crock pot recipe the night before. Brett was there the whole time and was a huge help... we couldn't have done it without him. It was a lot of hard work but I dont have to cook for a month. yeah!

Somehow, Brett managed to fit it all into our freezer... shocking. We were fully prepared to have to buy a mini deep freezer for our garage.

The book is called - Dinner is Ready by Deanne Buxton. www.30mealsinoneday.com

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Volleyball

2010-07-28T08:38:00.003-06:00

Yesterday we gathered a bunch of family and a few friends and played volleyball at the church. My family is really into volleyball and a lot played in high school and even college. We had such a good time. We played for about 3 hours and today I am feeling really sore.

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Andrew's photo shoot

2010-07-26T15:53:00.004-06:00

Mandi and her family are moving to Columbia MO this week. They are packing up their truck tomorrow and leaving early Thursday morning. We will go tomorrow night and say goodbye to them. Now all of my nieces and nephews will be far far way in Missouri... what am i to do??? We are sad to see them go but I know they will do great there. We will just have to visit more often.

Yesterday I was able to do a mini photo shoot with Andrew my littlest nephew. His chubby cheeks are so cute!
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News!!

2010-07-18T20:05:00.002-06:00

Brett and I have a few changes coming about in our lives and its about time we share our news on my public blog.
First of all, I am going back to school this fall... I will be going part time and I have registered for classes, but since it is so late, I got waitlisted on the few that i really want to take. Hopefully a spot will open up in those. After talking a lot with Brett, I have decided to change my major from social work, to graphic design and photography-- so technically I am an ART major... strange. I was just think ing about it and I am passionate and creative with photos and crafts and I would want to do this job even when i have a family and i want to learn those skills anyway so why not study them in school.
In order for me to go to school, I need to quit my job. School for me is hard. It needs to be something I do full time with no other distractions. I have tried to work and go to school and that semester, I failed out of my classes. It was too hard.

Brett and I had a meeting with a social worker a few weeks ago. She came to hour home to talk to us about the foster/adoptive care coalition. We have filled out paperwork and will be attending our first class today. To get certified you need to take 8 classes- they are 4 hour classes twice a week for a month. Our last class is on Aug 4th and then they will do a home study and as soon as our house looks good then they can place children in our home. The classes teach you all about fostering children as well as how to deal with certain issues children face with abuse and abandonment. I have thought I wanted to do foster care for a really long time. The thought of helping kids that seriously need a stable and loving home has always appealed to me. I'm excited to get some experience as a mom and to help kids. We have room in out home for 2 kids of the same gender ages 0-6. If the parents of these kids loose rights, the foster family is asked if they would like to adopt the child. Children could be in homes for up to 12 months in Utah before this happens but sometimes quicker.

So that is what is new with us. Our lives are about to take a step in a new direction which is really cool. We are really grateful to have such a supportive family. Everyone is so happy for us. We are really excited about the changes that are happening in our lives.

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River Rafting

2010-07-11T12:35:00.003-06:00

Saturday was my brother on law's birthday-- HAPPY BIRTHDAY KELLEN!!! We drove up to Odgen to go to his party on Friday night. It was at my sisters house and we had pizza and visited and then drove right back home. It was my sisters first party that she planned... good job Lyss!

Saturday they came down and we went to float down the Provo River. We stopped to say goodbye to Macy who was on her way back through going home from her honeymoon.
The river was a good time. It was sunny most of the time. Brett, Kellen and myself fell in the river twice each. Alyssa was able to stay dry. It was really fun.
After the river we went to eat dinner at Terre Mia in Orem over by the mall. It was actually really good... Brett, Lyss and Kellen had pasta and I had a pesto pizza. The gelato desert was amazing. Then we went to see How to Train Your Dragon at the dollar theaters. It was so cute and made me want my own Toothless. Brett said I can have one if I could find one. :)

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Stadium of fire 2010

2010-07-04T12:34:00.003-06:00

Last night Brett and I went to the Stadium of Fire at the BYU Football stadium. It was a really fun experience. My brother Dallin was one of the flag carriers for the flag ceremony. You can see him in the picture peaking his head around his flag :) There were several performers and then Carrie Underwood got on stage and sang for almost an hour. She was awesome. We had really good seats. We were on the 6th row from the field and in the center of the stage across the stadium so we could see the stage straight on. The fireworks show was incredible. I love fireworks and I have never seen anything come close to the fireworks show they put on. It was great and we had so much fun.

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Quarter Century

2010-07-03T16:09:00.002-06:00

I turned 25 last week... wow I'm getting old. I spent my birthday driving home from Montana for 7 hours and then spent 2 hours that evening in the emergency room... fun huh?? Not the best birthday ever but Brett did get me Stadium of Fire tickets for my birthday which we are going to tonight. i am very excited- but i still feel old.

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Nieces, nieces everywhere and a couple of nephews too....

2010-07-03T15:15:00.004-06:00

Trevor and Elise have been in town the last week. It wasn't the greatest week to be able to be out and about and spent a ton of time with them because of my surgery but we did get over there in the evenings and got to spend some time with them. Those girls just make me smile. They are the cutest things you will ever see. They left last night and it was sad to see them go.
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Wedding Week

2010-06-28T09:51:00.005-06:00

last week was a bit crazy to say the least. Macy went through the temple for the first time on Wednesday night. We all went to that with her. Thursday was the big day. He wedding started at 9:40 am so we had to be there at 9:15. The ceremony was beautiful. My papa was going to be the sealer but, he had to have Quintuple bypass heart surgery a couple days before the wedding so the temple provided a different sealer. He did a fantastic job. We spend an hour taking family pictures outside the temple and then headed to Sandy for the luncheon. It was at the Chuck-o-rama there. It was fun to be able to spend time with family. We were able to go home for a short time to gather our stuff and then we headed to the Provo Library to help set up for the reception. It was really cool because that is where I had my reception and we have not been back since. The reception was really fun, we danced a lot.
The groomsmen were in charge of decorating the car... bad idea. They are all mechanics so the hood got taken off and hidden... Macy wasn't too happy but they got it back on and they were on their way... not before stopping to clean out all the crap all over the car.

The next day (Friday) we headed up to Montana for the open house. We drove all day which is never fun. Saturday was the Open house which was fun... the boys played pool all night on the stage... even Andrew was up there playing.
Sunday we drove all day again. It is weird that my baby sister is married. But I am SO happy for her and Drew. They are so cute together and I love them both.

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Gallstones.... :(

2010-06-28T09:49:00.001-06:00

Yes, I have gallstones. Bummer.
Saturday night after laying in bed at the hotel in Montana, I started to have this really strange pain in my upper stomach. It was so bad that i could lay down at all without it being hard to breath because of the pain. It made me super nauseous and I was up all night throwing up. Sunday morning I felt ok- besides the fact we had to drive 500 miles on my birthday. We went over to Brett's parents house for a little while and I started to feel a little nauseous again. As we drove home the same pain from the night before came back and the pain was worse this time... it was unbearable. I am usually a pretty tough girl and it takes a lot for me to cry but I was bawling because I could not breath because of the pain. Brett took me the the ER instead of home. They gave me morphine through an IV for the pain which was wonderful. They did an ultrasound to confirm that it is indeed gallstones and I will need to get my gallbladder removed this week sometime. Brett is getting in contact with the surgeon to see what is available.

UPDATE: I had surgery on Wednesday morning. It went well. They did it laproscopicly which left me with 4 small incision sites. One in my belly button and 3 on the upper right side of my abdomen. I had to stay in the hospital til wed evening because I couldnt get my oxygen levels to where the wanted them to be. I have been at home resting since then. Thanks for all your calls and messages. i have the best family and friends. Thanks for being there for me.

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Bridals

2010-06-15T09:23:00.002-06:00

I was able to take my sisters bridal pictures this week. They turned out beautiful! She is one beautiful bride to be!

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Bridal Shower

2010-06-13T11:41:00.004-06:00

Yesterday was my baby sister's bridal shower. We had a really big turnout and it was really fun. We played some fun games. It was fun to be able to plan it with Alyssa and we had a really good time .

Hammock Bliss

2010-06-09T16:33:00.006-06:00

This last weekend, Brett came up with a very good idea about how to hang the hammock up. We got that hammock in Puerto Vallarta Mexico in October of 2007 and still had not used it. In every house we have lived in, we have tried to find a way that it would work but we never could. We couldn't buy a hammock stand for it because they don't make them big enough. We thought about building one... that didn't work. And I have been so sad knowing that I have a beautiful huge hammock that I could never use... until now. Since Saturday, I have read almost and entire book in that hammock and yesterday the dogs and I took a 2 hour nap in it. What I love the most are the nightly relaxing conversations that Brett and I have after the sun has gone down laying in the hammock together. I Love it so much!

One year...

2010-06-04T12:09:00.004-06:00

It has been one whole year since my Nana passed away. Time flies by so fast. Our family gathered at her grave site one year to the day that she was placed there. We all miss her so much it is heartbreaking. She is the best person that any of us ever knew. My family is the most important part of my life, I dont know what I would do without each of them. Together we are strong, together we can and will get through anything. We were given the chance at the cemetery to say something. My heart was so full but I didn't even know what to say and how i would have gotten through it so I just listened. I know she knows how much I miss and love her.This is something I wrote last year. I put it in my other blog but not here. Reading it still makes me cry. Reliving those memories and feelings of that time is really hard.

With just a few words out my my husband's mouth, "Cali you need to call your mom right now." I knew what had happened. The car ride home was the longest I had ever taken. Filled with a mix of tears and anger caused by traffic. As I walked into Nana's house, I instantly inhaled the smell of her. How long would the house smell like that? After I embraced family I walked to her room. A room once full of happiness turned to one filled with sorrow.

As I saw her i felt as if someone punched me in the stomach. My air was gone and I felt dizzy. I knelt beside her bed as I had many times before and wept. I held her cold hand against my face as time moved in slow motion around me. As I spent my last minutes of alone time with her empty earthly body I talked with her. I told her how I felt about her, feelings that I hope she knew before she passed. I asked her to take care of my future children and that I was glad that they get to have Nana for a while, The Nana that would teach them to take walks and to gather flowers and step on lids. Her face had become one of my favorite textures and I touched it knowing that It would not feel like that ever again. I felt my heart break as I knelt there.

I spent the weekend making a movie about Nana. This project came hand in hand with stress and worst of all, deep sadness. As I stared at pictures of her for days straight I couldn't help but feel empty inside. One moment I would look down at a table soaked with my salty tears and the next I would feel tearless, empty and alone. Part of me wished to get her out of my mind and the other part was terrified to forget her. Cycles of emotions left me exhausted and sleepless.
The viewing was full of emotion and loved ones. I was right about her face. The touch was foreign to my fingers. She looked so beautiful, so peaceful. The room was filled with her spirit and love, as well as tears.

As we prepared for the service to celebrate her life, family again gathered together in a small room. Beautiful words were spoken of her there. As I said my last goodbye, I placed a porcelain doll in her arms. A doll that would look over her earthly body forever. I stared at her face one last time and my mind was flooded with memories of smiles and laughter. The reality had hit me that this was the last time I would see her face. Beautiful words and music filled the room as we all payed tribute to an amazing woman. It was just as she would wanted it to be.

The burial site was peaceful and quiet. Looking over the beautiful valley below and first sign of blue sky that I had seen in days above. It was there I finally caught my breath, felt the calm come over me at last. The sadness had not gone, but the crushing feeling on my heart had lifted. I felt her presence there with me, my dancing, skipping angel. She remains in my heart and will always stay there. My hero, my friend, my Nana.

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Christiana Marie Duval

2010-06-04T11:25:00.004-06:00

My step brother Gordon and his wife Leona had thier first baby. Christiana was born on May 29, 2010 at 6:11 pm. Weighed 6.10 and was 19 inches long. Congratulations you guys! She is beautiful!

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Alex's Graduation

2010-06-03T14:48:00.001-06:00

My Brother Alex Graduated from High School on Friday! I am so proud of him for being such a good student and such a good person. He will be off to Snow College next year which should be really fun for him!! Congrats Alex! I love you!

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Sealing

2010-06-02T08:20:00.002-06:00

My sister Macy is going through the temple for the first time on the 22nd of June. Just 2 days before she married Drew. I found out recently that my brother Alex wants to be sealed to us and that we will be doing that on the same day.

Alex is my step brother. He joined our family when he was 4 years old. His mother wasn't always there for him so my mother raised him as her own. He wasn't treated any differently, he was always just my brother. When Dallin was 1 year old, my mom and step dad were sealed to each other and to him. I was 13 at that time and I remember being able to enter the temple and stand around the altar and watch this happen. It was amazing. Alex's mom was approached at that time and asked if Alex could also get sealed to them and to our family and the answer was no. Alex is not sealed to anyone and his mom is not a member anymore. So we knew when he was 5 years old that he would have to wait until he was 18 and then make that decision for himself to be sealed and join our family forever. He has made that choice and it makes me so happy that he will have this experience to go into the temple and be sealed to our family and that even my 12 year old brother Dallin will get to be there. Doing it on the same day as Macy goes through will allow a lot of our extended family to be there which will be amazing.

That will be a great day.

Memorial Day Weekend

2010-06-01T10:22:00.010-06:00

We had a great weekend! We spent it with my family at Blackhawk Campground up Payson Canyon. It was a Jewkes Campout so there were a lot of people there and it was a lot of fun and very relaxing for the most part. We took our dogs. They were so good. We were able to have them off the leashes for a good amount of the time. They loved being so free. Brett and I came home on Sunday night so we could sleep in out own bed for one night and be able to sleep in on Monday.
Monday morning, Alyssa dropped by on her way home from camping and we planned Macy's bridal shower and addressed the invitations that will go out today. They turned out cute and the shower is going to be so fun.

Memorial Day is always a day full of memories of my dad. This year was the first without Nana so I thought about her a lot this weekend as well. Next week it will be a year since she passed away. We are doing a memorial get together for her this weekend.

Girls Day Out

2010-05-21T13:17:00.004-06:00

I am a little slow posting this...

Macy is here- finally!!! Alyssa had the day off and so did my mom. How could I pass that up? It was such a good day... we went to the movies to see Just Wright which was so so cute. I liked it so much... then we went to lunch and back to my moms and we sat in the living room and talked about our lives, laughed, cried.. etc... These are the kind of days that you live for. I love them so much- they are my best friends in this world! XOXO

Weber State

2010-05-19T20:13:00.001-06:00

Anyone that reads our blog knows that our lives have been known to suddenly shift directions often. We have gotten used to it as well as we can and try to take life one day at a time.

Our newest piece of news is that Brett got an acceptance letter from Weber State. After thinking it over- all the pro's and con's, he decided that he will be attending the masters program there in the fall.
Some of the pro's are....
-no summer school for Brett which saves us $2500.
- tuition is a lot cheaper... it will save us 11 thousand dollars over the year.
-the program is smaller and may be a bit easier so he will be able to stay at the top of his class rather than be in the middle of the pack.
-all the same recruiters come to Weber as come to U of U.
- the business/accounting classes are not in Ogden, they are on the campus in Layton which is not as far.
-they have evening courses so he will get to work more.

Con's....
-driving 3 times a week to Layton... (about and hour each way as apposed to 45 mins to the U)
-less competitive program as looked at by the recruiters.

Quite a lot more Pro's than Con's.... Honestly if it weren't for our jobs we would just move to Ogden. But we have too good of a thing going here with both of our jobs. Brett will be attempting to go to school M, W, Th evenings and work about 30 hours a week. Which is something he has done all through school and I could never do. But If things get too rough, he will cut back on work. I am actually really excited about the decision. I feel good about it and so does he.

5 years together...

2010-05-16T11:59:00.004-06:00

5 years ago today, Brett Smith asked me to be his girlfriend. It was one of the happiest days in my life and I'm so glad i said yes.
I think it is time for a story....

Brett asked me on our first date on Friday. We went and had a really good time. I ended up kissing him on the first date. For the next 3 days we hung out and I continued to kiss him. After that 3rd day, I told him that I was done kissing boys that were not my boyfriend. I had dated a couple guys before him and with them, there was no commitment or boyfriend/girlfriend title and I ended up getting hurt. And I had made a lot of changes to my life and didnt want to do that again so i told him. The next night, he took me over to the park by Mountasin View High School and asked me to be his girlfriend. I said " Is it just because you want to kiss me whenever you want?" and he said- yes-- we laughed and then he said "No its because I want to be your boyfriend."

Last night we got dressed up and went out to The Olive Garden for dinner. Then we went to see Robin Hood. It was a good night.

I love you Honey B. You are the best thing that ever happened to me. You made me who i am today- thank you for that. I look forward to 5 more, 10 more, 20 more, 50 more years with you. XOXO-

Moab

2010-05-16T11:51:00.007-06:00

This weekend Brett and I went to Moab for a weekend away. We took off Thursday and Friday from work and headed down there. Most camp sites were full by the time we got down there but we were lucky to find a good camping spot. We took our little bbq so we had some really good meals.
Friday we woke up, got ready and headed into Arches National park. It was beautiful. I had never been there before and I was amazed by how cool it was. We took the dogs in with us but they were not allowed on the hiking trails so we didnt do any long hikes... it was great weather.. even a bit chilly so we were able to leave them in the car and do a bunch of little 15 min- half hour hikes. It was so much fun. I loved it.Saturday we woke up and packed up camp and headed to Goblin Valley State Park... it is another place I had never been and again I was amazed by it! We were allowed to take the dogs down into the valley so we hiked down there and walked around and took some cool pictures. We stayed for a bit and then headed home.
It was a great trip and I had so much fun. I just love seeing things that I have never seen- especially in nature.

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Mothers Day

2010-05-10T08:32:00.005-06:00

Yesterday was Mother's Day. We were lucky enough to get to spend time with both of our mothers. First we went over to Brett's parents house. Nate called and we were able to talk to him for about 40 mins. It was good to hear his voice- I sure do miss that boy. I had just made those scrap canvas things for their room and we also got her flowers and the movie The Blind Side. I was wanting to get a picture of Brett with his mom- but I forgot. My mother in law is amazing. She inspires me to be a better, more forgiving person everyday. She has such a good heart and such strength. I am grateful to have her in my life.

Then we went over to my mom's house. This is what I made her this year. It was from all the kids. It was all cropped in Photoshop and then printed, textured and framed over at Brett's work. She really loved it.
I am so incredibly grateful for my mom. I was such a hard teenager and I feel bad about that all the time. I can only imagine how hard it was for her to try to raise me right and guide me in the right directions only to watch me running in the wrong directions and making wrong decisions. She supported and accepted me through everything I went through. Thankfully, I turned out okay and we are the best of friends and I wouldn't have it any other way. We are always there for each other through our hardest times. I cant imagine life without her.

This was my first mother's day without Nana. It really was a hard day for me. I thought about her throughout the day and missed her so much. She is the best woman I will ever meet. She taught me so much and I miss her everyday.

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Proud

2010-04-30T10:34:00.008-06:00

Today is graduation day at UVU. Today is the day the Brett would have walked in his cap and gown. He got his diploma a few months ago in the mail, and decided not to walk at UVU for his undergraduate because in a year from now, he will have a graduate degree and will be walking at the University of Utah receiving his Masters degree in Accounting. I am really proud of him today for all he has done. He worked hard for years to accomplish that and all the while, he was working full time, started a business, and still managed to find some tie to spend with me. Thanks babe for working so hard... one more year and you will be done.

My cousin Leslie, and 0ne of my best friends in the world, graduates today. I am SO incredibly proud of her and what she has accomplished. She will be the best teacher any parent could ask for for their child. She worked so hard and it was not easy for her but she kept going and got it done. I look up to her for that.
Tonight was a graduation party for her over at her house. I used her cap, gown and diploma to take a picture of Brett. It is good to have a picture. The party was fun, It was good to see her so happy to be done. She is currently looking for jobs at elementary schools and I hope she finds one soon.

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What a fun weekend!

2010-04-19T13:16:00.008-06:00

This weekend was very relaxing and fun. I loved every bit of it!

Saturday I sat around working on crafts and watching TV until I had to go to my step brother's wife's baby shower. It was fun to see everyone again. I took my diaper cake which was a hit...
After that, we went to the BYU Men's Volleyball game. My mom was officiating so she got us in and got us seats in the front row..... courtside as Brett called them. It was really fun. We ended up loosing in 5 games but it was pretty intense. Brett caught one of the shirts cozmo was throwing. After that, we picked up some ice cream and headed home to bed, oh and to watch Tarzan. :)
Sunday, again I worked on crafts almost all day. I am nearly done with one or two of them. Brett's aunt Julie and uncle Wayne invited us over for Sunday dinner. It was fun to get to talk with them and we played a few games on the Wii... and I played with their bird. He is so smart. We sat down for dinner and he started whistling the Andy Griffith theme song. I have never wanted a bird... but to have a singing, whistling, talking, potty trained bird.. now that would be fun.

{unofficially} ACCEPTED!

2010-04-14T16:08:00.003-06:00

Brett got a call from the University of Utah last weekend. He had applied to the Masters of Accounting program there and she was calling to talk to him about it. His over all GPA was a bit higher than average but apparently, his Accounting Core GPA was a bit too low so he was classified as disqualified. HOWEVER.... she told him that the rest of his application was so strong that they were willing to bend the rules a bit for him. They are giving him a chance to still get in for the fall by taking 2 summer classes at the U during the summer- It is kind of a test to make sure he can handle the classes there and to take a bit of money from us :) As long as he gets an A- or better in those two classes, he is in! Which will be quite easy for him.

He is not too excited about summer school but we are so grateful that he even has this opportunity. Go Utes!!

Projects Galore

2010-04-14T11:55:00.002-06:00

So I am a little over whelmed by the amount of projects I have on my to-do list. I am super excited about each one of these projects but they are piling up... here is my to-do list for April....

-Project for my Parents in Law-- I am almost half done with this one after working on it last night.
-Diaper Cake for my sister in law's baby shower on Saturday.
-Finish my sister Alyssa's wedding scrapbook. Yeah, I know.. they got married last August... with all the moving, my stuff has been packed up for a long time but it will get finished.. and soon! There is only about 4 8x8 pages left to do.
-Start my other sister Macy's wedding scrapbook... that will be a pretty big project.
-I am putting together a wedding CD with possible songs that could go on Macy's wedding video, so I need to get them all downloaded and burned.
-The May mix.... I cant forget that one.
-Burn a bunch of Disney and church CD's for my Brother in Law Nate who is on his mission...

So looks like my plate is pretty full this month...

All projects will get put on this blog when I get finished... It is my craft blog. :)

http://creationsbycali.blogspot.com/

HOBO

2010-04-12T09:03:00.004-06:00

I have been holding on to a $100 Nordstoms gift card for a year and a half now.... I never knew what I wanted to get with it but I knew I would someday so I saved it... So on Saturday Brett and I went looking for a very specific something made by Hobo at Nordstroms and I found it. And it was exactly $100!! Well $106 with tax. So this cost me $6 and I absolutely LOVE it! Normally i would not spend that much on a wallet but since it was practically free and the wallet I have been carrying around with me was bought at Walmart for $11, 4 years ago... I decided to go for it.

What's New...

2010-04-06T13:00:00.001-06:00

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I had a nice weekend with my family. Macy had a volleyball tournament up at the U of U so we got to watch her play. It was good to see her and get to spend a little time with her.
Yesterday we bought a washer and dryer. we were so lucky to find an almost brand new set on KSL. The people that were selling them had bought them a year ago and then won a brand new set at a home show at UVU last month. So we got an almost brand new set for $300. Steal of a deal. We had thought about just buying a new set instead of used- we were want them to last for a long time. So, We got super lucky. And I finally got to do laundry in my own house after living there a month without them.

Weekend

2010-03-28T16:47:00.003-06:00

It has been a very relaxing weekend here. Saturday we got to babysit Mandi's kids while they went to the temple. It was very fun. We watched A Goofy Movie and then took them to the park. Brooke was a bit afraid of the dogs at first but she did better as the time went on, while Cameron loves them and chased them around.On Saturday Night we had double date night with Brett's parents. We had dinner and then We went mini golfing and had a lot of fun. Then we went back and played wii bowling for a while.

Today has been a very very lazy day... we had church at 9- which was really good. I like our ward the Relief Society women are very nice. And since then, we have been laying around watching Grey's Anatomy and I had a bath.

Very nice weekend... now back to work tomorrow. I switched offices so things are in chaos so I will have to deal with all of that organization tomorrow.

Dreaming of Laundry

2010-03-22T15:42:00.005-06:00

So, we have been at our new place for 3 weeks now and still dont have a washer and dryer. It really threw us off moving as soon as we did as far as being able to buy one. We have been going to the laundry mat.... fun huh? We went to the Laundry mat last weekend and as a result, I dreamt about laundry all night... strange.

Luckily Brett is doing the laundry today while I work.

We have been looking in the classifieds for a nice cheap set and hopefully in 2 weeks we will get used ones... and I can stop dreaming of clothes.

(my dream set :) they are so pretty)

Vegas Day 2

2010-03-21T19:19:00.015-06:00

Day two in Vegas was just as fun as day 1-- The passes gave us $10 a day at Planet Hollywood and the first day we bought stuff from the store but day two it paid for our breakfast. After that we went over to the Las Vegas Zoo. I am such a zoo lover but this zoo was sad and depressing. It is a small little zoo and it is apparent that there is little funding.We did what we could there and then headed over to the Go Karts. We did the adult grand prix which you need a license to do. THey were super fast and it was so fun! We had pizza for lunch there as well.
After that we went back to the hotel to rest a bit. Later, we headed out to the Madame Trusseu's Wax Museum which was SO cool. It really was amazing how real some of the statues looked. We had fun taking pictures with all of them.After that, we walked down the strip a bit to the Paris hotel. It was actually quite a walk and our feet hurt but we finally made it and went up on the Eiffle tower. The view is beautiful from up there and it is the perfect place to watch the water show at the Bellagio.
For dinner we went to the Hard Rock Cafe. This was the only thing we actually had to pay money for the entire day... everything else was included in our passes.
The passes are the coolest thing we have ever done. We did so much stuff in Vegas. We added it all up and we did over $200 worth of stuff for $88 dollars a person and we didn't even do everything we could have... there was just not enough time.

We had SO much fun on our vacation!

Vegas Day 1

2010-03-20T00:24:00.014-06:00

.Brett and I are in Las Vegas with my sister Alyssa and her husband Kellen. We got here last night pretty late and we were very tired form the trip so we ended up just going right to bed. A few weeks ago I found these Super Passes online. It cost us $88 bucks a person for 2 days and includes a lot of places and attractions in Vegas. Today we went to ride the rollercoaster at the New York New York.

Then we headed over to the Mirage to see the dolphin exhibit and the Sigfried and Roy Secret Garden that had White Lions and Tigers. It was really cool.

Then we went to Sky Zone, which is this huge place made of all trampolines. We had a fun time jumping around and trying flips and such. Then we played a few games of dodge ball with some kids.

We are staying at the circus Circus and the passes include full day passes to the Adventure Dome. We went and rode a few rides there before lunch.

Later we went over to the stratosphere and went up to the top. We rode the Insanity ride which was really fun.

After all that, we were sure tired so we came back to the hotel to rest and go to bed.

The passes allow us to do anything we want to do again tomorrow plus there are still a lot of things we didnt do that we will do... stay tuned.

Engagement pictures

2010-03-17T20:31:00.010-06:00

Today I got to take Macy and Drew's engagement pictures. It was really really fun for me to do and they turned out really cute.