It Feel's Like Christmas Time!.

Wow, I cannot believe the amount of love and support I've felt from so many! Thank you all for your encouragement, stories, advice, comments, and support. It means more then you know! I already feel so much more peace and closure, which just affirms to me that telling my story was the right thing to do.

Anywho.

I feel that I can't leave a notashappyasmostofmyposts post stand for too long, especially since this is the last work week till Christmas! So let's do an update of the more recent goings on. :)

- Family Parties. We have had a TON of these! I love it. It's always nice to get together and catch up with family that you have not see regularly. Plus I also love the white elephant games (yes I know some don't but I think it's fun) and my family also plays a sort of Christmas version of Maffia (nothing like killing each other to celebrate Christmas!). It's a lot of fun!

- Eclipse Concert. I spoke about this last year, and of course we went again this year! This concert seriously is one of the things that finally makes me go "oh... Christmas is soon!". It's so fun to go out with Braedon and see these guys have so much fun on stage. Sadly they are getting a little older, aka: voices can't go quite as high, but I still love to hear them sing. I'll be really sad when the day comes and they decide to not do the concert anymore.

- Braedons Sibling Actives. Braedon has some very talented siblings - I swear they are always involved in something or another. The past bit we've gone to a lot of different stuff for these wonderfully talented in-laws of mine. We've gone to piano recitals, singing performances, diving meets, cheer competition, and basketball games! I love seeing these three do what they love to do - it helps that they are all extremely good at what they do too!

- Photoshoots. We've had some fun doing different photoshoots lately. Of course I've been sucking it up on actually updating our photography blog but hopefully after the holiday's I'll get back on track and get some new photos up there. Some of the shoots we've had have been some engagements and bridals! Tomorrow we are actually doing a wedding for the same couple and I'm super excited (and probably a little nervous).

- Annual Beard Party. Let's just say I again won the hairy legs contest. Three years running! I'm thinking I may not compete next year... I'm not sure if it's really worth it. Either way, it was fun to get together with friends, eat some chili, and compare body hair. ;)

- The Car. Our Subaru is finally all fixed! It actually was a very easy and stress free process. It's nice to have a door that doesn't squawk anytime you open it. I'm sure my neighbors agree.

- Babysitting! Braedon and I have had the opportunity to watch first little Noah, then the next week we got to watch Ari! I seriously love my nieces and nephews so much! It's awesome to be able to help out when in reality all I feel like I'm doing is playing! Win, win! Now Braedon and I just have to convince my other sister to let us watch C for them one of these days. :)

- Temple. This past Saturday we actually got to attend our friends sealing. It was such an amazing event and I feel so honored to see these two wonderful people get sealed and then be sealed to their adorable brand new baby! What an amazing thing to experience, especially so close to Christmas!

- Relaxing. When we don't have something to go to it's be wonderful to just sit and relax with my best friend. I love Braedon so much and never want to go a day with out seeing him. :)

All in all it's been a wonderful month! I am continually reminded of how lucky I am and how much I love life!

I can't wait for this weekend!


Merry Christmas, Internets! :)

Tribute.

The below story is of a very personal nature - so much so that I originally wasn't planning on sharing it with the general public. In the past few days, though, I've felt that I needed to share this story. Whether I'm doing this in the hopes that it will help others or for the selfish reason of giving myself closure, I'm still not sure. Don’t feel like you have to read it and don’t feel like you have to comment. Above all, I'm not looking for sympathy - I'm simply sharing something that is a part of who I am today.

As I sit listening to Christmas music, all referring to the small child that was born of Mary, I can't help but contemplate this month with a little extra weight in my heart. We celebrate the birth of this wonderful little baby on the 25th, five days before I was supposed to be celebrating the birth of my own wonderful little baby.

July 2010, Braedon and I were saying our nightly prayer together before bed. At this point in our life, we both had temporary jobs for the summer and were searching for more permanent work with no luck. As Braedon prayed to our Heavenly Father to help us find more permanent employment to help support us, he asked that we be given an opportunity to get better jobs to save up for a family one day. He stopped speaking and we sat in silence for several minutes before Braedon continued aloud and finished the prayer. When he had ended and we said our ‘amen’, we looked into the other’s eyes; I think it was then that we both knew. Braedon turned to me: "Do you know what went through my head when I went silent?"

"Yes. I clearly heard in my head ‘Have a family and I'll give you the jobs to support one.”  Braedon nodded and confirmed that he too felt the same thing. 

After more prayer and discussion, we decided to trust in this experience and our Father in Heaven's promise, even if we had planned on kids entering our relationship later in the future. Within a short amount of time after we made our decision, I was offered a full-time job at the company I am still at; Braedon also found a permanent position with his current company. 

It took longer than either of us expected, but in April, the test showed two lines, no longer one. We were so happy and excited! We both felt mentally prepared (as much as anyone can, of course) and that this was the time to start growing our family. It felt right.

We started house hunting. We told family. We celebrated. We researched and made my first appointment. May 9, 2011, I went in - I was 8 weeks pregnant. During the first ultrasound my doctor told me I was measuring small for 8 weeks; I looked more like I was at 6 weeks. This worried him and he decided to get some blood drawn for tests. I brushed it off with my usual hopeful and positive thinking, figuring I was just going to have a small baby, or perhaps had conceived at a later date than previously thought. After more blood draws and waiting a few days, I got a phone call from the doctor on May 12th, the day before our 1st wedding anniversary – my levels had gone down.

The pregnancy was not viable. 

I would miscarry.

I have never been more heartbroken in my life. Braedon and I both left work early. I will never forget that day; I will never forget the sorrow, the confusion, the anguish, Braedon's strong protecting arms. We cried. We prayed. We talked and we cried some more. We then went back to the hospital where they wanted to do a vaginal ultrasound to be 100% positive. It was silly, but a small part of me still held out hope that the doctor was wrong; he wasn't. 

After the ultrasound, we spoke with the nurse who informed us there was nothing in the sack; it was empty. She went on to explain that for a lot of women's first pregnancy, the embryo will die earlier on but the body will still continue to think it's pregnant. For some reason this news brought me peace, knowing that at this point there was nothing there helped me deal with the news. I was still heartbroken, but I felt better that knowing the timing was not right for us or for our little baby. 

After the hospital visit, we went up to my parents’ house. My parents will always be my comforters, and their house always a place of peace. Being with Braedon and my parents brought that measure of healing my heart needed. I love my parents so much and can never thank them enough for their friendship, love, and support. They have always been there for me in hard times and this was no exception.

The next few weeks were rough; I would get frustrated that I still felt pregnant (moody, hungry, sleepy, etc) but knew that I really wasn't. Finally, I fully miscarried at the beginning of June. It was a painful and scary experience, but I was comforted when Braedon and his Grandpa gave me a priesthood blessing. 

It's been a roller-coaster of a journey as my body has since recuperated and gotten back on track with my normal cycles. After the miscarriage, Braedon and I were not in a place to start trying again; instead, we focused on the new house we bought and it's renovations. It took us some time, but we finally got to a place where we felt we could pick back up on trying again. 

It's been a few months now and it's hard to not feel frustrated, upset, or sad as each month we are disappointed again. It's hard to understand why we were given such a clear instruction to start trying to build our family, yet nothing is coming of those efforts. Even though we've been through this cycle a few times, we still hope that the next month will be our month. I sometimes think maybe this is why we were prompted to start trying so early - maybe it will take us quite a while to have our first child. I will always hope and have faith.

While I feel that I've mostly healed (physically and emotionally) from this experience, there are still days when it all catches up to me. Some days I wonder what it would be like, days where I still get a flash of confusion, anger, or sorrow. Days like today, when I think that I could be holding that child that's so patiently waiting to come to us or when I think what greater Christmas gift there could be than to know for a surety that in 9 months or less I can hold that child and start my calling as a mother. Days where I want people to know the pain I'm in and what I've gone through. Days of jealously as I see others achieve what I've been trying to do for so long. Days where I want those, who have those blessings I've been trying so hard to obtain, to know what they have and how lucky they are.

But I know that it's not just about my or Braedon's timeline; it's not even just about my babies timeline - it's about God's. I choose to continue to trust and follow that prompting we felt over a year and a half ago.

In the mean time, I continue to focus on the blessings of what I have now, blessings I might not have had if we had been on the expected timeline. I am grateful for the relationship I've been able to build and keep building with my wonderful family, especially with my new nieces and nephew. I feel that I’ve come even closer to them over the past year. I'm grateful for others’ experiences that I've heard and learned from. I'm grateful for my physical strength, that I was able to help Braedon renovate our new home. I'm grateful for the perspective this trial has given me and  hope that I will always remember so that when I do have kids, I will never for a second doubt what a blessing they are. I'm grateful for how close Braedon and I have become as we struggled through this together. My love grows for him more and more each day.

I'm also grateful for the relationship I’ve built up with my Heavenly Father as a result, as I've cried and prayed to Him. I know He knows me. I know He knows my struggles and I know there is a reason we are going through this. I know He knows what’s best for me and my family. 

And I know that I will be a mother one day.

Until that day, I am enjoying what I have now - which includes a wonderful Christmas full of loving family and friends, I can't wait. :)

Christmas!

Thanksgiving was wonderful - so much food, so much time with family, and plenty of relaxing. We also happen to have loads of Yellow Curry left over... ya know... if anyone wants to come over.

I can't believe that tomorrow is December... Where did this year go? It's gonna be a busy month that's for sure, we've got some photo shoots (including a wedding!) and of course bunches of family parties and activities!

Oh how I love Christmas!

We put up our decorations for this year. We don't have a ton, but I still love what we have! Observe:

Our Lights! Love that we have a tree outside to decorate!

Our little Christmas Tree. :)

On top of the TV.

Our Nativity Sets. The one of the right is our newest one
I love it so much!

Pillows!

Snowman and Braedon eating Breakfast. :)

Anywho. Life is good!

Loves and hugs Internets!

Thanksgiving!

Eeeeeeeeeeee.

I'm excited that tomorrow is Thanksgiving (See excitement above) for many reasons, here are some:

- Food. Don't worry that we have 3 different Thanksgiving meals to attend this year. It's going to be fat festive!

- Family. I love spending time with family. Nuff said.

- NO WORK. Oh man - I think everyone can agree that no matter how much they may love their job, a break (and a paid break at that) is always more then welcome.

- Christmas! Once Thanksgiving is over it's like something clicks in my head making me finally realize how close Christmas really is. Plus I now feel that I can decorate, listen to Christmas music and all that good stuff. :)

- Sleeping in! Oh the joys of not having to wake up by alarm but when my body actually wants to - which granted is usually around 7:30 or 8:00 - but at least it's more natural then my phone ringing in my ear!

Sigh. So excited. :)

In other news:


- My tooth is out! It came out fairly quickly and easily - I didn't feel a thing (of course that was more due to the 6 (SIX!) shots I was given before hand). Observe this expensive uselessness:

I found out that I might be able to get 40-60 bucks for that crown!

- Now that you got to see that lovely photo - let's end on some cuteness. Look how big these three are getting!

Noah - Loooove the vest.

Cute Ari. :)

Baby C!

 

C is good at making her own applesauce. ;)

Ari has some weird fascination with Taylor's hands... this was
her excitement at him snapping. So cute. :)

The three playing at Grandma's and Grandpa's!

Those girls know how to MOVE now! 

Hence why they are almost always blurry on my camera phone.

Anywho. Life is good and I can't wait for the weekend. 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Update the Update.

I know I've been slacking lately - so here's the update.

- My car has been appraised and a check to fix it is coming my way. Even though I think the appraiser low balled the price, I'm still hoping I'm wrong and will somehow get extra cash out of all of this.

- The tooth is coming out. Yup. Hello, I'm 23 and getting a tooth pulled. La sigh. In all honestly Braedon and I feel really good about going this route then some of the other options we had. You know what the best part is? Extractions are only 27 bucks! Woot! (Of course the implant and possible bone graft is around 2500... but I'm choosing to ignore that fact at the moment).

- I'm still loving being an aunt. Saturday we went up to my parents house to watch the Utah game (go Utes!), and it was so much fun to spend time with the family, catch up, and of course play with my cute nieces (Noah unfortunately wasn't there). I'm loving getting to know these cute little girls so much more each time I see them, they both have such amazing and wonderful personalities. Plus the fact that they actually smile when they see me just makes my heart so happy. Sigh. So adorable, so cute, so fun. :)

- Speaking of family - I just want to give another shout out for mine. I love spending time with my family so much, I always leave them feeling happy, uplifted, and more at peace. They are such wonderful and good people. :)

- Uhhh, Thanksgiving is next week. Does anyone else find this extremely insane?

- I have a house this Holiday season. I can decorate inside and out, however I want! Which will include as much twinkle lights as possible. (But don't worry - only after Thanksgiving, of course).

- In case you didn't know. November is the month of not just thanksgiving, but of not shaving. You know I'm participating in that and currently have legs that look like they belong in the stone-age. Braedon too has a nice little 'stache going on. Yup, we're classsssy.

- Currently at work I have this picture as my desktop. It warms my heart every time I look at it. How'd I get so lucky to have such an amazing husband?

Leaving our Reception at the end of our Wedding Day. :)

Life is good. :)

Teeth and Cars

So. This week hasn't been my finest... but you know what makes it all a little better?

It's Friday!


Oh thank the heavens.

So let's do a little recap of recent going-ons.

Last week my tooth started to ache. Not just any ol' tooth, but an old Root Canal that I got done back in 2007. My brain in it's ever pursuit of things being okay thought, it's probably nothing or maybe just sinus pressure (even though I wasn't really sick). Finally this week the pain was getting to be too much, so I caved and text my lovely (seriously guys she's beautiful) Sister-In-Law, Tiffany (hi Tiffy!). Sadly she confirmed what I was afraid of - apparently Root Canals can fail, (Awesome.) and need to be retreated. Aka: I should get an appointment soon. I also got the pleasure of learning that most regular dentists don't/can't do retreats and they refer people out to a Specialist called an Endodontist (which is apparently a word that I have all manner of problems saying).

So I give a little call to my Dental Insurance and learn that for Specialists they only cover 20% of the cost. Having done some research online and seeing that most people are paying $1500-$2000 for a retreat, this isn't the best of news. So I got to my appointment with my regular dentist (with my brain still hoping I'm just being a wimp and there isn't anything wrong with my tooth). They snap (zap?) a X-Ray of my tooth and put it up on the little light thing. My Dentist comes in and the first words out of his mouth upon looking at my new shiney X-Ray are along the lines of "Woah! What on earth happened!?" - thus thoroughly crushing any tiny spark of hope that I might have had before hand. He then puts his glasses on and moves closer to the X-Ray muttering to himself. Sigh.

Later he explains to me that in rare cases a person can get a cyst where the old bacteria was - this cyst can prevent the body from actually fully healing the problem. He's fairly certain this is what happened in my case. He shows me my X-Ray from 2007 right after the Root Canal was put in - there is just the tiniest dark spot below one of the roots. He then shows me the current X-Ray where there is a nice pencil eraser sized black spot below the same root. (Again, awesome.) He then says the words I was really hoping he wouldn't "I'll have to send you to a specialist".

So that's where I stand with the Tooth matters. I will now be on a search for the cheapest Endodontist I can find that takes my insurance while I pop antibiotics like candy to get rid of the nasty bacteria currently having a party below my tooth causing me enormous amounts of pain.

Let's now speed forward a few hours from this appointment to my drive home from work.

I just get off I-215 onto Redwood heading south to 6200. There is a huge accident at 6200 and Redwood Road. Traffic is backed up to the freeway exits/entrances. I'm chillin' in my lane at a dead stop. My window's open (due to my AC not working) and I'm just minding my own business...

... when all of the sudden a diesel truck is eating my car (this may be a slight exaggeration).

After a oh so manly short squeal I look up (through the little windows said diesel truck has in it's door) and see an old man with a look of pure amazement on his face. Then after proclaiming how awesome the situation was and how convenient it was to happen on this already glorious day - I poke my head out the door and look at my now mangled door.

We pull to the side of the road and call the police. This was all around 4:40 or so. Old man get's out of his big truck and ambles on over with out so much of a "sorry about that".

Side Note: This irritates me to no end. I understand accidents happen (though I'm not sure I understand how this accident happened), but the least a person can do is feel sorry and say so to the person whose car they just tried to drive on top of! End Side Note.

So begins the waiting game (sorry to my two fellow co-workers for making you sit on the side of the road for 2 hours - I understand if you don't ever want to get a ride from me again...). Apparently the accident at 6200 S that I spoke of before wasn't the only other major car accident that was happening in Taylorsville, thus my little fendor (and door) bender wasn't top priority.

Side Note: I was more then grateful to wait two hours for a cop due to the fact that my accident wasn't serious and no one was hurt. Waiting = Better then Mangled/Hurt/Dead. End Side Note.

During that two hour wait, Old man and Old mans wife kept saying things like "If you'd like we can just exchange insurance and information and leave now" or "I talked to my Son, who is a cop, and he says it would be okay if we just want to exchange information and leave rather then wait, cause it might be a long wait" or "my husband really needs to take this truck back, so if it's okay with you we could just exchange insurance and information now instead of wait for the cops". To which I replied (multiple times) "Sorry, I'm not comfortable with that, I would feel better just waiting for the cops to get here and take care of everything" or even when I was a little irritated that they brought it up again "Sorry, we have something to get to as well, but we are going to wait until the cops get here".

Side Note: That 'something' was a Premier of Three Mustekteer's that I had just picked up tickets for. End Side Note.

What I was really saying in my head though was something along these lines: "Oh, I'm so sorry you have to get your big truck (that you clearly can't drive) somewhere...I'm sorry this is just a big inconvenience for you." or "I'm so sorry my little car got in your way and inconvenienced you when you decided you had to be in my lane sharing the exact spot of my car - which you know... isn't physically possibly."

Yes, yes - these thoughts might be a little harsh, but remember - this man hadn't once said sorry or showed any type of remorse. If he had said sorry from the beginning - I probably wouldn't have been quite so bugged. Just sayin'.

Anywho. A Cop finally shows up around 6:45 (a Mr. Durr - which name I find all sorts of funny). He gets our information hands me my document that I've been waiting for (saying it was not my fault and that I wouldn't be the one paying for the repairs) and hands Old Man several pieces of paper. Dang straight.

Now for a couple of photo's:

Poor Subaru...

Old man and Subaru eating truck.

Luckily we finish everything up at 7:00 leaving us with just enough time to make it to our movie that we have premier passes for at 7:30. Yay! Silver lining folks, silver lining.

My Brother's girlfriend later that night commented that it wasn't the Old Mans fault - Optimus Prime obviously just thought my cute little Subaru was a Decepticon.

I like this explanation, so I'm going with it.


Happy Weekend Internets!

Into the Wild!

It's Friday again!! Oh how I love Friday's. I almost feel like I have to blog on Friday's now - at least it's making me keep a good account of events, eh?

So. I'm going camping this weekend.

Yes you heard me right.

Yes I know it will be cold (more probably freezing).

No I we are not rescheduling - we've already rescheduled once.

Yes I know you think I'm crazy.

But by golly - yes I will have fun!


I am the type of person that if I choose to enjoy something or to be happy - I will enjoy it and I will be happy.  Sometimes it's easier then other times... but if I really want to have a good time, I will. My major philosophy is if things go wrong, why not call it an adventure rather then a mistake or a ruined time? Bumps in the road usually lead to funny stories or experiences learned - can't beat that, eh?

So thus right after work today we are packing up the car and myself, Braedon, and his dad are going to Bryce Canyon and Fish Lake for the weekend (slash Monday and Tuesday - yay for next week being a short week!). I'm excited. I think I went to Bryce once upon a time when I was a wee little lass - but I don't remember anything of it. I've also never been to Fish Lake - nor have I ever been finishing! Yay new experiences! :)

I do have a slight feeling that me and my long-johns will be the best of friends this weekend.


Have a great weekend Internets!

Halloween!

It's officially October which means it's officially legal to decorate for Halloween. Braedon and I did just that in between conference sessions yesterday. Observe:

Outside our door

I made these - thanks to Pinterest for the idea. :)

Our porch. 

Witchy by the Fishies.

On top of the TV.

Candles on the Counter

Table Center Peice.

Braedon's 'spooky' spider.

Lights out.

Lights on!

I love Halloween Decorations. I love October. I love Fall.

Life is good. :)

Friday Blog!

You guys - we made it. Here we are at yet another Friday. Oh how I love Friday's.

Happy List!

- Frightmares tomorrow. I honestly am so excited - it's a little ridiculous.

- I've been running again...and by again I mean I've ran 4 times in the last two weeks. But Braedon and I are back on schedule for exercising right after work. I really do enjoy it. Yesterday I ran two miles in 18 mins. Woot! (I realize this is probably not that great by most peoples standards... but for me it's pretty awesome).

- Braedon and I have gotten back into cooking a bit more this past week. The other day we made home made Country Fried Steak (with home made white gravy). We made a mess - but it was yummy! We also made yummy mini cinnamon rolls with homemade gooey icing. Mmmmmm.

Fried Steak with Green Beans

Mmmmmmm

- Last week Braedon and I were over at his Grandparents and his sister and cousins were painting their nails. I haven't painted my nails (besides for the wedding) since highschool. I was bored - so I thought why not. I painted my nails and discovered that I actually enjoy painting nails... just not necessarily having them painting. I then did Braedon's sisters for homecoming.

Mine were gone after like two days.

Nana's! 

- I have the cutest Nieces and Nephew since ever. I just so thoroughly love being an Aunt and am going to try my hardest to be the favorite Aunt. :)

Baby Aria - Oh the cheeks!

Baby C - who loves meat (we think she might be
a zombie). :)

Newest Edition - Baby Noah. Love the hair!

- It's Conference Weekend - I love Conference. Good counsel all while sitting in my PJ's on my comfortable couch (or possibly while in a bubble bath). Perfection.

- October is tomorrow. That means I get to decorate for Halloween. That also means it's still Fall. Win.

Happy Last Day of September and Happy Friday Internets!

Dear _______,

Dear Universe,
I'm back for another round of the random "letter's" people write to one self or other random objects. Last time I found it pretty entertaining. Hope you're okay with that.
Love, Me.

Dear Calluses,
Do you have to make our reunions so painful? Why can't you just be there when I need you... it always has to be this slow build up to a firm relationship. Let's speed up this painful process, eh?
Love, Me.

Dear Utes,
Even though your offense isn't that great, I appreciate your efforts in walloping BYU. Thank you for a fun night with the family.
Love, Me.

Dear Random Sir,
Thank you ever so much for listening to your son and putting that 'FREE' sign on your unwanted washer and dryer. Thank you also for telling me all your cute stories of when you were a pilot in the Air Force. I hope your bursitis eases up.
Love, Me.


Dear Braedon,
Thanks for marrying me. Let's be together for eternity, mmmkay?
Love, Me.


Dear Pinterest,
I am torn between gratitude for sharing your wonderful knowledge of recipes, house design, travel and innovative ideas - or guilt for spending so much time looking at your wonderful pictures.
Love, Me.

Dear School,
I miss you and am sorry for all the horrible things I said about you. Let's meet up again sometime, eh?
Love, Me.

Dear Facebook,
You are trying too hard. Stop it. You're ruining everything and making my love for Google+ even greater.
Love, Me.

Dear Books,
I know I've been neglecting you a little bit the past while - I apologize for that. I can't wait to come back to the warm embrace of your pages and promise to do so post haste.
Love, Me.

Dear phrase "post haste",
I just love to say you. Thanks for existing. I will try to use you again post haste. :)
Love, Me.

Dear Fall,
You are wonderful.
Love, Me.


Dear Babies A, C, and N,
Do you realize you are the cutest things since ever? And that I absolutely adore your ever squeaking, wiggling, cuddling, farting, cooing, laughing, grabbing, smiling, hugging selves?
Love, Auntie K.

Dear Life,
Could you be any better? I think not. Unless I so happened to win the lottery with out even entering...
Love, Me


Dear Legs,
I swear it hasn't been that long since I last ran. If you could stop killing every time I stand up, that would be really great.
Love, Me.

Dear Halloween,
I have my very own place this year to decorate as I want (outside and in). Are you as excited as me? I hope so.
Love, Me.

Dear Weekends,
Our time together is always too brief. I can't wait to meet up with you again in a few days.
Love, Me.

Dear Blog,
I really have enjoyed our time together the past years, and look forward to the many more years of useless ramblings. Thanks for always listening.
Love, Me.

Dear Readers,
It's been real.
Love, Me.

Things That Make Me Happy Right Now

I'm happy. Very happy. Here's a few reason's why:

- It's Fall. I had to use my heater this morning. Oh how I love crisp mornings.

- My fruit smiled at me this morning:

- I've been painting again. I've missed it. Finished these two over the weekend. They may not be anything special, but I have fun doing it. :)

- Walking down Halloween Decoration isles at the store. I love Halloween decorations almost as much as Christmas. It might even be a tie. I love Halloween. :)

- Speaking of Halloween. On Oct 1st Braedon and I get to go to Frightmares for FREE because it's his works' Lagoon day! I've never been to Frightmares and I've always wanted to! I can't wait!








- My nieces. They always make me happy. Any bad day is turned around with a kiss and a hug from either of these two.

- The fact that in 10 days or less I'll have a nephew to add to the mix and to get cute hugs and kisses from!

- I get to wake up next to this wonderful man every day. :)

Fall and Friday's.

Oh you know - just another update.

- First off. My lovely friend Kelci started a Google+ account due to my last blog - so in fair turn I started a pinterest account. Hooked. Love it. Don't have one? Get one. Don't get it? Talk to me. :)

- Football. I love Football. I love going up to my parents house to watch all the Utah games together. What makes football even better then it already is? My wonderfully cute niece:

Seriously? Who wouldn't route for Utah after
seeing this cutie!?

- I also started my first Fantasy Football team. I honestly don't have much knowledge of what I'm doing. Luckily I have an awesome brother that is patient with me and will teach me. I just know that the Ninja Dragon's are gonna kill it (cause honestly - what else do Ninja's and Dragon's do?).

- Did you know what else Football means? FALL! AUTUMN! Oh glorious Fall how I love thee. Changing leaves, cooling temperatures, Halloween, hot chocolate, beautiful mountains, wonderful smells... sigh. Perfection.

- Camping over Labor Day weekend was wonderful. So beautiful and actually lots warmer then last year. I love waking up to this:

- My wonderful sister Melissa is expecting. My first nephew could come any time between Sunday and the 23rd. Eek! I'm so excited to add a cute little boy to the mix! :)

- A couple of week's ago I got to take some really cute pictures of my niece Baby C. This week I get to take some really cute pictures of my other niece Baby A (pictured above). I'm pretty excited. Keep your eyes open to the photography blog for them - I'm hoping to edit Baby C's this upcoming week. :)

- Have I mentioned I love being an Aunt? Cause I do.

- It's Friday. And Fall (did I mention that already?). I get to watch the Utah game this weekend, take photos of my cute niece, and get to spend time with the family. It's gonna be good. :)

Happy Friday Internets. :)

In the Know

I can't think of anything witty to write to open this blog up - so let's just get to it.

- We purchased a new wall piece for our bathroom a while back. I finally took a picture of it. I love how it looks against the yellow. :) Yay for 10 dollar Ross decorations!

- It just so happened the exact day I posted about my Ninja Neighbors we happened to meet the girl that  lives there (or so she says). She wasn't any of the other people we saw previously... and she just so happens to greet us the day I write my thoughts about the secret Ninja's next door? Suspicious much? Don't worry that we haven't seen or heard her since. I think it was all a cover up.

- Once upon a time we had a zucchini. So we made fried zucchini. It was so wonderfully delicious.

- I happen to love the game Left 4 Dead (and Left 4 Dead 2). There is nothing like cutting off a horde of zombie heads with an ax to make you feel better.

- I have a Google + account. I personally like Google + better then Facebook. Unfortunately I know it will be awhile until Google + is used more then Facebook... but remember Myspace? Ya. Goodbye Facebook - Google is taking over.

- Currently one of the main reasons I update my Google+ along with my Facebook (despite the fact that it's not used as much) is for my mom - who actually looks at her Google+ at least once a week. Hi mom! :)

- I find driving alone in the dark to be one of the best things in life.

- I miss math. Anyone want me to do their math homework for them? I'm highly considering taking out my calculus book and starting from page 1.

- Speaking of math... I miss school too.

- I might have a slight obsession with cooking shows lately. I think it might be driving Braedon crazy (though he would never say so). Chopped, Master Chef, Iron Chef, Hells Kitchen - you name it.

- We are going camping this weekend. I'm so excited. It's a yearly tradition for Braedon's family and always so much fun and so relaxing. It also happens to be the place Braedon and I had our first kiss. :) (this is where you all go 'awwwww')


Come on weekend!!

Battle Cry.

I was listening to a song by Regina Spektor - the song is actually from the Chronicles of Narnia soundtrack (not sure which one). The song is called 'The Call' and I've heard it many times before, but for some reason the beginning of the song caught my attention more then normal this time. Here are the words:

"It started out as a feeling, which then grew into a hope, which then turned into a quiet thought which then turned into a quiet word. Then that word grew louder and louder - 'til it was battle cry."

I really love all of the lyrics to this song and recommend you go take a listen to it.

The beginning of this song really stuck into my head - what's something that I've always felt, hoped, thought, and spoken of. What would I consider my battle cry?

It came to me quite simply:

Hope. Joy. Happiness. Love. Laughter.

I am so happy. I am so loved. I also happen to love being happy (works out nicely doesn't it?).

If there is one thing I pass on to others I hope it's a love for themselves and a want/need to feel joy and be happy. If there is one thing I could be an example of it is to spread that love and laughter to be hopeful, joyful, happy, loving and to have laughter in all that they do.

I encourage you to Dance, hug, and jump whenever possible...

To make faces, dress how you want, and play outside...

To play dress up, laugh, run, and get muddy...

 To believe in yourself, own what you bring to the table, and to simply enjoy and love being you.

 Yes things get hard. Yes we all have sad moments/days/weeks/months. But to be able to cry out, to refuse to give in and to instead sing of hope, learn to laugh, support and love those around us and always try to be happy will always be my battle cry.