I'm Lazy

I don't know whats happened to me. I've become...a horrible blogger. I have had a hard time finding the time and motivation to actually blog. And even right now, I'm about ready to call it quits! haha

As far as updates go, the last time I blogged it was my birthday. Since then we've had Easter and Kimball's 2nd birthday and lots of other little things that keep us busy. Probably the biggest thing taking up our time right now is we're looking at houses to buy. I think I've become convinced that nothing will ever come together easy for us, it must be our lot in life to have to struggle and really work at things. Maybe everybody does and it just looks easy for other people from our point of view. I don't know, but I swear we have bad luck! ;) We've looked at a few houses now, and its been a really eye opening experience. I've learned that you can't trust the listing's pictures, that you can't expect people to actually clean their house, what people think looks good hardly ever does (decorating/paint wise), I don't especially love walking through other people's homes (awkward central), this is harder than I thought it was going to be. :)

 After the first couple of houses, I was feeling really discouraged because they were totally different than what I had expected to see! Then we saw one house that was just fantastic, well, obviously everyone else thought so too because it sold before we could even get an offer in. Boo. So we've been looking at more places, and trying to keep an open mind and all, and last night we went to see four more. The first one we saw we both really liked, we went home and talked it over and made a decision. Before I say anymore, our agent told us it hadn't had any offers put on it at all, (its a short sale, and nobodies tried to buy it and walked away from it or anything) we thought there hadn't been any interest in it at all. So THIS MORNING, an offer gets put in on it. WHAT THE WHAT?! I just don't understand how it could sit without activity for two months and the day we want to put on offer on it, someone else does. Do you see what I'm saying about the bad luck?! Its crazy! So we're still going to put a counter offer in, but man, I just don't get why we can't just find a house we like, with all the things we like, for a great price, in a great area and BUY IT. Is that so much to ask!? ;)

So needless to say, its been taking up a lot of my brain power and time and anxiety. I know once we do find something it will most likely take a while for everything to go through because more likely than not it will be a short sale (like 99% of homes are right now, sheesh), so I'd like to get going so we can be done with this before, like next year. :)

Buying a house has been one of my biggest longings since we've gotten married, I've waited over ten years to be at this point, I never thought I'd be complaining about it! haha I've tried really hard to take it in stride and be happy with the process, and I know everything will work out, it will. We WILL find the right house for us, it WILL work out. Its the waiting and not knowing thats hard for me, so I'm trying. Wish us luck, pray for us, give us money...I mean, send good thoughts, that this will be not too painful!

Oh, and maybe someday I'll add pictures from Easter and Kimball's birthday. Someday. Maybe.

Ending My 20's with a Bang

So its my birthday Saturday. Yeah, I know, makes your day pretty exciting just anticipating it right?! I knew it.

So last year about this time my friend Debbie was getting ready to turn 29 and was asking advice on a list she was making. She wanted to make a list of 30 things to do before she turned 30, I loved the idea and thought it was really fun! So now this year is here, the year that I turn 29 and I have been making a list of 30 things I want to do before I turn 30.

Unfortunately this isn't a magic list that grants me money and time and everything I could ever dream of. Also unfortunately when I asked my friends on Facebook what they would suggest, they thought my list was magic and gave me money because they mostly suggested things that aren't really feasible for me to do in one year. As much as I would like to travel out of the country, or go on a cruise or go to Disneyland or...go a whole day naked...it wasn't necessarily as helpful as I wanted. You'd think after 64 comments, I'd have my whole list of things to do, but no, my friends just think they're soooooo funny. ;)

Anyway, after people coming up with such awesome big plans, maybe my list will seem dumb and a little silly, who knows? But when coming up with my list, I tried to have a balance of things that would help me be a better person, things I've been wanting to work on, things that will help my family, things I'm interested in hobby wise, things I thought sounded fun and most importantly: things that I felt were actually possible in achieving this year. :)

So without any more explanation, here's the list I came up with:

30 before 30

1- Learn to play the guitar

2- Exercise 3 times a week or complete "Insanity"

3- Finish 1 craft project a month

4- Buy our first house

5- Go to Forks

6- Run a 5k

7- Watch 30 classic movies

8- Go to VooDoo Donuts

9- Homemake everyone's Christmas presents

10- Donate blood (plasma maybe?)

11- Grow hair out--no cutting at all!

12- Paint 3 paintings

13- Decorate a cake for each birthday

14- Take the kids hiking this summer

15- Find a waterfall

16- Go on a date once a month

17- Go to the Temple once a month

18- Be a 100% visiting teacher

19- Advance my "photography business"/ get paid for a big event

20- Do 3 photography trips/ creative shoots/ outdoor shoots

21- Yell less/ be more patient

22- Keep an organized calendar & dinner menu (no procrastinating!)

23- Have an all girl's themed party

24- Go to a concert

25- Make a slideshow/movie for each kid

26- Get new family pictures taken

27- Stick to a budget

28- Make more friends/ have more playdates

29- Decorate new house on a budget/ document it on blog

30- Have a big birthday bash!

Oh Yeah, its March Already!

Wow. I guess February took up a little more brain power than I wanted, because I haven't blogged in FOREVER! Sheesh.

A quick re-cap on the wedding: I think it turned out really fun and everyone had a great time!

The sealing was really special for me, I loved getting to be in the Temple surrounded by family and friends, it was so neat!

It was a crazy weekend, busy and tons to do, but I hope it was everything Brenda wanted and she loved it!

I did get to take some pictures of Brenda and Blake a few days before the wedding, if you want to see them (and the other photography projects I've been up to) you can go to my photography blog: Cherry Blossom Photography to check them out!

My brother and his wife Tamsyn came up for the wedding and blessed their baby girl the next day, so that was super fun and awesome to have everyone here for! I took some pictures of baby Lara too (go to that link, you can see! haha), and was just so happy to get to love and cuddle her, such a sweet baby!

I loved getting to have family around, and I loved getting to dress up and see everyone dressed up, it was great fun!

The rest of the month? I don't even remember. :)

Here's hoping I can stay on the blogging wagon now! It is my birthday coming up, and I have a special sort of bucket list I'm trying to make to do this next year before I turn 30, so I'll be blogging about that soon!

Whats Taking Up All YOUR Brain Power?

Well, I know whats taking up all of MY brain power. And that is: my sister Brenda's wedding. The last one of my siblings (and the baby of the family) is getting married in just a few weeks and the planning and doing has taken over most of my thinking and doing. :) I'm really excited for her and can't wait to see everything put together (I may also be getting to the point where I can't wait for it to be over...love ya B! haha)
One of the first big things I got to do was the invitations, we got a couple ideas from the internet and I designed them. We sent them to Costco's Business Center and had some issues with them, but I don't want to think about it anymore, so anyway, here's what they look like: (I did fuzz out the important information, I was worried about wedding crashers or something!) ;)
                                                                 This is the front side:

This is the back side: 

I also designed a poster to go out in front of our photobooth that I thought was pretty fun:

                                         (Actually I changed the lips, but you get the idea!)



I'm also doing a bunch of hair, so we did a run through of my mom the other night and I just had to add pictures because, well, I love it. :)
                             First up, I just had to add what she looked like just after we      
      straightened it, I wish I had a picture of the back too but seriously, it was really pretty!

             So we wanted to do a sort of beehive, but then I was watching "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and        was inspired by Miss Holly Golightly's hair, and did this. :)

Still need to put the music playlist together and lots of other things but I think we're getting there! I just know its going to be such a fun night!

Snow, Snow, Sn...ICE

I figure its about time I shared about the crazy weather we've been having. After living in Utah and getting used to snowy winters, when it snows here I feel fairly confidant that we can handle the weather and the driving. Definitely its not the same here as Utah though, where in Utah, it snows and they clear the roads right away and then the snow just kind of stays there for awhile. In general the roads don't get too icy, or too bad to drive on most of the time. Here in Washington though, it doesn't get that cold very often and it doesn't stay cold, so it might snow and then rain on top of the snow and then its VERY icy. Thats just the road conditions, theres also the fact that we have a LOT of trees in Washington, trees that aren't used to having heavy snow on them, and start dropping large, heavy branches all over everything and then we have power outages. So if you hear everyone freaking out, thats why. :)

So anyway, the first couple days we had quite a lot of fun. We had snowball fights, we built a snowman, we played and enjoyed how beautiful it looked outside. It wasn't until the freezing rain started that things went down hill for us. We'd basically been stuck inside (besides the trips to play outside) for four to five days. We had some major cabin fever and were so ready to get out and just go somewhere! We finally dug our car out enough on Friday to go out to the mall where the kids burned a lot of energy in the play area. :) Anyway, it was a fun adventure and I'm just thankful everyone stayed safe and alright, even if without power! Eek.

Here's some pictures of the incredible snow we experience in Washington:

This Year Seems Like Last Year...Hmmm

You'd think after all the craziness of Christmas and the holidays that once the new year started, things would slow down. You'd think that, but it hasn't! :)

The first week of January was filled with photography and tantrums and babies being born and a wedding to celebrate! I got to take some newborn pictures for a Sister in our Ward, he was such a sweet baby, just a few days old with TONS of dark hair. So fun! Later that day I took some family pictures for Kristie's family, trying once again to get some good shots. Its too bad it gets dark so early still, so frustrating! In the middle of the week Sam had some gum and decided to stretch it out and wrap it around his neck (I know, what the heck right?!), well this resulted in a full on melt down, screaming mess. He screamed when we tried to get it off, he screamed when we put peanut butter on it, he screamed when we made him take a bath, he screamed and screamed and screamed. I seriously thought the neighbors were going to call the police, and it honestly left my whole body shaking for about an hour after he stopped screaming. Yay for three year olds. The best part of the week was my brother and sister-in-law had their first baby! A sweet little girl named Lara Rochelle, weighing 7 lbs. 12 oz. and 20 inches long. My dad put this picture of my brother as a newborn up, and I compared it to Lara's newborn picture; I wish I had one of Tamsyn to put on the other side! I think she's so beautiful, I wish I could kiss on those cheeks all day!

To end the first week of January we went to an open house for my cousin Jordan who was married in Utah in December. The kids decided it was a free for all to run completely crazy, all over, into the kitchen and under tables--aren't kids grand?! ;) We had a lot of fun seeing friends and family and dancing and watching the kids dance (in between trying to catch Kimball from getting away) was too funny! Ashlee looked amazing, her dress was so beautiful, and Jordan always looks studly. :)

This week isn't much better for me, I have wedding invitations to design, a coupon class to attend, a Relief Society activity to get ready for (which means buying supplies for 35 people! Sheesh.), etc. etc.

Pray for me okay? :)

2011 In Review!

Time again for my look back at 2011 and give you my favorites! Yay!

Favorite Song:

Its a toss up between Crossfire and Only the Young by Brandon Flowers. I am OBSESSED with these two songs right now! LOVE IT!

honorable mention:

Stereo Hearts by Gym Class Heroes

Moves Like Jagger by Maroon 5 (oddly those two songs both have Adam Levine singing, huh.)

Favorite Movie:

Kung Fu Panda 2 (I really loved this movie!)

honorable mention:

Thor

Sherlock Holmes 2 (I haven't seen this but I KNOW I would love it! Mmmmhmmm)

Harry Potter--so epic!

Tangled

Favorite TV Show:

The Vampire Dairies

I am obsessed with this show and can't wait for it to start again in January! Whoo!

honorable mention:

Any of the Real Housewives of course ;)

The Rachel Zoe Project

Project Runway

Favorite Book:

I Capture The Castle

I read over 60 books this year, its hard to choose a favorite!

There were a couple series I loved, Gregor the Overlander and Inheritance (which is the Eragon series), I really enjoyed those!

honorable mention:

My blog friend Melanie wrote The List and I honest to goodness LOVED it, it was hysterical, seriously had me laughing out loud and grinning stupidly. It was a fast, light read and I so enjoyed every minute. The ending was fabulous!

Favorite Vacation:

We honestly didn't take ANY trips this year. Not even a camping trip. What a lame year. My husband did take many trips to Washington DC for work and he spent a month in Korea, so lucky for him. :/

Favorite Outfit:

I'm changing this from clothes I own to ones I want ;) I discovered Pinterest this year, so there is a lot to be inspired and want from off there! haha

Yes, I realize these don't really have anything to do with 2011, except that I spent a lot of time coveting these outfits. If I had the money, I would have dressed like this in 2011. ;)

Favorite Project:

(this isn't mine, same idea but picture it in a mustardy yellow)

It would be my favorite project if I could get it to work, but I redid a coffee table into a tufted bench. Except that I've redone the top twice and need to again since Kimball's pulled half the buttons off. This time when I re-do it, it will be PERFECT! :)

Most drastic change:

I cut my hair short again, and dyed it bright red!

Highlights:

Bethany was baptized!

Kimball turned one

new family pictures

fun summer and fall

Peter Pan themed Halloween:



Maddie started kindergarden (Bethany 3rd grade)

Fun 30th birthday for my sister

Kimball started nursery!

Lowlights:

my computer crashed and I lost a LOT of pictures :(

Dave was gone for a month in Korea, that was hard :(

Christmas Time Is Here

I have to be honest, I really stressed myself out for Christmas this year. I'm pretty much a procrastinator anyway, and don't start buying Christmas presents until sometime in December (if I bought them earlier, I would TOTALLY forget about them. Proof: I bought these nerf guns to give to the kids in NOVEMBER--thats one month ago--and forgot to give them to the kids. See!). So anyway, usually if I have a little pressure on me, it motivates me to get things done and all ends up fine. This year it was like the pressure was so high that instead of motivating me, I shut down. I could do nothing. I sat around in a daze being overwhelmed. I'd do a little here, I'd do a little there. But thats about it. Finally four days before Christmas Dave and I went out and got the majority of presents, and I finished up the next night. I had tried to do homemade gifts for our families, they didn't get all the way put together until Saturday (yes, I know thats the day before Christmas!). I would like to say that I have learned my lesson and vow to never procrastinate Christmas like this again, but I just don't think thats a promise I can make. I'm just being honest. :)

This is what took up so much of my time:

My cousin's wife Megan, has these drawings on her wall that her brother did of their family. They KILL me, I just loved them so much! When I was taking pictures for them for Christmas cards, I snapped a couple pictures of what her brother did to give me some inspiration. I didn't do them just like his (we have different drawing styles anyway) and I didn't want to totally rip him off ;) but I just thought it was such a great idea! So begins the stress... I started out writing everybody's name down, what their interests are, how to make the picture personal and give everyone some personality, then I drew a few rough drafts, drew the main copy, water colored it, went over it with a fine tip pen, scanned it into the computer (it was too big, so I had to scan one half and then the other; seam the two halves together in photoshop and then edit out the seam line--sheesh), then had copies printed off for each family. Phew!

I also stressed about if people would hate it, think I made them ugly, or didn't get enough personality into them, blah blah blah! :) I think when you do art, it makes you really self conscious, like you're really putting yourself out there, so yeah. I was feeling a little stupid. BUT everyone said they loved them and even if they were lying I don't care anymore! ;)

So that was the big thing for Christmas, of course, everything turned out great, we had a great time with family for Christmas Eve (went to dinner at Joeseppi's) and played games afterward, and Sunday was great too. We went to my in-laws ward because they started at 11 (ours is at 9) and I'm so glad we did because it would have been so hard to do presents and get ready and everything before our ward, plus it was really nice to spend some extra time with family. We went to my parents for dinner and opened presents with them and next door at my grandma's, all very nice, all very fun. Here's some pictures of all our adventures:

First up is our Christmas letter and accompanying picture:




This was our back up picture:



Here's Christmas Eve with David's family:



























And Christmas morning, yup, naked baby:




















Christmas at my parents:













Bethany made this at school for Dave:


Sam with his etch-a-sketch:


Surrounded by toys at the end of a great Christmas day!