Clarke with an "E"

1+2=3

2012-01-25T18:19:00.000-08:00

Notice anything different about me?

Of course you don't. That's because nothing on the outside has changed but on the inside I am 10 weeks PREGNANT!!

That's right, we are expecting little baby Clarke on August 19th and we couldn't be more thrilled!

So far, we have been to one doctor's appointment which was pretty informative and they just made sure our little dragon (that is the baby's nickname) was actually nine weeks. Our next appointment is scheduled for Feb. 16th. I think they will let us hear the heartbeat and do our first ultrasound.

I went off birth control in November and I seriously didn't expect to get pregnant so fast, but so happy that I did. I took the test on a saturday morning while Harris was still sleeping. When I read the result I was elated. I woke Harris up and gave him the positive test (don't worry, I made sure it was clean) wrapped in a onesie that I had drawn on. (I had one left over from a baby shower I threw for a friend.)

He was SO excited and I know he will make a great Daddy. He is already so focused and has been such a great nurse. He runs to the store to get me food I'm craving, (yogurt) makes me dinner, makes sure I take my vitamin and all that good stuff. He is the best husband I could ever ask for.

We feel so blessed to have this new baby coming into our family. It is amazing how our lives have completely changed since we found out, but for the better. I feel like we are more on track and we have a good plan going. We couldn't be more excited and we can't wait to meet baby Clarke!

Museums

2012-01-16T22:41:00.001-08:00

Harris and I spent Christmas in DC this year. One thing I really wanted to do was go to the Smithsonian. It was a very fun day. We went to the museum if natural history, the Air and Space museum and the main smithsonian (pictured below).

Spirit of St. Louis! (Do you know why this plane is famous? I'll give major points if you do, I didn't :/ ).

DC is a very fun city and it is always fun to see something new when we visit!

Mayra's Shower

2012-01-10T21:37:00.000-08:00

My computer has been seriously out of commission since thanksgiving but thanks to my dear husband I'm back to blogging. Mayra's shower was at the beginning of December and I threw it at my house. We did the traditional games like the toilet paper bride and such and also decorated some panties for Mayra to wear on her big night.

When I went to the store I just bought the cheapest pack I could find and low and behold, they were granny panties. I laughed out loud when I opened them but figured it'd be a bigger canvas. We had a great time decorating those drawers. (Just imagine what Lexie can do with some fabric markers and scissors and you've got yourself a good time.)

wrapping up the bride to be

Lovely Lee Ladies

The finished product

The designers

It was a lovely shower and I got to know Mayra a little better. She is just a peach and I love having her in our family!

Lark and Kyle

2011-11-21T19:19:00.000-08:00

I recently got to be the florist for a friend's wedding and it was so fun! I made the bridal bouquet, centerpieces and aisle arrangements. It was really simple, everything was just babies breath but it was nice to learn the process with something so easy but beautiful!

This was the hall where they had the ring ceremony.

The aisle arrangements tied to the chairs.

Unfortunately I didn't get a good picture of the bouquet when it was fresh. This is at the end of the day and it had been through a lot, but I was really proud of it. :)

The reception hall, the centerpieces were really simple but they turned out pretty nice.

I did a couple of arrangements for the entrance as well.

Lark and Kyle are such a cute couple and it was a pleasure to do their flowers! I also made Kyle's Boutonniere. They were wonderful and I wish them all the best!

Avocado Fries

2011-11-09T22:49:00.000-08:00

I've been wanting to blog about this for a long time. This is one of my latest favorite recipes. I never really bought avocados much until I saw this! They are so delicious and super easy! I am getting hungry just looking at them.

So here's the recipe:

1 avocado

1 egg

panko

canola oil

Slice the avocado into thin strips and skin it. Put the egg and panko into separate bowls and stir up the egg. Dip each strip into the egg and then coat each strip in the panko. Make sure it is covered generously. Once all the strips have been coated fry the avocado on the stove top in the oil until golden brown. Set avocados on a paper towel and lightly salt them. Once somewhat cool, enjoy!

A Very Harry Halloween

2011-11-04T21:02:00.000-07:00

Harry and I celebrated Halloween on Saturday since we had our ward party. Last year we were engaged and went to a crazy college party and this year we handed out candy to little children in the church. We are married. But it was so much fun!

We dressed up as Harry Potter and Hermione (or Cho Chang, I couldn't decide.) Harry's dad was also in town and was a very good sport about being Dumbledore. My only regret is forgetting to take a picture of him.

I made Harry's glasses out of pipe cleaner. I loved calling him Harry all night, because it's not at all out of the norm but he really WAS Harry!

Harris carved a Harry Potter pumpkin at my request and he did it completely free hand! (A little Harris T. trivia for you, he really enjoys drawing and painting.) We had this sitting outside our door and had the Harry Potter theme song playing as we passed out candy. We pretty much ruled that hallway.

Some of our favorite costumes from the ward, The Jimenez family won.

I loved the Paxtons costumes. They were facetime!

Can't wait for next year! Superman and Lois Lane? Perhaps...

22

2011-10-27T11:04:00.000-07:00

My birthday was in September and I never got around to writing about it. Harris made it so special. He picked me up from work and blind folded me. We drove for a while and finally he got me out of the car and and walked me around for a bit. I couldn't really tell where we were but I knew it was a forest-like area. Finally he told me to "stand here." All of the sudden a bench was being scooted under me and I was lifted off the ground. Harris took the blindfold off and I was on a ski lift at Sundance. It was a lovely ride. At the top I noticed a little picnic and I nudged Harry and said, "oh look, how cute!" Then I realized who it was for. whoops.
We ate our little sandwiches and Harris gave flowers!
Later that night we ate dinner with all of our friends at Terra Mia and had a little bon fire at the Anderson home. It was a wonderful birthday! Thanks honey!

Ry Ry's Birthday

2011-10-20T11:05:00.000-07:00

Ryan's 24th birthday was on Saturday, so on sunday we had a little bbq celebration! Ryan invited a few of his friends over to our house and we made lots of meat. I haven't had short ribs in a very very long time so it was delicious.

Some of the boys cooked the meat outside on our front porch.

Harry, my handsome, harmonizing, husband, serenaded us a bit. It was lovely, and I snapped this cute little diddy.

Happy birthday Ryan! We love you!

Shout OUT.

2011-09-23T12:09:00.000-07:00

My big brother Ryan got engaged yesterday to Mayra Lugo! She's a great little lady and we're so excited to have her as part of our fam. Most importantly, Ryan loves her very very much.

They are super excited too. ;)

Love you both!

Trovy's Wedding: Wedding of the YEAR

2011-09-18T09:40:00.000-07:00

Our dear friends Trevor Cone and Jovy Delos Reyes finally tied the knot! Their wedding was in the Manhattan temple on September 3rd. It was a great wedding and I cried like a little baby during the sealing. Our Jovs is married!

They were married in the morning and had a luncheon reception at the Riviera, in Massapequa on Long Island. It was gorgeous.

Outside was beautiful. We loved the view.

It was held at this little boat house here.

I was at the head table so Harry came and visited me every once in while. I sat next to Alana and I am so sad because the day after the wedding she caught a flight to Utah and then a one way flight back to Hawaii with her husband.

Harris' parents came up to NY to see us and come to the wedding. It was really nice to see them and get to spend time with them.

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Cone! It was a beautiful wedding and I know you will have a beautiful life together!

New York Minute

2011-09-16T18:43:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago Harris and I got to go to New York City for six days. It was fantastic and I love that city. We got in at about 6:30 a.m and that night we went to go see The Lion King on Broadway. It was my first Broadway show and it was amazing. The costumes were fantastic and the performers voices gave me chills. Nala was my favorite. She had a good, strong, black lady voice. Loved it.

This is the face of Mufasa that they use for the part when he speaks to Simba from heaven.

This was the Scar costume. They did a great job with making him a villain.

A day in central park

We went to FAO Schwartz and played on the "BIG" piano.

We stopped in at Tiffany's on 5th Ave. This is the famous Tiffany diamond. It is 128 karat diamond. holy moly. (don't ask me why a bird is on it, I have no idea.)

This is the biggest hibiscus I've ever seen and it was in Battery Park. Lady Liberty is tiny behind me.

Ground Zero just days before the opening of the memorial on the 10 year anniversary.

New York skyline.

Loved every minute of this trip. The reason we came was for Trevor and Jovy's wedding, which will have its own post entirely. Coming soon!

Harry

2011-08-23T22:45:00.000-07:00

A few people have told me that they think my husband looks like Harry Potter.

I have no idea what they are talking about.

Boating

2011-08-09T15:17:00.000-07:00

Yesterday after work Mr. Clarke and I went boating for a couple of hours with the Jackmans. It was so fun and so nice of the Jackmans to invite us! I went on the tube and apparently looked miserable, but I really had so much fun on it. I had to stop because I was starting to feel a little sick, an ongoing battle I have with large bodies of water. Mr. Clarke went on the tube, the wakeboard and the kneeboard. He had a blast.

I did bring my camera but unfortunately it was dead. Fortunately, I do have a picture of Mr. Clarke from a previous boating experience. Unfortunately, I did not even know him when this was taken. Fortunately, he looks good wake boarding. :)

Bachelorette Season Finale

2011-08-04T09:00:00.000-07:00

Anyone that knows me knows that if you bring up the bachelorette I get extremely excited. This happened at a relief society activity recently with the women pictured below. We all got crazy excited talking about it and decided to throw a bachelorette season finale party, hosted by Sarah Tyau. She has a big screen projector and it made every moment magical. I felt Ben's pain and JP's joy. It even made the mud date feel ten times more uncomfortable.

Sarah was also sweet enough to provide most of the treats. She made chocolate covered strawberries and popcorn and lots of other goodies. She even lit candles to set the mood.

Usually I just make Mr. Clarke watch it with me, but it's so different when you have a bunch of women who are actually into it. We kept talking over each other and usually had to rewind to catch what we missed.

Thanks for the fun party Sarah!

(I stole this picture off of Sarah's blog, so thanks for that too.)

Twenty Five

2011-08-02T13:43:00.000-07:00

Today is my dear husband's 25th birthday! I gave him his present this morning (Ray Ban sunglasses) and we are going out to dinner tonight in Salt Lake. He is so sweet and good to me and deserves the best birthday of his life!

I love you my sweet.

Post Wedding

2011-08-01T11:47:00.001-07:00

A friend of mine is building her photography portfolio and needed a couple to take engagement photos. She took pictures of us, so I just call them our "post wedding photos."

These were my two favorites.

Thanks Meredith! You did a great job!

Roy and Kelly

2011-07-31T09:45:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, I got to take Roy and his fiancee Kelly's engagement pictures. They are getting married on August 23rd and I am so excited for them! Roy and I have known each other since 7th grade and he is a great friend. Kelly is so cute and nice and they were so cute together! Here are a few of my favorites.

They loved to kiss each other. Too cute.

They were great sports and let me pose them however I wanted.

Roy really enjoyed doing his poses as well.

They are such a cute couple and I couldn't be happier for them!

Snowflower Surprise!

2011-07-27T13:02:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, when Harris picked me up from work, he asked if I was up for something spontaneous and made me wear a blindfold. During the hour long drive, we chatted, I called my mom and we drove for about an hour. When we arrived at the mystery destination, he told me the following story.

Earlier in the day, Harris went golfing in Park City for a work thing and had lunch with a man and his fiance. Whilst at lunch the man told Harris that they were staying at Snowflower, a ski lodge, because he had won a two night stay. However, the man and his fiance had to leave that day and wouldn't be able to use the second night.

Harris proceeded to unblindfold me and said, "He gave us the room for the second night!" What a nice man. :D

It was wonderful. I called my boss and told him about it and he told me I could just come in at noon instead of 8 am. Then we got all spruced up and went out to dinner at the Silver Star. It was delicious. Afterward we went back to the hotel and got into comfy clothes and watched X-Men and ate popcorn. I love Harry. He's a great husband and friend and likes to do nice things for me. :)

Here is a picture I stole off the world wide web. Harris was an hour late to pick me up from work because he was packing. (he told me there was lots of traffic and all the rain was holding him up.) In the mad rush he didn't think to bring a camera. It was worth the wait. :)

Another heisted photograph. I think it looks pretty in the winter time.

Thank you for a marvelous little mini vacation Harris! I love you!

Stadium of Fire

2011-07-19T14:53:00.000-07:00

I'm a little late to the party, but this was our fourth of July weekend. Stadium of fire was on July 2nd at the LaVell Edwards stadium. We were very lucky because we live right next to it! This year's performers were David Archuleta and Brad Paisley, neither of which I'm a big fan, but it was still cool to watch David on the jumbo tron and hear Brad.

These are some friends we invited from Pixair, Brian and his wife Audrey.

These are all the people we didn't invite, but showed up on our lawn anyway. (This was the beginning, by the time it was over, their were about 45 more people than this. It was crazy.)

We didn't want to deprive people of the fireworks show, so we didn't kick them out. Now I know why someone would park in a strangers yard to see them. It was the best fireworks show I had ever seen and Harris said it was even better than the one they have in Washington DC. Amazing!

Sorry I forgot to take a picture of Harris and me, but you know what we look like. :) Our actual fourth of july wasn't too eventful, we went to a friend's house for a bbq and then went and saw fast five at the dollar theater.

Dishwasher

2011-07-01T08:43:00.001-07:00

Before Harris and I got married, he knew how much I hated doing the dishes and bought me a dishwasher! What a sweet man. Unfortunately, what we thought were dishwasher hookups, were not. So we are selling this beaut for the magnificent price of $70. If you or anyone you know needs a dishwasher refer them to us. Its a Hot Point and in really good condition. Thanks guys!

Crested Butte

2011-06-25T19:09:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago Harris and I went with our friends to Crested Butte, Colorado. Jovy's Fiance, Trevor, has a cabin there so we all went up for Memorial day weekend.

It was a bit chilly the first day, so we had to wear shoes. Naturally, the only shoes we brought were for hiking so we got to look real good while we went shopping.

(What made this even better was that we saw an old lady wearing the exact same shoes as me. Please excuse the way I look, I was standing funny.)

Harris found this rock wall and actually got up pretty high for not having a harness.

We took a hike up to these caves that nearly killed me, but it was a beautiful view.

This was the front yard of our cabin. One morning, I just happened to wake up at about 5 am and I went to the window. five feet from the window was a black bear. I woke up Harris and we both watched him for a minute before I went to wake up the rest of the house. Everyone had been talking about how they were dying to see a bear, so I figured they wouldn't be too annoyed when I knocked on their doors and told them that there was a bear in the front yard. He walked around in the driveway right behind us.

On our way back we took a scenic route and found this beautiful canyon.

It turns out that that peak right in the middle of the photo is a famous peak called the Curicanti Needle. It was so beautiful and big.

Our trip was so fun and we got to eat a lot of good food. If you are ever there you should go to Secret Stash Pizza. They have really weird pizzas but they are absolutely delicious. In addition to the bear, we also saw lots of wildlife, a fox, an elk and a porcupine. It was a great and much needed trip!

Dad and Ryan

2011-06-14T09:09:00.001-07:00

A few months ago Ryan found out that he had been accepted to BYU and then in April he and Dad came to Provo to get him settled in. We found Ryan an apartment in the last place I lived before I got married. Dad stayed with us the whole time in our spare bedroom. It was really nice getting to spend time with him and it's also nice having another Jung here in Provo.

One night we went to the Salt Lake Temple and did a session. I have never been inside the Salt Lake Temple and I was blown away by how beautiful it was.

I am so happy to be able to see Ryan often.

And so is Harry.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

2011-06-04T10:31:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to wish the world's greatest wife,

greatest friend and mother,

greatest daughter and grandmother,

and greatest mother-in-law,

A Happy Birthday! We love you mom!

More Pixair

2011-05-22T21:34:00.000-07:00

Harris likes this video better. So I am doing another post. Once I post, I do not change.

P.S. I hear that some of you have been reading my blog. I appreciate comments.

Pixair

2011-05-21T09:36:00.000-07:00

About two months ago, Harris got a new job with an aerial footage company called Pixair. He is a producer and is loving it! Basically his job is to build relationships with potential clients and then sell their services to those clients.

What is special about them is that they use a remote controlled helicopter that runs on a battery and a camera is mounted to it. The two guys that started the business operate it. One flies it and the other wears these goggles that show him only what the camera sees and then controls the camera. Since they aren't using gas, a real helicopter, a camera or helicopter crew, the cost is dramatically lower to get these shots.

They work with a lot of resorts and national parks and travel all over the world. They have also done a few movies and are currently in Florida filming great white sharks for National Geographic! The perk of this job is that as producer, Harris gets to travel with them to any job he sells (and a few others) and bring his lovely, ever grateful wife!

We are super excited about this job and I am so proud of him!

This is something Pixair shot for the news when the Provo tabernacle burned down.

To see more of what they're all about click here to see their website. Harris even has a little bio. :)

Clayton

2011-05-04T11:41:00.000-07:00

Harris' brother Clayton came to Utah for a conference and we got to spend a day with him. It was so nice to show him around Salt Lake and Provo. We love Clayton!

The brothers

All of us at Temple Square.

The Nest on the Hill

2011-04-03T08:22:00.000-07:00

Here is our humble little abode. You may remember this house from this post where I make a snowman with a "friend." (aka my future husband.) Harris was living in this house with some friends but now we live here! At first I have to say, when Harris suggested that we move in here, I was a little skeptical. But now I LOVE it and will be sad when we have to move. Its a pretty isolated little house on top of a hill. It is so cute and has a great view. We even have a little family of deer that sometimes comes and grazes in our front yard. I live in a little fairy tale house!

It looks a little shabby here, but looks so much prettier right now in the springtime.

Our view to the right

Our view to the left. Let's go inside now, shall we?

The living room! I finally got around to making it look decent and I absolutely love my little living room.

another view

Our mantle. I wish the fireplace actually worked, but I made it look pretty instead. The picture on the wall is Harris' grandparents wedding picture. His mother gave it to me as a bridal shower gift. Then we have our engagement photo and wedding invitation framed.

The kitchen

More kitchen. I found this little Italian poster and put it up here since Harris is Mr. Italy and I thought it would be cute.

Our bedroom. When Ryan got back from his mission, he brought me a little mexican sun wall hanging that I have always had in every room I've had since I came to Provo. I couldn't not put it up above the bed. I also love that the window looks out to the front view of the house.

Dresser with a little framed picture and quote that Harris' grandfather made us.

I LOVE my little house on the hill. Come visit us some time, we love having guests!

Mr. and Mrs. Anderson

2011-03-22T16:34:00.000-07:00

So the very next weekend after Harris and I went to Canada (see post below) we were all the way on the east coast for the sealing. It was nice to be there with all of our friends and to see Harris' family.

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Curt Anderson!

I got to do the flowers again! I did the bridal bouquet and the boutonniere.

Harris and all of his friends. It was so great for all of the six of them to be together again. For those of you who don't know, this is a very tight group.

All of the wives... so far.

Harris, Curt and David.

After the sealing we had some time before the open house so we got to play with Harris' nephew Penn.

Such a little ham, he knew when a camera was in his face.

Oh Canada!

2011-03-20T19:23:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago Harris and I got to go to Canada! We went up for Curt and Marisa's wedding reception. They got married the next week in the Washington DC temple, but due to immigration laws, if they wanted to have a Canada reception, had to do it the week before.

It was my very first time out of the country and it was beautiful, but COLD!

Driving to Banff. The mountains were huge but so beautiful.

This is what I looked like by the time we got there. Fifteen hours in a van with seven people and a small dog.

Harris being so helpful and carrying other people's bags.

As soon as we got to the hotel we had to get ready for photos and then pretty much go straight to the reception.

The happy couple.

Me and Curty.

There were four groomsmen...

and nine bridesmaids!!

The scenery looking out of the foyer of the reception.

The ballroom before everyone came in. I felt so fancy! Someone noted that it looked like a Kardashian wedding.

And of course, it wouldn't have been Curt and Marisa's wedding without booty shakin! Harris and Curt doing the macarena.

The hotel where we stayed and had the reception. It is called the Banff Springs Hotel. It was so beautiful and I felt quite lucky. It was such a fun trip!

Personal Florist

2011-02-23T17:57:00.000-08:00

You can call me that... It's my new title.

My dear friend Marisa is getting married in just a few short weeks and she took her bridals a little while ago. She woke up and realized that she didn't have a bouquet for the pictures. So who did she call? ME! I was so excited. We went to the flower shop down the road from my house and picked out some roses that matched her colors, got some babies breath and greens and voila! a beautiful bridal bouquet.

What do you think?

Happy One Year

2011-02-15T23:15:00.001-08:00

January 22 marked one year since my first date with Harris. I can't believe that it has only been a year, but I also cant believe that we got married before that year mark. crazy.

Anyway, Harris was extremely wonderful and took me to The Grand America for the night. I was speechless when we pulled into the valet and he said, "We're staying here tonight." He then took me out to the gateway and took me shopping and to dinner without a single complaint. I have the BEST husband.

I have never had a turn down service, but it was wonderful. We walked into our room and music was playing, there were two boxes of chocolates, and our robes pulled out for us. Heaven.

I pretty much forgot to take any pictures, but here is one. We were leaving the hotel and Harris thought I looked cute. Don't mind the glasses, I just thought they were funny.

Best date ever.

Honeymoon

2011-01-24T11:16:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures from our honeymoon. We spent the first two nights at the 'Ihilani.

Our first dinner as husband and wife at "Just Tacos" right next to the hotel.

Our room and Harris watching TV after dinner.

We went to Kauai on Christmas day and went surfing in Kalapaki bay

We stayed at the Kauai Marriott in Lihue. I have always wanted to come here for my honeymoon, the pool is amazing!

One of my Dad's friends works at the Kauai marriott and had this little plate of goodies delivered to us.

We rented a car to drive around the island and this is what was available on short notice.

The view from our room

We drove to 'Opaepaka falls.

This goose liked me

But wouldn't let Harris pass so easily.

Back on Oahu we drove to the North shore and saw a monk seal

and a turtle

and a peacock

somebody found my goblet... thank goodness.

We drove up to Makapu'u

and hiked to the lighthouse

Wish we were still on our honeymoon!

R.I.P.

2011-01-23T18:13:00.000-08:00

Guido has died.

(Sorry for the backwards pic, I took it on photobooth. The card reads, "Ciao! My name is GUIDO.)

New Addition

2011-01-20T10:28:00.001-08:00

Last night, while Harris was at work, I decided that our family needed to get a little bigger. So I took a trip to petsmart and bought our new goldfish, GUIDO! (This isn't him, it's really hard to take a picture of a fish in a bowl, but it looks exactly like him.) Harris came home and instantly fell in love with him. He lives in his bowl in our kitchen and loves life. We love him!

Love and Marriage

2011-01-06T18:02:00.000-08:00

On December 23rd, Harris and I got married! It was such a beautiful and exciting day. The weather even cleared for us. The day was such a whirlwind. We were sealed at 1 in the afternoon and we were out of the temple shortly after. We then took pictures for a good three hours until our ring ceremony at 5 (which really happened at 6). Then we had our reception at the Polynesian Cultural Center until 8 and drove away EXHAUSTED but happy. It didn't even seem real but it was so fun to be the bride and to be with Harris.

Sorry, the pictures are a little backwards.

Amber Mozo was my photographer. She is absolutely amazing and so talented at only 15. We were so lucky to have her.

The bridal hula to Pua 'Ahihi.

The bouquet toss and my beautiful maid of honor, Alana.

The Cake

Head Table

Like I said, Amber is amazing.

One of my favorite pictures taken by the Hamiltons.

Another Hamilton shot that I love.

I got my dress at a little hole in the wall place that smelled weird in Provo. When I tried it on, I thought it was pretty but was also pretty sick of trying on dresses. To tell you the truth I didn't absolutely love it until I put it on after the sealing. Now I wish there was another occasion to wear it to!

We are back in Provo now just trying to get settled into our house. I'll keep you posted on that, I have a feeling it is going to be a constant work in progress whenever I am not studying or working, or letting everyone know what the Clarke Family is up to here in little old Provo!

Contract

2010-11-26T21:21:00.000-08:00

Hello friends and family! Most of you are aware that I am getting married next month and moving in with the love of my life. However, we do NOT want to start our life together with two rents to pay so I'm asking you all to pick your brain for ANYONE that needs a place to live in Provo. I desperately need to sell my housing contract. My apartment is in Chatham Towne on 900 East.

It is really cute, with wonderful roommates. It has two shared bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms and TONS of storage. (attic and basement!)

PLEASE help me out. If

you know of anyone, let me know!

Thanks :)

The outside of the complex, isn't it cute?!

Ingy

2010-11-15T16:52:00.001-08:00

Ingrid Michaelson came back to SLC this year! We had so much fun last time, we decided to go again. She is really great live and so funny!

Here I am with my same crew as last time. She's gotten way bigger since last time. We had to wait in a line that went ALL the way around the block and it was snowing.

Ingrid!

What a great night. I was so excited, The balcony area was for 21+ and I got to use my ID for the first time. :)

Fall Flowers

2010-11-06T23:12:00.000-07:00

I'm taking a floral design class this semester. We learn about different types of flowers, how to care for them and then we learn how to arrange them in labs. I love it and I love having an arrangement to take home every week.

This is my latest one.

ICEE you!

2010-11-01T20:09:00.000-07:00

Harris and I matched our costumes this year. Can you guess what we were?

I'll give you a hint...

I later threw my straw into the crowd and my straps broke.

Too much dancing I guess...

Bridal Shower

2010-10-27T16:37:00.000-07:00

Harris and I got to go back to Maryland for my bridal shower. A bunch of women in his ward, and who are close to him, threw it for me. It was so sweet. We had a little brunch and then opened gifts. They were so nice and I liked meeting all the women who have been the most important in Harris' life.

This is my sister-in-law to be, Rebecca. She came all the way from Brooklyn to be at the shower.

It was decorated beautifully.

Ann and me outside of Harris' house. They had leis sent in from Hawaii for Ann and I.

We went to the botanical gardens and I found white ginger! Too bad the flowers were dead.

Then we went to the eastern market with his Dad. We went last time too, and I love it every time.

Outside the market.

The market had a flower section and they had the prettiest flowers. These are Dahlias and I love them.

It was a whirlwind weekend. We flew to Long beach and then to DC and got in at 5 a.m. I got to sleep for about an hour and a half before the shower. Then we left at 5 p.m. the next day. We were tired but it was really fun and nice to be out of Utah on a little trip together. :)

I'm in!

2010-10-18T18:21:00.000-07:00

The decision letters for the advertising program went out today and guess who got accepted? ME!!

I flipped my letter open and immediately read the "congratulations!" I started screaming and jumping up and down. It was a dream come true!

The acceptance letter right after I opened it!

Harris took me out to Farr's for frozen yogurt to celebrate. :)

I have a REAL major now!

Homecoming

2010-10-13T20:29:00.001-07:00

Last weekend Harris and I went with our friends, Alana and Tyler, to the Homecoming dance at the Aquarium. It was so fun, we all felt like we were in high school again.

Alana and I

My date :)

We even bought Harris and Tyler boutineers for the occasion.

General Conference

2010-10-11T17:29:00.000-07:00

Harris and I got to go to general conference in Salt Lake last weekend. It was my first time to be in the conference center for conference. It was really cool and Harris' dad was in town and got to come with us.

We went for the afternoon session of each day.

While Harris and his Dad were in priesthood session I walked around temple square and I found a few friends. This is Ting Ting. She used to live above me in the blue house at BYUH and now she is serving in Temple Square.

I hope we get to go in April!

21st Birthday

2010-09-28T22:18:00.000-07:00

My birthday was on the 15th and everyone made it very special for me. The night before, Alana and Jovy took me to Noodles & Company for dinner.

The night of Harris recreated our first date, minus the snowman. We went to the Thai Kitchen and painted plates at color me mine. It was a great night and I loved spending it with Harris!

The Avett Brothers!!!

2010-09-26T15:17:00.000-07:00

First of all, I have failed to mention that I am back in Provo!! It's been great to be back and be with Harris again.

A couple of weeks ago, Harris took me to see my favorite band, The Avett Brothers, play in Deer Valley. It was so fun and The music was GREAT. After the show, I noticed a crowd behind the concession stand and we decided to see what was going on. It turns out that the band was taking pictures and signing autographs, so we got to meet them!! I was so excited and they were so nice.

Here we are with Bob Crawford, the stand up Bassist.

Scott Avett!! My favorite!

Seth Avett was so sincere, humble and polite. He seemed so honestly flattered when I told him they were my favorite band.

The Cellist! He was really good, I've never seen anyone rock out on a cello the way he did.

I was so happy and grateful that Harris took me to this concert. I will never EVER forget this!

Thank you Harris!

This was my favorite song of the night, I and Love and You.

Deets...

2010-08-26T13:50:00.001-07:00

I promised details about the wedding and proposal. SO instead of writing it all out, I've written it all out on our wedding website!

Here it is, check it out!

...and dont forget to sign the guestbook :)

Wisdoms

2010-08-13T11:08:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had the blessed opportunity to have my wisdom teeth pulled. Luckily, I only had the ones on the top so I am not in too much pain.

I was awake during the procedure. I has a local anesthetic and laughing gas which, as a matter of fact, does make you laugh.

My Dr. was amazing and I didn't feel a thing. He was really quick and barely made any noise. All I could do was focus on how the room was spinning and how this is how it must feel to be on drugs. Then he was finished! I couldn't believe how quick it was.

Now I am home recovering and eating lots of yogurt and ice cream. I want real food.

SURPRISE!

2010-07-21T13:09:00.000-07:00

We're engaged!

More details to come, but right now Harris and I are off to the Arizona Memorial. :)

The Monuments

2010-06-17T20:16:00.000-07:00

We thought sunday night would be a great time to go see all the monuments. I've seen pictures of the monuments before but they were truly impressive and beautiful in person.

The Jefferson Memorial and the ghost of Harris. Yes, we did that on purpose. We're artsy.

This building was truly impressive. The quotes on the walls were very inspiring. I had to be careful, I was on the verge of wanting to change my major to Political Science. Its no wonder that Harris is.

Its a bit blurry, but he's still cute.

A founding father and me

On the steps

Later we went to the Lincoln Memorial. This was beautiful. Quick story, we asked a man to take a picture for us in front of Lincoln. He was clearly the right man for the job cause when we looked at the picture after, it was us and Lincoln's legs. But it was a good picture of us, so I cropped it and now its just a picture of us with a ton of people looking at something in the background.

We had someone else take a picture who was a little more in the loop with stranger/ photo etiquette.

If you click on this picture and look closely, the words, "I have a dream" are carved into this step. This is where he stood when MLK gave the speech. Very cool.

Lincoln Memorial

My favorite picture of the whole trip!

Sunday in DC

2010-06-15T00:27:00.000-07:00

On sunday, Harris took me to on a drive around Bethesda. We saw some of the big houses in the area. This house was $25 million and all the materials were imported from Italy. It was huge. It looked like The Bachelor house to me.

the view from the bottom of the drive way

This is rumored to be Michael Jordan's home. This was as much of a picture I could get.

After we did the house tour, (We also saw Mike Tyson's house) we went to see the temple. It was absolutely beautiful.

Hello handsome.

It was a little bigger than I thought it was going to be.

We took a walk around the grounds and Harris took lots of pictures of the temple, the flowers and the wildlife.

We found a wild turtle! The only turtles I've ever seen in the wild were sea turtles. He was cute.

Harris kept trying to sneak up on this deer to take a picture of her, but she kept running away. So I just stood still and got this shot. She liked me better. :)

HELLO Brooklyn!

2010-06-11T18:37:00.000-07:00

Our second day in New York began in Brooklyn. We walked from Clayton's house to the subway station.

We took the subway to Manhattan.

Once we got to Manhattan, we took a stroll down fifth avenue. Of course, out of all the shops which store did I get most excited to see?

We made a friend outside of Rockefeller Plaza.

Yes, those are windshield wipers on his glasses.

Oh, 30 Rock.

We went to the top of the Rock, all seventy stories up.

The view from the top

Central Park

The Empire State

Harris and New York.

Carnegie Hall

Columbus Circle (I took this picture from the top of the Mandarin Oriental.)

This place was called, "The Burger Joint." Its inside a really fancy hotel and you would never know its there unless someone took you there. Harris and I got burgers to go for lunch and it was really good.

We ate our lunch in Central Park. Central Park was my favorite. It was so pretty and there was so much to see. This guy played the saxophone for us while we ate on top of a boulder.

My favorite thing about Central Park is that there are hundreds of trees around you and then you look up and see these huge buildings. I never thought buildings could be pretty until I came to New York.

If anyone has seen 27 dresses, this is the boat house where Katherine Heigl's character wants to have her wedding reception.

Pretty arches.

After Central Park, we had to take a cab to Madison Square Garden to catch our bus back to DC. While we waited, I took pictures of Harris. :)

I loved New York and I had such a great time. Harris was such a good sport/tour guide and let me do all the touristy New York things I wanted, like get a hot dog from a street vendor (which I forgot to add to the post, but just imagine me holding a hot dog and there you have it). I can't wait to go back one day.

Let's hear it for New York

2010-06-09T21:47:00.001-07:00

For those of you who don't know, last week I got to go to Washington DC to visit Harris and we took a little trip to New York! It was so much fun. We took a bus from DC and we were dropped off at Penn station in front of Madison square garden. I was a little overwhelmed, but got over it.

Harris and I on the subway

A restaurant we found

Harris' brother Clayton gave me a walking tour of Manhattan. He took us to this place in Chelsea called the High Line. It was an abandon metro track that they turned into a boardwalk/ garden kind of thing. It was beautiful and Harris loved it.

In Soho, waiting for Clayton (Harris' brother) to get off work. Notice my sunglasses, those were the only things i bought in the city and I didn't even buy them. I left my sunglasses at home so Harris got a pair off the street for $3. They worked and I liked them.

We went to Battery Park. You can't see it, but thats the statue of liberty in between our heads.

More of the High Line.

Me and Clayton

We liked these townhouses. We thought they looked like the apartment from Hitch.

This is Harris with his three month old nephew/godson Penn at dinner. He was very cute. Penn was biting Harris' thumb pretty hard in this picture.

We liked the design of this restaurant. Turns out this is the restaurant of a famous chef. We did not know that when we took this picture.

We finished our very busy day off in Times Square.

We then took a cab to Brooklyn where we stayed with Clayton and his wife Rebecca.

Birthday Girl

2010-06-08T18:40:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday!!

Sorry its late, but I just thought I say happy belated birthday to a wonderful mother and grandmother! We love you!

I'm HOME!!

2010-04-27T12:45:00.000-07:00

My first year in Provo has finally come to a close. I got home on Saturday at about 8 p.m. My flight home was GREAT. I flew to San Francisco first and no one sat next to me so I could spread out. Then I had a short lay over and then my flight to Honolulu was even better. I had an entire row of three seats to myself, and my flight was 1/2 an hour early.

Since being home I've loved spending lots of time with my family and especially with this cute little bug.

And I've also enjoyed going to the beach :)

Moab

2010-04-20T16:45:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, I went on a ward camping trip to Moab. It was the perfect way to end my year in Utah, by going to see some of the wonders of the world.

This was our camping spot.

We did a service project by paving the hiking trial with rocks. We found these cool train tracks and of course, took pictures. This railroad is still in use.

These are the girls from my ward I drove down with. Lauren, my roommate Berit and her cousin Heidi. We also had a guy drive down with us. He had so much fun driving 4 1/2 hours with 4 girls belting the Glee soundtrack. We got there at about 8 the night before and there was no room for us in the tents so we spooned in Lauren's Highlander (Minus the boy of course). It was actually pretty comfortable.

We hiked delicate arch! Now I know what the thing on all the Utah license plates is. :) It was amazing.

Me sitting on 'ol delicate

Festival of Colors!

2010-04-17T12:16:00.001-07:00

I'm a little behind on my posting, but a few weeks ago was the festival of colors!! It's this big hare krishna festival in Spanish Fork where everyone throws lots of color and gets covered in it.

Harris and I wore these special suits, so we didn't get as dirty. Some people thought this took the fun out of it, I say the fun was in wearing these gems.

Harris in his

As soon as we got there some random people ran up to me and threw orange on me. I didn't appreciate that too much.
Cloud of color
We looked pretty good, and once we took those suits off, we were clean! from the neck down anyway..

The Ball

2010-04-07T16:06:00.000-07:00

Harris and I went to a ball two weeks ago. It was a charity event for the United Way. There was really good desserts, an auction and dancing. Jovy and her date Christian came with us.

The group

Harris and I

They had karaoke too. People were dancing to the karaoke, you can guess how awesome that was. We sang to a whole new world. We were the last people to leave, everybody pretty much cleared out after our performance.

Me and Jovs.

This entire thing was made of chocolate. It was a tower of a pretty chocolate tube and a chocolate mousse inside. Heaven.

BYU Luau

2010-04-04T12:20:00.001-07:00

This semester I got to dance in the BYU Luau. It was a lot of practice, (giving up my saturdays for 3 months) but it was so much fun and I loved being able to dance again. I was in the Hawaii and Tahiti section.
Here is my cheering section. Harris and Jovy and Harris' friends Curt and David.
I forgot my camera both nights, so I pulled this of facebook. I'm on the far left we are the last full couple you can see.

Both nights went great and I'm really glad that my friends and cousins could come.
Its also on youtube.

I'm the second couple from the left.

Please..

2010-03-22T11:46:00.000-07:00

Come to the BYU Luau tomorrow night or wednesday night if you are in Utah. I'm dancing in the Tahiti and Hawaii section. Tickets are $5 in the Wilk for the show only. We've practiced all semester... so come watch me shake it.

Sledding

2010-03-13T15:10:00.000-08:00

A couple days after I got out of the hospital, I went sledding at rock canyon park. I was really good at it.

I've Learned Everything I Know From Grey's

2010-03-11T14:05:00.000-08:00

Last Wednesday night I was in the hospital. I woke up that morning with a horrible stomach ache and thought it would go away as I went about the day. I got through half a class before I made Harris pick me up from school. I went home and made leis for a Hawaiian language presentation I had that day. Harris gave me a blessing that I'd feel better and I think that helped get me through my presentation because immediately after, I felt even worse. I literally had to bite my lip at times to keep from screaming. It felt like someone was ripping my stomach out of my body.
We went to the BYU health center where I got an x-ray, some blood work and a pregnancy test. (You can imagine how great it felt to have my boyfriend of one month sit there with me while we waited for the results of my obviously negative prego test. It was actually really funny.)
After all of that, they said my liver and bowels looked enlarged and that it wasn't just gas because I shouldn't be in this much pain, especially after drinking a numbing solution. So they sent me to the emergency room to get a CT. That was sort of fun. The table moves around and talks to you. They gave me two doses of morphine and according to Harris I was saying some pretty funny things and slurring my words.
The doctor thought maybe it was appendicitis, but the CT said everything looked normal. Apparently though, it can look normal in the early stages. So they sent me home and said to come back in 6-8 hours if the pain gets worse. I was totally sedated at this point and wanted to puke.
Thankfully, cousin Chelsea was kind enough to let me stay at her house that night. she made me a smoothie that I took about 2 sips of and then went straight to sleep. She was there with me in the ER along with Harris and they both made me laugh which made my stomach feel just GREAT. It made things a little better though. I'm gad they were there and I'm glad Chels could take this wonderful picture of me.

Harris doesn't actually look this queer, please excuse. He was actually very sweet. He was supposed to be going to the Bahamas that night. He had a free ticket from his brother that was going to expire, but he felt too bad leaving me so he stayed. What a lovely boy.

The whole time Chelsea and I were using medical terms we've learned from Grey's Anatomy. Too bad McDreamy and McSteamy weren't there.

Painting

2010-03-02T09:28:00.000-08:00

I painted this about a week after I got back to Provo. It hangs above the sink in my kitchen.

Happy Heart Day

2010-02-24T11:19:00.000-08:00

For Valentines Day, I walked across the frozen Deer Lake...

with this boy...
his name is Harris and he is from D.C.

Our most recent project has been this plaster volcano we found at michael's for $12. When it erupts, I will post pictures.

Helium

2010-02-10T17:51:00.000-08:00

So the other night my roommate Berit and I were sitting in the kitchen, when in walks our two other roommates Kati and Suzy who decide to grace us with a performance. They had helium balloons and this was the result.

I love these girls.

Sundance Film Festival Adventure

2010-02-01T20:05:00.000-08:00

On Saturday night my friend Jovy and I went to the Sundance Film Festival in Park City. We didn't see any movies because they were all sold out, but walking around was fun. I have decided that I love Park City. Just walking around there makes you feel like you've just stepped into a Christmas movie.

Jovy and I on a bridge, it was snowing a lot.

We found this cute little alley with christmas lights.

ummm.... yeah.

We decided to get dessert at this really fancy place that checks your coats and gives you really small portions of everything. There were really rich looking people in this place that were talking about finances and things of that nature.

The famous Egyptian Theater

I'd like you all to meet my new boyfriend.

So this is where our story gets a little crazy. On the way home, Jovy and I got caught in a blizzard and it got so bad that we had to stay the night in a Holiday Inn in Heber. We just kept saying to each other, "can you believe this?"

A little midnight snack...

and some games.

The next morning we got a complimentary breakfast. Then we had to scrape all the ice and snow off my car and drive home. The roads were still a little icy and foggy so its a really good thing we didn't try to drive home that night. We made it home safe and sound and just in time for the last hour of church!

Winter Wonderland

2010-01-23T16:59:00.000-08:00

Last night it started snowing really hard. We got almost a foot of snow and I was so excited that I went outside and played in it till about 1 a.m.

This is on campus the this morning. All the trees are covered in white like this one.

This is the snowman me and my friend made last night. We named him Heber and he was a "special" snowman. Unfortunatley, he looked even more special today. He had potatoes for eyes in case you couldn't tell.

Staches, Painting and the Avett Brothers

2010-01-10T18:37:00.000-08:00

Home was wonderful. Unfortunately, Picasa will only let me post 4 pictures at a time. So I made this wonderful movie to show you what my break was like.

I painted this for my mother for christmas.

I'd say one of the funnest nights I had was skating behind hale 6 with Ryan and his friend Ian who spent christmas with us. We bought mustaches for 50 cents at foodland and wore them while we skated. We looked really good. especially me.

Here is my video. sorry about the poor quality. Mom, I'm sending a copy home so you can see it better.

Christmas

2009-12-26T11:09:00.000-08:00

Sorry, no pictures with this post, I forgot my cord in Utah so this will have to do for now.
I once heard somewhere that "you can never go home." I think I agree because so far everything has been different. Not necessarily people or anything in my house, (except Evalyn is bigger) but I think it's been the way we live and how we've been spending our time together as a family. Normally, had I been going to BYU Hawaii and never left, I don't think I would have spent this much time with my family. So far I have spent everyday with my brothers, going to the beach, movies, or just hanging out at home. I have never taken so much pleasure in spending time with them, but its all I have wanted to do.
So yeah I guess I can't go "home," but who would want to? This is so much better.

There's No Place Like Home

2009-12-20T17:40:00.000-08:00

I'm so happy to be back home again and with my family.

Especially with little Evalyn. :)

A Few Things

2009-12-20T17:33:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I got to go to my very first Ballet ever. We went to see the Nutcracker. It was really cool, I don't think I'll be a regular at the ballet, but I felt like a cultured lady.

Nutty and I. I could have so been in it.

Jovy, me and Elsie.

I also got to go the first presidency christmas devotional. It was so cool and my first meeting ever in the conference center.

Heber Creeper/ Ward Christmas Party

2009-12-12T14:09:00.000-08:00

On Thursday night I went to Heber to go on the Heber Creeper. It was my first real train ride. I was really excited but it was FREEZING. They did a Polar Express theme and played christmas music. There were elves that gave us cookies and hot chocolate and we even read the book on the train.

The ice on the windows is on the INSIDE. Like I said, freezing.

Santa gave me a bell just like in the book.

On the steam engine. Sorry about the fog, I think that's the persons breath who was taking the picture.

Berit and I at our ward Christmas party at Magleby's. I felt classy. :)

I figured out that if I load my pictures on picasa they come out big. So you can click on these and see them bigger. :)

Devotional

2009-12-10T10:26:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday I got to sing in devotional with the university chorale. It was pretty cool and we worked really hard on our song. You can watch it here. It is untitled and might tell you its unavailable but its just lying to you. Unfortunately, you have to watch the opening hymn and prayer before you get to us. But they do show me briefly as soon as we start singing "Jesus Once of Humble Birth." I look bored out of my mind, but I promise I wasn't.
That same night I had my choir concert at the HFAC and my cousins, Chelsea and Mallory came.

They are so great. :)

Give Thanks

2009-11-29T20:24:00.001-08:00

For Thanksgiving I went with my cousins Chelsea and Lexie to the Alder's home in Murray. It was so nice to be in a home rather than an old apartment with students 24/7 and nice to spend it with my mom's side of the family who we rarely spend holidays with. My Thanksgiving break was awesome.

Just before we started eating

We also made ginger bread houses

the finished product. we ended up using hot glue guns to build our houses... no one eats these things anyways.

On Friday night we went to see the lights at temple square.

pretty pretty.

This is a reflection of the temple in the reflection pool. It had floating candles.

On saturday, I went to the BYU v. Utah game. My first BYU football game and probably the best one to go to. Rival game and we WON in overtime!! So exciting.
I sat behind Lexie

As soon as they scored the winning touchdown EVERYONE stormed the field.

I couldn't see anything, so my friend Bobby (he's 6' 5") put me on his shoulders. I was the tallest person on that field.

MAX HALL!! the starting quarter back for BYU. I patted his helmet and cheered as he was pushed by me.

I loved my thanksgiving and loved spending time with my cousins.

We're pretty special. :)

Skater Girl

2009-11-24T23:59:00.001-08:00

On Saturday night some friends and I were going to go to the Heber Creeper. Its a train in Heber that, during Christmas/Thanksgiving time does reenactments of the Polar Express. You have to go in your Pajamas and they give you hot chocolate and its great. So I was all excited to go in my PJ's and were driving down there and we realize that the drive to Heber takes a lot longer than we thought. We missed the train and we decided to go ice skating instead.
Here I am, sweatpants and all, ice skating.

I got really good. I even started doing ballerina turns.

Then for FHE, my group went to the roller rink. I have NEVER been on roller skates. I pretty much showed up everybody there. Especially when I lost control while turning and couldn't stop. The only option was then to launch onto the carpet where I ran into a table at this little mexican kids birthday party, in order to stop myself. Thankfully, I did not fall down once. :)
I'm really sad that I forgot to take a picture. I had bright orange glow-in-the-dark laces.

Oh, and don't worry about the Heber creeper. We're still going on Dec. 9th. It'll be closer to Christmas so it'll be cooler. you should come!

Aloha Elder Bramwell

2009-11-16T19:51:00.000-08:00

Tonight, I got to see my friend Taylor, from back home. He goes into the MTC on wednesday and is going to the Sacramento CA mission, Spanish speaking.

I made him that lei and he was really excited about it. Good luck Elder Bramwell! We'll see you in two years!

SNOW!

2009-11-04T19:36:00.000-08:00

Last week we had our first snow! I was freezing my buns off, but it was so cool. Its not sticking to the ground yet, but its here.

In the morning when I first left the apartment, it was snowing lightly and looked really pretty.

Later in the day the wind came and then it was just freezing and not so pretty. Every time i looked up the wind hurt my eyes, not to mention the fatty snowflakes that kept hitting me square in the eye therefore impairing my ability to see when I walked.

I can see my breath! Just not in this picture.

It's gonna be a great winter.

Halloween

2009-11-01T20:23:00.000-08:00

I pretty much had a Halloween weekend. I went to a party on Friday night and Saturday night, not to mention Adalie's Birthday/Halloween party. I put together my costume last minute, (thanks to some creative friends) with a huge t-shirt, face paint and feathers, and this is what i came up with. It turns out Ryan was the same thing. We must be related.

Berit and I. The Flapper and the indian.

Pocahontas and the little mermaid!

Put a ring on it.

Alana, The best Hippie I've ever seen. Seriously, you should have seen her shoes. So good, in a bad way.

The boys. Two cholos, a rice farmer, a nerd, Andy Warhol and a surf board.

Were goin' to Jackson!

2009-10-28T19:39:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I got to go Jackson Hole, Wyoming! It was amazing, everything was so beautiful and I had so much fun. I apologize in advance for the length of this post. I took 290 pictures total, but only posted the best ones. But who doesn't love pictures?

We began our adventure at Will's pit stop..

and we were on our way.

about 45 minutes into the drive, our friend TJ lost his glasses when he stuck his head out the window. So naturally, Berit and I took the opportunity to take pictures. :)

My car of people

My first time to Wyoming!

Cool kids on the block

I crocheted when we had down time. It just fit the scene.

This is the house we stayed at. It was so nice and beautiful, and so secluded. The name of the road its on is called, "Solitude."

This was at 8:30 a.m. and me and Berit were the only people awake. We walked outside (40 degrees mind you) and realized that the door locked behind us. We had to tap on the boys' window and wake one of them up to let us in.

When everyone was up, we did yoga.

It started hailing!!! It was so cute, anytime anything snowish or nature-like happened, everyone would call out for me because its all so new to me.

The Grand Tetons!!

Everyone was doing couple pictures, so me and Trent, being the only single people on the trip decided to take a nice pose of our own.

That water was freezing... did I go touch it? you bet.

Famous antler arches

My new friend. (took this picture for Dad, do you know why?)

IBC rootbeer at lunch

I did a spread for Cabela's

The girls. "WE OWN THIS TOWN."

The only single people. Kip, Trent and Me. Fantastic.

I loved the open spaces of Wyoming. Made me want to ride a horse or something.

The boys decided it would be fun to stand on the trash can. (i dont know)

I had to bring my slippers. :)

We later shot pellet guns. We were in cowboy country, we had to.

This was the best.

"You don't do nothin' but sit on the porch and drink whiskey"
"I like to kick a pig every once in a while." :)

We also chopped wood, I was feeling very country. (I really did chop wood, this isn't just a pose)

Then it started snowing like CRAZY!

catching snowflakes

I had to take a picture with the big shotgun. :)

Later, we had a dance party. As you can see I was the best dancer.

At church the next day I walked in and saw the missionaries sitting there. Lo and behold, who is one of those missionaries? My friend from home, Robert Beck! So funny to see him as a missionary. Didn't even know he was out here.

After church, we all took pictures. Unfortunately, I don't have any of the group shots, I'll have to get them later from my friend.

American Gothic

Dinner with Matt's grandparents.

After dinner we took a walk to the river

And took lots of pretty pictures along the way

We saw some elk, but this was as close as they would let us get to them.

I love Wyoming!

The girlies

river and the tetons

Finally, we left Jackson and everyone was pretty sad...especially TJ.

I had the best time and I feel so fortunate that I got to go experience something new. I really gained an appreciation for beauty outside of Hawaii and learned that there is such a bigger world outside of my little island.

Happy Birthday Papasan!

2009-10-23T08:45:00.001-07:00

Today is my dear 'ol Dad's Birthday!
Dad has had some pretty great birthday's since the very beginning..

He usually gets some pretty great presents...

I hope this year is no different...

He especially loves to spend time with us kids on his special day... (This one is because I forgot to do a post for Ryan :/ Happy late Birthday Ryan!)

One thing we never fail to do for Dad on his birthday is EAT...

Mom is always really good about throwing him a little shindig... remember last year?

Thanks for all you do Dad!

I Love you!

Happy Birthday! I miss you and I wish I could be there.

Girls night out with Ingrid

2009-10-21T21:37:00.000-07:00

On saturday night my friends and I went to go see a lady by the name of INGRID MICHAELSON in CONCERT!!

The "Force." :)

It was amazing! She played in the Venue in Salt Lake, so we made a little evening trip out of it.

She made us do hearts with our hands whenever she said love in the song, "the hat."

She played the ukulele a lot. I love.

before the concert, we went shopping at the Gateway. I love shopping here.

We went to Anthropolgie and Urban Outfitters. I LOVED everything, but of course I had to restrain myself cause it was a fortune just for one little t-shirt.

It was the best night! Ingrid is my favorite and going out with the girls was wonderful!

Artsy fartsy stuff

2009-10-16T09:11:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday night my roommate and I went over to some friend's house to paint. It ended up just being my friend Trent and I who painted. Everyone else was too busy "socializing."

My painting (much better up close)

Trent's painting. (he's a REALLY good painter)

Pumpkins!

2009-10-11T23:09:00.000-07:00

This weekend my friends and I carved pumpkins! I haven't carved a pumpkin since I was a little kid and I was SO excited.
Everybody worked pretty hard on their masterpieces.

The Yates' Pumpkin (Tyler and Alana). I drew their tree.

I carved a seahorse in mine

A face and a mayan temple with my seahorse.

It was so cute but a little fat cause I drew it freehand. everybody called it the pregnant seahorse.

We left them all at our friends house for the night. The next morning it was discovered that 3 of the pumpkins had been stolen. The mayan temple, the mario mushroom and the pregnant seahorse. Who does that? :(

Conference Weekend

2009-10-09T09:05:00.000-07:00

I watched conference in a variety of places this past weekend. I woke up on saturday morning and watched it in my apartment, and then decided to drive to pleasant grove to watch with the Snow's. This picture was from the previous weekend, but this is Aunty Lani and Darah's baby boy Wes.. he's so CUTE.

On sunday, I went to Kati's families house in Lehi for lunch and more conference. Her family was so great to me and her house was SO pretty! they have horses and chickens so we fed the horses apples.

He was drooling a bit.

This poor guy didnt get one cause the other horse wouldn't leave Kati alone and so she dropped the apple and the horse I fed got it. fatty.

And so it starts..

2009-10-06T19:03:00.000-07:00

Its that time of year when the leaves start to turn...

The fog and rain roll in...

and the snow covers the mountains.

time to bust out the coats!

Winston

2009-10-05T20:38:00.000-07:00

My roommate and her fiance got a puppy. A miniature schnauzer named Winston. I walked into my apartment one night to find this adorable puppy sitting in my living room. Unfortunately they had to give the puppy back cause the people they got it from forgot they had promised the puppy to a little girl. They felt bad and returned Winston, but at least we got to play with him for a little while.

For those of you who don't know, my dog who died this summer, Kika, was a miniature schnauzer. So I was a little over excited when I saw him.

Then a friend of Brooke brought over her dog. Its a long haired chihuahua. I had to laugh cause our friends the Jackmans, have the same dog and they used to watch Kika sometimes.

So yes, I blogged about my friend's dog.... and???

Jump on IT!!

2009-09-26T14:01:00.000-07:00

Last weekend my friends and I celebrated me and my friend Brooke's birthdays since we were only a day apart. We decided to go to "Jump on it." Its in Lindon (i think) and its this big warehouse with trampolines all over the place. It was a blast.

Here's the whole crew

We played volleyball on two of the trampolines most of the time. We got pretty competitive.

Me and Alana

Me lana and Jaymie

My Birthday

2009-09-17T21:47:00.001-07:00

Tuesday was my 20th Birthday. It was my first birthday away from home, so I'll admit I was a little worried that it wouldn't be anything special. Thankfully, I was wrong and my roommates, friends and cousins did a great job of making me feel absolutely loved and special on my big day.

The festivities began at midnight on Monday night when my roommates marched into my room singing happy birthday and throwing "confetti" all over my room. (They weren't very sneaky because I was waiting for them in my room with my camera ready.)

from left to right (Berit, Brooke and Kati) They were really excited. :)

So was I.

All these people showed up for my birthday at devotional... I'm kind of a big deal :)

I sat with Alana and her hubby

Even the Prophet came to wish me a happy birthday!

It was so cool

My cousins Lexie, Chelsea and Mallory took me to the Cannon Center for dinner

Chelsea loves the Cannon Center

Kendall not so much..

My crown and presents! (earrings, a facial and socks!)

My crown was a little small, but I wore it anyway.

When I got home, Kati, Brooke and Berit threw me a party and invited some people from the ward. They are so great. :)

Some of my party guests (notice the decorations)

Brooke, her fiance Garrett and her brother Billy all got me chocolate covered cinnamon bears and a Bob Marley magnet. I loved it.

Berit got me some jewelry from Nordstrom, her place of employment. She has great taste. :)

to close off my lovely day, we played uno. Haha.

Week 2

2009-09-11T10:32:00.000-07:00

I have survived my first two weeks at BYU. School is not too hard, (yet) and I am really enjoying everything that the campus has to offer. Here are some random things that happened to me this week.

These two guys had llamas out in Brigham square. The gray one has dreads.

Cosmo Cougar showed up and gave me a hug so I had to get a picture.

I painted this.

I wonder what I should do this weekend. So many possibilities...

Go Cougs!

2009-09-05T23:58:00.000-07:00

In case you're not up to date on your college football, BYU just beat the Oklahoma Sooners tonight. Oklahoma was ranked 3rd in the nation and BYU was at 20. Oklahoma lost by 1 point. Talk about a big upset. Naturally, Provo has been crazy ALL night. Its so fun to be a part of it though. Living in a university town is so much fun. Here are some videos of the madness. My roommate and I went out and what should have been a 10 minute drive turned into at least 20.

CLAS Ropes Course

2009-09-03T07:52:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my ward had a great activity at the CLAS ropes course. (Don't ask me what CLAS stands for, I have no idea.) It was really fun and I got to meet a lot of people.

This is my roommate Kati and I.

The sexy harness everyone had to wear. Not so sexy on the guys if you know what I mean.

This girl decided it would be fun to climb this thing and then got stuck.

I decided to do the Zipper line. It was a long climb to the top.

I was being so brave here.

I'm up there, high in the trees.

Sorry the pictures were big and then small. I just figured out how to do it, but didn't want to change the rest.

First Day

2009-08-31T13:21:00.000-07:00

Today was the first day of classes. Everything felt so surreal as I walked to my classes. I have worked so hard and I feel so blessed just to be here. One of my classes, American Heritage, has 2300 students. (the class is split up of course) Add just 100 more and that was the size of BYU Hawaii. Yeah.
I am constantly overwhelmed by the amount of students on campus and by the size of the buildings. The architecture is AMAZING, and the campus is just gorgeous. I still can't believe I am a student here.
Today one of my classes was chorus and apparently, I'm a first soprano. Didn't know that.
On Sunday I went to church and it was good. I have a really good ward that seems to have a lot of activities and seems to be very social. I met a lot of really nice girls as well. Everyone is so friendly and just comes up and introduces themselves. I love it.
My roommates are great. I love all of them. I share a room with Berit, who is my cousin Mallory's sister-in-law. She's a great girl from Utah and is really fun. She is really great about introducing me to people and she's so sweet. My other roommates are Brooke and Kati. Brooke is from Texas and is engaged. She is getting married in December so she'll be here for just a semester. She is hilarious. Anything she says is pure joy. Kati is super fun. She is also from Utah and loves rock climbing. In our apartment, we have a bunch of paintings that she has done. They are all really cute and add so much to our humble abode.

I haven't taken many pictures yet, but they will come. Here are some pictures of Berit and I on our first day of class.
(Don't mind the black sides of Berit's Picture, my camera sucks. Good thing I got a new one.)

Packing Up

2009-08-25T03:19:00.000-07:00

The time has come for me to pack up my life and head up to Utah. It's really scary, but I'm so excited for this new experience of going away to school.

I seriously do not know how people do this. Its been really convenient throwing all my stuff into trash bags and into my car these last two years. Now it has to be packed neatly into only 2 suitcases.

I'll admit, it did make me a little more excited to leave. :)

Goodbye Hawaii, Hello Utah....

The Last First

2009-08-24T00:17:00.001-07:00

I went to my last first friday's with Ryan at the beginning of this month. It was so sad but we had a great time listening to a a friend of a friend's band. They were so good and i even have their music on my ipod now.

The band was called "our distance" and they were awesome live. One of my favorite things about them was how they used three bass drums, and just beat the life out of them. I have to find a new art/ music scene when i get to provo. Ryan said i could just create my own F.F. just paint something every month, hang it up somewhere and have my friends come look at it. Somehow, i dont think it would be the same.

Scroll down after this, i have one more post.

Skills

2009-08-24T00:07:00.000-07:00

I have skills. Blanket making/embroidering SKILLS. (and yes, I did free hand it)

I made this baby blanket for little Evy. She seemed to like it.

Byebye Spud

2009-08-20T03:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my last day at work. I was a lot more sad than I thought I was going to be. It's amazing how close I got to my co-workers and how much I bonded with the babies in such a short period of time. My co-workers threw me a little going away party/ potluck which I did not get pictures of.
One woman that I used to do the opening shift with, Maria, got me a card and made me a whole batch of lumpia. (which she pointed out, she never makes for anyone at these potlucks, but had to do it for me.) Maria is this little 50 year old lady from the Philippines, but she was probably my best friend at work. I will miss her.

This is my Spud. He is "my baby," as my co-workers call him. Whenever he cried, they would always give him to "Mama Kat." He was so cute and I rarely put him down. I mean, just look at those cheeks. I had a variety of nicknames for him, mostly all after vegetables, which included things like Spud, Pea Pod, Green Bean, etc. His Mom was sad I was leaving and she was even going to bring me a picture of him to give to me but she forgot. Luckily, I had my camera.

I'll miss my job, the kids and the friends I made, (especially Spud man) but not enough to give up whats coming. :)

25 Years of Love

2009-08-18T20:47:00.000-07:00

Today is my dear parents 25th anniversary. They were married on August 18th 1984, in the Laie, Hawaii Temple.

They are really so special...

and such pretty people.

whoa nelly

Congratulations, Mom and Dad, on a wonderful marriage. Happy 25th Anniversary, I love you so much!

Congrats!!

2009-08-16T15:05:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Tyler Yates!
Last night I went to My friend Alana Durrett's (now Yates) wedding reception. It was a beautiful reception outside next to the ocean in Hau'ula, and the Bride looked absolutely gorgeous. I had a lot of fun, the food was awesome and it was great to catch up with old friends.

Trigger

2009-07-29T13:19:00.001-07:00

Last night, Mom, Dad and I went to Mark's Garage in China Town to see my Aunty Nicole and her boyfriend Hank perform. Together, they form the group "trigger" and they make music using sound recordings and then alter those sounds with sound boards. Add vocals and you have a song. I thought it was going to be kinda wierd, but I actually really liked it.

After the preformance, we walked around the gallery and looked at the art pieces. Right now, they are featuring blown glass pieces.

Coral and fish

This reminded me of the creepy little worm people in the little mermaid.

Mom's Favorite

My Favorite

And to top it off, this guy was wearing some awesome pants. (sorry its hard to see)

here's part of one of their songs. it's really dark, but at least you can hear it.

Can't get enough of Evalyn

2009-07-27T01:36:00.000-07:00

We are all in love with our little Evalyn. All we do is take pictures and dote over every face or movement she makes. We can't get enough of her :) Here are some pictures of her not bundled up and not just sleeping. Sorry for the poor quality, i took these on my phone... the video too.

Posing with Uncle Ryan

Hmmm...

She's TOO cute.

Matthew put together her new swing and she seemed quite content in it.

Look at those cheeks. :)

These are her many different facial expressions. She'll go through about 20 different ones in the span of about 30 seconds. At about 17 seconds in this video she gives this little smile that says one of two things, "did you want me to smile??" or "I just pooped."

Evalyn Jung

2009-07-22T01:25:00.001-07:00

As of 12:20 this morning, I became Aunty Kathleen. I LOVE her. She is absolutely adorable and I can't wait to start spoiling her :)

I couldn't take many pictures because my camera was dying, (great timing right?) so most of my pictures are on my moms camera and probably will be posted by her.