Happy Birthday Sis!

Growing up Lauren and I each got a necklace with a charm on it. When we put the two half circles together the whole circle linked and read Sisters. She has always been my best friend, whether we were getting along or not. Since I was three we were the same size and height, and often asked if we were twins. We would spend the night in each others rooms and tell stories until we could no longer keep our eyes open. She would hold my hand and rub my face until I fell asleep, since I was afraid of the dark. We were very young when we both started piano lessons. Lauren would play the left hand of a piece and I would play the right hand. We had one year of high school together where we both marched in the band and spent a lot of time together. She chaperoned at my high school grad night and I cheered her on at her marathons. We were each others maids of honor and will always be each others best friends. She has always been there for me, and we have experienced much together. Lauren is the true definition of a big sister, or big little sister. Now we are living under the same roof again and enjoying our lives in Utah. I love you so much sis! Thank you for all you do for me. Happy 26th birthday!

For these few pictures it goes like this... #1 this baby is kinda cute. #2 you mean we are taking it home?!
#3 Sure I'll smile for a treat! #4 Does she always have to match me?

 

Zach's long overdue makeover

This morning my early bird husband woke me up and asked if I wanted to play some card games with him. So we played some Skip-bo, Spot it, and the board game Catan. I must say that Sundays are my favorite. When we can spend time together, we are the happiest. Today was a very special day. Zach cut his hair and beard! I love the man with all my heart, but the time had come that that long red beard had to go...along with the fro. Lauren is always great at helping him lawn mower through his lion mane. It takes a few people to do it right. I'm so glad I'll be kissing a well groomed husband goodnight tonight. Life is good.

Don't be afraid of these next few photos, it's just Zach.

My husband is back!

Fight Night.

Weekends are never a bore. Especially when it's fight night. The four of us did the usual and went out to Buffalo Wild Wings to watch it on the big screens. The meat lovers chow down on the wings, and I eat fried pickles with southwestern ranch. It doesn't get much better then that. Last night was just a weird night...when we arrived Hector saw that two fights were already posted on his phone. So he asked the waitress if they can turn the prelims on. One of the managers on duty came over and said that they don't start for another hour. So Hector repeated himself and said that two fights had already finished...of course the girl was snotty and asked, "well what channel is it on then?"...minutes later another manager came over and said it was being changed in a moment. Thank you, and please get with the program.

Then it got better and we had a new waitress helping us. Which is completely fine, but only when they know that they are serving you. Ten minutes later still no service. All night it was just so funny. We didn't get half the things we asked for and we had just about everyone else in the restaurant serving us but our poor lady. Tough luck. On with the fight. Rousey and Mcmann weren't even in their first thirty seconds and Rousey took her ninth belt. 9-0. That crazy monster. Fight nights are pretty great when they are with my three amigos.

Daily Dose

I've had the love for photography for as long as I can remember. My grandpa taught black and white film photography years ago at Diamond Bar High School. He was also a wedding photographer for many years. Growing up there are countless memories of him calling the grand kids outside to take photos. And we loved it. When I was in middle school I got to take a summer school class at Diamond Bar with my cousin. I learned so much from my grandpa in that class, most importantly I learned to appreciate the art of photography at a young age. And that I am very thankful for.

 There is nothing like developing your own pictures in the dark room. I remember the smell of the chemicals, and I remember spending so much time there trying to perfect just one photo. Since that class I have experimented with different styles and taking different courses. In high school I took digital photography and my teacher let us do pretty much whatever we wanted...and that's when things got really fun! Photography will always have a special place in my heart. It makes me so so happy.

This was an assignment where we had to copy a picture from a magazine article. We were able to create it with our own feel of course, but it's still one of my favorite studio shots from that year. 

Plus, sunflowers make me think of California. 

Be Mine

I hope everyone felt loved on Valentine's day. I worked all day and night, but came home to a candlelit dinner with a dozen red roses. We keep things simple yet romantic. I made Zach a pillow this year...it's more of an inside joke, but it was pretty cute! If I may say so myself. He loves it, which makes me happy.

I also made a few cupcakes for our students at church...we spoil them. 

They were a bit sloppy but delicious.

Another thing in the scoop with us would be a little weight loss challenge Zach and I are doing. Each Saturday morning we weigh in at the gym and whoever loses the most body fat wins for the week. All of this is leading up to our makeover week once we hit our goals. (Just like our favorite show, The Biggest Loser) We both will get a new outfit, and then what I'm most excited about is Zach will cut his hair and trim his beard. As of now every week the winner decides what the loser has to do, or what we did this week the winner got to chose if they wanted to to have the loser take them out or they could plan the date themselves. Let me tell you about the first week, I had to do the dishes everyday. Losing sucks. I smoked Zach last week though, and I surprised him by taking him to Ice Castles in Midvale. (I'm the nice winner) There has been so much talk about Ice Castles, so I looked it up and got us there. It sure was a sight to see. They build it in the middle of nowhere, so it was a mini road trip for us that night. Just long enough to listen to some Postal Service and talk about never wanting to live so far from the civilian life, ever. It was beautiful, and definitely worth the drive in the end.

I had my lumber Zach to keep me warm.

At night they turned on lights that were inside the ice, they changed colors..so there were some "ooh and ahhh" moments.

And some very narrow mazes as well.

When we exited the castle there were a few fire performers. It was a pretty exciting night! 

After Ice Castles we headed out to dinner. A little Mexican place we randomly picked, and it was delicious. And lastly to end our night we went to the movies and Zach watched Saving Mr. Banks, while I snoozed. More times then not I sleep during movies.

YUM.

Happy Anniversary to Mom and Dad!

Today was my parents 28th wedding anniversary! I love this picture of them, my mom as a beautiful bride and my dad such the handsome groom. They have shared so many great memories together and continue to love one another everyday. I hope to be as happy as they are when Zach and I are on our 28th year of marriage. Happy day to you two and many many more years to come!

On their big day! Dad rockin the stache, and moms HUGE bouquet. Love it all.

28 years later...still smiling! 

Love you guys!!

Sew much fun with Mom!

Last week we stayed busy with one thing or the other. Zach and Hector started school again, that came very quickly. On top of school Zach also started a CNA (certified nurses assistant) course. Our students in church were giggling saying that boys aren't nurses. Well my man is! The course will last for three weeks, which isn't long at all but the hours suck. Lucky for him he gets to take it with his brother Christian, so it really can't be that bad. He has school everyday in the morning, then leaves for his course that goes from 5-10pm. Poor guy. I saw him for brief moments during the week, when we were getting ready for our day in the morning wave down the hall at him...that's college life for ya. I'm proud of him for working so hard and putting all his efforts into his schooling. The worst part of all this is not having him around, but I DO get a lot of cleaning and laundry done around here now.

Now to the best part of my week. That was having my mom come for a visit, it sure was needed. There's nothing comparable to having my mom around, we got things done and had a great time. The week flew by and we bid our farewells to her Sunday morning, she took with her half the stuff she brought! I love my mom, she's wonderful.

Lucky for me, with my mom here we got to spend a lot of time together for once! We weren't together for the holidays and last I saw her was in October. When I was off from work last week we would go shopping for sewing supplies and lots of craft supplies or just to get out. My mom is genius at making crafts and sewing pretty much anything! A while back my grandma bought Lauren and I a sewing machine, so mom went through the whole process with me. It had been years since I've last sewed. We had so much fun trying new projects and finishing quite a few!

 


Two of her days here she went to Lauren's work at the Boys and Girls Club to make corn bags with the kids. On the second day I joined them after work and we had about thirty kids in line to sew their own bags. It was a great way to end my night. After being on the phone at work all day it was nice to do some service and enjoy a cold night with some warm kids. I got lots of hugs that night and I would do it again and again. It was also pretty awesome to see my sister, as usual, in her element taking care of over fifty teens and preteens. She is one incredible woman with a very rewarding and special roll.



My mom is tough like Lauren and seeing them together getting all the kids straightened out and handling their attitudes always makes me laugh. It was such a great night! And having my mom visit was the best way to start the year off. I miss her already, and loved having her in town! Thanks for all the laughs, sewing, meals, and everything else you did for us mom! We love you!