Christmas

I love Christmas time! It came and went to fast.... like it seems to every year. Blake and I were dating last Christmas.... so this was our first 'married' Christmas. We decided that Santa would visit at 12:01am on Christmas because we had to go and celebrate with our families on Christmas morning. It was a fun day!! I love spending time with my family and Blake's family. So fun!

Brooklyn & my cute cousin Emily

My grandma and Matty

Molly's Santa outfit!! She hated it...

Brooklyn & Molly

Temple Lights

A couple days before Christmas, we went with Blake's family to see the lights. I love going to see the lights at Christmas time! Although it doesn't change much from year to year, I still love to see them. It was kina rainy and freezing.... but it was still a good time. :)

Ugly Sweater Party

For the last two years we have been invited to an UGLY SWEATER Christmas Party! Trying to find an ugly sweater was more difficult that we thought…. But we were able to come up with something. We went to the D.I. and luckily found an adorable outfit for Blake (all found in the women’s section ;). We found him some lovely red polyester-elastic waist pants, a belly shirt-turtle neck, and an jean shirt adorned with Christmas flare. I was so proud to be his wife when he was wearing that outfit. ;) I didn’t go all out like Blake… I just borrowed my sweater from a friend. The party was a blast!! I love Christmas time!!

This years outfits!

This picture was from the Sweater Party Last year. :)

China

For work I had the opportunity to go to China a few weeks ago. I left a couple of days before Halloween (which I was kinda sad to be gone over one of my favorite holidays). We flew into Hong Kong and ended up in Shanghai. We were there for two weeks… which is a long time! I thought I knew what to expect…. But boy, was I wrong. I never thought that I would try some of the food that I did. I tried lots of crazy stuff: Pigeon ( I just ate the meat from the body…. However, there were others that ate the entire head… including the beak), chicken feet, chicken joints, duck, shark fin, snake, goose, and there were quite a few things I tried and had NO IDEA what they even were. By the end of the trip I had pretty much had lost my appetite. But the food wasn’t the worst part…. The bathrooms were. Squat pots are not fun. They were sick!!! Getting someone else’s pee on the bottom of your pants due to the wet floor…. And while trying to squat, you are sliding all over the place. I was so grateful I never slipped and fell!! Overall, it was a good trip. I learned a lot and got to experience the Chinese culture. But I am so glad to be home and glad that I live where I do!

We went to a Chinese show one night. It was cool to see.

The Stampin Up! crew!

This is not the job I would want.... riding a bike with propane cans strapped to you. :(

This is how you pick your fish you want for dinner. You go up and point at it and they will grab it out and cook it up.

The chicken foot I tried to eat. Not good at all!!

This is what a typical day looked like in China..... such bad pollution. :(

Halloween in China!!

This pagoda we hiked up to was pretty cool.

The pigeon I ate. :(

Nice, clean sink to wash your hands.... no thanks. I think I will be okay with my

Purell. This was the worst part of the trip.... the beloved squat pots! Sick!!

Shark fin soup.....

Cherie and I sitting in a little taxi/cab thing.

The 'Chinese girl' pose! :)

Really.... what is this?! I didn't eat this.... I thought it looked like animal droppings.

BIG 3-0!!

Uggghhhh! It makes me kinda sick to say how old I am now!! At least I don't feel my age! On my birthday we went golfing and to lunch with Blake's parents, then had a Luau with my friends that night. So.... we celebrated my birthday the next day with my family. I love my family.... they always make me laugh so hard!

Molly's new Halloween costume!! She is the cutest thing ever!

Birthday Luau

My cute hubby is so sweet! As you all know, I don’t have any pictures from our honeymoon. Blake is such a doll and decided to throw me a Luau (and picture replacement party) for my birthday. He did such a good job putting it all together. It was a great turn out too! Thanks to everyone who came!!! It was a blast…. we had tiki torches, lots of yummy food, kalua pig, campfire, leis, and of course…. Rock band! The best part was Blake in his coconut bra and grass skirt. Loved it!!!

Jazz Game!

Last week we went to the Jazz game. Clint and my dad went with us and we all had a good time. I am a pretty big Jazz fan (although, I am still heartbroken about the loss of Korver). It was so weird to see the new team! It didn’t look like the Jazz! There are SO MANY new guys! However… we do have some new good players so I’m excited for the season to start. Go Jazz!

Really Andre? Your hair is not cute! It looks like a 70's shaggy mullet.

Honeymoon

Blake and I left to Kauai on the day after we got married. I have never been to any part of Hawaii before, so I was excited! Kauai was so beautiful! It is referred to as the 'Garden Island'. It is so green and gorgeous! So many beautiful flowers and plants! We had a blast.... we hung out at the beach everyday, drove around the island in a convertible that we rented, went to a Luau, took a helicopter ride around the entire island. It was amazing! It was so nice just to take it easy and relax on the beach. Blake and I worked hard to make the wedding perfect.... so, the relaxing honeymoon was much needed. I DID have lots of pictures to post, but on the last night of our honeymoon, my purse (which included my camera) and Blake's wallet were stolen. It still makes me sick to think about! :( So.... I don't have one picture from our honeymoon. It was sure fun getting home with no ID's, credit cards, etc. But what made me most sad was my camera. Sad. Anyhow.... we still had a blast. I can't wait to go again and take more pictures. I told Blake we had to take a 2nd honeymoon so I could take pictures.

Wedding

Well, the day finally came! We were married on 9.25.10. It was such a wonderful day! I was so worried that we would have bad weather or that something would go wrong. But it was perfect. I wouldn't have changed a thing. Everyone was so helpful and sweet that day! It was the best day ever! I was so happy to marry Blake. I love that boy more than anything! I am the luckiest girl in the world!

Lindsie made this adorable tag for my birdcage. I loved it!

My friends gave me this hanger at a shower. SO CUTE!

My dad walking me down the isle.

The wedding party!!

Blake's two brother-in-laws.... Chad and Chase. My two brothers.... Clint and Steven.

My family

Lindsie made this adorable hitched sign! It was so cute!

This is one of my favorite pictures! Love it!

Tara, Raquel, me, Lindsie and Brooklyn

I loved my cake.... it was delicious! And I loved the cake topper too!

We had a crepe bar! It looked so pretty and from what I heard, they were tasty. :)

The flaming crepes! Mmmmmm :)

My sweet little grandma.

Blake and I greeting people that came through our line.

My cousins, Mathew and Emily.

I love Mason's cheeks in this picture!

Shana and my brother Steven.

My dad and mom! Love them!

My lovely Jeep as well as Blake's car was decorated while the reception was going on. We weren't even going anywhere that night.... but still got pics in my Jeep.