Wait, Is That A Horse?

No, it's a dog. My little sister got married and had her wedding at this beautiful home up Hobblecreek Canyon in Springville. The owners of the home had the cutest, biggest dog I have ever seen in my life and he was so friendly.

Hallie got hurt while she was playing and the dog came right over and laid it's big head right on her. It was so cute.

K.I.S.S.I.B.L.E.

Is it wrong that I still want to kiss him?

Our Story Is Featured...

Michelle was asked to be a guest blogger on The R House . You can read all about it here.

A Year Ago Today

A year ago today I woke up knowing that it could potentially be a very bad day. I also knew that it could be a very good day if things went the way we wanted them to. We went to church. We went for a ride. We drove to Amy's. I felt like I was going to throw up. I didn't. We got out of the car and walked into the backyard. And we met Michelle. Our Michelle. But we didn't know she was our Michelle just yet. We talked and laughed. There were awkward pauses and I struggled to know what to say. Would she pick us? Would she choose us to be the parents of her sweet baby boy growing inside of her? I was so nervous, but felt very calm at the same time. It was weird. We talked for probably 2-3 hours and then it was time to go. But wait, she hadn't said whether or not she had picked us. I got very nervous. I couldn't walk away not knowing. Now I really felt like I was going to throw up. I didn't. Michelle wanted to exchange phone numbers and blog addresses. I had to know. So I blurted out, "So does this mean you picked us?!" "Yes!" she said. A year ago today, our story began.

This picture makes me smile. This was a few days later. We took Michelle to dinner to get to know her a little better. Later we went and walked around the Morinda Gardens. I timidly asked if it would be okay if I touched her cute belly. Soon I would be comfortable enough with her to talk to her stomach and tell that sweet boy inside just how much I loved him. Soon she would be comfortable enough with me to lay on my couch and let me stare at her stomach as we watched that little boy roll around and kick her.
Every time I look at this picture, I tear up. There is so much emotion in our faces. Seeing our sweet boy and meeting him for the first time was priceless.

And then the day she sent him home with us.

A year ago today I didn't realize just how great of friends we would become. You are my sons birth mom but you've also become one of my very best friends. Thank you so much for picking us to be Korver's parents a year ago today. We love you Michelle. I think one of the greatest things about having an open adoption is the great friendships that I have with each one of my kids birthmom's. I feel so lucky and so very blessed to have each of them in my life.

Buy This House

So my good friend of almost 20 years is selling her gorgeous home. Go here to find out more information on it and to see more pictures of it. Honestly, it is a steal of a deal and if you're in the market for a new house, hers is a must see; it's BEAUTIFUL inside and out.

Isn't She Lovely....

So I know this AMAZING photographer. Her name is Michelle (okay, so maybe I'm a little biased as she is one of my dear friends, oh yeah and Korver's birth mom!) But she is good and she keeps getting better. Seriously, every photo shoot she goes on she just gets better and better. She's very diverse and tries new things all the time. She came with me to take Kristen's bridal pictures and she did SUCH an amazing job. We were all so pleased with her work. Here's a little sneak peak of what she did.

Isn't my little sister gorgeous! She's getting married next week and I couldn't be happier for her. So here's the low down on what she charges. Family pictures/ engagements/ bridals are $150, seniors pictures are $100. For her to shoot your wedding day, it's $300. So if you had her do your entire wedding from the engagements to the bridals to the wedding day, you would pay $600! That's amazing. You get all your images on a high resolution data DVD so you take your pictures and can get them printed wherever. She does some really cool things with editing, too. To see more of her work, go here or here. Hurry and book with her, because as she gets more experienced, she will be raising her prices. You can contact her at hoorayformichelle(at)gmail(dot)com.

The End of The Trip

The last day was a day at sea which meant nothing to do but relax. I was feeling a little homesick for my family but instead of moping around I decided to make the most of it and hot tub. I think I sat in the hot tub for about 6 hours straight, only getting out to eat. But while I was out there I saw whales jumping in and out of the water and I met so many fun people. The bar service would come around and I would order a Diet Coke and sip it while relaxing in the hot tub. It was one of my most favorite days. We had met the the Cruise Director, Stew, who was from Australia. I LOVED his accent. He is in the picture above. We also went dancing 2 of the nights and that was a lot of fun. However, one of the nights the waves were really bad and the ship was rocking like crazy. Add that to really really high shoes and you get a sprained ankle. It still kind of hurts, but I guess that's the price you gotta pay for getting your groove on.
It was such a fun trip and I'm so sad that it's over. It was so funny because people would find out that we were Mormon and ask us if we were Polygamists. We actually got asked that several times while on the cruise. One guy asked us if we were all wives of one guy taking a trip together. It was funny to hear that people still think Mormon's are Polygamists. We set them all straight, don't worry. We really did meet a lot of fun and nice people while we were there and I will never forget this trip. It will go down in history as one of the funnest experiences of my entire life. Thanks to my awesome husband for taking such great care of the kiddos while I was gone. I truly am lucky that he is such a great husband and took a week off of work so that I could go on a MUCH needed vacation. Thanks to Carrie for putting this whole thing together. We went with her Culinary Arts school. And last but not least, thanks girls for a terrific trip. Let's NOT make this the last one.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun part 4

The next day we woke up to crappy weather in Ensanada, Mexico. It was so cold. When we first got off the ship, we were all a little scared, being four girls alone in a strange place. We found some really nice people who let us hang out with them until we felt comfortable enough to go on our own. At lunch time we were walking down the street to go eat and this guy that worked at a place called the Havana Banana was trying to get us to go into his restaurant. We were hesitant at first and were heading up to the place we had originally planned on eating at, until he started dancing with his mop. He was so cute we couldn't pass him up, so we decided to eat at the Havana Banana instead. It was clean and the food was okay. The atmosphere was fun, though. He even got us to dance on the bar.
This was the guy that was dancing with the mop. He was really fun.

Here's a little footage of what happened in the restaurant. It really was fun and our Mexican friend was dancing and siging to us.

Other than dacing on bars we really didn't do much else in Ensanada. We did a lot of shopping and found some pretty good deals on a lot of things. I think we got the majority of our souvineers from Ensanada. I would highly recommend the Havana Banana if you ever go to Ensanada. Although it was fun, I don't think I'll ever go back to that city. It was a little dirty for my liking.

Girl's Just Wanna Have Fun part 3

The next morning we arrived at Catalina Island. We decided to rent a golf cart and tour the island. It was really fun and we all took turns driving. The weather was just about perfect with the warm sun and a little breeze. We found a fun place by the ocean to eat lunch and did a little shopping.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun part 2

Easter Sunday we were able to board the ship at 11:30, so we got up and got ready and headed to the port. After getting our luggage all checked in, we went and found our room and ate lunch. Then we walked around the ship for a while. We decided to put on our suits and catch some sun for a while before it was time to get ready for dinner.
After dinner, we decided to go to the Kareoke lounge and see what was going on in there. You'll never believe it, but the 4 of us got up and sang. I have NEVER done Kareoke before. We did get video of the whole thing, but it was really really bad, so I won't torture you with having to listen to it. We sang "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" which we thought was a fitting song, but seriously, it was BAD. Carrie and Kellye got up afterwards and redeemed themselves by singing something else. And then Kellye and I got up and sang "Love Shack." I'm not sure if we redeemed ourselves or not, but it was a good song nonetheless. I'm pretty sure American Idol WON'T be calling us anytime soon.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun part 1

My friends and I just got back from a girls trip. We went on a cruise that left out of San Diego and went to Catalina Island and Ensanada. We booked the trip back in October or November so we were all very anxious and excited that it was finally here. The girls that went were Kellye, Janean, Carrie and me. Janean and I left a few days earlier since we decided to drive down. We left early Friday morning and drove to Las Vegas and did some shopping for a few hours. Then we drove into San Diego that same day. The drive down was so much fun and the shopping was fantastic. Saturday morning we woke up and went to breakfast with Janean's friend, Jorri. She lives in California and met us halfway. We ate at the funnest little place near the beach that had the most delicious breakfast. I'm not a huge fan of breakfast, but I'll give this place two thumbs up. We then went to the beach to snap some quick pictures. After leaving Jorri we picked up Kellye and Carrie from the airport. We did a little shopping and then went to dinner. A few miles away from San Diego is an island that you can drive to. Jorri had recommended a restaurant, so we went there and ate. It was Mexican food and it was so yummy. Afterwards we did even more shopping and then went back to the hotel and went to sleep.

Coloring Easter Eggs

Every year since as long as I can remember, we have decorated easter eggs. Usually this event happens the night before Easter Sunday, but since I was leaving on my cruise, we had to do it a few days earlier. I got daring this year and bought a tie die coloring kit. Probably won't be doing that again. You have to put the color in a plastic bag and then roll the egg around in it. Although the kids had tons of fun with it, it was VERY messy and Abbi and Hallie's hands ended up getting stained really badly. We did get the traditional coloring kit, too. I think I'll be sticking to that one in years to come.

My mom and dad came over to our house to join us this year. Usually we do it at their house, but since we had to do it on a school night, it worked better for them to come over.

I love this picture of my mom and Korver. Seriously, can you believe that's my MOM. She's cute, isn't she.

Don't Let Me Burst Your Bubble...

At the grocery store the other day, Hallie wanted a treat and she ALWAYS chooses gum. She is also veryt thoughtful and got some for her big sister, too. Abbi was happy to find a pack of gum waiting for her when she got home from school. Abbi had some friends come over and she decided to share her gum with her friends. They were sitting at the computer playing games, all 3 of them smacking their gum and blowing bubbles. I thought it was so cute. This is Avery, Bennet and Abbi.

And here's Hallie's attempt at blowing a bubble. She would say, "Look mom, I blew a huge bubble!" I thought it was pretty cute and didn't want to leave her out of all the picture taking.

Korver Loves His Big Sister

I love watching these two play. It's so funny. Korver loves Abbi and laughs at her all the time. She knows just how to make him smile. Make sure and pause my music at the bottom to get the full effect of that cute little laugh.

I Want To Be 3 Again

And fall asleep watching princess movies surrounded by stuffed animals.

These Guys Are Dorks... But They're My Dorks

This is Ariel a.k.a Mern a.k.a. Pune, and Adrian a.k.a Age a.k.a Atrium. They are Michelle's sisters. I gave them my camera the day we went to the temple and told the to get some pictures. I was scrolling through and came across these gems.

It's A Beautiful Day

Saturday, March 28, 2009 we took Korver to the Mt. Timpanogos temple to be sealed to us. It was an incredible feeling to have my kids and my husband in the temple with me. Our sealer was amazing and said some things that I will never forget. He was definitely inspired to say some of the things he said. Michelle was there, waiting outside for us. When we came out she took all of these great pictures. She got some really good shots of us.
Our cute family outside of the temple. This is my favorite shot of our special day. Michelle's Aunt Kris actually enlarged this picture and framed it for us and gave it to us the next day. It went right up on my wall that same day!

Precious baby Korver in his blessing outfit.

Michelle took this picture of Korver and me just seconds after Jeff, the kids and I came out of the temple. It was such a wonderful feeling to know that this little guy is eternally part of our family.

Uncle Cody and Korver

As with all our birthmom's we are so happy to have Michelle in our lives and part of our family. Our lives have been blessed so much by adoption and we love each one of our birth families.