Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Eastern Idaho State Fair

This is Marilee, she is way cool and too cool for school. So much fun to hang with for sure!


Andy of Course! What can I say, that this picture doesn't say already. I think he was excited to be there?




Gary Smith, the football playa that could rule the town! Ladies, don't miss your chance with this stud!



Missy and Matt, oh dear, probably the most fun married couple we know! The kind that even after they got married, still spend just as much time with us lowly single students =)



(this was them just trying on whacky hats at the fair)

I think that both Marilee and Gary enjoyed their food a lot!
Andy was really excited about this Footlong Corn Dog! He bought two because he was so thrilled!

So, you know how at the Zoo and other State Fairs they have Elephant Ears, well here, they call them Tiger Ears. We were worried to buy them in fear of them being the size of a tiger ear....tiny. But no, they were just renamed for the sake of their sponsors. 

Andy found the finger puppets =)
Lots of them!

Andy got to try on Hats like Missy and Matt

Comparison to the tiny chicken and the Large chicken?

Or the Afro-Chicken Perhaps
What about the Angry Turkey?
This is Bob, my Not-so-Friend the Turkey. 
After trying to take his photograph, well, I don't think he liked it much. He grew from sitting down, calm and steady to a full on stance ready to ...well do something. 

He didn't like me much.
Well, Like sarah said "Little does he know November is just around the corner."
Hey look! It's Jake!
This guy, just looked mean. 

The Minkee Blanket

So this is the before shot. We decided to lay out all the pieces before beginning with the sewing. This took place in either February or March, can't remember for sure.


Because the material was so difficult to work with, the only solution we could find that would sufficiently hold the fabric together without slipping was to do the following. Place one sheet of paper on the ground, put both the pieces of material together on top of the paper, place another sheet of paper on top of that, then STAPLE it all togeher. This way the staple would not slip, neither would the material.  Genius right?  We know! =)





What a hard working Man!



Finally, the finished product. Several weeks of endless paper scraps and staples, the blanket turned out perfect. Andy is 6'2'' and with him stretching in both directions he could not touch both sides, which was the main goal to begin with. Perfect!



~Mission Accomplished~

Long time, no posts =/ oops

Hey ya'll,
It truly has been way too long since I have written. I thought I should before it gets way too out of control. =)
Here is the short story of what has been happening for the last... December.
January:  I moved to American Manor which is located on the East side of Campus. I am now located in the same ward as Andy and the gang, & Love it! The Student ward is FANTASTIC! Hands down!
Andy received a surprise Birthday Party - which I gladly skipped my Night class in Psychology for- and had a wonderful night!
February: Andy and I purchased Minkee material in hopes of Sewing a Minkee blanket for Valentines day. (Minkee, is a soft material that is very similar to that of the Beenie Baby and other stuffed animals, super soft, and has a napp to it going in one direction as well as a stretch in one direction.)
March:  Arianna had her 5th Birthday!!!
April: Andy took me to meet his Family in Florida. We also got to visit Disney World courtesy of the Thompson Family. Jake and Amy came along with us, and were 'Officially Engaged' that night! In Paris in Epcot, right before the fireworks! I've never witnessed someone being proposed to so I was VERY emotional!
May:  I changed my major from Child Development to Integrated Studio Art- with an emphasis in Photography. I then added my two clusters consisting of: Dance, and Child Development. 
Andy Had an entrepreneur Class and Decided to start an online Dance Instruction business. 
Check it out at Dance-University.com I am so proud of him and how far he has come with this too!
June: Amy Burke (my best friend and Roommate) had her surprise birthday party. We bought her a Hannah Montana Pinyata for her to smash! Loads of fun! She turned 21!
We also took a trip to Yellowstone National Park, where I got to take Jake and Amy's Engagement photos =) check them out on my Photography Website 
July: July 4th of Course! We spent our Independence day in Idaho Falls for the Fireworks and Festives. Photos also up on the site!
***Mom had her birthday! I love my mom, I honestly don't know where I would be if I didn't have her by my side! She has been so much help and comfort to me for my whole life, it has just taken me this long to see it. I love you mom!***
August: Andy And I finally started on our Minkee Blanket. We spent long hard hours working on it too! Finished photos coming soon. 
I took Andy to meet my family. They all loved him, especially the kids. They cheerfully made him their personal monkey gym! Poor Andy got so beat up. =/ oops haha
Love you
September: On Sept 10th we got to go to the Eastern Idaho State Fair with Missy, Matt, Gary, Merilee, and Andy and I. It was so much fun, we ate a lot and had lots of laughs. Pictures coming soon. 
Andy and I will be celebrating our One Year Anniversary on the 21st. We may or may not be doing anything for it, but we will at the least just be able to enjoy each other's company and reflect on this wonderful year that we have had together. My adoration, love, and appreciation has grown so much for him over this time. I truly see him in a light that I have never viewed another person before. I have a strong spiritual and meaningful deep connection with him, that I hope to share with him for my life and into the eternities. .....just saying.... 
Joshua is having his birthday soon he will be turning 4! Good heavens that's crazy. These kids grow up way too fast! 


Well that's been the most of it. Summed up to a short story. If you would like the elaborate version of any of this, just comment and I will be glad to post an extension. I am just happy to be where I am and happy to be who I am. I love the fact that I am a daughter of the Most High God, and that He loves me. He wants the best for me, and can help me to get where I ultimately want to be. 

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

New Photography Business

I recently changed my photography business name from Service Photography to Simply Serene Photography. If you are interested, I would love for you to take a look and critique my recent work. Thanks loads, love you all!

http://simplyserenephotography.blogspot.com/

Sunday, February 28, 2010

For My birthday-Day









For my Actual Birthday Andy picked me up from my apartment at 5:00pm and our original plan was to go watch the sunset, but because there was no sunset, due to the snow and clouds we decided to do something else. First we drove around for about 30 minutes to find a fireplace, but had no luck. After that we decided to go buy a Christmas Tree and decorate it! So we did. We bought a $20 6' tree at Walmart and ran to Porters for all the ornaments and lights. We had a lot of fun getting it and putting it up, we sang Christmas songs and it finally was starting to feel like the True Christmas Season. Enjoy this wonderful season y'all!

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Random Childhood Memories

Today I was kind of just pondering on things, and somehow I remembered this random childhood memory.

While still living in Oregon, I remember having a very friendly neighbor who lived across the street from me. She was an older lady who lived with her husband, and if I'm not mistaken they were both retired.
Well I would sometimes get locked out of my house for various reasons, but when I did, she would let me into hers to stay and talk with her. I got to play video games on her old console, my favorite was Monopoly. Although, I don't think I ever won. I also got to play with her St. Bernards and eat cookies that she would bake for me. Occasionally Richie(RJ) would join me. I had so much fun at her place.


Another memory that comes up quite often actually have to do with the two best friends I had when I had moved there, up until I left. Since then we haven't really kept in touch.
Melissa is my brother's age and lived kiddy-corner from my house. Angie lived next to her and she is a year or so younger than I, she moved in when I was about 6 or 7, I think.
The three of us girls spent days on end together. We would make up dances to Brittney Spears songs and Spice Girls, and watch the Spice Girl movie almost every day! We would just sing and dance all day long. Richie and Adam (Angie's older brother) would peek their heads over Missy's wall and spy on us. During the hot summers we would go up the street to Centennial High School and go swimming in their pool. It would cost $2 a person and sometimes I remember Missy would pull it from her dad's coin bottle in the living room. During the Fall we would rake all the leaves and then arrange them to outline the workings of a house and play house for a few hours. Missy was always the mom and I was the whiny baby, with Angie as my big older sister. My favorite part was after we were done playing house we would rake up the leaves again and jump in the huge pile of them. Then we would rake them AGAIN and put them into bags for trash. During the winters we would all take our trash can lids and go to the top of the street and sled down the hill (if there was snow) if there wasn't any snow it was usually raining so we would go out side and just play in the rain for hours on end. Especially when it flooded.


During the breaks from school the girls and I would go down to Lynch Meadows, the Elementary School that Missy and I attended. We would play on the play ground, and climb in and around the apple trees, we would collect some apples to take home (although I don't think they ever made it home. We always ate them, then didn't want to carry them home).

When we weren't going to the park we would be either taking a walk to the A.S.A.P. store for some candy or up the street to visit our Two favorite Huskies! The guy who lived up there was very nice and would always let us play (harass) his two huskies. Sometimes he would invite us in for treats and to talk. (Our parents were not ok with that and didn't let us go back after they found out about us going into his house).

We had a neighbor, a sweet older lady who grew a garden in her front yard. She let Angie and I plant our own strawberry plants there and when they were ripe we were allowed to go in and take them and eat them. YUM!

One year Angie and I or was it Alecia and I took two of my dogs (Honey, and skeeter) to the park with us and had them slide down the slide for us. Poor things didn't stand a chance. They got scared out of their lives. Jordan (our other dog (RIP)) we took a different day.

Alecia (my best friend from Elementary school) and I would take the bus to a bunch of places. We also like to go to the near by Chinese Restaurant, where we would always order Egg drop soup, and Jasmine Tea with extra fortune cookies.

During the summers my dad would pull out the tarp and the hose to make a Slip & Slide on our font lawn that also happened to be a slight hill for Richie, Emily, Angie, and I and whoever else wanted to join us to play on. We have several home videos of this =)

Now-A-Days I love taking a trip down memory lane while I'm home and watch all of our Family Home Videos.

One year when Richie and I were very young we were on the Ramblin Rod Show Which was a Local Oregon TV station. They have a contest during their show and I won the "Best Smile" contest. I was so cute back then.

ANYWAY, if there are any random childhood memories that you remember growing up, write them down and share them. Not only is a good laugh for everyone else, but a great trip down memory lane for you.

Spoiled for my birthday

Andy COMPLETELY spoiled me for my birthday. The weather for this week is in the single & negative digits, so Andy felt that I needed a warm jacket, 2 hats, and a scarf to keep me warm through all of this. So for my birthday he took me to Maurice's to buy them! He ahead of time had them picked out for me to try and see if I liked, which I actually loved. Funny how he knows me so well already. He said that it looked like my style except the cuffs have a small bow on them and the buttons are a little big, otherwise it looked like me. He was right. He then tried several hats on me... and ok, I look terrible in hats, but these didn't look half bad. He loves the England style hat the most, and I like the bill hat. Of course I wear them both to make him smile, and I love to! I am so grateful that he did this for me I'm still feeling spoiled. What a sweetheart!

ALSO, He got us our first puppy, named Paisley, he is so adorable! Andy has the job to feed him, and it is my job to sleep with him. More pictures to come, after I get him his birthday present (coat etc). His birthday is Jan 27th. I love the hollidays!