Engagement and Bridal Pictures

My brother Bradon and my sister Crystalyn are very talented photographers. When I got married they took my engagement pictures and my brother took some bridal pictures of me just for fun. I had an amazing photographer but unfortunately I didn't get any prints. Luckily, my brother and sister are so talented and took a ton of pictures for me so I got a lot of prints from them! I'm so grateful for the hard work they put into this.

Here are some of many pictures they took:

This was what we used for our wedding announcement. Thank you Bradon for putting it all together for me! I must be really trusting because I gave him a munch of pictures that I liked and told him to put something together. We went to Texas the next day for a week to visit Alan's family and I saw the finishing touch for the first time when our announcement showed up at Alan's parents house. I was happy with it.

Grandma Mary

Alan's Grandma Mary past away last week. He was really close to her so it was hard on him. I was lucky enough to be able to meet her before she past. Last month we flew out and spent the weekend with her. She was such a neat women. I had to laugh because she's the only women I know who would do anything to watch the Dodge's play. She was obsessed with baseball. I guess a few years ago she had to get surgery and she told the doctor she couldn't do it on the day he wanted to schedule her because her team was playing. If you ever went to her house you would find her on her green recliner watching baseball with the volume turned up really loud. She was very kind and I loved her because she was so easy to love and because she was Alan's Grandma. He loved her so much and it made me sad to see him so sad.
We flew out to California this weekend for her funeral. I got to meet Alan's extended family on his mother's side. It was good to meet everyone. It would have been better under different circumstances but good to meet them, none the less. We spent all day Friday at his grandma's house and hung out all night just visiting with everyone. Saturday was the funeral. I probably cried just as much as Alan did. Funerals do that to me. It was interesting though because it was the first funeral I've been to that I felt so much peace. Going to her funeral made me feel at peace with dying. It's not a scary thing. Death is an opportunity and I think the fear most people have is the unknown. How grateful I am to have the knowledge that there is a life after this. Alan and I have been talking a lot about death the last week and the more I think about, the more it fascinates me. I can imagine it is the most peaceful experience to cross over. I felt so happy for Mary because she was 84 and not doing well. She also lost her husband 34 years ago! Could you imagine losing your husband and when you are young? I can just imagine what it must have been like for her to be with him again. What a neat experience that must have been. At the grave site you could see her husband's vault next to her grave. It brought tears to my eyes to think how happy they must be to be together again.
I brought my camera to Cali but it sat in my purse the whole time. It just never seemed like the right time to take a picture until we got to the cemetery. All the grandson's pulling out the casket from the hearse and carrying it to her grave. It was so touching and I missed it! I had left my purse at the hotel. I just wanted to kick myself. So this post has no pictures. :(
After the funeral, we spent the rest of the day at Mary's house while everyone went through her things and picked out what they wanted. All Alan wanted was a mug she used daily to drink her postum out of. That is it. That mug has a lot of sentimental value to him and he was so excited to get it.
It was an emotionally draining weekend but a good one. It was good to meet everyone and it was good to have such a beautiful funeral and say good bye to Mary. We love you Mary! You will be greatly missed!

I heart, HEART!

Laralee is so sweet! She surprised her favorite sisters on Friday and took us to the Journey concert. Ok, she took all her sister's. The best part was that Heart opened for them. I do heart, Heart. Yes, I am old school! The most memorable part of the night was driving there. Laralee blasted Heart on her radio and we belted it. Crystalyn even stuck her head out the window and sang to everyone else stuck in traffic with us. If Crystalyn's kids only new this side of her! I just kept wanting to yell to everyone staring at us "and she has 3 littles at home!"

Not to sound cheesy but I really love my sista's so much! They love me no matter what. Or at least I would like to think they do. We get so hyper around each other and have such a blast, despite getting too embarrassed at times. ;)

Here is a little recap of the night:

4th of July Fun!

I started out my day at the gym. My plan was to come home and clean my house. Then pack for our cruise to The Caribbean. We were to leave early this morning. I was so excited about it. My workout was great because I was thinking I wasn't going to have to workout at my gym for a week and I was going to be laying around in the sun for a week. Well that all changed when I got home. Our cruise got cancelled! What?! I was so bummed! I slowly unpacked my half packed bag and took a shower. We'd been planning this trip for 6 months now. I was really looking forward to it but I decided I wasn't going to let it get me down. Why should I? I can't change it and the 4th of July is my favorite holiday. So I decided to buck up and make the most of the day. That's just what we did.

We went to my sister's house. She was so kind to have a barbecue for us. She planned and cook everything for it. We had such a blast!

Of coures this was the best part! Loved it!

After lunch we just hung out and talked

Christian and Alexis wanted to play dress up

And this one is my favorite. Hanna is so sweet! We enjoyed a creamy together. Later that day after the barbecue, they dropped me off at home and as I hugged her she stroked my hair and got real emotional. She said "Brynnly, I'm going to miss you so much! So much, Brynnly! I love your hair and I'm going to miss you!" (Even though I was going to see her in a few hours.) Funny girl!

After lunch and hanging out we strolled down to Annalisa's neighbor's house. She had bought this slide and kids went crazy on it! They loved it! Alexis was a bit afraid of it but kept trying it anyway. Christian saw it and didn't even hesitate. He ran up those stairs and down he went. Over and over and over again! I think the adults had more fun just watching the kids.

Yeah, I don't think that is your bike

I think Thomas was ready to call it a day!When we got back Alexis wanted to listen to Hannah Montana and they had a dance party on the bed

That night we went to Sugar House to watch the fireworks. This really is my favorite holiday. What's not to love? Barbecue, hanging out with the fam, the weather, fireworks! I love it! All in all, it was a great day!

Good Customer Service, What?...

I'm not real thrilled with Lexus at the moment. They claims to have amazing customer service and they are so convenient. Well, they are not! Take it from someone who owns a Lexus, they are not very good. They are great cars, don't get me wrong. I love my car, I don't love the company.
The reason I will NEVER own another Lexus again is because just to get your oil changed you can only get it done at the dealership. I have tried taking it to other places and they don't hve the 'tools' to change my oil. So I have to make an appointment with them (which is always a few days out) and it's a good 2 hour wait every time. Why don't I get a rental car for the day you ask? Oh because they never have any in stock. So I drive 25 minutes there and wait at least 2 hours. They always tell me it won't be longer than an hour and when I call in to make the appointment they act as so they will have a rental in stock. But they never have one.
Ok, so I'm used to that. It sucks but I just do it. What else can I really do? Here is why I'm mad now. I wanted them to check my alignment when I was there. They tried to tell me in order to fix my alignment they would have to change my rims. Yeah right! They claim my car won't run properly with out new rims. Ok, I don't know much about cars but I know that rims don't make your car run better. Guess how much they wanted to charge me for 2 rims, 2 tires and my alignment fixed? Almost $3000! WHAT?! I told them no thank you and took it to Good Year. They laughed when I told them what Lexus told me. Guess what they quoted me? $500 for 2 tires and to get my alignment fixed. Can you believe that? My story gets better! Good Year called me and said they can't take my rims off because it takes a special key to do it. Which means only Lexus can do anything with my car and that is why they can charge what ever they want.
I'm here to tell you if you are in the market for a new car Lexus should not be one of your options. I'm ready to trade it in for a car that I can take anywhere I want to get fixed.

It's true, I have an addiction

I have an addiction and it's really hard for me admit to the world what it is but the first step is acknowledging the problem, right? It's shopping. I love to shop! I do! It's a problem. I have gotten much better the last few months but I know Alan would still want me to improve. We are so opposite! He stressed about buying a pair of Nike's (even though he needed them because his shoes were falling apart.) I had to talk him into it. He just doesn't spend money on himself. I, on the other hand have NO problem shopping for myself. I have about 10 pairs of black shoes in my closet that go with different outfits. If you are a girl, you know what I'm talking about! Even though I have a closet full of things, I still feel the need to buy more. Every time I go on vacation I need a new swimsuit and/or a new outfit. I have 10 plus swimsuits but just need a new one for every trip. It's a problem, for sure!

I realized today my problem is only going to worse once Alan and I start having kids. Alan, watch out! Brace yourself! I came to this conclusion today when I was at Costco. I was looking at the boys clothes (for Justin) and that's when I realized this. We don't get him very often so we don't want to buy him too many clothes because after he wears them 2 or 3 times, he'll out grow them. But I couldn't resist! I found the cutest pair of shorts and I had to have them! Since I bought them, I had to go to Target and get him a cute polo and flip flops to match. Oh it didn't stop there! I ended up buying a pair of cargo shorts, t-shirts, socks and underwear for him. They were army. I just new he'd love them. So a pair of shorts (which I wasn't planning on buying) turned into a whole lot of stuff. It could have been worse though, right?

I'm really am so excited to dress my kids one day and have them look so cute! I do anticipate having a child who wants to dress themselves though. My cute little niece, Hanna is this way. She loves to dress herself and my sister is so good about encouraging her creativity and just letting her dress how she wants to. Here is just an example of how she likes to dress.

Isn't she so adorable? I just love my little banana so much! She has such a fun personalitly!

Anyway, so what did I learn today? I better not have kids. That'll solve the problem, right? ;)