{ los sorensons }

the history of my hair: part 2.

2012-01-13T08:56:00.000-07:00

okay, so from the last post's comments, it was clear some were missing! so to give you a better idea, i've grouped some more photos and organized them by: LONG, SHORT, and IN BETWEEN....

long hair:

<<< this was while i was in hawai'i, a few days before justin showed up and proposed.

(can you believe he proposed to me while my hair looked like this? combination of weird below-the-shoulder length and blonde. not to mention frizzy and nast from the hawai'i climate.)

short:

[in between:]

now, i know its kind of hard to compare my long hair to my short hair because the short hair is much more recent, while most of my long hair shots are from 4-6 years ago. so here are my pros and cons for each. (i don't even want to TALK about the in-between lengths. they are all horrendous except for the first two and the last two.)

long hair pros:

haven't tried it in a long time

lots of options (pulled back, straightened, curly, natural)

more traditionally "feminine"

could look really pretty

long hair cons:

my hair doesn't grow very fast

(would take years of patience and awkward stages to get to where i want to be)

takes much more time to do in the morning

split ends that bug the crap out of me, leading me to cut my hair in the first place

looks really bad when you don't take the time to style it

short hair pros:

more unique than long hair

very low-maintenence

lots of fun ways to style it

easy to apply hair color on shorter hair

works with my face shape

looks good even with minimal effort put into styling it

short hair cons:

once cut, takes even longer to grow out

(if and when i finally decide to)

must have confidence to pull off short hair

(which some days i just don't have)

needs to be cut often to keep a good shape

okay, i hope you all aren't ready to slap me.

i know i am probably being annoying.

but this is a big decision and a big dilemma!

i know in the end it comes down to what i really want to do.

but i really can't decide.

so... has this second post changed any of your opinions from when you just saw the first post?

and

do you have any new insights?

help me.

the history of my hair.

2012-01-12T16:16:00.000-07:00

ok, so... my hair was long my whole life. (and by long i mean about shoulder length or longer).here i am with justin (pre-marriage): long brown hair (looks shorter cause it was curly)

it stayed pretty much the same once we got married, plain brown, and just below the shoulder:

a few months later, i added some fun streaks and my plain brown hair was a bit more purple-y (and i loved it):

this is where it gets a little sketchy. i'm not entirely sure of the order of the next couple looks. but i am pretty sure that once i was tired of my long hair, i cut it to just around my neckline i guess. and back to plain brown:

i suppose that once the color faded from the previous cut, it turned a bit of a warmer brown/dark blonde color, but with the same length.

somewhere along the line, i went back to my blonder roots. adding a little length.

and at some point i went to what you would call, a SUPER short look. at least for me:

i loved that hair cut. i loved the ease of doing my hair in the morning. i liked that it made me feel young (or perhaps old, since i was younger at the time... either way, i liked the way i felt). after a while, it grew out and i thought i would be growing it out for good:

but it was in one of the awkward lengths of hair and i guess i needed it shorter and cleaned up a bit:

almost to the end! a while back i had a red-brown dark hair color with a sharp, short look. it was pretty killer. someone once asked me if i was wearing a wig. it was sick. loved it. here it is, just grown out a tad:

which brings me to present-day alyssa. sporting a much lighter brown color (though in the family pictures it looks much more red). with an above-the-shoulder cut. it is driving me crazy to be honest. if my hair really was the color it looks like it is in this photo, i wouldn't hate it so much. but in real life it is much more dull, much more plain. i feel like this 'do i have going on could be on someone much older than me. it is plain, it is boring. it is 'safe'. the three adjectives that i feel like do not describe me at all.

so i have a dilemma. do i:

a). keep on growing it out..............

or...

b). cut it super short again!

as you can see in the history of my hair, i haven't yet made it past this stage it is in now, more or less. as of late i had decided to grow it out.

that was a while ago because you can see how far i've come.

part of me wants to have it as long as i did as a newlywed.

i haven't had it that long since 2008... 3-4 years ago.

the other part of me misses the super short look i had going on the last year or two.

looking through these old photos, the ones i feel i look the best in were during my really short phase.

so please help me. which do you like better on me?

A Christmas tradition.

2011-12-29T11:05:00.001-07:00

Everyone has Christmas traditions. Justin's family goes to stay at the Little America the weekend before Christmas every year. It has become one of my favorite traditions. We always go see a movie, go swimming, shopping, and eat such great food. And it is so fun to be with the whole family. Last year up there, Ezra had just got his flu shots and was grumpy and sick the whole time. This year he had much more fun. He loved going to the pool (which he started saying repeatedly once he figured out it would get us to take him there). We swam probably five times a day.

My gingerbread house.

Maya at the movie theatre.

Nene got me my own kids snack box when we saw Arthur Christmas! I was so excited.

Ezra loved this dog statue.

Ezra and his grandma going to get ice.

Christmas eve.

Christmas eve cuddling up to maya.

Decorating Justin's grandparents' grave.

Our Christmas tree.

Ezra playing in a box from Christmas. It's true, most of the time kids are more interested in the packaging.

Me, Justin, and Ezra at the Sunday breakfast buffet. I ate way too much.

Justin, Ezra, Marilyn, Don, Jordan, and Brooke at our table. Good times.

I will post other pictures of Christmas day soon. I took some with my good camera and new lens (woot woot!) and they are fab.

Hope everyone else had a great Christmas too!

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motherhood.

2011-12-09T09:53:00.000-07:00

For those of you who have children, (or not) I highly recommend reading this. We all know motherhood is no walk in the park, and it is by far the most important "profession" on Earth. Sometimes society downplays the importance of it, making other things seem much more important. (One of the best things in the article is how it reminds us to not judge each other about when or how many kids to have. I think we can all do better about that.) The article also quotes a Christian blogger saying:

"Children rank way below college. Below world travel for sure. Below the ability to go out at night at your leisure. Below honing your body at the gym. Below any job you may have or hope to get.”

She then adds:

“Motherhood is not a hobby, it is a calling. You do not collect children because you find them cuter than stamps. It is not something to do if you can squeeze the time in. It is what God gave you time for.”

Being reminded of how true that is, it made me feel even more proud of what I do. Made me enjoy it more. Made me take it more seriously. Made it easier for me to enjoy taking care of Ezra all day. Cleaning the house. Going grocery shopping. Cooking dinner. Changing the diapers. Its not glamorous. Sometimes Justin gets home from work at 7pm and I am still in sweats. There's no shame in that. What I do is important. I wish we, as mothers, would realize how blessed we really are. How important what we do really is. I don't really care if others don't appreciate motherhood like they should.

I guess my point of this post is to express appreciation for all you good moms out there. We can have no idea of far-reaching our efforts can be. I hope that by reading this you were reminded of how important and awesome you are. And nothing you could be doing right now could be more important.

Now, I'd better get back to being a mom. Ezra is standing on the kitchen table throwing Christmas candy everywhere.

Surprising my mom at Cafe Rio in St. George

2011-12-05T09:44:00.005-07:00

http://youtu.be/wWzuJO9Z4no

Just watch this. Its quite hilarious.

Octubre.

2011-11-05T10:45:00.001-06:00

So. This is October 2011 in photographs.

Ezra is obsessed with his Jazz jersey. He wants to wear it every time he sees it. On this day, he finally passed out on my lap on the floor after procrastinating his nap for too many hours.

Justin bought us tickets to the Rocky Votolato concert as part of my birthday present. We have seen him twice before, the first time being one of our early dates so his music has always been meaningful to us. It was so fun just going to a show and being an adult. For once I acted my age. Didn't worry about a certain 18 month old and just chilled. It was great. Until our car was towed and we had to walk for 45 minutes to the tow place (stupid university parking!!) in the cold and after eleven pm in scary Provo! Luckily I was there to protect Justin. Ya heard me.

Tossing the football around outside our casa.

Angry Birds!! Apparently they don't respect gravity.

My Indian boy on Halloween. Technically Native American but people give me weird looks when I say that.

Birthday goods.

Trick or treating.

Nap time! Best part of the day.

Look how domesticated I am. This month I made manicotti AND chicken enchiladas (pictured here). Yep, so proud of myself.

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A homemaking win.

2011-10-17T19:11:00.001-06:00

I made chick fil a chicken nuggets tonight from a recipe I found on Pinterest. I am so proud of myself!

Check out this picture I took. Amazing photo quality plus they look just like the ones from the restaurant. So good.

Yay me!

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my hat is old.

2011-10-10T03:01:00.000-06:00

my hat is old.
my teeth are gold.
i have a bird i like to hold.
my shoe is off.
my foot is cold.
my shoe is off.
my foot is cold.
i have a bird i like to hold.
my hat is old.
my teeth are gold.
and now my story is all told.

12:29 AM

2011-10-10T00:41:00.000-06:00

My eyes hurt. I have a cold. I am too warm in the clothes I am wearing but too tired to take them off. Justin and Ezra are sleeping in Ezra's bed... (Justin went in there with Ez to get him to sleep and never came out... so I am going to assume he is asleep). I am thinking of the coming week and how I'm going to tackle it. I edited pictures until I was getting tired of it and since I am never on my laptop anymore I decided to check my blog. Which I haven't done very much lately. Mostly because 95% of the time I am using my iPhone and not my MacBook. My iPhone is great for checking my Twitter feed and my Facebook news feed but not really for checking Blogger. I have a great Blogger app that lets me create posts easily from my phone, but as far as keeping up on blogs I follow... not so much.

I was expecting to see multiple posts from multiple people I follow but there really wasn't much to read. I read all of everyone's new posts in about ten minutes. So apparently I haven't been alone in the having-better-things-to-do category. Not that blogging isn't great or worthwhile... it just seems that everyone has been really busy lately. Myself included. Which is cool.

I really don't remember the last time I was up this late... sad, but true.

And I don't really feel like I have much to update everyone on. Fall is here, which I like. Its gotta be my favorite season. Hoodies, boots, jeans, football. Halloween, my birthday. Scarves, rainy days. It makes me sad that in Utah, Fall lasts for about ten minutes and then its on to Winter. Hopefully it will stretch out a little longer this year.

I better go wake up Justin. I'm sure he doesn't want to sleep in a twin size bed with a huge 18 month old baby.

The last week.

2011-09-26T09:18:00.001-06:00

Hey all, it's the last week of my photography show at the rotunda gallery in the Orem city center. If you want to check it out, do it before the end of the month! And thanks to everyone who has gone to see it. I appreciate the support! Xoxo

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potty training.

2011-09-11T12:40:00.000-06:00

okay, so i know ez is only about 18 months old, but my mom was saying how she had potty trained some of her babies around 18 months. i don't want to force something that isn't going to happen but i figured i could at least give it a shot. but this is one aspect of parenting that i really know nothing about. SO... any of you have any tips/tricks/advice on how to potty train? i appreciate the help!

2011-09-04T18:02:00.001-06:00

Justin and I went on a quick little trip to St. George just the two of us. It was our first trip alone since our honeymoon in 08. I got off work at two on Friday, made some final touches to my exhibit, dropped Ezra off with my mom and we were on our way! Got there pretty late on Friday night so we just grabbed some Cafe Rio and fell asleep. I was exhausted from getting up at six am for work.

Saturday we got up and went to the pool and then got ready and drove to Vegas. We hit the outlets, got some good deals, ate at the Outback, and shopped some more to kill time before our 10 pm (11 pm mountain time) Blue Man Group show. When Justin bought the tickets we thought we were young and vibrant and could handle being up that late but man we were sleepy! And I wasn't impressed with the show. Anyone else seen it? Some things were cool but it moved too slowly for my tired self. The drive back went surprisingly well, we just talked the whole time and it was nice. Finally fell asleep at 3:30 am.

Today Justin got up and did one of his fantasy football drafts and then we swam, got ready, and bailed. Now we are about an hour outside of Utah County.

My mom watched Ezra Friday day until Marilyn picked him up and she had him the rest of the time. They played with Dylan, went to Arctic Circle, and had a blast apparently. And thankfully Ezra slept really well for them. Hopefully the good streak will continue once he's back home with us.

It's funny how we talked about Ezra the whole time we were gone. About the funny little things he does and says, and ended up buying him lots of clothes instead of a lot for ourselves like we normally would do. We missed him but it was the perfect amount of time to be gone. Not too long but long enough to enjoy being together and not get too sad he wasn't with us. I'm so excited to see him. I've become quite attached to the little guy these past 18 months. I know, weird.

On our way down. At sunset. It was a lovely sight.

Me bugging Justin with pictures.

Waiting for the show to start.

Nike Town. Justin's second home.

Laying out at the pool minus eye protection. #blinded

It was really hot and sunny, ok?

This is a tree. If Ezra saw it, he would point at it and make noise until you said "tree"!!!

So tired waiting for the show to start! Had to wear ponchos cause we were in the first 4 rows. Ended up not needing them, luckily.

Justin's parking pass for work. I had to entertain myself somehow during the four hour drive!

Justin, our trusty driver.

I would like to thank those who made this trip possible! Justin's parents, my parents, anyone wgo helped with Ezra, and that's basically it.

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Location:A weekend in the George.

The cutest thing Ezra does...

2011-08-24T21:47:00.001-06:00

...and the most irritating thing Ezra does.

YouTube Video

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the help.

2011-08-22T14:23:00.001-06:00

I realize I am probably way behind some of you, but last week I read 'the Help'. Highly recommend, I couldn't put it down. And I am happy I waited to read it until the movie came out because I am dying to see it. Especially because Emma Stone stars in it... she's gotta be one of my favorite actresses these days.

So... my questions for you are a.) have you read it? and if so, what your thoughts were. and b.) have you seen or are you planning to see the movie?

This summer flew by! I can't believe Justin is starting Fall semester this week. As for me, I have been pretty absent from the world wide web this summer. Not blogging much, deactivated my facebook account... but I don't really miss it too much. I like to blog but when I finally got on my blog today and was checking out all of your blogs, I realized that I'm not the only one that has been up to things besides blogging. Maybe its just that time of year. But I'm looking forward to getting back into the swing of it. The only thing I miss about facebook is talking to my friends who are away in Spain this summer. I need you all to come home now!

And its a typical Monday... ran some errands this morning (am I the only one that thought 'errands' were 'aarons' as a kid?), ezra is taking a nap, and the washing machine is cleaning my clothes. Looking forward to photographing a lovely family this evening (since i'm not taking classes this semester i am sure excited to do a family shoot!).

I miss you guys... what has everybody been up to??

Not to be a downer, but...

2011-08-10T23:15:00.001-06:00

Anybody know whats going on in Africa right now? I just heard about it and wished I hadn't... so naturally I want to tell everyone I know.

I feel so helpless. I wish there was something I could do. Bring everybody that is starving over to my house for dinner.... something. But there isn't a lot I can do. We donated but I still feel sick to my stomach.

More than 29,000 children have starved to death in the past three months? I compare their bony bodies to my son's and instantly start crying.

How can the world go on while people are simply starving to death? I have enough food, I will share. I wish it was that simple...

[source]

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/02/world/africa/02somalia.html

http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/08/10/frist.famine.relief/

Radical ideas and a trip to Jackson Lake.

2011-08-03T23:58:00.001-06:00

We just returned from a trip to Jackson Hole, WY and Colter Bay (in Grand Teton National Park) with the Sorensons. We went on a Friday morning and drove home Tuesday night. It was a fun and much needed vacation. Ezra was in heaven the whole time we were there. Billions of rocks to throw, trees to point at, and water to splash in. Here are just a few pictures I have on my phone. I will post some more when I get my other pictures loaded to my MacBook. It was definitely a shock for him to get used to being outside all the time to coming home and being stuck inside again. He had so much excess energy today I thought I couldn't make it through the day without going crazy. He only slept for ten minutes during the day so hopefully he will get a good rest tonight.

Having your kids at home is never really easy. At his age he wants to either run around outside or sit inside and read books when he can't be outside. He won't play with any of his toys besides his basketball hoop and even then he wants me to be in the room. I walk out and he follows.

It makes me wonder what my ancestors went through with their kids at this age. Were there walls to ruin with markers? Televisions to ruin with baseball bats? Outlets to stick their little fingers into? Busy streets with cars driving on them? It seems there wouldn't be much to yell at your kids about, but I could be wrong. All of these modern day conveniences just don't seem to mesh well with youngsters. But I do know that Ezra has never been happier than when we were living in the mountains, in a simple cabin, with nothing that could really hurt him or anything he could really break. No busy streets to run out into, no TVs to turn on or off. Being out there just seemed so simple. It made me understand how our ancestors didn't really have much but were happy because of the simplicity, not in spite of it. They didn't need to buy their kids hundreds of toys, or movies, or anything really. The kids were perfectly happy with what they had. The rocks and the trees and the water were their toys. It occurred to me that maybe kids were made to live close to the outdoors. Were not intended to be smothered with all these modern, fun things that we buy for them these days. Maybe the best thing I can do for ez is let him enjoy the outdoors a little bit more instead of getting frustrated when he refuses to play with any of the toys I have bought for him. I know it seems a little crazy but seriously, it's how kids have lived since the beginning of earth. Sure they might have a few toys that someone made but I'm sure for the most part they just wanted to explore the world around them. With a constant stream of instant entertainment as the norm, it's no wonder so many more people have ADHD these days.

Like I said, I may be crazy. And I know I said a lot of stuff but it's all just kind of jumbled in my brain, but does anyone get what I'm trying to say?

Oh and yes, here are the pictures: :)

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Summer so far.

2011-07-28T16:06:00.001-06:00

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Vintage store finds

2011-07-27T10:52:00.001-06:00

Happy in their new home... In my new home! I love mixing the old with the new. My favorite design inspiration right now is Emily Henderson on hgtv's Secrets from a Stylist. Her motto: make your house interesting and not perfect. Love it.

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My new project.

2011-07-12T13:25:00.001-06:00

So, Justin and I don't really have any bedding. We are also trying to figure out how to spruce up our bedroom. Today I was looking at some ideas for bedding. This quilt totally caught my eye. And I have been itching to make another quilt (something I haven't done since I was like 12) so I think I am going to attempt to make something like this. Hopefully my grandma will be on board to help me. Also hoping I can find some similar fabrics. Oh, I love summer projects!

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Ezra watches Emerson's YouTube video

2011-07-08T18:01:00.001-06:00

YouTube Video

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The four day weekend.

2011-07-05T14:29:00.001-06:00

It's so nice that Justin has Fridays off. Especially when he has Monday off too for a holiday. This particular weekend was quite an adventure.

Friday: I went to work, had lunch with Amanda, and then I went with Justin and Ezra to the Orem Owls game (thanks for the tickets staci!)

Saturday: Work. Then cleaning the house and getting ready for our housewarming BBQ with my family. Housewarming BBQ with my family. Swimming. Then UFC fight night at the parry's.

Sunday: woke up to Ezra rolling off our bed in his sleep and instantly jumped up from my deep slumber to retrieve him. Felt sick right away. Slept in a few more hours then stumbled downstairs to try to eat something. (missed the baby blessing of kelseys new baby boy emmett). Watched tv. Took a bath. Threw up. Finished bath. Took a nap. Watched more tv. Tried a few bites of soup. Took some tylenol pm and zonked out.

Monday: (July fourth.) woke up, feeling much better. Discovered Justin threw up during my sleep and let him sleep til one. He was tougher than I and we got ready and went to chick fil a for lunch. Went swimming at Melinda's. Visited justin's family, got stung by a bee for the first time in ten years, dinner at the old spaghetti factory, fireworks, sleep.

Tuesday: alarm goes off at five twenty am, telling Justin to get ready. I wake up and don't fall back asleep til seven thirty. Feeling rather icky once again. With stupid ronnie day lyrics in my head. Ezra wakes up after sleeping til nine thirty and I feel like death. Stomach issues. Throw up last nights dinner which was remarkably hot and acidic coming back up. Yuk. Read Ezra some books. Start laundry. Eat some cereal. Watch tv. Read Ezra some more books. Play with Ezra. Give Ezra a bottle. Ezra falls asleep. I blog about our weekend. And so far, in the past week, ten family members have suffered through this wicked flu.

... How was your Fourth of July? :)

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The big apple. Literally.

2011-06-16T11:06:00.001-06:00

No, not literally. But I am literally sitting in an airplane waiting for takeoff. Thought I would let the blogging commence. I took my nikon but didn't take many pictures with it. I was frustrated by how heavy it was especially when I didn't really have the time or the desire to take really great photographs. By day three, I left it at the hotel instead of bringing along. Brooke had a great point-n-shoot and took the majority of our pictures so I am happily awaiting for my disk from her.

Fast forward three days, and now I am home and laying down with Ezra so he can nap. It has been difficult to get back into the swing of things. Back to reality. I'm getting there though. I'm glad its already Thursday which means our weekend is starting. So at least this week went by fast. I realize I need to blog about the trip but I think I will wait until I have pictures to go along with my stories.
For now, here are some I took on my phone. What an awesome trip.

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Subway Surfin'

2011-06-11T18:05:00.001-06:00

Probably won't be a very high quality video but it sure was fun! Too busy to blog, think, or get sad. Enjoy! More later.

YouTube Video

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Streetlights

2011-06-09T11:52:00.001-06:00

We can go for a walk in the darkness, get a relief at each streetlight. Don't know how much it'd cost us, probly more than I've spent in my whole life on these silly ideas that waste more time than I had to lose.

When I woke up this morning it seems like I've got so much more to lose now than I ever had before... before.

Rocky Votolato

Love that song. That last line has been on my mind a lot lately. Hearing all the time about tragic deaths (4 kids have drowned in Utah in the past couple weeks) and just makes me want to hold on to Ezra and Justin with all I've got. I can't survive without them.

And I'm flying to new york city tonight. Praying all goes well. So excited and I am finally packing my suitcase and Ezra is laying on the charm. Giving me random hugs and kisses and being obedient and just happy. Sure gonna miss him but he will be just fine home with his daddy.

I'm sure I will blog my travels well. Stay tuned.

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Ezra watches his reflection.

2011-06-07T15:01:00.001-06:00

I recorded ez today while he looked at his reflection on my phone screen. Had to share it. Isn't it funny how babies love looking at themselves? When did we adults lose all of our self confidence?

YouTube Video

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Ezra's spot.

2011-06-06T16:39:00.001-06:00

We all like our privacy. My Fifteen month old son is no exception. He's not potty trained but he still finds a way to "go" on his own. Oftentimes we find him crouching in a corner of a room or hiding behind a couch. Lately, he has found comfort in hiding behind a curtain panel in our dining room. He sure knows how to make his mama smile.

Can you see him?

Once he noticed my presence, he promptly began playing peek a boo with me.

Is he being so good today to make me feel guilty about leaving him this weekend?

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The bread store.

2011-06-06T16:21:00.001-06:00

I have become a huge fan of "the bread store". I got five loaves of bread, a twelve pack of hamburger buns, and an eight pack of hot dogs. Guess how much it cost me. $7! I have sworn off buying bread at the grocery store. I am bread outlet store or bust from here on out!

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Countdown to NYC

2011-06-05T13:26:00.001-06:00

I'm going to NYC. Leaving this Thursday. I have never been there during the summer with the crazy humidity and that will definitely be an obstacle. Any suggestions for dressing for the heat? Any recommendations on things to do/see? I'm excited but nervous about leaving Ezra for that long. I will probably have a nervous breakdown or two. But thankfully with my new iPhone I can at least see them whenever I need to. And he has been a daddy's boy lately so I'm sure he will be okay without me for a few days.

Some fun things we will be doing/seeing:
Wicked
Phantom of the Opera
Zarkana
Statue of Liberty
Empire State Building
Times Square
Radio City Music Hall
NBC Studios tour
Alexander McQueen exhibit at the Met (!!!!!)
Lots of shopping....

What else needs to be on this list?

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New phone.

2011-06-03T18:30:00.001-06:00

Soo I am writing this from my iPhone! I have wanted one for years and today I got one. I love it so far. Bought my first app which allows me to blog from my phone. So you will probably start hearing from me lots more.

P.s. it's white. And it rocks.

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real fast.

2011-05-28T14:28:00.000-06:00

in our new home.

love it.

finally got internet set up, so here i am. it's been a while. i haven't taken any pictures of the new place but hopefully i will soon.

feels weird to blog again since it has been so long. hopefully i can get back in the swing of things.

in the meantime, i will be trying to catch up on reading all a' ya'lls blogs! wish me luck.

ezra's first easter egg hunt.

2011-05-04T08:47:00.000-06:00

new beginnings.

2011-05-01T13:35:00.000-06:00

well, my blogging has gone down substantially lately. not really sure why. perhaps it was finals that kept me busy... or perhaps it was because we are in the process of buying our first house and it has been CRAZY busy. so we have a contract and all, we are just waiting for the financing to go through and we should close within the next three weeks! i haven't really wanted to blog about it because i didn't want to get all excited and then have it not happen. but it looks like its going to. it still just seems surreal though. anywho, i finally felt like i could tell you all about it!

we are buying a townhome in the cove at jordan river which is located in saratoga springs. now, i know what you're thinking: its SO far away!! i know you're thinking that, because that is what i thought, too. but it is actually only 6 minutes from the lehi main street exit and is right off main street. so it takes like less than 20 minutes to get there from my parent's house which is just enough distance that i feel like we are on our own but is close enough to visit a lot. so it is basically perfect. 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 bathrooms, 1 car garage, lots of upgrades, a private small backyard, and an unfinished basement for room to grow! i am especially looking forward to being a part of a little community with other young families and being able to take ezra to the pool and for walks and such.

so i am finally letting myself get excited about it. we have been planning where we are going to put all of our furniture and all of our stuff. so, lots of the stress is melting away. we have never owned a home before and i am excited for all that we will experience. it will be nice to have all of the space we need (especially storage space) and to be able to do our own thing. i am going to start cooking (that's the plan, at least. wish me luck!) in my new kitchen that is my favorite part of the house.

we will definitely be living on a budget because for the past 2 1/2 years we have been living with little to no cost of rent and have not been careful with our money because we didn't have to be. now that we will actually have serious financial obligations we have made a budget and will need to stick to it. i am figuring it won't be easy at first but as time goes on and justin makes more money it will get much more comfortable.

as for some fun things i have my eyes on, here are some barstools from crate & barrel. they are absolutely fabulous. we already bought a sofa, a loveseat, and a dining set. so i won't really be buying anything else. (besides window coverings, a washer and dryer, and boring stuff like that). the main downside to buying a new place is that you usually have to put in all the shutters and stuff like that. oh well.

california adventures.

2011-04-18T23:08:00.001-06:00

justin, ezra, and i drove to southern california to meet mike, val, emerson, madden, and my mom, dad, and little brother ryan at disneyland! sounds great right? well, it kind of was... and it kind of wasn't.

first, on our way down, we stopped in vegas because my tire was making a funny sound. never a good sign. four hours, eleven hundred dollars, four new tires and rims later, we were back on the road. phew. 4 hours at a big-o in north las vegas is not a place i want to spend much time, let alone four hours.

second, ezra developed quite the little fever on our drive down and was pretty sick the whole trip. we even had to take him to the E.R. (it wasn't an emergency but being out of state, we had no other choice). his fever had been high for a few days but then he started developing a nasty cough and a bad runny nose so we wanted to make sure he didn't have pneumonia like his grandpa don and cousin dylan. luckily he didn't, and $150 and 2 hours later we were on our way.

since ezra was so sick he had a hard time sleeping because he couldn't breathe and he was just really lethargic all trip. so unlike him. but he did have one happy day so i was glad mike&val actually got to see him as his normal self.

ezra's favorite part of disneyland was when we were there at night and there were all these bright and colorful lights. the weather was perfect at night. he didn't mind most of the rides but he really didn't like some of them. but justin and i got to do the tower of terror and california screamin' and those were crazy fun.

disneyland was so crowded! but it was alright. ezra wasn't really into it most of the time because he was sick but he did like a few things i think. justin and i had fun, too. we got to go to the parks by ourselves a few times and go on some rides which was really nice. (thanks mom & val!).

we stayed at the sheraton and since we could only get two queens if we upgraded to the "club" rooms on the top floor, we were VIPs for a few days. it was fun going into the club room and getting sodas out of the fridge and eating snacks at night.

the best part of the trip was being able to spend time with the halls! val is my best friend and i hadn't seen her since christmas so that was a lot of fun. i loved being with my family and going on all the rides. the trip definitely had its ups and downs but we grew a lot from it and hey, i got some good pics so... (if you're still reading, which i doubt you are...) scroll down!

p.s. please click on these images to enlarge them! the small thumbnails just do not do them justice, and it sickens me. especially the one in color of cute little madden. he is SO handsome.

five things.

2011-04-03T09:37:00.000-06:00

so, i'm sure you all saw my last post about ezra's birthday. so yeah, my baby is one year old. i can't believe how much of a personality he has already. i wanted to write down some stuff about how he is right now.

1. he lives for the outdoors. when i bring him downstairs in the morning, he literally runs to the back door and yells and points at me and at the door, telling me to let him outside. i enjoy being outside, don't get me wrong. but he wants to be out there every minute of every day and i can't get anything done when we're outside. i can't just sit there and watch him because he always runs to the trampoline and tries to walk over it so i have to make sure he doesn't fall through. and then when i try to bring him back inside, no matter how long we have been out, he throws a fit.

2. basketball is already his favorite sport. we got him a little jazz hoop a while back, one that goes over the door. we put this one on his pack n' play so it is the perfect height for him. he will stand there and put basketballs in the hoop for a very long time. he also enjoys carrying around any full-size basketball he can get his hands on.

3. he loves reading books. i'm not kidding, i can hardly get anything done because if i'm cleaning & he's just quietly playing, if he sees one of his books, he will pick it up and walk it over to me to read to him. then he wants me to read it again, or, he will find another book and hand me different books while i am reading a book to him. it is so cute to watch his expressions and reactions to different books. some of his current favorites are: i love you through and through, how do i love you, & ten apples up on top.

4. my wallet is one of his favorite toys. if he sees it, he has to have it. no matter where we are or what we're doing. and he sits there and pulls everything out of it until everything is out, then he carries my credit cards around the house.

5. he loves music. i don't know if you've seen him dancing, but it is pretty hilarious. i will post a video of it once i take the time to figure out how to post videos online. he has a bunch of toys that play music and when he hears it, he stands there flailing his arms rapidly to the beat. its one of the funniest things he does.

a birthday party for a one year old.

2011-03-22T09:55:00.000-06:00

my baby turned one on friday.

i have survived my first year of being a mother.

of all the roles i have taken on, this one is by far my favorite.

it makes everything else seem kinda lame.

watching something you brought into the world grow and progress,

there is nothing like it.

and i know i say it too much, but:

so here's to my best friend,

my love,

my life.

ezra, i love you.

the celebration:

i love this face.

2011-03-10T20:49:00.001-07:00

ezra & i had a picnic today in our backyard. it was warm and sunny and i just had to take some pictures. he is my best friend and i don't know what i would do without him!

photos that make me happy.

2011-03-09T23:58:00.000-07:00

photopaloozaphotopaloozaphotopalooza.

today it was so incredibly great to work with professional models and hair & make up people.

i got some pretty dang sick shots that i am stoked about.

it is amazing the things that go into a good photograph.

so many people behind it.

i learned a lot today.

i have more to post but this will have to do for now because its midnight & i have a dental appointment at 7.30 a.m.

gotta keep the money maker in good shape!

[ lol. ]

an eventful weekend.

2011-03-07T22:20:00.000-07:00

thanks to the lovely storm outside, justin is having a very hard time getting home from the university of utah tonight. no roads have been plowed & it just keeps on snowin'. and he has been gone since 6 a.m. poor guy. but ezra is sleeping peacefully & i finally have a minute to update this ol' blog.

weekends for us are awesome. justin is on a 4 day work week schedule because he's employed with the state (which some lawmakers are trying to change... stupid lawmakers, pray it doesn't change! for me? please?) which leaves us friday, saturday, and sunday to spend all day with each other! it is rather great. so, to start off our weekend with a bang, we went to the jazz-nuggets game on thursday night.

story one: ezra meets the prophet.
since justin works in downtown SLC and we had a jazz game that night, i rode up there with justin's mom & ezra and we met justin at little america for dinner. another notable person was dining in the same restaurant, maybe you have heard of him. THOMAS S. MONSON ringing any bells? ezra also happened to run in front of him so he bent down and touched ezra's arm and said something like "well you're just a little go-er, aren't you? tracking already!" and ez smiled at him and was on his merry way. this all happened while mare was watching him so justin & i were still at our table so we missed it. sad face. but what a cool story!
story two: the jazz game.

the jazz lost in a heartbreaking last play in which andrei kirilenko missed an open lay-up but looked to have been touched (illegally) by the denver player in-bounding the ball. which sucks, but what do ya do. it was such an intense game. super close the whole time. i HATE the nuggets so i was really into it and we enjoyed a large sprite and kettle corn and cheered our little hearts out. it was weird not having deron or jerry there. but life is all about change.

story three: more jazz. art. pie. lost (in translation).
even though we love long weekends together, sometimes we go crazy if we don't plan enough things to do. so this weekend we planned on going to salt lake and seeing the little jazz art exhibit going on at the blonde grizzly. they had some awesome art (which i love) of the utah jazz (which i love). so i loved it. it was a really cute little store and i bought me a "JERRY" shirt and justin bought a print of a painting of jerry. i'm not sure how much longer it will be up but it was definitely worth the trip!

next stop: the pie pizzeria. we have been here a few times before. it is a really fun place to eat. personally, the actual pizza doesn't thrill me much. but maybe i'm just not ordering the right crust. i do enjoy their salads and cheese bread, however.

after all that fun, we went home & watched lost in translation. neither of us had seen it before but we both really liked it. have any of you seen it before? what were your thoughts?

story four: the 60th birthday.
on saturday we had a surprise birthday party for justin's aunt christine at magelby's fresh. happy birthday nene!

so, all in all, the weekend was a success. i will try to make time for blogging, i do enjoy your comments oh so much.

stuck.

2011-02-21T16:54:00.000-07:00

i have to start thinking about an idea for a final project in my documentary photography class.

we have been documenting lots of different things all semester.

so far i have documented:
a day in the life of ezra
a trip to the M.A.C counter
a byu basketball game
and....
a dirty ol' steel shop.

now i need a project for my final. it needs to be good. i have considered immigration as a topic to explore, nostalgic memories from my childhood, and maybe a birth or something.

but i don't feel attached to anything i have thought about yet so.....

any ideas?

first family trip.

2011-02-17T20:40:00.000-07:00

st. george.

locked out.

check into the claridge inn at 2 a.m.

locksmith.

reading and lounging on the deck in the sun.

brigham young's winter home.

walking to the park.

sit at park.

photographs.

new raybans.

camera shake.

great weekend.

hello. this is probably going to bore you.

2011-02-06T23:31:00.000-07:00

well, justin & ezra are sound asleep but i took a two-hour nap today so naturally i can't sleep yet! so i thought i would blog. just update and what not. so here it goes...

ezra is over ten and a half months now. i can't believe how fast time is going. it has almost been a whole year since he was born. it is fun how old he is acting. he walks really fast everywhere he goes, loves to get into the kitchen & bathroom cabinets, does this face where he puckers his lips out really far and squints his eyes, waves at everyone/everything he sees, licks everything he touches, and gives open mouth, tongue-hanging-out kisses. what melts my heart now is he will walk up to me and say "ma ma" and then pull his kissy face. ahh i can't stand it! he's my best friend in the world and i love being his ma ma.

justin is loving his new job. the days are long [seven a.m. to six p.m. monday thru thursday] but he is really enjoying it. i love seeing him go off to work in his slacks and button-up shirts [even though i am usually still half-asleep when he comes to say goodbye at six a.m.]. he is really grateful for the job he has, as many of the people he works with are much older than him and are working the same job. the benefits are insanely good, too. he is still doing his training but next week he will get his cubicle with a view of downtown SLC which he is excited about. he is also doing school full-time working on his MPA at the U so two days a week he doesn't get home until 10 p.m. which sucks, but not too badly. he has a positive outlook and works really hard and i feel so lucky to be married to him.

i am loving the classes i am taking. documentary photography and photographic lighting. as a photographer, i am beginning to ask myself questions that i have never asked before. it is crazy to me how deep photography/art really is. people don't give it enough credit. i seriously have headaches after class sometimes because of the discussions we get into. its almost like philosophy or something like that. sometimes i get frustrated that there really isn't a "right" answer in art. at least in math [a subject i am terrible at] always has an answer. photography isn't the same way. but in a way that is what i love about it. anyway, i am becoming a better photographer every day and am so grateful to be able to learn so much about it. i'm thankful for my mom, justin, and my mother-in-law for helping watch ezra so i can go to class. now i am trying to figure out my schedule for the summer and fall now that i am close to finishing up my degree. hopefully i can get it done in two more semesters but i'm not sure if i will get all the classes i need to. we'll see.

hopefully i didn't put you to sleep [unless that was your reason for reading this post...] just needed to keep ya posted.

xoxo.

winter fever.

2011-01-25T21:56:00.000-07:00

yes, its true, i have winter fever. it snowed today. it's not even february yet. and yet, i am on the hunt for a swimsuit for this summer. i have intentions of getting a season pass to either seven peaks or lindon city pool. hopefully i will find some buddies that want to get a pass with me??

either way, while my body may be in a cold place my heart and mind are in a much happier, much warmer place.

also, i need to purchase a bike trailer so i can actually use my bike this summer. the last one didn't get much use because i couldn't take ezra with me. i have other plans for this summer so if anyone knows anyone that wants to get rid of theirs or knows where i can get one... let me know.

Organize, downsize, prioritize.

2011-01-18T14:33:00.000-07:00

eeeeeeeeeeeee

the beginning of a new year. a fresh start. oh yes, i am taking advantage of another chance. i deep, deep cleaned our rooms this weekend (ha, i love how i say our rooms, like i'm a third grader or something), and i intend to keep them clean always. have a little faith, it can happen.

last night i went through mine & justin's clothes and got rid of a bunch of stuff. we had to make room for the new additions we made to justin's professional wardrobe and it felt good to clear out stuff we don't use.

we also installed some new little shelves for ezra's books. an idea i stole from my cousin kelsey's blog that she stole from another blog. only when kelsey went to ikea to purchase the shelves, she couldn't find them. i guess i got lucky. (sorry, kels!)

it is absolutely necessary to be organized when living in small spaces, especially when you have a lot of stuff. and we have A LOT of stuff. i decided to show you how much stuff we have.

"I don't have any pictures from Christmas!"

2011-01-18T14:17:00.000-07:00

Those are the words that just escaped my mouth. How did this happen? Wow. Ezra's first Christmas and I didn't take any pictures on my camera. Probably because I was busy recording everything on my flip. I do think I have some on my mom's camera and Justin probably took some once he opened his new waterproof camera. So... I guess I will get back to this later. He he.

Catching up on last year. Part one.

2011-01-18T14:10:00.001-07:00

Okay so I'm a little behind. I will start off from back in mid to late December when we spent a night at Little America Hotel in Salt Lake City, just like we do every year with the Sorensons.

Remember a while ago when I blogged about how sick Ezra was? It was right after his nine month appointment when he got a flu shot which he apparently did not respond to very well. The weekend we looked forward to ended up being a bad dream I couldn't wake up from. But it wasn't ALL that bad. Spending time with family is always fun. Well, not always, but we did have fun. In fact, it probably would've been the most fun trip we've taken up there if not for Ezra not feeling well. The first night we were there, Justin's mom watched Ez while Justin & I went to a movie at the Broadway with Jordan & Brooke. Then we ate at the cafe with everyone. Well, everyone except for me & Ezra. At this point he still needed help walking and that was all he wanted to do and wouldn't sit at the table and just wanted to go places he wasn't supposed to go and I pretty much had a meltdown later that night after he didn't want to go to anyone but me and would scream and scream if someone took him from me. Luckily I have some pretty awesome sisters in law who cheered me up. That night was hell as Ezra woke up four times crying and just seemed to be in so much pain. The next morning we had breakfast at the buffet and it was spectacular. Ezra was doing a little better so we went shopping at the Gateway with Jordan & Brooke and I finally remembered to take a picture. So the three pictures we have from that whole trip were taken while we ate at the Gateway food court. Glamorous, eh? Anyway, we went home after that because Ezra was fed up and we didn't want to go through what happened the night before again.

i've been a busy girl...

2011-01-16T15:02:00.001-07:00

to see more from these series please check out my photography blog.
alyssatakespictures.blogspot.com.

we are sick.

2011-01-13T12:48:00.000-07:00

we are sick.

but here is a cute pic (one of many pics) that i have done these past few days for my documentary photography class (photography III). i love it.

commence fireworks.

2011-01-06T10:04:00.000-07:00

maybe i am just being dramatic, but i am pretty psyched. justin got a phone call last night and they offered him that job he wanted in downtown salt lake! he accepted and is starting in a few weeks. it is his first "real" job that he has gotten on his own and because of his college degree. so it isn't completely worthless after all! yay! and i assume now justin is ready to buy a new macbook air with his student loans since we will be at school at the same time and will both need laptops. and he will also start test driving some good commuter cars since he will be driving up to salt lake 4 times a week.

as for me, i decided around midnight the night before school started that i would take some classes. i am still on the waitlist for one class but hopefully i can get into it so that i can have 12 credits and get a pell grant.

i guess sometimes, things do work out the way you wanted them to.

Updates.

2011-01-04T14:49:00.000-07:00

Guess what! I finally updated my photography blog. Things have been pretty crazy lately so I am happy I finally got that done. I feel like its been a while so here is a snapshot of the craziness on my mind.

Justin:
Justin is starting classes again at the U on Monday and he will be there twice a week. He has gotten a few interviews lately and is just waiting to hear back. But until we do hear back it is hard to move forward with any plans or anything. I hate waiting. I really hope/pray he gets this one job that is in downtown SLC working for the State. His interview went well and they have talked to his references and they all gave him excellent recommendations but there really is no knowing who he is up against and whatever. If he does get the job he will be working 40 hour weeks, 4 ten hour days. In Salt Lake. So on days that he has school he would be gone from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. That would be really hard. But of course we still hope he gets it.

Me:
Even though its a new year I feel like I'm at a stand-still. I can't make plans for myself until I know what Justin will be up to this semester and his schooling is definitely the priority. I would like to do something to keep me busy and would love to take classes again but I would have to take a full schedule to get financial aid and I don't know how probable that is for me right now. There are just too many things to figure out right now that I just want to take a bath all day long.

Ezra:
Ezra has turned into a mama's boy faster than I could have ever imagined. He will be sitting there playing totally happy and then sees me and wants to be held and freaks out if I walk away. Poor little guy. I wonder why babies do that. I love it, of course, but at the same time it complicates things. He is walking lots now too and becoming really confident which is cool. On Sunday he gave kisses. It was the cutest thing I've seen and was so much fun.

All in all, I just need to be patient. Keep calm and carry on, right? Everything will work out even if its not the way we planned it. More to come on Christmas, New Years, and other such things. Pictures, too, of course.

I needed some new music.

2010-12-28T17:40:00.000-07:00

And I found an iTunes gift card from two years ago that had $15 on it. So I went ahead and purchased the (500) Days of Summer soundtrack and it is downloading now. Can't wait to listen to it. I loved the music on the movie (which is one of my very favorite movies... go rent it if you haven't seen it already....) and have been wanting the soundtrack ever since I saw it like a year and a half ago.

 Do you ever feel like you listen to the same music over and over again and even though its your favorite you get so sick of it that to want to rip your hair out? Well, I do. So here's to new music... and renewed sanity.

all i really wanna do...

2010-12-26T17:36:00.000-07:00

... is own a garbett home. have you seen them? they are lovely, and i have spent too much time today dreaming about living at the district in south jordan.

http://www.garbetthomes.com/district.html

also, justin has an interview tomorrow. wish him luck.

the weekend we looked forward to.

2010-12-20T18:38:00.000-07:00

[fair warned be ye says i: this is basically just a rant. you probably don't want to bother.]

and it did not work out like we had planned. ezra had his 9 month appointment (96% height, 56% weight) and got his foot pricked and had a flu shot. just recovering from an ear infection and going through some serious teething made things worse. it is hard enough being a parent to healthy children. they get sick and things are so much worse. this all happened a day before we went to salt lake to stay at the little america hotel with the sorensons, an annual christmas tradition. we look forward to the swimming, the food, the shopping, the movies, the walking around at temple square, the relaxing... and really didn't get to do hardly any of that. it wasn't a complete disaster, parts of it were fun. but after waking up with ezra about five times saturday night, we were exhausted and were not about to go through that again so we drove home sunday night.

i had a minor melt down saturday night after a dinner that i spent 95% of walking/chasing ezra around the crowded place, him falling and getting hurt, wanting to go into the kitchen and every other place he isn't allowed. i know i'm describing a lot of my frustrations but really, it was awful and i broke down crying, in front of most of his family. but i can tell you how much i love them and really consider them my own family. i am a lucky girl.

so on our reluctant/frustrated drive back to lindon, justin said we should name 5 things that are going good right now. turns out, i need to stop feeling sorry for myself and just try to enjoy life. even if the only pictures i took were of justin & ezra eating at mcdonalds at the gateway food court.

Jazz v. Mavs + My Early Christmas Present

2010-12-09T15:59:00.000-07:00

justin & i had tickets to see the jazz v. mavericks game on friday, dec. 3rd. he surprised me by getting us a room at little america in SLC as part of my christmas present! it was a much needed break for the both of us. ezra stayed with justin's mom and we had lots of fun... first we ate at costa vida at the gateway and did a little shopping. the game kinda blew. dallas is way good and the jazz just couldn't hang with em. that said, it was the first game i went to that i actually got to see some really good players. usually i just get to see the crappy teams so it was fun even though we lost. dirk is INsane.

jazz lost. :(

a late thanksgiving post...

2010-12-09T15:44:00.000-07:00

last year we were cruising in the caribbean for thanksgiving with my family and this year we spent the entire day with the sorensons (my family was in arizona with mike & val). just your classic thanksgiving day routine. minus the christmas vacation viewing... too many people were sick. but we had a good day and ezra got to wear his "baby's first thanksgiving" onesie. so i would say it was a success.

Ughhh

2010-12-07T17:25:00.000-07:00

i hate when i haven't blogged in a while and something really old is the first post you see when you check out my blaaah-g. so i just wanted to type something quick so i could change that! naturally, i am waiting to put pictures on my comp so i can blog about events in my super exciting life.

ok, honestly... its not that exciting. but i have the most adorable little boy in the world and he is better than anything else i could possibly be doing with my life. so i can deal with his sore gums that make him grumpy, his bad habit i let him get into of going to bed at quarter to one in the morning, and the feeling i sometimes get of being left out of things because i am just a boring, 21 year old girl with a husband and a baby. because this is absolutely the life that i want.

The Much-Awaited.... Brandon Flowers.

2010-11-27T18:24:00.001-07:00

ok, you all probably want to throw up over how much i talk about brandon flowers. if that sounds like you, feel free to not read this post. but if you are somewhat intrigued, feel free to read on.

...

i got tickets for my birthday. (thanks, jus!) and i was so excited to go. we went the night we got home from arizona so that helped ease the pain of leaving. we ate at the cafe rio in sandy on our way up and parked in the wrong parking lot and froze while walking the extra five minutes to the venue (the depot).

the depot is a 21+ place. i showed my new drivers license that had just came in the mail that day with an updated picture and lovely, shiny proof that i am indeed, 21. i was giddy.

...

the place had beautiful artwork and i loved the whole vibe. there was a bar. AHHH. lmao i had to order a red bull. i felt so cool ordering a drink at a bar! it was so funny.

...

the opening band was a guy named fran healy. he was so cool and i liked his music. i purchased his album and got his autograph. he said i was "lovely". he he.

...

we found a place to stand near the side of the stage. this is the part where there is a small bit of conflict. you see, my husband is nearing 6 foot 6 in height and likes to stand near the back or against a wall at concerts so he isn't in anyone's way. considerate, right? i, on the other hand, am pushing 5 foot six and couldn't see over the guys standing in front of me! but i wanted to be as close as i could to the stage so we were kind of separated for a lot of the concert. i still danced by myself and rocked out to brandon's lovely, lively music.

...

as far as the actual performance goes, it could not have been much better. he played every song i wanted him to play. in fact, he seemed to have played almost every song in his album but i felt ripped off when he left the stage because it seemed like there was so much left unplayed. that was all in my head though because i realized that he really did play almost every song. and each and every song was so good.

...

i have a new-found appreciation for the song welcome to fabulous las vegas. i love when arists explain songs a little during their concerts and brandon does this well. this song, he explained, is about the times when las vegas really isn't so fabulous. and i fell in love again...

...

a song that is definitely a favorite of both justin & i is the clock was tickin'. if you haven't listened to it, you really should. it is so good and also very different from how his music usually sounds.

...

well, i think that pretty much sums it up.

splendid.

delightful.

captivating.

Justin's Birthday Celebrations + Phoenix + Seahawks @ Cardinals

2010-11-27T18:07:00.000-07:00

1. Dinner at Tepanyaki with Justin's parents
We went to Tepanyaki in Lehi to celebrate Justin's birthday. It was delish, of course.

2. Phoenix, AZ
Justin had a free flight to use by the end of November so we flew to Phoenix to stay with my sister and her family. We flew in on Saturday, November 13 (Justin's birthday). On Saturday we were just kinda lazy... hung out, took a nap, then went to Outback Steakhouse. On Sunday Justin & I went to the Cardinals game while Valerie watched Ezra. We also got a lot of shopping done while we were there and had to work extra hard to make everything fit. I'm talking those space-saver vacuum bags to put all of our dirty clothes in. I expected it to be warmer since its Phoenix but ended up wearing my one pair of jeans pretty much the whole time. We had so much fun staying with them and were so excited to get to play with Emerson & Madden. They are two dang cute kids and Ezra couldn't get enough of them.

3. Seahawks at Cardinals
Funny story. Justin LOVES the Seattle Seahawks, they are his team. So we were excited to see them play the Cardinals but torn as to who we should appear to be cheering for. Not wanting to get hassled by the Cardinals fans, we wore our Arizona gear. The first half consisted of Seattle basically dominating the Cardinals and we happened to be sitting by a much of Seahawks fans. So with a few minutes left in the first half I went into the restroom and changed into my Seahawks jersey! I brought it with me hoping I could get it autographed but then we didn't get there very early. Justin was mad though cause HE is the Seahawks fan and wished he could represent. It was kind of funny but I found myself wanting Seattle to do well so I thought my outward appearance should reflect that. In retrospect, its really not that funny of a story but oh well. Seattle ended up pretty much killing Arizona. Poor Arizona, I like them too. But both teams kind of suck so who cares?

cafe zupas.

2010-11-27T12:52:00.001-07:00

we like to go out to dinner on the weekends.

usually we leave ez with one of his grandmas but sometimes we bring him along with us.

a few weeks ago we went to zupas. it was nothing special but i just loved being there with the three of us. our cute little family is my favorite thing on earth.

twenty one.

2010-11-27T12:42:00.000-07:00

yes, i am finally twenty one!

i had a birthday party at chuck e. cheese, went to carrabba's with justin, went to lunch at chick fil a with kelsey, and went to dinner at la casita (my favorite mexican restaurant) with lindsey, alicia, savannah, celia, & ezra.

thanks everyone who made my birthday so special!

i love you all.

The Pie.

2010-11-27T12:18:00.000-07:00

Has anyone ever been to the Pie Pizzeria by the University of Utah in Salt Lake City?

Apparently its like "the" University hang out or something. But Justin went there and really liked it so we ate there back in October before we went to the Hogle Zoo (which I already blogged about). It is really yummy and lots of fun. I recommend it.

Justin Goes to San Francisco

2010-11-27T12:07:00.000-07:00

So remember like a year ago when I said I had a million things to blog about? Well, here it is. Enjoy. 

First up: 

SF

i don't really know what to say because this is all about justin and i wasn't there so... yeah... ha ha but yeah he went there with some friends to watch the 49ers game and they had a lot of fun. they drove there and it was his first time in san fran. of course ez & i missed him but we stayed at my parents house and had a sleepover at mandy's house (her husband was on the trip as well).

the movies.

2010-11-23T19:42:00.000-07:00

going to the movies is fun and all, but who has time anymore? i can't remember the last time i saw a movie with justin, all thanks to the cost of watching a movie at the movie theater (i could buy the blu-ray dvd for cheaper) and ezra. i love him and all, but he is just not ready to sit through an entire movie.

looking at a list of the top 55 (grossing) movies of 2009, i saw a grand total of 13 movies. however, i also saw 7 of the top 10 grossing movies so at least i'm seeing (hopefully) some of the best movies. but transformers 2 at no. 2? that's questionable. come on, america.

on the bright side, justin got a gift card to cinemark for his birthday so hopefully we will get to see some movies in the near future. the only question left is which will we see because our list of movies to see is growing by the day.

No Time: The Story of My Life... By: Alyssa Sorenson

2010-11-18T14:50:00.000-07:00

I really, really, really want to do so many things and I just can't seem to find the time. Ezra just got another tooth in over the weekend and has been in a lot of pain because of it and when he's mad I can't put him down and don't accomplish anything besides taking care of my sweetheart. And that is just not gonna cut it with all the stuff I have to do. So what have I done for the past hour since Ezra fell asleep? Changed my blog up a little bit. And, dang it, it's been nice.

Sometimes when I have too much to do I just do nothing and it makes me feel like I'm in control of my life.

'Cause I'm 21... I do what I want.

A few things I'm excited about.

2010-11-14T11:42:00.000-07:00

First and foremost, I started my period this week. A little personal to share, I know, but after missing my period last month and starting a new birth control (the nuvaring... highly recommend) I was super happy to start this time. As much as I love being a mom, I am NOT ready to have another baby and have been worried about it for the last month. Seeing many of my friends who are pregnant just reminded me how much I don't want to go through that for at least a few more years.

Second, the Utah Jazz. HOW have I not blogged about this yet? In case you don't follow them, they just went 4-0 on an Eastern conference road trip, beating the Miami Heat, the Orlando Magic, the Atlanta Hawks, and the Charlotte Bobcats... all on the road. It has made me very happy.

Third, I get to see BRANDON FLOWERS on Wednesday night at the Depot. You must be 21+ to get in so I'm glad I am finally 21 and that being 21 will actually do me some good. Don't wanna drink, don't wanna gamble. At least I can go to a siiick concert.

Don't you just love these close games? It still gives me the chills.

tagged by staci :)

2010-11-14T10:13:00.001-07:00

Four Shows I Watch:
1. 30 Rock
2. Modern Family

3. Project Runway

4. America's Next Top Model

Four Things I'm Passionate About:
1. Justin + Ezra

Photography
Fashion
My beliefs

Four Phrases I Say A Lot:
"Nerrrfin'..."

2. "He looks like a homeless."

"Go Jazz!"
"I love Brandon Flowers."

Four Things I've Learned from the Past:
You make your bed but then you have to sleep in it.

2. I should've paid better attention in math & science.

3. You live and you learn... you live better if you learn from other's mistakes.

4. One day you will understand that everything happens for a reason and isn't as unbelievable as it seems. I mean everything.

Four Places I Would Like to Go:
Europa
Alaska
Tokyo
Heaven :)

Four Things I Did Yesterday:
Flew to Phoenix with Justin & Ezra
Bought ugly Christmas sweaters at Goodwill
Ate (& checked the score of the Jazz game on my Droid) at Outback
Watched Modern Family Season 1 episodes with Justin, Mike, & Val

Four Things I'm Looking Forward to:
Going to the Seahawks v. Cardinals game at 2:15 p.m. this afternoon
Brandon Flowers concert on Wednesday night
Christmas celebrations & traditions
Justin finishing his Master's and hopefully getting a good job

Four Things I Love About Winter:
Snuggling up next to the fireplace with those I love most and watching the snow fall outside.

Heated seats
Winter clothes
Traditions

Four Things on My Wish List:
Justin finds a job that... a)gives him experience and b) pays well
I will get into the classes I want for Spring 2011
World peace
The Jazz will keep winning

Four People I Tag:
Lindsey Down

Kelsey Mauch
Rachel Lassen
Rachael Thomas

attention.

2010-11-09T10:58:00.000-07:00

if you follow this blog (which you should), you should also follow my photography blog!

alyssatakespictures.blogspot.com.

mmkay? thanks.

top 6.

2010-11-06T20:02:00.000-06:00

okay okay, i still haven't blogged our recent pictures but i will get to it. inspired by my sister's blog, i would like to list a few things i love about my life right now. to help me focus on the positive because i do need to work on being more positive.

1. i have ezra. and i have justin. need i say more?

2. i just celebrated my birthday last week and got to spend time with some of the people i love most. and i got a bunch of cute new clothes. score.

3. we are living at my parent's house and LOVE it. crazy? maybe. but it is really nice to have people around because ezra often gets bored of justin & i.

4. going to arizona next week to visit mikevalemersonandmadden.

5. ate at zupa's tonight with justin & ezra. i just love my little family! (& eating a delicious honey bacon club sandwich!)

6. we have big plans to watch some modern family tonight after ezra goes to sleep. how romantic, eh?

which reminds me... better go get this crazy kid to bed!

ugh.

2010-11-04T21:37:00.000-06:00

ezra is now 7 & 1/2 months old... and he is all over the place. i can't keep up with him! seriously, in the time i have started trying to type this blog he has already hit his head once (for the 4th time today...) and i had to go help him.

so when little crawlers are all over the place like this and getting into everything, how do you strike a balance between letting them explore and giving them confidence while still keeping them safe? i can't count how many times a day he hurts himself on things around the house but at the same time i can't just hover over him all day.

I love today (& hate tomorrow).

2010-10-31T16:16:00.000-06:00

Why I love today:

After a particularly crazy weekend (birthday dinner at Carrabba's & shopping on Friday night with Justin, birthday party & Halloween festivities on Saturday) today has been nice to catch up on things and relax. We went to Brad & Staci's ward to see Brad give Katelyn her baby blessing at 9 a.m. which I loved. We did have to wake Ezra up for what seemed like the first time we were the ones doing the waking up, but it was nice to be done with church at 10 and have the rest of the day. Usually our church is at 1 and it is torture with the baby. So Ezra has had two good naps today (and is still sleeping!) and Justin has got some homework done and we have cleaned up our stuff.

Next up:

Steaks and won-ton salad for dinner with my family (and strawberry icebox for dessert!)

Birthday cake & ice cream & presents with the Sorensons.

{Its crazy how much I can get done when I don't go to church in the afternoon. I know most people hate 9 a.m. church but I think it was made for families with young children that usually wake up before 8 a.m. anyway. }

And I'm wearing my new Seattle Seahawks shirt that my parents gave me for mah birfday. Go Seahawks! I will see you in exactly two weeks from today when you play the Arizona Cardinals. Yes, we are flying to AZ to visit Mike & Val! Yayyy!

Why I hate tomorrow:

Justin says I need to be more positive because I apparently get pretty pessimistic at times. So while today is great and I am not worrying about stuff I need to do tomorrow, I see all the stuff I need to do on the horizon and it makes me want to just take a nap.

A few things I need to do:

1) Finish moving out of the basement (this is more difficult and stressful than it sounds... we have a ton of stuff.)

2) Clean our old place and make it ready for whomever moves in next. (whoever?)

3) Pay bills. No fun.

4) Figure out my Spring schedule for school (and if it is even going to work out somehow)

[and those are just the things that are particularly pressing. somewhat time-sensitive...]

but for now, i am just going to smile and enjoy the rest of tonight. it has been a good day. and soon (hopefully) i will blog pictures and report my birthday celebrations.

hope you all have a great day too!

Quick Decisions

2010-10-26T09:42:00.000-06:00

Justin sometimes comes home with crazy ideas. 

One idea in particular has led us to move in with my parents while Justin finishes up his Master's degree. So this weekend we have been going like crazy people trying to move. We have slept here 3 nights in a row now and can I just tell you how much I love living here! We have much less space but it feels like we have more because of our huge walk-in closet. And we have way too many clothes. 

So it is perfect for us. I love waking up and having people here to talk to, especially for Ezra's sake. I think this will be a really good thing for us. 

On the other hand, I still have lots of packing and moving to do. Our old place doesn't even look like we've left. Still lots of stuff to do there. And I tend to procrastinate. Oh well, out with the old, in with the new! I will post some pics later... much later. :)

Almost 21.

2010-10-19T21:26:00.002-06:00

And for my 21st birthday I will celebrate at....

(wait for it...)

.........

CHUCK E. CHEESE! Where A Kid Can Be A Kid.

So excited.

put me in the zoo.

2010-10-17T12:25:00.001-06:00

owls are, like, so hot right now.

2010-10-16T23:23:00.000-06:00

owls are like, so hot right now.

and this one somehow trapped himself in our window well and scared us to death. we thought it was a bat at first but when we went to let him out we saw it was an awesome little owl! so i snapped a few pics and set him free. bye bye little buddy! thanks for visiting!

Brandon Flowers - Only The Young

2010-10-12T23:39:00.000-06:00

what makes you happy?

2010-10-06T08:15:00.000-06:00

lately i have been trying my best to downsize. it hasn't been easy.

i hang onto clothes that i haven't worn in years because "i might want them someday".

and i have been trying to rid my brain of this logic.

so i started thinking about what makes things seem "cute" to us. or whatev.

i have decided that i need to base my reason for having things (clothes, furniture, etc) on whether they make me happy and inspired or not.

for example:
i have a skirt from a few years ago that has flowers on it. and i don't think someone would look at it and go, "wow, that's ugly", but i know that i don't ever think, "oh i want to wear this today!"

also, i have this new pair of red heels from urban outfitters (see my profile picture) that just make me smile every time i see them. and i wear them often.

maybe you all figured this out a while ago, but its new to me. now i always have to ask myself before making a decision (any decision in life, really) whether it makes me happy or not, and it is a great liahona, so to speak.

they really do grow up so fast.

2010-10-04T22:20:00.000-06:00

a few of ezra's favorite people.

2010-10-04T22:06:00.000-06:00

ryan.

val (on skype)

daddy.
(this is what parenting does to you.)

mama bear.

uncle ry again!

momma lou.
(i'm such a good sport with all these pictures)

dada.

gramma sorenson.

mommy dear.

nana & bopa.

feelin' crafty.

2010-10-04T21:52:00.000-06:00

i'm on this new kick of handmade gifts. to me, they mean so much more than say, a gift card and a hallmark greeting card (not to say that materialistic gifts don't have their place... they do, but i love handmade stuff more). so for my sister-in-law's birthday on sept. 24, i made her a headband and a card. i wanted to keep the headband for myself but i resisted.

the "R" is for Rocio, that's my sister's name.

thoughts? handmade or store-bought?

brandon flowers.

2010-10-04T21:46:00.000-06:00

i am in love with brandon flowers.

[his music, that is.]

i listened to his album flamingo about ten times this weekend as i drove home from st. george.

i would like to share some of it with you. please listen. it makes me oh so happy.

{i'm a freak, i know.}

Look back in silence; the cradle of your whole life.
There in the distance, loosing its greatest pride.
Nothing is easy, nothing is sacred. Why?
Where did the bow break?
It happened before your time.

There were people there, lovely as you've ever been.
Tonight.
Baby you can start again.
Laughing in the open air; have yourself another dream.
Tonight.
Baby we can start again.

Only the young can break away, break away.
Lost when the wind blow; on your own, ohh..
Only the young can break away, break away.
Lost when the wind blow; on your own, ohh...

Mother its cold here. Father thy will be done.
Thunder and lightening crashing down.
They got me on the run, direct me to the sun.
Redemption keeps my covers clean tonight.
Baby we can start again.

landon + briaunna.

2010-10-04T21:40:00.000-06:00

justin's very best friend from pretty much his whole life finally married the girl he's been dating for almost as long as justin and i have been together. their wedding was beautiful, they were beautiful, it was all just beautiful. we got to go to their wedding ceremony and i cried a little. ha ha i am just so happy for them. here are a few pictures from that day and the night before at the dinner in the park.

justin's fake smile. i love it.

my reaction to a very upsetting performance of horseshoes.

i just my bag. don't ask justin about it though, he hates trying to find stuff in it and therefore hates the bag.

i <3 us. hehe.

the lovely couple.

i love my shoes..

so much better than these shoes... :)

the bombay house.

2010-10-04T21:29:00.000-06:00

i'm a picky eater. i will just come out and say it.

i have many things to thank for this. first, my mother, who is an excellent cook which made me begin to expect everyone else to cook as good has she does.

second, i probably am a picky eater because i just always ate at home. my family wasn't rich growing up so i never had to try food from other cultures. i just ate what my family ate.

so, over time, i developed taste buds that just like certain things. but i am trying to break out of my shell as much as i can/need to. i survived half a month in some very remote cities in brazil, so give me some credit!

anyway, my adventurous friend celia decided to go to the bombay house for her birthday dinner. since i am such a good friend, i went, assuming i probably wouldn't like it, but i would give it a try.

this may also do a good job of summing it up for me.

it was worse than i expected. ha ha. i don't think i really understood what "spicy" meant before this experience. needless to say, i had to go to wendys after. but i give myself credit for trying things (even though i didn't try EVERYTHING they brought out). and i have now experienced indian food. wow.

my face pretty much sums it up for me.

my friends liked it, though!

have you guys tried indian food before? what do you think?

Weekend Entertainment.

2010-10-04T21:14:00.001-06:00

Ezra, his bapa, and his nana.

With Justin having a weekend class Friday nights and Saturdays, Ez and I are forced to find other things to do on the weekends. So a few weeks ago, my little brother Ryan had a carnival at his school. We decided to check it out.

Uncle Ry.

The coolest guy ever.

The other coolest guy ever.

I struggle.

Ry doing the baseball throw. My dad also did it and got the high score!
(of course)

My dad is such a good sharer.

My mom talking to my old elementary science teacher, Mr. Theler! He is a principle now, and a great one at that.

The First Six Months

2010-09-28T22:11:00.000-06:00

This is mostly for my own enjoyment, but read if you'd like. (What a catchy first sentence, huh? This is bound to draw lots of readers...). He he. Well, I have been wanting to do this for a while and Ezra is asleep and Justin just left to play basketball so I finally have a few spare minutes (even though the house is still kind of a disaster). 

I wanted to record things that I am glad I had for the first six months of Ezra's life. Things that I would not want to go without (besides the obvious stuff like food, diapers, wipes, clothes, and car seat). Just because before I had my first baby, I didn't really know what I needed. Everybody is different, but maybe this will help some of you soon-(or not so soon) to-be-mothers. 

Now, where to start?

I guess first off I would have to say that the most indispensable item I used almost every day for the first six months is a Baby Bjorn. To be more specific, this exact one is the one I own. I love that it is organic, plus its super cute. I have seen other moms using ones just made of what looks like some kind of fabric wrap. Those would also suffice. This is an absolute necessity. Do not let the price scare you away. To me, it is incredibly important to carry your baby with you as much as is humanly possible until he can move around on his own, and this carrier makes that convenient and comfortable. It is hard to get things done while holding your baby in your arms, and it is also hard to get things done if your baby is just laying somewhere. Babies need action, and they see plenty of it safely snuggled against their mommies.

Up next, what I use every single day is a video monitor. This is also an investment. We got ours from woot.com (it was the deal of the day, so it was a good price). But it does full color video as well as sound. This is essential because Ezra sleeps in our bed and sometimes doesn't make any noise when he wakes up, and now that he can crawl, its important for his safety that I can actually see him at all times while he is napping or before I join him at night. Today he was napping and I had the monitor on but I had walked out of the room the screen was in. When I came back in to check the monitor it was black. I ran into the bedroom and sure enough, Ezra was sitting up, holding the camera he had unplugged, and sucking on it! Bottom line though, its just nice to be able to actually see that your precious baby is sleeping soundly. 

Third, and I think everyone will agree with me on this, is a Diaper Genie. This is a must-have for us because we live in a basement and can't exactly take each individual diaper to the big garage bin outside. Every diaper (including only pee diapers) stink. Especially after a few days. The diaper genie doesn't take up much space and keeps those smells out. I don't know what I would do without it.

Fourth, a bouncer chair (thanks, koster girls!). Let's face it: as much as I would love to hold Ezra (especially when he was smaller) every minute of every day, there are times when I need to set him down. This is where the bouncer chair came in handy. I say "came" because Ezra has outgrown it now and gets frustrated if I ever put him in it because he just wants to go, go, go. But I would use it every time I needed to shower or just do something really quick, and it is a good, safe place to set the babe. 

I am also glad I had a boppy. When Ezra was brand new, I would put him in his pack-n-play (which isn't a bad purchase, either) but he would not sleep in it very well. I quickly found that the best place for him to sleep was on my chest. So I propped myself up with a few pillows behind me so I was slightly elevated, and put the boppy around my waist which helped support Ezra on my chest. That way, we both got a good night's rest. I am really glad I had that boppy for the first little while.

Last, I was very grateful for the breast pump I used! It was one of those machine, double pumper, whatever ones that was high-tech and very handy. (Thanks, Val!) I used it every day until my milk stopped coming in. But since I never mastered breast feeding, it was great that I was still able to feed Ezra my breast milk for a while. So if you are planning on breast feeding, it is a great tool to have, even if you primarily feed your baby naturally.  

Those are really the main things I am really glad I had. 

The rest of the stuff wasn't all that necessary:

I initially bought a crib (which my wise sister, Val counseled me against) and ended up selling it. Ezra sleeps better (or he used to... these last few weeks have been a struggle, probably because he's teething) next to us, and would always wake up if we tried to put him in the crib... that was enough for me to realize where he wanted to be. 

I got a swing, too, but I haven't put him in it very much. Like I said, I preferred carrying him around with me, but it was a good place to set him if I needed to for a minute. But he would get bored of that pretty quickly, and really, it just takes up a lot of space.

We got a bottle warmer which was sorta good to have while we had to heat up my breast milk, but after that it was useless and I put it in storage. Val gave us her old wipe warmer but it was too much of a hassle for me to use (I'm lazy). Plus we always change Ezra's diaper in a different spot.

I went out and bought a diaper bag which was stupid. Its not the best looking thing ever, was about $30, and we just use the one they gave us at the hospital. Its one of those that has the one strap that goes kind of like a sash, and its just black, and a nice little backpack. 

Also, I bought WAY TOO MANY bottles. He has been on formula for most of his life, but it is RIDICULOUS how many bottles we would have to wash. By hand. It was a dreaded daily chore, and I am really glad that we now only use 3. Really, 1 would be ideal. The more you have, the more you have to wash. Just sayin'. 

Last thoughts (I promise):

Required readings(best when read BEFORE the baby arrives):

The Continuum Concept

Good Nights

What to Expect When You're Expected: A Fetus' Guide to the First Three Trimesters (Hilarious. We bought it for Brad & Staci and I read some of it. It was really funny.)  

Just remember that everyone is different! What worked for us may not work for you. The best advice I can give though (which is difficult to do) is to only buy the basics at first. It will save you a lot of money. Don't blow a lot of money on an adorable crib set before you know if you will have your baby sleep in one. Same goes for a changing table. Some people use them but I never did. Maybe just buy a pack-in-play that comes with a changer on top and see if your baby likes the pack-in-play and if you like changing him on a changing table. Then maybe you would want to go pick out furniture. And you will get tons of clothes and such from other people. Wait until you really need something to buy it (which I know is really, really hard! I sure couldn't do it).

Hope this helps some of you. Congrats if you made it through the whole thing. What do you guys think? Comments? Questions? Let's chat. :) 

6

2010-09-22T22:35:00.000-06:00

months, that is.

yep, ezra is now six months old. half a year gone already? time sure does fly. now i feel like a mom and i know what they're talking about when they say "they just grow up so fast!".

but its true, they do.

and ezra is growing up fast.

he is in the 96 percentile on height. go figure.

average on weight (50 something).

and only 26 percentile on head circumference.

and he is crawling a lot now (even crawled off the bed while i wasn't looking... poor guy)

...

i'm not typically a book person

2010-09-22T22:20:00.000-06:00

buuut... right now i am kind of obsessed with the hunger games series. my brother in law mike told my mom about it, she loved it, and then i have read on a few different blogs lately how much people love it. so i borrowed my mom's copy and read it in a weekend, which is impressive for me. the only problem is i am a believer in doing what i want to do at the moment, and waiting until i feel the desire to do things like cleaning and such. usually that desire comes when i really just don't want to feel like i live in a messy house and so i get really excited and clean all of it (don't worry, this happens more often than you would think). but so once i get into a book, i will just read and read and read. and i am starting on book 2 twomorrow. (get it, TWOmorrow? wow, i'm tired). but i think i will make myself get the house clean before i start it so i can just keep it clean during the time i read the book. WOW i'm glad you all know that now. 

i will now include all of you and ask if you have read the series. if not, i highly recommend. just beware that it may keep you up all night thinking about it.

just a quick update.

2010-09-21T23:03:00.000-06:00

first of all, no more scary spiders in my car (that i know of anyway) so yay on that.

second, i took your advice and spoiled myself with brandon flowers' new album. love it.

third, i am excited about going to st. george in a few weeks with my parents to meet with mike & val during conference weekend! that will be awesome. i miss them too much. talking on the phone & skyping is cool and all, but really just not good enough.

fourth, my new calling is assistant ward sports specialist. so that should be fun. i'm starting to break out of my box a little. but i decided i am kind of anti-social a little bit. i've always been kinda shy and it hasn't improved since i have gotten older. sometimes i think i must be really awkward in social settings, but i'm not sure. which brings me to my next matter of business...

(fifth) i am really, really happy to have justin. he just has my back, you know? like, i can always count on him. friends are good, family is even better, but nothing beats a best friend/lover. he he.

sixth, my birthday is at the end of october, and i have already started shopping. mostly with justin's mom who says "get something for your birthday!" and then she makes me take it home with me. he he. its the best, really. but tonight we went with jamie to nordstrom rack and it was fabulous. i picked out a lot of fun things (that are really for my birthday this time). so i can't wait to get them all.

and i know everyone has been raving about fall coming, but come on. it was in the 80's today. i am sick of this. i want some cool weather!!

i'm scared to drive my car.

2010-09-16T21:27:00.000-06:00

why, you may ask.

well, a few days ago, justin was driving my car and i was in the passenger seat. he noticed thin little lines on the windshield that seemed strange. i figured it was probably a spider web on the outside of the car.

then, yesterday, as i drove home from work (yes, AS i drove), i noticed a spider on the window next to me. i panicked, of course, and rolled down the window hoping the spider would crawl outside.

it crawled inside.

i smacked at it with my wallet and it fell somewhere in my car.

as you can imagine, i drove home like a crazy person not knowing if the spider was still alive and out to get me. justin later found the spider under my floormat, dead.

"whew", i thought. problem solved. right?

wrong.

today i noticed even more spider webs inside (yes, inside) my car, all over my windshield.

i am spooked.

how would a spider get in my car? i never leave the windows down or anything, and i just got it washed on saturday and they cleaned the inside windshield. so... i'm stumped.

thoughts? suggestions? sympathies?

xoxo.

hmm...

2010-09-15T22:59:00.000-06:00

i just noticed that i kind of post a lot of stuff all at once and then like never post again.

its kind of sad/annoying. lol i should spread it out a little bit eh?

i don't really know what to say but i just felt like saying something, so here you go.

i am secretly in love with this man... (who needs edward cullen with brandon flowers around?) he he he

oh, this just came to mind: brandon flowers' album flamingo is now for sale.
do you like the killers/brandon flowers? have you heard his new music? should i wait for my birthday to get his album or should i just spoil myself right now?

side note: its my friend celia's birthday on friday and we are going to the bombay house for her birthday dinner thursday night. should i be scared? i've never had indian food before.

there, a perfectly decent blog posting. :) goodnight.

el cabana (with a squiggly over the n)

2010-09-10T18:40:00.000-06:00

oh, the cabin. i was reacquainted with you on sunday night, and justin & ezra met you for the first time. thanks for letting us stop by. you were great. minus a few minor exceptions (the rat & the bat kinda spooked us out a bit, and you wouldn't let us through the front door at first, but we forgive you). will we be returning again soon? probably not. but we had a good time. we ate dinner (mom, dad, chelsey, lee, ryan, justin, me, ezra, brad, staci, katelyn, rob, & rocio were there), rode (and i nearly broke) the four wheeler, played hand&foot (justin's least favorite game in the world), brad taught me how to play poker (and i did alright until justin joined the game... but i schooled brad & ry before that), my dad slept through most of it, justin soothed katelyn, and all was well. before the night ended we were all standing on couches hiding from the mouse we spotted in the kitchen (well, probably everyone except brad & staci. they were brave). justin & i had planned on spending the night but decided to just drive home late. good thing, because chelsey & my mom & ry met the bat in the morning.

the best part was spending quality time with the fam.

no tv, no cell phones, no laptops.

or should i say... crazy days?

2010-09-10T18:17:00.000-06:00

Swiss Days

ez & i went to swiss days with gramma mare, auntie jame, & cousin dyl. it was a lot of fun. it was also hot and crowded. but mostly fun!

[side note: looking at all the pictures again, the babies look really confused. slightly scared, but mostly confused. they were such good sports though.]

the game.

2010-09-10T18:00:00.001-06:00

so, justin is now attending the university of utah for his master's degree. so of course he had to get tickets to their first football game of the season (they beat pittsburgh in OT). i tagged along with him and bond (jason bond... we call him bond) for the game. it was my first at utah, and yes i did feel like a traitor a little bit, cheering for them. and wearing red. byu is still my fave but sports are sports and it is just fun to go to games and cheer for someone. plus, justin is excited to attend a school that is sort of big and actually has a good football team (UVU didn't have one at all) so i don't blame him for becoming a ute. we kinda just cheered for byu cause we grew up in utah county but that's pretty much it. neither of us go/went there so i don't mind cheering for the utes. all in all, we had a really fun time. by the time we got tickets, the only ones left were standing room only, so we thought we had to settle for those. it was actually fun to sit criss-cross-applesauce at the top of the stadium. great views at sunset, too.

taking a stroll in the park

2010-09-01T23:27:00.001-06:00

it is so sad how little time we spend outside.

i swear sometimes i will never step outside my front door.

ezra just loves being outside, and so for family night we decided to drive (lol) to lindon park and go for a little stroll in the new little stroller we got for ezra. he fell asleep after not very long, but we had a great time. sometimes its nice to just walk through a park without any worries, and we definitely need to do it more. if i wasn't so scared of things (mainly dogs) i would take ezra on walks much more. i'm more comfortable riding my bike because then i feel like i could get away more easily if i were to be chased by a dog. but i don't have a bike trailer for ezra so we are kind of stuck. anyway, enjoy these pictures!

its sew easy...

2010-09-01T23:20:00.000-06:00

i'm at it again... sewing super easy, super cheap dresses. this was my second one, and i did it almost without any help. (my mom helped me re-thread my stupid, too-advanced-for-me machine). i'm getting the hang of it. i loved this fabric ($2) and the t-shirt only cost $6. Bringing the grand total to $8 for a great dress. not bad, eh?

Seasons change like my hairstyle

2010-09-01T23:16:00.000-06:00

for those of you who know me really well, you know that i never last very long with one hairstyle. i always get bored, and i always switch it up. the most recent switch took place on sunday, in which i decided to CHOP it all off.

ok, not ALL off.

Before (isn't Ezra GORGEOUS?)

After

After (while brushing my teeth and showing off my newly shaped eyebrows :))

i am so glad i decided to cut it again. i love having it short. i can shower more easily and it doesn't take me nearly as long to look decent.

[thanks to my sister in law Jamie for cutting my hair in exchange for some pictures of her little baby Dylan! see his pictures on my photo blog.]